2025 in Review
So, here we go again…My Sisyphean life up for review! I will say, for the most part, 2025 was a good year. Ken and I are happy, healthy and are extremely grateful for our life and location.

“I live by ritual. I live by organization, repetition, and predictability, I’m a terrible traveler and not the person you want beside you in an emergency.” –Sally Mann

This Year in Review in simple question and answer form was started by my niece years ago, and I jumped on the train. So here we go again. I may sing alto, but I behave like a soprano… Me, me, me! Thanks for taking the time to read this. I’d be very interested in your answers to all or some of these questions if you ever feel like sharing!

What did you do in 2025 that you’ve never done before?
Built a dam and crossed it successfully without getting my boots wet!
Read books about science, history, english, math and economics.
Booked a tarot card reading

Did you keep your New Year’s resolutions/motto, and will you make more for next year
This year we had our Elbows UP! And as long as that orange turd is wreaking havoc, we’ll keep boycotting all things US as best we are able. And still the motto of Do Good and Be Kind stands well with me. In the coming year, my goal is to read more non-fiction and fill in some of my educational gaps. Also, I’d like to work on my handwriting, as even I am having trouble reading it. Motto’s in the running are “Momentum Without Mania” and “Variation is Vitality”.

Did anyone close to you give birth?
I guess not close enough as no one stands out.

Did anyone close to you die?
Yes. This list is only going to get longer each year as we get older. I remember
Jan Magnusson
Rob Handy
Barb Weismuller
Rick Allen
Peter Winkler
David Smith
Kenny Jennings
Sheila Reinig
Steve Higgens
Russ DeMaria

And some good dogs died as well.
Moser, the long leggedy beast
Solstice, a gentle giant

What countries did you visit?
The better question is did I leave the coast? And the answer is YES!
We went to North Van to see a dentist twice!
We took a road trip to visit Kas in Boston Bar and Ross and Tyler in Kelowna with a surprise visit from Joy!
We are really quite happy staying home.

We welcomed a lot of good company
Trina Raper
Jill Komura and Debbie Leung
Jeff, Jen, Tyler and Alex Parker
Art Hudson
Joe and Sandie Moss
Ross Cone and Tyler Ruggles
Ed and Marsh stopped by as did Mark and Wendy.

What would you like to have in 2026 that you lacked in 2025?
I don’t lack much – Okay, we lack a postal system we can count on.
However, another on again, off again Canada Post strike isn’t near as bad as that orange turd who has made mailing packages to the US all but impossible. I also feel a lack of “freedom” the orange turd created in making travel to the US feel not safe, not comfortable, and not recommended.

What events from 2025 will remain etched upon your memory?
Hiking alone in the Matrix and building a dam to cross the great water!
Being relieved we elected Mark Carney. So far, I’ve only had to write two stern letters to him!
Sechelt had a 5.1 earthquake and our house shook!
The house across the street went up in flames FAST! Our fire department deserves high praise.
We finally put together a “go bag”. I hope we will never need to use it.
My brother Art came to visit!
My term on the board of Sunshine Coast Quilters Guild came to an end and I am happy to return to being a member in good standing!
Moser dying – sucked big time
Reading middle school math, science, english, and world history books
Laughing with Ken is just the best.

What was your biggest achievement of the year?
I don’t set out to achieve – However, I do keep count.
I read a record 68 books and listened to 80. I started but did not finish 42 because they were either boring, too hard, printed with too small a font, or due back to the library before I could get to them.
I took close to 3,000,000 steps and averaged 6.89 km of hiking a day, most of them solo and most of them in the woods.
I kept my girlish figure, within a pound or two all year.
Gave away 11 quilts and more than a lot of tote bags.
Continued to raise money for our food bank and trail association.

What was your biggest failure?
I do not suffer in silence.
I’m able to feed us quite well, but cooking is still not my fortay!
We are no longer vegan, even though I know it would be better for us and the planet if we were.

Did you suffer illness or injury?
Overall, Ken and I are well. We both were a bit puny after getting our 200th covid booster and annual flu shots. I was finally able to get the shingles shot after the hell of having the shingles last year. We are fans of vaccines.
We both have stupid aches and some chronic pain that comes with the luxury of old age and past injuries, and while we used to do drugs, we now take pills!
Ken had a bout of bursitis that sucked.
All in all our numbers are good. At the time of this writing, we feel strong and well for a couple of seniors. We both had a good health year. Knock wood.

What was the best thing you bought?
Hands down Hearing Aids for Ken! Best money ever spent!
We have a full wood shed, a great fabric stash, loads of art supplies, a freezer full of blueberries and regular massages are already on the calendar for 2026.

Whose behaviour merited celebration?
First and foremost is Ken Parker. The man is good. I am lucky he is in my life. Then there is Art Hudson, Christine and Mint, Magali, Flo, Anna, the staff at our library, Trina, Shelly, Jess, Patrick, and my BFF Sandie Moss always merits celebration! I will also give a shout out to those south of our border who are able to take to the streets in protest. I’m glad you are able, I’m so very sorry you need to.

Whose behaviour appalled you?
The orange turd and the regime that continues to support him. Fuck them!
Stingy and cruel people really piss me off.
Pierre Poilievre and Danielle Smith can go pound sand.

Where did most of your money go?
Look in Ken’s shop, my sewing room, and our bellies!
Hearing aids are not cheap, nor is the dentist, food is stupid expensive, we did some home improvements and bought a “newish” car. Still we are fortunate and able to say most of our money goes towards making life easier for ourselves and others.

What did you get really excited about?
I really love spending hours alone in the woods.
Reading, snacks, watching North Shore Search and Rescue!
My brother Art came to visit
Riding in the car with Ken is just plain fun.
Biscochitos!

