Lesson 827: Lamp Post Year in Review 2023

 Happy New Year, Readers!

It's New Year's Eve 

and I'm immersed

in my days-long project 

of piecing the past twelve months together 

in photos.

It's sort of like quilting.

That fact occurred to me after a conversation with 

NBC Feel-Good-Feature-Reporter,  Harry Smith.

He came to Harbor Creek to cover our students in the

Advanced Technologies Group

and their successful attempt to 

connect with astronauts on the International Space Station

by radio.

I had a brief exchange with Mr. Smith 

in the school gym,

over a cup of coffee,

long-gone-cold,

poured from a cardboard Tim Horton's container.

When given the opportunity,

I always want to know about the How,

rather than the Who.

I didn't need to know about Harry Smith's 

education, career path, or his long list of accomplishments

that lead him to be a respected NBC reporter.

Instead I asked about the How--

How do you go about making sense of all of this, Mr. Smith?

How do you sort it out and produce a segment 

for the viewers to understand?

I seemed to catch the seasoned reporter off guard.

He complimented me on my question and said,

"It isn't often I get asked about the how."

Mr. Smith paused and thought a second,

lassoing his thoughts

and choosing the just right words to make something understandable.

Working on something like this is like piecing together a quilt.

You take all the little pieces and sew them all together to create something bigger.

It takes time.

I can't wait to to see the quilt Harry Smith creates of our event--

the NBC segment is to air in early 2024.

While we wait for that, 

I'll show you my own quilt that I've stitched together

from the people and the places,

and all things that mattered to me in 2023.

So tonight,

you will view the quilt of

photos chosen  from over 100,000 snapshots 

from the last 365 days.

These Year-in-Review blogs always have more photos

than words,

which is good for review

because photos always speak for themselves.

Grab something to sip on,

and find your best comfy spot,

and let's wrap up in the 2023 quilt of many colors.

I'm beginning tonight with something rare--

a peek into Eloise's personal photo collection,

one that looks very much like a quilt.

These photos have been taken with my phone

over the last nine years--since 2014.

I throw my favorites into a folder 

I named Timeline.

Almost all of the current set of 322

contain an image of me!

Eloise in hats.

Eloise in the hat I'm most often asked about.

Sorry, got it at KMart on a blue light special 20 years ago.

You are out of luck of finding another.

Eloise's eye.

Eloise almost a decade ago!

Eloise behind her weapons.

Eloise in the pandemic.

Eloise's favorites.

Eloise's favorite of all time.

Eloise with family and friends.

Now,

onward to the set taken by my new Canon SX70.

I put the SX60 to rest last spring.

Without further ado,

Eloise presents to you

your low-word,

high-interest,

full photo quilt of 2023,

divided into easy view sections,

peppered with my favorite quotes.

Starting off strong,

with the strongest and most impactful person of the year--

and it's not Taylor Swift.

Thank you, Mother-Nature for your brilliance.

Eloise loves Animals and I love capturing them

with my lens.

These two pups got a Pet Styling package at Pet Supplies Plus,

against their will.

Somebody rolled in poo....

Shadow the Pocket Pittie from Colorado

Laura's horses.

The scraggliest stray cat that you ever did see

showed up at the Lamp Post in July.

He set up camp in the old doll house

high above and out of sniff range from the poo rollers.

August James,

named after the song characters in 

Taylor Swift Folklore album

was deemed healthy but undernourished.

"Gus" became Ellen's baby.

Eloise has a constant hunger to see something new.

This summer we went to Watkins Glen.

The first stop on the itinerary--

the Farm Animal Sanctuary.

All my family loved it,

but my burger-loving big boy

said warily,

I feel oddly out of place here.

We live across the street from Six Mile Cellars,

a winery built into an old barn.

While in the Finger Lakes 

we simply had to find the Six Mile Creek vineyard,

also built into a barn.

Their signature wines were named after their two rescue dogs,

Abby and Avery.

Hazel and Penny are going to 

mosey across the street and see what they can do

to make a label.

I suggest the beverage to be named Poo Juice.

Most of our exploring is close to home,

from the shores of Lake Erie

to the edge of the Allegheny National Forest.

Our friend Truby,

an experienced woodsman,

took us deep into the forest to find this hidden treasure.

We even got a ride in a pontoon boat on Pymatuning Lake.

We traded in hiking shoes for sparkly boots in June.

I deemed it the greatest event I had ever attended

even before the press said so.

We witnessed history as it was happening.

Natalie wore her shirt for 8 straight days.

Education is paramount at the Lamp Post.

Let's start with Eloise's favorite books I read this year.

I must not have held mine enough.

None are avid readers like their momma.

I tried to shape Gus into a reader

because I held him on my lap a lot.

This is all I got.

I like stories mixed with learning.

I knew True Biz would be of high interest to Ellen

while taking her Deaf Studies class.

She learned sign language this year!

For those of you who like Stephanie Plum 

in the Janet Evanovich series,

you'll enjoy this one!

