2025 Another Year Passes

2025 has been a lot busier for me overall.  Of course there have been hiccups and things going wrong but that is par for the course and you just have to "pivot" and change course, get on with things as they happen to you.  Sometimes though it is like digging yourself out of treacle.  There is a saying that goes something along the lines of if it does not break you, then it makes you.  That for me is forever the silver light in sometimes murky waters.

2025 has been positive in many ways.  I officially retired and I seem to be finding my "peace" along the way.  I am also having to realise and appreciate that my limitations due a lot of the time to medical issues need to be taken more seriously and adapted more.  Unfortunately I have added another couple of conditions to the list and quite frankly am getting very bored with it and frustrated with the limitations that are imposed as a result of trying to keep myself healthy.  I am here, I am present and I am alive and kicking and for that I am grateful, but oh I do get so frustrated as I am basically a free spirit and I hate limitations and I have been dealing with illness since the age of two years with long term medication since I was 7 years of age.  Unfortunately with the three epileptic attacks that I had in the space a very tight time frame, I have not been as present online as I would have liked to be, I am however hoping to be able to return to a little more posting.  I am light sensitive and any type of screen or any flickering lights can trigger an attack with me or be the precursor.  Strobe lights are a no no at a disco or anything like that as well.  I do try and remain positive but sometimes it is a little difficult.

Unfortunately we did not get down to the caravan in 2025.  I am planning to go down this summer for some sorely needed time down there.  I do not really know what it is, maybe it is because I am a little bit like a fish out of water in the City although I have lived here for many years. However, whenever I go back to the village where I grew up in Deeping St James, Lincolnshire, it feels as though I am shedding a skin.  The same when we go down to Cornwall. My soul very much belongs to the countryside. I breathe when I am in the countryside. I am a country kid.  There is a saying that you can take the girl out of the country but you cannot take the country out of the girl.  That very much sums me up.  The City is too noisy and there is always some noise pollution going on in the background even at night.  Plus the area where we live is slowly being invaded by a lot of shops (not really ones that are needed or really serve the community), fast food outlets that sort of thing.  They have no consideration for the Law when it comes to parking and park on double yellow lines both during the day and at night.

2025 was also the year when I started tackling the house. Although I have achieved quite a lot this year, in reality things have not progressed as well as they should have usually because of fatigue on my part which results in extreme tiredness and lots of sleep to recharge. As I am the one who tends to get the stuff done, things go quiet when I am not up to things and no progress is made.  I have taken things over Christmas quietly after all the cooking.  I am now hoping to get quite a bit done in the first part of January and back into the fray as it were although I am going to try and pace myself that bit more.  There is however an awful lot to do in the months moving forward.  

The quietness has helped me form some outline plans for the coming year and in some instances different ways which are going to be implemented to make things less stressful and kinder moving forward.  I also believe that not only should you be kind to one another but also kind to yourself.  I am not always kind to myself and often take responsibility for things that are beyond my control and as a result make myself a bit of an emotional whipping post when things go awry.  I was always taught to study myself first if things went wrong to make absolutely sure it was not my fault or  responsibility in the first place.  Often it is not, but then you have to dig yourself out of the right old mess you have got yourself into, or other have caused and often that responsibility falls to me as well.

I am quite a peaceful person, just want the quiet and space to be able to do the things I want to do without any intrusion in the peace and quiet.  However being part of a blended family often means I do not get the space to simply be and be able to get on with the projects I want to get on with especially when it comes to my crafting.  This is something I intend to work on this coming year as I have so many projects waiting to be made.

Christmas this year has been very quiet. It turned out a little better than I had hoped.  It involved me doing an awful lot of cooking, which I chose to do, but I did enjoy it.  I will be repeating the exercise next year, with a few changes being implemented which I have learned as I have gone along.  It helped save money, it helped me feel more involved with the Christmas spirit and more like the Christmas's of my younger years.  I also intend to "work on" Christmas through the coming year whether that be by making my own Pantry items for specific use for next Christmas, different types of preserves, Charcuterie and meat products, winemaking, crafting, adding vintage ornaments to my collection, or making new decorations.  Gathering vintage items for the dining room and entertainment purposes and also making new items.

The TV also packed up just before Christmas and so that will need repairing as well. Hopefully that will be fixed shortly. We have therefore either been watching DVD's, or some of the streaming channels, listening to the radio or following items related to our personal interests on our computers.

Therefore on this New Year's Eve, in reflection 2025 has not been a total right off - it has been challenging, however we made it through and that is the main thing despite what has been thrown at us in the greater scheme of things.

On this New Year's Eve, I just want to thank you for all your kind support during the year.  It is very much appreciated.

I also want to wish every single one of you a Happy and Joyous New Year and that your blessings are many.

Love from me to you and thank you all once again.

Catch you soon.

Pattypan

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