My most important goals for 2023 were to paint Son's boat (and thus reassure myself that it wasn't in imminent danger of falling apart due to rust) and to see him settled with some kind of job with which he could support his immediate needs.
Both of those were achieved. We stripped and painted the boat over the summer, and in doing so discovered that the rust was largely superficial and the structure of the boat was sounder than I had feared.
We also stripped and painted the fresh water tank, which had been so full of rust I was worried that it was going to rust through at any moment and flood the bilges. And it turned out that it too was sounder than I had feared. It will have to be done again every year for several years running to fully eliminate the rust, but the boatyard men were not concerned about it, and as long as we keep on top of it, it should be fine.
Son is now installed in permanent mooring and has found a temporary job which will keep him (heh) afloat while he looks for something better.
I can therefore go into 2024 without the family-related stress and dread that was such a feature of late 2022 and the entirety of 2023.
I shouldn't say things like that because it tempts fate, but as of 1/1/2024 that is the situation. So I can turn my thoughts to 2024 with that ticked off at least.
Goals for 2024
Family-related goals this year
- Help Daughter/Fiance arrange their wedding.
- Help Son get the boat re-blacked, water tank stripped and re-painted, bow decoration painted, and engine idle finally fixed
Personal goals
I looked on the internet for 'Fun New Year Resolutions' and could not find any. Apparently you're not supposed to make resolutions to have more fun. You're supposed to be grinding away at exercise and work as though we weren't all already doing the best we could.
I can't make resolutions about health because I am now aware that if your health decides to bork you, there is nothing you can do about it. This will be the first year, I think, where I go into it fully aware of being chronically ill, and how that means that I no longer even have the illusion of control.
So, my goals are going to be small. And they're not going to be resolutions, because I am not resolved to do them if it turns out I can't. They're more like guidelines.
- Write a new original novel. I've signed up for
![[profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
gywo to do the 120 days pledge, which means that for at least 120 days of this year I will work on something to do with my new novel. - Finish podficcing at least my major Tolkien fanfics
- Get to the point where I can cycle three times a week and dance twice a week without triggering a flare-up. (I have been cycling three times a week with no trouble for years, and have just about managed to fit in one dance class with only the occasional flare. I have the feeling that increasing to a second dance class a week will require a lot of patience and care. But I think I can get there if I do it gradually enough.)
- Learn how to cook good vegan food. Now I'm dairy intolerant I have to learn to cook again. As I've always loved Asian food, this is a great excuse to learn to make Thai/Korean/Japanese food myself. It's healthy, it's gorgeous, why wouldn't I? (Also vegan desserts, and - dammit - I want a cheese scone again, even if it's vegan cheese.)
- Sew all the things
- Start Roses & Castles painting again
- Learn something difficult. It may be time for me to try maths again, or coding, or a language. Or playing the melodeon with the bases. Something that does not come to me naturally.
That will do, I think :)
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Date: 2024-01-02 03:45 pm (UTC)From:I agree on the whole 'fun resolutions' thing. Sod keeping it miserable - your list sounds great :D
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Date: 2024-01-02 06:43 pm (UTC)From:Thank you! And yes, I've made my first ever entry on the GYWO tracker and I love being able to see how many more days in the month I need to do in order to meet the challenge. (Not as many as I thought :) )