On This New Years Eve…

This winter has been ridiculously mild here in England. It’s not just England though, Europe has warmer than average temperatures and on speaking to my brother-in-law in Canada, they are having the same sort of temperatures as we are – 11 to 13 degrees Celsius!

Now while I’m glad that I’m saving on my heating bills, I have to say that I love the unique character of each season, so winter – in my books- should be chilly and frosty at least. We’ve had ONE frost, and that was in the autumn. December has been wet, warmish, and grey. We had one sunny day that was wonderful…

Isn’t that sky just something?

The problem with such mild temperatures is that our spring bulbs are blooming way before time. The snowdrops in my garden have been flowering for 3 weeks already, and two days ago I noticed a daffodil in bloom! 

I snipped it off and brought it indoors. I wonder what this all means for spring? Hmmmm ….

Two days before Christmas one of the pipes in our house sprang a leak. Fortunately we were able to get someone out to fix it very quickly which I was very happy about, but someone was NOT happy about having strange people in our home…

She hid behind the sofa until they were gone, only peeking her little head out to get the lie of the land LOL.

I wanted to show you a new visitor that stopped by the feeder the other day, a little Black Cap. This is the first time I have seen this little fellow visiting and was thrilled to have my camera nearby to capture him.

Two little robins were around at the same time. The robin is my FAVOURITE bird. I hadn’t seen him around the feeder for a few days but on this particular day not one robin appeared but two – at the same time! That’s quite unusual as they are very territorial birds. They must be hungry.

Now tomorrow we shall wake and it will be 2016. Have you spent any time pondering on the year ahead? This week I have purposefully taken a bit of time out to think on the next year. What changes I want to make, what things I want to be more purposeful in. New attitudes, new ventures, new opportunities. New. 

So here are my thoughts. In 2016 I want to…

* cultivate a quiet and gentle spirit and manner by reading my Bible, praying more and nurturing my relationship with Jesus.

* I want to ‘Bloom Where I Have Been Planted’. When ordering my new planner for 2016 I purposefully chose this motto for the cover as a daily reminder. I want to fall in love with my new home and with my new county.

*Have fun with my girls in our homeschool. This is my eldest daughters final year in our homeschool. She is off to college in September and I want out last few months of homeschooling to be precious.

* I want to plant a successful veggie garden to feed my family

* I want to start a knitting podcast and grow my Etsy business

*I want to be in complete control of my home, doing my very best to create a joyful and inviting home for my family. 

*I want to fill page upon page in my nature journal

* I want to read more, see more, explore more…

So my friends, I guess I shall ‘see’ you all next year 🙂 Thank you so much for visiting my blog over the past year and for your lovely comments. I do appreciate you taking time out of your busy day to read my ramblings and ponderings, and I especially appreciate your lovely comments. I’ve ‘met’ so many lovely people through this little space and I’m so grateful for that.

Be safe and have a very HAPPY NEW YEAR!