Happy New Year!

As I sit down here with a cup of French Vanilla coffee (from a dear friend in the US) and an extremely chocolately biscuit (courtesy of Messrs Marks and Spencer!) I want to wish you a very happy 2009.  You may be wondering where I have been of late?  But then again you may not as you may have been, like me, taken up with the festivities, the serving of guests, the making of what seems at the time like endless meals, the hundred and one other things that are part of our traditions at this time of the year.

But before we get into all that and I show you a little of what I had the opportunity to create before and during the Christmas season, I want to ask you how you are?  Are you tired and worn out after all the exertion?  Did it all seem to go too fast?  And how is 2009 looking for you right now?

Where Christmas is traditionally busy in our house, New Year is usually very quiet.  The daughters go out and me and hubby stay in and take things very quietly;  a little pondering on the year that is past perhaps; a little looking forward to annual leave days marked out in the diary for various excursions; a little consideration of what needs to be done this year in the house (and for me, the garden); thankfulness for all that we have and experience day by day in our relationship, in our home, work and play.  I don't make resolutions usually but I do have goals and 'things' I want to achieve.  This year I want to pursue more of the creative and continue to allow my 'authentic self' to emerge.  This has been a current theme for 2008 and as I look back I have actually experimented and created more than I have done in many a year.  Let's see:  I started knitting again and made all four daughters scarves; I knitted my first pair of socks and am on the second pair; I knitted my first handwarmers and made three pairs before Christmas; I started sewing again and made bags of various sorts, my first quilt, six quilted cushions, and other things; I made my first needlefelted project - a penguin;  I finished my granny crochet square blanket and have started two others!!; and the list goes on.  I have so appreciated having the time this past year to experiment, to play and to let some of what has been latent for soooooo long it seems, come to the fore.

And what about blogging?  I have been doing some thinking about this over the holidays on and off.  I am an introvert by nature and don't naturally wear 'my heart on my sleeve' and yet for me the discipline of 'thoughtful Friday' has been of great encouragement and I have discovered many inspiring quotes as a result so I definitely want to keep this up.  I may try and blog more regularly but more briefly than this (you will be glad to know) and see how that goes.  Why not?  Indeed I want to ask myself the question more fully - why am I blogging and who is it for?  Is it more like a diary to myself - an opportunity to record events, happenings etc with photos or is more of an opportunity to write thoughts and feelings or a combination of the two?  Does it matter if there are no comments or 300 comments? Does it matter if others have a chance to peak into my 'inner thought world', others all over the world, especially if I am really doing it just as a diary for myself?

If you are reading this and it triggers your own thoughts on why you blog I would be interested in hearing them?  I know others have asked these questions before and their blogs have changed as they have changed and become more focused about the 'why' and the 'what'.

So this has been a very long post and to some degree a rather rambling one but then entries in December have been very few and far between so I am just catching up really.

I hope as you ponder the happenings of 2008 you will find things to be thankful for and surprised at and that these will encourage you as you journey into 2009.