2022 Year in Review

Time for another Year in Review post for 2022! 

This is the 13th (!) year that I've done this year-end meme (first one published in December 2010) -- and, although many of the answers don't change much from year to year (and I can't always think of answers, lol -- at least new or interesting ones...!), it's still a great way to look back and keep track. 

Feel free to use these questions on your own blog (& let me know if you do!).

All of my New Year's/Year in Review posts are tagged with the label "Year in Review."  

1. Did you keep your new year’s resolutions, and will you make more for next year?

I don't really make new year's resolutions any more -- they tend to be the same ones, year after year (although I have modified some over time, and even deleted ones that no longer apply). Here are the perennials, and the progress I made (or didn't) in 2022:   

• Lose weight.  Last year, I reported that I had lost about 11 pounds from an all-time high weight in August (2021), (no) thanks to a rather limited diet as I wrestled with both gout and gallstones. Since this time last year, I've lost another 7-8 pounds, and I'm currently not quite 20 pounds lighter than my all-time high, a weight I've managed to maintain for the past several months (give or take a pound or so). I would NOT recommend how it happened! -- and I most definitely could still stand to lost more. But my clothes fit better, my ankles don't swell up as much... I'll take it!   
• Exercise more. (And hopefully lose more weight...!) Still not exercising regularly, although we've been a little more active generally this year.  
• Write more in my journal &/or blog. I haven't kept a paper journal in years. I've been far more successful with blogging: I recently marked my 15th (!!) year in this space! and while I won't top last year's record 213 posts, 2022 will still be my third-most productive blogging year since I started writing here. (Second would be 2020, when I posted 197 times!)(A separate "Blogging year in review" post will be coming soon.) 
• Read more of the books that have piled up around the house. I increased my Goodreads Reading Challenge goal this year from 36 to 45 books, and reached it by mid-November. I will finish out the year with 50 books to my credit, 111% of my goal! (All books read were reviewed on this blog and tagged "2022 books").  See my "Reading year in review post" (coming up) for more detailed analysis. 
• Keep the clutter at bay. (Goal slightly reworded from previous years.) As I've said before -- having downsized in 2016 from a 1,200 square foot, three-bedroom house (plus basement, garage & garden shed) to an 875-square-foot condo (plus one not-very-big storage locker) -- there's a LOT less clutter than there used to be -- and a lot less space for it to accumulate. I've tried to establish good habits & a place for everything right from the start, and so far, I think I've been pretty successful at doing that. Whenever the piles of books start to overwhelm my existing shelves, and/or I run out of spare hangers in the closet, I know it's time to do some weeding again, and make another trip to the thrift store...!  If I can get an e-copy of a book cheaply (or for free -- my sister has her sources...), in most cases, the paper one will go into the donation pile. The storage locker could use another going through/paring down, one of these days, though...!    
• Return to scrapbooking & complete unfinished projects. (Goal reworded from previous years.)  Sadly, I have not done any scrapbooking in more than 10 years. And I got rid of most of my scrapbooking supplies before we moved (sob!). I did keep all my unfinished projects, tools, paper punches & a few other things, though. (They are sitting in a couple of plastic bins down in the storage locker. I probably need to go through those again, though... there are a lot of stamp pads, bottles of glitter glue, etc., that have probably dried up...!)   
• A more realistic/pressing related goal would be to work on scanning more of my pre-digital photos. All my photos dating back to 1991 have been digitized -- but I've had my own camera since Christmas 1976, so I have a way to go yet...! (and there's a bin of photos from my grandma's house at my parents' that I am itching to look through...!) I used to be able to take my negatives to a photo shop near my office for scanning at a fairly reasonable price, but the chain is now entirely online and I'm now retired. ;)  I do have a scanner here at home and do the odd one-off photo myself, but this would be a much greater undertaking...! 

2. What did you do in 2022 that you’d never done before?

(Continued to) live through a global pandemic, now in its second year (going into THIRD). (Needless to say, new/novel experiences have been further & fewer to come by when isolating...!). 

Took an ambulance ride to the hospital (hopefully for the LAST time as well as the first!). 

Had eye surgery  (a superficial keratectomy) in late July.  

Had actual surgery (gallbladder removal, Aug. 15th). 

3. Did anyone close to you give birth?

No -- but (fingers crossed) we should have another great-nephew or a little great-niece joining the family in February...!  

4. Did anyone close to you die?

My second cousin and childhood summers pal J.  :(  

Two of dh's aunts, one week after another in September. :(  

Not someone I knew well, but the second husband of one of my best friends from childhood also died in September, far too young (mid-60s). Prostate cancer. :( 

5. What places* did you visit?

(* wording changed slightly from previous years;  the question used to read "countries." I noticed that Kathy of Bereaved & Blessed used "places" in answering her version of a similar questionnaire in 2019, and decided to use her wording after that. Makes me feel less travel-deprived!)

