Thursday, January 1, 2009

Thoughts on New Years Day


It's hardly possible to enter the new year without pondering life and
ambitions. I loved Reya's niece Tovah's idea of kind and gentle sort of
resolutions, like eat more cake and laugh more often. I can certainly
relate to Leslie's opinion of her new year beginning in the autumn.
After feeling sluggish in the heat and humidity of the summer months,
which I loathe, the crisp fresh fall air brings me back to life. I am
invigorated and ready to start my year. Maybe this is because I was
born in the fall and I am brought back to my new beginnings. So, my
new year actually started back in October, but on New Year's Day, I
give myself a little evaluation, of sorts. I'll have to admit, the world of
blogging, which for me started last February, has caused me to be
more productive than I've been in quite some time. It has resurrected
my artistic side, spurred me to research, to dust off some of my
beloved poetry and even document some of my favorite dishes and
films. I surprised myself by picking up my digital camera and actually
learned how to use it! But most of all, I have embraced with friendship
some of the most kind, creative, and inspiring people I have ever
known. Thank you, dear bloggy friends, for making my Life at Willow
Manor so very special.
.
Productivity is being able to do things
that you were never able to do before.
.
.
photo by willow, Oak Grove Cemetery, Delaware, OH

54 comments:

  1. I'm right there with you on loathing the heat and humidity of summer. Autumn is the best! I love the crisp air and the beautiful trees! I was born on the first day of autumn, so I can relate.

    Happy New Year!
    Lori

    ReplyDelete
  2. thank you, willow, for all you do to inspire and enlighten us every day!

    love the photo! i'm hoping for snow soon. i'd like to take some cemetery photos in snow.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Can't believe you've only been blogging 11 months. Your blog is so beautiful.

    ReplyDelete
  4. And thank you, Willow, for adding enrichment to OUR lives.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Gee, getting fifth comment might be the best I'll ever do. The picture is gorgeous. I clicked on it by mistake and got a superb enlargement. Also your header is like that hallo'een scene with Scout defended by Boo. Have a great guilt free year.

    ReplyDelete
  6. We are richer for following you. Your photos are wonderful and your insights on the world offer a glimpse into a softer side of things. Thank you and Happy New Year.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Marc, you are so right! It does bring to mind Scout peeping out from her ham costume. Maybe that's what drew me to it?

    ReplyDelete
  8. My Sweet Willow - A very, very Happy New Year to you and yours. Although born in winter (and I do LOVE winter) autumn, as you know, is a very special season to me. It's a time of such beauty, renewal and reflection. And, I feel, your blog echoes that. May 2009 bring you great joy. Lots of love... Suza. x-o-x

    ReplyDelete
  9. What a beautiful post! I enjoy the idea of kind and gentle resolutions as well. Have more dinner parties. More naps. A glass of wine on a Tuesday evening...

    ReplyDelete
  10. You're right!
    I think blogging makes one more alert to the delights that surround us - and more thoughtful.
    Yes, there are wonderful people out there in the blogosphere.
    Happy New Year.

    ReplyDelete
  11. sounds like you have had a good and creative year with your blog. I love the summer, but also was born in October which is my favorite month and thus my personal new year too starts on October 8th. And thank you for your special posts which bring light, interesting ideas and wonderful pictures to us. Be well, suki

    ReplyDelete
  12. Above but one comment was me!
    sorry!

    ReplyDelete
  13. Wishing you all that you wish for yourself for the new year. Looking forward to more shared blogging fun.

    ReplyDelete
  14. Happy New Year Willow, one of the joys of 2008 was meeting and becoming froends with your good self.

    ReplyDelete
  15. The photograph is lovely and speaks about fall or autumn with the golden leaves.

    ReplyDelete
  16. And thank you for being the gracious hostess you are welcoming visiting bloggers, returning those visits... happy new year!

    :-Daryl

    ReplyDelete
  17. I'm looking forward to the coming year and reading all of the inspiring and beautiful posts on your blog. It's been such a pleasure to get to know you over the past couple of months!

    Here's to the year ahead!

    ReplyDelete
  18. Brilliant picture!
    Congratulations!!!

