It always happens at this time of the year that I get pensive. Some would call it melancholy, but that would be greatly exaggerated. The important thing is that I reflect more about my life than usual, that I do some thinking.

Until Christmas you are busy preparing everything. Choosing presents, lovingly wrapping them, baking, cooking, etc... so that you can spend a wonderful Christmas with your loved ones. Talking of gifts and their packaging: I don't use fancy paper. Do you? Gift wrapping paper is pure trash, which I pay for twice. Why should I spend money on garbage and pay again for its disposal? 

I'm just too stingy in that respect. All in all, I try not to produce too much trash. Before I throw something away, I consider if there is a proper use for it. So we have a quite large pile of colored paper, which originally served as padding material for deliveries of goods. Perfect to wrap gifts nicely. The paper is not smooth, so it will be wrinkled again to get a special look. Instead of ribbon I like to use bast, sisal cord or something like that. With a piece of cloth as a kind of patch, a fir branch or just a small piece of wood you can make the package even more pretty.

In the end, you would have uniquely wrapped gifts, which you can see that there is a lot of love in them.

Now I'm a little off-topic. Well, before Christmas you were busy with everything, while after Christmas you have very little to do. Actually, you just wait for New Year's Eve. At least that's the way I feel year after year.

From this, a kind of new tradition resulted for me. I reflect on the past year, think about what was less good and what was good, which quirks I should better get rid of and what else I should improve. 

Last year at this time I came to the final decision to retire from business life as much as possible. A word and a blow. Since the middle of the year, the changes have been implemented and I have been out of the daily business for almost three months now. On New Year's Eve, these changes will be formally and legally completed.

After a rather busy year I am now coming to rest these days and ask myself where this journey will take us. Us, that is, my husband and I. He has two projects to finish, then he too will be in (early) retirement. We have many, very many plans. But to start something new, you have to be ready to say goodbye to something else, usually. 

Did I sound like I was having bad thoughts? No. It's just thoughts.

We said goodbye to Christmas. In a few days we'll be saying goodbye to 2019. Yeah, we're saying goodbye to a decade. For me, it was a great year and a wonderful decade. Whoever has read everything up to here probably understands now that I am saying goodbye with some personal thoughts. Goodbye old year, you were good to me. Goodbye old decade, you brought me many things, new experiences, friendship, love. Thank you!

I wish everyone of you a wonderful end of the year and a fantastic start into the New Year 2020 and into the new decade! 

Let it begin with a big bang!

Lots of LOVE,