Lathany

So, nearly there. 2017 is almost over and 2018 is just on the other side of the weekend. I'll write in more detail about the past 12 months in my usual end-of-year post, but I think it's fair to say this hasn't been one of my better years and I'll be glad to see it gone.

A couple of evenings back the question arose of which the good years had been. This was a bit of a tricky one for me. I discounted the pre-twin years as I've tended to become happier as I've become older and also for the slightly cheaty reason that I don't have pre-twin LJ entries so it's all a bit difficult to judge. However, the duo's early years were fraught with stress and worries about their health, so nothing before about 2006 is a winner either. Looking back over my LJ, I think that 2012 was the best year with 2014 and 2007 as runners-up (2014 would have taken it, had it not also been the year with the deaths of two friends).

The years could be summarised as this:
2012: Meteor, KrysCon, our twenty year anniversary and Dom’s 40th birthday.
2014: This year seemed to concentrate into small gatherings around shared interest and madness. Roleplaying, Writers' Triangle and Secret World.
2007: Things transformed considerably for me between the start of the year and the end, particularly work-wise. However, it has also been a good year for seeing people I haven't been in touch with for what seems like an age and, above all, I'll remember 2007 for being a fantastic roleplaying year.

Hmm. Not too bad, I feel!

I woke up this morning to discover that the journey back from Royston to Ashford was not looking as straightforward as last night's weather forecast has suggested. The BBC weather forecast was having a little wibble between sleet and rain. However, that's not what I call this.



It's snow, BBC Weather. Really it is.

We got home OK in the end. There was a bad delay on the M25 (apparently a crash at 2am caused it) but it only added about half-an-hour for us.

I've done the wrapping, all the cards were posted earlier and I've thought about packing for tomorrow. I guess this counts as ready for the season.

We're off to parents-in-law and parents. I'm mostly looking forward to it, but I'm also a bit stressed about it. Long gone are the days when it felt like I was going home and not just because my parents moved and this isn't the house I grew up in. Maybe I'll write a longer post about it sometime.

I'm cooking Christmas dinner on Monday as I know my mother hates doing it (and I don't mind). I've given her a shopping list to help things along, although nothing on it is crucial.

I'm now on my second day of leave, enjoying the freedom and doing various Xmas-related jobs. I was out shopping today for various bits and pieces. Plus I'm still playing my way through computer games. When I finish Syberia II I'll be able to start Syberia III which is a new game for me.

I could definitely get used to this Not Going Into Work lark.

Being on holiday, I decided to put on two glitter tattoos.

One was a new colour scheme peacock because that worked well when Sarah did it. This is not quite as good in application or colour, but I think it still works.



And this was my attempt at a cat.



Not sure how long they'll last, but I like them right now.

I have a random backdrop selector on my PC at the moment. The pictures it chooses are a mixture of photos taken over the years and also a few screenshots from computer games. I keep adding to the collection, but rarely remove anything. However, now we're in December, my favourite one is probably this one.



It's not a masterpiece, but I really love it. I took it back in April when I was on holiday in the Peak District. This was the Saturday when we had the best weather.

I miss the sun right now.

As happens every year, Secret World Legends launched its Xmas event. Logging on gets you a pet. Also, Krampus is back.



However, my favourite SWL event is The Christmas Conspiracy and this isn't up this year.

I'm continuing to make my way slowly through Secret World Legends (the relaunched The Secret World). I'm now in Transylvania. Consequently, I've met one of my favourite quests again where the character becomes a dead monk with a different power set.



It's still a great quest. And the new version gives you an owl pet as a reward.



In other news - the blackberry and I had another fight. I may have won that battle, but I think it's winning the war.

Reeve is in disgrace. He approached one of our guests, left muddy footprints on her story and licked her fingers.

She is, of course, allergic to cats.

He's now licking all the dinner plates and trying to find a warm lap.

At work we have the Lying Lift. But it doesn't lie all the time, which means it often catches people out. I got into it this morning from the ground floor and noticed that buttons 1, 2, 4, 5 and 6 were all pressed.

"First floor" (this was it stopping at 1)
"Second floor" (ditto 2)
"Third floor" (floor 4. I'd met the lift before, so warned the person looking at their phone that it was their stop)
"Sub basement" (floor 5)
"Basement" (floor 6)

At which point I got out. It's still better than the lift that occasionally doesn't stop at floors but returns to the ground floor.