The Family Curio

Happy New Year! Reflections on the End of 2025 (Morgana)

January 11th, 2026

I’ve been making good on my promise to not give myself too much pressure to update this blog regularly! Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Years have all come and gone. I thought I’d do some writing over the two weeks I had off, but it turns out that it is harder to do that with two small kids underfoot than I had anticipated.

Those kids are currently watching Bluey peacefully in the other room, but they were definitely at odds with each other a lot over the break. Sev is very sensitive to changes in her routine, and after the excitement and fun of Christmas was over, she had some grumpy days. Oz is acting more and more toddler-ish with each passing day, so obviously he was getting on his sister’s nerves. That said, they’ve also had some quite endearing moments together over the last couple of months. Being a sibling is a strange and special thing, certainly.

My sister hosted Thanksgiving, though we stayed with my mother for the long weekend, as usual. In addition to the usual feasting, the holiday weekend involved a turkey trot, checking out the Peabody Museum in New Haven, making gingerbread houses from a kit, going to watch a train (Oz’s latest obsession), and celebrating my mom’s actual birthday.

The runners pose before the Turkey Trot~

Completing the kids’ Fun Run in her bat sweatshirt from Halloween, obviously.

I had no idea this picture was being taken, and I’m obsessed with it.

Happy 60th, Mommy!

After writing last time, I created a Gallery page on the blog, which you can find here. I’m going to continue including images with each entry, but the pictures will also all be in the Gallery for easy perusal. The limits of WordPress (and my own time/ability) mean that they may not all be in chronological order, but in the absence of Instagram, this will have to do!

Christmas prep involved picking out and decorating our tree, attending a traditional Jewish Chinese food feast on Christmas Eve, and hosting Christmas Day dinner as we have been the last few years. We also went to EcoTarium for the first time on Christmas Eve, and we’re definitely planning on going back in the future. Despite living in Eastern Mass for a decade, James and I hadn’t really explored Worcester very much, but I think we’re going to see what other fun can be had there. (More on this later.)

The kids helped build a gingerbread haunted house (but realistically, it was Rosie, James, and me who had the most fun with it). Sev’s most-used gift is probably the K-Pop Demon Hunters soundtrack on Yoto card, which she had listened to virtually nonstop for three days after receiving it in her stocking. Oz was delighted with all of his gifts, which is one of the nice things about toddlers: they’re pretty easy to please with shiny new things.

Oz had a couple days of daycare between Christmas and New Years, so we had a little time to focus on Sev. She was a much more content kid without her little brother following her around everywhere! We ended up going to the New England Quilt Museum for the first time, which, while small, was really inspiring. I’m not particularly interested in quilting, but seeing especially the antique quilts gave me a lot of respect for the sensibility behind fabric selection, color choice, etc. I came out of there wanting to make things, which I call a win!

Speaking of making things, one of the tasks we’ve taken on is repainting Sev’s old dollhouse (a lovely hand-me-down from our friend Laurel, from her own childhood) to be more Gabby’s Dollhouse-themed. I had been planning on repainting it for a while, but when Sev asked for the actual Gabby’s Dollhouse mere days before Christmas, I figured this would prove much more fun (and cost-effective) than buying the toy. We’re not quite done with it yet, but it’s very vibrant, and it’s been fun to work on!

On New Year’s Eve, we went back to Worcester to check out the Worcester Art Museum, which has an extremely impressive collection of arms and armor. James was especially fond of this exhibit, but I was also impressed with the WAM’s dedication to getting guests involved in the learning experience. There were a couple of areas where you could touch and/or try on replicas of some of the exhibits. Additionally, there were themed areas for kids to play, read, and color, and Sev even completed a scavenger hunt that took us all around the museum. I particularly liked the European art area (I blame my college studies), and Sev got to see just how excited I get when I see saint iconography. It was a lot of fun to look at art with her, since she’s really budding into quite the artist herself.

My hobbies have progressed in a way I wasn’t really expecting. Tired of making a bunch of gifts for other people, I decided to make myself something and tried out tapestry crochet for the first time. The result is this awesome cowl covered in skulls! They lean a bit, but I was anticipating that, and I’m happy with the result. I still have more of both yarns, so I’ve been plotting on making some colorwork mitts of some kind. We’ll see, I’m still fiddling with a prototype (who needs patterns, lol).

