Jessie: Surrounded by snowbanks

Every year about this time my mind begins to turn to the post holiday lull. It isn’t because I  don’t love merry making or family gatherings. I adore tinsel and beribboned packages and dining room tables heaving with festive treats. Gingerbread houses, popcorn balls and stuffed stockings all leave me feeling quite cheerful.

But after the shared seasonal traditional pastimes have come and gone once again I have a few traditions of a more personal nature I like to observe. Every year I buy a new planner and set off thinking about experiences I would like to have over the upcoming year and also habits I would like to build. I love spending some time contemplating the possibilities.

I also tuck into a knitting project or two. There is nothing like a snowy January afternoon for clicking away on a cabled sweater or a pair of wooly socks while binge watching Miss Fisher Mysteries or those featuring Miss Marple. This year I’ve got a red lace shawl I am determined to finish before Valentine’s Day.

Probably my favorite post-holiday tradition is my annual reading of all the Lucia books by E.F. Benson. Every year I pull out these old favorites and read them one by one, trying not to gobble them down too quickly. There is something so pleasant about spending time with  old friends one knows from the pages of a beloved book. Or better yet a book series. By the time I’ve finished all six volumes I feel ready to get back to the routine of ordinary life once more.

Readers, do you have any post-holiday traditions of your own?