Annual Review 2025

How’d I do?

For 2025, I set a handful of goals for 3 main categories of interest:
Books + Media | Arts + Crafts | Food + Health

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Books + Media

• Read 40 books for Classics Club
  25 books in — not even close to complete, but at least it’s some progress.
• Complete home library cataloging project
  No progress on this goal, though I only have about a quarter of it remaining (still).

In 2025, I read a total of 52 books.

• 36 print books
• 2 e-books
• 14 audiobooks

• 10 nonfiction
• 38 fiction
• 4 poetry or theater

I also reviewed 17 titles; I intend to review several more, but do not yet have these posts drafted/scheduled.

Besides books, I watched 12 TV shows, 2 online video series, and 8 films, plus I listened to 4 podcasts and spent many, many, many hours playing The Sims.

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Arts + Crafts

• Complete 4 cross-stitch projects
• Complete 8 watercolor paintings

Once again, I have not completed either of these goals.

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Food + Health

• Try 72 new recipes
  Wait… I actually accomplished this???
  I gave up on all but the most basic cooking a few months ago, so I assumed this goal was out the window — but I guess all that kitchen puttering from the first half of the year made up for it!
• Complete Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Virtual Challenge
  I finished this, too, back in March.

In 2025, I walked or hiked a total of about 352 miles.

I have been working on my cookbook cook-thru projects for the titles listed below. I plan continue these projects in 2026… if that cooking mojo ever returns.

• Baking Yesteryear by B. Dylan Hollis, 2023
• Dining In by Alison Roman, 2017
• The Food Lab: Better Home Cooking Through Science by J. Kenji López-Alt, 2015
• Methodist Morsels by the Cookbook Committee of the First United Methodist Church of Lamesa, Texas, 1983
• Pirate’s Pantry by the Junior League of Lake Charles, Louisiana, 1976
• Cook’s Illustrated All-Time Best French Recipes, […] Hot and Spicy Recipes, […] Side Dish Recipes special eds., 2018

I also tried 12 new-to-me wines for the Wine Folly Challenge (tho that page still needs to be updated as of this writing).

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At home, we adopted a new cat named Kevin. He had a little health scare this summer, but otherwise both he and his older brother have been doing well. I participated in a couple of annual local events, the Houston Bookstore Crawl and Houston Bird Week, and happily had the opportunity to see The Nutcracker by the Houston Ballet. I also joined a local genealogy society — and have been nominated for a board position for 2026, somehow.

I experienced some major upheaval at work. This could be good for my career in the long term, but right now it’s still highly stressful for me and has impacted my ability and drive to pursue personal projects (in combination with other personal stressors that no one needs to hear me complain about here).

People I care about have also been having a terrible time. The spouse lost his job and still hasn’t been able to land a new one. A parent is having multiple major health problems all at once, again. Another person has also dealt with difficult job and health issues. I went to the funeral of a younger family member who should not have had to die in the way he did, an event which itself caused some strife among loved ones.

This was a tough year. I think it started out well, but things took a sharp downward turn several months ago. 2026 isn’t looking much easier, from this vantage point. Nonetheless, I’m trying to focus on gratitude for the good parts of my life.

Well, I made it through 2025, more or less. My wish for the coming year is that it won’t bring too many more unwanted surprises… and I’m hoping to find some small things to look forward to, too.