Happy New Year Everyone! I hope it has started off on a good foot for you all.
Each year, my friends and I consider a few questions as we reminisce about the year that has just ended and ponder the possibilities of the year that has just begun. If you are interested, stick around after you read my post this month to see the link to my other friends as they share their thoughts on 2024 as well.
This year, to be a little different, I decided to focus on just the one question.
Describe the happiest days of 2024? What can you do to have more days like that in 2025?
To say I had many happy days last year is almost an understatement. It was a year of so many delightful events, experiences, adventures and so much more. I am grateful for every moment. It started and ended with two beautiful weddings. The first was a magnificent weekend away in the Southern Highlands of NSW where we were invited to share the celebration of dear family friends and their son who has grown-up with our sons. The second was the gorgeous fairy-tale wedding of one of our nephews at a castle-like venue in the heart of Sydney. Two weddings so completely different, yet both very special moments in time that we were extremely happy to share.
A fairy-tale wedding in Sydney for our nephew.
A beautiful country wedding in the Southern Highlands for a family friend.
Next was the publication of not one but two books in 2024. Dragons Drumming was a passion project that started from the spark of an idea after a thunderstorm several years ago. It slowly progressed and developed into an absolutely beautiful picture book. The second was the long-awaited final book in the Adamson Adventure series. Tracks in the Mist was another story I was keen to see in my hands and made me so happy and proud to reveal to my eagerly waiting and very patient readers. One of the most exciting moments that occurred due to this book were the radio interviews I was asked to do for ABC radio here in Canberra and then another one for ABC radio Tasmania. To hear a radio interviewer speak of your book with so much excitement after reading it filled my heart with pure joy. I was extremely grateful for the opportunity. I wish I could re-share the interviews here with you, but sadly I didn’t record either of them, not knowing that they would be removed from the website after a few weeks.
A fun day in the sun launching Dragons Drumming at our local independent book shop The Book Cow.
I was interviewed in=person at ABC Radio Canberra.
Then hubby and I had our eight weeks long deserved overseas holiday to the UK and some parts of Europe. Ever since my Parkinson’s diagnosis I had been in training for long walks in the Lakes District of England, planning to conquer National Trust walks with ease. We took our hiking poles, and yes, I was extremely happy to have achieved exactly what I set out to do. Of course, there were many happy days in those eight weeks, in fact most days I woke with a huge smile on my face and went to bed content and fulfilled. The Cotswolds were a dream come true. As was seeing Beatrix Potter’s Hilltop, and William Wordsworth’s home in the Lakes District. I ticked another famous author moment off my bucket list in Edinburgh, when we found the Elephant House Cafe where JK Rowling penned Harry Potter. It was such an incredible moment to sit at the same desk where she wrote, and write a note to her myself. I wonder if she ever actually reads any of the messages?
We carried our hiking poles all over the UK and Europe, but I only needed to use them one day on the hills in the Lakes District. I am so glad I had them, this walk was steep, slippery and rocky, but worth every step.
The original Elephant House Cafe in Edinburgh had closed due to smoke damage from a fire in the building next door, but I was very pleased to find it had been relocated.
Ever since my childhood spending New Years Day night watching the Royal Edinburgh Tattoo I have always had a longing to go to Edinburgh. Was it a coincidence I married a Scotsman or was it fate? We first visited Scotland in 1996, then returned in 2010, but it wasn’t until this trip that we had the time to spend so many days walking and exploring the beautiful city of Edinburgh. The architecture and history held me in awe as each day we happily strolled the Royal Mile and beyond. One day we reached 25,000 steps wandering around the city. It’s amazing how far you can walk when you are engrossed in your surroundings.
We strolled the Royal Mile and surrounds from sunrise to well after sunset.
Ancient history and archaeology are both another fascination I have had since my high school years. Add standing stones since reading Cross-Stitch (Outlander) many years ago when it was first released, and I had to make my way to the far north of Scotland and the Orkney Islands. The weather was windy, drizzly and quite chilly, but nothing could dampen my enthusiasm for walking around the Ring of Brodgar, touching the Standing Stones of Stenness or exploring the ancient site of Skara Brae. Historic Village. We also did day trips to Hadrian’s Wall and the nearby Roman remains at Vindolanda. This archaeological site was discovered in the early 1970’s and is said to have may years ahead before they have uncovered everything. Alnwick Castle where parts of Harry Potter were filmed was another day trip that was a pinch me moment.