I also took a sewing class at the beginning of December! It was more of a “learn how to use your machine” class, and while I have a basic understanding of my sewing machine, I kind of just wanted someone to be able to tell me what kind of potential it had and what else could be done with it. I figured out how the button hole function works, learned that I can sew up to five layers of denim (that was nerve-wracking), and that I really don’t need to be intimidated by knits even though I don’t have a serger.

Since the class, I’ve actually been way more inspired to use my sewing machine, which is awesome. I have made so many cloth napkins…but I’ve also finished making a bag! I’ve historically found sewing to be really intimidating (especially since it’s something that it seems like my entire family can do except me…), but I’m starting to embrace the idea of doing things badly at first in order to learn. That may sound obvious, but I’ve often had a lot of trouble feeling like I should keep up with something if I’m not immediately good at it. (This feeling is also the reason I have such conflicted feelings about knitting…I’m doing okay with it now, but it’s definitely more challenging for me.)

I’ve also been really wanting to make a blanket, so I’ve started a corner-to-corner crochet blanket–another new-to-me technique that I’m really enjoying. I’m using a super bulky yarn, so it’s very heavy…but I kind of like that, honestly. It’s going to be very warm and cozy! I had a couple of cakes of this yarn laying around for a while, so I’m glad to be able to use it (even though I have already had to buy quite a bit more to finish it).

Switching gears to James’s hobbies, he actually fixed my phone screen the other night. It had been on the fritz for months, mostly manifesting as a pink line that ran down the right-hand side of the screen. Occasionally, the entire screen would go green and staticy, and since that was becoming more frequent, I decided to finally relinquish the device to his care. It’s like having a brand-new phone, honestly. The selfie camera is unfortunately not working now, but he has plans to fix that as well. At least, I hope so. I’m too vain to live without a selfie camera for long!

James also fixed the motor in an old Christmas train from my childhood. My mom was cleaning out my grandmother’s attic and passed it on to us since Oz has become so invested in locomotives lately. We were honestly amazed it worked at all (lights, music, etc.), but it wasn’t pulling. A few replacement parts and some soldering later, and it functions quite well! Getting it to go on the tracks around the bottom of the tree is a bit of a challenge since the tree skirt is uneven, but it’s festive and fun. Oz has tried to sleep with the engine and the coal car a couple of times.

We just survived the first week back to work/school. We’ve all been a bit up and down, mood/sleepiness-wise, but that’s to be expected. I took Sev to a “Try the Girl Scouts” even yesterday, and today I’ve gone and signed her up…so that’s something fun that we’re starting in 2026! Let me know if you need a Girl Scout cookie hook-up/ ;3

Neither James nor I do “resolutions” as such–which is to say, I don’t decide “I’m going to write three short stories and a novel” or whatever at the beginning of a given year. What I do, personally, is find some areas that I’d like to try exploring or increasing my involvement with. For this year, along with the usual crafting that I’ve been doing, I’d like to expand my sewing skills, move back toward drawing and writing, and try to find ways to be more involved in the local community. These goals are vague, but they’re a good way for me to think about next steps.

The past year was weird and hard, and I anticipate there will be aspects of 2026 that are much the same. The state of the world is stressful, and balancing work, family, and personal interests is complicated. But when I look around me, I realize all of the ways in which James and I have managed to make a comfortable little life for ourselves. If nothing else, I am looking forward to experiencing 2026 and all it has to offer with this eccentric, fun little family by my side.

I wish everyone reading this a Happy New Year! May it come with many blessings, few hardships, and lots of love. Until next time!
Birthdays, Feasting, and a Minor Rant About Consumerism (Morgana)

November 23rd, 2025

As I anticipated, I have already not been keeping up with this blog on a weekly basis. I’m okay with that; I don’t want this blog to feel burdensome. And of course, the fact of the matter is that not a whole lot happens on a day-to-day basis that’s necessarily blog-worthy. The trick is to find the joy in the mundane, I suppose!

That said, there is at least one big exciting thing that has happened since I last wrote. My sister and I threw my mother a surprise 60th birthday tea party, and it was a great success! We knew that my mom wanted to have a party, but because her birthday is between Thanksgiving and Christmas, she was thinking about planning something for January. My sister took matters into her own hands and got my stepfather and me in on her scheme. I’m glad she did; my mother’s reaction was priceless. It’s not every day you get to really and truly surprise someone, especially someone who would never expect others to step in and do something kind for her. It was a very satisfying (and fun!) experience.

