Another New Year

Just once, before I get too old to think this sounds anything other than amazing, I want to spend New Year's in Rio de Janeiro.  It's summer there now, and folks celebrate the new year by wearing all white.  When the clock strikes midnight, everyone jumps into the ocean, and comes out all shiny and new, to start over again.  I like this idea. 

But, for now and this year, resolutions will have to suffice.  I make resolutions every year and usually keep them.  Last year, I resolved to make new recipes each week and did so, for several months.  My sushi fell apart until I found the sticky rice that holds it all together.  My krumkake iron dripped butter onto the stovetop and lit my stove on fire.  My creme brulee was tasty, if not carmelized as it should have been, and so on.  Some successes, some epic fails.  The point is, I think, to keep trying. 

I have only two resolutions this year:  to try again, a little harder, to publish my book, after I tweak it and remove some elements.  I came very close last time, with two agents reading it and liking it, just not loving it.  Michelle Edwards from pub knitting told me that is remarkable for a first novel to get that close, and it will be publishable, once I find the right home for it.  Encouraging news.  My second resolution is just to seek out the happy, those people and projects which make me happy, and not let the unhappy moments get me down for long.  When I was young, I thought of adult life as a happy constant, with the freedom and income to have whatever I wished whenever I wanted it.  The reality is we all lurch from one happy moment to the next, with lots of downtime in between.  Christmas was one such happy moment, as all Christmases are now with my family, and tonight should be another, with different friends grouped at different places, and me hopping from one to another all night.  We can't jump into the ocean at midnight, but I'm sure we'll make plenty of noise.  And then, all start over again, trying to be better people.