"For 2025 I can recognize that these men really want me (and my kids, and everyone like us) to be scared and worried and anxious all the time as a form of control and power." I love this! I have been having similar thoughts. After the election, my first thought was "I CAN'T do this again. Can't live with the constant stream of bad news and absurd speeches and ALL THAT." And then I told myself "you don't have to." I can choose instead to work to make life better for my community and my family and myself.
And that will still be hard, since I too am living with disabilities and will probably be having back surgery soon. But I will do what I can, and NOT let the other stuff control me.
What do I recommend?
My kids got me into kpop a few years ago, and it brings joy into my life, both listening to the music and watching associated content. My favorite group is TOMORROW X TOGETHER.
Favorite books I read in 2024:
Catalina by Karla Cornejo Villavicencio
The Fire, the Water and Maudie McGinn by Sally J. Pla
From Sarah to Sydney by June Cummins and Alexandra Dunietz
The Language of Seabirds by Will Taylor
And I also recommend re-reading old favorites, especially in times of need. I spent almost a month at home with severe back pain, lying down, and during that time (and beyond), I re-read ALL of the Anne of Green Gables books, plus the 3 Emily books by the same author, and the 2 Pat books (also the same author).
And I guess I should also recommend using Libby, or whatever your local library uses, for reading ebooks (or audio books) for free - which still supports authors, since the library uses your tax dollars to buy/license those books.
Wow, it's actually pretty shocking to me how many of these I've also embraced hardcore in 2024 (I'm a poet and didn't know it). Even down to the swinging hammock chair, which I'm realizing just now I haven't seen in a few weeks. I sat in one at my niece's birthday earlier this year and was like, "Ok, I'm not getting up till someone promises me one of these for my birthday."
Dropout: check.
Volunteering with cats: check.
Cat tarot deck (a different one though, I think): check.
Magnesium salt baths: mama finally got a bathtub in this house for the first time, and check.
Finding books you vibe with: I've decided I'm counting my did-not-finish books in my book count this year because they're part of the process of discovery and not something to be ashamed of.
Shortbread: we realized all the holiday cookies we made this year were some form of shortbread, and I'm ready to bake again this afternoon if I can get up the energy.
Smells: I've been fixated on collecting perfumes and discovering what smells I love over the last few years, and this year I developed my "signature" scent and gave bottles of it to my mom and sisters for Christmas. The sister who gave us clearance-rack devotional books was... a bit humbled as far as thoughtfulness, and I didn't feel bad about that.
Accepting the limits of my disability: I can't say I'm there, but I've been working hard on letting go of guilt over things I can't do, even/especially when they're things I really want to do. I've communicated more with my family about my limitations to the point that they're proactive about helping (long story short, we know the location of frozen Coke in every Disney park now, and that Hollywood Studios has the best one - and that my weird caffeine/cold drink/air conditioning requirements aren't just preferences). I'm trying to let go of the guilt of setting down my novel for over 6 months now and not working on it, too, because I've been in the negative on spoons for basically all of 2024.
Mindless crafts: So many. I have so, so many.
My related recommendations: Complicated tarot spreads. I've been really wanting to dig more into tarot for a long time, but just haven't felt like I was "getting it." I finally did a Celtic Cross spread as a New Year's Eve "what's coming in 2025" ritual, and having more - rather than fewer - cards to work together in context actually made it make sense to me. I love the mindfulness of time spent digging through books to get understanding of the meanings of the archetypes and then seeing how they layer onto each other in ways that each card on its own just doesn't.
The Coloring Book of Shadows Planner for a Magical 2025. It's exactly what I wanted - it meets me where I am in terms of lack of woo, and is more about mindfulness related to symbolic meanings. And expressly forbids you from feeling bad about leaving a page uncolored or partially colored - color what you find joy and meaning in, then leave when you don't.
Disney. We spent a lot of time at Disney World in 2024 (and are going back for Spring Break 2025). The reason why is convoluted and strange, but related to some good-but-incredibly-stressful changes going on from which I in particular desperately needed that occasional escape. Watching my husband turn from a cynic to a total Disney Adult has been fun, too, as was my sister's observation from our Disney Halloween pic that "hey, all of your family is in dresses - haven't seen that before..."
Stickers. I buy big packs of cheap cute/silly stickers from one of the sites that shall not be named and carry them in my pocket, purse, car, wherever. I work in a postpartum ward, so they're very popular with the new big brothers and sisters, and sometimes just hand them to random cashiers and whatnot if they seem like the type to appreciate it.