Needless to say, the threat of COVID-19 plus my assorted medical issues & surgeries kept us mostly close to home during 2022. Together with BIL & SIL, we spent a lovely weekend with dh's cousin & his family at their beautiful lake home in late September/early October. A week later, we flew west to visit my family for (Canadian) Thanksgiving, and we returned for Christmas. 

6. What would you like to have in 2023 that you lacked in 2022?

Like most people, I would like this pandemic to just GO AWAY (or at the very least some common-sense public health measures -- continued masking in public places, at the very least, more promotion of vaccines, etc.)  -- but I'm not holding my breath...!  

I'd like more time with family -- mine & dh's. More time with Little Great-Nephew (and the dog!) -- especially since he'll be heading off to school (!! -- junior kindergarten) next September.

I'd have liked to travel too (beyond going to see my parents) -- but I'm not holding my breath for any big trips in the foreseeable future either.  

7. What date(s) from 2022 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?

The dates of my surgeries. 

June 24th (U.S. Supreme Court ruling that struck down Roe v Wade). 

The Queen's death and funeral in September. 

8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?

My perennial answer:  Maintaining my sanity??  Surviving my various medical/health issues? 

9. What was your biggest failure?

I have a bad habit of procrastinating on too many things... I don't think that improved this year! 

10. Did you suffer illness or injury?

Thanks to vaccines, masks, extreme caution (and more than a little luck), we have dodged COVID-19 (so far...!), and we are VERY grateful for that!  But medically, this year was more challenging than others:  

• I had a colonoscopy in late March. The prep has NOT improved since my last one 10 years ago! and I had three polyps removed -- all thankfully benign (although the pathology report took FIVE WEEKS to come!). 
• I took a tumble down some concrete steps at the zoo in mid-May, got a gash on my head, a black eye and other scrapes and bruises. But stitches were not needed, and things could have been FAR worse. 
• In late July, I had a superficial keratectomy (surgery) on my right eye to remove a patch of nodules/scar tissue. Recovery was slower than I had anticipated. 
• And I had my gallbladder removed on Aug. 15th. 

Dh had a flare-up of his seasonal allergies this summer -- the worst in years -- followed by a bad case of eczema that he's still dealing with (although it's slowly getting better).  

11. What was the best thing you bought?

Beyond books (both paper and e-versions):  

• Jewelry from my favourite sterling silver jewelry crafter, as well as her "advent calendar." I kicked myself for missing out on it in 2020 (the first year she'd tried doing it), and I loved having a little surprise to open and brighten my day every morning during the first 24 days of December, last year and again this year. :)  
• Our Dyson air purifier/humidifier/fan (purchased in October). 

12. Whose behaviour merited celebration?

All the frontline healthcare workers who have been putting their health & lives at risk to try to save others for almost three (!) solid years now. 

Anyone who stood up for democracy, decency, science and rational thinking. The people who told the truth in front of the January 6th committee in the U.S. (I'm thinking particularly of Cassidy Hutchinson -- 25 years old!!) 

The Queen: 70 years (!!) of dedicated service!! I am so glad she got to celebrate the amazing milestone of her Platinum Jubilee before she died, and see (once again) how much people loved and respected her. 

Volodomyr Zelensky and the brave people of Ukraine (one of my ancestral homeland), in the face of Russian aggression.  

13. Whose behaviour made you appalled and depressed? 

Well, (once again) that's obvious. In the U.S., Donald Trump & his MAGA cronies/cult members.  :(  Not that we are immune here in Canada -- we have MAGA wanabes/imitators here too (albeit perhaps not to quite the same extent).   

Case in point: The idiot "protesters" who occupied downtown Ottawa and several border communities for several weeks last winter, brought cross-border trade to a standstill and made life miserable for the locals.  

The conservative premiers here in Canada who continue to ignore the best medical advice about covid, only acting when absolutely pushed to do so. (Jason Kenney in Alberta and Doug Ford in Ontario, I'm looking at you in particular...!). 

The people (on both sides of the border -- and around the world) who continue to ignore the science and refuse to get vaccinated, wear masks or follow other public health measures, thus dragging this pandemic out FAR longer than necessary, and resulting in far more cases and deaths than there could or should have been. :( 

Ontario Premier Doug Ford gets further mention for all the other awful stuff he's been doing, including invoking the "notwithstanding" clause of our Charter of Rights and Freedoms to try to force striking education workers back to work, and for turning over vast swaths of territory earmarked as "Greenbelt" to developers for development (who may or may not have been tipped off that this would happen). (And yet people re-elected him & his government in a LANDSLIDE... WTAF??!)  

The U.S. Supreme Court: affirming gun rights while taking away women's rights. (Again -- WTAF?)  

14. Where did most of your money go?

(See #11!)  Beyond the usual bills, we have probably spent more money on groceries and personal care items.  Prices have been rising, dh has been doing most of the grocery shopping, and he is not the bargain hunter I am. ;)  With bookstores closed for several months (and shelf space in our condo at a premium), we also both spent a lot more money on e-books for our Kobo e-readers, albeit most of them at a deep discount, watching for bargains. 

