NYR

Happy New Year to you and yours. Ours was quiet: a post-op beagle requiring TLC and a sudden, yet brief, torrential downpour moving us and everyone else in the village inside.

I was asked if I had any plans for 2024, and maybe my one thing is to learn how to use Photoshop properly. I’ve never really done that. Not a big thing, but actually quite a complicated thing, so that’ll maybe take up 11½ of the 12 months available. I’m already looking forward to the couple of weeks off.

I also took the time to think about a few changes I want to make from 2023. Things I want to include in my life, things I need to rid myself of::

IN
Kameeldoring
More 50mm photography
Decent brandy
Restart my Instagram account
Buy a big vase
Finally do that number photo collage thing (I can’t find the post about this, but once I do, I’ll link it here)
Walking in the rain just to get wet on purpose
Being concerned about the future

OUT
Rooikrans
Not getting small tasks done
All involvement in anything to do with heraldry
Letting people hang out with me just because I’m a world famous blogger
Spongebob Squarepants pajamas
Cats (again)
Lego (sorry)
Worrying about the past

I’m sure everyone reading has a similar list, even if they’ve just stored it mentally. I might come back in 12 months time and do a post on how well (or not) this has gone, likely illustrated by a really impressively edited image.

And so to 2017

Everyone does these “here’s what I’m going to do next year” posts and it’s a bandwagon I’m more than happy to jump upon.

But first, as 2016 draws to a close, I’d like to say thank you to those readers who have stuck with this blog through thin and thinner this year. You loyal, gullible fools, you. Also thanks to The Guru, without whose invaluable assistance, this blog a) would not look as good as it does, and b) would not actually look like anything at all. And then also to Mrs 6000, who pretends to read this crap every day just to keep me happy. Although in all fairness, I doubt that she’ll have actually got far enough down the post to have seen this.

So, what plans for 2017?

Well, more photography is a good bet. This holiday season has been disappointing in that regard, so I’ve got a bit of catching up to do.

And more health stuff: I got lazy in the second half of this year, and that’s something you can’t afford to do at my *ahem* ‘advanced’ age. It’s apparently also harder to come back from, so I’ve got my work cut out. Rest assured that you’re not going to be seeing exercise programmes and healthy eating recipes on here though. Unless I find a really nice salad that you simply CANNOT miss out on or something. I think we can agree that that would warrant a blog post or two.

Next up: better communication with friends and family that don’t read 6000 miles… Because not everyone does Internet, and a letter costs nothing.  Well… almost nothing. (Actually, how much is a letter these days?) Again, readers on here will not be troubled by this, I thought I’d just tell you that it will be happening.

And then the drone thing. It’s ordered, it’s paid for, it’s due any day now. And I think it might be mentioned once or twice on here over the next twelve months.

2016 has been fun, and personally speaking, much better than both 2015 and 2014. Thus, 2017 surely promises even more (n=1). Come join me for the ride.

Happy New Year.