Groundhog Month

 January is a beast! Like so many Januarys before, this one seems like it has been at least 5 weeks long!  The first week of the month brought the inevitable post-holiday withdrawal from friends, family and wine. I put Christmas away and embraced at least two days of quiet before realizing I was going to be home for the entire month.  Then there was the adjustment to being home alone (TJ went skiing and I didn't, because I don't do that anymore, sigh) and had to entertain myself through a very cold and wet week with random cleaning, dragging all of my potted plants inside to protect them from the freezing temps, very little cooking, a jigsaw puzzle, a vast wasteland of streaming, and a book...or two.  Next came Snow-magedden 2025 week, which was actually a very nice change of pace here in Texas!  This brings me to yet another wet, dark week of what can only be classified as the fifth week of dry-January because I can swear each of the previous weeks was at least 10 days long!  

One of the bright spots in January.

Yes, I am here, whining without wine about January just like everyone else...again!  Note to self, I really need to plan something other than clean up after Christmas and hibernate in January next year.  I know this slower pace of life along with the dark days is supposed to be good for us somehow, but it is a hard pill for me to swallow this year!  The more I am forced inside the more I realize how much time I spend outdoors in my life!  I played golf yesterday in wet, muddy...but not freezing conditions just to get outside for an extended period of time.  Once again, my plan to stay home in January and work on my golf game has been hijacked by the beast.  When will I learn?

During the second week of waking up to gray skies, looking at the thermometer and seeing that my morning walk would again require bundling up and the rest of the day would drag on as if it were 30 hours long, I decided to plan for the future and dream about blue skies and crystal-clear waters.  Nothing like the hope of traveling to a perennially sunny location that has beautiful scenery, great food and wine and a lot of history to brighten even the dullest day in January.  I spent the better part of a week or more planning and dreaming.  Now we just need to survive until the end of March!

Another time killing activity I did this month was to add up all of our travel statistics from last year.  Well, probably not all of them, but the ones I could actually document.  I guess if I couldn't go away, I would just reminisce about going away.  I made a photo album, online, and sent it out to be printed.  An activity that I enjoy, and they give me great pleasure to browse through occasionally.  Then I made a couple of videos from the hundreds thousands of photos from last year.  It was very hard, since I am limited to only 50 photos per video this proved to be a real challenge!  I ended up going with one that was mostly people and places and another that was no people, only places and things.  Maybe I needed January to tie up last year and put things in perspective.  Those activities certainly opened my eyes. 

 Some notable statistics from last year...

Number of miles I walked - over 1300 miles 

Nights spent away from home -122 plus 95 in Nova Scotia for a total of 227 for Lisa 

                                                  140 plus 130 in Nova Scotia for a total of 270 for TJ

Number of different beds we slept in - 39...more for TJ!

Rounds of golf played - at least 58...fewer for TJ

Fights taken - 30, not including all connections

I guess I understand when people say we are never home!  I am pretty sure this January is the most consecutive nights I have spent at home in a long time.  Nova Scotia is a different situation all together because I consider it home and we did spend 3 months in the same house while we were there!  Adding up all these numbers might explain why I felt so restless in January.  I just don't know what to do when I am home, especially if the weather is cold and wet!

 The good news is that by the end of the week January will finally be over!  I feel the way my dog Sadie used to feel any time I put my running shoes on..."yipee, I just know we are going somewhere now!".  Hope springs eternal!  The sun will shine in February, the golf course will dry up and the wine will flow (just a bit slower) and all of the rain will provide us with many flowers.  Yes, there is a light at the end of the tunnel that is January.

A couple of videos of last year to enjoy.

                                                      The people who make life so good!

                                            Some of my favorite places and photos from 2024

Thanks for reading!