The countdown to a new year happens tonight. Tomorrow, our New Year’s Day breakfast table is likely to resemble this, our Christmas morning one, where soon after this picture was taken, we feasted on pancakes with local maple syrup, sausages and mockmosas.

This December was another of mass-producing sweets and sharing them with people. The “try” recipe was an utter mess to make, but the taste! The texture! Salted Caramels were a delight to eat, but too sticky to send so few people tasted them. I streamlined a few processes and maybe next year – if there is still chocolate and I can afford it – I’ll be faster and more precise. That is, if there is another Christmas. I heard someone on social media cancelled it, but who knows what reality is anymore when widows take to stages with pyrotechnics to grieve?

Our puppy went to have a picture taken with Santa, but all she wanted was her trainer.

Besides this past year, I’m shedding a lot of once cherished dreams to embark on something a lot of people may hate me for doing, but I feel compelled. I’m working through the anxiety and fear, but change is daunting. And even though I’m pulling away from writing, I will be spending my last hours working on a story. My saint of a beta reader read a rough version and deemed it clever. I’m hoping to send it off as the last submission of the year, but I must hurry, so I’m wishing you all the best and hoping 2026 is gentle with us all.

Thank you for stopping by and for the read! Cheers!