My 2025 Accomplishments

I’m seeing a lot of these lists and thought a quick review of my top five might be fun.

Accomplishment #1: Dealt with my anxiety and depression.

Me before therapy, thinking that strong Christian women had the Holy Spirit and didn’t need anti-depressants and therapy. Even when they quit showering and suffer from non-stop monkey brain and anxiety.

Me after starting counseling and an anti-depressant. Thanks to all my beautiful, strong friends who shared so openly about their mental health journeys. They also encouraged me to be honest and start my own path to wellness. It’s only been three months since I started treatment, but it seems to be helping.

Accomplishment #2: Read 57 Books.

Goodreads is only crediting me with 52. Stingy brats! But my list says 57 so we’re going with that. End. Of. Discussion. I have too many favorites to list. I really didn’t have any that I hated because I have learned to leave a book after the first few chapters if I’m not enjoying it – for whatever reason. Look for me on Goodreads and let’s share our lists and reviews.

Accomplishment #3: Cooked My Goose

My family’s Christmas dinner tradition is to serve something different for Christmas dinner each year. This year, my husband suggested goose. With visions of Tiny Tim, the fam agreed, even though none of us had ever eaten goose let alone cooked one. Goose for Christmas proved to be a series of challenges. First – find the damn goose. Our local friendly butcher and grocery stores don’t stock them. Finally, Facebook friends responded to my daughter’s plea and recommended Grants FarmStand where we found ours. (Plus delicious dessert tamales, but that’s another story.)

Next came the challenge of figuring out how to cook the frozen foul. I asked around. Hunter friends of friends responded, “Naw, I don’t like goose, don’t ever hunt it. Have no idea how to cook it.” I figured my UK friends would be goose experts, I mean Dickens and all. But they all said, “No. Uck. Why would you want to?”

I began to think goose must be awful and started regretting my life’s choices.

I turned to the internet. Julia Child prepared hers by stuffing it with liver-paste filled prunes. Nope. But I still loved watching her. Many other videos showed blood pouring out of the meat as the cook sliced it while proclaiming, “Rare is the only way to eat goose. If you overcook it, it will be awful. Don’t worry about salmonella unless you’re old, or have a compromised immune system.” Hard pass on rare goose.

I almost abandoned the project at that point. Then, I stumbled upon a chef on the Jamie Oliver YouTube channel who rubbed the goose with Chinese five-spice and stuffed it with fresh sage and orange. Plus, I was intrigued with her technique of placing the bird directly on the oven rack with the roasting pan on the rack below to catch the drippings.

How did Christmas Goose turn out? Very tasty and not too dry even though I roasted it to 164 F. The orange sauce I made helped with that. Will we ever serve another goose? Maybe? It was labor intensive, produced a lot of melted fat, and made a mess all around. However, I will use the sage/orange stuffing and five-spice rub for other dishes.

#4: Switched My Blog to Substack

This is a win for me because new folks join The Exchange every now and again. Which means more people are reading my work on Substack than when I was using my website to blog. I also love the community here – so many artists, poets, authors, and political commentators. I’m grateful to Writing Heights Writers Association for the class on how to join Substack.

#5: Received A Scary Nickname

My granddaughter, Thalia, and I both got a laugh out of the label on my cup at Starbucks today. I even spelled “J-o-r-i-e” for the barista! I will use “G-o-r-i-e” when I want to intimidate people.