Looking Back At 2022

It's been a busy year for us. A house move and a wedding to organise, they've taken up a lot of our time. Let's take a look at what else happened over the last twelve months.

The year got off to a good start with Daniel and Jasmine finally Coming Home. They'd been living down south for over five years and what with the distance and the pandemic during the previous two years, we hadn't seen much of them. They've been renting a flat very close to where we live but they're now looking to buy a house somewhere close by. It will be lovely to have them put down roots here.

We were Engaging With Nature at Lotherton in February. It's one of our favourite places to walk Archie and he loves it there too, so we visit throughout the year. You tend to really take notice of the changes in the seasons when you see the same place on a regular basis. Lotherton was just starting to wake up from its winter slumber, there were snowdrops to see and the promise of daffodils to come.

Mick took some time off work in March, and along with trips on the weekends, we got out and about. One of the places we visited was Worsbrough Mill And Country Park. It's a really interesting place, there's a working water mill which you're able to look round, along with 240 acres of parkland and a reservoir. The weather was gorgeous too.

In April, we were Moving House. We'd lived in our old house for over twenty eight years so it was a big decision to move, but we absolutely love our new house and we're glad we took the plunge. We're all settled in now and it feels as though we've lived here for years.

I took a bit of a break from blogging during May whilst we got sorted out in our new home, but we did go to see the Willow Sculptures At Lotherton. There are quite a few of these willow animals, and a willow archer too, dotted around the estate, though we still haven't come across the squirrels.

In June, I wrote about Eleanor getting Another New Job. She'd had a couple of jobs in quick succession after she finished her degree but she seems really settled where she is now and she's loving her job. She's been working weekends but in the new year she'll be starting shifts, which entails night work. I think her and Jacob will be like ships passing in the night as Jacob works shifts already. We'll have to see how that goes.

We had lots of lovely, sunny days this year with temperatures at one point breaking records. We don't always have such summery days so we have to make the most of them when we do. We visited Beck Wood in July, being beside water is perfect when the weather's so good, and though this particular day wasn't hot, it was pleasant.

Eleanor's Hen Weekend was held in August. I, along with some of the other oldies, was invited to afternoon tea at the Sky Lounge in Leeds, before the hens headed off for the weekend to Manchester. Everyone had a lovely time and it was the perfect start to the wedding celebrations.

In September, I celebrated My Birthday In Filey. Although we visit many seaside towns on the east coast, Filey is one that we've never really explored. We were actually pleasantly surprised, we really liked what we saw and we shall definitely go back to see more.

Eleanor and Jacob's Wedding Day wasn't just the highlight of October, it was the highlight of the year. It was a fantastic day from start to finish, everyone really enjoyed it and Eleanor and Jacob had huge smiles on their faces all day long. They've now settled down to married life together, though they both say that they don't really feel any different.

We went to see our small town's Christmas Lights switched on at the end of November. It's quite a big event for such a small place with roads closed, a market installed for the day and a stage set up for the entertainment. There was a fantastic firework display to watch too. We enjoyed it and might even go again next year.

Many things were cancelled in 2020 and 2021 owing to the pandemic and one of them was the show we'd booked to see at Leeds Grand Theatre. Les Miserables is Mick's, Eleanor's and my favourite musical so we booked right back in 2019 to see it in 2020 but it got postponed twice. We finally got to see it earlier this month after a three year wait, we all thoroughly enjoyed it.

So that's 2022 wrapped up in a nutshell. Of course, there's been much more to my year than is shown in this highlight post and you can take a look back through my previous posts if you'd like to read more. 

Thank you, as always, to everyone who visits my blog and especially those who leave a comment to let me know you've passed by, I appreciate this so very much. Wishing you all a healthy, happy and prosperous new year.