Let's end this year on a positive note! Here are some things that have made me happy this year:
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| Even though I lost my mother this year, I'm grateful that she lived to be 86 and got to meet all of her great grandchildren. This was the window in her assisted living room with some knickknacks. I let my kids and grands each choose an item to remember her by. I'm also making each of them a memory angel from some of her shirts I kept for that purpose. |
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| A successful year for me is counted by travel. We spent a week in June at a house on Lake Michigan with family, traveled around Arizona and Nevada for a week in September, took an overnight birthday trip for me, and another overnight trip with family for a baby shower and a reminiscent stay at Maumee Bay. |
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| We've been upping our game with date nights and double dates with other couples this year. Our new favorite is visiting speakeasies that have been popping up all over the place. |
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| I love trying new foods, especially when they turn out to be delicious. This is delicato squash. I love any squash, but one that you can eat the skin has turned out to be a game changer. Just slice and roast! It's wonderful as a side dish or on a salad. |
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| Well folks, it took a half-Asian grandchild for me to finally get a descendant with the same hair color as me!!! My two daughters have red hair, my son was a blond (now dishwater blond), my grandson is a dishwater blond, and my two other granddaughters have red hair. FINALLY! Before anyone thinks the hair is attributed to her Chinese mother, let me tell you that her hair is a distinctive black color, NOT dark brown like mine and this cutie!!!! |
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| I can't just share one grandchild because I'm thrilled with all four of mine. They are all as cute as can be, if I say so myself. |
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| We are blessed that this set only live 35 minutes away, so we are able to attend events like their recent holiday dance recital. |
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| And we got to see my grandson win his second baseball championship. This boy will always hold my heart. |
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| Moving on to the materialistic side of things, I bought this Swatch watch for myself in June and wore it all summer. I couldn't afford a real Swatch back in the day, so I decided to treat myself now. You people can keep your Apple watches as this is way cooler! |
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| Another purchase this year: air pods. Bijoux has entered the 21st century. No more fooling with cords while walking. As a bonus, they cancel out noise on a plane and work great as ear plugs at concerts. |
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| It was not a great year for concerts for us. We had the abrupt end to the Live 80's show and the David Byrne 'Who Is the Sky' concert was canceled on our night due to the band's illness. Such a disappointment! However, Middle Child wanted to attend some Christian contemporary concerts this year and we enjoyed all three with her: Jeremy Camp, Steven Curtis Chapman, and Chris Tomlin's Christmas concert last week. It was very good, with a mix of traditional carols and his most popular praise songs. We really enjoyed it and it was a great way to start Advent. The special guest of the night was Jamie Macdonald. I was unfamiliar with her, but her voice was incredible. I couldn't find a video of her singing any Christmas songs, but here is one that showcases her talent. |
Your grandkids are ADORABLE and how wonderful you live close enough to be an active participant in their lives. That is a gift for everyone and these memories you're making now will be cherished for decades to come.
ReplyDeleteI hope you have a wonderful Christmas <3
Thank you, we sure love them to pieces and are glad that 3 out of the 4 live nearby. It’s been nice getting to know you this year, Elisabeth. Merry Christmas!
DeleteWow, red hair is so rare and the gene is recessive, so it's really neat that you have so many gingers in your family! Your grandchildren are all adorable. What a gift to have such a lovely family! Also a gift - the ability to travel. I also love travel and it's so wonderful to see and experience so many different things.
ReplyDeleteIt took me a while to get into AirPods, I think it was maybe 2021, and wow have they been life-changing! I love them! I never had a Swatch either but always wanted one. Yours is very cool. I am addicted to my Garmin so I'll just keep it, as you say!
I love squash too and what a wonderful way to honour your mother's memory. That sentence makes it sound like you are honouring her memory with squash, which is NOT what I mean, obviously. I just have lots of thoughts and it's only 5 am.
Enjoy your December and I hope the holidays are wonderful for you, my friend. xoxoxo
Isn't it crazy how much red hair there is in my family when I have dark hair and hubby is (was) a blond? My maternal grandmother had 2 sisters with red hair and my husband's mother was 100% Irish (though had dark hair), so I guess those alleles matched up.
DeleteI love travel so much as well, though international would be difficult for us due to Middle Child's needs. We do have two week-long trips in the works for next year, which I'm super excited about. Can't wait to see where you go as well!
