2019 - A year in review

January

The year began with an oompah band.  To the brass band version of Prodigy’s Firestarter we danced away 2018.  We blew away the cobwebs with a wall to Hardcastle Crags Followed by a trip to Blackburn to watch Rovers versus someone else.  We also spent the month waiting for Finlaw to paint the GBH (Gingerbreadhaus) so we could begin to move in.  We began packing and organising bringing things to the house in the evenings and weekends.

February

February was moving month, both GO and I had a half term week that matched (a rarity) so we hired a huge Luton van/lorry with a lift, got some help from friends and began the job of moving in.  I was most worried about driving the lorry down the hill and then turning around, I needn’t have though as I reversed down the hill as the road was empty and then drove it back to the depot. We settled down for an evening in front of the TV with a pizza.

March

March was definitely the month we turned the house into a haus/home.  We scrubbed and sorted, washed and organised. We also had to do the same with the Derby House as we handed it back to the landlady, after weeks of faffing it was off our hands.  We did have to stage the rooms as we’d moved everything out when she said the photographer was coming round to take photos.  

April

Not so much the month of showers, April was our first holiday in the Haus and I went all out decorating and making a celebratory meal for the two of us.  Then we had our first visitors, Mamilein and Papichen came to visit for a few days.  We showed them the local sites and they enjoyed all of the local amenities, particularly the fish and chip drive thru.

May

June

July

August

September

October

November

December

My year in books

What a lovely surprise, as I was updating my Goodreads book challenge I discovered that they had made a review of the year in books just me. 

https://www.goodreads.com/user/year_in_books/2019

Tis the season to be Murray 2019

Maybe it’s just me but I feel like Christmas has been both a long time coming and has arrived all too quickly.  We have some things planned but I feel this year may be a quieter one than usual.

Give me five

Festive season is here, time for some reflection.  Tell me: 5 things you’ve gained, 5 things you’ve lost, 5 things you’d like for next year.

Gains:

1. A lovely little house

2. A new big blue car

3. Took GO to my childhood Canadian home 

4. Discovered hammock life

5. Spent a lot more time with GO

Loses:

1. Free time (long work commute)

2. Didn’t walk as much or as far as 2018

3. Sleep (see number 1)

4. A stone in weight

5. Family and friends (some have passed away some have been neglected)

Next year:

1. A new job closer to home

2. Home improvements (kitchen, doors, garden)

3. Visit a new country

4. Learn a new skill (sailing perhaps)

5. 1000 miles, boots on

Heiligabend

Some years we do everything the same some years we change things up a bit, our tradition is that we have no traditions.  After a stroll into town we came home and tried the Raclette machine and snuggled down in front of the goggle box with a glass/bottle or two of wine.  When lilbigbro and so law are over it can be an intense military style operation go here, do that, eat this but when they aren’t we like to chill a lot more.

Happy Birthday Ginger One

Happy Birthday to my one and only.  I will endeavour to give you a lovely day, I'm trying not to overindulge you but this milestone deserves to be acknowledged.  After all you only turn 40 once.  Thank you for letting me share your life with you.  I love the life we have created and I am so grateful that I get to spend my days with you.  You are a wonderful man; you are kind, funny and passionate and deserve to be spoiled rotten.  I love you more than words can say.  

Strolling round the neighbourhood

After a few weeks of being under the weather I needed to get out and wanted to find a new walking place.  We’d walked around the local reservoir in the spring but I was intrigued by all of the walkers heading up into the hills.  We had checked out the forest, it seemed to be a memorial forest of some kind and I wasn’t sure I wanted to picnic there.  This time however we went for a walk and it was glorious.  Dressed in my brand new extra, extra, extra long scarf with a flask of tea we went exploring.  The trees and bushes were all on the turn and the shades of red, yellow, orange and brown made for some delightful photos.  I was proud of the photos I took so I shared them online in a Burnley residents group and they garnered a lot of positivity, particularly from Burnlians living abroad.  

A know it’s naughty

I was a little bit fed up yesterday, It started with some shocking customer service I had to wait 30mins in Starbucks for a drink while twelve people whose ordered after me got their drinks straight away.  I have complained, they gave us free drinks but still it’s left a sour taste in my mouth. 

We we received the drinks (not good) we made our way to Blackpool for the last night of Lightpool, or so the website says.  Turns out it’s on for two weeks.

We saw some of the installations just by following the families in front of us but as we left the “Sun” we were encouraged to go to the Tower to see the “Earth” by some marshalls. 

Off we went straight to thebBallroom looking for the elusive Earth.  We searched high and low for it finally giving in asking a gentleman with a badge where it was “Oh you can’t see it there’s a private party going on in the Ballroom.  Come back tomorrow.”  We’re not here tomorrow, thanks.

Feeling deflated we went to the Seafront to see what was going on there, there was something going on in half an hour they guy on the speaker informed us, a band called Poco Loco (isn’t that the chicken shop in Breaking Bad? Would be playing in thirty minutes, seriously? I spotted another installation, it had a queue but at least we’d be queuing with a purpose.  We waited in line for the light arch, the guy in the hi vis was taking photos of everyone however, just a we got to the front of the queue he went on his break.  Hey ho we still got some cracking photos and videos selfie style.

By this point we were feeling quite peckish so decided to go to The Chinese Buffet, it’s a Northern chain.  There used to be one in Halifax but it closed down and is now a super Dental Centre.  There was a thirty minute wait, no worries seemed to be the theme of the day.  So we waited and were called to the table we ordered drinks, ate some yummy food, and decided to order another drink we waited and waited and waited.  Nobody knew who was taking the drink orders so we didn’t get a second.  As I was waiting for someone I got out my phone and spotted and article online.  I was checking to see how far the car was from the restaurant, as I was ready  to call time on the day because I was getting tired. The article headline was about a Chinese restaurant called the Mandarin and it had won best Chinese restaurant in Europe recently.  “We should have gone there.” I thought, then I stopped and looked at the map back to the car.  While we sat in a grubby over busy Chinese getting no service, the car was parked outside the award winning restaurant.

“Let’s go home!” I said.

 Funnily enough even though the day hadn’t gone well, by any stretch of the imagination, neither of us thought we’d had a bad day.  The Lightpool installations we’d seen were great, the food was yummy, okay the Starbucks wasn’t great, “You win some you lose some.”  On the way back I opened Facebook to find lots of posts about the clocks going back and how people with children wouldn’t get a lie in.  It triggered me, this was the straw....   I would give anything to be woken up an hour earlier.  I found it quite upsetting I made my first meme.  It went down like a lead balloon but in the infertility group it was very well received obviously.