12 in 12 (2024)

If you’ve been following along this year, you know I’ve read a ton (I’m at 175 and I’d like to finish at least five more in the next 13 days—I passed my original goal of 125 in August). I still have hundreds on my list, but I enjoyed all of the recommendations I got last year—so I did it again! Here are the 12 books recommended to me by 12 friends!

Thanksgiving Day 2023

David helped me prep the chili board for lunch!
Grandpa made the green pozole and Gramma made the red chili.
It was a hit!
The 1,000 piece puzzle finished at 12:15.
The next 1,000 piece puzzle started at 12:50!

Friends of ours—Scott and Wendy—also joined us this year as she was visiting from Seattle and they didn’t have other plans! She loves Thanksgiving and cooking so she brought most of the sides to go with Tom’s smoked turkey and smoked ham!

Thanksgiving tip? Gravy in an insulated pitcher! Pourable plus it stays warm!

Dinner is served!
We were all gathered around the kitchen for grace…and I looked over and both dogs were in the circle with us!
Three drinks going at once (water, rum punch, and wine)!
Helping clean up!

The evening was spent watching football, playing cards, puzzling, and visiting!

Friday Fave: rum punch

I always thought I didn’t like rum…but as it turns out I don’t like SPICED rum or coconut rum. So when we were on our family cruise in 2019 and our snorkeling with the turtles excursion came with unlimited rum punch, I learned that I actually quite liked rum punch. But it wasn’t really a drink we made ourselves.

Fast forward a bit to our friend David saying he made the best Trinidadian rum punch…and by golly he did. Wow. So every now and again he’d make a batch for us and we actually drank it so much we kinda tired of it. (It was even a favorite drink at the 2022 Hudson Summer Bash.)

But every once in awhile now we’ll have it again…but there’s no way the four of us can finish it these days, so that means we get leftovers! So I know what I’m drinking tonight!!

Are you a rum punch fan?

Friday Fave: Rum punch

I always thought I didn’t like rum…but as it turns out I don’t like SPICED rum or coconut rum. So when we were on our family cruise in 2019 and our snorkeling with the turtles excursion came with unlimited rum punch, I learned that I actually quite liked rum punch. But it wasn’t really a drink we made ourselves.

Fast forward a bit to our friend David saying he made the best Trinidadian rum punch…and by golly he did. Wow. So every now and again he’d make a batch for us and we actually drank it so much we kinda tired of it. (It was even a favorite drink at the 2022 Hudson Summer Bash.)

But every once in awhile now we’ll have it again…but there’s no way the four of us can finish it these days, so that means we get leftovers! So I know what I’m drinking tonight!!

Are you a rum punch fan?

Agate Day 4

Lunch prep!
They all pottied!
Tom’s project—fixing and refinishing the gliding bench! Which I found out was a wedding present!
Annual mini golf outing while Anna and I shopped!

ESRAY PARK OUTING — The kids love coming here—climbing the rocks, playing in the water, finding creatures…

We didn’t match them up for an exact redo but we’re just happy they’re all in it and smiling!
After our dinner out!