Suddenly, we are at year’s end 2024. Mid-week New Year’s is odd, really. It gives a feeling of just wanting to get on with it already. Last night’s meltdown was remembering that, although I start the new year, Cass will remain forever in 2024. Nothing I can do about that.

The handsome buff cat above, wearing the bandage, is Bagel. He was a stray, feeding at a colony since October. In December he showed up with some pretty severe injuries from a likely dog bite, and we admitted him to our shelter. Since then, he’s had surgery to clean him up and neuter him, and he’s had his bandages changed out every other day or so. He is the world’s sweetest, softest cat.

I’m working on my bujo for next year. It won’t be completely ready by the start of the year, but it seems like a lot of things will work out that way for me. Year’s end 2024 just came up sooner than I expected. Maybe it was the late Thanksgiving. Maybe it’s that I’m older and time just moves like that now.

In 2024, we had the glory of breakdancing in the summer Olympics. A huge part of the maple tree fell on our roof. Biden halted his campaign for president, Trump was shot but survived, and Kamala Harris lost the election. I taught a couple of craft classes, sewed a bunch but sold very little for the Mutt Market, and made and sold zines. I did a great job with exercise and continued to work on not eating garbage all the time. The word of the year for me in 2024 was CREATIVITY and I think I achieved what I was looking for.

In 2025, I expect Trump will continue with policies and appointments that baffle the world. We will likely stop our support of Ukraine and that war may stop as a result. If that happens, it will be a win for tyranny. I hope to make more YouTube videos and make more zines. I hope to have a better sense of calm around me, as CALM is my word for the year.

If there is someone, anyone, out there continuing to read this blog and not just bots, my wish for you is a year of health and happiness.