š HAPPY NEW YEAR! š
May this New Year lay an abundance of blessings, peace and love upon your door.
{Image: 26th December 1942: Couple kissing under mistletoe during a Christmas party for the Flying Fortress Boys. (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images) // Pinned HERE}
We are ready to ring in the New Year, hoping that it brings better tidings than this last one did. However, there is a silver lining to all things. This past year, Mr. Michie and I have been blessed to spend a lot of quality time with one another and for that I am forever grateful. In all the ups and downs that occurred in 2020, we have, as we always do, faced them together. I am blessed that I have a partner by my side who is truly a āpartnerā in every sense of the word.Ā We leave this year behind with a renewed sense of gratitude for each other. We will shepherd in that appreciation to the New Year.
I come from a family that makes the best of every situation and tries to find the humour in things. And I know that so many people have joked this year that they are āsurviving, one glass of wine at a timeā and I do see the funny side to that. But, I donāt want to be just āsurvivingā, I want to be thriving!Ā And that is what we did in 2020 and that is what we will continue to do in 2021.
Wishing love and light to you all as we close the book on this past year and open a new one tomorrow.
{Image: Arthur Sarnoff “Happy New Year!”, The Progressive Farmer Magazine Cover 1958 // Pinned HERE}
HAPPY NEW YEAR!
May this new year bring you peace, happiness and more blessings than you can count.
{Image Found // Pinned HERE}
Happy Chinese New Year!
I hope this year brings you good luck and many fortunes!
{Image FOUND // Year of the Pig HERE}
āø HAPPY NEW YEAR! āø
May this new year bring you peace, love and an abundant amount of blessings! ā¤ļø
{Rhonda Fleming // Pinned HERE}
Quietly and gently, we entered into the last day of the year. Our morning pace had a nice rhythm. We split up to do our run, but ended up crossing paths, so I got a kiss halfway through my 5K. Always a bonus!
I ran past a favourite farm and my little herd of cows were outside eating their breakfast. I shouted my hellos and carried on down the road into the village. I took a brief break outside the church yard before turning around and running back up the hill, I had just so gloriously and speedily run down. Going back up was hard work. But, I did it!
Then I met Mr. Michie at our favourite coffee shop for breakfast. As I was reflecting on my run with him, I caught myself and started to laugh-out-loud. Sitting across from him, I was niggling myself over my running time. I managed to shave a decent bit off my 5k, but it still wasn’t as good as it had been a few months ago, before a minor knee injury.
As I laughed, I reminded myself that I was out there. Running! That’s the point!
Before I started this journey almost three years ago, I wasn’t much of a runner and the last thing I would have wanted to do was run 5K, let alone worry about the time it takes me to do it.
So, as this year comes to a close and I reflect on where I am, I’m happy. There are things I wanted to happen this past year that haven’t yet come to fruition. We’ve hit a lot of unexpected bumps in the road, but that’s life; we roll with the punches and keep on going.
But through all of it, running has been a constant.
I never thought that I would be a girl who got such a thrill out of running. I’ve always been a walker, but running – no thank-you! However, I have come to love it. It’s not just the physical side of it either (although that has been very rewarding), it’s the spiritual side too. Running in the open and being able to see nature around me is meditative. It restores the soul.
So as we enter this new year, I’m going to keep on running. Running through the woods, running down the lanes and past the fields, running toward my goals and running toward our dreams.
Reading through various blogs and scrolling through Instagram, oohing and aaahing at people’s photos of snow, which I’m still keeping my fingers crossed for, I’ve seen many people who have discussed their dislike for this time between Christmas and New Year’s. The general feeling is that we are in a holding pattern, just circling, waiting for the next year to begin. That these are the wasted days before the next big hoorah.
I don’t feel that way at all during this “in-between” time. I think this is the chance to truly relax, to enjoy the season. For the world is quieter around you and you can take it all in. There is a natural slowness to our rhythms at this time and I savour that pace.
Unlike others I’ve seen who took down their decorations on the 26th, ours are still going strong and they will continue to do so until Epiphany (January 6th) and to be honest, maybe a little longer than that. Then the twinkle lights shall be replaced by more candles and a handful of spring blooms. But we are still in winter and I don’t wish away these days. I like to revel and appreciate the season that I’m within.
These “in-between” days also hold another kind of magic for us, as today one of the inhabitants of this little cottage celebrates a birthday. So there is a cake cooling on the counter, dough rising on the stove and a birthday meal soon to be prepared as per the birthday boy’s wishes.
But, everything is still being done at a languid pace as we continue to enjoy the last drops that this year has to offer. And I think that is how it should be.
{Linocut Vanessa Lubach // Pinned HERE}
We weren’t very far into this New Year when we heard about what had happened in Turkey. All of their hopes, wishes, dreams and desires for this new year wereĀ lost in a cowardly act. I pray that things get better this year, that we hold on to hope and continually strive for the light. For as the great Leonard Cohen said, “There is a crack in everything.Ā That’s how the light gets in”.
May this New Year bring you all many blessings, happiness and love! xx
Ooooh! Awwwe! We’re making our way into the New Year under a dazzling, sparkle of colour!
