Happy new year! I am writing from beautiful Mt. Shasta, where I am meeting with store buyers and doing some cross-country skiing with my family. The majestic mountain is covered in fresh snow, a symbol of constancy and change.

The start of a new year is also a time to consider constancy and change in our own lives, to take a look at the big picture and make any needed adjustments. I’m not big on new year’s resolutions—it’s far too easy to fall short and disappoint yourself. But this year I’m making one resolution: simply to be more present, more of the time. With help from meditation, journaling, and long walks with the dog, my aim is to become more mindful.

As we get older, we lose more and more friends and loved ones. Life seems shorter and each day more precious. I don’t want to miss any of it through pointless anxiety, distraction, or fretting about the past or future. We can’t stop time, but we can experience it more deeply. To quote cartoonist Bil Keane, “Today is a gift. That’s why it’s called the present.”

May blessings light your way.

Annette Makino

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Makino Studios News

Best of 2014: I’m honored that one of my poems has been selected for the Red Moon Anthology of the best haiku of the year.

for better or for worse
our lights and darks
tumbling together

(originally published in The Heron’s Nest, March 2014, XVI:1)

New California Stores: My cards are in a range of new stores: a Zen Buddhist monastery gift shop, Shasta Abbey Buddhist Supplies in Mt. Shasta; the friendly Fieldbrook General Store in Fieldbrook; and the wonderfully eclectic shop/barbecue stand/music venue, The Peg House, on Highway 101 in Leggett (motto: "Never Don't Stop").

Living Room Retrospective: This group show at MikkiMoves in Eureka, which includes several of my pieces, continues through January with a reception during Arts Alive this Saturday, Jan. 3, from 6 to 9 p.m.

2015 Calendars: Still need a small wall calendar for 2015? There are a few Poetry & Honey art calendars left in my Makino Studios Etsy shop.