I knew what you meant about my mom. Though she did like squash! LOL! Merry Christmas, Nicole! XO
"I let my kids and grands each choose an item to remember her by. I'm also making each of them a memory angel from some of her shirts I kept for that purpose."
ReplyDeleteI absolutely LOVED that idea! My mother collected all different rosary beads, which after she passed, my brother and I split her collection and took the ones we each liked. Till this day, whenever I look at them, I think of her and smile.
I so enjoyed your posts about the various travel trips you took this year. That sunset photo is stunning! And the photo you shared of the speakeasy you went to is such a cool shot. I love the copper ceiling and the exposed brick wall.
The photos of your grandchildren are ADORABLE! The ones from the holiday dance recital are so dang CUTE!!!!!
And speaking of Swatch watches, I had one waaaaaaaaaaay back when they first came out. Back then, they were THE watch that everyone wanted. I even remember all the magazine advertisements for Swatch.
Thoroughly enjoyed the video clip of Jamie Macdonald. What a faaaaaaaaaabulous voice! It's got so much heart and soul within it.
Wishing you and your family the BEST, BEST, BEST holiday season! Looking forward to 2026 because I have a feeling there will be a lot of positive change.
XO
Well, I hope I can do a decent job making these angels, Ron. I saw an idea online and am going to try to recreate it. I'm not super crafty, but hopefully they don't look like demons! LOL! Middle Child has one of my husband's aunts rosary beads hanging on her bulletin board in her bedroom. That's a nice keepsake from your mother, Ron.
DeleteThat speakeasy is so much fun! We've been to a few others. My favorite was the door that was a Coke machine!!!! You pressed had to press Coke Zero for it to open and gain access.
Aren't Swatch watches the best?? I'm so glad I finally have one. Such great nostalgia connected to them. I'm glad you enjoyed the video. We were blown away by her voice. I wanted to find a video of her singing 'Noel' by Chris Tomlin, but no luck. It was amazing!
I do hope we see some positive change in 2026 but I'm planning on living my best life! Merry Christmas, Ron! XO
I love that you are sharing so many good things about the year behind you. Losing your mom was terrible, but like you said, eighty six years is a good life span, considering. It's wonderful that each child will have a keepsake and I look forward to seeing your angel project.
ReplyDeleteI had no idea you had so many red heads in your family; is that from your husband? Those grandkids couldn't be any cuter, no matter their haircolor.
I will have one Grand thirty minutes away and the other two hours, so I'm hoping to soak up a lot of their childhood myself.
Ok, that delicato squash is new to me. Where ever did you find it?
I love the Swatch so much! I rarely use earbuds, but when I did, I found the apple ones are too big for my (delicate?Tiny) ear holes. I ended up with wireless headphones recently, and I love them. But yes, welcome to the 21st century!
I've not heard of Jamie McDonald until now, but what a voice!
I'll see how the angels turn out before posting a photo :) I'm not super crafty. I think you have to have an allele from both parents to have a red-haired child. My maternal grandmother had 2 sisters with red hair and my husband's mother was Irish, so we both contributed. And I guess my son-in-law must have carried a gene too to contribute to their 2 daughters. Genetics!
DeleteI'm glad your grands aren't too far away. I just found that Delicato squash as my local grocery store. I'm still blown away that the skin gets so tender that you eat it. Believe me, if it wasn't tender, I wouldn't consume it. And I double checked online that it was safe!
I bought my cheap ear buds ($19.99) on amazon. They came with a few choices of rubber ear pieces to change out because yes! One was huge! Jamie Macdonald was new to me as well. Merry Christmas, Suz! XO
I love that you’re making angels out of your mom’s shirts. We’ve talked about doing something like that for my dad too, either bears or quilts. It’s amazing how many thoughtful ways there are to honor our people. And I love all the little things on your mom’s shelf that she kept — I noticed her butterfly right away. 🦋
ReplyDeleteYour grandchildren are so adorable! LOVE.
The Swatch watch! OMG, I had one my senior year in high school! So much cooler than an Apple watch.
