An early morning enjoying the view of the river while journaling, thinking about the last day of the year and what I’m looking forward to in 2024. After we packed up, wishing we could stay longer, we headed up the Sonoma coast for a hike on the Jenner Headlands Preserve. A friendly volunteer gave us…

What a difference in the weather today! Woke up to a foggy morning that eventually cleared to a sunny warm day (at least when we were out of the trees). After a lazy morning reading and drinking coffee on the deck we went to Goat Rock beach to go for a walk. It was gorgeous…

I worked in the morning then headed to Duncans Mills where Chrissy and I are staying for a few days. We are at a place right on the Russian River with lots of windows, a large deck overlooking the river and a wood fireplace. It rained most of the day but we were cosy and…

Didn’t have to work today so I did chores and packed for my time away. Mom and I took the ornaments and lights off the Christmas trees and I hauled them out to the curb. I also spent some time creating mini-collages from the paintings I had made over the last couple of weeks. It…

Rainy day today, so it was heavenly to come home from work and read in front of the fire for a while. I’m reading a book called Birnam Wood by Eleanor Catton, a New Zealand author who won the Booker prize for her second book, The Luminaries, which I read when I was in New Zealand last…

Today was back to work, which reminded me of why I missed celebrating Boxing Day. You shouldn’t have to go to work the day after Christmas. Luckily, I had plenty to keep me busy and the day went quickly. I also got out for a walk and saw bushes that were absolutely laden down with…

We had a wonderful, wonderful Christmas day. Ended up with 20 people at the house to celebrate the day together, such a treat. After opening all the goodies in our stockings we had our traditional Christmas lunch/dinner of pizza and salad then moved onto opening Christmas presents with Emmy and Alea taking on their usual…

It was really foggy this morning, which made for some beautiful views of the sun coming through the fog and tree branches. I hiked the Rhubarb trail, there weren’t as many people with dogs, but there were quite a few families which was unusual for early Sunday morning. I think parents were trying to get…

“Sometimes we just need to let go of who we have been.” I read this quote the other day and thought ‘That’s what I’ve been doing, though I haven’t yet figured out who I am becoming now.’ I have been trying to get in touch more deeply with my emotions and my feelings. It’s easier…

Sights I have seen over the last week:  The Christmas star on top of a tree in the neighborhood. This star has been here for literally decades, at least since I was a little kid, maybe even before that time. It’s one of the things I look forward to seeing during the holiday season.  A…