..They're flying the flag over the town again  :-)

I had my own little festival of candlelight!  Quite romantic even by the second day without power.

But I have to confess that by the end of the fourth day I was pretty fed up. I now have to deal with the freezer. Aaargh!


In other news..It would be fun to see you at the workshop in Dunoon this Saturday. Details and tickets here.

I am very touched by all your comments recently - thank you for your concern. It is lovely to be here again, getting back to normal. I hope all is well with you.

I hope everyone is okay after the storm which caused a lot of damage here though not to the house thankfully.

The first 24 hours without power were fine - I lit lots of candles, set up the little cmping stove and slept on the sofa in the sitting room keeping the woodburner going  all night. I had wine, I had chocolate..

The village was cut off - falling trees brought down not just the cables but many poles and I knew teams would be out working all hours, and that the village had emefgency plans for such events - I live in a forest after all. These things happen. All my preparaations paid off but a power pack for my phone had not arrived so I was without  contacts/radio/podcasts/distractions. Once the wild noise of the gales died down the 14 hours of darkness felt strangely peaceful in a way I have not experienced for a very long time.


I found myself thinking about  what life must have been like before electricity. My great grandmother travelled across America with three chilfren in a covered wagon and I thought about what that must have been like for them.

All the foldable garden furniture is in the shed, I'I have lifted the pots off the porch, tucked the bins in close to the wall, I have emergency lights and a camping stove, baskets of logs, a flask to hand, lots of food...A glass of wine and half a packet of the new favourite biscuits have been consumed. A long hot bath and bed. Prepare for the worst and hope for the best they say.

Not fully open yet but the snowdrops bring a little cheer to an otherwise grey day.

Hopefully my workshop will also bring a little cheer!  Details here.

.. and fantasy and creativity - I've been thinking about how important these are to our wellbeing. It reminds me that there are realms of life other than screens/media/politics. The irony is not lost on me as I write this on a screen and know that you will read it on a screen :-)

Missummer Night 2023  - listen and look here.

I am doing a Best Year Yet workshop at the Burgh Hall in Dunoon on Saturday 1st February - do come along if you live near enogh! More details tomorrow..

To notivate myself to do the mucky job of cleaning the greenhouse I looked back to Midsummer Night last year.

A little fantasy is allowed, don't you think? At least once a year.

..I am minding my own business.

There is a voyeuristic element to the current news coverage that I am uncomfortable with, that I think is unhealthy for me.


So I will clean out the greenhouse. It is a mess and spring is coming!

Refresh.

Your Best Year Yet Question Ten - How can I make sure I achieve my Top Ten goals?

Gently beautiful things are hapening all around us. It behoves us to notice.

Green shoots are appearing like magic, six planets are lining up in the sky. Somehwere nearby a baby is taking it's first steps. Don't miss any of it.

..and delicious. My new favourite biscuits..

Youtr Best Year Yet Question Nine - What are my Top Ten goals for the next year?

A beautiful day, mild and sunny. It felt very gentle after the gales and the frosts.

There are some fine trees along the shore path, but the erosion of the tides  (it is a sea loch) make them vulnerable and the gales  blew some right over.

A beautiful early evening sky to end the day.  I early I think that may be Venus above what I think of as the Italian tree. It reminds me of trees in very early Italian paintings.write down your goals for each role..


Your Best Year Yet - choose no more than eight roles and decide on your goals for each role..

Even just watching this is exhilaratin! I can hardly imagine what it mustt feel like to actually do it. (Scroll down and press watch.)

Question Seven from Your Best Year Yet by Jinny Ditzler is -

Which role is my major focus for the next year?

..are being counted.

 
The pre-Christmas gales blew down some  sizeable trees in the forest across the road from my house, and the old fence stood no chance, but I realise this is nothing at all when I see the tragdy of the wildfires and the devastation in the war zones. It breaks your heart, doesn't it.

 You know I like a good question, so I was not surprised to discover from Gretchen Rubin's Four Tendencies Quiz that I am a Questioner. You might like to try it here.

Here are the next two questions from Your Best Year Yet -

Questin Five - What are your personal values?

Question Six - What roles do you play?

I believe the earliest British daffodils come from the Scilly Isles, then Cornwall, then Lincolnshire though I saw some in flower on a roadside verge in Yorkshire at the end of December.

I loved doing the Best Year Yet workshop here at hime today with five interesting and enthusiastic women.!

For those of you following it here is Question Four from the book - How do I limit myself and how do I stop?



If you are new here the quickest way to access Categories and the (huge!) Archive is to click on comments and scroll down.

..from a programme I listened to tonight.

Sir Hunphrey Wakefield whose home was to be inherited through the female line, said

..so there I was, wandering around, looking for something wonderful to do.

I just love his attitude!

I've taken my first frosty walk of the year.  We have had several sunny seriously cold  days with freezing temperatures, but snow onnly on the hills. A barefoot walk on the sparkling grass wakes me up on such a morniing! Then indoors for a good breakfast by the fire.

Question Three from Your Best Year Yet is a good one. What did I learn, from my achievements and disappointments?

I am holding an informal workshop on this book on Saturday here at home. Really looking forward to it.

There are TWO tame robins! I think they may be a pair..

Question Two in my current book Your Best Year Yet is What were my biggest disappointments?

By the way I hope you had at least fifteen achivements in answer to yesteday's question.

'Life's necessities ' my daughter said when she came to the back door with them.

She knows what rea!lly matters! Which is what the book Your Best Year Yet is about in a way. It consists of ten questions which I thought I would share  with you..

Question One - What did I accomplish in the past year?

I could never tire of it!  There's cute,

there's crooked,

there's medieval- Kinf's Manor. (Part of the university - I used to teach in this lovely building.)

there is Gothic and always scaffolding somewhere on the Minster, and Roman - I always say hello to the Emperor Constantine,

there's Georgian elegance..

LOVE IT.

I put Christmas away today and looking forward, got to thinking about Jinny Ditzler's book Your Best Year Yet.

..Joy in January and a new word for the new year..

Do check out Amelia's lovely idea for joy every day in January. See in comments on this post. Will you sign up?

My word for 2025 is DECISIVE. Life got better for me after I decided to decide in this post last October. Have you chosen your word yet?


There is so much to see in my favourite city. Visual stimulus of every kind at every turn..

There are crowds of course - people enjoying the sights

but just the other side of the Minster are quiet streets

with beautiful doorways

and unusual buildings

with hidden lanes and courtyards

More tomorrow..

..started in Yokshire, one of my favourite places in the world. Staying with friends, good conversation and good food, country walks and old world pubs and a sunny day in the city of York. What could be nicer?

In Scotland we often say 'Start the year as you mean to go on' and you should have the house in perfect order, the rubbish out, the laundry done, the cupboards well stocked etc., and you must have a full glass in your hand at the stroke of midnight. If the year goes on like this I will be thrilled.

Beningborough  Hall - I was a frequent visitor with Barry, my children and my grandchildren, I worked on reception, taught drawing and watercolour classes, volunteer gardened, went to lectures and concerts, stayed in Garden House, had my first exhibition there and made life-long friends.  A very special place for me.

My perceptive friend said it's sometimes not the place you miss, but the life you lived there. Do you like to revisit places you have lived or does it make you too sad even though you may have happy memories of it?

I hope 2025 has got off to a good start for you! My head is full of memories of last year (quite a difficult one in many ways) and projects plans and hopes for next year. I like new beginnings. Do you?