This morning I woke up thinking about 2025…you know last year. And I was wondering what the heck I did all year…was it a good year and did I get enough done to justify all the air that I breath.

I got kinda emotional about this past year, 2025. It was a year that was full of stress, happiness, frustration, joy, problems, and amazing accomplishments.  I think it was one of the strangest years in my life in so many ways. But, being who I am the question was…what the heck did I do all year?

Well, I started listing the big stuff that I could remember…

House:

• • Rehabbed the attached utility room, added a steel door with keypad lock, and reinforced the door frame to resist break-ins.
  • Installed a mini-split that replaces two older window AC’s and eliminated the need for a wood burning stove.
  • Installed a security system and cameras.

Outside:

• • Completely redid our entrance gate area…very sharp, clean, and rather impressive (according to my wife).
  • Installed an automatic gate opener to property entrance.
  • Redid the back yard, planted a bunch of grass, and increased the size of the yard by 50%.
  • Added the really nice “flower mound” with beautiful lavender, perennial dianthins, and some other really beautiful perennials…along with a drip irrigation system.
  • Saved a cherry tree and added 2 more.
  • Planted a fig tree my wife has been asking me for the prior 2 years.
  • Bought myself and planted a “fruit cocktail” tree; it has 3 different fruits grafted into the same tree. Kinda cool!
  • Added a bunch of rough compost to the orchard ground and tilled it in.
  • Seriously upgraded the orchard irrigation system.
  • Added I think 7 new pine trees, saved 2 others, and really upgraded the soil in the existing pine meadow and started a new pine meadow. Don’t get too impressed, the term “meadow” is misleading, both meadows combined are probably less that ¼ acre.
  • Added new river rock around the house to eliminate dirt areas, especially the walkways.
  • Saved old 6 lilac bushes from previous owner that will get transplanted to the back yard in February.

Infrastructure:

• • Solar –
    • Boosted our power generation from 4.3kw to 7.6kw…75% improvement
    • Increased our power storage capacity from 32kwh to 41kwh…28% improvement
    • Added a ton of other improvements to our solar system along with a fire suppression system

• • Well –
    • Fixed the ongoing lightening strike problem
    • Upgrade the well controller & float switch
    • Increased the time that the well can pump water on solar power
    • Added the ability to easily run the well pump off generator power

• • Shop/mini-barn –
    • Minor exterior repairs and then painted
    • Upgraded the entire solar system with new inverter, solar panels, & batteries.

Misc:

• • Rescued Murray from the local animal shelter. Murray is a 1yo mixed breed dog; think 55lb collie with very soft short hair. He was abused by his last owner and still struggles from the trauma but he is slowly coming out of it and is a great dog that is becoming an awesome addition to our family.
  • Bought a really nice 7-yo CanAm ATV with trailer for $1300 cash and a little bit of labor bartering.
  • Grew a great garden from seed to plants to table…and preserved a bunch of food. Including starting all my own tomato plants, pepper plants, and melon plants.
  • Fixed our old ATV doing repairs that I never thought I could do…saved a couple thousand dollars doing it myself.
  • Fixed our old 6×6 UTV doing repairs that I never thought I could do…saved several hundred dollars doing it myself.
  • Expanded and did minor repairs on 5 water retention ponds.

I’m sure there is more, but you get the idea. But most of all…I realized how much we moved forward. Keeping life moving forward is what it is all about. Some accomplishments are major and really noticeable…others almost go unnoticed and can be quickly forgotten. They are all important.

I guess what I am getting at is two things; 1) I am grateful we were able to accomplish so much that is noticeable and memorable, 2) we did move forward in our material lives. But I am not ignoring or forgetting the little things either…the mostly non-material accomplishments. And those my friend can be even more important, more significant, more life-changing than the material ones.

For us 2025 was a great year in many, many aspects. For that I am grateful. And yes, I am grateful for all of you. You guys rock! I love the articles replies, the feedback and comments, and the personal emails. They all mean a lot to me.

I look forward to 2026 and all the wondrous and amazing events that will take place in our life. Yes, I am sure that the national and international stage will have its ups and downs…and that’s okay. What matters most of all is who we are, who we become, and how we serve others. Let’s work our very best, our hardest, to make 2026 a fantastic year!

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