It’s that time of year, when we look back at the events of the last year and set goals for the year ahead. This year, as with last year, I’m keeping it simple and hoping for satisfaction in small achievements.
Last year, I was looking for inspiration in the works of a few people. Some of this year’s goals extend from last year’s, such as more walking/fitness and reading. I’m also hoping to continue doing a little decluttering.
Last year I looked to Libby Dilana for motivation to continue focusing on my walking. I read her book Do Walk (Indiebound). While I didn’t have the record milage that Tom and I clocked during the pandemic, I walked at least five days a week and I loved it.
Walking is such great exercise and good for my mental well being. I love walking briskly, puffing up our Arlington hills, and putting my body to work. Sometimes my mind wanders, sometimes I mull over work challenges, spy on neighbors (their beautiful gardens, artwork seen through windows), or stop to identify the bird I hear calling. I might plan an outfit to wear to an upcoming dinner party, think about what to cook for dinner, or daydream about a trip I want to take. Walking is the inexpensive great escape that I can manage by stepping out my front door.
Another goal that I had last year was to read Ruth Reichl’s My Kitchen Year (Indiebound). I thought that I would relate to Reichl’s story of her year after Gourmet magazine suddenly shut down, leaving her without a job. I could relate to her restlessness and fear of figuring out what to do with her life. It’s downright scary to be jobless, even when we know that we won’t lose the roof over our heads. I can only imagine the difficulty of that happening.
Ruth’s book inspired a meal that I described in this post: A Gabrielle Hamilton Dinner. It also renewed my interest in memoirs by food writers and chefs. I read Coming to My Senses: The Making of a Counterculture Cook by Alice Waters, Yes, Chef by Marcus Samuelson, and The Comfort Food Diaries by Emily Nunn (Bookshop.org).
I’ll be reading more about cooking and food in 2023. I’m currently working on To Fall in Love, Drink This: A Wine Writer’s Memoir by Alice Feiring (Bookshop.org). Feiring’s writings about natural wines have piqued my curiosity about them. I received two memoirs for Christmas: Cassoulet Confessions by Silvie Bigar and Notes from a Young Black Chef by Kwame Onwuachi (Bookshop.org).
I also hope to spend part of this year working on decluttering. I am not expecting to make a huge inroad in my “stuff,” but chipping away would be satisfying. I have some paperwork to shred and I would really like to go through my pantry shelves that are so stuffed that access to items in the back is tough. I’d like to pull things off the shelves, discard, and organize.
Plans are just starting for potentially bigger things in 2023, but they are not definite enough to talk about. If they come to fruition, I’ll be boring you with the details. In the meantime, these small goals feel so attainable that I almost feel they are not worth a post. On the other hand, life is sometimes about the little things and the little things can be so satisfying. Why not share them?
What do you hope for in the new year? Whatever it is, I hope that you are able to realize them and that they make you happy.
Related Posts
Here are some of my other posts at the start of new years.
Our simple goals are so similar, Dottie! Can’t wait to see you in June.
I can’t wait to see you and hear all about your goals, hopes, dreams. Happy 2023!