Jolly New Year’s Eve Monday!

Posted on by under Global Issues, Holidays, Humour, Politic-Free Mondays

‘Tis New Year’s Eve and in just a few short hours it will be another year, this one called 2019.  Daughter Chris is working a half-day today, and we plan a quiet evening, just the three of us, with an assortment of appetizers hot and cold that will, with luck, last us through the rest of the week and I won’t have to cook again until next Monday!

Speaking of cooking … I did do a small bit of baking this morning for you, and I just brewed a fresh pot of java, so grab a bite and a cuppa …

juice box

I don’t get particularly excited about the New Year, for truly, nothing changes and the designation is man-made.  The new year might just as well have started on the vernal equinox, June 21st, or in the middle of nothing … March 1st.  And I don’t enjoy parties or getting smashed and feeling like a dead banana the next day.  But for many, it is considered a milestone, a time to make changes in one’s life, and to that end, people often make ‘resolutions’ to do something better, or at least different, in the coming year.  I don’t make resolutions for they are never kept and just something else to feel guilty about.  But let’s take a gander at the funny side of resolutions.

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resolution-2

resolutions-3

baby-blues-resolutionresolutions-4resolutions-Calvin-Hobbesresolution-toonEven cats, apparently, make resolutions …

What would any holiday be without Maxine’s acerbic wit?

Maxine new yearMaxine-new-year

And out of the mouths of babes …

I end on a bit of a more solemn note.  The past year has been a difficult one for many around the globe.  In the U.S., we have had our share of troubles as a result of a leader who has no values.  In the UK, the Brexit negotiations have not gone well and there is concern that the final deal … or no deal … will leave our friends across the pond in serious trouble.  In Yemen, Syria, Afghanistan, Palestine and Iraq, innocent people are dying every day.  In other countries, people are being led by dictators and fear for their lives.  There remains a world-wide refugee crisis, not only in the Middle East, but in many areas of the globe.  These problems do not go away when the clock strikes midnight tonight, but will still be there when you wake on the morning of January 1st.  My hope for the coming year is simple.  I hope that we all make a concerted effort to raise our collective voices against bigotry in its many forms, against racism, against dictatorships and cruelty ’round the globe.  I hope that our voices are heard by all, especially those in power who have the ability to change things.  I hope that all around the globe, people start putting other people first, ahead of money, ahead of all the new toys they can buy.  And I hope that we all begin to take seriously the protection of the planet earth.  These are my hopes.

And now, I wish you all a very Happy New Year … please keep safe … and thank you all for being such an important part of my life for the past year.  Here’s to another …clinking-glasses.jpg

41 thoughts on “Jolly New Year’s Eve Monday!”

  1. Dear Jill,

    Like you, I spent a quiet evening with a friend just chatting. We watched the movie, “the Black Panther,” and the ball drop in NYC’s Time Square which I couldn’t see because of a lot of smoke.

    I just thrilled that the year of 2018 is already past history.

    Hugs, Gronda

    Liked by 1 person

    • What was your opinion of Black Panther? I’ve heard mixed reviews, but am planning to watch it in the next week or two, as it is available for $2.99 on Amazon Prime. I agree about the smoke in Times Square … I had it up on my computer, but finally closed the tab, for I couldn’t see a damn thing but people! Wall-to-wall people! Yes, 2018 is history, but I think 2019 will be even worse. Sigh. Does there come a point where we just say, “I can’t do this anymore”?

      Hugs, my dear friend!

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  2. As always, I’m a bit late to the party… Life getting in the way.
    Happy 2019 to you. For me, its going to bring many changes, not all good. But ya know, life moves, so we make the best of it. I do not know where my own life leads, let alone the future of a lot of political decisions by Nations will lead. I think 2019 is going to be one of those years! 🙄💕

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    • Happy 2019 to you, my friend, though it doesn’t sound like it’s going to be much of a party. You had such a crappy 2018 that I was really hoping things would be better for you in the coming year. Are you still in Thailand? Hang in there, my friend, and know that I am only an email away … any day, any time. Huge {{{HUGS}}} to you! 💖

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  5. A last minute surprise…Benjamin has come to spend New Year’s Eve with me, so that Mommy and Daddy can celebrate with their friends. No bribe was needed, but Benjamin and Mommy took me out to breakfast and it was yumalicious. Now, we are ready for a “snack with Miss Jill”! A sprinkled donut and a juicebox made Benjamin smile, but he’s wondering : “Where is Jolly?” I have always followed the advice of E. W. Howe on New Year’s Eve : “To be an ideal guest, stay at home.” We both wish you and yours a very Happy New Year! Benjamin and I are going to visit Saturday’s post. Thank-you x 2!!

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    • What a delightful surprise!!! I’m so glad that young Benjamin is feeling better! And you got breakfast out of the deal as well! You racked up! Tell Benjamin that Jolly is fine, but he went to visit his mum and dad for the holidays, but he’ll be back next Monday in time to celebrate a certain b-i-r-t-h-d-a-y! Happy New Year to you both!

