New Horizons
Happy New year. I hope you had a good one, I'm sorry that some of you haven't had a good start to the year. The weather here has been awful here with heavy rain, flooding and high winds.
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| Darts Farm Exeter fields of broccoli and red cabbage |
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| Little steps created by Daisy |
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| West Bay |
Last year I gave up with new year resolutions and instead chose two words TREASURE and LIGHTEN. I found it much easier to achieve than new year resolutions and something to carry out throughout the year. So this year my word is going to be DOING. I am very good at dreaming but don't make the steps to realise the dream. As Charles Dickens wrote in David Copperfield :-
Do you have any major plans for the year ahead ? We are thinking ahead to summer holidays and where to go. It always has to be somewhere by the water St Ives is currently on the top of the list!
Those pictures of sunshine at previous visits to St Ives seems such a contrast to the current weather!
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| Floods in Weymouth yesterday |
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| Waves on Weymouth beach |
Welcome to my new followers Willow, Stella, Tracy, and Earthworms and marmalade, thank you so much for joining me. It seems to take me longer and longer to get around to reading everyones' blogs! Wishing you a good week and hope you survive the weather wherever you are.
Sarah x
Wishing you love and luck as you tread down a new pathway this year! Be sure to tell us your tales as you go! I heard on the radio that there were floods in Weymouth and I wondered how you were, wasn't sure how close you are to the sea. Looking at your photos, it is rather different than our last visit, back in the summer!! I love Darts Farm!! Always good for present for someone you don't know what to buy for!!!!! Hope your are drying out, we are still rather wet and windswept here, roll on spring!!
ReplyDeleteLuckily we live up a hill and water flows downwards!
DeleteSarah x
You have been having some really awful weather in the UK. Hopefully the torrential rains stop soon and you can see some glimpses of the sun again. I like your choice for a word for this year! This is my first year of choosing a word, and I'm quite excited to be trying it. I guess the trick will be keeping the word in mind throughout the whole year.
ReplyDeleteWith your husband taking early retirement there are so many new possibilities waiting for you! Thanks for the link to the blogger who is talking about simplifying. It's something I try to do, but am not always successful at.
Doing! Great word. (Did you ever manage that balloon flight Sarah?) And St Ives is a super place for a holiday. So refreshing to see that sunny photograph. Best wishes to your husband for his retirement and for a simple 2014.
ReplyDeleteNo I didn't manage the balloon flight Freda yet!
DeleteSarah x
Some lovely summer photos to cheer up a wet evening, as well as the reality of the waves and floods at Weymouth.
ReplyDeleteI do hope that this year will be a hopeful and positive one for you. The retirement time is bound to be a bit strange and emotional. Having holidays to look forward to afterwards is a really good idea. After Mr DW retired last March, our holiday to Italy came at just the right time!
Take care in tomorrows storms. Good to hear that you are not right down by the seafront.
Wishing you lovely things for 2014, keep warm and safe! :) x
ReplyDeleteI have a hard time choosing one word for the year but DOING is definitely at the top of my list. :) Lovely images. Wishing you a wonderful new year. Tammy
ReplyDeleteDear Sarah, I wish you and your family a very Happy New Year. Lovely pictures the summer holiday Iike them the most. But first we had the winter and spring before we can go to the beach without a coat. Have a nice week Sarah greetings Petra.
ReplyDeleteMy dear friend across the pond,
ReplyDeleteThe weather has been changing our lives lately. My husband and I are teachers, and we've been off for two weeks now for Christmas vacation and tomorrow (Monday) was scheduled as BACK TO SCHOOL. However, the governor of our state declared that tomorrow there is no school due to the forecast saying that we could have -50 F degrees (54.6 C, I think)
It is wickedly cold and dangerous, so children from k-6 stay home, we teachers stay home, and hope that this snap stops! I look at the pictures you have of Weymouth, and I can't believe the downpour!
A simpler life as well is on many of our minds. With life advancing, we often see what is really important, and I hope to listen more this year, gain wisdom, yield more to others who have something important to say, and most of all, BE KIND. Be well, stay safe, and I look forward to more of the world you share with us. I love Daisy's foot prints!
I am all for simple living and will enjoy following you on this journey as you simplify your lifestyle even more. I always find a peaceful happiness here! So glad to have found you this year.
ReplyDeleteHappy New Year! I do love Dorset and look forward to your adventures in 2014 x
ReplyDeleteSounds like you have some exciting changes afoot. Wishing you all the best with your decision making. I'm off to read Rhonda's blog! Happy New Year. Juliex
ReplyDeleteSarah, I guess with your husband taking early retirement it gives you the perfect opportunity to re evaluate and change and simplify your life. I will look forward to reading how this affects your lives, I'm sure it will be for the better.
ReplyDeleteI'm struggling to keep up with everyone's blogs too. Wonderful pictures Sarah. I do like visiting Darts Farm but OB finds it 'SO BORING' and, as a result, I never actually buy much there unfortunately!
