Wonderland Burlesque's The Highs And Lows Of 2022 Quiz

Wonderland Burlesque's 

The Highs And Lows Of 2022 Quiz

Hard to believe, but we are soon to bid farewell to 2022.

Yes, my dears, another year has gone by. But let's not let go of it without taking time to reflect on the things we've accomplished and experienced during this time.

We'll keep things simple: five questions. The first four? The highlights of your year, according to season. The fifth? A place for all those things that didn't live up to expectations, led to disappointment, or just plain sucked.

Note: most, but not all, of the pics featured in today's posts were culled from our friend BatRedneck's Workmen and Rednecks blog. Be sure to hit the link, pay him a visit and follow him. On a daily basis, you will be glad you did. 

And now, let's revisit the calendar for the year 2022 and share our personal highs and lows.

1/ Highlights of the winter/spring of 2022 (Jan-March)

Wow, I have to put on my memory cap. That seems like such a long time ago. 

I think the thing I am proudest of is that I've kept my resolution to read classic literature. This year I've read works by Steinbeck, Plath, Wharton, Woolf, and Fitzgerald. 

Edith Wharton broke my heart. House Of Mirth is amazing. Devastating.

Virginia Woolf was a bit of a chore.

Steinbeck and Plath, straightforward and to the point.

And I now see why Fitzgerald is considered an exceptional writer. This Side Of Paradise is horribly flawed and self-referential, but his writing style still shines through.

There were others, and a lot of modern stuff. Toni Morrison's style is so strong. I read two of her books this year. The Bluest Eye was powerful. Paradise? Confusing, but effective. Where The Crawdads Sing  by Delia Owens was also a highlight.  I also read a lot of graphic novels this year. I'm really starting to appreciate the art form. 

Through it all, the thing that surprised me most? How slowly I read.

It takes me forever to get through a book. I could have never been an English Lit major. I would have had to learn to read completely differently in order to keep up. 

As is, I truly enjoy reading. It's like a leisurely stroll through the thoughts of someone else.

I simply adore being anybody but me.

2/ Highlights of the spring/summer of 2022 (April-June)

Oh, the prairie. I tell you... I was out there starting in April, cleaning things up. It was actually in better shape this year than last; not as much trash. There was some, but all the trails were relatively clear, so it wasn't quite the effort it was previously. 

And it was simply beautiful this year. True, it didn't come into it's own until mid-July, but everything was at least a foot taller than it was the previous year. I noticed there weren't as many people out and about this year and I wasn't exposed to any events this year - in previous years there have bike races and walks and things of that nature scheduled to include the prairie. This year? It all must have happened elsewhere. 

I made more of an effort to talk to people. It was met with interesting responses. One of the things I learned was that those who act like they despise me treat everyone else just as badly, so now I don't feel so bad. And names... I've started to really try to hang onto people's names, especially the regulars. I did go down to the gay beach once. It was early in the season... May? I got so chilled. I much prefer the prairie. 

It didn't start out well, you know. I thought the park police were going to hound me all summer. But after their initial interest in early spring, they vanished. Bigger fish to fry, I guess. And then monkey pox became a thing... I talked about health issues with a lot of the regulars - making sure we were all informed and vaccinated.

Oh, and I found a ton of golf balls. No, I don't play, so they sit in a drawer in my garage. But I did enjoy finding them! It's like a summer-long Easter egg hunt.

3/ Highlights of the summer/fall of 2022 (July- September)

I went to babysit my youngest sister's cats for a week. That was fun. Huge house. And the cats are fun. I surprised myself... I didn't go out much. I had lunch downtown and went antiquing once and that was it. I loved all the silence. And I went on the same four mile walk each day. Two miles in, and then I would work out on the monkey bars and various things before walking back. It was rather nice to go alone. I cooked for myself and it all felt much more serene than my previous stay back in March. 

I think I'm mellowing. 

The prairie never looked better, so I made more of an effort to get there and The Boyfriend was amazingly supportive about me going. It took time away from us on the weekends, but then he understood how much it means to me and that it's for a limited time each year.

