Things I like to think about in January … a month which gives one a chance to pause and reset …

• the cold of frosty mornings
• making New Year’s resolutions just to break them
• re-arranging the furniture. tidying up the writing desk, the bookshelf, the dresser drawers
• going to the gym and not sweating like a monsoon rain cloud
• being cosy with a hot water bottle and an easy knitting-in-the-round cowl project
• smoke billowing from one’s breath, rising in fluffy plumes to the sky (does anyone, ever grow too old to enjoy this?)
• warm baths and the luxurious feel of scented oils on the skin, in an after-bath self care ritual
• the first sips of hot coffee in the morning or the last dregs of tea, late at night
• sipping on warm water from a favourite mug throughout the day – comforting and calorie free
• the joy of penning well-meant intentions into the crisp white pages of a new notebook
• The warmth of kind hands when one’s own are icy cold
• non-irritating family conversations over the holiday period
• the beauty of fairy lights, glowing softly through the sadness of January mornings
• making more Christmas cake from leftover boozy fruit, stewing sweetly in the refrigerator 
• warm socks, last thing in bed, after a light application of oil to the soles of the feet
• watching Vlogmas videos in January and rewatching favourites from past years
• keeping decorations up in January and pretending the festive season is not yet over
• Christmas cards arriving in the post in the New Year. Just the best way to remind oneself of the warm hug that is faraway friendship