Week in Review - Starting the New Year!

Ok, so I'm a couple of days late in posting this. 

I had thought about doing a 'Year in Review' and ditched that idea. I have a problem with dragging the past along with me and letting it dampened my present and future. So screw that! 2023 was ok, but not my favorite year.

Anyway...

I did do my annual card draw on Monday. 

I pulled out my Botanical deck I had supported on Kickstarter a couple of years ago. I wanted something plant or garden themed to at least start the year with since my word of the year is...

As a companion draw, I pulled from a herbal deck which I consider more of an oracle deck. 

Overall, my year looks very promising. 

But on Monday, the start of the New Year, I got my butt up and out of the house and did a 'First Hike'. 

The hike started at King's Mountain State Park in South Carolina (just across the border) and ended at Crowders Mountain State Park in North Carolina (near my house). 

It was a 5.6 mile hike and was well attended. Luckily, while I wasn't first across the finish line, I wasn't last either. The park services shuttled us back to our cars, which made the hike doable. 

I had bundled up a bit too much and found myself shedding a hoodie and a jacket on the hike, ending up a bit red in the face from the exercise and being overheated.

A great part of the hike was meeting a 54 year old woman who completed the Appalachian Trail as a thru-hiker last year. 

Then on Tuesday morning (yesterday), I found out one of my local library branches was hosting a writing group! I signed up and headed out for the meet-up. 

One of the women who is in my Extension Master Gardener group is now working at the library and is leading the workshop. Fun!

I managed to handwrite about 10 pages during the workshop. It will be a once a month thing. She is also going to offer a writing session off library property on a Friday night at a local bookstore. Double fun! 

To top it all off, besides stating a goal I want to hit during January, we also stated a goal we want to have for the year. My two goals was to have a full working outline for 7 Deadly Murders and then for the year, to actually have either that book or my memoir/cookbook ready for publication by the end of the year. And there is a special 'thing' the library has which will aid that last goal. But more about that later.

Oh...

Savvy and I had an online text messaging chat yesterday. We were talking about how her pregnancy is going and when she is planning on stopping work. Her 'official' due date is 15 February. While talking about full moons and how she is feeling, I did a bit of card drawing on the subject. I'm predicting MJ will be born on 23 January!

But it is off to work today and I need to fix a good breakfast before I head out to go to work at noon. Plus, I can slip in a bit more writing before then. Or maybe pull some seeds for sowing this week.