An Old Problem, a New Year...

It's that time of year again, isn't it?  I didn't leave my Seasonal Affective Disorder across the pond in Wales unfortunately.  All week I have seriously struggled to drag my sorry behind up out of bed in the morning.  The fact that New Year's Eve brought us a balmy, rainy day that washed all of the sparkling white snow away hasn't helped my depressive moods, BUT it's new day and a new year, and I am choosing to fight my seasonal lethargy tooth and nail...as long as it's after 9 am.

As has been the case for the past few years, we do our New Year's celebrating on New Year's Day rather that the night before.  This gives us a chance to celebrate with our traditional New Year's meal, toast with sparkling beverages and make wishes for the upcoming twelve months, and there isn't even a small part of me that misses the late night celebrating.  As Danny Glover's Sergeant Murtaugh would say, "I'm too old for that $#!*."

I took the above photo (with my new Christmas camera) especially for my Welsh friend, Sonia.  Are you there, Sonia??  Notice not only the fabulous meal (with asparagus substituted for the more traditional collard greens), but also the fab Cath Kidston table cloth and the adults' champagne flutes with lovespoons etched into the glass.  We did it up right tonight.  In addition we added a new tradition to our New Year's repertoire: British Christmas crackers.  Those little devils are expensive over here, but they can be bought for 50% off after Christmas.  So...Bob's Your Uncle...new tradition: New Year's Crackers.  Cracking, eh?

Lili and George certainly thought the crackers were a grand idea.

So with celebrations suitably dealt with, I am still left with my dilemma of the annual winter time blues.  Sonia, yes, you again, could you just pop round here each morning and take me for a therapeutic walk round the City Forest?  No?  Well then, I am going to have to get creative.  I have too  many wonderful little people counting on me to be cheerful or, at the very least, awake for the next three months.  I shall keep you all posted on my progress this winter.  Last year getting out and walking each morning helped tremendously, but it is more than a little impractical to push a stroller and a shivering toddler through the snow.

I will continue to brainstorm as I take down the Christmas decorations and ease back into the non-holiday routine.  I am ashamed to admit that there was a large part of me that was relieved to take all of the Christmas music off my ipod today.  Since the shops started playing it the week after Halloween, I had more than my share.  Tonight in my New Year's kitchen we all listened to the playlist entitled "I'm a Little Bit Country," and while there is no Donnie and Marie on that list, there are all sorts of other country tracks.   This is a great departure back to my familial musical roots for me.  As a child and young woman I would have told you that I absolutely detested country music.  My college roommate and I would practically have simultaneous seizures in the cafeteria anytime a good ole boy in tight jeans played "Gone Country" on the video jukebox which resided there, but country music has slowly been winding its way into my good graces.  It started with kd lang followed by the Dixie Chicks and now includes Sugarland, Billy Currington, Zac Brown, the Wreckers and Patty Loveless just to name just a few.  Rest assured, Brother Drew, the playlist remains free from Alan Jackson strictly on principle.

Now that I've gotten that guilty little secret off my chest, I can share one last cheerful, happy new year photo with you...

Cindy Lou Who wishes you the happiest new year ever!!

"We will open the book. Its pages are blank. We are going to put words on them ourselves. The book is called Opportunity and its first chapter is New Year's Day." -Edith Lovejoy Pierce