New Year , New Hope

New Year , New Hope – a title I have been inspired by on one of my favorite blogs – That’s Not My Age. The writer talks about a hope bubble – a shedding of all the past year’s miserableness and living in a bubble of hope that tries to avoid negativity. No resolutions that cannot be sustained .  Rationally we all know that we will have both positive and not so positive things come into our lives this year, but to start the year with hope for the future is a great idea.

Trying to be open to other people and accept that their views and beliefs may not be the same as our own and still like and respect them is a goal worth trying for at any time. Tolerance is my word for the year – along with kindness of course as always.

We had a lovely quiet New Year’s Eve having an early dinner at our house with Martin and Marcie who we spent Christmas night with. A glass of champagne, vegetarian shepherds pie and a couple of mince pies were just the right level of comfort food we all craved and to be in bed by 10pm was my idea of heaven.

The following day we were invited to a New Year’s Day afternoon party at Shelby White’s house – the perfect time as by the the evening we would be too tired to go out. Lovely to socialize with plenty of people , wish everyone Happy New Year and be home by 6pm !!

Bob and I decided to take a quick 3 night trip to Ft Lauderdale this first week in January. I desperately needed a haircut and a trip off island always revives the spirit if it has been a while on island. Plus we thought it would be a great boost to start the year with. So here we are in the land of plenty , eating like kings, and enjoying being able to nip out and find just what we want – a drawing pad and new pencils for Bob, a haircut and a few bits from Sephora for me. Along with a browse around Harbor Freight Tools, Home Depot and Ikea !! Oh and a great Indian meal on our first night at Bombay Darbar on Las Olas Blvd – which incidentally had about 80% of Indian customers – always the best indicator !

News back in Eleuthera is that a new bar – The Helm – opposite the Buccaneer – has now opened. We haven’t visited yet but once we are back on island then we will – if only in the interests of you dear readers – yeh right !!

And so let’s start the year with hope and a sensible dose of optimism, but a sense of reality as well. Doing our best and not being harsh on ourselves with unrealistic goals or being harsh on others either. Wishing you a good 2024 …..