One of my favorite times to scroll through the photos on my phone is at the end of each year. I find that it’s a great way to remind myself of things that I’ve done, the fun I’ve had, and what I’ve accomplished (and, if taking a lot of pictures is an accomplishment, I’m a rockstar) over the past year.
For this week’s Sunday Stills theme, Rear-View Mirror, I chose one picture from each month in 2021 to remember what brought me joy – and there was a lot – during this very strange year.
January
Our first vaccinations! It felt monumental… like we were really, really going to beat this thing.
February
Despite some activities being curtailed, we still enjoyed getting out to explore our beautiful city.
March
Less actual grocery shopping and more experimentation with kit meals shipped to our home.
April
Good times and interesting conversations when friends Kathy (SMART Living 365) and her husband Thom came for a visit.
May
Our blueberries begin to ripen.
June
More good times and interesting conversations when we visited Kathy and Thom at their mountain get-a-way.
July
Sunflowers and bees with pollen booties… is there anything better?
August
We crossed the Canadian border the first day it opened. A month of blogger buddy meet-ups, hiking, and experiencing the beauty of Vancouver Island commenced.
September
After our stay on the Island, we ferried over to the city of Vancouver for more exploration and fun.
October
Our local Dia de los Muertos celebration. Maybe not as elaborate as in Oaxaca, but very colorful and no plane trip required.
November
Fall sunsets are glorious.
December
A trip to the Zoo to see my favorite birds.
Retirementally Challenged 
So great to see your fun post of your favorite images that tell your 2021 story, Janis! I recognized the fountain at Balboa Park. We had hoped to be there this week but travel conditions thwarted that attempt–maybe this spring! I like how you arranged your post as well. I was so happy when you all got to visit Canada and see everyone in person. My step-daughter is stuck in Toronto now having tested positive for covid despite being fully vaxxed! When oh when will this thing be done? I always admire your spirit for adventure and fab photos, and wish you loads more for 2022! On my way to vote!
I’m sorry that you decided not to travel to our fair city but I can certainly understand your hesitancy (but, if you had come, you would have been greeted by some awesome weather). I’m sorry about your step-daughter. I think, eventually, we’ll all get Covid… I’m just trying to put it off long enough that the symptoms won’t be quite so worrisome… we are getting there.
There was no room in the inn what with my daughter’s home in Emerald Hills being remodeled. We are planning to drive…No place to stay in Sacramento either, and too much snow between here and Shasta. I enjoy the winter wonderland but winters in SD are always warm!!
Great recap of the year, Janis. Some really cool pictures there.
Thank you! It was fun to remember all the great things that happened.
“Pollen booties” — love that. And the photo of blueberries reminded me again of how lovely they are as they ripen and change colors.
I love those little pollen booties! They are amazing – and so important – creatures. I visited my blueberry bushes this morning and it looks like we’ll have a great harvest again this summer… yum!
Great summary and stunning images (as usual).
Thank you for sharing the link to Dan’s. I voted! 😀
Our trip to Vancouver Island was definitely a major highlight of a pretty wonderful year, despite that darn virus. Thanks for voting!
Bees with pollen booties – my fav…Here’s to an ever better 2022, Janis!
I love bees! Best wishes to you also for a marvelous 2022, full of adventures!
Here-here!
(clink of our wine glasses together)
😎
I like how you did each quarter of the year then the photos. It’s good that you got to travel to Canada. BC is so lovely! I did vote for your badge – really, I liked it the best.
I think we found a sweet spot last year when we felt (relatively) comfortable traveling by car – especially to Canada. I’m not sure we’d make the same decision now with this new variant. Thanks for the vote!
You did a fine job of it in 2021, especially with the challenges.
Thank you, Dan!
Voted! Loved seeing you and Paul in real life last summer, and having some fun experiences together!
Hope you come back soon…and here’s to a happy, healthy 2022!
Deb
Be careful what you hope for! 🙂 We’d love to come back to your beautiful island, and also spend more time in the city of Vancouver.
I loved reading your 2021 overview, Janis. You sure know how to summarize! 🙂 And, I enjoyed the way you put the photos together as well. I bet your trip to Vancouver Island was the highlight of last year. I felt lots of joy and gratitude in your post as you glimpsed back on its most memorable moments.
You must have heaps of photos on you phone after a year! I usually take my photos off my camera and devices every few weeks. I wouldn’t be able to deal with them all at the end of the year – the number would be in the thousands!
I have way too many pictures on my phone and I need to spend the time transferring them to my computer. VI was definitely the highlight of our year. I’m so happy we made the decision to go… we actually felt much safer in Canada than we did in the US.
You’ve got some great pictures. That one of the bees is amazing. What a great way to present your year of fun and adventure.
Thank you! I would be embarrassed to tell you how many photos I have on my phone of sunflowers and bees… but that one was a favorite for sure.
Interestingly, one of the things I did on this trip while isolating in our Airbnb was go through my zillions of phone photos and delete, delete, delete! It was very satisfying. 📷
That was a fun recap of your year! I remember so many of your images from 2021. I voted, and best of luck to you in the badge contest. Happy New Year to you and yours, Janis!
Thank you! I am looking forward to the year ahead: more adventures and lots of photos!
Excellent recap of 2021, Janis. Happy New Year!
Thank you, Jill. Happy New Year to you also.
