Counting blessings in January

As the year draws to a close I ask myself ...was it a good year,or a stressful one...and for the life of me I can't remember. Of course my mind is like a sieve and has been so always but this year the decision was to record all the good things that happen month on month. I've decided to make 2016 a year of counting my blessings . Will I carry it through is a million dollar question but let's make a start.

Jan 2016 slid quietly by just as I wanted it too. All that noise and partying are things of the past so except for the crackers shattering the silence for an hour or two I slept the sleep of the dead and woke up refreshed. The mother for some reason gives us money as gifts for the new year and even though we don't need it we accept it with gratitude and it makes her happy. Adding joy to someone's life can be quiet pleasurable.

My container garden flourished and bore fruit despite some of my baby plants had to be rescued from torrential rain which vey nearly killed them. It is getting a kind of pattern now and doesn't look as disheveled as it did a month ago. I hope to harvest some cherry tomatoes very soon. 

 Our first guest of the year arrived and even though the visit was only for two days it was a relaxing time for me spending it with a friend and her mother,both of whom I have know for close to thirty years.

A friend who has shared many joys and sorrows and who's house was like a second home for me until she went away across the seas to England. Despite extending invitations year on year she has never come to stay but did so this year. To see her relax and to see her mom eat my food with relish was such joy. Time well spent catching up on conversations.

Our next guest was a couple very much like us albeit much younger but we share the same love of all things food and as my basil plant was growing into a little tree we invited them for an Italian meal to relive our experiences of Italy and to indulge in some good food and wine. An evening well spent and lots of fun.

Jan also saw a reasonable amount of swimming in the new pool. Smaller and shallower than the old one it nevertheless stand in the shade of some high walls and trees so swimming in the afternoon heat isn't as bad as it was in previous years. Not having a clock means that I manage to have long pleasurable swims.

My great love of all seafood has me checking prices on a daily basis and what joy to find fish prices dropped in Jan. The fridge is now so full of fish that I can indulge my passion for fish pickle,fish and chips and everything else fishy.

The mother got a clean chit from her doctor and seems in high spirits which is a blessing.

The mornings are still cool so walking hasn't Ben painful and leaving windows open to fresh air is an added bonus.

The first month of the year has sailed past and it's been a good one.