    ReplyDelete
  19. I love your blog page and you have made my world a better place and inspired me to become a little more productive also. So....thanks!

    ReplyDelete
  20. I completely agree with your post here. My resolutions are much of the same....be kind, 'shower the people you love with love', enjoy the beauty around you, appreciating the little things...and one of those little things is your blog! ...which I do enjoy every day! :)

    ReplyDelete
  21. Lovely post, Willow. We had such a lazy, lovely day bringing in the New Year. (Incidentally, we saw a really interesting little French movie today--"Confidences trop intimes" or "Intimate Strangers.") Check it out!

    ReplyDelete
  22. I agree with the fall being a perfect new year, I too was born in October and celebrate a spiritual new year as well as end of summer.
    Yet today has it's own charm, so much ahead this month alone.
    Thank you Willow for the research, the definitions, photos, film and music,sharing about yourself and Willow Manor. I will never forget the fun of the Manor Ball! Bravo!

    ReplyDelete
  23. I always find something to think about here...if my new blog gets me to be one quarter as productive as you it will be successful to me!

    ReplyDelete
  24. Gentle resolutions, yes, that must be how you do it. I think I have a drill sergeant in my head...at least today sigh...thanks for sharing the insight.

    ReplyDelete
  25. wow willow, only since February? - obviously you've found a really good fit for your creative side - I still contend your blog is absolutely one of the best in blogland! - lucky us!

    ReplyDelete
  26. Although I was born during the summer I prefer autumn and the crisper days going into winter. I think it's the humid weather in the summer here in Toronto that bother me so. I do prefer the more temperate climate of the northern prairies.

    Happy New Year, Willow, with best wishes in finding new topics to post about...which I'm certain you will have no trouble locating. All the best to you and your family for 2009.

    ReplyDelete
  27. What I love best about blogging is the realization that no matter how ordinary you believe your life to be, we all are gifted with snippets and details which, to others, seem foreign and interesting. Everyone has a story to tell. Happy New Year to you and yours.

    ReplyDelete
  28. And that you too; it is not a one way street!

    ReplyDelete
  29. Willow,
    And thanks to you for adding a special creative touch to my life through your thought provoking posts!
    And you have used your camera to catch your creative moments!
    Best wishes for the New Year!
    The Bach

    ReplyDelete
  30. How delightful to find that you came to visit and left a comment Willow. The path to your door is a happy bustling one,so may I just join those who wish you a very happy year,express the delight in visiting Willow Manor,and express my appreciation for your creativity and the beauty you share.I too have not forgotten the fun we had at the Manor ball! This truly is a wonderful place to visit for all sorts of reasons.

    ReplyDelete
  31. I am myself an October child and I embrace change just like I imagine trees do when the autumn begins. I am no longer making New Year resolutions. I rather make resolutions on a day to day basis. Like I told you in a previous post I love coming to your blog because it makes me feel cozy and welcomed. I imagine you to be a great and gracious hostess. Who knows?, we might have tea together one day. Keep up the great work.

    ReplyDelete
  32. It is so true that when we try to express and communicate things to others, it increases our own appreciation of them. I'm so glad that blogging has been an enriching experience for you, Willow - your postings have been an inspiration to so many people including myself.

    Here's to a wonderfully productive 2009!

    ReplyDelete
  33. I agree, blogging has enriched my life with many interesting friends. And you are certainly one of them. I enjoy seeing what is new at Willow Manor every day. I'm excited to see what 2009 will bring.

    ReplyDelete
  34. I love this post and didn't actually realise you have only been blogging since Feb!! I can't imagine the blog world without your contribution to it!

    I like what you said about pleasant resolutions. Those would be my kind.

    ReplyDelete
  35. I started blogging in February 2003, just on the edge of the second Iraq invasion. That event alone must have generated the first major upsurge of blogs and posts and comments crackled with news and views well into the conflict.

    Relatively few of my early compadres are still blogging, but I find that the stimulus of keeping the pages filled and the lines open continues to inspire and provoke the creative impulse. And it keeps me in touch with many 'kind, creative and inspiring people' whom I now regard as friends.

    So, Willow, may 2009 keep you engaged and may you still be rejoicing in the benefits six years on!

    ReplyDelete
  36. Hi Willow.