I had Earl Grey, because of course I did…it was spectacular.

As I write this now, we’re gearing up to go back to my mom’s for the Thanksgiving holiday. I’m looking forward to time off and time with my family. In addition to the holiday itself, we’ll be celebrating my mother’s actual birthday again. Now that I have kids, living a whole state away from my immediate family can feel a little lonely, and I want to make sure Sev and Oz get enough time with their grandparents, aunt and uncle, and little cousin.

I think Thanksgiving is often overshadowed by Christmas, but in a lot of ways I prefer it. There’s the food, of course (mostly I mean pie–I am a yankee through and through). But also, it’s a nice low-expectation holiday in that there are no gifts to plan for, and we even split up the cooking between the families attending. And the whole point is to just…sit and eat and talk. Enjoy each other’s company. We don’t really go for the whole Black Friday shopping thing, so we can just take our time. As I said, I’m looking forward to it.

Today was, in comparison to the upcoming holiday, a little chaotic. We snagged some free entry to the Bluey event at the Boston Camp toy store. The kids had a good time, and it was honestly quite fun and well-done. But as adults, James and I of course spent most of the time poking around in spaces that were too small for us as we tried to keep track of our gremlins. Still, I’m glad we did it. As kid-centric events go, it could have been way more intense. They kept it simple with lots of great play areas, providing slides, pretend play, opportunities to build and climb, and of course…a meeting with Bluey and Bingo at the end.

Since we were at the mall, we poked around a bit. But honestly, the kids were pretty overwhelmed/overstimulated…and so was I. Mall shopping is not as fun for me as it used to be. Some of that is probably the fact that malls themselves are not as inviting as they used to be (I feel so old when I say things like that). But in recent years especially, I’ve become really disenchanted with the endless churn of consumerism. I am by no means a minimalist (I love stuff), but I am more conscious than ever of how I perpetuate certain cycles of abuse (environmental, labor, etc.). I have spent a lot of effort this year trying to find ways to be more conscientious about my spending, about wasting materials, and about how I can reuse/refurbish/repair what I have.

Maybe that’s another reason that Thanksgiving has become such an appealing experience. Since having kids I actually do appreciate Christmas more, and I enjoy giving gifts. But I am also so exhausted by Black Friday sales that start at Halloween, every company bombarding my inbox daily with sales that honestly aren’t even that good, everyone trying to get me to buy buy buy the perfect gift. Luckily, my kids remain pretty content with what they have for the time being. Sev is definitely more aware of stuff and interested in obtaining it now that she’s older, but she’s pretty level-headed about it. And her desires, overall, are simple. (The gift she most wants is a pen she saw that has a toilet on top, and when you press a button, a little poop emoji comes out of the toilet…like I said, simple desires.) Oz…when I ask him what he wants for Christmas, he responds, “What?” Oh, to be two years old and ignorant of the burden of possession!

What else is there to say? James (and Sev) will be taking part in a Turkey Trot on Thanksgiving. I’ve been making things, both for myself and as gifts. I’ve been kind of failing on large crochet projects that I’ve put together for myself. I had planned on having a granny square cardigan complete for Halloween–that was a bust. I was working on a color blocked sweater for Thanksgiving–ran out of yarn. Alas. Once I’m done with the few gifts I’m hand-making this year (I decided to take the pressure off and not make all of them), I’ll get back into the groove of making stuff for myself without a timeline. I really want to learn how to knit socks properly (I’ve made tube socks, but I really need to learn how to turn a heel…), but I don’t think I have the time or the brain capacity to store that information right now!

James has started making ~fancy~ dinner on Sundays. Today he’s making ravioli stuffed with ground lamb. We’ve made gnocchi with pesto, he’s done paprika hendl/chicken paprikash, and last week was lamb ribs with tahdig (Persian rice). The tahdig came out especially good this time, and if you’ve never had paprika hendl (and you can handle rich and creamy sauces), I seriously recommend that as well. We’ve been getting meat from a local meat share for a while now, and these recipes are giving James more options to use what we get. (And yes, the kids eat it, too. They particularly liked the gnocchi, but then it doesn’t take much to convince them to eat pasta. They helped make it, too!)

Look at the golden crust on that tahdig!

