Looking Back At 2025

 31 December, 2nd Avenue, Peaceful Bay, 2025

It is New Year Eve, almost 7pm. I'm sitting on the outside couch, my favourite couch in the whole world, with the gas fire going and a glass of wine. Suzy and Mark are also just chilling. We've had a rather lovely 4 days since Xmas of doing very little  - a bit of mosaic, reading, working on the house, walking, swimming, and an inordinate amount of sleeping.

I especially love this period between Xmas and New Year as there are almost no emails coming in, and any that do come in, I feel completely free to ignore. It is like that period after learning our grant was successful - I feel absolutely no guilt about not working. 

Looking back, 2025 has been a Big Year. In fact, beyond remembering that I went overseas a lot early in the year, I actually couldnt recall where I went until I reviewed my calendar and photos! Below is a brief overview of each month, with photos, so apologies in advance that this is quite a long blog...

January. We had our usual Peaceful Bay time- I made a mosaic whale, Mark played a gig in Denmark, and each of the kids visited at some point. We were surprised about half way through our holiday to find out our Centre of Excellence application had been shortlisted. We had one very savage review, which is usually enough to kick a proposal out, so I had assumed our application would not progress. I remember waking up in Peaceful Bay and having to read about ten times the email saying we had been shortlisted... Once we knew, it was full on getting partners and working on the proposal - after our holiday of course! 

Suzy's crocheting-phase at Peaceful Bay

Dad and Andrew

Mosaic whale, on an old window

Talia

Suzy and Matilda painting new tables

Melissa, heading out

Mum and Julie

February. A trip to Sydney for SOBA,  plus a gruelling few days being on the Laureate Selection panel, where I oberved the idiosncracies of panel decision-making, reminding me once again never to count one's chickens with any grant proposal. A fun Bookclub Girls trip to Dunsborough!

Cousins for dinner. We had Jess staying a lot in 2025 as she was completing her childcare Cert 3.

Suzy and Jess

Picnic on the Dunsborough foreshore (Bookclub Girls trip)_

Lots of lovely walks along the beach

Oh no - fire in the town just as we were leaving

Shining rook pools - inspiration for glass art

March. In March, I was a keynote speaker at the JD-R Festival in Utrecht, the Netherlands. It was a fun conference - really positive vibe and Utrecht (which people call Little Amsterdam) was a lovely city to hang out in. I recall an excellent evening with Tom Junker and colleagues having beers near the canal. March is also Suzy's birthday -she turned 19, but was in Melbourne so we didnt get a chance to celebrate with her. Mark also had a house concert with about six musicians!

My first day in Utrecht- I had a beer on the canal and watched the world go by

Another highlight of the Utrectht conference was dinner with Arnold Bakker and Eva Demerouti who collect art. Their house is like a gallery!

Amazing art in Arnold and Eva's house

The conference venue  - a building disguised with grass on the roof to prevent bombing

 

Karina and John, house concert

John, Paula, Marylene, house concert

House concert, actually playing in my glass studio!

April. In April for some reason I can no longer remember (think we were promoting our new edited book) I went to Denver, USA, to SIOP. It was freezing cold and quite a depressing city - except for the anti-Trump rally (which unfortuntiately coincided with when I was catching the uber to the airport - would have missed flight except it was cancelled. Was re-routed via London which was a much better flight home!). 

My main memory of the conference was the COE application was due in the middle of the night in the USA so I spent a fair bit of the conference holed up in my hotel! I do recall an enjoyable trip to the very deserted but impressive Denver Art Gallery. 

We also had Easter at Peaceful Bay, and on April 11th Talia and Melissa turned 22. Who can believe that! Ooh, and I got a new kiln :-)

Talia and Melissa have 21st birthday in our back yard

Out to dinner with Talia and Melissa on their birthday

New (second hand) large kiln - had to get sue, jonathan and evelyn to help move it onto verandah!

Peaceful Bay at Easter and suzy home!


Easter mosaic project at Peaceful Bay

Suzy's ball dress - $10 at an op shop!

Denver art gallery precint. The best of a rather forlorn city.

Denver Convention Centre where the convention was held

Kayelene - bad accident with a piece of fencing wire flicked up into her nost

May. We had a very successful  Design for Care Showcase in Sydney where we highlighted the findings of our work redesign project in aged care. The Minister, unions, participating companies, workers, and icare were all very positive about our work, which ultimately was discussed in the NSW parliament.

Design for Care team having drinks

More of the Design for Care team


Beautiful daughters on Mother-daughter walk

And then I had a "big trip"... First I went to the UK to give a keynote talk at the Institute of Work Psychology in Sheffield to honour Professor Toby Wall (my PhD supervisor who died earlier in the year). I stayed with Carol B and was so happy to catch up with her and with Lynne and John. We went shoe shopping, had a lovely trip to Yorkshire Sculpture Park, and even had a poetry reading with Matt Black as he coincidentally was performing in Sheffield when I was there!  

Lynne, John, Carol and I at a pub somewhere in South Yorkshire

Matt Black - really great to see him and remember my prior life doing occassional performance poetry!

A small sample of Lynne's amazing textile art

At Yorkshire Sculpture Park


The Peak District, so lovely!

Second, I went to Prague for EAWOP-  which was a fun conference in a great city. It was on this trip that I started monitoring my blood glucose and learned that beers at 5pm before food are not a good idea! 

A trip into the city centre with Gudela Grote and Maria Tims

Having fun at the conference dinner - with Jessie Koen and Roy, gambling with tokens

Final day - a few hours just to wander around Prague

Third, and at this point I realised it was too much, I had an exhausting week in Singapore - over 25 back to back meetings with various people. But on the upside I also was treated to several Michelin Star restaurants and various visits to the Botanic Gardens and more. 

June. Cant recall much about June except I went to Sydney to be a keynote speaker at the Agile conference. And of course I had my birthday, although not a significant one and can not now remember any particular celebration or commiseration.  I also had put Glass in WA exhibition, which was held in June. I sold two pieces (flowers and a coral vase) and came third in the people's choice. 

A glass bowl inspired by the flowers in Singapore

Glass vase to match the bowl

Flowers I put in the exhibition - and sold (to a woman who turned out to be very annoying - but thats another story!)

The granddaughter of Mary from pilates who came to the exhibition. In front of one of my pieces.

Me at the glass exhibition

Mid July to mid Sept- Long service leave, yay!See Parker-Griffins Venture Up North blog! 

October/ November. Other than a work trip to Melbourne where I had a lovely catch up with Suzy (it was very hot - we went to a gallery, had beers, and then went out to dinner) mostly these months were 'waiting' for the COE decision and struggling with a lack of work motivation, which were probably quite intertwined. Also I started this blog, so have covered everything already :-)

Suzy and I in Melbourne

Pilbara flowers made for Chrissie

Warren's 60th

Still stunning wildflowers even in late November, Dunsborough

December. Finally... good news on the Centre of Excellence success, Xmas and, as readers already know, lots of parties! No photos as I have already posted them in earlier blogs :-), except for Mark's strange invention below.

And that, as they say, is a wrap for 2025!

This is our gas fire (campfires no longer permitted). New invention is the fan attached to the roof to blow the hot air from the fire towards us. Miraculously, it seems to work :-)