Happy New Year!

Let’s begin with something wonderful and fun, which people have struggled to believe actually happens. So, here it is https://www.bournemouthecho.co.uk/news/25733961.bathtub-race-returns-poole-new-years-day/ That’s the bathtub race that triggers Lucy’s latest adventure in ‘I Could not Dig’ which came out on New Year’s Day.

This year, I’m trying to release the books more seasonally. I know you can and will read them whenever it suits you, and I'm grateful that you read them at all, but I’m delighted that a lot of people look forward to knowing that there’ll be a new book on the first Thursday of each month and either read it on the day or at the weekend. There’ll be two in February, one from Windy Bay and one from Harbourside, because February’s like November. Grey and cold and wet and a bit bleh.

It’s cold here by Poole standards so my spring refresh of the garden and the house is going on. I’ve got a long way this week, but I am now waiting eagerly for my new raised bed kits. I’m increasingly sure that they won’t arrive when they should, but they’re coming from Temu, so I’ll be £8-00 richer, which will be fun to spend. This stage has involved sweeping up, working out which plants will go where and then changing my mind a few times before I break the jobs down into small enough steps that I can do them without causing myself too much pain.

My sewing corner in the living room has had a good tidy, and I’ve tried to work out how to get my work/life balance more balanced. Yes, I know, I do this regularly, but it’s like shifting the plants around. It's fun to think about what I might do and then pick the best option for now.

I’ve also been reading about JOMO, which stands for the Joy of Missing Out. It doesn’t seem to apply to me because I’m not missing out. I’ve had to adapt my life because my immune system makes flu and Covid a lot more serious for me and people don’t practice basic hygiene or give a thought to the so-called ‘vulnerable.’ There again, I like to think that I don’t look vulnerable unless you look at my hands too closely or my speed of movement, so how are they supposed to know? I get very stiff when it's cold so right now I could be overtaken by an athletic snail if they weren’t all hibernating, comfortably cemented in their shells, and don’t I envy them right now? I’m still making it outside for 10 to 15 minutes each day because I need it for vitamin D and my mental health, but it’s definitely too cold for me.

I can’t change that, but I can and do enjoy the life I have, because Christmas and New Year brought it home to me how much I cherish time. Time to potter in the garden, to read and research, to sew, to cook, and most of all to be with my beloved family. I suppose I do have an element social anxiety which the experts claim is why people embrace JOMO, but that’s because an infection not only hits me a lot harder than most people but triggers a flare of the rheumatoid arthritis, which increases my disability. A lot of people don’t believe that. That’s their problem, and I’ve decided that they can’t be my friends, if they’ll happily put me at risk. I’ve always believed in quality over quantity so I’m well rid of them!

You’re not one of them though, so I hope you have a good week and see you on Tuesday. Today’s picture is of Poole Park Lake frozen. I’ve seen the sea freeze down here too, but right now I’m toasty warm under a quilt and with a hot wheat bag and a cup of coffee at hand while I diligently tidy up the Christmas biscuits. Life is good, and I hope it is for you too.