Happy New Year la familia y los amigos!
The end of the year gets busy, so we’re sharing our 2024 year in review at the beginning of 2025. I made a short video (5:11) of 2024’s photos which can be viewed on YouTube here:
This written re-cap is in reverse chronological order to match the video. In reviewing, it is cool to note that 2024 was a year of firsts!
2024 was the first year I had the opportunity to spend with the Rylander clan in Davidson, NC for Christmas. The Rylanders gather annually at the Campbells’ (Dan’s sister Shireen’s fam) which is where I first experienced a tornado warning (Dec. 29) on numerous devices – including the Campbell’s home Alexa system, my iPhone, and Dan’s Samsung. It’s nice that all the devices were keen on keeping us safe! This is also where I first heard a squirrel barking and later snacking from a bird feeder. During that trip, it was also (apparently) the first time I had been to a metal show – thanks to the GA Rylanders (Eric & Kristy) – with performances by tribute bands The Iron Maidens, Zoso (Led Zeppelin) and Zakk Sabbath (Black Sabbath) on Friday, Dec. 27.
My first time hosting a friends’ holiday brunch/dinner at our Hampton casa was on Dec. 22 with Elizabeth, Olivier, Mindy, Jennifer & Tyme. A fabulous potluck of comida deliciosa was shared!
In November, Dan and I were happy to play tour guide to sis Shireen and her Davidson College faculty colleague Fangzhi He when they were in Tucson for a conference. We had the pleasure of driving them up and down the wholly ecologically unique Mt. Lemmon and gaze at its beauty.
In mid-November, we hired contractors to remove our crumbling driveway and replaced it with a rain-permeable gravel driveway and had them install a paver sidewalk and patio that is rain-permeable and ADA accessible. I spent time in a wheelchair back in 2013 & understand the challenges steps are for a person using a wheelchair; we want a smooth ride up to our front door. 🙂
2024 was also the first year that I spent my birthday (Nov. 8) in a tiki bus in Bisbee, AZ, and the first year my younger sis Brittany’s kids played me a Happy Birthday song on trumpet (nephew Philly Joe) and clarinet (niece Anita Bonita). That was the sweetest gift!
There aren’t photos of what happened Sept-Oct because I was healing from my first (hopefully last) “traumatic fall” from a ladder as I was coming off my roof when I was trying to get photos of the sunset on Sept. 25. The definition of “traumatic fall,” by medical standards, is anything over six feet. This was the first time I incurred displaced, fracture ribs! It took a good 10 weeks for those to heal, and it was a painful process. I’m so fortunate that I was not worse off from that spill!
Albeit I endured and managed to still pull off my first in-person academic conference Oct. 4 & 5 with the amazing help of my colleagues at the Department of Psychiatry. I could not have done it without them, and especially with the help of Kai & Genesis!
Skip to July: Dan and I visited Earthward for some MN green. It was so beautiful – you can watch the short video (3:55) I made below. It was the first time I’ve sped through dirt roads in a side by side ATV between corn and other agricultural fields – seeing deer, raccoons, bunnies, and other creatures – and later fished off a lake dock at sunset, thanks to Grey Eagle locals Keli & Tim!
When we got back, mi madre had a very generous gift waiting for us – a 2024 Hyundai Kona! This is my first new car, and I care for her like a baby. We were excited to check out the Kona’s handling on off-paved roads, so we headed to Mt. Lemmon for a climate respite in late July. We also went to Mt. Lemmon in August to camp with our buddies Susan and Badger over a long weekend. Also in Aug.: monsoons + Seneca Park stormwater harvesting = spadefoot tadpoles in the ephemeral ponds.
July 4 saw us at our friends’ Jill & Brad’s for a front row experience of fireworks and a fire show at their “A Mountain” home. Jill is a poi-fire-spinner extraordinaire who – for those who attended the Manslander Union at the Rialto Theatre on April 10, 2010 – also performed at our reception in the (then parking lot) adjacent to the Rialto!
In April: Dan and I enjoy the Reid Park Zoo for our 14th wedding anniversary on April 10 and it was great to watch the creatures in a well-maintained habitat. This was also the first time I saw a tapir, and hand-fed a giraffe. (Yes, mixed feelings about these creatures in zoos, that’s a different convo.)
April 8: We experienced our first full solar eclipse together (my first, Dan’s second) in S. Burlington, VT. Mi padre had started planning for this event in 2022. We were fortunate it be able to stay with my younger sis Brittany and her fam at their VT abode for this amazing solar/lunar spectacle.
In March: Dan & I attended our first Tucson Sculpture Festival on 3/17, and we fell back in love with the Tucson art scene. (Never fell out of love, maybe more like reignited our love.)
Of course, our video is peppered with photos of Louise and Big Boy – our kitties with big personalities. Not sure where they get those from…lol!
February saw a lovely harvest of Dan’s herbs, greens and roots – inclusive of dill, kale, garlic & beets.
The video ends with photos taken in February 2024 at Tucson’s Signal Hill, the first time I’ve been to this place with an amazing spread of petroglyphs created by the Hohokam. According to the National Park Service, “the site consists of over 200 prehistoric Native American petroglyphs many of which can be viewed from the visitor trail that ascends the hill. These petroglyphs were created from between about 550 to 1550 years ago.”
To wrap it all up: we are fortunate to love and to be loved by family and friends who provide us with the beauty of life’s experiences. Reciprocating our passions, our souls, and connecting each other to and celebrating nature, art, geology, travel, various screens, the cosmos, music, heart & history.
Thank you for sharing this journey with us – near and far!
We love you,
Jamie & Dan
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