Cheery And Cheer: On I Go

Monday, January 1, 2018

On I Go

I'm not a setter of goals type person when the new year rolls around - I barely note the passing of one year in to the next - the ground doesn't move, I don't feel relief, regret or resolve - I just go on like I do every morning, optimistically of course. If I set goals, they are seasonal like the ones that are written in colored chalk on the blackboard in the mudroom to do this winter when I am prone to indoor projects. This winter I plan to paint stair runners on both painted staircases, paint the front porch door, touch up some woodwork in the "smoking" room, paint the dining room ceiling, sew some living room drapes, paint the kitchen a fresh new color from the golden brown it has been since before we bought this house and paint many paintings in my studio. I'm giddy with excitement for projects! When spring and summer roll around, well that's a whole new list - all outside. And Dan and I have some travel adventures scheduled for the next several months to be eagerly anticipated. On so on for each season. As for personal goals, I don't have any new ones other than to continue with ones I stick with - staying healthy by eating healthy and keeping this body moving with productivity, worthy deeds, projects and exercise. I just finished reading the Book of Mormon for the umpteenth time and I'll keep reading my scriptures every morning as I drink my hot chocolate. Some goals are taking decades - I'm still trying to be like Jesus and love as He does which is the hardest commandment of all; I get really frustrated with the whole earth family, myself included and I can be very critical both vocally and especially in my head where you can't hear the ranting and complaining. I serve in my church and I'm sure I'll do that until I'm too old and feeble and that is probably my greatest challenge because I get asked to do things I wouldn't ever apply to do for a job. I'm socially awkward, prefer my own company in my own little world, desire to be left alone and not standing in front of others, but more often than not I'm asked to be the president of an auxiliary, at least for these last ten years and then a few times before that and that's how the Lord keeps me humbled, awake in the wee hours and in constant contact with Him. On I go, as we all do, hopefully in worthy endeavors both for others and my own good. In pictures (an adventure, a project or two and what I wore on a given Sunday in that month) and a few words, here was 2017 for my own record. Warning - having just read through this for editing - I hadn't blogged for almost 5 months thinking perhaps I was done with it for good and so this is more than three pics per month. I had to play catch up for journaling purposes for September through December so please read and scroll at your leisure, probably not in one sitting or you'll be bored spitless. Nobody should blog like this - I'll be better next year (if I keep on blogging)! Bippity!

JANUARY

Turks and Caicos

FEBRUARY

TULUM, MEXICO

MARCH

ST Barth's AND ST Martin

SCOTTY IN A BOX for Heath's birthday

APRIL

HAWAII

JAPAN

An Alma Thomas-like abstract I painted for the hallway

MAY

Healing after sinus surgery

JUNE

Two pics above - five days at Girl's Camp at Camp Zion in Raymond New Hampshire

Fifteen pounds lighter from April when I started a 1200 cal a day to lose a couple years of traveling fat.

I spent the month of June painting and prepping the Kingston house to go on the market.

JULY

My sister (foreground) Pignose's son Ian, standing next to his brother Nate as he waits for and watches his bride to be (Karen) walk up to him.

A couple hundred sausages for the church 4th of July Breakfast

Kingston lavender harvest

I'm crazy about these fringed blue suede sandals!

We saw Faith Hill and Tim McGraw in Boston

Above and below - Provence!

AUGUST

In Washington with my mom, Pignose, and my sister Leslie's kids for an afternoon on Brad's boat on the Columbia river

My brother Shawn walking his daughter down the aisle as she gets married - Oregon

PigNose and WeaselNose crying as our brother Shawn dances with his daughter who just got married.

My niece Lyndsay on her wedding day in Oregon.

I've been documenting my Sunday outfits for about three years now.

And finally, I have my first grand child from one of my own children born August 29th - William Glenn Davis!!

SEPTEMBER

Dan's first day as adjunct professor (private equity/finance) at UNH

Above and below - Cape Cod and Martha's Vineyard with the Dan Man

In Cabot Arkansas for 12 days to hang out with my grandson, Gabe and Mark

She asked for homemade cookies on her birthday instead of a cake.

While Gabe and baby slept and Mark was at work, I dug into heavy clay and created flower beds and planted some shrubs.

I also painted their front door orange at Gabe's request.

OCTOBER

CREAM CHEESE stuffed pumpkin bread

I picked dahlias every day the whole month of October - it was glorious!

NOVEMBER

I concocted a divine face oil that I use morning and night after reading about the current face oil craze, especially Linda Rodin's Olio Lusso. I studied the ingredient lists of several face oils and measuring tips from apothecary sites and made my own recipe.

And I distilled pure lavender essential hydrosol and a tiny bit of oil from my summer lavender harvest.

We spent a week in the Dallas area; a few days with the Tanners (Norah Tanner is reading to us for her homework) and a few days with the Davis' for William's blessing.

As soon as we got home from this trip we packed and left a day later for the Canary Islands, namely Gran Canaria and Tenerife. I fell hard for those islands and never posted one picture on FB or IG so here are just a few of the hundreds I took.

This is a free public pool open to tourists and townies. So many of the towns had these located right next to the ocean

DECEMBER

It was a family reunion of sorts this 2017 Christmas. All my kids were together for the first time at Christmas since 2011. Above they are playing Harry Potter jelly bean game where Gabe ate a yucky one.