I hope you have a wonderful holiday, my friend. 😘💜
Yes! I've seen some really nice ideas online to used loved one's clothing. Unfortunately, I don't have a sewing machine, so I can't do a lot of them. Awww ~ I'm glad you noticed the butterfly! My granddaughter in the red tutu has that on her nightstand now. I love that you had a Swatch watch in high school. The designs were amazing. Merry Christmas, Kari! XO
DeleteI'm so sorry about the loss of your mom this year. I love that you are making memory angels from her shirts. That will be such a special keepsake.
ReplyDeleteI'm so happy you've had lots of travel and date nights this year. I would enjoy those little speakeasies, too. Your grands are all so adorable! You know I'm all about the grandkids. I'm glad most of them are close by. I still had my old Swatch from back in the day. I just recently gave it to my daughter. She has my old Member's Only jacket too - remember those?
Have a wonderful holiday season, Bijoux. Big hugs!
Thank you, Martha. She passed in late July, after being in assisted living for exactly two years. She had fallen at her condo in 2023, broke her shoulder, went to rehab and then I moved her into assisted living. She had dementia, which just got worse as time went on. I'm lucky that she still knew me, for the most part. It was a rough few years, as she was in a lot of pain from compression fractures to her spine.
DeleteI love that you kept your Swatch watch! I hope your daughter appreciates it! Yes, I do remember Member's Only jackets! So many iconic clothing items back then. My most treasured item was my kelly green Izod shirt. Merry Christmas and again, I'm SO glad you are back! XO
You had a great 2025. I love delicato squash too. Roasted is the best! Have a wonderful & blessed holiday season. We are having a snow storm so tomorrow looks like a perfect day to make Christmas cookies.
ReplyDeleteOh boy, I haven’t checked the forecast. Boo to snow but yeah for cookies! Merry Christmas, Paula!
DeleteOh, what a lovely post! Just what I needed to see right now.
ReplyDeleteI really appreciate how you're highlighting the good things that happened this year, despite the loss of your mother. And it's so nice of you to let the grandkids have her knickknacks.
And speaking of grandkids, yours are so beautiful and that little one who shares your hair color is an absolute treasure.
The speakeasies look really funky and congratulations on the air buds. I didn't get mine until I started downloading workouts for the gym. But I don't use them often.
Gosh, I remember when Swatch was the watch to have. I think some rapper mentioned them in one of his songs.
Thanks again for cheering me up. I wish you and your lovely family a wonderful holiday and fabulous New Year!
The holidays can be rough and I’ve definitely had my moments of tears this season. Thank you for your kind words and I hope your Christmas is merry and bright, Rob. XO
DeleteThat's a nice idea, letting your kids and grandkids each choose an item to remember your mum by. I've never seen delicato squash. Brilliant that you can eat the whole thing, skin and all. Funny that red hair is so rare in your family. I love red hair. I've never had a Swatch watch. I've had a Seiko watch for about 16 years and it's very reliable.
ReplyDeleteI hope you find delicato squash in your supermarket sometime because it is a wonderful dish. My regular watch is also a Seiko and I like it very much as well.
DeleteYou have a great list of happy things! How nice that you are making memory angels from your mom's clothes. Your grandchildren are adorable and of course your pride and joy! I couldn't afford a Swatch watch back in the day either. I do have an apple watch now and I can't imagine life without! Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you and yours, Bijoux!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Jeanette. Same to you and yours!
DeleteThe grandkids are all so cute.
ReplyDeleteI tried Delicata squash this year for the first time too. I like it as well.
I was excited when I saw you post that you had tried the squash. No one else seems to know about it! Merry Christmas, Mary!
DeleteIn one of my college Advertising classes, we had to come up with ads for Swatch. So much fun (even though, like you, I never owned one back in the day).
ReplyDeleteSounds like a fulfilling year for you. I'm also happy that we got to travel this year (several short trips) and saw a great concert. What more can you ask for? Other than that elusive Powerball victory, of course.
Happy holidays, my friend!
That advertising project must have been fun if you still remember doing it! Super cool! Let’s hope for more great concerts and travel in 2026. Merry Christmas, Mark!
DeleteOverall you looked like you had a good except for losing your mom. I lost my mom in 2020 and I know how hard this is. Let's hope that 2026 is a good year, fingers crossed.
ReplyDeleteAllie of
www.allienyc.com
Losing your mom in 2020 must have been difficult with all that was going on. Onward and upward in 2026! I hope your holidays are happy, Allie.
