[Previous years in review: 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013]
This year, I am finally returning to the theme of this blog! Lots of crafts and home improvement projects! I did some embroidery, Chase and I made an octopus, a halloween costume, and some Christmas ornaments. We also did many crafts not mentioned here such as beading, pom-poms, and lots of drawings. We reupholstered our dining room chairs and did a lot of gardening. We also got solar panels on our roof and did a lot of small energy-related improvements on the house: updated the thermostats and switched all the bulbs to LED. There was a lot more maintenance related tasks that we first anticipated: dealing with the yard work, cleaning the gutters, dealing with random ants, checking our boiler and sump pump, etc. We had hoped to install some air conditioning before the summer but for various reasons didn't get to it. That may be a project for next year.
We are also returning to traveling and hosting visitors. We hosted 6 different people/families throughout the year, which was super fun! We made many shorter trips: local winter & fall, NYC, Massachusetts, and Philadelphia. We/I also made some further trips: Baltimore/DC, South Carolina, Nebraska, and Bermuda. Chase slightly added to his state count with New Jersey, Maryland, and DC, bringing it to 12 (MA, CT, RI, NY, NE, CA, NV, IA, IL, PA, NJ, MD [& DC]). He also turned 8.
As always, here is an Instagram collage of pictures from the last year.
