I don’t drink for medicinal purposes much. Almost never. Because, because it’s just not a good idea.

But it’s New Year’s Eve. I’m alone for a number of reasons. All mostly mine. Choices that are the result of circumstances that I found myself in that are untenable. Some relating to my physical health, which, while it’s better, is still not good enough to celebrate the New Year. Some are personal, emotional issues, things I just have had too much time to think about, while I’ve convalesced. I couldn’t brush them off, sweep them under the carpet and pretend they weren’t there, and I wasn’t afforded the opportunity to resolve them. So, I’m sipping on a cup of chamomile tea and a shot of rum. Weird combination, but it’s settling my stomach, and for that I’m grateful that I figured something out, since I wasn’t able to eat much dinner and my stomach was in knots. I’d smoke some pot, but I still have a cough and the idea of inhaling anything isn’t possible. The pot would be medicinal too, it’s wonderful for an upset stomach.

So here I sit with my odd combination. I have friends, lots of them, who I could call but have no desire to put a damper on their celebrations. A bar down on the beach is having bagpipes playing, a friend told me and I almost went. It won’t be all night, just to open their NYE celebration. But then I thought about trying to find a parking place, and having to walk, and cough my way to the bar, for a soda or a glass of water, and a headache. Because when the bagpipes are done, the music at this bar is so loud. We don’t frequent it much for just that reason. I suppose it’s a fun place for the younger crowd, which always spills onto the sidewalks and the street.

I’ve spent my New Year’s Eve giving my kitchen a good cleaning. Then I moved into the guest room and began sorting out some of the stuff I took off the boat, still parked in my front yard. A huge disappointment, that boat. But that’s a discussion for another day. I threw away a lot of stuff, which I needed to do. I have a friend coming to stay in about 2 ½ weeks and need to turn the guest room back into a guest room, from a storage space for stuff I don’t know what to do with. Thinning down, and simplifying. I’ve been meaning to start this project for a long while, and today, I found myself able to start it. It feels good to pare down.

So, this New Year’s Eve, in my solitude, I guess I would have to say that 2020 will be about getting the extraneous, and meaningless stuff out of my life. Some things that I have, have given me pleasure but I have no real attachment to them. There will be plenty left, that actually mean something to me. And this may leave me room to collect a few new things along the road of life, but new things will get weighed as I collect them as to what they actually mean to me, what their place in my life is.

I made brownies today too, the result of wanting something decadently chocolate to eat. They were….

It’s gotten cold today. Down to about 52 right now, which isn’t abnormal for this time of year. My son is coming in February and he asked me today, will it be 75° – 80°? Oh, I hope so, but the weather from now til March is iffy. I mean, yeah, it’s way warmer than Denver or CT but the good weather really hits full force in March and April. Still, it will be a welcome break for him and his family.

Happy New Year to all. May 2020 bring you joy, and peace and love.