Well here I am rushing in to be the first to say Happy New Year!
No?
I’ve not used my blogging muscles for a bit — I really had to limber up before sitting down today so I wouldn’t sprain something — and I’m glad to be back here. I hope you all had a chance for some nice times, and slipped into the new year feeling well.
I was busy in a huge canvas-painting flurry through December, and then switched to a desperate prep runaround a few days before Christmas. What I liked about this year was that, after dreading how I was going to get it done through a lot of the month, when I actually got there I felt quite Christmassy. I kept finding myself humming Christmas songs. Now, when I’m stressed out I have a habit of humming those tunes faster and faster in a sort of weird manic loop, so it’s not always a good thing, but this year I felt some mellow feelings sneaking in. I have big kids now, very big kids actually, and that’s changed things a little. I think sometimes when you have the choice whether to let some traditions go you end up hugging back the ones that you really love. I had gotten away from our annual Christmas morning scones in favour of some purchased chocolate croissants that I could buy and put in the oven to rise the night before. Yummy and easy as long as I remembered to do it, but this year there were murmurs of how nice it would be to have those homemade scones again. And that was sort of nice, having those murmurs. So I smiled and felt nurturing as I rolled them out Christmas morning. \We all enjoyed them.
That’s actually not true. The poor soul who started his Christmas morning just after midnight by throwing up most of the night skipped the scones. And the turkey dinner. And pretty much everything that day. But he did bounce back the next day and he also kept those throwy-uppy germs to himself, so bless his soul.
My very favourite day of the year is Boxing Day, the 26th. Nothing needing to be done. Wonderful leftovers in the fridge. Time to pause and breathe. I felt like I’d been in a bit of a creativity void with all of the rush so my goal for the break was just to let that side go wild for a while. The first day my hands wanted to be busy but the rest of me didn’t want to move at all, so I pulled out some knitting and had a bit of Downton Abbey marathon. I’m a little late getting to that series but was hooked. I kept casting on, knitting a few rows, then pulling it out when it wasn’t quite right. All about the action, not the result. I finally got on a roll but at the end of the day was about two thirds of the way through a trivet that I’ll felt once I’m done. Oh dear. Two thirds. Not looking good for that one. Might have to wait a year for that urge to strike again. 
In the days after that the weather was cold — sorry about that, I know it was nothing compared to what a lot of you will have had — and I mostly stayed in. My sketchbook and I hung out a bunch. It was the best thing, just drawing.
I spent an evening doing a little card, with watercolour. 
Before Christmas I had been busy trying to finish an acrylic painting for my sister-in-law. She was supposed to get a painting last Christmas so she was a pretty patient thing. I also switched the subject on her. I’ve painted this a few times and like how it turns out a little differently each time. It looks like it turned out just a little blurry this time, but I think I can blame that on the photo and the late hour I took it! (Although maybe I had better check?)
It stayed cold outside so I felt well justified in staying in and bundling up. The frost on the railings looked like the hair on a dog’s back one morning.
And what the heck was happening with this ice? How is this possible???
It eventually warmed up, and then before it seemed possible school was starting up again. It’s such a surreal time, between Christmas and things starting up again. The days seem to go by in a blink. I kept away from my office and really took a breath, and that felt good. The day before it all started up again I met a friend down at the beach and we tried to remember what it feels like walking into that cold stuff.
Now I’ve been back at my desk for a bit but just finding my words lining up again. I keep getting such interesting emails about different projects and ideas for Pippin. I think it’s going to be an interesting and wonderful year and I thank you for being part of it. Back to the balancing act!