Last Walk of the Year

 

Just like last year, New Year's Eve has been spent mainly at home. The tree is still up, but this evening I took down some more of the cards and I expect I will spend a while reading through them all again tomorrow.

This afternoon we went for a walk along the river. We did the exact same walk last year, although the weather had been much colder then. The heavy rain we've experienced recently meant the water was much higher than usual, so we took care to keep away from the edge. That didn't stop Lily from slipping on the mud, however, so a change of clothes was required when we got home :)

Beneath the trees, there were signs of new life if we looked close enough. I always find this reassuring. An early sign of the approaching brighter days. 

The pathway was quiet, shared only with a few others, also taking advantage of the dry weather.

One of the benefits of walking directly from home instead of needing to drive, was that I could enjoy a short break for some liquid refreshment. You probably can't tell from the photograph but the glass is only a miniature - I promise!

This evening, we've had pizza for dinner, followed by some homemade cookies, still warm from the oven. I've made sure to amend my booking for next year's Christmas markets (all being well), I've lit the last of the festive scented candles, and the tree lights are switched on. Unusually for me, I've even watched a film - New Year's Eve! - of course. I'm not sure yet, whether I will stay awake to see in the New Year, but I've highlighted the BBC's Hogmanay celebrations just in case. 

For me 2021 will always be remembered with sadness, but I must not forget the happy memories I've created throughout the year.

All that's left for me to do now is to wish everyone a happy, healthy and peaceful New Year. And then, perhaps, I'll pour myself another Baileys.

J. X

Dreich

The weather today has been miserable, overcast and gloomy, and it has rained continuously since late morning. It has been so dark recently that even my houseplants are beginning to droop and show signs of lacking enough sunlight - I understand how they must be feeling :) I might need to reposition the ones furthest from the window.

There has been some more removing of Christmas decorations. This time the kitchen and dining room have been on the receiving end of my spontaneous cleaning. The little kitchen tree has been returned to the garden once again and the window garland is back in it's box. I may even tackle the living room tomorrow,  I'll see how I feel. Lily doesn't like it when I pack away the Christmas things, but as she would quite happily leave the decorations up all year round, I won't use her heavy heart as an excuse to leave them up for too much longer. I also worked my way through a large pile of ironing -  seriously, where does it all come from? -  and then I flattened some boxes ready to take for recycling. Neither very exciting, but necessary. 

This afternoon we went swimming. It has been a few weeks since I've been in the water and it felt good to be doing some sort of physical activity that didn't involve being wrapped up in several layers in order to keep myself warm. That said, a little extra heating of the pool wouldn't have gone amiss. It just meant I needed to keep moving, which, after the excesses of Christmas, was not such a bad thing. Lily, of course, thoroughly enjoyed herself and, as usual, it took some persuasion to get her out of the water at the end of our session.

Tomorrow, I expect I'll spend a quiet day at home. At the moment I don't  have any plans but, weather permitting, I can hopefully get out for a walk at some point. 

J. X

A Restful Day

 

Fortunately, besides feeling a little tired and achy, I haven't felt too bad following my vaccination. My arm has been a little swollen - unsurprisingly - but I've taken some paracetamol and drunk plenty of water, so I'm sure I'll be as right as rain again by tomorrow.

After yesterday's excitement, I decided a quiet day spent at home might be for the best. Even if I'd had any notion of going out, perhaps only for a short walk, the dark pewter sky and rain lashing against the windows this morning was enough for me to change my mind. It was grim.

Instead, I stuck to my original plan of cleaning out the kitchen and sorting through the cupboards. Never let it be said I don't know how to have a good time :)

Seriously though,  it felt good. I now know exactly what I have in the fridge and freezer , I can clearly see what is in the cupboard, and I'm sure I must have enough wine to last me until next Christmas! 

For some reason, this year, I feel more ready than usual to let go of the Christmas decorations. Everything is beginning to look just a little tired. The wooden snowflakes, which fell over several days ago now, are still lying there waiting to be picked up, and some of the greenery has begun to look far from fresh. I've already taken down the wooden reindeer lights, which were hung beneath the kitchen wall units, and thrown out some of the holly from the coffee table. I expect more will follow tomorrow and I wouldn't be surprised if they don't all get packed away by the weekend. I would probably be tempted to do it now if it wasn't for Lily. 

For now, at least, the candles are lit and I can relax in the glow of the tree lights, while enjoying a glass of my Spiced Blackberry Vodka. We've loved decorating our little tree again this year, but I'm not sure if it will make it indoors next Christmas - Lily is wanting to go bigger!

J. X

Woodland Wander

 

Having asked myself on numerous occasions what day it is, not to mention having had little concept of time, I have finally found myself in that period between Christmas and New Year where I have no idea what on earth I'm doing, and I quite like it. In all honesty today has passed in a bit of a blur. I know I have eaten too much chocolate, drunk far too much coffee and not done anywhere near enough housework, but as I'm not expecting any visitors at anytime soon, I will readily overlook that :)

This morning I went for my booster. Now unlike my previous appointments, where some kind, gentle souls very carefully administered my vaccinations, today I was subjected to someone I can only describe as a young child in training, who proceeded to jab me quite forcefully in the top of my arm before I'd even had chance to roll my sleeve up properly. To say I was shocked was an understatement. Even the second volunteer, who was recording my details, was clearly taken by surprise and went out of her way to make sure I was okay afterwards. Not to worry, at least it was quick. I was grateful he had volunteered his services and I'd like to think perhaps his technique improved as the day went on :)

This afternoon, as I was fortunately not feeling any side effects, we took a short walk through the woods and out towards the pond. Even at only 2 o'clock the light was already flat and low, and it felt as though it could have been much later in the day. The path through the woods was very muddy beneath our feet and I was glad we had decided to wear our wellies. The obligatory sticks were gathered and the stream explored before wending our way back up the steep hill as darkness began to fall. Momentarily the sun broke through the cloud casting a beautiful light across the trees. 

This evening, I've been taking it easy, and I won't be long out of bed. Tomorrow, the forecast doesn't look so great, so I think I will take the opportunity to have a tidy through and at least clear the kitchen. It's all looking a bit of a mess right now. 

J. X