The table is set,
pristine and inviting,
the menu unknown
as of this writing.
I wish you, dear reader,
a stew of your choice:
a toothsome concoction
for palate and voice,
words for your writing,
health for your soul,
a generous helping
of vision and goal.
May loved ones and muses
fill all the seats,
your fingers and spirit
be ever sticky from sweets.
Thanks yet again to photographer S.W. Berg,
and kudos to The Baker’s Wife Bistro,
Hampton, VA, for the ambience.
I wish you a good year next, dear reader, with my thanks for your presence here, and I dig down to the very last remnants of depleted optimism to express some small hope for peace in our future. I do find our little corners of blogdom are places for peace. Plus a few laughs. Some nostalgia. A touch of snark. Communal sighs. The occasional coffee-spit on the keyboard. Thus is peace had, and I’m most grateful for it. Thank you for helping me bungle through 2022!
Maureen
Oddments 
December 31, 2022 at 4:38 pm
Lol! Delightful post from start to finish! Wishing you every good thing for ’23, including a bound paper publishing of some of your powerful works!
December 31, 2022 at 4:49 pm
That’s a pretty heady thought: publishing! Thanks for the vote of confidence. And every good thing to you too!
December 31, 2022 at 5:16 pm
Love your year end poem Maureen! Perfect!
Wishing you the best of health, first and foremost, because everything after that is just a plus. May you continue to bask in the love of family and friends, find a reason to laugh out loud every day and enjoy sticky buns more often!
I know I joined this party late, but I have enjoyed every moment immensely. You are a delight to read and I am so glad we “met”. Looking forward to spending time with you in 2023 here on my iPad! Ummmm, can you move over a little? You’re sitting on my emoji key! 🥴
Ginger
December 31, 2022 at 6:03 pm
That was a guffaw from me you just heard! Given my spread from COVID isolation, I’d be covering a lot more than your emoji key! Very glad you “joined the party,” Ginger, even though we had sort of met already. Your comments have been much appreciated and enjoyed. You are so right that health is the foundation for all else, especially at this age. The very same to you!
December 31, 2022 at 6:16 pm
A happy New Year, and may your 2023 be healthy and full of the sweet things in life (with sticky fingers).
December 31, 2022 at 6:34 pm
The very same to you, Tamara, especially the part about HEALTHY! For you and for your family too. Let us be stubborn in hope!
December 31, 2022 at 6:39 pm
Wishing you a happy , healthy, fulfilling and productive 2023, Maureen.
December 31, 2022 at 7:32 pm
Thank you so much, Shirah — and the very same to you!
December 31, 2022 at 7:21 pm
Warmest Season’s Greetings!
December 31, 2022 at 7:33 pm
And to you too! Thank you!
December 31, 2022 at 7:31 pm
I loved the poem, but the last paragraph had me laughing out loud as you very ably described the blogging community. Gray and gloomy outside so I made a raspberry/blackberry pie and perked myself right up. 🙂 Now, I will find inside projects to keep me occupied because I am in for the weekend leaving the roads to those other folks who drive too fast and drink too much. Hope you have a good book and something to keep your fingers occupied. I just downloaded a new book, and I’m headed to the sewing machine to have my patience tried while I work on a paper piecing project. I’m sending wishes for the healthiest and happiest New Year to you, my friend.
December 31, 2022 at 7:42 pm
Thank you, Judy, and I send the same back to you! Health and then, as you’ve said, everything else flows from that. I did make a quick run to the store this morning, but I forgot something. Gee, how unusual. Will I venture out again? Doubtful. With you, I leave the roads to those other folks. I’m not sure how I will keep busy today, but I think eating Christmas cookies will figure in. Your pie sounds like the perfect sweet touch to close out this year. Fruit is health food, you know! So you’re on your way to a healthy new year! May it be a great one for you and your family! And may your patience hold out!
December 31, 2022 at 10:54 pm
Great post, loving your wishes for the new year but gotta love some coffee on the keyboard. Sending you an Irish blessing I came across.
In the new year may your right hand be always stretched out in friendship and never in need. Old Irish Blessings
December 31, 2022 at 11:09 pm
Thank you! An old Irish blessing is something this Irish old lady always loves (and can use)! All good wishes — Irish and otherwise — to you too, Kathy!
January 1, 2023 at 2:23 am
I love this poem, Maureen. Honest and slightly hopeful. I am glad to be part of this community and I’m very glad you’re part of it. Happy New Year.
January 1, 2023 at 9:13 am
Thank you, Dan! This blog world can certainly be an oasis. A great new year to you!
January 1, 2023 at 4:55 pm
🙂
January 2, 2023 at 3:11 pm
Happy New Year! Health and Peace.
I wish you many “words for your writing” and I hope your muse will not elude you in 2023.
January 2, 2023 at 3:12 pm
Thank you! And all the same to you too!
January 3, 2023 at 5:44 am
Spirit sticky from sweets? I’ll have to think about that one. Thanks for your excellent company during 2022 and wishing you and yours health and happiness in 2023.
January 3, 2023 at 8:56 am
Thank you, Susan, and all the same to you!