Does entering a new year mean new beginnings for you or does it mean a continuation with a new number? The latter is true for me. I spent Christmas week dog-sitting for friends, which meant I was alone for the holidays (except for the dog, who loved to carry my slippers around!). It made me feel like I missed Christmas completely.
In my much younger years, I did look at January as an exciting beginning to what may end up being a happy new year – after I got over my hangover! I stayed up until midnight to say good-bye to the previous year and to be awake for the first moments of the year to come. I guess being young was what gave me hope for the future. Now I am in bed at nine.
Not to be too depressing, but now I don’t see much hope for exciting times in the year ahead. I did get a quick spurt of energy and organized my tiny kitchen. (When two previously single households merge and both people want their own kitchen items, a little kitchen can become quite crowded.) So far, that is about all I’ve done to celebrate a new beginning.
January in Florida
Here in Florida, January means a blissful relief from hot weather so I do celebrate that. I pull the cool air into my bedroom each night using a window fan, and I sleep much better than when the AC runs 24 hours a day. It’s comfortable to take walks and I get to wear the occasional sweater with jeans.
My vegetable garden has been transformed into a citrus garden with only a few herbs struggling to grow at the edges. More about that on another post, but I’m not doing much gardening these days.
I do plan to finish the front perennial garden once the chance of frost passes. For now, outdoor planting is on hold. I’m still watching my little hydrangea, which I put in the ground about a year ago. It survived the summer, and shouldn’t have too much trouble with colder temps.
2020 and Hydrangeas in the Spotlight
After reading a post at Susan Rushton’s blog, I learned that there are annuals, perennials, and shrubs of the year! Because I do design work, I knew that Pantone sets the “color of the year” which this year is “classic blue“, but had not heard of this about plants. She has a blog post with stunning hydrangea photography: 2020 is the Year of the Hydrangea, which is about a visit to Holehird Gardens in the UK. Wow, I would love to visit in person!
Actually, according to the “National Plant of the Year” site, the Invincibelle Ruby is the hydrangea of the year. I’m not sure I like it all that much, but I’m wondering if the flower colors fade nicely.
Plans for 2020
For the new year I will continue to consolidate my attention into fewer blogs, and work at selling more specific items in my Zazzle shops. Making enough money to survive is always a concern.
Speaking of online doings, I plan to quit Amazon Prime because I am not at all happy with Amazon in general. Every time I search I find some of my stolen designs showing up for sale (like pillows here). Each time I fill out a take-down notice and an item is removed, another new “store” pops up with the same stolen designs. Be careful of what you purchase from Amazon.
I hope to take a trip to New Hampshire to visit my grown kids and escape Florida for a little while. The thing is, once I get there I don’t want to leave.
A few things need to be done around the house, which will be fixed as money allows. On nicer days I hope to get out on the water in my kayak.
My only resolution of any kind is to visit the beach more often. After all, I live only a few miles away.
Thank you for sharing!
Hydrangeas Blue 