We had spaetzle with the paprika hendl, which James hasn’t made since before Sev was born. So good. T_T

I get the feeling that I’ve talked a lot about food this time around…well, I guess feasting is in the air this week! I’m guessing that I won’t have another update for a couple of weeks at least. So until then, I hope you’re staying warm and enjoying your loved ones!
Welcome to Our Scrapbook (Morgana)

November 2nd, 2025

I have not posted on Instagram or Facebook since December 29, 2024. Around that time, it was becoming clearer and clearer to me that social media was no longer providing me with an enjoyable way to keep up with friends and family. I was constantly being fed ads and flash-fast videos whose only purpose was to incite anger and anxiety and keep me scrolling for more. And on top of all that, I had the sense that all of the precious memories I was sharing of my family and my life were being farmed by billionaires to feed the content machine–and their ever-growing AI initiatives.

Leaving social media was easier than I thought it would be, and it’s had an overall positive effect on my mental health. But I also missed the ability to share my thoughts, feelings, victories, and struggles with my loved ones far and wide, and I know many of them also missed the regular updates. I do pop on occasionally to see what my friends and family are up to, but I soon have to close out of the apps before I spiral again into anxiety.

So here is my solution: a family blog. I have had blogs on and off ever since I was probably about fourteen. Back then, everything online was super customizable, and a blog or a website felt deeply personal. Honestly, I can’t even make changes to this blog template without having to pay extra…but my rant against hyperconformist technology is for another time!

I originally planned on doing a full recap of the past year, but I think that would take far too long and not necessarily be as interesting to all readers as it might be to me. So I’ll give a more brief overview and then talk about what we’ve been up to most recently.

In February, Sev turned five, and with that came the realization that she would be starting kindergarten in the fall. Her birthday was also the opening day for school registration, which really drove the point home! She has since started school and absolutely loves it. She’s starting to get the hang of sounding out words, and I can tell that reading is just around the corner. I am absurdly excited about this development! She is also extremely into bats (and animals/animal science in general), which is awesome for everyone in the house, honestly.

Oz is two now, and boy does he act like it! He has always been much quicker to throw a tantrum than his sister was, but that’s ramped up recently. He balances that out by being exceptionally sweet much of the time. Even at daycare he’s recognized as being very affectionate with others, always checking on their well-being and providing plenty of gentle hugs. He has also become heavily invested in things with wheels, especially school buses and trains.

James continues to run, bike, and swim. Right now, he’s prepping for a turkey trot on Thanksgiving, and he’s miserable about it. 😉 He has also instituted a weekly cocktail night, which has been a lot of fun. We’ve been mostly sampling classic Prohibition-era drinks as well as a couple tiki bar staples. Both of us really love the Last Word.

James also continues to tinker with both mechanical devices as well as electronic ones. He actually replaced a part in my sewing machine! It works great now, and I think he was pretty chuffed that he was able to figure that out. He’s also replaced his phone screen and built a few fun little electronic kits. And he’s taken up drawing, though he hasn’t picked that up in a bit. (I won’t lie, I got very excited when he decided that he wanted to get into drawing. I have so many art supplies that I’m not currently using, it was great to give them a purpose again!)

James also went to Costa Rica with his mother this summer, but that’s a story for him to tell!

I have been really leaning into the fiber arts this year. Over the summer, I started learning how to knit. I’m still pretty much a beginner, but I feel as though I’ve finally overcome a lot of the hang-ups I had about knitting previously. A lot of that has been changing my perspective; essentially, I’m allowing myself to just be bad at it for a while. That mentality has been really helpful, and I’m trying to apply it to other things as well (like sewing, which I honestly haven’t touched in a while…there’s only so much time in a day!). Crochet continues to go well, but I find that if I do too much at once, I can really hurt my wrist. This is a large part of the reason I’ve decided to branch out into knitting as well.

One of the things I haven’t been doing as much this year, and which I was much better about last year, is writing. Some friends and I had a little writing group for a good part of 2024, and that really lit a fire under me and got me to write more than I had in ages. We all got busy around the holidays last year, and we unfortunately haven’t had a chance to pick the group back up. I think that’s part of the reason I’m interested in working on this blog; I’d like to stretch some writing muscles again, even if it’s just talking about the day-to-day stuff.