What song will always remind you of 2025?
I can’t point to one song – music isn’t a big part of my life.
Audio books tend to linger. I’m still thinking about Mark Carney’s book Value(s). And, Audra McDonald narrating the Odyssey had me spellbound.

Compared to this time last year, are you:
i. happier or sadder?  Happier
ii. thinner or fatter?  At this writing, I am one pound over self-imposed weight range.
iii. richer or poorer?  Richer in all ways that matter.

What do you wish you’d done more of?
I wish I had painted more!

Did you fall in love in 2025?
Ken has my devotion and heart. Our life together is good. We celebrated 42 years of marital bliss this year. They say a better woman would have got a better man.- I got better than I ever thought possible.

What was your favourite TV program?
North Shore Search and Rescue! Such excitement and a good reminder to stay on the trails and don’t fall!! I also watched a lot of goofy detective and police shows.

Have you let go of any resentment or have a regret you cling to?
I continue to resent selfish, stingy and narcissistic people. Sadly, I do hold a grudge.
I regret not buying a piece of art from Jan Magnusson when we had the chance.

What was the best book you read?
I read and listened to a lot this year –
Here are the ones I read and gave a 5 stars rating:
Table for Two by Amor Towles
The last song of Penelope by Claire North
Clara Reads Proust by Stephane Carlier
The Secret History of the Rape Kit by Pagan Kennedy
Small Things Like These by Claire Keegan
A Room of One’s Own by Virginia Woolf
The Reader on the 6.27 by jean Paul Didierlaurent
The Phoenix Crown by Kate Quinn and Janie Chang
The Red Chesterfield by Wayne Arthurson
Something Not Nothing by Sarah Leavitt
Etta and Otto and Russell and James by Emma Hooper
Theo of Golden by Allen Levi
Rufous and Calliope by Sarah Louise Butler

Now the 5 star audio books
Divine Might by Natalie hayes
The Red Garden by Alice Hoffman
Heros by Stephen Fry
The Odyssey by Homer
The Coast Road by Alan Murrin
Medusa by Nataly Gruender
Rules of Civility by Amor Towles
Warriors, Witches, Women by Kate Hodges
Fire Along The Sky by Sara Donati
The Satanic Verses by Salman Rushdie
Rage the Night by Donna Morrissey
A Handful of dust by Evelyn Waugh
Nefertiti by Michelle Moran
The Sun Walks Down by Fiona McFarlane
The Lost Prince by Selden Edwards
The Middlesteins by Jami Attenberg
Black Cake by Charmaine Wilkerson
Value (s) by Mark Carney

What was your greatest musical (re)discovery?
Tommy Martinez does a Sunday serenade on FB that is truly enjoyable. Music is not a big part of my day, however, I sing constantly. I like music from my past, like Jim Croce, Joe Cocker, Janis Joplin, most songs from the 60s, Broadway shows and I love a good crooner like Dean Martin. Of course the Art Hudson Band has my full support. I still swoon when I hear Ken sing and play guitar.

What did you want and get?
Forty one years of sobriety!
Forty two years of wedding bliss.
Flowers and new broom

What did you want and not get?
I still want new furniture for the living room.
Sanity and kindness in the world
Drunk – okay, no I don’t want to get drunk, I would however, love to have a drink, and I won’t… today.

What was your favourite film of this year?
I don’t know if I even watched any films this year. With our Elbows UP we ditched  Netflix and Prime and I know I didn’t go to our movie theatre even once. I did see a film at our local museum that was interesting about folks finding the whale skeleton they have on display.

What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?
I turned 70 on May 20. My brother Art came for a surprise visit and it was grand! I got loads of attention, we laughed a lot! I received cards, a free lunch in Gibsons and a strawberry cheesecake cake! I love a birthday!

What one thing made the year immeasurably more satisfying?
One thing – Canada dodged a bullet and elected Mark Carney. Had it not been for the orange turd yammering about the 51st state and imposing tarrifs just to fuck things up – a conservative majority government would have been a shoe in. Phew
One more thing – living with Ken Parker. And I’m not just saying that, he really does make everything better and easier.

How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2025?
I continue to literally wear the same ole. I wear hiking pants and boots and long sleeve turtle neck shirts. A hat is usually on my head when I go outside as is the cool high vis vest Shannon gave me.

What political issue stirred you the most?
I stir easily, so for the most part I keep my head down.
Yes, I know my privilege.

Who and what did you miss?
Who I miss –
I miss seeing Kas, Marian, Dorian, Sandie, and Art who live far away
I miss Peet the orange cat
I think I will always miss my mom, grandma, Kim, and Patti.

What did I miss?
I missed seeing the northern lights again. Seems all the cool things happen at night and we go to bed early.
I miss having contest time on Facebook and being able to mail out prizes.

Who was the best new person you met?
Our hearing specialist Terra Mackenzie-Dannes!
If you haven’t had your hearing tested recently – do it! And have it tested by a real audiologist, not someone at Costco! Ken wearing hearing aids has changed both our lives for the better! I can not stress this enough. Hearing correction is rarely about turning up the volume in life – it is about brain health. BRAIN HEALTH!

Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2025.
Marry well
Get a good hearing test
You can ask a librarian anything!
There is a big difference between being smart and being uneducated.
Wear bright or reflective clothes in the woods
A small gift is never inappropriate
It only takes 8 or 9 billionaires to ruin everything for everyone else.
Be kind and be generous
We never finish grieving the death of a loved one. We learn to live without them and it sucks.

What happens when you die?
I think the people who loved me will probably cry and miss me. Then hopefully they will come and clean out my stuff and tell “remember when” stories.

Here’s to a great 2026!
with love,
Jan