Magic’ing Up Our New Year

The New Year came in with a bang, and a horrible flu that, for my husband, turned into walking pneumonia, but we are officially in the quiet time now. Time to visit the horses, barn cats, friends, family, music, plays, and all here at home. No trips planned. Yay!

If we want flowers, we visit the garage patio. 

If we want sunshine, we visit the sunroom, where we can read and listen to our favorite classical music. 

When we’re in the sunroom at night, we pretend we are in a Tuscan villa.

I’m slowly adding things to the room, one-by-one, as we sit in it and get a feel for what it needs. I’ve added more candles (photo above) to give it a feel of a fire pit, and one tree. We will add a second tree this week.  

When we first built this sunroom, we moved in our extra leather recliners, but they were a bit bulky. In 2020, we changed it to more of a patio feel. Now, I’m thinking something in-between. I’ll be on the lookout for low-profile, comfy chairs. The ones we have now aren’t horrible, but they’re not great reading chairs either.

As I thought about the New Year, I felt this need to do something different that would excite my soul. I wasn’t sure what. I don’t want to travel, so it needed to be something at home. 

Last night, it came to me:

Outside yoga. 

I have a basic set of poses I have done for many years, that help with balance and strength. I found them recommended for equestrians, and usually do them in my bedroom. 

But the question hit me, why not do them outside in the sun, snow, rain, barn, and even the pasture with the horses? Why have I been confining myself to the indoors. 

Today, I put on some comfy shoes, a cardigan, and a hat, and headed for the snow. It was gloriously fun! I am excited for where tomorrow’s yoga will take me.

Oh, another winter treat: SOUP season! This one is Zuppa Toscana. (Speaking of Tuscany). 

I want to try a new soup every week. Today’s soup is going to be Sausage Tortellini. (The photo below is not mine. It is from the recipe page at Julia’s Album.) 

Did I mention that my artist sister-in-law painted Tweed? She is the one who formerly painted Cowgirl and Epona. I didn’t know she was doing this one, I just saw it on her Instagram page for Year of the Horse and was like, “Hey, I recognize that handsome face!” I’m not sure how I’m going to wrestle it from her. Haha. 

And last, but not least. No winter is complete without furs. We had two comfy chairs in need of them, so I turned to Overland and oh my goodness, it was like Christmas all over again. 

The packaging on these furs!

Sitting in those chairs now feels like a super warm hug. 

What are you all doing to magic up your New Year?