Wow, is it really over all ready?!

Let me start by wishing you a very Happy New Year, and then swiftly follow by commiserating that the Christmas break is over already! Seriously, where did it go?

My run up to Christmas was frantic and the sprint of the final week was utterly crazy! In between the last minute shopping, present wrapping, cake icing, mince pie making, tree decorating, the school nativity, Lemon Studio night out and subsequent worst hangover in decades (look at the size of those glasses!) I was firing hundreds of ceramic decorations painted by the children from Oldfield Brow Primary School in Altrincham, unpacking boxes from all the recent artisan markets, painting the new bathroom of our forthcoming B & B and sorting and distributing food from Aldi to families in need across Warrington on Christmas Eve to support the wonderful 'With Love From Layla' charity. It makes my eye twitch just thinking about it!

But then suddenly it was upon us; the kids finally finished school and our wider family arrived. We were able to share a very special Christmas with all our loved ones around us and to really relax and enjoy it without having to travel anywhere. In fact there were numerous days where we didn't even bother to get changed out of our PJs! Truly slovenly but oh so welcome and rejuvenating.

If like me, you have sunk into a weird in-between world, where the days blur into each other, time no longer matters and routines have gone out of the window you too will be dreading the horror that this week brings. From getting out of bed and into clothes that seem to have mysteriously shrunk to the infamous New Year Hunt for school shoes, coats, bags, lunch boxes, homework and all the PE kit that has dispersed throughout the house... all I can say is I feel your pain, I have had to unbutton my jeans to be able to sit at this desk and who knows or cares where their pumps are!?!

So good luck, you can do it, you can venture forth into the real world again and whatever your resolutions are, you can achieve them, because last year I resolved to set up a pottery business and as a result I have pushed myself, taken risks and met so many wonderful people in such a short space of time that I do think that there must be some magic left in the world!

But a word of advice, just go at a slightly slower pace than I did, that is my only 2018 resolution!