A year ago tonight I quit drinking. I started again the next day.. In my defence I didn’t plan on starting again but we were at the polar bear lunch and someone handed me a spiked hot chocolate and, well that was the end of that. There was no point in quitting again right away… I waited the recommended year and will quit again tomorrow.

It has been quite the year. Contrary to our best of intentions we spent too much of it in hospitals. Our recent sojourn from our little cliff side house has been surprisingly difficult and I am now convinced I never could be one who winters in the south…even if I had two extra cents they wouldn’t be spent on travelling very far from this island. On the upside we will be out of the family house and home in two weeks,  E is kidney stoneless  I have a new shoulder and my mother lives to fight another day…If 2016 isn’t too hurt by my words though.. Not sad to see it go.

Along with conversations about Boat Harbour and the American political situation, it is time to tuck 2016 away in our back pocket and mention it no more.

And to 2017, we welcome you. We will greet your arrival as we have greeted all of the New Years since we moved here. We will meet you in the company of good friends, good music and good wine. We will sing with you and dance with you. We will toast you with Prosecco and cling to your festive arrival as an omen of good health and good fortune to all in our lives.  To our friends and family who aren’t with us tonight we will silently send wishes for all that is good for their lives as well.

In the unlikely event that my abstinence will last longer than last year I have endevoured to make other resolutions. To that end I thought of all the really great times we had this year and how I could have more of those times and repeat the laughter. Other than my many hours in solitary bliss reading with the dog on my lap or sitting in my garden or on my perch. . What were the highlights…..?

I love our bridge nights, but this year Jan twisted my arm to join a two table game including Mary (who actually knows how to play the game)… It proved to be an enormous amount of fun.. … She was very kind… I look forward to many more games with Ron, Mary, Jan and Murray this year.

Singing God Save the Queen on Alison’s front deck as she celebrated her shared birthday with the Monarch. What an unlikely group, on a remote off grid island in costumes and rags, belting out the anthem .. Any excuse for a party….

Quilting!!!!  Good Lord, I enjoy my time with the women as I witness their skills.

I cannot reiterate enough the bliss we all shared on our driveway with the sunset concert to say goodbye to Gordon Downie. We don’t need to be saying goodbye to anyone but we definitely need more sunset music concerts this summer. My choice is the Eagles Sydney concert and or the Simon and Garfunkel concert in Central Park.

Scrabble !!!

Dinner parties too countless to mention with laughter and good conversation.. definitely need a few more of those.

So I resolve to forget all that was toxic about 2016 in the coming Year.  I resolve to repeat all that was good in 2017. I resolve to introduce new skills and interesting times in my 2017 life. We have a lot on our plate this summer and plenty of reason to be optimistic for a long and happy life here.

This year my clock begins ticking in a different decade. My resolution to quit drinking is unlikely to make

it past June.