All About ... The Year in Review - 2019

What did you do in 2019 that you've never done before? I can't think of anything that I have never done before. The best things that stand out are joining a community choir and resuming teaching music lessons from home.

Did you keep your New Years’ resolutions and will you make more for next year?  I don't set the traditional resolutions, preferring to set myself challenges and specific goals. Looking back over the year I can see that it has been a good year in terms of goals achieved and progress made. Yes, I will continue to do this in 2020.

Did anyone close to you give birth? No but my friend's eldest daughter is expecting her first child, due in February.

Did anyone close to you die? There were no deaths in the family or close friends but I did attend the funerals of a couple of people I knew from my teacher training days. I wasn't particularly close to either of them but it does hit home when you are attending the funerals of your contemporaries. I was also sad to read of the death of a fellow blogger, Ladkyis; she hadn't updated her blog for the last few month but I will miss her writing.

What countries did you visit? Travelling wasn't a feature of 2019 ... I didn't stray out of England!

What would you like to have in 2020 that you lacked in 2019? I seem to say this every year - I'm lucky enough to be able to write that I don't feel I lacked anything in 2019. I have everything I need and more, so a rather abstract response to this question is that in 2020 I'd like to overcome my attachment to material possessions and regain the space, physically and emotionally, that eliminating excess clutter will bring.

What date from 2019 will remain etched in your memory and why? October 2019 when I left the youth band.

What was your biggest achievement of the year? Completing all the work on the house. 

What was your biggest failure? I want to be positive so am not calling anything a failure. One particular friendship has been troublesome and still hasn't been properly resolved but on the whole I am pleased with how my life is developing. 

Did you suffer illness or injury? It's been a year of health issues! High cholesterol is now under control through dieting. A heart failure scare turned out to be just that ... a scare! Joint pain, particularly my knees, has affected my mobility and has been the biggest issue. Migraines and nosebleeds galore! Oh, and I ended the year with pnuemonia. 

What was the best thing you bought?  The new carpets and the armchair to match my sofas.

Where did most of your money go? On the home improvements and new furniture.

What did you get really, really, really excited about? Actually finding 'me' again. I haven't written about this in any detail but 2019 has seen significant changes in most of my relationships with family and friends. There is an obvious return of the 'old me', i.e. the person I used to be before I lost my partner and my entire world collapsed.

Compared to this time last year are you:

• Happier or sadder? Much happier
• Thinner or fatter? Slightly thinner
• Richer or poorer? About the same

What do you wish you’d done more of? I wish I'd been able to maintain the regular exercise but health issues made it impossible. 

What do you wish you’d done less of? I wish I'd spent less time doing what other people wanted me to do, rather than focusing on the things I wanted to do for myself.

How did you spend Christmas? I was recovering from pneumonia so spent the time at home alone. I missed playing the carols around the hospital but enjoyed the rest of it. 

Did you fall in love in 2019? No.

What was your favourite TV show? The list of shows I always watch include QI, Would I Lie to You, Only Connect, and Pointless, and I can now add The Repair Shop too.  

What was the best book you read? I enjoyed The Storyteller by Jodi Picoult and the Sanctus Trilogy by Simon Toyne.

What was your greatest musical discovery of 2019? In terms of popular music I don't think there was one. However, I joined a community choir and rediscovered the pleasure and benefits of singing.  

What did you want and get? I wanted to get the house finished, which I did and I can now concentrate on living a full life. 

What did you want and not get? There were probably lots of things i mentioned during the year but looking back now, I can't think of one single thing!

What was your favourite film this year?  I invested in Netflix so, together with trips to the ODEON I have seen plenty of films this year. Obviously, well obvious to anyone who knows me, I loved seeing the Harry Potter films again, but from the new films I'd choose Yesterday, and an older one but the first time I've seen it which is Galaxy Quest.

What did you do on your birthday? A week of meals with different friends/family.

What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying? If I'd had the confidence to make some important decisions much sooner than I did. 

How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2019? Comfort first!

What kept you sane? The people I share my life with - family and friends, real Ife and online.

What political issue stirred you the most? The climate crisis, Brexit, the UK election, Boris!!

Who did you miss? Ced. Always.  

Who was the best new person you met? I've taken up a couple of new activities so have met quite a few new people as a result ... no particular friendships developing yet but am hopeful this will happen in 2020.

Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2019. You never make the same mistake twice. The second time you make it, it is no longer a mistake, it is a choice. (quote by Lauren Conrad)

Quote a song lyric that sums up your year. Nope, can't think of one!