happy new year!

we have a tradition of a meal with friends on new year’s eve and we invariably do a bit of reflecting on the year just gone. this year i wrote a bunch of questions that we pulled out at random. we probably got through a third of them. i am going to leave the rest on the table and jen and i may chat through the rest of the week. i always like new year as a moment to pause and look back and look forwards. we often think of this as bittersweet – what has been sweet? what has been bitter? added together they are all quite examen like. and we often create something bittersweet to go with it – this post reminded me we have been doing this for over 20 years! i repeated candied campari grapefruit which are like posh tangfastics!!!

in case you are the reflective type they were…

What are you most grateful for?
What did you discover about yourself that you didn’t know before?
When did your heart feel full?
When did you feel most at home in the world?
What was a cultural highlight ?
When did you feel uncomfortable?
What family moment stands out for you?
What inspired your faith?
What loss are you bearing from the past year?
What newness arrived in your world?
What are you most proud of that you have done or achieved?
What are you most proud of that someone else has done or achieved?
Where did you struggle the most?
When did you experience God coming close?
When did you feel most alive?
What have you noticed about yourself?
What changed?
What made you angry?
When did you cry?
What surprised you?
What made you laugh?
What was beautiful?
What tasted amazing?
Which friendship deepened?
When did you relax the most?
Who did you appreciate?
What are you leaving behind?
What drained you?
What word or phrase summarises 2025?
When were you brave?
What was the best gift?
What did you celebrate?
What question remains unanswered?