Early January always seems to be the perfect time to reflect on the year that just passed. As bloggers, we love to chronicle the days of our lives (not the soap) in countless ways, whether through our own daily, weekly or monthly posts or through various blogging challenges.
2023 begins the 5th year of Sunday Stills, and I am so thankful for everyone who has participated and shared their creative energy in photos, poetry, stories, music, and art!
“An optimist stays up until midnight to see the New Year in. A pessimist stays up to make sure the old year leaves.” —William E. Vaughan
I’ve selected a few of my favorite images for each month of 2022, which includes notable highlights. You can create your own narrative to describe how you lived a year full of good, bad, and ugly.
If you have already published a 2022 “retrospective” post, please feel free to link it to this post so we can see how the year went for all of us.
Disclaimer: there is a LOT to this post…skimming is allowed.
Kind of Jolly in January
In early January another bout of covid gripped our family in the form of the mild omicron version. We spent most of the month in our substitute positions with the local school district. We managed a day trip to the Grand Coulee Dam in Central Washington and enjoyed the daily deer parades here at home, as well as daily dog walks.
With 12 inches of snow accumulation on the ground, fog reared its ugly head for much of January. And here I thought I had left the winter fog of Central California behind. But it made for a pretty sunset!
February Furnishings
Cold weather means indoor projects! We finalized our media center/dry bar area in our family room and updated my office area. We bought two new items from our favorite rustic furniture store in Idaho: a new sofa and my totem pole!
March Magic
Not only is March the month where spring awakens in the northern hemisphere, but last March seemed magical in many ways. Our Nine Mile Falls Dam spewed forth water beginning March 2, and flowed for months! The warmer weather brought outdoor landscaping projects. We got free sod which Hans installed over 6 weeks.
In Mid-March we attended WICKED! in downtown Spokane. We still wore masks, but the event was quite magical!
April Adventures
We camped in early April near the Bavarian-inspired town of Leavenworth in central Washington. I had never been to this part of central Washington which is near Wenatchee. We pulled the trailer for an easy 4-hour drive, parked in a great KOA campground, and enjoyed cool, windy spring weather for several days.
A Traveling Plan Punctuated the Summer Months Between May and August
With the worst of the pandemic in the rearview mirror, many of us began to travel more. Being fairly new to our area of Northeastern Washington, we happily ventured out on day trips but also embarked on long road trips and air travel.
Marvelous May
Before we moved about we enjoyed May’s wonderful wildflowers and wild weather.
In late May, my brother and his partner visited us for the first time. We visited some local sights and drove over to Wallace, Idaho, and enjoyed the town and its historical essence.
June’s Joy and Grief
As we made plans for a five-week road trip from the Spokane area that would span 6 states including Oregon, California, Arizona, Nevada, and Idaho, we never would have suspected the heat, trauma, and sadness that was destined to overtake us this month.
- My dear friend’s mother passed away in Sacramento
- I visited my former in-laws in what would be my last time seeing my mother-in-law, who would pass in October.
- My stepson announced he was going through a divorce.
- Gideon, my daughter’s sweet dog (and older brother to Aero) succumbed to injuries from a coyote attack
Aside from the sadness, we enjoyed being with the Sacramento and San Diego area friends and families. I even got to have lunch in San Diego with fellow blogger Janis of Retirementally Challenged.
Hot Times in July
On July 5th we left southern California for more heat in Arizona. First stop, Prescott, we stayed with Marsha and her family. At a mile high in elevation, 60-80F “dry” temps were a refreshing change from California’s steamy 80s. Marsha and Vince drove with us when we left Prescott to head to Scottsdale for a blogger lunch with Donna and Janet, and Jodie and her husband, Rob.
We stayed at my brother’s home in Fountain Hills near Scottsdale. Boy, it was hot! How does 115F sound?
After a week in Arizona, we headed back to California and then on to Reno, Nevada to celebrate my dad’s 86th birthday. After a few days camping in our trailer with air conditioning, we headed to Boise, Idaho and stayed with my in-laws for two days then drove home to more heat.
Auspicious August
August was quite memorable. More heat, medical appointments including a colonoscopy, and my first job as a part-time reporter for a local monthly newspaper!
We also hosted a fellow blogger, Cheryl, and her husband for two days while they visited family in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho. Hubby and I celebrated our 9-year wedding anniversary, too, and discovered the beauty of the Centennial Trail.
