Happy New Year!

And depending on how you reckon it, this is either the beginning of a new decade, or the ending of the old one. I'm not going to take sides; it's a transition year for me.

Ten years ago today, my children were 20, 9, and 7; I was caught up in homeschooling the younger two. Now, of course, they are 30, 19, and 17, and homeschooling is a distant memory. Both transitioned back to high school as teenagers. For most of the decade, we lived in New York; we moved back to California a year and a half ago. This past decade was devoted to child rearing on my part; the next one won't be. For better or for worse, they're reared; it's on them what sort of adults they will be.

I'm excited about this new phase in my life. My daughter is planning to move out on her own this summer, and I will get her room. It has a northern exposure, and yup, I'm already mentally arranging it. I want a big work table under the windows; the rest is negotiable. Guess I'd better stop buying so many beads and let my PayPal balance grow so that I can afford to fix that room up to my taste.

Over the next decade I intend to focus on developing my own interests; beading, of course, but writing, too. As the decade progresses and our trees grow, we'll be producing quite a lot of our own food; I intend to dry, juice and freeze our fruits and veggies; I love gardening and I love eating.

I feel very lucky; I have a lot to look forward to.