One more faves post inspired by all the favorite card collections I’ve seen on Instagram as well as my favorite books of 2019 which I neglected to add to my post about my OLW. 

If you’ve followed my blog for long you know that card making is my hobby of choice. I don’t often look back to choose some favorites, but I did this week and chose nine to share. Sometimes it was the design I particularly liked, and sometimes it was a technique that turned out well.

My reading goal for 2019 was 50 books. I surpassed that by two, and always enjoy seeing the graphic Goodreads provides for each year. This is the third year I’ve participate in the Goodreads’ Challenge, and I read 1,300 more pages this year than last, and about 650 more pages than in 2017 (the year I read the Bible cover to cover.) I’m keeping the same reading goal for 2020–5o books. On days we don’t head to the gym as soon as we get up, we routinely read for an hour–in the winter next to the fire. If I leave reading to bedtime, it’s likely not many pages get read before I nod off. My volunteer work and social calendar keep me pretty busy during the week, so it’s unlikely I’ll find a lot more reading time in 2020 than I did in 2019.

I went through the 52 books and chose eight favorites. If you look at my list of books, you will see only one book that received 2 stars. If I’m not invested in a book by the time I’ve read about 50 pages, I have no trouble abandoning the book. There are just too many books I know I’ll enjoy reading. This year I did finish Ross Gay’s The Book of Delights which I did not enjoy. I don’t regularly write reviews, but I noted that although I loved the idea of the book, I didn’t find many of the delights “delightful,” and although I’m not often offended by language, I was too frequently offended listening to this one. (It’s also unusual for me to “read” an audio book, but I recently finished Save Me the Plums shifting back and forth between Audible and the Kindle. That worked very well on our road trip to Wisconsin. When I give a book 5 stars or choose one as a favorite, it’s because the book caused me to think about the content well after the time I finished it.

Americanah was one of the longest books I read this year. I had read many wonderful reviews, but wouldn’t have picked it up because of its length had our couples book group not chosen it for September. It took me all month to read it (we were on the road three weeks), but I’m still thinking about it. The Dearly Beloved was the most enjoyable read. A character in Americanah comments that American fiction primarily focuses on dysfunctional characters, and I think there’s some truth to that. In the Dearly Beloved, the characters have their issues (don’t we all?) but no one is truly dysfunctional. Both Grace Will Lead Us Home and How to Be An Antiracist are two books that are helping me understand racism in the United States and to deal with my white privilege and unintended thoughts and actions that might appear painful to others. I belong to an interfaith book group, and Holy Envy was definitely our favorite book of the year. Both Lost and Wanted and Where the Crawdads Sing were satisfying reads with lots to think about. A Woman is No Man was a difficult read, but an important one, helping me better understand the immigrant experience. (Americanah was also important there, as well.)

So that’s a wrap for 2019. Onward to a new year of crafting and reading!

(If anyone knows how to improve the resolution of the Goodreads screen shots, I’d love some advice.)

I thought I’d join in with the tradition of looking back on some of the highlights and faves of the year.

We had a great year which began with a trip to Disney World with Sarah, Adam, Caleb and Hannah. Sarah had a week long conference to attend in January so it seemed like the perfect opportunity to take the kids to Disney World. We all had a fabulous time.

In April, I traveled to Washington, D.C. with a group of five others from our Presbytery for the Ecumenical Advocacy Days. It was five days of inspirational and motivating workshops and speakers. On our final day, we were able to meet with the staff of our legislators to advocate for two bills. A wonderful side benefit of the trip was meeting Honoré for dinner one evening. After several years of being blogging friends it was wonderful to discover how much in common we have—and how much fun we’d have if only we lived closer to one another.

Tracy’s mother celebrated her 90^th birthday this summer. Her children hosted a wonderful party for her and about 75 of her family and friends. Here she is with her five children and two step-daughters.

We spent five days in Nantucket with Matt, Betsy, and the girls. It’s always a wonderful time. They live just a mile or so away from us so we see them frequently, but this is the only time in the year we get extended time with them which makes this trip even more special.

In August, we were invited by a friend to spend four days at the Chautauqua Institute. The theme of the week we were there was Grace: A Celebration of Extraordinary Gifts. Krista Tippet of On Being was the host of the morning lectures and we heard some thought-provoking and entertaining interviews, all of which were recorded for the On Being podcast. The afternoon speakers at the Hall of Philosophy were also extraordinary, including one of my favorite theological writers, Barbara Brown Taylor.

Our last big trip of the year was a three week road trip through Washington and Oregon. In the middle of the trip was the beautiful and moving wedding of our nephew, Mason, and his beautiful bride, Molly. And I had another opportunity to meet up with a blogging friend. Vicki and Jim Hein met us for coffee one morning as we drove from the Oregon coast to Ashland.

From top left: Overlooking Seattle, the Seattle waterfront, Atop Hurricane Ridge on the Olympic Peninsula, Heceta Lighthouse on the Oregon coast, Molly and Mason, the Hoh Rainforest, Jim & Vicki Hein & Tracy & me, Mt. Rainier, Diablo Lake in the North Cascade National Park.

And a year end review just wouldn’t be right without some photos of my grandchildren who grew so much this year. We made four trips to Wisconsin to visit Caleb and Hannah this year. We wish they were closer, but we’re grateful they’re within driving distance.

Top row: Caleb and Hannah
Second row: Madelyn, my one chance to capture all five together–a total fail, Ella and Skylar
Third row: Skylar, Madelyn, and Ella; Skylar; Caleb and Hannah

Happy New Year! May you be blessed with good health, time with family and friends, and wonderful adventures in 2020!