Yes, we've all agreed that the name, The Western Woods, fits the property, so that's what it is! I think I'll be changing the name of the blog, actually. We have the Lamp Post and even have the Great River and the Cauldron Pool. It's all fitting together perfectly. :)
Anyway, it was a day for putting away the old and starting fresh. Craig got the Christmas stuff cleared out and packed away. Ahhhh. It's always so lovely to have the house back to normal. Since I've been working diligently to hang up shelves, paintings, and pictures, it's looking even more like our home. It feels great to finally have time to do all of this stuff I've had to put off for 4 months.
One thing I do is finish off writing in my journal, and then write the first entry in my new journal. I like to reflect on the past year and start writing about the new one. And I love to see all of those journals lined up on my shelf, the row growing longer and longer as the years go by.
(You can see that I've had the same journal, Our Country Diary, since 1997--with the exception of 1999. I thought I'd try something different that year and have regretted it ever since! In any case, I guess the important thing is that I at least have a journal from that year, right? It was the year Sarah was born.)
Back to New Year's traditions, another thing we do is have pork and sauerkraut (which is a whole lot better than black-eyed peas!). And then, Scottish tradition says that the First Footing is important; that is, the first person to cross the threshold of your house either brings you good luck or bad luck. Well, I don't believe in luck, but I do like traditions. I laugh a bit at this one because, apparently, I'm bad luck--the worst luck, in fact--all due to being a redhead. So I try to remember to not be the first person in any doors on New Year's Day.
As for resolutions, bleah. I don't do them anymore. I do make plans, though. There's just something about the new year that inspires me to take a fresh look at my life. So I enjoy thinking about all of that.
And putting up my new calendars.