I gardened a bit more. Really just focused on a few things: marigolds, raspberry bushes, strawberries, mums and this climbing vine that's quite common, but doesn't amount to much despite my efforts. Having a new deck and steps built in the front of the house altered my plans, resulting in things having to be transplanted in a four-hour period.

The neighbors appreciated our efforts, if not the outcome. I brought two of the mums indoors to winter and covered everything else as much as possible with leaves. 

We'll see what comes back next year. 

4/ Highlights of the fall/winter of 2022 (October-December)

Babadook, now known as Sammy, found his forever home. You can read about it, here. So far, we've been very fortunate when it comes to rehoming or domesticating feral cats. Sammy was a total win. He's very happy in his new home and has bonded with their Main Coon, Boris - best buds.

The Boyfriend celebrated a milestone birthday during Covid-19 and we are celebrating 9 years together, so, now that things are a bit better. I asked him what his dream trip would be and he picked Nova Scotia... Prince Edward Island to be exact. 

It took a little negotiating, as traveling there isn't something that happens easily. We spent 12 hours - coming and going - stuck in airports waiting for flights. The airport in Charlottetown - home of Anne Of Green Gables - is really tiny. We actually had to walk the tarmac! I felt like Jackie O.!

It was a lovely time. Beautiful shops. A cruise ship was docked in the harbor on the day of our arrival, so the place was mobbed. We had some lovely evening meals and great breakfasts. We even took the rental to a tiny community called Victoria. We wanted to see a lighthouse. It was quaint and we walked the whole town.

That was true of Charlottetown, town, too - we walked everywhere. We had a private tour of the village's oldest mansion. We did the Basilica and the art museum. And our hotel room was truly divine - very Swedish modern, all hard surfaces and blonde wood. We used the pool (with waterfall) and gym each day. The bed was amazingly comfortable as were the bed linens and pillows. 

We weren't night owls. There's a two hour time change, so we would eat dinner early and then spend the evening in our room watching horror movies on AMC. And we talked. There were no cats, no Ex, no Mom to get in the way... it was just us. 

I must confess... I'm quite mad about the boy!

5/ The Lows of 2022

So, up until Summer/Fall, I'd been negotiating my return to the office. In the previous 2.5 years, I'd been in the office three times. It was agreed that after I worked remotely at my sister's, I would return to the office two days a week. Fine. I knew it had to happen, since headquarters was making it mandatory for all. 

Well, I was supposed to leave my sister's at 6:00 am and they would be getting home about 6:00 pm. We did this the last time they went on a trip and I babysat in order to avoid exposure to one another. 

I was planning on leaving when scheduled despite my fear that the house would go up in flames due to an outlet that had shorted out - turns out, there was one of those breaker fuses, but it was on the opposite wall, hidden by an appliance. However... the cats got sick. Two them. Throwing up everywhere. I felt horrible and couldn't let my sister and her husband return home to such a scene. 

So, I stayed. The cats had the flu... who knew cats got the flu? Well, they get there and I explain the situation and protocol flies right out the window. I spend the night and they show me all their pictures of Barcelona. 

I leave the next morning. All good. 

The next day? I get a phone call. Guess who brought back an unexpected souvenir from Barcelona. 

Yep. They both have Covid.

And guess what - I'd exposed The Boyfriend, The Ex and my mother. 

We all get it, except The Ex - who was certain he was going to get it. 

Fortunately, it's not too bad. We are all triple-vaxxed. Still, it put an extra two-week delay on my return to work. I was upset. I'd been so careful since the beginning of the pandemic. Very disappointing. 

But that's life. 

A constant surprise.

--- ---

And that's enough of me.

I have to say, I am very proud of the fact that I posted something on this blog every day this year. It's the kind of challenge I enjoy, even when sometimes it felt more like an obligation then something fun to do. I liked the work aspect of it. Very disciplined. And I had a lot of fun. 

Here's to another year of that!

Okay, your turn. Leave your answers in the comments section or post on your blog and leave a link here. I look forward to learning about your year.

That's all for now. As always...

Thank you for reading... and participating. 

Another Year - FINNEAS

What's Another Year? - Johnny Logan