Beginning Again

Well, one thing I didn't do too much of in the past year was blogging. It didn't happen on purpose, but what with a busy job and other committments I just never seemed to have the time. I hope to make it a higher priority this year, and with the changes coming up it just might be possible.

For this New Year Ian, Matt and I were once again camping out at Jordan River. It was Shadow's first camping adventure, and she handled it alright (see photo at right). There were quite a few things she didn't like - the cold, the rain, the wind, the rippling tarps, the firecrackers a few sites over - but she had enough fun with the rest of the trip that we're hopeful that come summer she'll be a happy camper (har har).

As midnight approached we found ourselves sitting around the campfire exchanging memorable moments from 2005. All of us seem to have achieved some major milestones this past year. Ian, most notably, purchased a house and is continuing to renovate it into a beautiful home. Both Matt and Ian reached a personal best when they completed the High Sierra Trail back in September. Matt retired his truck that has faithfully and (mostly) reliably gotten him from Point A to Point B for roughly ten years.

As for me, my life has gotten happier and more stable over the past year. I moved in with Matt, who continues to be a source of delight and strength for me. He built a fence and we brought Shadow home, officially creating the Caufield/Hornsby zoo. I have travelled more places and had more adventures than in years past. I have seen some of the oldest trees in the world; I have also survived a flash-flood. I have hiked in the Rockies and spent days in some of the most beautiful scenery imagineable. I have done a major road trip on my own and arrived unscathed. I can now add two new states to my 'visited' list: Oregon and California. I can also add Ucluelet to that 'visited' list, and thanks to my time spent on beaches up there, I will have information about the Commonwealth permanently entwined in my mind with the sounds, sights and smells of a rave. Scholastically I have also triumphed - I finished my final course needed for my history minor with an A-, which in my opinion is going out with a bang !

I have continued to knit, although I haven't completed anything overly adventurous. All the adventure took place in the kitchen! I learned to cook like a vegetarian this past year, and I'm beginning to feel comfortable with most of the recipes we commonly use now. I don't even miss regular meaty meals. This year also marked the first time I hosted a major family gathering. My three sibling and one of my grandmothers joined Matt and me for Christmas this year, which meant three days of cooking, cooking and more cooking. The event was a success - we were so stuffed from Christmas dinner that we couldn't fit in dessert and I sent people home with pumpkin pie, instead! As a break from vegetarian cooking I made a turkey for my family, and that was a first as well! It turned out well, looking, smelling AND tasting rather succulent, if I do say so myself.

I kept a successful vegetable garden this summer, which left us with lots of tomatoes, peppers and zucchini well into fall. This year we plan to expand the produce garden as well as landscaping some other areas of the yard. The fence means that finally there's no fear of deer getting the spoils of our labours!

All of my achievements and memories of the year past seem terribly domestic, but that's the sort of person I am. I'm very satisfied with the way this past year has gone, and I look forward to what the new year will bring. There are changes in store, as I leave my job and return to school. By the end of summer, or at the latest, by next Christmas, I will have my degree and will hopefully be embarking on something that I can call a career rather than just a job. Matt may also return to school this year, and both these events will change our comfortable routine. I'm up for the challenge, however, and I hope that at this time next year I will be reflecting on another happy and successful year gone by.

Filed under: life, rebecca