Thank you 2015 - time to stand down. Your time is done.

At this time of the year, for me, it is a time to be retrospective, time to reminisce, time to realise what is important, time to practise hygge, time for gratitude... Time to say thank you for...

1. The air that I breathe
2. My dearest other half who makes me complete
3. My boys
4. My Mum and Dad
5. My family
6. Friends
7. The warmth of the sun
8. Blue skies
9. The purring of a cat
10. Hearing the crackle of the fire on a cold night
11. Snuggling down into bed, feeling cocooned by the duvet
12. Holidays
13. A brilliant vivid orange sunset or an amazingly fuchsia pink sunrise
14. Jeans that act both as a corset and make me feel good
15. Earrings
16. Laughing til I cry
17. Casting on a new project
18. Casting off the last stitch
19. Walking
20. Breathing in coastal air
21. Camping in new places
22. The earthy scent of a damp woodland in autumn
23. Blogging
24. Hearing the rain on the roof - when we are all inside safe and warm
25. A Scandinavian police drama that makes me wanting more
26. My health - I have niggles but then that is all they are
27. Betty Ferries' Shetland sweet oatcakes
28. Pepparkakor
29. My camera
30. Tea - Scottish, green, peppermint, ginger chai, Yorkshire, valerian
31. Hugs 
32. Beach sand between the toes
33. A good night's sleep
34. Dancing to the radio in the kitchen
35. The coffee brought to me on a weekend to sip in bed
36. Cranberries
37. Weekends
38. A good strong cheddar
39. Silver rings
40. Feathers
41. Mist in the valley
42. The reflections in water
43. My new dustbin in the kitchen
44. Finding cat pawprints around the bath edge
45. blankets to wrap around me 
46. Watching my boys eating the food I cook
47. Having friends around
48. Incense curling around the house and filling my senses 
49. The smell of bread baking
50. The feel of furry cat tummies and their cold feet
51. My garden
52. The hens in the garden
53. The plants in the house
54. Music
55. Land art
56. Waking up and realising I still have several hours of sleep left before I have to get up
57. Reading
58. Hot showers
59. Clean hair
60. Wearing something I have knitted
61. Seeing Himself in the Skepp-o-hoy jumper I knitted him
62. White painted wood
63. Fairy lights all year round
64. Wicker baskets
65. Border collie dogs 
66. Garlic bread
67. The countryside I drive through every day
68. Lambs playing in the fields
69. The sound of waves pulling back through a pebbly beach
70. Bird song
71. How much Himself does for me
72. A really good salad
73. Wool shops
74. Wool festivals
75. Wool....(wool)
76. Friends - dear sweet friends of which I have many - they are what keep me strong, keep me sane, keep me safe. (I know I have already mentioned friends - but they are worth repeating)
77. Hearing rain on the roof and know that by shear luck, the house we bought 15 years ago is on a gentle slope keeping us safe from flooding - especially this year when so much flooding is present
78. That brilliant blue that only the sea and sky on a late spring day can give - the type that fills you until it hurts
79. Sitting around a table of food and family and sharing meals and laughter
80. Watching the hyacinths in moss first peaking out then blooming - filling the room with their sweet sweet scent 
81. Looking for then spotting the first swallow - a sure sign that summer is on its way
82. A vacuumed carpet
83. A freshly mown lawn
84. Watching the hens scratching in the garden finding bugs and grubs that I can never get to
85. The smell of wood smoke in autumn
86. Soup - thick warming soup that sticks to your ribs on a cold weekend after walking
87. The sight of a cat trying to sit in a box that is two (or probably three) sizes too small
    
88. Succulent dates, chewed slowly and preferably with my eyes shut so the flavour fills my head
89. Big sky 
90. Far horizons
91. Watching the sun go down on Summer Solstice
92. Lighting candles for Yule
93. The smell of my home - familiar, safe
94. Books
95. Holding his hand
96. Listening to our favourite CDs 
97. Cooking magazines - they inspire
98. Cheap 'bic' blue pens
99. Water colour pencils
100. Watching my three - a bittersweet mix of Dad and Sons/three men/three friends/three gamboling gangly creatures - my three.

Thank you 2015 - time to stand down - your time is done.