One Little Word

I've decided on my word for 2024. It hasn't been as  easy a choice as in previous years but as soon as I thought of it, it sort of clicked and the more I thought about it, the more I thought it was the right one for me this year. The word is 

Explore

defined as ... to investigate, study, or analyse : look into : to become familiar with by testing or experimenting : to travel for adventure or discovery

Source - http://www.epictop10.com/

It's a good fit for the things I have on my mind at the moment. 

• photography and replacement camera: I very rarely use my DSLR now and I don't often take 'proper' photos, resorting instead to using the camera on my phone. However, I'm still considering purchasing a new camera ... but do I need it and will I use it? I need to explore both this desire I seem to have for a new camera I possibly don't need, and also work out why I have stopped enjoying the photography ... something I used to love. I've started creating a list of ideas to kick start my photography habit and will see how it goes.

• travel: even taking into account my current problems with mobility, I still want to do some travelling this year, locally, farther afield, maybe even abroad. We had booked to go on a short cruise in May but cancelled it because of my knee problems and are now looking for alternatives. We just have to be sensible about what I can and can't manage while I'm using crutches to get around but I'm sure there will be plenty of choice once we start exploring all of the options.

• friendships: I have quite a mixed friendship group now, with other possibilities of new friendships I haven't yet explored. Of course, there is also my new male friend and the possibilities that that friendship brings with it. I also need to explore solutions for the remainder of the blogging problems that are still preventing me from commenting on your blogs and responding to the comments you leave on my posts. I feel that 2024 will be an exciting year for all things friendship related!

• food, diet, weight loss and exercise: this is a biggie and I need to make it my priority. I have to lose some weight, want to explore how I organise the food (meal planning, batch cooking, etc.), add in some more knee friendly exercise and somehow come up with the lifestyle change(s) that are required to help me achieve this. I know I can lose weight but each time I have failed to keeping going with it and it's time to fully explore the reasons why.

• family tree: this is another priority activity this year. I don't like the software I am currently using to record everything so I need to explore other possibilities, and I also want to investigate some of the other genealogy sites as an alternative to using Ancestry to see if they produce some different results.