Sundaze 285: New year, new Kindle, same me
Happy Sundaze, my loves!
(I told you I’d be back, didn’t I?)
It’s been a week packed with writing (in my journal, for my novel, on Substack, at work) and making (new candles, fresh website graphics, more product photos), so my cup feels very full indeed. Rather than spreading myself too thin with 101 cosy hobbies and ideas, 2025 is going to be all about giving 100% to the things I really want to. I often find myself multi-tasking within an inch of my life, which means hardly anything gets my full focus. As I worked through exercise sets at my Reformer Pilates class on Thursday, I realised how much benefit there is to focusing on one thing at a time. Like not falling off the carriage.
And this first week of the year felt like a lovely taster of what’s to come: prioritising rest, then hobbies. Being there for friends. Cooking delicious meals. Savouring books. Castle explorations. Solo dates.



New year, same me energy
Long-term readers of Daisybutter will know that I’m a big fan of the New Year, Lunar New Year, my birthday and the September start to check in with myself and make any necessary (or unnecessary!) changes. This January, I feel mostly content with my lot, except for the ‘not multi-tasking’ thing I mentioned. I simply want to continue with my 1% better every day mantra that served me so well during a turbulent 2024. I’m a lifelong work in progress, after all, and sometimes things just take longer than one Gregorian calendar year. For the first time in years, I’m starting to believe I might already be a good human, good enough, and I don’t need an identity overhaul.
A shiny new Kindle
One thing that is new in my life is the Kindle Paperwhite 2024 that I treated myself to after Christmas! I adore reading on an e-reader and thought it’d be a great time to upgrade my refurbished Kindle Basic 2022, especially since my boyfriend has been talking about trying one lately and he’s due to go away later in the month. Thus, I get a shiny new toy and everyday companion, and he gets the ultimate travel reader!


I’m thinking I’ll share a review and comparison post in a few weeks or months – I’m often asked questions about using a Kindle vs. physical books as you all know I just bloody love books.
Our first weekend of 2025
My boyfriend works shifts so we didn’t spend NYE together, as he was at work. So we made sure to have a lovely first weekend of the year together instead. After work on Friday, we popped to his auntie’s new home for housewarming drinks which was a heartwarming way to start the year.
In the morning, we pulled on our running trainers to take part in parkrun! We really want to try and do at least one parkrun a month throughout the year, as long as we’re in the country. It was absolutely Baltic out – -2°C when we started! – but I’m proud I even completed it at 37 mins 11 seconds. Afterwards, we showered and got ready for a cosy day out in Hertford for lunch at Mr Tanaka’s, then a stroll around town. I realised, in autumn, that I love a half day out, followed by a cosy late afternoon and evening at home.



On Sunday I took myself out for a solo date! After picking up groceries, I drove to a neighbouring town and, ceremoniously after a year-long book-buying ban, went book shopping in a bookshop before going for a quick bite and chai. It felt glorious!
Links I’ve Loved
- Simon left his future self a voice note in December 2023 and these were his musings a year on.
- I loved this article on Inner Canvas unpacking the myth of ‘good enough’.
- And this one on Gut Feelings about the intimacies of sharing online vs. sharing in person.
- Started back on StoryGraph earlier in the week after discovering some pretty grim things about Fable. Feel free to friend me on there! I’m also on Goodreads, purely out of habit.