Welcome to 2024

I’ve been sitting in my usual chair but not doing the usual things. I’ve been painting. Creating new pieces of art. I’ve been listening to long form vlog/podcast broadcasts. I’ve been taking my ease.

Some art I’ve been making

The festivities were lovely. I’ve enjoyed spending time with family (with the louder and quieter ones) and with my better half. I’ve enjoyed having the house decorated and lit. I’ve enjoyed the roaring fires and the special food and all of those things…. but now I feel like I can relax. Is it just me?

This year will bring more PhD. work, especially as I made it through the internal review just before the break, more travel, for fun and study, and things I don’t expect. More time.spent on committee work and at my club. Imalso hopeful that I’ll get back underwater as the Achillies injury heals slowly.

Tonight’s tea is a new to us recipe. Tomorrow, a visit to the chiropractic. Next week I’m seeing my parents. Funny how the whole world failed completely to change at the stroke of midnight on New Year’s Eve or the first minute of 2024.

Going deco

Not a SCUBA reference which is strange for me. I’ll come back to that at some point. No, today is the day of the festive festooning of the old homestead. The cats are excited, boxes that must be investigated and, of course, ‘sat in’ added to the smell of cooking. Clearly they believe this is a good day.

The annual trip into the attic (technically bi annual as the Halloween decorations are up there too) has been undertaken. It’s been a week of ladders since I cleared out the gutters too. My hands are covered in welts as my dust allergy kicks in. What larks. After 30 not so grumpy minutes the tree is up and resplendent now the real fun begins. Is it me or is the best bit wrapping parcels? Mind you I can obsess. I did once wrap a teddy-bear so that it was teddy-bear shaped and the recipient (my uncle) said he had no clue what it could be. How we laughed. Those were simpler times. Nothing too challenging in the first tranche mostly fully square, boxed and books….although there was that one package. Can’t say too much.