What the Focus

2024 ~ The Year of The Dragon

Hello dear readers! In just a few days, on February 10th, the Chinese Lunar New Year will begin. Are you ready?? I am!

The past several weeks, I have been mulling over my writing, tossed between guilt for the lack of progress and anxiety over what direction to go in my current novel.

I desperately need to 1) get motivated and 2) get focused. I feel like my mind is like a kaleidoscope: full of all these beautiful patterns ebbing and flowing, but with no discernible picture. Recently, however, I have been feeling a shift in the energy around me, and I attribute this to the changing of the guard, so to speak. We are leaving the calm introspectiveness of the Year of the Rabbit and entering into a more energetic year.

The dragon is the only mythological creature in the Chinese zodiac. It symbolizes good luck, strength and power. Some of its characteristics include confidence, creativity, energy and impulsiveness. The Year of the Dragon promises to bring positive changes, new opportunities, and also challenges. But we can take the reins and choose how we handle all these. Those born under the sign of the dragon are believed to be showered with success….. hopefully, 2024 will sprinkle some of that good fortune on the rest of us!

Funnily enough, G’s New Year’s Resolution on December 31st was “to travel more.” And as someone born under the sign of the Tiger, that is exactly what is in store for him this year! We already have four trips planned in the next four months. I am a Snake, and although I didn’t have a resolution per se, I decided to learn another language (I’m currently learning Spanish). And guess what the year predicts for Snakes? Learning new things!!

Chinese people believe that what you do at the beginning of the year will affect the coming months. Energy out = energy in. So be kind and compassionate. Be loving and patient. And it doesn’t hurt to incorporate some “lucky” food into your New Year’s Eve dinner on February 9th. As for me, I’m going to be making “Money Bags” (dumplings). And maybe some spicy Dragon Chicken, too.

I don’t know about you, but I am planning to jump on that beast and ride it high and hard in the coming months… I hope you all join me and let’s make 2024 our most creative year ever!

What are your thoughts? I’d love to hear them!

Bilbao

We arrived in Bilbao to find we couldn’t get to our hotel because once again the streets were blocked….this time it was for a blues festival. So after driving around the area several times, we said “F!# it” and bypassed the road blocks so we could get to the entrance of Hotel Tayko. After unloading, we followed the music to see what was happening.

Bilbao Blues Festival

I was dying for Italian food – one can only eat so many pintxos – so we made our way up to the number one Italian restaurant in the city….and we were not disappointed. We had to wait for a table as it was full of locals, but it was worth it! The place was so cute, and dog friendly, and the food was outstanding.

After our late lunch/early dinner, we walked around and enjoyed the sights. I really liked the vibe of the city – it’s very eclectic, and a bit rough around the edges. G said it looked like they used every possible material that they could get their hands on (concrete, wood, steel) to build, and it looked like it all was just jammed together into a hodgepodge of architecture.

We ended the evening listening to some great music near the hotel. It went on until the wee hours, because it we could still hear it when we fell asleep after midnight!

The next day we visited the Guggenheim . In all honesty, both G and I liked the installations outside the museum better than the exhibits inside. But there were a few interesting pieces, and it was a nice way to spend the afternoon.

Yayoi Kusama’s work is nothing if not bizarre. Somehow it feels like it’s all very sexual.

It was interesting to walk through the larger than life exhibit of the American scuptor Richard Serra and then see his plans in miniature.

The Matter of Time: eight pieces of torqued ellipses made of weathering steel

Although we were told there was not much to see in Bilbao, I really liked the city a lot. Even the food was great – our hotel actually had a Michelin restaurant and we had dinner there the second night. G wanted to try a place around the corner, but it was pretty much just for meat and I’m more of a chicken and fish kind of girl.