The year that was - 2012

I don't know about you but this time of year always makes me a bit reflective. As the New Year approaches you look back over what has been since you last desperately tried to keep yourself awake till midnight (if you are old like me!) and wonder at all that has passed in the last year. This time last year I was where I am heading today, at my in-laws house. I was pretty grumpy as the clock turned twelve because life was so very uncertain.

2012 - the year of good beer and saying farewell to Summertown

I had no idea what 2012 held in store and at that moment I'd well and truly lost the excitement of that and rather felt frustrated. I'd been waiting one year and three months for my interview for ministry training and had another three months to go until it arrived. The biggest question though was what I would do if I didn't get in. Work was, as it had been for many years, uninspiring and with a constant nagging feeling of being utterly in the wrong place but unable to find the right one. And it was easy. I sometimes long for easy now but when I think back to I hadn't been challenged in a role in years. I hadn't cared about what I did every day for such a long time. 

And then 2012 came. With a bang. Five days in and our house was broken in to. All in all I'm pretty much over it but not enough to want to relive those weeks again. But here's how it was if you want to look back (aren't blogs handy?!)

In the midst of all of that the interview came around quite unexpectedly fast. Before I knew it was back home, waiting for that dreaded envelope with the answer I had been waiting so long for. Accompanied by a burst sewage pipe the news arrived, and as we know, it was a yes. Life had changed for ever and in five short months I was off, not before collecting and renovating enough second hand furniture to fill our new house (if not a small shop!) and with a month long sojourn to Zambia with a bunch of sixteen year olds.

 

Wandering the streets with some bookshelves. There was a lot of this going on!

 

Zambia was unexpectedly life changing. I barely had time to register that I was going before I found myself there. I learnt how much fun it is to care, to see other people develop and grow into themselves and I got back to the heart of what really matter just at the right time as when that plane touched down I had four weeks until we were packing up the boxes and moving to college.

Beautiful Zambia

And so what about this year, as the clock turns midnight and I let out an almighty yawn? What does 2013 have in store? Challenge, that's for sure. Change as I continue on this intense journey of training. Joy, as new Greek words become my words and new ancient worlds are opened up to me through study (I'm a geek and I love it!) Im pretty sure I'll be frustrated. I will probably moan on this blog a fair bit. It won't be easy. But I will care and looking back on 2012 I think that is the greatest gift of all. Days that mean something to me. Bring on 2013!

The view from my college study, where you'll find me in 2013.

Things are about to get yummy

A big cupcakey hint about my new blog.....!

Blog friends! I have launched a new blog! Dum da da dum! (That was supposed to be some kind of fanfare, go with it.) I remember when I began this blog over a year and a bit ago that I was welcomed into the blogging world with great enthusiasm, which I very much appreciated. This has been my own little space for ranting about hedges and the like and I've met some lovely people through the comments that have been left for me. So never fear, this blog shall continue, nay it shall go from strength to strength!

My new blog, however, is on a different theme. I am branching out in my writing into a number of different avenues, one of which is feature writing. I'm part way through a course with the London School of Journalism and it was while writing an assignment for them that I decided I wanted to do some food writing as this is one of my favourite past times. So rather than bore you all here with information about grazing and cupcake-making I thought I would dedicate a whole new blog to these antics. So allow me to present to you...

Sugar roses and tea for two!

As the name suggests there will a lot of talk about tea and baking (naturally) and all sorts of other home-made fare. I'm not setting myself up as the next Jamie Oliver (urg, who would?!) but I am looking forward to sharing hints, tips and fun things I have discovered in my culinary adventuring.

I hope to see you there!