My Year in 2024

2024 has actually been a really good year. Here's why...

My Year in... Blogging 

Okay, firstly a negative - this has been my least bloggy year since records began. Both here and on the Imaginarium there has been a dearth of posts. I've often found myself lacking anything to write about, and lacking both time and inclination to do so anyway.

The Imaginarium is now about to enter an indefinite hiatus, while this blog will continue for the foreseeable future. However, I'm not sure what 2025 holds, and I've elected not to set a goal while I see if my passion for it remains.

My Year in... Work

The update for this year can be identical to last: Work has been mostly good this year, but not without its frustrations. There's not much more I can say here, so I'll leave it at that.

My Year in... Health

This years has been fine for health - no particular illnesses to speak of. I have had some odd battles with anxiety that seem to be related to tiredness and stress, but those hopefully seem to be abating.

My Year in... Gaming

The "Isles of Dread" campaign came to a successful end, and with that my gaming career came to an end, at least for now. This is rather unfortunate, but the group I was with had really run its course, and I don't currently have time or inclination to find a new group.

My Year in... Band

Band has been somewhat disappointing this year, as we had only a few events and ended up cancelling several of those. The band continues to plod on, and does its job in that it does keep me practicing, but it's a shame.

My Year in... Resolutions

As always, the wrap-up of annual goals, and setting of goals for next year, are handled in another post. The headline is that this year did not see any great level of success in my stated goals.

My Year in... Travel

This year we had three trips away. We saw in the year in France, at Disneyland Paris. Indeed, one of the highlights of the year actually came on the morning of the 1st of January, where we arrived at the park early and found it really quiet.

We also enjoyed a week or so in Banff in summer and a week or so in Alnwick in October. In both cases we were extremely lucky with the weather and had a really good time.

That said, one of the things I want to do next year is to get away somewhere abroad - the weather over the summer was generally disappointing, so I'm keen to see the Sun again!

My Year in... Faith

This has been another solid year. I've gradually settled into my new role as an Elder of the church, which mostly seems to involve attending a number of meetings. There's a lot more I could say about that, but it's a topic for another day. All in all though, it's been good.

My Year in... Money

There was an odd confluence of events between August and October of this year where we had to arrange a new mortgage deal and I was then forced to take stock of my pension situation. The upshot of that is that I've spent some times digging through my finances and bringing all the information together into a single spreadsheet. This has all proven extremely reassuring, but has left me a little annoyed that I didn't do all of this years ago.

My Year in... Love

This has actually been a really good year. Probably the key thing that has made a difference is that Funsize and Surprise! seem to have mostly settled into something of a routine, which means we have a bit more by way of free time and a bit more chance to get some decent sleep.

My Year... Overall

Once again, it doesn't really feel like the summary captures the feel of the year as a whole - most of the entries seem to be quite negative, while the year has actually been really good (and, indeed, considerably better than previous years). That's rather odd, but never mind.

And with that, I'll sign off for the year. I hope you all have a very Happy New Year. See you in 2025!

End of Year Update on Goals

As part of the end-of-year wrap-up, here is the closing update on my goals for the year:

• Books: The goal for this year was to read 30 books, which I have not done. I did read slightly more books than last year, and have a decent mix of books in there, but this goal was not achieved.
• Blogging: I've come nowhere close to reaching my target of 120 posts for this year. Indeed, it was almost immediately obvious that this wasn't going to happen. One thing that did happen was that I have brought the Imaginarium to a close - there are a handful of posts scheduled to take it to 1,000 posts, but then it will be on hiatus indefinitely. It is also perhaps worth noting that I've managed to end the year hitting the nominal 10 posts for December, which is nice - it would be good if that represented a return to normal service.
• Redecoration: This was all done except for looking into the heating and insulation for Funsize's room. Even there, our expectation is that a big part of the issue is actually that the windows need replaced. I feel that's enough to consider this one done. In addition, we replaced the carpet in the study (although Lion has managed to rip a chunk out of it), and have re-repainted the walls and replaced the curtain. So that's all good.
• Complete my Campaign: This was all done very successfully.
• Update the Church Website: Some of this has been done. There remains a fairly big renovation needing completion.

