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2015: Oh Shiny New Year, What Do You Bring?

Roll on 2015
Perhaps I'm pushing it but since we're still in January, I think it's still just about appropriate to wish you all a very Happy New Year! There's so much to say about 2014 that I'm not sure I can really face going over any of it and presenting the highlights. Lazily, and probably wisely,  I'm going to opt out of a thorough review of the year. 2014 had wonderful times, professionally (tv feature, art exhibitions, encouraging sales etc) and personally (fun stuff & holidays) but weird and distressing personal things too that upset the always delicately balanced emotional applecart, although it all proved interesting (to me) at least.

Large mugfuls of mulled wine with a friend who appreciates these things
The Dome, Edinburgh. Always spectacular decorations.
Christmas at home in Edinburgh was an absolute delight and proved a much needed relaxing and joyful end to the year. Being loose in a city with it's late night bars & sparkly Christmassy lights for 10 days caused much over excitement and brilliant photo opportunities. As well as visiting some old favourite haunts (The Dome, Eteket, The Basement Bar, Christmas Market etc), lovely new places discovered included a delicious lunch at The Ox (London Street) & Bramble (a speakeasy style bar discreetly tucked away in a Queen Street basement. A lot of the men had hipster beards, this was a very good thing).

Raising in a glass in The Dome, repeatedly & to anything we could think of...
Woolidermy stag head, Crimbo project

Fear not crochet fans, I was not idle over the festivities and had a bit of a busman's holiday messily working out how to crochet over a paper mache stag head (reduced to a bargain £5) found in Hobbycraft (a source of huge temptation a short walk from my parents). This proved an enjoyable companion to watching Harry Potter repeats & 'Call the Midwife' Christmas special (a programme only watched on this annual family event).

Anyway, enough of the old, what about the shiny new? I'm determined to build on last year, both professionally and to seek out greater personal fulfilment & challenges. I'm aiming to increase the Lost In The Wood business as well as working out what direction to take my art in;  apply for at least one bigger craft fair; get my act together to create pieces for a range of small gallery art open exhibitions;  build up enough stock to seek an extra stockist or two (preferably in Edinburgh); go on at least one European holiday; read more (and return to the local book group); do more; see more. Quite a bit to get done then! Happily I'm off to a decent start as I'm putting one of my (slightly ridiculous) aims for the year into practise in a couple of days time, much excitement, more on that later...
Start as you mean to go on, with alcohol...
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