Farewell … and … we’ll see

We saw out the last few days of 2020 in a mostly relaxed mode. My wonderful yoga teacher offered a class early morning on the 30^th, which was very well attended. All kinds of twists and balances to ready us for the new year.

Mornings have been very cold here (well, cold for us – at zero or slightly below). Long walks with the dog once the frost cleared. The plants don’t look overjoyed, but the daffs and bluebells are starting to poke their noses up. I made a cannoli pound cake on NYE.

On Thursday evening, we ventured into ‘town’ to pick up burgers and fancy sides from the gourmet burger place. On the way home we noticed this huge yellow full moon hanging low in the sky. A commentary on the year to come?

Clearly there was an abundance of worry and sadness for many in 2020. For me, the two things that stand out are the death of my ex-husband (from Covid after surgery for another issue), who was a genuinely good person even if we weren’t good together; the other was the development of a health issue for me which has meant significant changes – some major, some minor.

There were some positives as well in all this: a sort of enforced slowing down, which meant I made myself really be in my small world; work on the house was completed (with us now having, after 7.5 years here, a modern, dry, warm, pleasant place to live where crawly things no longer appear early morning from between the floor boards after wet nights); that my yoga teacher made the ongoing effort, offering classes that were varied, interesting, and frequently seemed to intuitively provide exactly what I needed on a given morning (“how did she know my left hip needs attention????”).

1 January meant leftovers from NYE meal and the UK out of the EU. I will simply say this makes me sad.

I am an optimist by nature (2020 tried this sorely) and I’ve been thinking about some basic things to look forward to this year. I don’t make resolutions. This is simple hopefulness on display.

First off is the vaccine. Science and human ingenuity at their finest (did you do know that Dolly Parton helped finance the Moderna one – yet another reason to love her). Not one, but a number of possible options are becoming available which potentially point to getting the pandemic under control.

Second, and referring to the above, I hope to return to yoga in the studio with other yogis maybe in the second half of the year. Yoga is my mental and physical anchor.

Third, I am hoping the local outdoor pool, which was closed for the 2020 season, will be able to open back up in May and I’ll be able to join the Nutters’ club (adult lane swimming early mornings).

Fourth, I hope to finally visit The Lost Gardens of Heligan in Cornwall (https://www.heligan.com/). A visit has been in the back of my mind for years. Time to make that a reality. (Here’s what the website says about the place: “Heligan is one of the most mysterious estates in England. Lost to the brambles of time since the outbreak of WW1, this Sleeping Beauty was re-awakened in 1990 to become Europe’s largest garden restoration project. Today Heligan’s 200 acres are a paradise for the explorer, wildlife, plant lover and garden romantic”. Sounds pretty awesome.)

Finally, I look forward to travelling by train. I love train travel in this country (my ex once told me that train stations here used to be called cathedrals of the industrial revolution) – and in Europe – and we have plans, which I hope will come to fruition in the next couple years, to do a ‘Grand Tour’.

My fragrance for the last few days of 2020 and the first day of 2021 has been Le Labo Ylang 49 from a sample my son bought me for Xmas. I had tried this several times, but for whatever reason this iteration has really stuck. Somehow (perfume alchemy?) this is both very hot and slightly cool (vague notes list: ylang, gardenia, patchouli, oakmoss, vetiver, benzoin and sandalwood). Go figure. In any case I’m stuck on it.

No happy new year from me. I see no reason to trust it yet. Rather, wishes for a good, sane, productive and safe 2021.