I have so many comments I can’t remember, but one I can is… your vitamin section pinged in my brain: I just found out the loop between B vitamins and SAM and other brain functions is different for autistics. I’ve started taking SAM-e and it’s helped my mood a lot. A research article I just read said you can start with B12 too, but they recommended a clinical dose of it.
love a personal roundup- always so fascinating and inspiring. looking forward to your book recs too! I too love strength training and am hoping to be more in tune as well with the moon using a lovely hard copy calendar i received for christmas.
For Christmas 2004, I got a horse paint-by-number kit (I was a Horse Girl in THE most autistic way: didn't particularly enjoy riding them but LOVED reading and learning about them and collecting model horses and drawing/painting them). I still have the finished painting hanging in my office. Then for this past Christmas 2024, I got another horse paint-by-number kit by request. I'm hoping to hang it next to the one from 2004. I love paint- and color-by-number stuff. I want to make pretty art but don't want to put all the thought into which colors to use, haha. I also got a wildflower coloring book for my last birthday, which requires a little more decision for what colors to use, BUT it lists the names of the flowers at the bottom of each page, so I can look the flowers up and see what colors they are!
I love this whole list. I've already forgotten all the individual parts I wanted to respond to, but I've been leaning into a lot of the same things this year, and I love reading about your experience.
I love this whole list, and that you have so many things to love from the wacky-ness of 2024!
Since you're enjoying the birds at the feeder, you may enjoy knowing - there is an app called Merlin that can help you identify what you're seeing. It can identify by a photo or their song, or you can share your location and get a list of common birds in your area. My husband loves using it as a little way to connect to nature at home and when we travel. 💜
We started fostering cats in earnest almost two years ago and have fostered dozens of cats since then. We have two orange kittens in the foster room right now. Just taking the time to go into the room and “socialize” them - hang out, pet them, play with them, let them fall asleep on me - has been good for me in giving me an excuse to relax and a physical barrier from my responsibilities outside of the foster room. It has been a highlight of my last two years.
"For 2025 I can recognize that these men really want me (and my kids, and everyone like us) to be scared and worried and anxious all the time as a form of control and power." I love this! I have been having similar thoughts. After the election, my first thought was "I CAN'T do this again. Can't live with the constant stream of bad news and absurd speeches and ALL THAT." And then I told myself "you don't have to." I can choose instead to work to make life better for my community and my family and myself.
And that will still be hard, since I too am living with disabilities and will probably be having back surgery soon. But I will do what I can, and NOT let the other stuff control me.
What do I recommend?
My kids got me into kpop a few years ago, and it brings joy into my life, both listening to the music and watching associated content. My favorite group is TOMORROW X TOGETHER.
Favorite books I read in 2024:
Catalina by Karla Cornejo Villavicencio
The Fire, the Water and Maudie McGinn by Sally J. Pla
From Sarah to Sydney by June Cummins and Alexandra Dunietz
The Language of Seabirds by Will Taylor
And I also recommend re-reading old favorites, especially in times of need. I spent almost a month at home with severe back pain, lying down, and during that time (and beyond), I re-read ALL of the Anne of Green Gables books, plus the 3 Emily books by the same author, and the 2 Pat books (also the same author).
And I guess I should also recommend using Libby, or whatever your local library uses, for reading ebooks (or audio books) for free - which still supports authors, since the library uses your tax dollars to buy/license those books.
Happy New Year, DL and everyone!
I love Libby so much! Thanks for all the book recs, they sound amazing.
Wow, it's actually pretty shocking to me how many of these I've also embraced hardcore in 2024 (I'm a poet and didn't know it). Even down to the swinging hammock chair, which I'm realizing just now I haven't seen in a few weeks. I sat in one at my niece's birthday earlier this year and was like, "Ok, I'm not getting up till someone promises me one of these for my birthday."
Dropout: check.
Volunteering with cats: check.
Cat tarot deck (a different one though, I think): check.
Magnesium salt baths: mama finally got a bathtub in this house for the first time, and check.
Finding books you vibe with: I've decided I'm counting my did-not-finish books in my book count this year because they're part of the process of discovery and not something to be ashamed of.
Shortbread: we realized all the holiday cookies we made this year were some form of shortbread, and I'm ready to bake again this afternoon if I can get up the energy.
Smells: I've been fixated on collecting perfumes and discovering what smells I love over the last few years, and this year I developed my "signature" scent and gave bottles of it to my mom and sisters for Christmas. The sister who gave us clearance-rack devotional books was... a bit humbled as far as thoughtfulness, and I didn't feel bad about that.
