HAPPY NEW YEAR

Well, another New Year is almost upon us. It seems to me that 2010 just started; however, I tend to lose track of time when I'm busy and it was a busy year for me. It was a good year for the most part, "rough patch" aside, and here we are at the end of it already.

I don't know about the rest of you, but I do not make resolutions in the typical sense of the word. Rather, I make a list of what I would like to accomplish during the coming year and so far, I have about 15 things on the list. One of my main concerns in my house is that we don't have closet space. Well, we do, but I can't get any more stuff into them! It's time for a purge and I don't quite know how to approach the topic with hubby in a diplomatic way. I mean - how many jackets does one person actually need? He only wears two: his old, soft leather and his work jacket. I am more than willing to donate the others, some of which are brand new, to someone in need, but he seems to have objections to that. I would welcome suggestions from you about what to do about this. Remember, diplomacy is the key. He has to think it was HIS idea in the first place!

Another goal of mine is to spend more time on my writing. I recently attended a class on self-publishing; it was most informative and I want to get going on that. My writing still provides solace and peace to my (at times) troubled soul and I want to set aside blocks of time devoted to the written word. It's amazing how uplifting it can be and during the dark days of winter, a little uplifting is good.

I also want to get back into my crafts. I miss working with my hands, too, and I love creating hand-made gifts for the special people in my life. I have some fantastic "recipes" for bath salts and some wonderful patterns for spa cloths and slippers. All my "girls" work hard and I love to give them things that make them feel pampered.

I do have a sweater on the go and once it is finished, I will get on to the other things. I could have worked on the sweater during Christmas break, but I got my nose into a really, really good book and pretended that my needles and yarn weren't sitting a foot away from me. I love to read, of course, and I tend to forget about the time when I am in the pages of a book. This one was the second in series of three about a young woman who survived the Bolshevik revolution in Russia and it was absolutely fascinating!

There are other things on the list as well and who knows? Maybe I will actually get some of them crossed off in due time. For now, I wish you and yours a peaceful and Happy New Year and all good things for 2011. God Bless and be safe - all of you.