A note on January

I always feel excited for the new year, I always have ideas brewing and it feels like with a whole year ahead there are so many possibilities. January is always been seen as this boring, dull and grey month, and maybe it's the introvert in me, but January always feels more like a breath of fresh air. Christmas is so busy and the pressure every year to organise so much and make enough money to cover the costs can mean I am ready for a break once it's over! But don't get me wrong I also LOVE Christmas and the festive season and this year was a particularly great one for our family (other than catching the dreaded school germs)!

As I type this out, I'm actually copying over some of my words from a journal page I wrote out a few days before the new year. I wrote that I was looking forward to spending time outside, enjoying a slow pace and time to plan and think ahead for the coming year and whilst I am enjoying a relatively quiet pace the month has started with a few ups and downs and I haven't gotten outside nearly as much as I would like!

That being said, there are still 11 days left and I am planning to spend an hour outside per day if I can, to get back out in nature and get some more research under my belt for my art print mail club I'm in the process of planning.

One thing I did do recently that sounds like it would not be much fun but was actually so lovely was a night time rainy walk with a friend - think of it as cold water swimming but without having to find a lake ha! We got soaked and put the world to rights and we were very chilly by the end of it, but getting a warm shower and settling down for the evening with cozy pyjamas and a good book was so satisfying, especially knowing you've gotten some steps in and some fresh air. So I highly recommend this as a January act of self care.

Some other things I'm doing in the last week or so of this month:

Researching folklore stories and seasonal nature happenings for my mail club.

Taking a trip to the library

A mini nature walk each day to find inspiration for paintings

Continuing my landscape painting challenge as many days as I can

How do you feel about January? Are you looking forward to it being over or do you savour the quiet?