HAPPY NEW YEAR 2016!!

Hello my friends! We made it through 2015 relatively intact (the last half being MUCH better for me than the first half) - now on to 2016!! The year I turn 60!  Yippee - the Canada Pension Plan, that I've been paying into since I was a teenager, finally kicks in - should be millions of dollars coming my way - hah!!

In the really OLD photo below I'm turning 6! Two of those girls, Liane and Martha, moved away that year and broke my heart. Two of us still have contact through our "Class of '75" facebook page.

I'm looking forward to going on another trip this year - Ireland perhaps. I love the hiking format as you may have already guessed. There is just no better way of getting to see and know an area intimately. And it seems more like an adventure and while I sometimes get scared or overwhelmed there is great satisfaction in conquering my fears. More to come as the year progresses!

 Hopefully everyone enjoyed seeing in the new year. There may have been some melancholy or joy in seeing the last of 2015.  I spent New Year's Eve and day here at home with a good friend, Julie. We indulged in General Tso's chicken and sesame shrimp topped off with wine and chocolate. I rented several movies - "Rosewater", "A Walk in the Woods", and "Far from the Madding Crowd" and we managed to pause momentarily to clink our glasses at midnight in the middle of "Far from the Madding Crowd"!

The best movie by far was "A Walk in the Woods" based on a book by Bill Bryson about his adventures hiking the Appalachian Trail. This is the book I read and loudly guffawed over while Annie and I hiked Hadrian's Wall. The movie was wonderfully funny (perhaps enhanced by a few glasses of red wine?) and starred Robert Redford and Nick Nolte. They were hilarious!! I highly recommend it!

I forgot about the bottle of champagne chilling in the fridge so the next morning we had a couple of mimosas - absolutely perfect along with our breakfast sandwiches and yummy blend of fried potatoes and turkey stuffing :)

We spent the day on one of my favourite holiday pastimes - the New York Times crossword puzzle (I'm still working on it!) and noshing down on more chocolate and cashew brittle. A very relaxed day. Luna and Lily had so much fun with the empty gift bags and truly enjoyed covering Julie's black top and pants with cat hair!

I was just looking around for Luna a few minutes ago when I spotted....

....a lump on the love seat....I took a little peak....and found beautiful Luna...apparently I don't keep the house warm enough for her! Suck it up kitty! The real cold hasn't even begun yet!

So then of course I needed to get a photo of Lily to keep things fair...but Lily doesn't sit well for photos - she's always on the move - yes, the complete opposite of the lovely Luna, affectionately called the Chunky Monkey!

Lily: "I think I saw a squirrel!"

"Nope, just a leaf...Ok...take my pic..."

"WAIT...what was that noise?"...

"I just know there's a squirrel out there...somewhere..."

Sorry, have to get her when she's sleepy!

I've been spending wonderful hours in my workshop. It took me awhile to get back into the swing of things but have produced 4 soapstone sculptures over the past couple of weeks with such enjoyment and contentment that I haven't felt in quite some time. Here's a couple photos...

I have picked out my next piece so will be heading down to my workshop at some point today. In 2016 I hope to continue my artistic pursuits with more carving, more crocheting and rug hooking. I've also bought a book on watercolour painting - I'll give that a try this year too.

No resolutions except to enjoy each day as much as I can. If that means I devour a full box of peppermint patties, so be it! I'll just walk further the next day :)

Do you make New Year's resolutions?

Time to get busy!