So that's two goals completed, and three failed. That's not a good showing, but also not a huge surprise. But, also, given how much else was in this year, I'm not terribly disappointed.

In terms of goals for next year, a big theme is "enough is enough". There are things that I've been dissatisfied with for quite some time, and some tasks I've been putting off, and it's time to actually address them. So...

• Books: The target is the same as this year: 30 books.
• Weight: After having dropped this for several years, this one is very much back on the agenda. The target is to drop at least 20 pounds by the end of 2025. Which will still leave me too heavy, but at least it will be progress towards the ultimate goal.
• Career: I'm now very much into the second half of my career, and am starting to see something of a vision for how I want it to be. Since work is one of the things I don't talk about here, I'm not going to say any more than that, but there's a goal I have in mind here, that can play out one of two ways.
• Church Website: I want to get the renovation done.
• Redecoration: We've actually pretty much finished the redecoration of the house - only the en suite and bathroom upstairs, and the kitchen and utility room downstairs, haven't been repainted. But none of these is the goal for next year - I want to get our windows replaced.

And that's it - five stated goals, all of which represent things that I've felt have needed done for quite some time, and all of which I mean to see actioned in 2025. We'll see.

Notably, you'll see that I haven't set a Blogging goal for next year. Similarly, while I have an ongoing project to enhance our home automation, that isn't a goal for next year. In both cases, anything that gets done will be considered a bonus, with a view to maybe promoting them to proper goals in 2026, especially if completing the others has cleared the decks somewhat.

Experimental Cookery 2024: Christmas

After I finished work on the 20th, I proceeded to spend five days in the kitchen. It has been an extremely busy time, between hosting Christmas dinner for the first time and also helping my parents with their own hosting duties (due to an injury taking one of them out of action rather more than he would care to admit). Ultimately, it was a success.

Firstly, the Christmas baking. This year Funsize, Surprise!, and I baked several things, only one of which was actually new:

• Ginger biscuits
• Shortbread biscuits
• Chocolate chip cookies (new)
• Mince pies

I had hoped to do some snowmen cupcakes, but time did not permit. In any case, given that we now have far too much food in the house, that's probably for the best.

Then there was Christmas dinner, cooked for seven. The menu for that was also extensive.

We actually started with baked camembert. This was intended to be an appetiser as guests arrived, but unfortunately this was the one bit of my timing that didn't work out quite right - I had less time in the morning than I thought, and it took longer than expected. Which meant that we were straight from that to our planned starters, which left everyone stuffed. But never mind - that's my main lesson learned for next time.

For the main Christmas dinner, therefore, we had:

• A choice of soups to start: roasted red pepper and tomato, or parsnip and apple. (These were supplied by one of our guests - I did a lot, but not everything!)
• Turkey
• Roast potatoes, carrots, and parsnips
• Hasselback potatoes
• Brussels sprouts
• Peas
• Pigs in blankets (supplied by a guest)
• Stuffing (supplied by a guest)
• Gravy (from the butchers)
• Chocolate orange tart for dessert, though we didn't actually get that far (made by LC)

So, quite a lot. We ended up with huge amounts left over, much of which I have since turned into a turkey curry.

The Outcome

Everyone ate far too much, and everyone seemed to enjoy themselves. The turkey came out extremely well, which was the most important thing, and then the sides accompanied it brilliantly. All in all, I'm calling that one a success.

Lessons Learned

After an epic like that there are always some lessons to be learned. Some things that went well, and some that were not so good. So:

1. There was way too much food. And drink for that matter. I'll need to give some thought to either cutting down in future, or having more robust plans in place for dealing with the leftovers.
2. The camembert needed to be starter earlier, or perhaps even prepared on Christmas Eve - the second proving step could have been done overnight.
3. Surprise! really wanted sweetcorn in addition to the peas. Given how small an addition that is, I'll bear that in mind.
4. But the big one is this: A few weeks before Christmas I made up a meal plan showing the courses, breaking down the ingredients, and indicating what was coming from where. Then, two days before the meal itself I wrote out a "Plan of Attack" detailing what I was preparing on Christmas Eve, what on Christmas morning, with a space for the calculated cook time for the turkey (after it was weighed after being prepped to go into the oven). These two lists were hugely helpful, as they ensured that nothing was missed and that everything was being done in the right order. After which, it was just work, not stress.