Super September
As we eagerly waited for the SLOW start to Autumn, I embarked on another road trip, this time to meet Marsha in Portland, Oregon, and get together with more bloggers. We stayed in the Tigard/Beaverton area with my cousin. Marsha and I were up for a variety of adventures that included a shopping trip to the Woodburn Mall near Salem, a visit to the famous International Rose Garden, and a day trip to Tillamook on the Oregon Coast. We also visited our old neighborhoods (we had both lived in suburban Portland).
We enjoyed not one but TWO(!) blogger meet-ups. The first was in downtown Portland, with Miriam and Diana, then in Vancouver, WA with Kirstin. After seven days, Marsha and I got back on the road to drive to Spokane.
Overloaded October
Not only did we celebrate birthdays this month, but we lost two special someone’s, my little dog Aero and my former mother-in-law.
Noteworthy November
I traveled to Sacramento to attend my former MIL’s funeral. I was proud that the Webster side of the family and my daughters attended from Southern Cal and Arizona to honor her life. My stepdaughter and husband visited us for the first time since we moved here and we spent a fun-filled Thanksgiving week with them. We got more snow, just in time as we picked them up at the airport.
Autumn and Winter both happened this month. A few miles away are areas where the Western Larch grow. Most of the year they look like ordinary evergreens even with their feathery needles, but come fall, they turn golden yellow. I hadn’t seen groves of them until this past November.
Dashing December
Can December get busier? We attended a community Christmas Tree Lighting, shoveled several feet of snow (and managed to play in it), decorated the house, went shopping, etc. In between my birthday and Christmas festivities, I traveled to San Diego to help my daughter choose a wedding dress. I also selected a mother-of-the-bride dress but you will have to wait until after April 1 to see them both. I enjoyed grandma duty with my stepson’s girlies!
WOTY (Word of the Year)
Choosing a WOTY was a popular substitute for making New Year’s Resolutions. Mine was WALK, which described my (almost) daily walks, hikes and wanderings but also guided me in my spiritual walk with God. Although I did not post each month, I felt that I indeed became more intentional and grateful in my physical and spiritual daily walks in 2022.
Many thanks to co-hosts Donna, Sue, Debbie, and Jo for their inspiration and for hosting the monthly link-up!
Top Favorite Photos of 2022
Home Sweet Home
My beloved Aero on his last day October 5
How To Participate in Sunday Stills Photo Challenge
- Remember to title your blog post a little differently than mine.
- Please create a new post for the theme or link a recent one.
- Entries for this theme can be posted all week.
- Tag your post “Sunday Stills.”
- Don’t forget to create a pingback to this post so that other participants can read your post.
- I also recommend adding your post’s URL to the comments.
Themes for the rest of January are ready to view on my Sunday Stills Photo Challenge Page. This page is updated monthly.
This Week’s Featured Bloggers
Sunday Stills is a wonderful community of bloggers and photographers who desire to connect with one another. Below are this week’s links from bloggers who posted and shared their favorites of 2022. I add these all week as new links are posted. I took the liberty of sharing a few that also inspired me.
- YOUR BLOG’S NAME HERE…
- Always Write
- Always Write Get ready for Writer’s Quotes Challenge for 2023!
- And Anyways…
- Bushboys World
- Cats and Trails and Garden Tales
- Change is Hard
- Deb’s World
- Denyse Whelan Blogs (yay, she’s back!)
- DGKaye Writer
- Easing Along Image shared in comments
- Equipoise Life
- Graham’s Island
- Jodie’s Touch of Style Best Fashion Posts 2022
- Kamerapromenader
- LadyLee Manila
- Light Write Life
- Light Words
- Loving Life
- Now At Home
- Picture Retirement WOTY and Busy December!
- Quaint Revival
- SmartLiving365 (best websites/blogs of 2022)
- Tranature
- Travels with Ali
- Travel with Me
- Walking, Writing, Wit and Whimsy
- Women Living Well After 50
- Woolly Muses
- Working on Exploring
Wherever you derive your inspiration, please share your 2022 through photos, with or without narrative, using poetry, short stories, music, quotes, or whatever creative outlet you choose. Since this is a photo challenge, show us the images that defined your year.
I appreciate all those who share my posts on Twitter! Thank you so much for reading my blog and I wish you all a successful, fun, and calm 2023!
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