Another Year Over, A New One Just Begun….

Oh no!  Another long post . . .

We had a lovely time at the New Year’s Eve party last night.  The weather was windy and looked quite stormy when we arrived, but it soon cleared and the wind dropped, making it just a perfect night to be outdoors, enjoying good food and company.

This morning we had a very leisurely start with French Toast for breakfast on the verandah. 

It is cool and drizzly, so a very pleasant way to start the year.  We do so enjoy our breakfasts like this.  Who needs to go into town to a cafe?

A few flowers have decided to bloom now that we’ve had some decent rain.

I think I’ll have to get some more dahlia bulbs, as they always look so cheerful.

I’ve been in a somewhat reflective mood this morning, reviewing the last year according to “Blog” and wondering where the time has gone.

I have so enjoyed becoming a more active member of the blogging community during the last year.  With all the new BOMs, challenges and swaps announced at the start of the year I decided to take a tentative step at involvement.  I started Red Delicious BOM, but only completed a couple of blocks before deciding it wasn’t for me.  However, I have really enjoyed working on Verandah Views. 

I still have a few blocks to complete, but I know it will happen this year.

Although I have shied away from the bigger Swaps, I have participated in Maree’s Redwork Cushion Swap, both of Jellyware’s Wash Cloth Swaps, the Christmas Fat Quarter Swap and the Christmas Ornament Swap.  This has been a great way to meet new people and make more friends. I was also lucky enough to win two giveaways.  However, my biggest inspiration was the One Project a Month Challenge with about 50 small projects completed in the twelve months. 

I was quite amazed when I counted them up.  The little craft group I’m a member of has also been very enjoyable, as have the couple of workshops I’ve participated in here in town.

But. . . . when you check my side bar, you will see UFOs that have progressed no further and projects that still haven’t been started.  Let’s see if I can make some inroads this year.

So, what about the rest of the year. . . .

Family played a big part, with Dad’s 90th, Mum’s 80th and Mick’s 50th. 

We also had Dad participating in Anzac Day and the Rededication of the local War Memorial.

There were a few minor dramas, with my car being sick at the beginning of the year, then my sewing machine playing up and the iron died.  We had a grass fire next door, Joey our cat was bitten by a snake and Mick killed three brown snakes in the yard.  Mind you, everything ended up just fine, and if that was the worst that happened we were really quite blessed.

We had some weird weather. 

Dust followed by snow in September and then a heat wave in November.

Despite the ongoing drought, we had some lovely flowers in the garden in both autumn and spring and I had a lovely time with my bulbs in pots.

We also harvested some yummy berries and veges.

Our collection of bits and bobs grew with visits to op shops, our local church fete and a few antique stores.

We are seriously running out of space, so I think this habit may have to be somewhat curtailed.

We enjoyed some time on Mick’s bikes.  He got the old BMW on the road and we attended a Classic Rally and went to the Bike Show in Sydney. 

We also attended a couple of BHCC outings, although not nearly as many as in previous years.

Of course, our year would not be complete without plenty of tripping around. 

We went to open gardens at Crookwell, Millthorpe and Bathurst. 

We had weekends away to Kiama, Nowra, camping on the Abercrombie and Braidwood.

There were outings to the Bronze Thong, Hill End and the Millthorpe Markets.

The highlight of our travels was, of course, the Isle of Man, where we watched lots of bike races, had a great time playing the tourist and meeting up with Loulee.

It was so good to meet her and we hit it off straight away.

Now I realise that although the year has flown, we have actually done quite a bit.  This is despite Mick having an extremely busy year at work and not having much time off.

So what does this year hold?

I don’t like to make New Year resolutions, as I don’t seem to keep them, so it just sets you up for a fall.

In January I revealed my dream of a Sewing Shed in the back yard.

The bike took much longer to finish than anticipated and I don’t know if it will eventuate or not.

We are off to Albany in a couple of months for the Ulysses AGM – riding across the Nullarbor on the new BMW which will be fun. 

I do hope to continue to do quite a bit of crafting.  I noticed that in all the sewing I did last year I did not complete one quilt.  That will definitely have to be remedied this year.

The main thing I hope for in the coming year is health and happiness.  I look forward to continuing to be involved in the blogging community as it is such a friendly and positive thing.

Happy New Year.