Getting Away From It All

Saturday, we left London and headed off, bound for Yorkshire to visit relatives and friends for New Year.  We were supposed to be leaving the day before, but decided to stay in London an extra day, just to have a bit more time to ourselves to do as we pleased.  Friday was a good day.  After a couple of hours sales shopping, I spent the afternoon catching up on lots of paperwork and blog reading/writing, so that I didn't have it all to come back to in the New Year.  I had a bit of last minute wrapping, packing and tidying around to do too, so we could get an early start on Saturday morning and I wouldn't come back to a mess.

Driving out of London is always a strangely enjoyable experience.  The further away we get, the more the stresses and strains of everyday life here seem to lift from your shoulders, leading you to feel more relaxed and able to think about life in a different way, with a bit of distance between you and it.  I love watching the landscape change the further north we get and to feel a sense of open space unfolding before me.  Ever since we've lived in London we've always found time away therapeutic and replenishing for the soul.  Our visits to Yorkshire used to be more frequent, but in recent years have become fewer as OH has settled into a different way of working in London that does not involve a daily commute.  It has made a remarkable difference.

It's also good to get away before New Year, to allow ourselves time and space to reflect on the year that has just passed and to think about the coming year and what we want to achieve therein.  In the past year we've had quite a comfortable existence, both of us working from home.  I'm not sure what this year will bring.  I'd like to get out and do another course, develop an existing or learn a completely new skill.  Last year, for the first time in a few years, I didn't do a single one, save a couple of half day free workshops organised by our local library and I did miss learning new things, so I might indulge myself at some point in the coming year.

Firstly, however, I really want to get a grip on my home this year.  Sometimes it just seems to slide out of my grasp and become messy and cluttered, so a bit more de-cluttering is the order of the day once again.  I will be posting more on this subject in a later post.  Other than these two things and a couple of financial goals that I am planning to go into more detail about in another post, I haven't got any major plans for the coming year as yet, but who knows, a couple of days away and I might return inspired to do something radical!