around we go. again.

Fancy champagne flutes for before-midnight toasting

When YoungB was a good bit younger, he was a keen follower of Warhammer. I’m scratching my head right now because, having got rid of all that, we seem to be right back there. Different armies, he assures me blithely, while he lovingly packs pieces into a foam-lined case. You what? Cajoled and encouraged into this by a newly-found cousin, if you don’t mind. What bad influence family can be!

In the spirit of going around again, I’m also scratching my head as to what I’ve achieved this year. The broad answer is probably not much. I’ve done next to no knitting (an unfinished beanie), sewing (not even lavender bags) or crochet (a few Easter bunny baskets). I started making a beanie for YoungB but, to my great surprise, I wasn’t enjoying either the knitting or the yarn I was using. More head-scratching. Right?

I have read hundreds of books. No, really, I have. My Kindle Unlimited reading insights show that I’ve read 223 e-book titles. That’s not strictly accurate, in the sense that some are multi-volume reads that count as a single title, and others I’ve returned either unread or unfinished. But it’s probably close enough; PLUS the many p-book titles don’t show up in that total. I’ve submitted 47 online reviews, not always for new titles. One or two were retrospective paeans to earlier works whose narrative handling was outstanding, and which I’d revisited prior to reading a new title in the series (for example).

I engaged in a lengthy online discussion with the first-time-author of one new work that I reviewed. The pseudonymous author was upset by my negative criticism because other reviewers were heaping praise upon the work. S/he – the pseudonym was neutral – challenged me to provide “intellectually intelligent” points as to why I’d judged so harshly. Well. I’m old, I studied Latin at school, and almost every job I’ve ever had has relied upon my ability to spell well, know the difference between who and whom, and have a quick enough eye to see and fix typographical and grammatical errors before the presses rolled. I didn’t exactly say, “Come to mamma,” but I responded thoroughly to the first three pages of prologue, outlining many of the errors therein as sufficient reason not to read the rest of the book. I liked the premise of the story, but I couldn’t get to the story because of how badly it was written. My lot laughed but the author was less amused. It’s a risk you take when you put your manuscript out into the world.

Since the piano refurb and tune, I have done LOTS of practice, trying to get back to – well, it is unlikely to be anywhere near my previous proficiency. I’m too stiff. BUT I can certainly continue to improve my skill level. The other night, after having done precisely this, I decided that I should never pull out an old exam piece that is difficult and goes like the wind and half-jokingly try to play it. How did I ever do it? No idea! I could see better in those days, which would have helped somewhat. But, clearly, I played it and well, because I advanced further up the grading system before I switched to concentrating on singing.

Also, let’s not forget, I completed the Bloody Long Walk. I enjoyed the training walks that I shared with my old nursing friend, but the majority of the training was me on my own, out there in the wilderness. Okay. Less of the wilderness, more a variety of suburban parks where I trialled shoes and socks and trekking poles and water bottles and backpacks. And, you know? I haven’t yet found socks that I can rely on (most of them have a tendency to slide down inside my shoes: oh, the horror and oh, the blisters). I bought a new backpack that did the job, but it’s far from ideal. It’s a little too large and has too few pockets. However, it was all I could get at the time to replace my old, thoroughly worn-out options (either the straps or the zips have had it; rarely both). You do what you have to do.

At midnight on the last day of 2023, I did what I had to do: having earlier watched televised fireworks and imbibed celebratory champagne (from our fancy flutes), I sat at the piano and played Auld Lang Syne to my sleeping household 🙂

May you have many opportunities to toast all sorts of things in 2024.