Currently

I've decided to do things a bit differently today. Not only will I be sharing what's happening currently, I will continue yapping for some of the prompts and share a bit of recap of 2025.

Reading ... in the Bible, I'm still in Luke. 

In the past year I read the entirety of the Old Testament, most of the New, and did an additional read of different books from both.

In other books I read The Overnight Guest by Heather Gudenkauf yesterday. I ended up feeling very indifferent towards it. For starters it isn't a genre I gravitate towards at all. It's marketed as a chilling thriller. The only chilling thing about it was the setting; a winter snowstorm. The plot was not plotting. The twists didn't twist. The surprises didn't surprise. The reveals I had already suspected. The final reveal of "whodunnit" barely got an "oh, that makes sense." from me.  There were so many eye roll moments that I simply couldn't take it seriously. 

Over all, it was not a horrible book. I didn't hate it. But I'll be surprised if I remember it by the end of the year. I read it because of a 2026 reading challenge I'm participating in. One of the prompts is to read a thriller so I decided to get it checked off first. As far as thrillers go, it wasn't very thrilling, and I'm okay with that.

I surprised myself with my 2025 reading year. I logged exactly 150 books on Goodreads, plus I did rereads of an additional 29 books that I didn't log, and then several books that were so bad they don't deserve to be on a record that I ever read them. 

I really enjoyed books like The Last Bookshop in London by Madeline Martin,  The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer, and Embers in the London Sky by Sarah Sundin. I'm hoping to find many similar books to read this year. I also read At Home in Mitford by Jan Karon, I will be continuing that series in 2026.

I read quite a few classics, most of which I'll probably never read again. The Count of Monte Cristo, for example, I liked well enough, but at 1,200+ pages I don't see myself ever picking it up to do a reread. I did not finish Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky I made it about a third of the way through and was having such a miserable time with it that I decided to quit reading. I'm not sure if I'll ever pick it up in the future to give it another attempt. 

I read all of Jane Austen's books for the first time. I had attempted Pride and Prejudice several times over the years, but this was my first completion.  A few of her books I can see myself picking up again in the future. I also read Little Women for the first time and absolutely loved it. It is definitely going to be read again.

I read four books that I connected to like no other books I have ever read. From the first introduction of the main character in book one I understood her completely. It was as if I was reading my own life through slightly different circumstances and a completely different setting. So though the cringe factor was high with a lot of things the side characters said and did, I continued reading. These books will remain with me for the rest of my days, and yes, I will probably do a reread at some point even though I still remember everything.

I read quite a few memoirs, but I'll only pick my top three to mention here. 

Will the Circle be Unbroken by Sean Dietrich. I will read everything he writes. With this memoir I laughed, I cried, and I can see myself doing a reread. 

The House of my Mother by Shari Franke I found thought provoking and disturbing. I'm still confused and frustrated by the Dad whenever I think of this book.. 

Life from Scratch by Sasha Martin, I really enjoyed all the food related things in the book, but there was also so much heartbreak. 

My last read of the year was Powerful by Lauren Roberts. It's book 1.5 in the Powerless series. It gave me all the feels. It was so, so sweet, with a side of devastation. The Powerless series is a Hunger Games meets fantasy type of read. I read Powerless, it was good. I liked the main character's best friend Adena who is a sunshiney seamstress with a love of sticky honey buns. Picking up Powerful and seeing it is happening at the same time as Powerless but from Adena's point of view I knew I was going to love it even though I already knew what was going to happen at the end.  I was right, five stars and counting! 

Writing ... I'm still working on setting up my journals and planner for the new year, which there is a lot more to that than simply writing.

Sharon gave me a lovely journal for Christmas. I have decided to use it for my 2026 reading journal and have been having fun creating spreads I want in it. Here's a sneak peek of a few of them.

Some months this past year have been much more productive in getting actual writing done than others. For the most part though I find if I don't have a contract dangling over my head it's easy to push writing to the back.

Watching ... the pictures on my digital photo frame. It was a Christmas gift from someone who wanted me to be able to have our grandbabies' pictures displayed in an ever changing and updating way. It was such a thoughtful gift and I've been enjoying it a lot. 

Listening ... to the chitter chatter of an annoyed squirrel in the tree outside the kitchen window. The hum of the furnace in the basement. And the satisfying clicking noise of my laptop keys as I type.

Baking ... some sourdough bread. Sharon bakes a loaf every week. She's quite talented at it. LV absolutely loves it. I always eat some as well, being determined to learn to love it, but it tastes exactly like the name suggests, and so far I haven't learned to appreciate that sour tang to my bread. She also bakes other sourdough things, and I have no idea why those never have that lingering sour taste that the bread does and I actually quite enjoy those creations.

We really cut back on desserts this past year, but even so we got to try some new recipes that were quite the hit, and also one unfortunate peach cobbler that shall hopefully be forgotten by all who tried to eat it.

Cooking ... tonight I'll be making roasted cauliflower steak, meatballs, and the family's favorite potato wedges.

A few minutes ago I set my laptop down and ventured into the kitchen to pop a giant sweet potato into the oven. I needed it baked and cooled so I can slice and fry it up for part of our lunch. 

It had been on the counter beside the refrigerator.

Entering the kitchen I could not find the sweet potato anywhere, However, on the counter next to the refrigerator was a container of leftovers Sharon was going to take to work with her today for her lunch. I am very curious to find out tonight if, as I am beginning to think, she truly happened to take the sweet potato instead of her lunch in her rush to leave the house this morning.

Feeling ... like there is so much I want to do, but only one little ole me to do it. 

This past year I have been tackling many of the new things I have been keeping only in my impossible dreams files in my mind for years. I have discovered that breaking big dreams down into manageable small goals is making things happen. 

Disliking ... sickness.  LV was quite miserable yesterday with some kind of stomach virus.

We have been fortunate in not having had to deal with a lot of sickness this past year, and for that we are thankful. Hopefully this bout of stuff will be the main event of sickness for 2026.

Loving ... tea.  A lovely set of holiday tea was acquired over Christmas. The flavors have all been delightful and I have savored every cup so far.

Playing ... last night LV, Steven, and I played Phase 10.

It has been one of our main go-to card games ever since even before we were married. I lose a solid 95% of the time, but somehow I still enjoy it a lot.

It should come as no surprise that I lost last night as well.

We played a lot of games this past year, and we're hoping to play equally as many or more this year.

I'm setting up a game journal as well. I think it will be fun to look back at the end of the year at all the games we played and being able to track the stats of who won the most, what game got played the most. plus including some fun challenges that I'm borrowing from my reading journal but converting them to work for games instead. 

Cleaning ... today I'm deep cleaning the bathroom. Not the most fun way to start off a new year, but a certain sense of satisfaction for sure!

This past year I did spring and fall house cleaning, deep cleaned the basement after it flooded, did multiple deep cleanings of random rooms and certain areas of the house throughout the year, but somehow I never cleaned the attic. In fact I don't recall so much as poking my head into the attic the entire year.

Last night Rosie called wondering if she still has a certain box of things in the attic. So today will also be the day I finally venture up there again. I'm hoping seeing it won't make me put it on the needs to be cleaned soon list.