2024: Year in Review

This was a very busy year and the year passed with out any posts! Let me catch you up on what’s been going on.

In general, things at my full time job have been slow, I am hoping for a busier 2025!

I am still watching some dogs, but I have taken a step back from boarding dogs to have more time with Dave. I still watch a dog every Wednesday(this Aug has been 5 years for that dog).

Our walking/hiking has really slowed down, due to lower back, hip and leg pain. I am finally seeking medical help to get to the bottom of all of this. I miss exploring new trails and hope to get back to walking long distances again.

January

Dave and I have been together for just over 2 years and everything has been great! We started off the year with a walk at the Pawtuxet Oxbow Park at Pawtuxet on the water

February

Got up early for the sunrise at Rocky Point. We found these cool rocks and got this cool pic

Met with contractor about having my kitchen renovated.

March

The Pod was delivered, to store all of my things, while the kitchen is being renovated. I moved some of my kitchen into my small living room, so I could still eat during the reno. I also sold and/or gave away a lot, like my kitchen set, all of my appliances, and I donated my cabinets to Habitat for Humanities. We packed up all of the remaining items into the POD and let the fun begin!

I also had to replace fencing in my back yard, It’s always something.

April

We felt the shaking from a 4.7 earthquake and experienced an eclipse

Dave and I started the demo on the kitchen and the contractors started on April 11th. We took everything out and took the walls down to the studs.

I did the 1st craft show of the year, 9 more to go.

We took walk at the Parsons Reserve – DNRT in Dartmouth MA to see the peak of the daffodils. So beautiful.

May

The kitchen Cabinets arrived. Things are looking good so far!

I did another small outdoor show in my neighborhood and due to the wind, we decided to never do outdoor shows again. I will continue to do my back yard show, where I have more control over everything.

I have been limping for about 3 months, due to a lot of pain in my left foot, specifically with my toes. I went to a podiatrist and the x-ray’s showed a possible stress fracture. The other side of my body was compensating and during a walk, I had pain everywhere from my hips down to my feet. This carries on through the rest of the year.

June

The kitchen is coming along…countertops, backsplash, appliances OH MY!

I had my own art show in my back yard, 5th year in a row. I had to change the date, due to bad weather and this year, the show wasn’t that great. I need to do more and better advertising.

We took a vacation to the finger lake region in NY.

*Day 1 of our trip, we went to Watkins Glen State Park in Watkins Glen NY, where there are 19 water falls in this park. This was 2nd time there but the other 3 travelers with me saw it for the first time. It’s such an amazing place! https://parks.ny.gov/parks/watkinsglen

The gorge follows the path of Glen Creek at the base of the 400-foot-deep gorge and features 832 stone steps!!

*Day 2 of our trip, we went to Hector Falls, Shequaga Falls Park, The Corning Glass Museum, and Seneca Mills and Falls. https://nyfalls.com/waterfalls/hector-falls/ https://nyfalls.com/waterfalls/shequaga-falls/ https://home.cmog.org/ https://nyfalls.com/waterfalls/seneca-cascade-mills/

*Day 3 of our trip was a rainy day so we went to the Curtis Museum and The Women’s Rights Museum( I didn’t take any pics there but it was very cool) https://glennhcurtissmuseum.org/ https://www.nps.gov/wori/index.htm

*Day 4 of our trip, we went to Robert H. Treman State Park (Ithaca, NY) and Lucifer Falls, The cliff staircase on the South Rim Trail has 222 beautiful stone steps. The total elevation change one way (ascending and descending) of the gorge trail is 1035 feet. https://parks.ny.gov/parks/roberttreman/

We did some shopping in Ithica, and then we went to Buttermilk Falls. The 0.65 mile long Gorge Trail climbs 450 ft from the base of Buttermilk Falls to the Rim Trail above. Along the way there are 374 stone steps along the edge of the Buttermilk Falls Gorge https://parks.ny.gov/parks/buttermilkfalls/details.aspx

2 big parks in 1 day wiped us all out!

*Day 5, On the way home, we stopped at the Secret Caverns, with the 100 ft waterfall IN THE CAVERN!!! https://www.secretcaverns.com/

I really pushed myself but I was hurting big time each day.

