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This is my entry for the @steemitbloggers contest "New Years Resolutions" run by @zord189.

Well, this was a bit of a tough one to think about... mostly because I'm not the one that makes resolutions or anything like that at the change of the year. For me the beginning of the New Year is a bit like the day before and the day after... So, I guess I would be talking more about vague goals for the next year instead!

Don't blow anything off

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My very first goal of the New Year would be an immediately practical one. In the Netherlands (especially in Den Haag apparently), the Dutch can go a bit crazy with fireworks and bonfires.

For my little part of the chaos, we normally buy a little packet of kiddie fireworks with some bigger rockets and stuff like that. Not that much mind you, as it is akin to setting money on fire!

So, my first thoughts of the year will be "don't be stupid, don't hurt yourself..." as I'm running forward (well, more like running away from...) to light the fireworks whilst freezing in the cold. Basically, that means lighting only one thing at time, and making sure everything is safely exploded. Last year, we had one rocket that didn't launch and exploded (splintering everywhere) on the ground!

Luckily, we no longer live in the crazier areas of Den Haag where teenagers and men who should know better are firing rockets at each other (and at random people walking by...). They even were throwing handfuls of rockets into bonfires, with the ensuing ground chaos being oddly hilarious (from a distance...). In our first year here, we even saw cars being set on fire!

Renovations

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A few years back (well, maybe more now... time flies), we bought a house here in The Netherlands. At the time, we didn't have the budget to completely renovate it before moving in, and as everything was serviceable and in good state, we decided to leave it as an ongoing project.

So, every year we have a renovation that we do... going from room to room or fixing up part of the garden. This year, it is likely to be the turn of the front garden. We don't use it very much, and we would like to make it a touch more private and to also build a half underground bike shed. Hopefully,this will the sort of thing that we will be doing in the middle or start of Spring....

Automate the house

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There no way around this... I'm a nerd, and the thought of a completely automated and smart house is something that is completely appealing to me! Sadly, this enthusiasm is mostly shared with the kids and much less with my wife.

So, I've already automated some lights and some cleaners (I think my wife secretly thinks that the cleaners are pretty cool... although, she does struggle with the lights for some reason). The lights are the best, seeing as it allows the kids to turn them on and off just by asking for it.... and they've become attached to the cleaner robots!

I want to automate the heating, and if possible to do some smarter doorbell... but to be honest, this is a pretty low priority thing in comparison to the two above!

Stacking!

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Well, the guys and girls at @ssg-community have gotten me a little addicted! I have a little baby stack of silver now, and I'm completely entranced by the world of coins and precious metals! I don't think I'm going splurge big, but slowly and steadily, I'm going to be building my shiny little stack!

Dig some holes...

These... they were supposed to go in the ground this year before winter hit (@simplymike and @lynncoyle1 knew about this...). However, one thing after another, and they didn't make it! So, in 2019... they are going in the ground... before December!