Happy Solstice Day! It’s that time of year again, when the longest night of the year is upon us. Which in turn means that today is the shortest day of the year. After this, the days will incrementally grow a little longer until Summer Solstice rolls around. I’m so ready for the days to get longer so I don’t feel compelled to go to roost so early. This night, to me, is closer to what feels like the end of a year than the traditional New Year’s Eve. So here’s my 2022 Solstice Review. On Jan. 1 or New Year’s Eve, I’ll set forth my goals for the year and pick out my focus word.

December 21 marks the beginning of a new season. It’s officially the first day of winter. Today is Wednesday and it feels like the calm before the storm. That’s because it literally is. Tomorrow winter is going to blow into Wild Ozark with dangerously cold temperatures and wind chills. While I’m happy the day will be a millisecond longer, I’m not looking forward to that weather.

So what did I hope to accomplish with my time this year? The word I’d chosen for the year was ‘unstoppable’. It does feel like time barreled on through with unstoppable momentum, that’s for sure. I’m going through last year’s goals that I set for the new year, and seeing that I didn’t do very good at fulfilling most of them.

1. I wanted to blog more often and write more ‘musings’ type posts. Well, I failed on this goal. So I’ll try that again in 2023.
2. Also failed on the second goal of finishing the last book in my fiction trilogy. Gosh, this year end review is already beginning to depress me, lol. This, too, will go on to my 2023 list of goals.
3.  Paint at least 12 paintings. Finally, something I did good at! I painted 17 this year, and I’m pretty darn thrilled about that. Not only did I get more finished, I painted my first ones in oils using the Ozark pigments.
4. Make more sales/income – I’m not sure how I did on this yet. I need to tally up my spreadsheet nets. Let me go do that right now…oh, it’s much worse on the net because I bought equipment this year. But on the pure income number maybe it’s better…. Nope, failed on this goal too. So I’ll try that again next year as well. Wow, 3 out of 4 in favor of failure! I’m not liking this 2022 Solstice review a whole lot. But I did sell more original art this year than last. But I didn’t do many events to sell as many prints and notecards as I did the year before. So next year if I do more events, I should be able to bring that number up again.
5. Grow a garden, and do more stone work. I did great on this one. The stonework happened in the garden, so it was a two-fer one on this. My garden didn’t perform all that well, but at least I got it made and planted. We had a hailstorm in may that killed all of my first seedlings, so everything was set back too far to finish out before first freeze in fall this year.
6. Exercise more and eat less carbs. I started out good on this exercise part, but ultimately it is a fail, too. However, I have succeeded at eating less carbs. And I’ve lost to my goal weight, so in the end it evens out. I still want to do more exercise next year though.
7. Be more organized. I did great at this one. So I’m happy with that and want to continue it onward.

So that’s my 2022 Solstice Review. Geez, I’m not sure I want to do a review next year after doing this one! But, you know I will. After the Christmas gatherings, I’ll set down my goals and pick a new word of the year again. And I’ll share them here when I make my New Year’s post. With the next full revolution of the wheel, I’ll take a look back and see if I’ve done better.

In spite of not meeting many of my goals, it doesn’t mean I’ve had a bad year. All the while, it actually felt like a pretty good year. So calling it a ‘failure’ is a bit harsh. I’ll make one of my goals for 2023 to be kinder to myself, lol.

Happy Yule! I hope you all have a happy holiday season and are looking forward to growing another year forward. If you do a review of sorts like this and have blogged about it, leave a link in the comments. Or just share your thoughts if you aren’t that formal with it 🙂

ABOUT
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Madison Woods is the pen-name for my creative works. I’m a self-taught artist who moved to the Ozarks from south Louisiana in 2005. My paintings of Ozark-inspired scenes feature lightfast pigments from Madison county, Arkansas. My inspiration is nature – the beauty, and the inherent cycle of life and death, destruction, regeneration, and transformation.

Roxann Riedel is my real name. I’m also salesperson for Montgomery Whiteley Realty. If you’re interested in buying or selling in Madison or Carroll county, AR, let me know! You can see the properties that I blog about at WildOzarkLand.com.

Wild Ozark is also the only licensed ginseng nursery in Arkansas. Here’s the link for more information on the nursery

P.S.

There’s always a discount for paintings on the easel 😉

Here’s my Online Portfolio

And, Click here to join my mailing list.

Contact Mad Rox: (479) 409-3429 or madison@madisonwoods and let me know which hat I need to put on 🙂 Madison for art, Roxann for real estate, lol. Or call me Mad Rox and have them both covered!

https://www.youtube.com/@wildozark