DeleteOf course, you should show those photos of your grandchildren, Bijoux, and they are all happy looking. My mother passed away a number of years ago right before Christmas, so it's always a bittersweet holiday. it was nice that you let family members select something that belonged to your mom and that you are making them an angel to remember her. Your year sounds like it was a good one as was our own, aside from the passing of several friends and yet another that I just learned about today. Ironically, I had just sent her Christmas card earlier this week.
ReplyDeleteIt’s tough to lose loved ones during the holidays. Your year was full of many trips, near and far, so I count that as a great year. Merry Christmas, Beatrice!
DeleteWell, dang. I tried to comment from my phone and it wouldn't work. Stupid internet. But, I'm back to say that your grand kids are the cutest. Those little girls dancing? Love it. I had a Swatch in high school - a gift from the woman I babysat for (we could never have afforded that) and college and I loved it. I didn't even know they still made them. I'd wear one again. I'm not interested in a watch with a smart feature. I do not have earbuds of any sort -not wireless or wired. Weird, I know. I have a similar approach to my mom having Alzheimer's. Part of me feels like I've already lost her, but I also am so grateful that the disease didn't hit until she was around 80. She's almost 84 and is doing OK. She recognizes us and mostly knows our names and she's happy and interested in everything. It's hard, but it would've been harder if that'd happened when she was in her 60s! I love that everyone get a keepsake to remember her by.
ReplyDeleteHave a wonderful Christmas. I hope you have a relaxing few weeks and enjoy time with your beautiful family.
Thanks so much, Ernie. I’m glad you liked the dance recital photos. They took it very seriously! It was adorable. I was surprised Swatches were still made, too. I found mine on Amazon and the price was right! I can’t believe you don’t have any type of ear buds. I’ve always used them for walking. The Alzheimer’s is so hard; I feel for you. My MIL had it and didn’t recognize any of by her last 3-4 years. It was so sad, but as you say, at least it didn’t happen until she was 80.
DeleteI hope you and your family have a merry Christmas and happy new year!
All of your grands are so adorable! You sure are a blessed grandma!
ReplyDeleteOMG Swatch watch! You just took me back in the day. I couldn't afford one for the longest time either, but I did eventually get one for my birthday. Oh, how I loved that gift!
I just entered the 21st century as well and took my daughter's old air pods. What a game changer! I am so technologically challenged, I usually just avoid things that I have to figure out with pairing and blue tooth and all that nonsense, but I am wishing I would have gotten on the air pod bandwagon sooner. I've been listening to a lot more audiobooks this year since I don't have to worry about bothering my family and only listening to them in my car or when they are out of the house.
It looks like you had a fantastic 2025. Here's hoping you get more travel, good food, delicious wine, family time, and all of the good things in life coming your way in 2026!! Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
Thanks, Theresa. We adore those grandkids. The three that live nearby are coming tomorrow for games, crafts, and a cheese board (their request 🤣) while their parents go shopping and out to dinner. That is, if this ridiculous snow doesn’t prevent it. I’m over winter and it’s still technically fall. 😡
DeleteYeah, I was hesitant about the whole pairing thing with the air pods. I have so many issues with my phone and my car (it won’t stop playing podcasts when I plug it in, no matter how many times I stop it). But I’ve not had issues with the air pods. I use mine while walking or around the house if my husband is working from home.
It was a good year. I hope yours was too and that 2026 is even better. Merry Christmas! XO
I enjoyed your post and look back.
ReplyDeleteSorry about your mom though ...
Lovely pictures of your grandkids, they bring such joy don't they.
I'm just about ready for Christmas, looking forward to seeing family.
I wish you joy this season ...
Merry Christmas and a happy and peaceful New Year.
All the best Jan
Thank you. Same to you and yours, Jan.
DeleteYour grandkids are beautiful! And I love that you're going to make memory angels from your mother's shirt, what a sweet sentiment. Happy Holidays.
ReplyDeleteLove how you frame the year around what made you happy, even with the grief of losing your mom woven through it. The travel, grandkid moments and that gloriously retro Swatch make the whole post feel like a gratitude highlight reel in the best way. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year, Bijoux!!
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you appreciated my appreciation, Mr. Shife! May your 2026 be wonderful!
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