Looking towards 2019 with tenacity

Sitting down to write this post I looked back at my similar post from this time last year where I pledged to be kind to myself. As I read through it I realised that many of the things I set out to achieve didn’t materialise and I was a bit downhearted.  Although I knew that often they didn’t happen for good reason rather than just life’s busyness, although at times I think that and the lethargy that had been building over the year played its part too it was still a disheartening read.  But it was only as I remembered I was meant to be being kind to myself that I realised that I had been after all.  Had I been driven by achieving everything, quite honestly I think something would have had to give.

So while I didn’t achieve everything I set out to, and while sometimes it’s been quieter here than I’d have hoped, and I haven’t been as on top of things everywhere, that’s ok as 2018 has been a tricky year for us.  But it’s been one full of family time with commitments reevaluated and with plenty of highs to counterbalance some of the lows.  We lost my FIL relatively quickly to cancer, but we’ve also celebrated eightieth birthdays for both mums with afternoon tea and a surprise weekend in Birmingham and that impromptu trip the ballet.  There’s been holidays, but not the big trip to the US as we thought, as it was more important to be able to get home quickly if we needed to.

There was some big work on the house with our conservatory revamp, and smaller jobs too with some new wallpaper, which you’ll already know I’m very pleased with.  Our garden - and time working in our garden - suffered though as there wasn’t much time to spare and we reluctantly also gave up our plot, as that was one thing too far, even for us. 

Overall though, I was kinder to myself, despite my first reaction when reading last year’s post.  I was still busy, and it was a busy year at work as well and as ever there was still lots to do (and most of it got done), and there was a promotion for me at work too.  However, the biggest act of kindness was finally taking myself to the doctors towards the end of the year and giving myself permission to slow down.

It’s clear that in 2019 I need to continue the kindness - and build on it - so the word I’ve chosen for this year is tenacity.  I’ve a feeling that I’ll need to approach this year with determination, patience and persistence and it’s a word that works in many ways, whether that’s related to pursuing my health to make sure I get the right answers, crafting and learning new skills and of course, booking that big holiday which is back on again, and this year we’re determined to make it happen.

We’ve a family wedding to look forward to as well and a milestone birthday for my dad, and who knows what other celebrations the year will bring.  No doubt there’ll be the usual house jobs to do, many left over from last year and we’re hoping to really make progress with the garden again, making sure we schedule in plenty of time to enjoy it too.

It’s not just our garden that we’re planning to enjoy, MOH has already started a list of restaurants and pubs we should visit, and more ambitiously I’ve places for weekends and short-trips.  I’ve some photo books to put together for the past three years, and I’ve some plans for my blog too, which include sharing many of the older photos which for whatever reason haven’t made it here yet. 

I knew I had a few posts that I wanted to write and photos to share, but seeing just how many means I won’t run out of content any time soon, and that’s without even doing anything new!  But even so, 2019 already feels like it’s got potential to be a busy year, and I’m sure that we’ll do our best to influence how it plays out as best we can, as much as any of us can.

What’s on your radar for this year?

Photo by Annie Spratt on Unsplash

Reflecting on my week #65

There’s something about the dawn of a new year that makes us much more reflective isn’t there?  I’m no different and I’ve used some of my time away from work over Christmas as some time to just be and do what I want, when I want.  Although if I’m honest, it went quite quickly.

Before Christmas MOH mooted the idea that he might work from home in between Christmas and New Year but quickly got the message that this wouldn’t be appreciated from the look on my face alone.  That’s a hereditary thing I think, at our family ‘fake’ Christmas earlier in December my niece claimed to have acquired this skill from the family, and if truth be known, so have I.  

Hey ho – all I can say is sometimes it’s useful, other times less so.

But one of things I enjoyed doing was a proper look back at the year, so much happens that we skim over, you know the small stuff and often the positive things at that.  You know the enjoyable moments, the things that make us smile and that somehow get swept away in the whirlwind of everyday life.

For the first time in a few years I downloaded one of the many workbooks available online to take a more structured look at this year, and to sure to start thinking about my word for 2019 (more on that tomorrow).

Photo by Oscar Blair on Unsplash

This year my word was kind, something I think I mostly remembered, but something I had to remind myself of too.  2018 has been a peculiar year for us in many ways with plenty of emotions, both happy and sad.  That’s usual for most years I guess, but there seemed to have been more extremes, but some days, weeks, months are like that.

But we all have the power within ourselves to remember and focus on the good things, well I believe that anyway, and I’m sure it’s a mindset approach, which is natural for some (me) and can be learnt by others, but that’s a whole other blog post.

So while I didn’t get as much done as I’d have liked in the garden , in this post I’m looking back at five positive memories from 2018, because as Linford Christie once said: Positive Mental Attitude!

