Happy New Year's Eve!
It’s my tradition here on the blog to share a year-in-review post on December 31—a look back on the highlights and the things we learned, made, and experienced during the year.
I’ll be honest—2024 was a hard year. A challenging economy, a shifting business identity, a taxing election season, the loss of a close friend. But through it all, we remain committed to teaching, writing, creating beautiful music, and building community wherever we are.
Here's a look back on our year:
In January, we spent a long weekend in Miami visiting Steve’s aunt and uncle. We enjoyed delicious food, an art festival, and an inspirational play, and I had my first sailing lesson! Back home, we enjoyed cross-country skiing in the woods with Rory and we started working on a light home renovation project (it started with “What if we took down this beadboard?” and snowballed into removing a wall-size mirror, installing picture molding, rebuilding part of a door frame, custom paint color matching, new art, new rugs, and new sconces).
In February, we visited Niagara-On-the-Lake—Rory’s first time crossing the border! We took a few days for a work retreat and enjoyed walking into town for coffee and chimney cakes. We continued the guest room project and I made Red Velvet Cake Balls (quickly becoming a Valentine’s Day tradition).
In March, we finally finished the guest room project! We also enjoyed spring-like weather followed by more snow (and cross-country skiing!). I hosted two musical informances in my studio—a first—and they were so fun and well-received.
In April, we saw the GRAMMY Award winning vocal group, säje in concert at Eastman—one of our favorite concerts of the year. We also celebrated the much-anticipated total Solar Eclipse here in Rochester. Unfortunately, it was cloudy that day! We still enjoyed witnessing the 3’38” of darkness with neighbors at the top of the reservoir and enjoying themed snacks: sun chips, moon pies, and homemade Black-and-White cookies. Steve traveled to Nevada for the premiere of And the Cities Rise Like Dreams.
In May, we attended the final concert in a year-long series by pianist Alexander Kobrin performing all of Beethoven’s piano sonatas (we also attended the March and April concerts). What an incredible undertaking—it was thrilling to be part of the audience. We hosted a Cinco-de-Mayo-themed social hour for the neighborhood and I had four students participate in NYSSMA’s Solo Festival—all earning an ‘Outstanding’ rating!
In June, I hosted my year-end studio recital, we watched our tomatoes grow and grow, and our Forever Blue hydrangea by the porch (affectionately known as “Big Blue”) put on a show.
In July, we went canoeing with Rory and I made a red, white, and blue charcuterie platter for our neighborhood social hour. We also visited my brother and his family in Greenville, SC to celebrate my Dad’s 75th birthday. We made Italian taralli (lemon cookies), walked around the farmer’s market, and visited Mast General Store and our favorite Italian bakery (Dolce Italy). Also, the Olympics were amazing (did you see the piano on fire?! And the one in the rain??)
In August, I made an Atlantic Beach Pie and delivered cool slices to our neighbors on a hot summer Sunday afternoon. We took Rory to the beach and spent a few days at an Airbnb on Seneca Lake—sitting on the deck, learning how to play cribbage, hiking in Watkins Glen, visiting wineries, and making blueberry cobbler (an annual lake house tradition).
At the end of the month, we traveled to northern Italy for Steve’s brother’s retirement from the Air Force. We spent a week with his family in Sacile and the Prosecco Road area. Highlights included two prosecco tastings, visiting two castles and several churches, an olive oil tasting in the grove, and a cheese tasting and tour in Conegliano.
In September, I started back to school, made focaccia, rediscovered the European Imports Cheese Shop at the Public Market, and dabbled in flower arranging with our late-season dahlias and Limelight hydrangeas.
In October, we celebrated our 13th wedding anniversary with fresh pasta and sauce from our favorite local place (Wildflour) and a special bottle of Amarone. I started several new students (6 total for the Fall) and taught the first set of studio classes—a success! We saw Sara Gazarek in concert (another favorite!) and celebrated Halloween (dressed as the Lion King) with caramel apples from Stever’s.
In November, I finally finished my painting of Eastman on opening day in 1922 (which I started in May). I made a Chocolate-Buttermilk cake to celebrate both our birthdays, and we saw Wicked and the touring production of Mama Mia! Steve traveled to Arkansas for a recording session of Fantasia on a Theme of Robert Schumann.
In December, we enjoyed early-season snow for the first time in a few years and went cross-country and downhill skiing. Steve made a quick trip to Midwest in Chicago and I made biscotti (chocolate-peppermint and orange-almond), Zimtsterne (cinnamon stars), Mexican Hot Chocolate cookies (for our street-wide cookie swap), and my Grammy’s Butter Cookies. We saw the touring production of MJ the Musical (amazing!) and pulled off a successful 104th neighborhood Christmas Eve celebration (not without its challenges!).
I also finished reading my 27th book of the year! See my top seven books here.
As always, I’m grateful for what has been and hopeful for all that is to come. Cheers to 2025!
Previously:
2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023