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  6. I have not broken a New Year’s resolution in over 30 years. The last one I made was so long ago I can’t remember when it was–This year I resolve to never make another New Year’s Resolution. Easiest one to keep I have ever heard of. Feel free to use for youself…
    You know I have plenty of respect for you, Jill, and that increased today. Tonight is no different from any other night of the year, except you have to drive more cautiously if you go out. Gail and I do not go out, even in a small town of 3500 permanent residents. There is always at least one jackass everywhere, usually more.
    As for music to jog by (for others), my choice would be Eric Burdon’s “Year of the Guru.” And I agree with Roger, “Bah Humbug, everyone!” Everyday is a good day to change yourself for the better…

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  8. Happy New Year, my friend. Enjoy your quiet evening (we are having a couple of friends over – the first time in years we’ve spent New Year’s with anyone…should be nice and quiet for us too). Oh, and I’m totally doing #6 in 2019!!

    Liked by 1 person

    • You have a wonderful evening … and hopefully a good year ahead. You have the thing that matters most … a loving husband and, of course, the kitties! Love them and just try to tune out the rest of the detritus. And I do wish I could be there to see it when you do #6!!! See if you can take a friend along to capture it on video!!!

      Hugs to you all and a Happy New Year!!! 🥂

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  13. Hi Jill. When it comes to ‘New Year’ I am a ‘Bah! Humbug’ sort…..
    That said I am fully with you on your solemn note. The only respectable form of intolerance is intolerance of intolerance.
    Anyway I hope you and yours have an idiot-free New Year’s early hours……Must dash- I’m just popping out to buy a bull-horn…..😼

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    • I am not surprised that a man who prefers stormy, cloudy days to sunny ones would be ‘bah-humbug’ about New Year’s! 😉 However, in truth I am much the same,especially these days. It’s a bit hard to be enthusiastic when the world is in the state it is and not likely to improve in our lifetimes. That said, I still wish you a Happy New Year and genuinely hope that it will be a good one for you and Sheila. Have fun with the bullhorn … your neighbors are gonna love you!!!

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      • Annddd proud of it Jill 😤! (I never get my kinda weather on 31st December/ 1st January…it’s always so damn mild and not a hint of rain…)
        Thanks for your wishes
        Anyways I wish you well for this 2019….survive.

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        • You would have loved our New Year’s Eve weather … pouring rain all day long, bordering on freezing rain. We now have riverfront property, where we didn’t two days ago. Personally, a bit of sun would have brightened the day for me, but you would have been in your element!

          As the clock struck midnight, the girls and I hugged and I said, “Good riddance to a crappy year”, biting back tears. I shall try to survive, but … not making promises anymore. Sigh.

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          • Durn! Exactly my kind of New Year’s Eve. Pity the heavy rain can’t be spread a bit so that folks don’t get flooded.
            I’ve never got around to having a T-shirt with ‘Hey this is nothing! I survived The Thatcher Years!’…..might just have one yet.
            Keep on keeping on Jill.
            (Meanwhile at Maison d’ Jacob ‘tip-tap-tip-tap-tip-tappity-tap’ 💻 ⌨️☄️ 💥)

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            • I’m happy to hear that tip-tap-tip-tappity sound coming from Maison d’Jacob! Even the expletive is okay … I presume spell-check changed your word again 😉

              Yes, definitely get the t-shirt, but no pictures of either Trump, Thatcher or Corbyn on it!

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              • Sssorrry for the delay Jill!
                Not FaceBook..but THE BOOK!
                ‘Durn’ actually became a bit of a catch-word when my daughter Meg (then in her mid-teens started using it-I never found out why…who asks a teenagers anything when they are in a good mood- don’t rock the boat).
                On no. No way would they be on my T-shirt….trumplet might make it to the rear end of a pair of underpants….otherwise…no way!
                (Meanwhile Tappity-tap-tap)

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                • No apologies needed!!! You are working on your book and knowing that brightens my day! I don’t think you should even have Trumpie on your unmentionables, for he could cause you problems. However, there is Trump toilet tissue available on Amazon … you might consider that! And I’ve even seen a Trump toilet brush! 😉 Now get back to that book!

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                  • Trump cause me problems? That little freak of the voting system? After all I am not weak, vulnerable or a member of a minority, that’s about all he can manage. Nor am I one of 800,000 workers that the little screw-up is causing financial problems to.
                    Lock him up and have done with it!

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                    • True, and even luckier, you get to live 4,000 miles across a big pond 😉 Of course, you have your own set of problems these days … sigh. The whole world seems to be upended … I wish somebody would set it back upright.

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                    • Sadly Jill the problems are the same. These days the mobs and idiot-ologs have access to social media so hysteria travels faster further.
                      Here’s to folk who swap recipes, photos of old buildings, tales of what their pets are up to and suchwhich, let them flood social media and drown out the hateful, foolish and hysterical.

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