30 Q&As for last year and this

I know I said no looking back, but I saw this meme on a few other blogs over the past week so decided to join in.

1.  What did you do in 2014 that you'd never done before?
   Published my first knitting pattern, and got some orthopaedic inserts for my shoes.
   
   2. Did you keep your new years' resolutions, and will you make more for next year?
   I don't normally make new year resolutions, but I did want to get better at spinning and I've achieved that. 
   
   3. Did anyone close to you give birth?
   Two of my friends had babies this year, both little boys.
   
   4. Did anyone close to you die?
   Not particularly close to me, but one of my husband's relatives died in November.
   
   5. What countries did you visit?
   Wales, America and Denmark. I think people forget that Wales is a different country to England sometimes.
   
   6. What would you like to have in 2015 that you lacked in 2014?
   A pair of Viking combs.
   
   7. What dates from 2014 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?
   Definitely our time in Denmark in September. Four nights and 3 whole days exploring Copenhagen and Roskilde with my daughter was exciting and chilled at the same time. 
   
   8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?
   Apart from not quitting my day job in a blaze of glory (or just a blaze); publishing and selling my knitting patterns.
   
   9. What was your biggest failure?
   I haven't failed at anything specifically this year, but I haven't finished everything I had hoped to. 
   
   10. Did you suffer illness or injury?
   Quite the contrary, my blood pressure is now well under control, my feet are responding well to the inserts (though my back is still protesting) and I've lost a few pounds in weight. Mentally I've had a few wobbly days, but nothing that got out of hand.
   
   11. What was the best thing you bought?
   A washing machine for my daughter and her chap, for their new house.
   
   12. Whose behaviour merited celebration?
   Stephen Sutton. Without doubt a very special young man who devoted his final months of life to raising funds to assist other teenagers with cancer. If you would like to donate, you still can here Stephen's Just Giving Page
   
     13. Where did most of your money go?
   Flights. Which makes it sound like I jet set around the globe regularly, but I don't. The cost of a return flight from London to Houston is now around £800, which is more than twice what it was the first time I flew there in 2006. It is also more than I spent in total for 4 nights in a hotel, flight and spends in Denmark.
   
   14. What songs will always remind you of 2014?
   Nickelback – Edge of a Revolution
   Ed Sherring – Sing
   Royal Blood – Little Monster
   
   15. What do you wish you'd done more of?
   Dancing.
   
   16. What do you wish you'd done less of?
   Banging my head against metaphorical brick walls.
   
   17. How did you spend Christmas?
   I don't celebrate Christmas. We celebrate the winter solstice instead, doing much the same thing as everyone else does a few days later. On Christmas day this year I cleaned my front room carpet and did loads of laundry.
   
   18. Did you fall in love in 2014?
   Yes, with a bakery in Copenhagen.
   
   19. What was your favourite TV program?
   I really don't watch a lot of telly, I tend to have it on in the background just to help me keep track of time. I did enjoy the BBC's Musketeers, Crimes of Passion (the Swedish murder mystery series on BBC4) and my guilty pleasure, Strictly Come Dancing.
   
   20. What was the best book you read?
   Jo Nesbo “Phantom” - I adore his writing and can't wait to read the next in the series “Police”
   
   21. What was your greatest musical discovery?
   Royal Blood – gutted that their tour sold out before I could get a ticket.
   
   22. What did you want and get?
   Dresses! 
   
   23. What did you want and not get?
   Less stress at work, less micromanagement, less deception.
   
   24. What was your favourite film of this year?
   I didn't see many films this year, certainly fewer than in 2013, but I really enjoyed Dallas Buyers Club, Out of the Furnace, and the 3^rd Hobbit.
   
   25. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?
   Apparently I was 44. Not the exact day of my birthday, but we did go to Southampton to see Killswitch Engage and Trivium.
   
   26. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
   Not having to explain and accept the inconsistencies and bloody-mindedness of TDCJ. There is no sensible reason why TDCJ inmates are not permitted to make pre-paid overseas calls. But maybe we'll get video visits instead before he comes home.
   
   27. What kept you sane?
   Knitting, my daughter, loud music, the robin on my window feeder, frozen yoghurt.
   
   28. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?
   Christian Bale. Nuff said.
   
   29. Who did you miss?
   My parents. My husband. My dearest friend.
   
   30. What does 2015 hold for you?
   A new job (secondment), more European-style eating, and possibly (hopefully) a trip to Norway.