January again.

Hello! Welcome, readers, to another year in my life. January is such a routine you could probably copy and paste from last year! 

New year was friends, swimming, and really hot weather. 

Last year the fireworks were cancelled because of storms, this year they were cancelled because of the fire ban and all that terrible terrible stuff.

So we went to the movies and saw Knives Out in the evening, and then went to friends place with a pool, and then watched Sydney fireworks on TV. And then Elsie and I stayed awake until 2am because we decided to go through our instagram story archives and organise our highlights. As you do.

We did some shopping and I now have a big set of matching plates from Elsie and G bought me some wine glasses which are put away for my birthday. I'm not one to go out and buy new things and I love that I now have useful things that I like from my friends. G once bought me a bin and it is one of the best gifts ever. I had a broken pedal bin that annoyed me, but you know, still worked. She replaced it with the most amazing new bin that I love and it was also on sale. I hope it warms your heart as you read this G!

When G and K left, E stayed for the rest of the week. We did a couple of outings. One was, we went to the furniture shops. They are air conditioned. I physically can't fit giant couches in my small rooms so I'm well buffered from the temptation to buy things. I bought a cushion for $10 though. 

We bought jocelyn proust fabric at spotlight and a lamp at bunnings and I taught E how to cover a lamp shade. It turned out really well. Happy to show anyone how to do this when you visit.

To do something actually holiday-related, us and my parents went to Shoal Bay. We left early, did the Mt Tomaree walk before it was hot, sweated a lot because it was so humid (and foggy), had an iced chocolate, and left just as it started to get busy.

I had another 1 year old birthday party, and I bought a book for them, and then to get free shipping I bought some devotionals. I'm currently using this one. I like to read it each day. 

This the party. I go because I appreciate being asked. Feeling quite sad at never having children though.

BACK TO WORK! And gosh it got so brown and dead. I organised someone to take photos with a drone of the irrigation circles, actually it had just rained but hadn't gone green at all yet. But 2 weeks later, its fully green. The weather system broke and the coastal rains are back.

This is my back lawn. Although the section under the pergola didn't die. It has now been mown twice as it grows 10 cm a week.

So far, my plan for regular visits to Lucy has been going well. She is just about to hit 3 months and can now look around and smile at people. She is very easy going. She doesn't cry much.

I put wheels on the bottom of percy's cage table. It is amazing. It was cheap and easy and has changed my life for the better.

I also sewed 2 shirt from black cockatoo fabric. They match my lamp. It was good to tick off a sewing project off my list. I had a few goes at the tapestry but its still intimidating me.

If you look carefully in this photo there is a blue banded bee. There are a couple that love to pollinate my eggplants. They are my favourite garden visitors, along with wrens. I don't get a lot of wildlife in my garden yet, sometimes a blue tongue lizard though. Probably feasts on all the cockroaches.

We had a hot pot night for a home group girls social.

Workwise, I started the work year by cleaning my office. There was a little more construction and then I had to clean it again for more dust. But I did a big declutter and it still feels fresh and tidy. Then I went on and purged my computer, backing up and deleting old work. Then I hit my ebook updates that piled up last year and did them. I was back at work before a lot of other people so email was quiet and I was really productive. Right now I'm doing a lot of illustration and making progress on the next kids book, Freda (dairy cow).

Other mundanity of life: taking buckets of water from the shower to the garden. Going to pilates at the physio. Watching retro TV shows on free to air catchup - the 90s and 2000s are now retro... I've been reliving Pie in the Sky, Jonathan Creek, and Inspector Lynley. Some lunches with parents and friends: Jess and Dan, the Peggs from Mudgee. Trying not to eat sugar. Taking lots of vitamins. Processing conflict. Taking a week off WhatsApp. Being tired. Being thankful for rain. Listening obsessively to Reply All podcast. And then getting obsessed with internet security. Thinking about doing some more sewing, maybe with some Liberty of London on sale. But I have a lot of shirts. But when is a shirt too old to wear? Hanging plants off my bathroom ceiling. Decluttering by inches - the postcards on the fridge are my next target.

If I have one aim this year, it is to not get stressed.