New Year's Eve

I'm sat by a still burning woodburner on New Years Eve morning. Its been a bitterly cold night; down to -3.8c at its coldest and its only just above freezing now. There has been a heavy air frost and everything is very white and frozen.

I've been musing on Resolutions and Priorities for the new year for a few days in part as Downsizer.net has started various threads on the subject and it gets you thinking.

I'll briefly define terms as we go along I think. Or at least how I see them. Priorities is more of a practical take on the new year. It is looking at our aims towards a further downsized life ( downsizer being a sustainable and ethical viewpoint which is therefore by its very nature a 'green' and eco friendly one) And here we're slightly stuck in that as a family we have probably reached as far as we can in terms of livestock ( chickens and bees) and green alterations to the house ( increased insulation and wood burner) .

We already have a good recycling system and grow and make much of our own food with the allotment etc. We can build on that in terms of effectively doing more of the same, but due to time, resources, money and space we're probably about as far as we can get for grand projects. Not that is in any way a complacent place. We can always improve harvests or recycling rates as its easy to let things slip, and of course prices of things like solar panels are coming down all the time. But this year will be less about big and dramatic changes to our green lifestyle more about consolidation of where we are.

Having said that we are going to try and over pay the mortgage if possible whilst interest rates are low. So watching our money and being frugal seems sensible; in the current 'credit crunch' big spending seems wrong doesn't it?

I'd like to finish off the garden remodelling that I started last summer before rains and a broken toe stopped progress. With the help of the boys I'd dug out most of the old and overgrown shrubs so now its more a case of digging over old flower beds and re-shaping them before re-planting it all.

I'm going to aim to dip in to my recipe books more - its too easy to get in to a rut of cooking the same old things each week.

There is a major personal challenge for me to aim for this year, but I'll put the details of that in a separate post when I'm ready.

As to Resolutions - that's harder to define personally this year. I regard resolutions as about changing behaviour or habits to the good, so here is where folk normally aim to lose weight or stop smoking or something. My weight is fine due to doing lots of pilates and I've never smoked so those aren't issues for me. I'm stuck this year actually. Not saying I'm perfect (god no!) but there is less obvious things to change since I'm deeply happy just as I am.

But then I read something that made me think. In the weekend papers there were some commentators predictions for 2009 and one comment struck me. There was the prediction that our idea of status would change in the coming year. That someone who could grow a carrot or two would be as revered as a Hedge Fund Manager. I really hope that comes true and that we begin to understand that there is more to life than money. It would make my lifestyle choice much easier to explain to others. It makes me feel more that how I've chosen to live is as much a valid and worthwhile choice as going out to work would be. I've known it personally for a long time but it is sometimes hard to swim against a tide that says earnings are the only marker of status our society recognises. I have renewed enthusiasm for how I live and can't wait to get on with things in 2009. There is still so much I want to do at here at home. Less talk this year, more action!I need to stop apologising for being a homemaker and mum. I resolve to celebrate and be proud of how we live in the coming year.

Happy New Year!

Love
Julie
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