We made it!  2020 is gone.  Woohoo.  Everyone is glad to see it go.  And I am with them on that for the most part as far as the virus goes.  But I challenged myself to look back on this year and look for the positive.   And there were a number of good things to reflect back on.

With travel being eliminated, we had much more time to work in and enjoy our gardens.   We grew more veggies, herbs and flowers, many different than what we usually grew because of what was or was not available online.   We are actually getting our list ready now to get our order in early this year.

TV was even more of a vast wasteland than usual so I turned to books to occupy myself in the evenings and I must say that even though I have always enjoyed reading,  spending more time delving into the content on my bookshelves, kindle and downloads from the library renewed my love of the pastime.

I also did some exploring of podcasts to listen to and You Tube channels to check out and I came across one called The Last Homely House.  It is a lady named Kate in Northumberland  in the UK.   She has such a soft, calming way of speaking.  It is like my Mr. Rogers.  She shares about her life on her little plot of land with her cats, her hens, her sewing and crafting.   It’s quite a different lifestyle than mine is and I feel as if I have taken a little trip across the pond each time I watch one of her videos.   Take a little trip of your own and check it out here.

Grocery shopping was one of the biggest challenges at the beginning of this crazy time.  I am eternally grateful to family and friends who made sure that we were able to stay safely at home and not venture out to the grocery stores.    And after Instacart deliveries became a lot more accessible, there was still the challenge of not being able to get just want you would choose if you were doing the shopping.  That did make meal prep different but it led to us trying new recipes and using different ingredients in our regular menu items.   We discovered new ways of making old favorites and therefore expanding our meal choices.   And we did a lot more meal prep together and we both really enjoyed that.

When we had days of nice weather and once summer set in, we did a lot more walking around the neighborhood,  spent time walking on the boardwalk and on really warm days, just relaxing on the beach. We discovered some new, wonderful places where social distancing could be achieved that were perfect for taking nice walks.   I was very grateful that we were able to get out and about and get some exercise and fresh air.  I know it helped keep us in good health….. both physically and mentally. 

I spent a good deal of time in my sewing room.  Of course, a very large portion of that time was spent in making masks.  But while I wish that the situation didn’t make it necessary to wear these new fashion accessories,  I was very happy to have something helpful and useful to contribute.

Overall, this was a year of slowing down.   And, yes, it cannot be denied that it was a year of great pain and loss for so many.   While I would not want to live through this type of year again, I will go forward into 2021 taking the lessons I learned with me.   I urge you all to take time reflect back on this very unexpected year and pack up the positives that came out of it and take them with you as you journey into this new year.  And if you are so inclined, share one or two down in the comments.  There may be some things that you have packed in your bag of positives that I have overlooked that I can add to mine.

And so as we head into this next year, here is a toast to Health, Happiness and Peace for all of us.

Oh, one more thing before I go…….  Just a little reminder 

Just 358 days ’til Christmas

Be well.  Stay safe.  Bye for now.

Ginny