    May I wish you a very happy 2009.

    Chris.

    ReplyDelete
  37. Dear Willow,
    I am grateful that you started blogging, thus letting us give a peak of your energy and creativity!
    I have loved every visit here and am looking forward to many more in the future.
    The very best for the New Year to you and your family,
    Merisi
    (I have hardly managed to read any blogs since Christmas, whatever little time I could steal away from family and friends went into putting my own blog posts up, so as not to desert the blogging world entirely - I am looking forward to being able to visit more blogfriends once the 12th Day of Christmas rolls around!)

    ReplyDelete
  38. Happy new year, Life at Willow Manor!
    Stunning new banner again!
    Great post!

    ReplyDelete
  39. Dearest Willow, it you only atarted in Feb., you certainly chased the bats out or your particular belfry very quickly and honed your intrinsic artistic inclination to a T. Your blog is one of the seven wonders of the blogging universe!

    ReplyDelete
  40. I hope you have a wonderful new year! Your blog is most excellent and I enjoy your posts every week.

    It is nice to read your thoughts and perspective of events, things and people.

    Take care and know we are looking forward to enjoying your blog this coming year!

    ReplyDelete
  41. willow, I had no idea you'd only begun your blog last year- to have captured so many people's imaginations is fantastic. It's lovely making people look forward to what will be awaiting them on willow's latest entry.

    It's been odd when I've seen names of artists and poets on your blog - names that have been unknown to me and then a day or so later I read or hear about these same names somewhere else. I love it when that happens - a kind of coincidence.

    Anwyay, I'll stop rambling now.

    Happy New Year

    ReplyDelete
  42. I know what you mean, I started my blog in April last year and WOW what a wonderful world of like minds I have stumbled upon...funny how fate works...I'm alive again...with more purpose than ever imagined.

    ReplyDelete
  43. Posts like this make me think we are twins who were separated at birth.

    ReplyDelete
  44. Willow,

    Happy Healthy New Year!

    As far as the seasons go Spring is my favorite. Being a resident of CT everything is blossoming at that time and the temperature is pleasant. Then a would rate Fall as second, because we have the crisp air and brightly colorful foliage. Summer is my least favorite, because I don't like the heat, bugs and humidity.

    Once again I must say I greatly enjoy reading your blog.

    ReplyDelete
  45. ' I'll have to admit, the world of
    blogging, which for me started last February, has caused me to be
    more productive than I've been in quite some time. It has resurrected
    my artistic side, spurred me to research, to dust off some of my
    beloved poetry and even document some of my favorite dishes and
    films. I surprised myself by picking up my digital camera and actually
    learned how to use it!'

    And we are the fortunate ones at the receiving end, dear willow. Happy New Year!

    Greetings from London.

    ReplyDelete
  46. Beautiful words and oh, I miss the autumn... but the rains are melting the snow and the sun is peaking through the clouds... thank you for your beautiful blog. Roxanne

    ReplyDelete
  47. Beautiful words and oh, I miss the autumn... but the rains are melting the snow and the sun is peaking through the clouds... thank you for your beautiful blog. Roxanne

    ReplyDelete
  48. Thank you for your blog Willow. You were the first one I visited when I started my blog and I have been hooked ever since!

    ReplyDelete
  49. My resolution is to have more fun, I saw that on a great british show called "Absolutely Fabulous." I think that is a totally do-able resolution!

    ReplyDelete
  50. Yes blogging has certainly encouraged us all in these same areas. Who would have believed it.

    That beautiful picture of the virgin snow at Willow Manor draws me to want to run and jump in it.

    May 2009 be a happy and blessed year for y ou.

    ReplyDelete
  51. I hadn't realized, but I started blogging in February of this year as well. I can say, without further pondering, that it is the single new thing which has most enhanced my life this year.

    As you say, blogging fires up the creative juices -- particularly because of all of the creative people one meets! I'm grateful to have crossed paths with you this year, Willow.

    ReplyDelete
  52. Happy, happy New Year, Dear Willow. Your pursuits have inspired me and so many others. Thank you.

    ReplyDelete

Inject a few raisins of conversation into the tasteless dough of existence.
― O. Henry (and me)