So that's my main takeaway for the "No-stress Christmas": those two lists are utterly invaluable.

The one thing I would introduce as an enhancement is that, in addition to calculating the cook time for the turkey, it then becomes possible to work back from the preferred time for dinner to determine when you need to start put the turkey in the oven, when the various bits of preparation need to be done, and so on.

But... it's important, if you do work backwards like that, that you allow time for things taking longer than expected (because they will). And it's also important that you don't try to schedule everything down to the last second - if your list of steps goes over half a dozen, you're probably setting yourself up for disaster. The key thing is that those plans are there to help you, they mustn't be allowed to become another source of stress.

Anyway, that's Christmas for this year. It was a good one, fairly quiet despite everything, and I have no complaints.

Experimental Cookery 2024: Beautiful Brussels

From that same book "Together" as the Hasselback potatoes come these Brussels sprouts.

The choice to have Brussels was a controversial one - I knew going in that there was considerable resistance from several of the people around the table, and it doesn't help that Tesco seem to only sell them in huge bags. But it was Christmas, so I persevered.

These were quick and easy to make. True, there was a step where each sprout needed to be individually trimmed, peeled, and then the base cut, but that was the only tedious bit. The rest was just a matter of putting things in a bowl and then two small cook steps (a quick boil of the sprouts, then roasting the whole for 10 mins).

One thing that does amuse me is that so many of our TV chefs have done so many different ways of showcasing sprouts and they all, including this one, seem to involve adding one or more strong flavours to them, as though to disguise the underlying taste. Which rather seems to defeat the purpose.

The end result of this one was that the sprouts were fine, but the dish did nothing to disguise the essential sproutiness of the vegetable. So anyone who doesn't like sprouts is unlikely to be moved by this, while those who do like sprouts will like this fine.

For me, it was just important to honour the sprout, and this achieved that. I don't regret cooking this, but I think I'm unlikely to do so again, even if we do have sprouts with Christmas dinner another year.

Experimental Cookery 2024: Amazing Hasselback Potatoes

I got Jamie's book "Together" three years ago and somehow haven't managed to make any real use of it. It's a lovely book, well put together and filled with things I think I might like to try... and yet somehow it's just never seen the light of day. Until now.

For Christmas this year I cooked two types of potatoes, just because. The other were regular roast potatoes (with the only oddity being that I don't bother peeling potatoes any more). Just to be sure, I actually did a dry run of the Hasselbacks a few weeks ago, meaning that this was their second outing.

Well, first or second, they're really good. The only downside was that quite a lot ended up in the bin, by virtue of there just being way too much food.

In terms of effort to prepare, these are rather more work than regular roast potatoes, as there's a load of work cutting slices through them. But that's not too bad - amongst other things, when I got them into the oven for the first roast it gave me ideal time to prepare a load of other things.

All in all, these were a winner, and we'll definitely have them again. They will not, however, be supplanting the regular roast potato - I like them both.

Handbrake Turn

I always find it bizarre the speed at which the shops change: we've been having a build up to Christmas for five months (I first saw "Christmas stuff" in Tesco in August), with ever-increasing urgency, all declaring CHRISTMAS IS COMING!!!!! and then, by the time the stores open on the very next day it's all disappeared and we're on to the next thing (HOGMANAY IS COMING!!!!!).

Which is neither new nor particularly profound, but is still bizarre.

Do-over

Many years ago, back in first year of high school, I gave my first ever presentation. My topic was "Dungeons & Dragons", and it's fair to say that it did not go well. It was too long, unfocused, and frankly boring. None of which was exactly great, but it was what it was - you can't change the past.

Except, just occasionally, you get a do-over. And yesterday I found myself once again with a presentation to give on basically any topic of my choice. It being the last week of the year, I therefore decided to take some games in, and my topic was once again "Dungeons & Dragons".