ReplyDeleteDear Sarah,
ReplyDeleteIsn't your wintery header beautiful? It also seems in stark contrast with the dreadful weather you've been having. We were in Brittany at my in-laws over Christmas and there were big sea storms and flooding there too. So many had to do without electricity....
Your post has made me feel quite emotional. You were right to pick out Charles Dickens's words for the start of this fresh, new year. I wish you and your husband a peaceful year full of DOING and joy.
Stephanie
The weather here in wales has been terrible and my heart goes out to those people who have been flooded it's such a horrible thing to happen.
ReplyDeleteLook forward to reading about your adventures this year! love the photo of the doggy paw prints x
Gorgeous pictures Sarah, I loved Rhonda's post too and I'm linking to it in my next post.
ReplyDeleteSuch wise words I want to live by.
Looking forwards to another year of visiting your lovely blog.
Jacquie x
p.s. my Mum enjoys your blog a lot too
Me and Hubby made our life change a few years ago in moving here to Brixham. We still need to work on the master plan of less work and more play, especially for Hubby as he works full time at the moment and it's not what we wanted. He is looking for a part time job and we may move house again and downsize if necessary. Life is too short and we realised we were working too hard before.
ReplyDeleteLove St Ives, we looked at living there in our seaside search, but decided it was not for us long term.
I wish you clarity and luck as you make these life changes. I look forward to hearing about them as you decide the best plans for yourselves.
ReplyDeleteAn exciting year ahead for you both I think. I am sure your changes will bring much happiness to both your lives. St Ives sounds like a great idea for your holiday. I spent a very hot sunny day there last year, and it was lovely. Hope you have a good week. CJ xx
ReplyDeleteI am so very happy to read of your husband's early retirement! Such a powerful thing to make a choice in favour of health and happiness first and foremost. What an exciting phase you're entering! Best wishes for your simplifying in 2014. x
ReplyDeleteI hope that all your hopes for your plans and changes this year come true and that you have a great year with whatever you decide to do. The pictures of St Ives were a lovely treat as I sit listening to the wind and rain outside! xx
ReplyDeleteLove the picture of West Bay. A year of transformations for you then x
ReplyDeleteI feel for all of those poor people who have water in their houses yet again - it must be soul destroying for them.
ReplyDeleteVery big changes a foot for you both this year, but you should hopefully have more time to do the things that you both want to do. That is of course if you are free as well Sarah - may be you will be still working?
Lovely to see photos of the sun and better weather to come, a tonic in these wet stormy days. We have had several holidays in Carbis Bay - a ½ hour walk along the cliff top to St. Ives.
Sounds like you have a good year ahead :)
ReplyDeleteExciting considerations for 2014 for you, Sarah! Cheering you on as you make your choices. :)
ReplyDeleteCongratulations on your husband's early retirement.
ReplyDeleteI retired 1 year earlier than I had originally planned and I have to say it has been wonderful and I never looked back.
My major plans this year involve the house and making it the best fit for our retirement.
Good luck with the DOING.
Sounds like you have plenty to think about over the coming weeks - change always makes me a little nervous to be honest but you seem to have both feet firmly planted on the ground and will take everything in your stride. Good luck with simplifying and 'doing' - an exciting year for you!
ReplyDeleteI have been thinking of you over the past couple days. I am pleased to read, that the very bad weather has not affected you too much. Although Weymouth looks pretty sad at the moment.
ReplyDelete"Doing" is the word. I also gave up new years resolutions a long time ago. Its like making a promise that you cant keep. i have a few projects that i am working on. My main objective is to enjoy each day as it comes.
I live in a very rural area. Have to travel to get to the big towns. My life is simple and free living here.
We all have our ups and downs.. but basically .. the simpler our life the easier. taking one task at a time. that makes me happy .
Great post Sarah.
When your hubby retires, you wont know what to do. Your life will be so much different and busier and you will be able to go out when you want.
St. Ives looks lovely. sounds a great plan.
xxxx val
Best wishes for the New Year, Sarah and for all your plans. It is lovely glimpsing the sun in your photos of St Ives - I always associate it with sunshine, even when I've been there in winter (although I don't suppose there's much there at the moment). Weymouth looks badly hit by the storms, too.
ReplyDeleteOther half took early retirement about three years ago and our lives have been much simpler and calmer since, even though we opted for the 'big step' and moved across the country to a house in need of much work. It is the freedom to be able to do things at your own pace that makes the difference. With best wishes to you both for the changes that you make this year. Jx
ReplyDeleteA great post and as I too, will be making lots of changes this year, I took the sentiment right to heart- Thanks for the Inspiration :)
ReplyDeleteDearest Sarah! Thank you for calling in on me last night....well, here we are, on Monday, where the temps are dropping by the hour. No going out today, and for our neighbors to the east in Chicago, New York and other mid-Atlantic states, much snow is pouring down. Keep us all in your thoughts as I hope that no one gets exposed to these most dangerous of elements....I remember living on the ocean's shore in Boston, Massachusetts. We had no garage, and in the iciest of times, I'd go out to my car and it was incased in ICE! I'd have to chip off the ice to just put my key in the door lock!
