Bartimaeus

I am hopeful for a good year, and have a few things already in my calendar for this month, though there is nothing like canal life for showing you that things do not always go to plan. I have had some thoughts for New Year Resolutions but as the first day starts, I am not energetic. I only had a single gin and tonic the night before, so it is no Hogmanay hangover, but I am sniffling with a sore throat and the odd cough. I deem paracetamol my first friend in the morning, when everyone else is still abed. I made coffee and forgot to drink it.

Still I do manage to stick with the resolve to try using an electric toothbrush this year. If I don’t do it on the first, the resolution would dissolve immediately. I had avoided the jangling vibrations when Shane first switched to electric brushing. It was at a time when I got migraines that such a vibration might trigger but while I still didn’t like the buzzing noise, the regular migraines were long gone so I thought it was time to try again and this was a good time. As dull a change as it seems, I have put it off a long time and some of those appointments this month are at the dentist.

The cold made me unwilling to do a big trek but I managed a walk with Shane after lunch. Later in the afternoon when the others went in search of the aurora, I was engrossed in something else and not feeling energetic, so stayed at home. They let me know they had been successful in seeing it. I wondered if it would be worth stepping out, now I had finished with my other task. I wore my warmest coat and was happy walking alone at my own pace. I knew the chance was slight and as I reached the base of Arthur’s seat I could see people coming away. The ground was surprisingly squelchy and in the dark I couldn’t see the path. My phone battery was almost empty. I decided to turn back and stay on the solid pavements and walk towards the streetlights in stead of away from them. I wasn’t disappointed to miss the aurora. It was my own choice to not go out, and I was glad that I had the energy to do the second walk after all and the good sense not to risk falling on the unlit and uneven surface at Arthur’s seat and head for home. Better news was to come. Shane rang to offer to go to the shops on the way home and say Nye was veering towards the Good Year Chinese takeaway and would that be okay or would it spoil a plan I had for tea. That would definitely be fine with me. They will close for Chinese New year, but I was very happy to take advantage of them being open today.

It was not such a bad start to the new year after all. The next day was crisper and Shane and I mustered the energy for a short walk, passing the iced over bird bath on the way out of the house.

The bird bath came from my parents’ house and Nye had a fancy for it. It does get used by the garden birds and they are fun to watch. Nye maintains his interest at this time of year by melting the ice and topping up with warmer water on a daily basis when there is a cold snap.

On the way down the street we saw the sad sight of an abandoned bit of baby wear. A glove or hat is regular enough but this was a boot, a bigger nuisance to lose on a trip out. It still had a label on and looked unworn. We hadn’t gone very much further, hadn’t even reached the Links, when we saw a repeat, another lost baby boot. Oh dear, not a great way to start the year! Both had been kindly lifted off the pavement and made more visible.

It’s hard to put your best foot forward when you are missing your footwear…. Or even go ‘first footing’. I can imagine parents first footing the January sales to get winter boots.

I have in recent years made quite a few new resolution lists that are about increasing positive steps for myself, positive things that I think will make me feel or be better: reading more, joining a choir, taking more exercise, doing a charity challenge, making more effort to socialise, start learning a new language, be a bit tidier…that sort of thing, nothing too great like running a marathon but all increasing something that was ‘a good thing’. This year I want to continue all of that, but while I am able to activate positivity, appreciating nature, enjoying the outdoors, appreciating little things, I am also prone to hanging on to negative thoughts, brooding, being put off by bad experiences and easily irritated by little things. So this year my slant is not overstretching the “doing more” bit and try just “reducing negativity”. 

I am relieved I haven’t taken up daily jogging as a resolution as I so don’t feel that impulse on the first of January, or even the second. Both of us feel like a short walk is enough. Still there are things of interest to explore that we often ignore. There is an unusual building that many will just walk past and not notice as the main doors are on a side lane.

On the way around the Meadows I am also reminded of our bird bath as we saw a bird having a bath in the small amount of water that was revealed after the ice on the top of the puddle was broken. How cold that water must be but the pied wagtail was looking jaunty, as they do, splashing there in the crisp January air. 

Both of us being lower in energy we were not choosing a long walk, but just a turn around the Meadows. Refreshing but not exhausting was the main aim. The frost, common on a winter morning, was persisting all day and it was beautiful.

As we got back home a movement in the bush in our garden caught my eye. It is very unusual for blackbirds to stay so close at head height. I loved that I could see the speckle on its breast.

I went out into the back garden and watched a few starlings and blackbirds and noticed a flower, planted by a neighbour, who is now leaving. This end of the garden is permanently shaded but this flower is blooming beautifully in the cold short days in the shade. What a beautiful colour! I must remember to look ahead, up and down.