This time the presentation was far better, with all of the issues of the first time through dealt with. Hardly surprising - one would hope that in thirty six years I might have learnt a thing or two!

Still, it was nice to have another crack at it, and to redeem a mis-step of the past.

Cancelled TV Shows

A quick catch-up on some TV I've watched recently...

• Star Wars: The Acolyte: There are few TV shows I've looked forward to as much as this one. "Secret Invasion" probably comes closest. Unfortunately, like "Secret Invasion", it was a bitter, bitter disappointment. That said, "The Acolyte" wasn't the horror show that certain elements of the internet made it out to be, it just wasn't much of anything really. Other than two really good lightsaber duels, I find it hard to think of anything much in the show that is at all worth recommending. Which is a real shame.
• My Lady Jane: From Amazon Prime, this is a fake-historical show about Lady Jane Grey, the short-lived sucessor to King Edward VI. This is another one that the trailers made look really quite interesting, and it was diverting enough... but I was neither surprised nor particularly disappointed to hear of the cancellation. Basically, after a pretty good first, each subsequent episode was weaker than the one before it, until it was mostly just a case of getting to the end. A shame.
• Renegade Nell: Again in the fake-historical genre, this one came from Disney+ and followed the exploits of a superpowered highwaywoman. This one was better than "My Lady Jane"... but not enough to save it from the axe. Of the three, this is the show I would most liked to have seen more of, but I was still not surprised that it wasn't renewed.
• The Penguin: This one hasn't been cancelled, and that's a good thing. Large parts of "The Penguin" were extremely uncomfortable to watch, so much so that I rationed myself to no more than one episode a day, but it was extremely well made, with a commanding central performance by an unrecognisable Colin Farrell.

My upcoming watch list is fairly extensive - I took a long time getting through "Succession", so several things have backed up:

1. I'm currently nearing the end of the third season of "Vox Machina", which remains excellent.
2. The second part of the final season of "Cobra Kai" is next.
3. The second season of "Rings of Power".
4. "Star Wars: Skeleton Crew"

and then I'm not sure.

Still To Do

Christmas is getting closer, and the "low stress" nature of the event is still more or less on track. An awful lot has been done, with just a few things to go...

- All but two of the presents have been bought, including both Secret Santa gifts. Of the presents that have been purchased, one needs collected and then wrapped. That last isn't ideal, as the best time to get it is Christmas Eve, and I'd rather not have to deal with it then.

- The Christmas cards still need written and sent, with one exception (the most difficult). Some of that may be on my list for this evening.

- The Big Shop before Christmas obviously still needs to be done. My hope is to do almost all of this next Friday as part of our regular shop, with just the remnants to pick up the following Monday.

- Speaking of the final Monday, the turkey and other components of the meal need to be picked up from the butchers. Which may cue a whole lot of worry about other things that have been overlooked or that turn out harder than expected.

- And then, of course, there is the Cooking of the Food, an event so monumental that it must be capitalised.

The last thing, which isn't on the strict To Do list (because it's optional) is my Christmas Baking. This is the first year in quite some time that I've had a window of quiet time between ending work and Christmas Day itself (usually I either finish on Christmas Eve or there's only a weekend, or part of a weekend, before). So I have a list of baking that I'd like to do, and there's actually scope to do some or all of it.

But, alas, it doesn't seem that I'm likely to get to the true "and... relax" moment until the very end of the season this year.

A Secret Reputation to Uphold

Last year I purchased someone an especially good present. Indeed, it was widely recognised as being a superlative present. Huzzah! Of course, that means that this year there's a need to maintain, or even raise the standard. After all, there's a reputation to uphold now.

Except...

The present in question was for a Secret Santa, and as a consequence nobody knows that I was the person responsible. Consequently, while there is obviously a reputation to uphold, it is in fact a secret reputation. Which isn't quite the same.

This year I'm involved in two Secret Santas. I'm very happy with the gift purchased in one, while the other is a solid, workmanlike gift that is perhaps not quite so inspired. Anyway, I've decided I'm happy with that.

#19 "Firefly: Coup de Grace", by Una McCormack
#20 "Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone", by J.K. Rowling (a book for Funsize)