Janis, thanks for the quick review. I love seeing all of the colors as I scroll down. And, don’t you love long picnic tables that filled with friends? Keith
That was such a great table! We had spent the day together and still had tons to talk about at dinner.
Janis, nice recap of your year in photos. Selfishly, I am sad to see my Thursday Doors banner go, but if it must be replaced, I hope it is with yours.
Yours was a great banner and I loved seeing it every week. I hope mine wins too but, even if it doesn’t, I’ll enjoy participating in Dan’s challenge whenever I have some doors to share.
Lovely recap – and I’ve voted.
Hi Anabel! Thank you for voting.
This is a fun recap, Janis. I love your Day of the Dead photo! Thanks for the reminder to vote. I’ll go do that now!
It really was a good year despite the challenges.
Fabulous, really.
Sounds as if you had a good year! I’ll go vote for sure.
I think it’s a good idea to remind ourselves of all the reason we have to smile… and there are many.
I really enjoyed your photos, Janis, and think it is so valuable to take the time to look back and find the bright spots in the year. You give a good reminder that not everything has been difficult. It’s easy to focus on the what didn’t go well, and you’ve provided a wonderful alternative look. 🙂
Thank you, Debra. I think that’s one reason I take so many pictures (other than my compulsive nature 🙂 ). I love when past snaps remind me of something I had forgotten.
That was a good year considering it was 2021!
It was, Kate! Even though 2021 had its ups and downs, I think the ups win.
I love how you were able to pick 12 pictures to tell the story of the year. I met a professional photo-organizer (yeah, didn’t know that was a real job either) and she said you should be able to tell any story in 12 pictures…. even the story of your life. I am really going to try and take more pictures this year!
How interesting… I’m not sure how I could do that for my whole life. It was fun and a bit challenging to pick which photo to use for each month… then I decided to choose the one that brought me the most smiles, then and now. And, yes, take more pictures!
Whew – good thing I got caught up here tonight so I could get in my vote just under the wire. Shelley’s photo was chosen as a banner for “Stream of Consciousness Saturday” a year ago. An early happy birthday to you Janis … I liked all these photos and you’d not have known it was a pandemic year given the smiles on everyone’s faces, well excluding your masked face during your first COVID jab.
Haha! We were so happy to get our jabs. I remember it was like a carnival atmosphere where they were doing it. Thanks for the b-day wishes!
I was ecstatic too and when I got the booster, it was the day after it was allowed for my age group – no hesitation here! Have a good one Janis!
You made the best of a challenging year! You did a great job of picking moments for each month. I especially love the bee photo – that was a fun moment of serendipity! I bet Dan is glad he’s not able to vote, whoa – what a challenge, all the badges are great, and so unique too! Yours is so colorful, I’ll keep my fingers crossed for you!
You are right about the bee photo. I wanted to get a picture of the bee with the sunflower but didn’t notice his stylish booties until I enlarged the image. I’m glad Dan got a lot of creative entries… I’m happy for whoever wins!
Aw, I’m like you, sometimes I have to enlarge or crop a photo to see the extra special touches captured. You did a great job!
I just checked out the Thursday Door Badge challenge results. Congrats on coming in 2nd! 🥰💕🤗😍
Thank you. I think the winning badge will be a great symbol of the challenge throughout the year.
You’re welcome. Yes, I agree.
You had me at blueberries, are you sharing some of those photos? In all the years we’ve had blueberry bushes, all together, they’ve yielded less than a bucket. If you have any wisdom to share there… 🙂
Haha! No wisdom here… more like dumb luck. Because we don’t get the necessary frost here, our bushes are of the low-chill variety. Out of the three we had, only one has been a rock star.
I believe our 3 bushes believe they’re more in a spectator mode than production mode, and clearly none have even considered rock star mode 😁
Haha! But, depending on the size of your bucket, a bucketful sounds pretty good.
Nice positive way to remember 2021.
Thanks, Judy. There was a lot of positives to choose from 🙂
I like your photos. They suggest a life lived well, in spite of the pandemic. I went to Dan’s and voted… for you obviously. Love your design so it wasn’t difficult.
Thank you, Ally! I am so grateful that we have the ability to have a lot of enjoyment despite the challenges. I know not everyone has been so fortunate.
You really did have a wonderful year, even with the challenges of the continuing pandemic. And your favorite bird is my favorite bird. 🙂 Happy birthday tomorrow! May this year bring all good things to you, including more delightful adventures!
Flamingos are so wonderful! I think Mother Nature was feeling especially whimsical the day she designed them. Have you heard of Flamingo Bob? If not, google him… you’ll fall in love with him and his buddy Odette. Thanks for the b-day wishes!
I love the story of Bob and Odette! Thank you for sharing it with me.
Hi Janis, I am too late to vote on the badges – but I did like your idea with the blue. I also liked Manja’s and all had some interesting aspects. I am curious to see which one was selected
—
and your year in review was fun to see.
I remembered when you met with the friends at the mountain get away and a few other ones – so that bought a smile.
I also like how you used little slideshows to not have one long scroll (good idea)
and….
Happy New Year
I’m glad you liked my slideshows. I think it worked pretty well and avoiding a mile-long post. Happy, healthy New Year to you also!
🙂
I like flipping through my photos too. They bring back some fond memories. And I’m heading over to Dan’s! Should be fun.
I’m embarrassed to admit that I pay Apple a little bit every month so I can have extra photo storage on my phone.
LOL. I can relate. There’s very little storage on these things.