Accepting the limits of my disability: I can't say I'm there, but I've been working hard on letting go of guilt over things I can't do, even/especially when they're things I really want to do. I've communicated more with my family about my limitations to the point that they're proactive about helping (long story short, we know the location of frozen Coke in every Disney park now, and that Hollywood Studios has the best one - and that my weird caffeine/cold drink/air conditioning requirements aren't just preferences). I'm trying to let go of the guilt of setting down my novel for over 6 months now and not working on it, too, because I've been in the negative on spoons for basically all of 2024.
Mindless crafts: So many. I have so, so many.
My related recommendations: Complicated tarot spreads. I've been really wanting to dig more into tarot for a long time, but just haven't felt like I was "getting it." I finally did a Celtic Cross spread as a New Year's Eve "what's coming in 2025" ritual, and having more - rather than fewer - cards to work together in context actually made it make sense to me. I love the mindfulness of time spent digging through books to get understanding of the meanings of the archetypes and then seeing how they layer onto each other in ways that each card on its own just doesn't.
The Coloring Book of Shadows Planner for a Magical 2025. It's exactly what I wanted - it meets me where I am in terms of lack of woo, and is more about mindfulness related to symbolic meanings. And expressly forbids you from feeling bad about leaving a page uncolored or partially colored - color what you find joy and meaning in, then leave when you don't.
Disney. We spent a lot of time at Disney World in 2024 (and are going back for Spring Break 2025). The reason why is convoluted and strange, but related to some good-but-incredibly-stressful changes going on from which I in particular desperately needed that occasional escape. Watching my husband turn from a cynic to a total Disney Adult has been fun, too, as was my sister's observation from our Disney Halloween pic that "hey, all of your family is in dresses - haven't seen that before..."
Stickers. I buy big packs of cheap cute/silly stickers from one of the sites that shall not be named and carry them in my pocket, purse, car, wherever. I work in a postpartum ward, so they're very popular with the new big brothers and sisters, and sometimes just hand them to random cashiers and whatnot if they seem like the type to appreciate it.
I loved this comment so much! So fun to hear of of the synchronicity.
I have so many comments I can’t remember, but one I can is… your vitamin section pinged in my brain: I just found out the loop between B vitamins and SAM and other brain functions is different for autistics. I’ve started taking SAM-e and it’s helped my mood a lot. A research article I just read said you can start with B12 too, but they recommended a clinical dose of it.
Ooooh good to know
great list thank you for putting it together. might be a helpful practice for me to put the things into words!
I always weirdly enjoy doing it!
Turmeric! I love using it on roast potatoes. And also on an eggplant and apple curry I’m realizing now I haven’t made in way too long…
That curry sounds fascinating!
It's from a really wonderful book called "660 Curries," of which I've still only made a few. But there's time!
Here's a version of the recipe I found online:
https://www.sugarlaws.com/recipe.php?id=8419
love a personal roundup- always so fascinating and inspiring. looking forward to your book recs too! I too love strength training and am hoping to be more in tune as well with the moon using a lovely hard copy calendar i received for christmas.
I am here for the shitty craft making and volunteering with cats! Oh, paint by numbers and B vitamins to help with PMDD. Thanks for all the recs!
For Christmas 2004, I got a horse paint-by-number kit (I was a Horse Girl in THE most autistic way: didn't particularly enjoy riding them but LOVED reading and learning about them and collecting model horses and drawing/painting them). I still have the finished painting hanging in my office. Then for this past Christmas 2024, I got another horse paint-by-number kit by request. I'm hoping to hang it next to the one from 2004. I love paint- and color-by-number stuff. I want to make pretty art but don't want to put all the thought into which colors to use, haha. I also got a wildflower coloring book for my last birthday, which requires a little more decision for what colors to use, BUT it lists the names of the flowers at the bottom of each page, so I can look the flowers up and see what colors they are!
I loved every word and picture. Adding a little to do in my finch app now to make my own list of delights soon. Thank you.
I love this whole list. I've already forgotten all the individual parts I wanted to respond to, but I've been leaning into a lot of the same things this year, and I love reading about your experience.
I love this whole list, and that you have so many things to love from the wacky-ness of 2024!
Since you're enjoying the birds at the feeder, you may enjoy knowing - there is an app called Merlin that can help you identify what you're seeing. It can identify by a photo or their song, or you can share your location and get a list of common birds in your area. My husband loves using it as a little way to connect to nature at home and when we travel. 💜
We started fostering cats in earnest almost two years ago and have fostered dozens of cats since then. We have two orange kittens in the foster room right now. Just taking the time to go into the room and “socialize” them - hang out, pet them, play with them, let them fall asleep on me - has been good for me in giving me an excuse to relax and a physical barrier from my responsibilities outside of the foster room. It has been a highlight of my last two years.
Definitely. As someone with ethical OCD it is easy to see how I went from evangelicalism to activism to get that hit of shame constantly.