Here is my belated look back at December 2023. It was a month of anticipation for a number of reasons – all of our birthdays, anniversary, holidays, the recall election… There was so much going on, that December went by in that fast-slow way a time full of waiting for big events does.
We had our usual Yuletide fun – purchased a fresh tree and decorated the house, wrapped gifts, and ate delicious food. My son turned 21 and I turned 49, and made everyone promise me a big, big, BIG party in 2024. There was some chaos in the month with various meetings, but it was also easy to get everything done since we had practically no snow. Winter break was nice, because I was so done with waking up early four days a week to bring the kiddo to school.
Of course, she was stoked about the holidays and Yule gift opening was pretty much all about her. Not that any of us mind. We love seeing how happy she is when she opens presents and discovers what’s been waiting for her under the tree. Normally, I spoil everyone else, but this year I felt spoiled myself for a change, which was nice.
For our 13th wedding anniversary, my husband gave me the 2024 Modern Folk Embroidery SAL, No Time Like the Present. I was eager to get a New Year’s Eve start on it, so I started it on December 31, 2023. I also received 3 cross-stitch patterns that were on my 123Stitch wishlist: Away We Ride by Blackbird Designs, Mother’s Tree by Lavender & Lace, and Old Nantucket by Little House Needleworks. Of course, I’m already making plans as far as fabric and threads to stitch all of them, but not this year. I’m not a person who likes to have too many projects going on at one time. These are set aside for when I’m ready to start them.
Our partner visited for New Year’s Eve weekend and we had a lot of fun bopping around Omaha, shopping here and eating there. It was a fun way to start 2024 and I’m looking forward to seeing him again soon. <3
Reading
In December, I read The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwab. It was okay for me. Nothing phenomenal. By the end of the year, I read a little over 30 books. My goal was to read 2 a month for a total of 24, so that was an unexpected number.
In 2024, I’m going to stick with books in series that I want to keep up with, and maybe the occasional recommendation. I also have a small wishlist on Overdrive for ebooks I would like to read, most of which are Witchcraft-related.
Cross-stitching
December was a slower month for cross-stitch because I was pretty busy. There was some time to work on Summer Quaker by Lila’s Studio, which is coming along quite nicely. My ocean has waves, now! It’s still a super fun stitch for me.
At this time, I have 5 cross-stitch projects in progress: No Time Like the Present by Modern Folk Embroidery, Summer Quaker by Lila’s Studio, Wild Trio by 2x2StitchArt, Ice Snake by KitsbyAStitch, and Mother’s Arms by Mirabilia Designs. I’m considering leaving Mother’s Arms unfinished, because it’s not calling to me the way it once did, but we’ll see.
I’m currently working on a really cute small, as well, called Midnight Juice by BrainSplash, and I should have it done by the end of this month (maybe even the end of this week). I think I’ll go back to Summer Quaker after that. I have a list of about 16 to 20 patterns I’d like to start, but I would rather complete what I have in progress first. The only start I have in mind for this year is Suffrage Act by Little House Needleworks, since it’s a presidential election year.
Gaming
We played our usual campaigns – D&D, Genesys, and Cyberpunk – but with many breaks due to holidays and family time. I expect to wrap up the D&D campaign that I’ve been running. There are probably about 3 or 4 more sessions left to do so. I’d like to take a break from DMing or GMing anything in 2024 and probably beyond.
Anyway, that was my December! January started off busy, busy, busy, and we are just now finding time to relax and wind down from the holidays and visitors. I’ll probably work on a separate post about 2024 plans, because I’m looking to keep things simple in 2024.
