2008!

Bonne année et bonne santé to all of you.

This is the first year in the many years I’ve lived in France that we haven’t forced ourselves to eat a big meal on New Year’s Day. The sun is out for a change, we came home late last night, Claire’s working hard on her portfolio, Paul is completely crashed out and Damien’s with his friends in Spain. Yesterday our friend Emmanuelle convinced us to go on a 15-kilometer walk because of her theory that if you’re going to eat a large meal on New Year’s Eve you should deserve it – there was no dancing at her party last night, but the food was well appreciated. But today we just want to relax.

There is someone who misses that big New Year’s Day foodfest,though. Mittens knows that there’s smoked salmon in the fridge and he’s been sitting impatiently by our dining room table, waiting for us to break it out….

And I just feel this amazing feeling of relief that the holiday season is over (it’s over for me). I love January, because the days are already getting longer and I know we’re headed toward Spring.

I’m always full of hope that this year will be better than last year. I will, of course, eat only healthy food, exercise regularly and improve myself in uncountable ways. Yesterday, when I started to think about this post, I was almost afraid to look at last year’s art plan, certain as I was not to have done half of it. Surprise surprise! I wasn’t as ambitious as I usually am, and as I look back, I’ve kept with my goals, and even surpassed them sometimes, despite some notable slumps.

So now it’s time to set some for this year.

1. Sketch a lot.

2. Go on a trip and make a sketchbook about it.

3. Work on a series (this is a holdover from last year – I didn’t do everything I wanted to).

4. Take another class from Kate Johnson.

5. (Maybe) work (tentatively) toward putting together a (sort of) exhibition (somehow)……

6. Keep working towards improving life drawing skills.

7. Here’s the really important one – do a much better job in keeping up with my online friends (some of whom have become real life friends). I think the support and friendship of the wonderful people I’ve met through the Everyday Matters group and blogging in general has been the very best thing about 2007.

So there they are – modest but, I think, do-able (except maybe number 5….)

What about yours?