All About ... The Year in Review - 2022

Making a start on the annual quiz to raise funds for the Winsley Village Project. The theme for this year's quiz is fruit and vegetables.

What did you do in 2022 that you've never done before? I started going to a personal trainer. Exercise has never been a priority in my life but I'm paying for that now and working with Amy has already made a huge difference to how I feel ... and best of all, I actually enjoy it!

Did you keep your New Years’ resolutions and will you make more for next year? I don't set the traditional resolutions but choose to set myself specific goals to achieve during the year. 2022's goals have, for the most part, gone well although I stopped the piano lessons mid way through the year as they just weren't working for me. I think I've achieved most of the things I wanted to achieve in 2022 or to put it another way, I can't think of anything important that's still to be done. I've already started looking at my goals for 2023 and will write about them in a separate post.

Did anyone close to you give birth? Yes. My friend's daughter, RJH, gave birth to her second child, Baby R, in May and my youngest niece gave birth to her first child, Baby A, in December.

Did anyone close to you die? No, not this year, thankfully.

What countries did you visit? I've done very little travelling this year and the one longer trip I did do was only as far as London.

What would you like to have in 2023 that you lacked in 2022? It's similar to what I said last year in that I'd like more cuddles with the babies and to be able to socialise without worrying about the risks of Covid. I don't think the situation is likely to change soon though ... they announced a couple of days ago that 1 in 45 people are infected with the latest strain of the virus.

What date from 2022 will remain etched in your memory and why? I'm not sure that there is one particular date that stands out for me this year. There have been serious health related issues events within the family but the way the information has disseminated means that these events aren't tied to a specific date. I think it's more likely that I will think of 2022 as the year my eldest brother, sister, and myself had health issues requiring investigation and in the case of my brother and sister, ongoing treatment. It's only my other brother who has survived the year without any health scares. 

What was your biggest achievement of the year? Probably that I started socialising again after the isolation of 2020 and 2021. I no longer find it as easy as I used to but I am doing it and have enjoyed myself each time I have chosen to. My trip to London at the end of October shows me how far I've come as that involved a concert and a return to the theatre, both events that I wouldn't have considered at the start of the year because of the size of the audience.

What was your biggest failure? I don't like to look at things in terms of failing ... it's too negative and I am trying to live a positive life. However, there is one aspect of life that hasn't gone as well as I would have like but which I think is tied up with the lethargy lots of people are experiencing post lockdowns and that is that I repeatedly plan to do something the next day and then don't do it. This is simple things like going out to take some photos, maybe treating myself to elevenses at The Nursery Cafe, going to the cinema ... just ordinary everyday stuff that at one time I would have done and now I don't and it makes me feel that I'm missing out. There's no reason why I can't reintroduce this in my life, so it's going to be something I focus on in 2023.

Did you suffer illness or injury? The biggest thing has been the issue with my eyes, resulting in an appointment at Moorfields Eye Hospital in London at the end of October. I was thankfully given the all clear for cancer but the growth is still there in my left eye and has to be monitored in the future. 

What was the best thing you bought? It's been an expensive year with new fencing, trellis, and planters for the garden, a new Kawai digital piano, and new units, table and chairs for the dining room. I think the piano stands out as the best thing though! Although I also bought an air fryer and an Instant Pot and I use both of them constantly. Oh and then there is the bread maker and the return to home baked bread. Can I just say that they were all the best thing I bought?

Where did most of your money go? On the items mentioned in the previous paragraph and also on my trip to London in October.

What did you get really, really, really excited about? Going to see ABBA Voyage, seeing the new staging of Les Misérables, getting the dining room done, how lovely the garden looked this year (until the snow!!), the birth of both babies ... I've been lucky enough to have had lots of things to get excited about this year. 

Compared to this time last year are you:

• Happier or sadder? happier. I have a growing feeling of being content.
• Thinner or fatter? about the same, so too fat and I need to do something about it!
• Richer or poorer? richer 

What do you wish you’d done more of? I wish I'd continued with the piano lessons, but not necessarily with the same teacher, so I will be rectifying that in January. I would have like to travel more but even though I could afford it, I didn't feel at ease with the Covid situation.

What do you wish you’d done less of? Procrastinating! Wasting time! Worrying! Allowing certain people to affect my mood and restrict the things I do! 

How did you spend Christmas? Covid cases amongst friends and family meant that I spent Christmas alone, which sounds sad but actually wasn't. On Christmas Day I joined in a Zoom party with other friends and there have been enough texts, phone calls, video calls etc. that I haven't felt isolated. 

I'm particularly pleased that I have my own Christmas traditions developing and, even without the planned socialising, I had plenty of treats and things I'd arranged at home to look forward to. 

Did you fall in love in 2022? No, but then I haven't been looking for it. I've been making new friends but am not looking for a relationship with anyone special.

What was your favourite TV show? I'm a bit out of love with TV lately and haven't watched it as much as in previous years. I still enjoy things like Would I Lie To You, Only Connect, QI, Richard Osman's House of Games and Pointless, but they're not 'must watch' programmes and I don't worry if I miss them. I did follow The Great Pottery Throwdown and The Great British Sewing Bee and enjoyed both of them. 

What was the best book you read? I haven't read anything that stands out as being the best book but I did enjoy Richard Osman's 'The Bullet That Missed' and Kate Thompson's 'The Little Wartime Library'.

What was your greatest musical discovery of 2022? I don't know that I have one this year. I've  been rediscovering old favourites and have recently spent a lot of time listening, and attempting to play, the music of Ludovico Einaudi.

What did you want and get? I wanted a new piano and am really happy with the one I bought. I also wanted to improve the storage for the kitchen/dining room and achieved that with the new units in the dining room. I also wanted to stay Covid free and was lucky enough to achieve that as well.

What did you want and not get?  When I originally had the kitchen 'done' I kept the existing cabinets and just changed the tiling and replaced the gas hob and oven with electric but with hindsight being a wonderful thing I can see that that approach was short sighted.  It all came down to cost in the end but I should have waited until I could afford it and have the entire kitchen done as it is starting to look tatty in places. I was hoping to get it done this year but the money wouldn't stretch that far and there are more urgent things to do in 2023 so it may be 2024 before I can get it done.

What was your favourite film this year? I enjoyed 'Uncharted' starring Tom Holland and Mark Walhlberg. 

What did you do on your birthday? I had a week of celebrations, mostly meals 

with friends.

What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?

An end to all the worries about Covid. 

How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2022? I don't really 

have one, just that whatever I wear has to be comfortable and durable. I may have a

better answer next year as 2023 is the year of clothes shopping!

What kept you sane? The support of friends and family. Also avoiding the media 

scaremongering and reducing that amount of TV I watch. 

What political issue stirred you the most? Covid worries continued to be an issue 

as did the behaviour of the government, but probably the biggest issue was the 

rising costs and the state of the economy.

Who did you miss? Ced. Always.

Who was the best new person you met? There isn't one particular person to single

out but I now have two new groups of people in my life. There's the Ladies That Lunch

crowd who are always good company and I see them once a month. Also the people at

the U3A I joined who have been very welcoming and I think there may be a couple

of friendships ready to bloom during 2023.

Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2022. That a slower pace of life suits me.

Quote a song lyric that sums up your year. I can't think of one so I will say the 

usual ... Always Look On The Bright Side Of Life!

All that remains now is to wish you all a very Happy New Year.

source: happyeventday.com