The Standing Stones of Stenness were the third set I visited this trip. Each time a touched the stones, but sadly I didn’t travel back in time.
The wind and rain lashed fiercely sideways as the bitter cold seeped through my clothes but undeterred I still walked around the ancient site of Skara Brae.
The ancient Roman archaeological site at Vindolanda near Hadrian’s Wall, will take years to fully excavate, yet the museum already has a massive collection of artefacts.
Reaching Denmark and meeting up with our nephew and his partner in their home in Aarhus was incredible, and having the opportunity to have them show us around Copenhagen was absolutely wonderful. We shared many moments laughing as we were guided around the city able to view it from the perspective of a local. Zurich and Lucerne were an unexpected beautiful surprise. We hadn’t planned those days at all, but sometimes the unexpected can be the most delightful as you discover places you have never imagined visiting. Finding the cable-car that took us to the Chateau at the top of Lucerne was spectacular. The view was stunning, the chateau and lunch were magnificent and the walk through the pine forest back down to the city was enchanting.
Copenhagen shone in glorious colour as we wondered along the canal.
Hotel Gutsch is a beautiful white chateau that sits above the hills of Lucerne.
There is still so much that made me happy about that holiday, I could go on for ages. Suffice to say, Venice could never disappoint, and finding ourselves on a Norwegian cruise through the fjords was unbelievable. The day the ship cruised through the fjord early in the morning towards the tiny village of Olden, was the absolute highlight. The views from the top of the mountain were breathtaking and walking through the thick snow that sunk half-way up my shins while fighting a strong bitter wind to reach an igloo was unforgettable,
Words cannot express the magnificence of Olden nestled at the end of a long fjord. We would never see anything like this in Australia. The heights of the mountains shooting up from sea-level were astounding.
I can’t forget our week in and around London while staying with hubby’s cousin and his family. Their hospitality was second-to-none as each day we laughed well into the evening. They helped us explore Blenheim Palace, (family home of Winston Churchill) Cliveden House, Runnymede, Windsor, (the site where the Magna Carta was signed), Windsor Castle, Oxford, the quaint little village of Cookham and a stroll along the part of the Thames where they live. Most days we still made it home to spend time with their gorgeous grandkids after school. Family time is always special, it made us extremely happy to feel so welcomed and at home by family on the other side of the world.
On our return home to Australia, there were still many more days that I embraced with complete happiness. But the cherry on top of the cake was our trip to Tasmania in search of seeing the Southern Lights (Aurora Australis). Not only did we see it once in Tassie, but we had what could be a once in a life time experience where we watched the heavenly astronomical display from our own back deck at home. Words cannot describe how I felt being able to see this with the naked eye.
Experiencing an aurora from the east coast of Tasmania, was truly incredible as we watched naked eye beams shoot towards the heavens.
Witnessing an aurora from home was unbelievable. Notice however that the colours are not as spectacular as we are further north and can only see the highest beams.
How can I continue to have more days like this in 2025?
Well, I certainly don’t plan another massive trip like 2024, but I will be content with my memories, reliving them as I slowly work through all the photos to make beautiful coffee table photo album books. I have already completed the first book of the Cotswolds and Lakes District, but I think it will take all year to complete the rest.
In the meantime, we have our 4th grandchild due to be born any day now and I look forward to spending a couple of weeks in Perth once he/she is born. When my son’s first child was born in 2020, it was the middle of Covid and the state of WA was in lockdown, which meant he was six months old before I was allowed to fly to Perth to see him. This time around will be so different, I want to be there for my son, my daughter-in-law, my grandson and their new precious baby.
Later in the year the family will come together again for the happy celebration of another nephew’s wedding. In between all of this, I hope to continue to write, maybe finish a picture book I started last year and begin a new adventure series. For you to stay up to date on all my news, I will finally embark on a monthly newsletter that is coming very soon. If you haven’t signed-up already, please consider doing so, I promise I won’t invade your inbox too often, but I do hope to bring you lots of worthwhile information on helping raise awesome readers while providing teaching resources, book reviews and more.
If you made it this far, thank you for staying with me and reading, I know it was a bit of a long one. If you would like to read more, here are the links to my friends posts regarding their thoughts on 2024.
Julie Gorges The New Year: A Time for Reflection and Hope.
Books by Rose What is the Most Courageous Thing You Did in 2024?
What about you? What made you happy in 2024? What do you plan to do in 2025 to continue making those moments of joy? Please let me know in the comments below.