New Year, New Disposition

Happy New Year everyone! Hope you had as much fun as Ken and me, as we hosted our annual neighbourhood “New Year’s Eve In Newfoundland” party. Newfoundland is an hour and a half ahead of us here in Ontario, which means we blow our horns and drink a champagne toast at 10:30 then everyone goes home. That way, the younger people can still party on, and the older people, like us, can go to bed. We really do have the best neighbours, and even though my social anxiety and extreme introvertedness can be an issue in most situations, for some reason, I love hosting this gathering. And the belle of the ball was definitely my new miniature—a shadowbox bathroom that was conveniently placed IN the bathroom, where all the party goers could see it and ooh and aah over it, and no, it’s not quite finished because as you may have noticed, THERE IS NO CLOCK IN THE ROOM YET. But still, I’m really happy with it, and the tile I personally cut my damn self after buying a tile cutter on Facebook Marketplace for five bucks.

And speaking of Facebook Marketplace, a friend recently sent me this ad.

This is, quite possibly, the most Shakespearian piece of furniture I’ve ever seen. So I contacted the seller and went to check it out:

Me: That’s a really nice desk.
Seller: It is, for sure. It’s a little…dramatic though.
Me: What do you mean?
Seller: Have you ever read Hamlet?
Me: READ Hamlet? I only taught it for 25 years.
Seller: Then you might appreciate—
Desk: Ahem. I have of late—but wherefore I know not—lost all my mirth, forgone all custom of
exercises; and indeed it goes so heavily with my disposition that this goodly frame, is a sterile promontory.
Me (gives desk a shake): I don’t know about sterile—your frame is pretty solid. But the mirth thing? I get that. 2025 seems like a dumpster fire already.
Desk: Seems, madam? Nay, it is. I know not “seems”.
Me: Sure, sure. (to Seller) Is this an antique piece?
Seller: Well…you say tomato…
Desk: Antic. I have an antic disposition.
Me (to Seller): I’ll take it.
Desk: Frailty, thy name is woman.

In other news, I never make New Year’s Resolutions. If I can’t do something whenever it occurs to me, it sure ain’t gonna happen due to some arbitrary date imposed upon us by the Gregorian calendar. But other people in the house aren’t quite so hardcore.

Me: So, are you planning on doing anything different this year?
Atlas: What do you mean, Ma?
Me: Like, a resolution. Where you promise yourself to make a change in your life for the better.
Atlas: But I like my life. I get lots of treats, and pets, and walks, and treats.
Me: But isn’t there anything you could do to make it better?
Atlas: I could stop licking my butt so much, I guess. And stop chasing that skunk you keep in the house.
Me: Again—it’s not a skunk. That’s Ilana. She’s a cat.
Atlas: But she looks like—
Me: A CAT.
Atlas: Says you. How about if I snuggle you more?
Me: Best resolution ever.

In other news, DarkWinter Press had a great year. Here’s the link to our end-of-year post, in case you’re wondering what we got up to in 2024:  https://www.darkwinterlit.com/post/thank-you-for-an-amazing-2024

And while 2025 might already seem like a dumpster fire, at least DarkWinter Press has some great books coming out.

35 thoughts on “New Year, New Disposition”

  5. 2024 was a rough year—a total disaster, honestly—but I’m holding out hope that 2025 will be better. My New Year’s resolutions are pretty straightforward: take more photos, write more, and, now that I’m finally close to shedding all those lingering obligations, let myself feel like a kid again. I’ve made the conscious decision to focus on what really matters—nurturing my relationship with my amazing wife, Amelia, and cherishing the lifelong friends who’ve always been there for me. 🙂

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  6. You’re doing amazing work with DarkWinter, Suzanne; I’m proud to be published by your press. Just last night, I had dinner with some friends I hadn’t seen in 20 years, and they told me they read and loved my book. I explained to them how the project wound up in the care of a very supportive editor and publisher, for which I am grateful. Looking forward to the slate to come over the next 12 months!

    As for 2025: While I acknowledge it will likely be a trying challenge politically (if not otherwise), no doubt replete with unforeseen “surprises,” we should all do ourselves the kindness of rejecting the “dumpster fire” mindset. I’m as devastated as anyone about the election results here in the U.S., and I genuinely worry for what comes next, but as a friend of mine once advised, we can only go from where we are — not where we wish we were. And I know from (much) personal experience that no bad situation was ever made better by a negative attitude. (I’m not accusing you of one, by the way — merely explaining my own philosophical approach to the New Year and the new administration.) I understand that mentally preparing for the worst helps us cope with it when it comes — hence the impulse to prematurely label 2025 — but I think we owe it to ourselves, our communities, and our countries to muster as much pragmatic optimism as possible. It’s what Frank Antony would do!

    Happy New Year!

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  8. I’ve always admired the Newfoundlandians for their bold, asynchronous approach to time zones. The other thing I’ve noticed is that they are never rude on the Internet. I don’t know what this says about them, but I’m impressed just as if I did.

    Atlas seems to have great dental hygiene. I’m impressed there, too.

    There is no paper band around the toilet seat upon which is printed, “Sanitized for your protection.” This bothered me at first until I realized just how excruciatingly tiny the germs in a miniature toilet must be.

    Happy New Year to you, and best of luck in your endeavors!

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  9. The tiny bathroom inside the bathroom is the sort of wonderfully recursive thing that is perfect for the Newfoundland New Year’s celebration. Also I think I just decided on a resolution I can actually keep: be more like Atlas. Okay, Atlas and I don’t do any of the same things but I want to adopt his attitude of focusing on the things that make me happy.

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  11. I was in the mall yesterday, and there was this kiosk in the middle of the mall, selling miniature things–for making miniatures–and I immediately thought of you 🙂 Cheers! Happy New Year!

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