Happy New Year!

I had meant to get on and post yesterday, too, but the day got away from me.

Surprisingly for the very beginning of January we've had very mild weather. In fact, tomorrow we are supposed to have weather in the 60's with a high chance of rain. Because it's been so pleasant, I've been dreaming about a garden, but I'll get into that a bit later in the post.

Yesterday we had the required pork, sauerkraut, and Hopping John (a black eyed pea dish), along with mashed potatoes. Everything was delicious! I also made a black bean cake with peanut butter frosting for dessert. I read something interesting the other day about why people eat collard greens, black eyed peas, and cornbread for New Year's. They all represent money and eating them is supposed to bring you prosperity. You're not supposed to eat beef or chicken. Why? Because cattle stand still when they eat and eating them means you will be stagnant in the new year and chickens scratch backwards to get their food, meaning you will move backwards in the new year.

Usually I keep my tree up until January  6, but this year it was down the Friday after Christmas. I was just ready for a fresh house. So the tree has been put away, my little vintage village that was a gift from a dear friend has been put away, and the snowmen are still out, ready to bring a cheery note to January. The house has been tidied (mostly...there are a few big projects on the horizon) and I'm ready to jump into the new year! Are you?

Yesterday I spent a little time doing two things. The first was making my yearly gift list. I made a list of the people I buy gifts for during the year and the occasion (birthday, Valentine's, ect). Some of the list is already filled in (there is an upcoming January birthday that I'm currently working on) and I will fill in the rest as I find gifts during the year. The second thing I did was tweak my cleaning routine. I admit, I have been fairly lazy with my housekeeping. I've been keeping up with general cleaning such as dusting, vacuuming, laundry, ect, but it is the little things that I've been neglecting. I'm hoping to keep the house spic and span with my new schedule.


I hope you've had a wonderful start to January!