We’ll take a cup of kindness yet, for the days of Auld Lang Syne…. Robert Burns

So here we are at the end of another year.  2016 has flown and it’s been a mixed bag.  I’ve had some of the most amazing highs and  quite a few lows.  It is finishing on a fantastic note for me though, with me   finally finding a forever home.  I’m in the process of shifting in at the moment, so am exhausted but it’s worth it.  I may not see the new year in as I’ll probably be asleep on the couch by 9pm but that’s okay.  I’ll awake tomorrow morning, eager to meet 2017 and all it brings with it.

On a low note, we’ve lost so many loved and admired people this year, mainly in the celebrity world.  Talent that can never be replicated.  Bowie, Prince, Alan Rickman, Leonard Cohen, Debbie Reynolds, Carrie Fisher and of course, Australia’s pirate king, Jon English.  Talk about the day the music died! It was the year of it.  Some were old and we expected them to cross over to another shore but most were way too young with so much more to offer.  Very sad.

I’ve had friends going through stuff no one should ever have to face but they have stood up to the challenges with grace and dignity.  They amaze me with their courage and I send them love and strength for whatever 2017 holds.

For me though, 2016 has been a year of breakthroughs. I have had the enormous stress of having a series of neighbours who have been horrendous but last week I took possession of the keys to my new forever home.  It thrills me to say that.  I have moved so many times over the last 25 years and now I can put down some roots and start to live my life to the fullest without the stress of housing.

I also found my feet as an artist this year.  I finally started doing the work I saw in my head and following my passion has paid off.  I started the year winning the Greenwood Art Prize and finished it by winning the Blue Fringe Art Prize.  Wow.. For someone who has only recently come to their craft, I am completely blown away.  I honestly believe that once you start doing the kind of work your heart wants you to do, you finally start to achieve your dreams.

The greatest news this year was that I am going to become a grandmother in 2017.  My son and daughter in law are expecting my precious grandbaby and I can’t wait.  I have dreamed for as long as I can remember of how wonderful being a grandma will be.  I guess it goes back to the loving relationship I  had with my own grandmother and watching how much my own children adored my mum.  In my grandmother’s honor, I’ll be called Gargie as she was.  The circle of life is an incredible thing and 2017 grows a new branch to our family tree.

This year I also travelled across the Nullabor with my friend Sharon.  I’ve always wanted to drive across it and I have finally done it.  I had a ball.  So another tick off the bucket list.  All in all, 2016 has been a year of setting things in place, ready for 2017 to explode into happiness.

I hope your 2017 is a wonderful one for you, filled with love, laughter and happiness.  Hopefully I’ll be more consistent with posting here in 2017 as I’ll be a lot more organised.  I have lots of exhibitions happening next year but more on that as they happen.

Please stay safe whatever you new year celebrations hold.  Life is just so precious and I hope you know just how important you are.  Let’s make 2017 the year we conquered all the ills of the world with love.  It truly can move mountains.

Happy New Year…Livvy xxx