Stephen King's book was a Master Class 

in unusual, confounding suspense.

But, at almost 900 pages,

it was a bit too long for me

and I had to fight to finish it.

It was very good.

While painting my bedroom this summer

I listened to this:

This was BEFORE he passed,

and the audio version is read by Matt.

I learned so much from his honest,

and heartfelt confessions about addiction.

I also got the next two on audio.

For me, 

an audio book has to be listenable--

some Readers I just can't do.

The octopus in this book

and the devil in this one

are characters I STILL  think about,

months after reading both.

Highly recommend.

My #1 book of the year

I will recommend again and again 

is this one.

It is the perfect blend of story with learning.

There is a plot twist so blindsiding

I still am thinking about it.

Do not look it up or read a summary

or you will spoil it.

Thanks to Anything But a Book Club Book Club 

regular attendees, 
Wendy and Jess,

for giving me the same advice.

Ellen Louise earned her undergraduate degree

from Penn-West,

forever known in this house as

Edinboro University.

She earned Top Honors

Ellen, Gus, and the speech therapy puppets

 are back at the 'Boro

working toward her Speech Language Pathologist degree.

Natalie is tearing up Dobbins Dining Hall

at Penn State Behrend.

She, too,

has been recognized for her hard work 

and dedication to her job!

Sam is a Junior

and I no longer take him to school.

I must admit I miss my 7:20-7:27 soap box.

Grandma and Grandpa value education in their late 70's.

Mom is a whiz with her phone 

and can hook up a tv quicker than you can blink.

We just got Grandpa a Mod Wash membership for Christmas

to bring him into the modern era.

I took a ride on a Jack's giant beanstalk

and was accepted into the Penn State Extension's

Master Gardner Program.

I'll graduate at the end of March.

Look what I managed to do with my sunflowers

with just a little bit of learning!

My favorite days are when Natalie surprises me at school.

The Questies are my driving force to stay current.

Proud Aunt rant:

Jack joined the ranks!

He is now a Washington DC public school teacher!

Thank you for stepping up to meet the demand.

Your students and parents are lucky to have you.

We continue to learn and grow with Autism,

while fighting the pessimism of the growing numbers.

Most of our time outside of home and school

is spent following High School Sports.

They are fun for Sam and his teammates to play,

but they would never be fun without the fans.

Hats off to the Integrated Sports Bocce Team!

Spring and Summer bring HC and Legion baseball.

Fall is for football

The team gathered for a pre-season spaghetti dinner

in the barn.

That was A LOT of spaghetti.

Sam's saddest day was in early October

when the doctor delivered the news that he 

had mono.

He traded his pads for pajamas

and helmet for a pitching wedge.

Thankfully he slept through the worst of it,

and joined the guys on the sidelines after three weeks

on the couch, leveled by the worst sore throat

I've ever seen in my life.

He had a delayed start to basketball 

as his spleen was still enlarged.

He's playing now

and got a buzzer beater a few weeks ago.

2023 was not without Losses & Challenges

We said goodbye to a Marienville icon--

Dear Cheryl.

Our Firman Road friend Eileen Richter

just passed two days ago.

Babysitting her children

was my first job.

Grandma was faced with extreme challenges

with a macular hole.

She had to have surgery 

and keep her head faced down for a week.

Celebrations are always worth mentioning.

The first order of business was celebrating

Grandma's successful surgery and healing process.

Wine at Arundale was our first stop

on the ride home from the surgeon's office in Buffalo.

16 years we've celebrated Sam.

We even pulled off an old fashioned surprise party.

Sam passed his driver's test,

and after I got over my initial nervousness,

he started to run errands.

And I got lots of these sent from Walmart.

Mom and Dad celebrated...wait??
How many years together?
Me plus 4--however many that is.

Natalie is 25.

Ellen 23.

Louie and I in our 50's are starting to think about

and make long range plans for our retirement.

We each have over 30 years of teaching under our belts.

Knowing we would be spending more time at our cabin one day,

we enclosed the porch to make more living space.

This is the last photo on our old porch--

we debated this move for nearly a year.

This guy gave us the stamp of approval

and the husband-wife team of CJ and Jen Kelly

made our little cabin so much more to love!

It's a big job being a caretaker of the Lamp Post.

I've adopted the title of Kinkeeper for the family

and take great pride in my work.

We've become next of kin to these college kids from

Rochester, 

Saskathewan, Canada,

and Colorado.

What a lovely bunch to make it through grad school with!

What's in store for Eloise for 2024?
I'm not sure,

but willing to take a ride on that spaceship,

and report into earth of every Friday night.

If you need me,

you'll know where to find me.

Keeping track of these goofballs

and watching them grow.

I am happy to see 2024 arrive

and excited to continue to live out my life's purpose.

I hope that in some small way,

I make a difference in your life each week, Readers.

Thank you for coming along for the ride

every Friday night.

See you next week!

Eloise