ReplyDeleteHere's to another year of fun by the seaside in better weather! Anita
Congratulations to you and your husband as you begin a new chapter in your life. I really feel in my heart that quote and therefore, I will make positive changes in my life this year. St. Ives looks so inviting, I look forward to your trip and the lovely photos I know you will share. Blessings to you and those that are struggling with bad weather or what ever issue they have on their shoulders. Kim
ReplyDeleteLike the word Doing - it is very positive. Lots of people seem to be having a word for the year and I think it's a smashing idea. Congratulations on your husbands forthcoming retirement. Mine has cut down to working three days a week which suits me/us just fine at the moment but it's a kind of limbo as we haven't got any real plans laid out yet. It sounds exciting Sarah and wish you both every happiness.
ReplyDeletePatricia x
I love your Dicken squote. It has really resonated with me.
ReplyDeleteSt Ives in the Summer would be lovely. I can't wait either. Our beches are taking quite a battering at the moment as you can imagine. I couldn't even get onto Porth Kidney Sands this morning. The sea was lapping the dunes.
Here's to future plans and happines!!
Leanne xx
I have just been enjoying your beautiful photos and love that saying: Stop to wish and start to say I will!
ReplyDeleteThankyou for sharing and wishing you and yours the best for 2014!
Wishing you well for an exciting new year ahead. It sounds like you can see your new life before you on the horizon. Claire xo
ReplyDeleteGreat shots. The sea is so wonderful. Great saying too "I will" start using that one more :)
ReplyDeleteWeymouth did get quite the splattering !!
I did not realise the weather was that bad in England Sarah! Happy to hear it's better now. Your life will be so different with your husband at home. I hope your dreams will come true in 2014 and you will be able to lead the life the two of you are hoping for.
ReplyDeleteHave a lovely evening!
Madelief x
Hi Sarah,
ReplyDeleteI thought of you when we saw on the news of the bad weather there - do hope you can have some lovely sunshine to dry things out.
Enjoyed seeing all your wonderful photos - also the quote from Charles Dickens.
Wishing you and your family a wonderful 2014 and hope all your dreams come true.
hugs
Carolyn
Love the St Ives seagull photo !
ReplyDeleteHave made a very positive start to the New Year & hope it continues.
Good luck !
Hello and Happy New Year Sarah,
ReplyDeleteThank you for your visit and yes, we were all very anxious about Mr.Watson. He is still on a good recovery and hope the new diet will work. Very common for male cats. I think we are thinking the same thing. So true and I caught myself saying "I want" way too much. I need to be more grateful everyday. A good read on Rhonda's blog. I find that reaction when people ask where I work and I tell them I'm a housewife. Happy retirement to your Husband. Let all hope we can make it a year of "doing". : )
I love your family Christmas photos and Daisy is just adorable. The weather here has cooled a bit but during December the weather was in the 80's.
Have a wonderful day. Blessings!
Bobbie Lynn
The good news is the retirement of your husband.You will take a breath and you will certainly enjoy daily's life pleasures more easily.I also love simple rural life. The bad news of the weather, oh my God, I saw some videos on T.V.it was aweful!! Happy you are fine despite this!
ReplyDeleteHappy New Year Sarah!
Wishing you luck and happiness whichever path you take ...
ReplyDeleteWe had another battering again last night but the nearby waters are slowly receding. Now they say the big freeze is on the way ... hey ho! M x
Good luck with your husbands retirement, so here's to a simpler happier 2014 and a bit better weather, especially for some of the poor people who have been flooded! x
ReplyDeleteHi Sarah, hasn't the weather been shocking?! Grey and so very wet here on the east coast too. Sounds like an exciting year ahead for you, plenty of change for us too when the eldest will leave home for uni (Don't know where yet) and the youngest will leave primary school - plenty of tears from me no doubt!
ReplyDeleteWhether you decide on big steps or small I'm wishing for wonderful adventures for you both in the year ahead :)
ReplyDeleteI do know what you mean about the time it takes to read around the blogs ... we can only do our best x
I like your new word Doing - everything in life is in the doing - even if the doing is just relaxing. Sometimes I find that I just don't do enough of the things I want to do in place of too much of the things I'd rather not be doing! Good luck with the Doing - Viv x
ReplyDeleteHello Sarah, Good luck with your life changes. I hope they bring you all you wish for.
ReplyDeleteAnnie x
Good Luck to you both for 2014. I took early 'retirement' last year and we haven't looked back. It's such a treat and every day I count our blessings to be able to spend wonderful time together - pottering about, planning holidays, jaunting around and generally taking life easy. I can highly recommend it - so enjoy yourselves - add ENJOY to your list of words!
ReplyDeleteJust popped on over from Penny's blog. Love your photos.
ReplyDeleteI have chosen the word active this year as I'm very good at thinking about what to do/make but I need to be more active in order for my thoughts to be realised. So your quote is helpful as is knowing someone on a similar mission.
How dreadful for all those people affected by the adverse weather conditions. I regularly passed by flooded homes in Carlisle a few years ago with all the furniture stacked outside the houses. It was months and months before things got anywhere near back to normal.