January 1, 2019

"You have said, "Seek my face.  My heart says to you, "Your face, Lord, do I seek." --Psalm 27:8 ESV


Happy New Year!

The day dawned a new year with a promising future ahead.  It is like opening a blank book with 365 clear pages for us to write our own story. 

What will it be?  Epic?  A tragedy? (Hopefully not!) A comedy or romance?  It will be fun to watch the book write itself and revisit this first page on December 31, 2019.

As I have said before, my Advent was superb, my Christmas a blessed time like no other before and here I am headed toward Epiphany with a fresh sense of renewal and purpose looking forward to all the new year has in store for me. 

My thought for the new year?  To let the year be what it is meant to be, look at the new day and know it is a gift and be thankful for it.

I have a few plans for the year.  I mentioned before that I have been doing morning devotionals using a book called "Jesus Calling".  There is an entry for each day of the year and I am beginning at the beginning today.  I like the way it feels to start my day with a devotional reading.  It just sets the day off on the right foot.  This is a lovely little book if you would like to check it out -- I have it on my Kindle.

I am still reading "Mrs. Lincoln's Dressmaker " and not enjoying it one bit more than I was two days ago.  I am determined to finish it though.  I have a stack of reads piling up on my bedside table though that I am anxious to get to.  I have never been very successful at trying to read more than one book at a time but as slow as this one is going I might have to try.

 I believe that my first book started in 2019 is going to be "Anne of Green Gables".  It is a title I should have read years ago and didn't so I am playing catch-up.  Also, there is a new title out in the Made in Savannah series that I am just itching to start.

The new year is going to find me cooking more.  In our house, everybody seems to want a couple of dishes -- "I don't know" and "I don't care" -- and I can't find recipes for those particular dishes so I am planning to make the decision of what we will be having.  I mean, since I am the one having to cook it, I should be able to decide what I want to spend my time doing --right?  I think so.

I will be continuing to make cards in the upcoming year.  I am on a couple of cardmaking groups on FB and there has been mention of people being concerned about recipients tossing the cards and how that hurts their feelings.  I think differently about it.  In the first place, nobody has room to store everything that comes into their homes and some things have to be thrown or recycled just out of practicality.  I make these cards because I feel the need to be artistic -- seems I inherited my father's drive and inclination toward art but not the talent.  That is a conundrum.  So, making cards is a creative outlet for me.  It is fun for me.  It is thought provoking to design and choose papers and stamps and such and I get a kick out of it.  If the people I send them to like them, that is the cherry on the top, isn't it?  If they decide to dispose of them, well, it is their card once it is in their hands.  My fun has been had.  So, I will continue with the hobby until I tire of it.

Last week was such fun.  I had the privilege of viewing "The Return of Mary Poppins" with my daughter and granddaughter.  I think the Hubs and I should go to the movie more. I miss it.  It used to be our main activity when we were dating and after we married we just became homebodies.  Admittedly, with all the offerings now on TV with streaming and such, there is little need to venture to a theater but once in a while it would be nice.

I don't believe in resolutions.  I see resolutions as something to be broken.  I do believe in seeing better ways to do things and making the effort to embrace new approaches but the idea of feeling like I have "failed" if I slip just doesn't appeal to me -- so there are no resolutions.  However, Advent has taught me a lot -- how to relax, how to be quiet, how to prioritize, how to be happy with "enough", how to weigh needs and wants and how gratitude is the most wonderful feeling.  For some reason, this holiday season has been a real learning curve for me and I am so thankful for whatever it is that has molded my thinking for the last couple of months.  It has been eye opening. 

So, here is to a new, happy, prosperous year to all of you!  I am looking forward to reading about all of your new years as well.

A New Day Dawning


This above all; to thine own self be true and it must follow, as the night the day,
Thou canst not then be false to any men.
This is my new mantra, catch-phrase, philosophy -- one I have always subscribed to but seem to have forgotten in the recent past.  However, it will be in the forefront of my days from now on.

So, as we forge ahead into this new year -- yes, I realize it isn't New Year's Eve yet -- my only resolution will be to be true to myself.  If I do this, then all things will fall into place as they should.

Even though this year has not been a bad year in most respects, it wasn't the best either.  Our unexpected retirement had made me do a lot of thinking, mostly about time.  From childhood until now my time has been spent doing the things that need to be done during that time -- school, raising children, taking care of parents --all those stages of life and now I feel my time should be my own to be spent as I see fit. 

The first thing I intend to do is quit spending time worrying about being "old".  In the great scheme of things I am not that old -- not young but..well, you get my point.  My body might be aging but my soul is young and vibrant and interested in things and I am compiling a list of new things that I want to try and see.

The second thing that I intend to do is get back to some of the activities that I have always enjoyed but put on the back burner for a while.  I love old movies and I am going to make a list of those that I would like to view again and have "vintage movie night" once a week. I just love black and white movies and the first on my queue is "Bunny Lake Is Missing" -- a 1960 something psychological thriller.

Reading is, of course, one of my main interests now and always has been.  I have joined two new reading challenges for the new year.  The two books I am reading now will, of course, count among those completed early in the year. I didn't do so well on my 2011 challenge but, in fairness to me, I did start later in the year.  I love to read and, unfortunately, it was neglected to a large degree for many years and now I plan to indulge my desire and need to pick up the pace again.

My genealogical quest will be ramped up as will creating scrapbooks of the many boxes of photos we have.  I don't like "scrapbooking" as we know it today so mine are going to be more "vintage" -- black paper, photo corners and  photo descriptions written in white ink.  Even though I am definitely a 60's kind of gal, I really love all the trapping of the 40's -- just love it.

My family is the most important thing to me.  I will spend time with them, as much as I can, and be a benefit to them as much as I can.  However, in looking back at A's and my "middle years" much of our time together was separated by his job, sometimes for months on end.  It was a difficult time and now we need to take the time to try to recapture some of that time for ourselves, whether it is on short road trips, gardening, cooking, or sitting here staring mindlessly at football -- it doesn't matter -- we just need time.


The main thing that I will not be spending ANY time on is trying to be somebody other than who I am just to please other people.  I have served myself well for all these years and I think I like myself well enough to continue on.  That is not to say that I don't make mistakes -- I do -- or that I can't learn something -- I can but I will no longer worry about what other people think of me and I will not change one thing about myself to meet somebody elses expectations.