*June 17th My 109 year old beach house kitchen remodel is done!!! Took it down to the studs. It’s been 2 months! I am so excited to organize the cabinets and decorate! I am also loving my hand painted cabinet knobs. They have the colors of the tile, the blue veining in the quartz counter top and white.

Thank you to Mike Fallon Home Improvements Inc and all of your team, who did another amazing job! You made my vision come to life! They did my bathroom a couple of years ago and I love that too!

July

One of my sisters came to visit for a week and we took advantage that entire time

We went to Long Island to visit family for 2 days.

We went to Cape Cod for 3 days. I went on my first Whale watch and it was amazing! https://whales.net/

We did some things in Providence, we also saw the https://thegreatelephantmigration.org/ when they were in Newport RI for their first stop on their tour of the US. Such an amazing installation and a must see if they will be in your area.

UGH, I had to buy a car. After 16 years, my 2008 Chevy Malibu reached the end of its life, at least for me. I didn’t want to spend the money, that it would take to fix something, that might not last long term. I got a 2018 Subaru Forester and so far, I love it. The extra room has been a huge help with my art shows.

August

I outgrew my 6″x7″ art room, and Dave helped me turn my 2nd bedroom(10×10) into my new and bigger art room. I am loving the new found space. I got right to work and started getting ready for my fall/winter shows. I had 7 shows between Nov and Dec to prepare for.

This room change allowed us to make the smaller room a walk-in closet because, after 2.5 years, Dave moved in with me. So now we have a really nice walk-in closet, that all of our things fit very nicely. My 109 year old house only has 2 small closets. Dave has also made my useless attic a great and needed additional storage space. I am so happy that he is here and we are enjoying having more time together.

I boarded 2 returning dogs for a week, which was fun.

September

After 7 years of living here, I finally went to RISD Museum https://risdmuseum.org/exhibitions-events/exhibitions a must see when in Providence.

We also went to New England Botanic Garden at Tower Hill in West Boyleston MA. https://nebg.org/

October

October was a busy month. I house/dog sat for a friend for 10 days. I had a short break and then I boarded a returning dog at my house for 3 weeks.

November

Winter Craft Show Season is here! I have 7 shows planned, 3 in Nov and 4 in Dec. Too busy to get sick but I got sick anyway. I got a sore throat, then the coughing and I lost my voice for a full week. I went to the Dr and I was tested for everything. They said it was a viral infection. They gave me day and night cough medicine. After 1 week, my throat was still sore, but I got some of my voice back, and still coughing. I went back to the Dr and he said it was now a upper respiratory tract infection. He gave me a z-pack. I had that dry cough for a month.

I made it through the 1st 3 craft shows and they all went well. I also managed to make new things between the shows and keep up with the inventory.

December

Dave and I have now been together for 3 years!!

As I mentioned earlier in the post, It’s been about a year now since I have been experiencing a lot of pain in my lower back, hips, legs and feet. I went to a ortho/sports medicine Dr. He said the x-ray of my lower back and hips don’t show a lot of arthritis, which I thought was getting worse, and after hearing my history, he thinks the pain is muscular and I will start physical therapy soon.

4 craft shows to go. I must keep going, and I did! The shows went great! It was a lot of hard work but it was worth it. This year was a pivotal year. We stepped it up and made all new and improved product displays, which make my booth look a lot more professional. And I made a lot of new things this year, that people seem to like. I had people come to my shows saying they came just to see me, which made me feel really touched. I absolutely could not have done any of this without Dave! He has been cutting a lot of my wood shapes, he created the new displays, he goes to every show, lugs everything in, helps set everything up, keeps track of all the sales, while I wrap the sold items and handle all the payments. We have a great system set up and have lots of ideas going forward.

Now that the shows are over, I need to do a full inventory of everything that did not sell and post it in my store. This will take a little bit of time but it will be worth it. You can check out my store at artbylynnealbright.etsy.com

Unfortunately, the year brought some sad news to our family. One of my sisters has been dealing with reoccurring melanoma, for the past 6 years. She was fortunate enough to get into a trial, that has been giving some very good results. She is about to start treatment soon and we are all rallying around her for a successful outcome.

We also lost a new found uncle. We were very fortunate to have found him, with DNA, and we had about 2 years to get to know him before he passed. Rest in Peace Uncle.

2024 was an up and down year. Here’s to 2025! May you all have a safe and happy holiday season with your families and friends and all of your dreams come true.

Thank you for reading.