We also still managed to buy things -- mostly cute outfits and books -- for our great-nephew, as well as fatten his piggy bank. ;)  

15. What did you get really, really, really excited about?

The prospect of a new great-niece or nephew to spoil in February. :)  

16. What song will always remind you of 2022?

I'm not sure. I Googled "top songs of 2022" and I recognized exactly none of them! 

17. Compared to this time last year, are you: (a) happier or sadder? (b) thinner or fatter? (c) richer or poorer?

Probably about the same in terms of happiness, slightly thinner (gout, gallstones and surgeries will do that to you..!), and probably a little poorer (prices are higher for just about everything, and the markets have not been entirely kind to our investments...!).  

18. What do you wish you’d done more of? 

Walking/exercise. 

Reading more books than I did (although I did well in terms of meeting & exceeding my Goodreads challenge goal). But hey, there's always next year... 

19. What do you wish you’d done less of?

Sitting around the house. :p  We're still being cautious, but we could probably get out a little more and still stay relatively safe by wearing masks. 

Watching too much news on TV. I like being well informed, but sometimes it just gets too overwhelming and depressing!  

20. How did you spend Christmas? 

With my parents, sister & her partner in Manitoba. Again this year, out of caution, because of all the germs floating around (covid & others), we didn't spend as much time with PND & her family as we have in the past, and we scaled back on the presents considerably. But we still had at least one present each plus stockings to open, we still had a couple of really great meals with most of our traditional favourites, and we still played lots of cards & dominos. (We're still here.)  It's been a good holiday!  :)   

21. Did you fall in love in 2022?

Never fell out. :) 

22. What was your favorite TV program?

I don't watch a lot of TV shows regularly, and I don't do a lot of streaming/binge watching. We both still love watching "Bob's Burgers" (both current episodes and reruns). We enjoyed the most recent seasons of "Jann" on CTV and the latest season of "Finding Your Roots" on PBS (as well as several other PBS programs), and I was still captivated by the most recent season of "The Handmaid's Tale."  Also, several series/documentaries on CNN, most notably "Stanley Tucci: Searching for Italy." 

I STILL haven't yet watched anything past season 2 of "The Crown" on Netflix! 

23. Do you hate anyone now that you did not hate this time last year? 

Hate is a strong word, and I don't like using it.  Suffice to say, though, that I am definitely NOT a fan of the 45th President of the United States or his enablers! :p  Or, for that matter, the current Premier of Ontario. (See #13.) 

24. What was the best book you read? 

(See #1)  It's always very hard for me to pick a single book as "the best," and I gave lots of books four and five-star reviews on Goodreads!  My average Goodreads rating this year was 4.2. I've listed some of my favourite reads in my "Reading year in review" post (to be posted soon). 

25. What was your greatest musical discovery?

Heardle!!   

26. What did you want and get?

The Dyson purifier/humidifier. :)  

27. What did you want and not get?

The end of the pandemic and a return to normalcy (whatever that is these days...!). 

28. What was your favourite film of this year? 

Dh & I LOVE going to the movies, but that hasn't happened since very early in 2020 -- and we don't stream a lot of movies or watch a lot of pay-per-view.  

29. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?

I was 61. We spent some time with Little Great-Nephew at his grandma's, ordered in dinner, and had birthday cupcakes for dessert. :) (62 coming up shortly...!). 

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

My answer to this question is usually travel-related. That goes without saying, I suppose...!  But obviously, the end of this pandemic!!  

31. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2022? 

More of the same: mostly yoga pants and T-shirts (worn without a bra)(even more so than usual!  lol). 

32. What kept you sane?

(This question assumes sanity on my part, lol.  ;)  ) 

Spending time (almost) every week with Little Great-Nephew. 

Taking part in several online book clubs. 

Regular Zoom chats with friends (both online and "real life"), former co-workers and relatives. 

33. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?

Volodomyr Zelensky, President of Ukraine. THAT's leadership!!  

Jennifer Aniston, for her honesty about her infertility treatments...

34. What political issue stirred you the most?

The pandemic and how it's been (mis)handled by our leaders. (See #13.) 

The overturn of Roe v Wade in the U.S. 

35. Who did you miss? 

My parents & my sister... I didn't get "home" this summer for the third summer in a row (and the fourth in five years!), and it was a long stretch from Christmastime 2021 to (Canadian) Thanksgiving in October!    

36. Who was the best new person you met?

Needless to say, this year -- like the past two years -- was NOT a good year for meeting new people!! let alone seeing your longtime friends. :( 

37. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2022. 

Last year, I said: "Once again, this year brought home to me that life, youth & health are precious, and disappear far too quickly sometimes. Enjoy it all while you can!" 

I would reiterate that, and (thinking of my tumble down the steps at the zoo, lol) add "Watch your step!"  :)   

38. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year.

I'll have to think about this one...! 

Coming up:  2022 in blogging and in books!