My 2024

2024 may not have been a very positive year for a lot of the world, but I am so grateful that for me personally, like excluding all external factors, I had a pretty good one. 

For starters, can we just talk about the fact that this year marked 50 years since ABBA won the Eurovision Song Contest?  50 years!  Although not much really happened in terms of ABBA doing anything to celebrate, I had a really enjoyable time prepping for the anniversary.  I drew one of my biggest and most detailed drawings to date, which took AGES but I'm really proud of it.  

I started the year actively posting on my blog almost daily, talking about ABBA songs, something I can never stop talking to my family IRL, so I decided to pour those thoughts into blog posts.  And I had a lot of fun doing it, until my hyperfixation disappeared and I lost motivation to actually post.... but that's okay.  It was fun while it lasted and eventually I'll get back into it.  The obsession with ABBA is still there obvs, it's just the motivation to actually sit and write that's currently missing.

I remade a few more doll costumes this year.  Not as much as I had wanted to, but I tackled costumes I never thought I could make, like a proper rendition of the Velvet jumpsuits, ABBA Voyage versions of those same jumpsuits, the white and gold costumes from early 1979, mini cat dresses for my barbies, and Agnetha and Frida's 1974-75 tour costumes.  I'm hopeful that I'll get around to making more costumes in 2025, but buying proper fabric is kinda expensive hahhaha... so we'll see.

And now for a bit more personal highlights and reflections.  A lot of them have to do with animals, so I apologize if that's not your thing haha, but I'm going to talk about it regardless because it literally makes me happy. 

I've kinda talked about this before on the blog, but I've kinda been on a journey of befriending the backyard animals, including chipmunks, squirrels, and turkeys, a dream that I've had since I was a child, and this year alone, I befriended over 20 chipmunks, an entire flock of turkeys, at least four chickadees, and I've made acquaintances with a bunch of other backyard friends who have decided they don't mind me all that much.  It's been such a blessing, going outside, getting to handfeed some of them, especially as a lot of them are prey animals and seeing them put so much trust in me is such an honor.

This year I got to visit an animal sanctuary for the first time ever, and got to fulfill another dream of mine which was to hug a turkey, and the lovely turkey a met did not disappoint.  I also got to hug this sweet rooster who fell asleep in my arms, literally one of the best feelings ever.

I also brought one of my backyard squirrels to a rehabber for the first time ever in my life.  This particular one that I dubbed Condensed Milk (I have a weird naming system, okay?) had injured her arm somehow, and would approach me while squeaking loudly because it was hurting her.  So after nearly a week I managed to lure her into a cat carrier and use a string to pull it shut, and it was probably the least stressful way I could have done that..  She was one of the few backyard squirrels who had actually started to like me, and unfortunately when it came time to release her back home after recovering, she kinda escaped and is probably now living out her life at the rehabbers place which isn't the worst thing, but you know, I feel bad for unintentionally forcing her to relocate.  But still, it felt pretty fulfilling to be able to help a wild animal.

 

And speaking of wild animals, this year I got to watch one of the baby chipmunks I befriended earlier in the year, Chippington, grow up, become pregnant, and raise babies of her own!  She's literally my chipmunk bestie, the only one who like lets me "cuddle" her, and that was certainly one of the many highlights of this year. 

And speaking of babies, we had a pair of Eastern Phoebes make a nest under the awning of our patio, and I got to witness them carefully construct their nest, successfully raise their one baby bird who turned out to be a parasitic Cowbird baby (you can research that on your own if you'd like), but they raised the baby as their own and did a fantastic job doing so.  I'm hoping they come back again next year, and have even installed a nest box for them should they choose to come back, and I hope they'll have even more success with babies of their own.

In many ways I was scared that 2024 would be a painful one for me, as it would officially be my first full year without my beloved Skyler Bird in it.  He passed away in March 2023, with this coming March marking two years since he passed.  I have spent every single day both missing him and loving him still, and I will continue doing so, and because of that, it doesn't feel like he's gone at all.  He's always going to be with me in one way or another

2024 also brought loss.  One of my favorite YouTubers who was literally the inspiration for me to get Skyler back in 2020 passed away unexpectantly, and it hit me quite hard.  It's hard to believe that just like that, she's gone.  Another one of my favorite social media birds, Kiwi of Kiwi and Pixel the Parakeets, also passed away this year of old age. I used to watch his videos pretty much 24/7 from 2020 through 2023 because Skyler loved watching Kiwi, and I'm both heartbroken that he's gone but also happy that across the rainbow bridge, Skyler and Kiwi get to meet and hopefully have become besties up there. 

I published two books this year.  One of them is a photobook, something I'd wanted to do for a long time, and the other a children's book inspired by my beloved Skyler.  I feel like both of these books really combined all of my interests - photography, animals, drawing, writing, and birds, so it was a lot of fun working on those.

 

And speaking of books, I cannot believe how many people have been buying my ABBA coloring book???  As someone who puts like no effort into advertising, I'm so thankful to every single person who took the time to look it up, and then purchase it.  It feels very fulfilling that people have been enjoying it, so thank you.

I feel like this year I really prioritized me and my happiness, and I'm grateful that I got to have a pretty happy and healthy 2024.  Mordecai and Darius, my two beautiful blueberry budgie birbs, are doing pretty good as well, even with a few emergency vet visits which thankfully turned out to be not all that serious.   Even though I wrote a lot about all the outside animals that made me happy this year, just know that Mordecai and Darius have been a constant light in my life, filling it with lots of chaos and fun, and I'm just so grateful for the two of them and I love them both with my entire heart and soul. 

So here's to a happy, healthy, and stress-free 2025.  I hope this new year brings nothing but peace and joy for everyone.

Happy new year. <3

- Becky/ABBAFan456