1. Dinner at the Gravetye: we finally used the voucher which was a gift from our 110th celebrations back in 2017.  The food was great, the setting was great, and it was great to sit and ponder how life after 50 had been, so far.

2. Getting my crochet on: this year has been the year that crochet has become my thing.  I’ve finished a project, started a new one and planned many more.  That said, my hook hasn’t been out for a while and so I need to rectify that soon.

3. Visiting the Chelsea Flower Show on preview day: Chelsea is always good fun, but I learnt this year that it’s even more fun without the crowds, so much so, that I’m hoping to do the same again in 2019 – fingers crossed.

4. The carpet of pink blossom in Greenwich Park: Spring, closely followed by Autumn, is my favourite season, it’s the season that’s full of hope and where your heart starts to sing again, and your head believes it too.

5. Taking the plunge and renovating our conservatory: I know that’s a big thing – and it was on the whole a positive experience, but one of the things I don’t want to forget is the discovery of newspaper behind the architrave.  History fascinates me, and the history of our house even more so.

Even just setting out to write this post, I tended to focus on the recent past.  A quick scroll through my Instagram feed and a proper think about the year threw up plenty more memories, and more than the five I set out to find.

So what, will you remember from 2018?  And what will you challenge yourself to remember?

* This is a collaborative post but all views are, as usual, my own.

My garden in December

Last month’s update was all about the leaves, and while some more have come down and blown about (quite) a bit, the headline news in December is the pops of colour and hints of new growth from the bulbs which are starting to show through the soil - yay! There’s still been very little gardening, but there have been a couple of trips out to check on things following some of the windier days and to tie the fleece back onto the agapanthus and secure the patio furniture covers again.

As I was securing the errant fleece I noticed that the geraniums which I’d moved to be shielded by the larger pots were continuing to flower, and looking happy to do so. That was all the excuse I needed to take a wander around the garden armed with my phone to take a few more snaps. On the other side of the patio the jasmine leaves were standing out against the ivy and the metal frame I have hanging on the trellis, doing their best to imitate the yellow cascades of the winter jasmine just a little along the garden.

SUMMER JASMINE IMITATING WINTER JASMINE

WINTER JASMINE ADDING ITS OWN COLOUR

Around the garden our tardiness with the leaves was being enjoyed by the euphorbias, who are already making progress with their lime ‘flowers’ - they’re something that cheers me, but MOH less so, so I’ll need to supervise carefully when we come to clear the leaves around these, just so there aren’t any accidents and some ‘unintentional’ plant thinning at the same time.

Around the garden there were more pops of colour; the hardy primulas determined to put on a good show. This one has self-seeded here and I don’t have the heart to move it just yet. I think when I do I should reward it’s determination with a spot on the patio, don’t you?

By the side of the shed there was another river of leaves to be collected, the wind seems to have rounded them up and deposited them here, so hopefully they’ll stay put until we can tidy up properly, and add them to the giant bag of leaves we already have.

Under the cherry tree an old broken trug has been collecting water. It was broken before this, and I’d used it to hold plants in while we re-positioned them and to stand plants in water while we were away, it’s destined to be thrown out but it’s claiming a stay of execution by providing the reflection of the plants above. The Lords and Ladies by the small Christmas tree and in the gabion baskets are thriving, and enjoying a spot of winter sun. Alongside them there was just the hint of a hellebore bloom and new growth from the bulbs.

Since I took this photo there’s been more bulb growth and more obviously the bulbs alongside the patio are making themselves known, with almost ten centimetres showing above the soil. Let’s hope they’re hardy and haven’t been lulled into a false sense of security by this still relatively mild weather.

Even the strawberry plants are doing their best to add some colour in the garden, and yellow is most welcome in our mostly green garden right now. There’s a few crispy leaves there too, but the garden tidy up will wait for a few weeks yet. The weather forecasters are threatening much chillier weather for the second half of January, I hope they’ve got it wrong, but in the meantime I’ll enjoy the changing colours from the conservatory.

This year we need to do more in our garden. The small shed we brought back from the allotment needs its final home, we need to add slate to the right hand side of the circles - we need to buy the slate too and lay the membrane, and I’m sure some of the trees will need a trim. The patio needs repointing, I need to find some pots to grow some veg in, the greenhouse needs reorganising and we also need to find time to sit back and enjoy our garden and light the pizza oven again - that’s the most important bit, some time to enjoy our garden, that often gets overlooked.

But right now, it’s a time for staying inside, planning what to grow (and what to grow it in) as well as carving out some time in our calendar to do some of those bigger jobs. What do you have planned for your garden this year?