So, it is that time of year when, sometimes, I wish I could curl up like a cat and just sleep until spring. It is cold, and often wet, outside, all the hustle of the holidays is gone, except for the cleaning up and putting away, and I am back to work with the bleakness of plenty of tasks but little excitement as the big projects have yet to get rolling. And there is the spectre of the New Year's resolutions that are already behind in their execution...
​But there is the teletype (yes! ding-ding-ding! 10 points to whomever knew the first picture is a teletype - bonus if you knew that's how news got around the world only half a generation ago) going off in my head - story ideas, ideas for the rewrite I am in the middle of, ideas for improving this website, ideas for, well, you get the idea. Once I do plunge into something there is the satisfaction, given the lack of progress during the holidays due to all the distractions, that PROGRESS is finally being made. 
There is also plenty to look forward to. The center photo, for example, is a geranium that has been propagated, through cuttings, continuously for 55 years and, from which, I will take cuttings in a few short weeks to continue the process. There is the ever-growing, slowly mind you, but growing, interest in the Poetry Duel, in other projects I am involved in. There is the new plantings of heirloom seeds I'll start in a few weeks. There is the potential for new publications both individually and in collaboration.
Lastly, I would be fibbing if I did not confess that I actually like winter. The snow and ice is beautiful, especially new fallen before any but the bravest birds and small mammals have been out exploring. If only we could get the pretty without the troubles engendered on the roads...
Anyway, drop a comment if you agree/disagree/have some other opinion about the post-holiday doldrums and the potential that this time of year also exhibits. Hope this finds you all well and motivated!

 Picture is from The Crystalline Aerie blog first posted in 2011.
This time of year is always so busy I find I never have sufficient time to read or write. I do find I spend a lot of time with books, but it is mostly as a buyer or seller, not a consumer or creator. (That said, I hope everyone considers one of my little collections as a buyer! :-) )
However, I encourage everyone, even if you find yourself as I often do - running to decorate, to shop, to wrap, etc. - to find time for the whimsy and the joy in the season. The above picture reminds me of many hours spent as a child and as a parent building "forts" to hide in, to rest in, to create high adventure with. It was great fun!
It is the fun I hope all of us never lose. Take time out, I encourage everyone, to find a little fun every day, whether that is as simple as a cup of hot tea as you watch the wind hurry the leaves across the yard, or you actually hurry the leaves yourself in a great game of tag, take a moment from the "have to get done" to enjoy the "playtime" we all seem to need.

​Happy Holidays one and all!