In May, all four of us went to California to visit with James’s sister, Rosie. The cross-country flight with two small children and various layovers was…interesting, haha! Honestly, though, the kids bore up really well, and we all had a great time in Truckee. I think we’ll probably take a break from very long plane trips in the next year, but it’s good to know that we have kids who can handle a little discomfort for a fun payoff.

She fell asleep on the plane and was not happy to be woken up. XD

Sev was such a trooper on this hike, which was way longer/more difficult than we all anticipated.

My grandmother was also diagnosed with cancer early in the year, which really colored a lot of my spring and summer. Luckily, she’s been responding really well to treatment, which feels like a miracle. I’ll probably talk about this more in-depth at another time, but my grandmother is more like a second mother to me, so I always knew that her eventual death was going to be a heavy blow. When I thought the inevitable was imminent for a while, I was a real mess. In that regard, it’s been a somewhat challenging year.

There are other big, national and international issues that have also been weighing heavily on James and me. Many of our conversations this year have centered around how we can help our community, how we can be more environmentally conscious, and how we can be more deliberate about our media consumption (including the aforementioned social media). These aren’t topics with easy, straightforward answers, but we’ve been taking steps to change what we can. I hope that in doing so, we’re preparing our children to be more mindful about the choices they make in the future.

I don’t want to leave off on a downer, though, so let’s quickly talk about the last few weeks, including my favorite day of the year: Halloween!

Sev has lost both of her bottom front teeth this month, so she very closely resembles the jack-o-lantern that she designed and carved! All of our jack-o-lanterns came out really well this year, actually. Holidays are getting more enjoyable as both children become more invested in the festivities.

Sev dressed as a bat for Halloween this year, both because they are a current obsession of hers and because I found a crochet pattern for bat wings that I had to try. We also made her a fun little bat nose out of cardboard, tape, polymer clay, and paint. My mask-making and scultping skills are rusty, but the drive is still there!

Oz was a little black cat, and I made him some little kitty paw mitts (combining my very basic knitting skills with some crochet) and a little tail. Black ears were purchased for both kids, but he opted to just use the little bear ears on his black sweatshirt, and I figured that was fine.

I took the holiday off, as I always do. I solo’d trunk or treat at daycare this year since James had to work. That was fun and cute, of course, though the vibe for me is a little different now that Sev has graduated out of the program and I recognize fewer faces. After that, it was home to prep for the night and watch a little Twilight Zone and The Munsters.

We had the usual set-up with a fog machine inside a cauldron and a silly inflatable/animatronic spider. It was properly cold this year (unlike last year’s 70+ degree Halloween), but also extraordinarily windy. There was no point in me wearing my witch hat, but I did sit outside for a while to pass out candy while James took the kids around. I find sitting outside is easier (and more fun) than waiting inside for trick-or-treaters to knock on the door. Eventually it got too cold, and we all retreated inside to watch Coraline while the kids gorged themselves on their treats.

I frequently find myself with the post-Halloween blues, but I actually feel pretty good this year. I think that for the first time in a long time, I really enjoyed the day to the fullest. Again, I think the kids being really excited and involved helped a lot with that. Besides, making their costumes was a lot of fun for me, and it kind of extended the spooky fun for the while month.

I nearly finished a tacky Halloween cardigan for myself, but unfortunately wasn’t able to get it done in time. I’ve made 78 granny squares and put most of them together, but I discovered that I’m going to need to make the sleeves a big larger. I’m taking a break on that for now, with the goal to finish it in time for next Halloween–sooner, if I’m able! I don’t have a problem wearing a Halloween cardigan at Easter. 😉

Yesterday, we made homemade gnocchi and pesto, partially as a remedy to my overgrown basil problem. Sev got really invested in learning to roll the gnocchi on the board that Zach gave us (I grew up rolling them on a fork!), and it is genuinely heartwarming to watch her learn how to do things that my grandmother taught me thirty years ago. I think this afternoon I’ll rope the kids into helping me make ossi dei morti.

Today is a chill at-home day. James just took the kids to the park while I work on wrapping up this entry, which is honestly months in the making. I am hoping to set aside time every Sunday to put together even a small update, but that may be a stretch goal, especially with the holidays coming up. At the very least, I’d like to provide a monthly update to anyone who is eager to know how the family is doing! My eventual plan is for James and the kids to also provide their own updates down the line, but for now, I suspect you’ll mostly be hearing from me.

Thanks for joining us on this journey/experiment! Until next time~