Christina Hollis, Creative Writing, figs, garden planning, honey, Jack Canfield, motivational books, Success Principles

New Year, Fresh Start

It’s taken me ages to write this first sentence. All my get-up-and-go got up and went just after Christmas. The fun and games are just a memory, and the next holidays aren’t even a glimmer on the horizon.  The weather isn’t helping – it’s cold, dull and dreary outside. We had some snow overnight, but that soon turned to rain and has now disappeared completely. It wasn’t anything like as pretty as the photo you can see here!

Getting motivated on this murky Monday morning is proving really hard. I’ve dug out my trusty  Success Principles book by Jack Canfield for inspiration. Putting the things I need to do today in order of urgency has helped me focus and it was good displacement activity, if nothing else! I’ve also swapped my usual grey hat and black jeans for a ridiculous red cap, mulberry shirt and scarlet baggies as a gesture – though what the cat and hens will think of it is anybody’s guess.

 Getting out of the office and writing in the greenhouse will give me a new perspective on things, though until the new heater arrives it’s hardly a tropical paradise. Despite that, the sight of all the plants waiting to burst into life makes me anticipate strawberries and cream, fresh figs and maybe even some bunches of grapes. There might be honey from our bees this year, too – I didn’t harvest any at all in 2012. The terrible weather put so much pressure on them I didn’t want to stress them any further.  Luckily we’ve still got a few jars of honey left from the 2011 harvest. Honey has a long life-span, but in the great tradition of positive thinking I’m planning for bumper crops of it, and everything else as well this year. 

What’s your favourite remedy for the mid-winter blues? I’d love to hear it – and there’ll be a little prize  for a comment picked at random!