2024

Spirit is defined as: our soul, the non-physical part which holds our emotions and character.  

Adventure is defined as: an unusual or exciting or daring experience. 

In true Faye fashion, I picked this quote because it was pretty. It wasn't until I started to write that I read what was on it. I always believe that things come to you when they are meant to. I guess I am meant to sharpen my spirit and embrace more adventure in 2024. Perhaps it speaks to you as well. 

I closed out 2023 on a high note. I was determined to "use up" all the bits of bread, bananas, zucchini and squash in my freezer. The bucket of half used bags of chocolate chips needed a hit as well as did the cake mixes. One quick text and my baking buddy is on board. Only I can get personal pleasure out of making 100 muffins, 2 bread puddings and brown sauce in a few hours. I felt it was the perfect way for me to say bye-bye to a year and to excess supplies. Creating space is always important to me and I certainly have space in my cupboard and freezer as the new year arrived. (Check out my recipe share at the end)

I am already inspired for the year. I spent New Year's Eve reading a heartwarming text. My cousin took on a personal challenge after reading "67 things". She made it her own and in honor of her upcoming 70th birthday, she made a list of 70 things she is going to do. What I loved the most was not only that she took on the challenge, but she didn't choose all tasks, like I would have. She chooses acts of kindness to others, to her spouse and most importantly to herself. What an adventure for her and an inspiration for the rest of us. 

My go-to phrase in 24 is, "no expectations". Expectations are threefold; we have expectations of others, others have expectations of us, and we have expectations of ourselves. Some of our biggest disappointments come when our expectations of others aren't fulfilled like we thought they should be. We feel hurt and let down when that person isn't even aware of what we expected of them. Meeting other people's expectations is dependent on where we are in our life. The only expectation that we can control is the one that we put on ourselves. We often have knee jerk reactions to what we expect of ourselves. I try practicing, "sleep on it" before making any decision. When we put expectations on ourselves, we need to remind ourselves we are human and like others, we may not be able to fulfill them. Expectations affect the emotional part of our soul, and are complicated, our reaction doesn't need to be. It takes work but it is way easier to not have expectations.

So, let's just think of 2024 and embrace the fact that we are all aging at the same rate. Aging is the only thing I can think of that we, everyone on earth, does at the exact same time. The average life span of a Canadian female is 84 years and 80 years for males. 

My Mom has exceeded the Canadian average and is going to be "90" this year. This would have been the year Mom and Dad celebrated their "70th" wedding Anniversary. They celebrated 52 years together and it was a wonderful milestone for all of us.  

I think 24 is a good number, I am going to refer to it as two dozen. I decided things should be done two dozen at a time. First up, I am the recipient of mom's purged wool. I decided that my winter project is to knit two dozen hats for the people in need. I was off to a rocky start with needles and pattern not aligning. What a mess, I realized I didn't know one single horse that needed a toque so I ripped it out. It was a massive hat and I'm not sure why I kept knitting! When a knitting disaster happens I set everything aside. I picked up the needles again yesterday. While I was knitting I was listening to Kelly and Mark and I heard the slogan, "stive for more in 24". They had a guest that said, "only make one change at a time". It was a diet focused conversation, but I believe it could be easily flipped to anything in our lives. Changing something up every 2 weeks may not be so bad. Another guest said to do more things that bring you joy. To do things that make you step out of your comfort zone. Do more travelling, not necessarily to a big place, just a day trip, or a simple drive to somewhere new.  

Back on track!

In closing let's just think, "Are you the best version of yourself?".  Our minds are our worst enemies. Our thoughts can make or break our day. So, let's simply choose happy! Let's make 2024 the year we take control of our lives. Take a good look at your spirit or your soul, plan some adventures and forge on. Make a couple dozen hats, muffins, cookies, or whatever you please. It is simply a couple dozen kind of year.  

Faye's Brown Sauce 

Melt 4 tbsp of margarine or butter in saucepan. Add 1/2 tsp salt. 

Add 4 tbsp of flour and cook until smooth. 

Add 1 cup brown sugar. Stir constantly until it caramelizes. (About 3 mins on medium heat).

Add 1 1/2 cups of boiling water. Return to heat and stir only until the sauce is smooth and thickened. 

Add Vanilla to taste. 

It will thicken as it cools. Great for bread or Christmas pudding.