Brookside Cottage

So.... Happy New Year....... This is an Angel ornament I bought from the hospital gift shop on one of Steve's last stays.... Isn't she just beautiful? I bought her and hung her above his hospital bed, and so she has a special place in my heart.......

Here's hoping your new year will be the best ever, filled with love, laughter and prosperity!

Penny had asked in her comments on my last post about the little birdie ornies and how they attach, so I took a picture to show her..... they have a little clippy-thingy (such a technical term, huh?) attached to the bottom so they just clip onto the branch, which will make it very easy to find a place to display them I am sure..........

Well, New Years started very quietly for me.... DD was away to eldest son's home, and the younger boys were at a dance with our best friends....... I posted here, and then I sat here at home in my new jammies enjoying the sights of the tree..... and, yes, there were some tears, just as any holiday without my sweet Steve is.... but I really tried not to let it engulf me all night long as I have done before..... We all have delightful memories of him, and it just isn't possible to not go through a holiday without thinking of those times....... how he loved the Holidays..... I know he wouldn't want the sadness and tears, but I also know that he knows how hard it is here without him.....

But, as I said I decided to do things a little differently this year........ No resolutions........... it feels like when I do that I kind of set myself up...... and end up beating myself up if I don't follow through. Do you do that? So, this year instead of "Resolutions" I did "Reflections"...... I simply lit some candles (WoodWick candles by the way, which I will post about another time~ they are simply heavenly!!) and sat quietly thinking back over the year.......... not the tough times, nor the disappointments........ but, the JOYS.......... the LAUGHTER..... the days and the moments that if you could you would just freeze-frame and keep going forever and ever..... I'll bet you've all had times like that through your year, haven't you? Well, I must say, it made for a much more positive way to start off the New Year....

And of course I thought about the many, many things I am blessed with, and so very thankful for.......... One of those things being all the wonderful ladies I have met through my blogging.... what an amazing thing........ I have met some of the sweetest and dearest people whom I have laughed and cried with, just as they have done with me I am sure.......... and, talent....... oh my....such incredibly talented people I have met! And, one of the really remarkable things, is when one of those who I look upon as ultra-talented, actually sends me a note, or posts here...... ohmygosh, my reaction is how you would feel if a "celebrity" were to knock on your door just to say "hi".......... oh, and if someone who is just so, so incredibly talented and artistic should compliment my work, well, you might as well just call "the home" 'cause I just about go nuts........... Anyway, I do so enjoy doing this, I hope to do it for a long time to come, and I look forward to visiting with you all here and on your lovely blogs as well...........

Ok, so I got a bit "sappy" there............. it's ok........ Valentines Day is coming you know.......... and you just gotta Spread The Love........