On the Banks of Nettle Creek: Year in Review, Part 2

Right now we're looking forward to Christmas and the quiet week between the year. Winter usually brings some peaceful days at the start of the new year, too. Time to reflect on the past year, think about plans and pray for wisdom for the year ahead. As we get older we recognize the need to steward our strength and invest well in those we love. Here's a quick recap of some of the things we invested in this past year and the adventures we had.

Three times a week we are at the gym for Rock Steady boxing with our Silver Gloves class.

Sheep-shearing definitely qualifies as an adventure!

We built 11 raised garden beds for our daughter at her new home. She had an amazing garden this year but getting those beds filled with soil was NO JOKE!

Pete and I attended an apple grafting workshop at Seed Savers Exchange in Decorah, Iowa. We grafted 6 heirloom trees there and then 5 more when we got home with our new skills. We had a good success rate and are getting the old orchard repopulated.

We had the annual Easter Egg hunt on the farm for the grandsons.

It was Joshie's first egg hunt and he was very enthusiastic about it.

Auntie MiMi excels at hiding eggs.

Late April and May saw Pete and me heading to Maine and Prince Edward Island. That is a loooooong drive but it was a long-time wish fulfilled.

My bridge phobia....ugh. But I made it over and back.

Farm life: Chicken butchering day at a friend's house. Now that's commitment for someone who doesn't eat meat! It's part of life in a farm community.

We attended a Parkinson's Disease Victory Summit in Indianapolis. Always on the quest to network and learn new things.

Social events from church and the neighborhood. A great part of life in a great community.

A HUGE social event at the farm - K-Fit Farm Fest! 120 people for a potluck to end potlucks and a great evening on the farm. And praise God the weather was great! PHEW.

Family birthday celebrations are so important! Lucas turned 9 and Micah turned 12. Oma can still turn out a respectable birthday cake to mark the milestones.

Anne and I had our annual Labor Day Getaway, this time in Cedarburg, Wisconsin.

How many hydrangea plants can you fit in a Prius??? We always come home from these getaways with treasures of some kind. This time it was thrift store, garage sale and plant nursery finds. The car was STUFFED.

We started a monthly Parkinson's Support Group this year and it's been a huge encouragement to all involved.

I entered hooked rug pieces in the Sandwich Fair for the very first time.

We had to celebrate winning prizes with pie at the Methodist Church pavilion.

Day 2 of the fair: Joshie loved the petting zoo and the train ride.

Annual Senior Citizen Luncheon at church - a big job to organize and carry out but a good time for everyone involved.

Harvest time on the farm and Joshie's first combine ride, thanks to Farmer Steve.

Throughout the fall Pete made four trips of varying length to Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN to help my brother who is having serious health problems. One more trip is scheduled before Christmas and I'm going along this time. It's a lovely drive across Wisconsin and Minnesota.

Lunch at the Walnut Room with Anne and Kenji and a failed trip to the Christkindlmarkt in Chicago (closed due to high winds the day we were there). We always make a day for a downtown Chicago adventure sometime during Advent to see the lights and decorations.

A beautiful Thanksgiving celebration (and believe it or not, except for the turkey for the carnivores among us everything was PLANT-BASED! And DELICIOUS!) Kenji was super proud of his vegan pecan pies.