Fast away the old year passes...

Hail the new, ye lads and lasses! Falalala-la...

It's turnaround time, when the wheel of the year ticks over to 1 again. After the Solstice on Monday, the days will start getting longer again. Christmas renews and refreshes our relationships. And on New Year's night, the winter constellations will begin to yield to the stars of spring, and we will all embark on a new path forward.

I guess I'm an optimist underneath it all (way underneath), because, while I often look back on the old year frustrated at things I did not accomplish, I always look forward to the new year, eager to get crackin' on those goals.

Good omens are rising. My newspaper horoscopes have been encouraging. Obstacles are resolving themselves spontaneously (the rare and precious "it'll all work out" effect). The design process has been slow but productive. My favorite holiday gift so far is an unexpected vacation from Christmas to after New Year's, time I can spend rebuilding my studio and working like a mad thing. Hooray for a day job at a university where, apparently, they have this magic thing called "intersession" which is a break in the middle of winter! Who saw that coming, eh?

So, I look forward to starting 2010 with a new studio, new art, new stationery, and a game or toy. I might even do a little writing, if I can. Time -- the most precious thing in the world, and I just got some as a present from strangers. Joy!

So...I wish you all joyous holidays and a happy and prosperous new year. Let's have faith in life and the universe, see beauty where we look, and find what really makes us happy.

'Tis the season to be jolly...

Snowy trees outside my studio