Right, where shall we begin?! This month has been crazy and happening enough, let alone the year :). In a good way. Mostly. I guess starting with December itself, it's been a properly white lead up to Christmas here! Although we did, after a gap of a couple of years, manage to finally spend Christmas this year with family in the UK! And continued the tradition of returning home on New Year's Eve. With a minimum of fuss as well, I'm happy to report :).
The trip to the UK was also a pleasant getaway from the unusually chilling temperatures hereabouts earlier in the month. The deep freeze was accompanied by some although not a lot of snow around us unfortunately. And while we've been away it looks like it's rained a bunch and turned things somewhat icy and wet :(. Oh well, now that we're back, maybe it'll get cold and start snowing again!
While in the UK though, in amongst the food and the merrymaking and enjoying the open fireplace, walks, more food and so on, a new family activity was embarked upon with great enthusiasm! A patched blanket was to be made, and we all decided to pitch in with the knitting (and in one case crocheting)! A large number of us were complete or at least relative novices, so the results were suitably wonky, at least to start with :D. In the end though, it all seemed to come together pretty well! Not sure this will turn into a regular activity, but I did find it really relaxing!
Relaxing feels like something I rather needed a lot. Although maybe not in quite the same desperate sort of way like the previous few years... The latter half of the year has felt pretty crazy busy with work. Things have changed, are changing, and in all likelihood will continue to change. Somethings hopefully for the better, others maybe not so much. Rather like life in general. But it does feel like the complete break from work has been much needed and very helpful. There's of course still a day more of holiday to go before that needs to change :).
Speaking of break, another highlight of the last month has been the weekend trip to Bergen! While it wasn't entirely spur of the moment, much of the planning was pretty on the fly :). We decided to take the overnight trains there and back instead of flights. Mostly to good effect :). Met up with some friends to catch a particularly special concert and also catch up (although some couldn't make it thanks to a bad combination of weather and flights :().
Enjoyed walking around the city. Went up to Fløyen and enjoyed a very relaxed lunch. Walked down a very snowy track again. Enjoyed visiting the amazing Pepperkakebyen, the Christmas market and generally just ambling around or hiding from the cold in a café :). Ended our stay in perfect fashion at one of the seafood restaurants by the waterfront before catching the train back.
Ended up following the World Cup final in between, with the best possible result ever :). No, didn't keep to my plan of not watching any matches in the end and did watch a few of the Argentina ones.
Looking back, there has actually been quite a bit of travelling since the spring. I've spend at least some time abroad every month since May. Including many new places (and countries) I'd never been to before! Which feels crazy given the last couple of years. It still feels a little unreal planning travel. It was of course amazing to be able to see family a bit more often again, and in some cases for the first time in years. But some pandemic induced habits will probably be good to keep in mind going forward.
When it comes to books I guess it's definitely been a big sci-fi year. While the Culture series has kept me occupied and enthralled since summer, earlier in the year came the unforgettable encounters with Dune and the Remembrance of Earth's Past trilogy. There have of course also been other books, some more intriguing than others.
I did finish reading Lessons in Chemistry and while the end was nice, my feelings about it (beyond what I've already written in last month's post) seem to have been lost in the intervening month. I guess Surface Detail looms large in my mind right now having just finished reading it earlier today.
Having noted that Matter was the longest Culture novel I'd read up to that point, it was immediately superseded :). Unlike the former though, I had no trouble getting into Surface Detail whatsoever! And while it definitely starts with a bang, it doesn't particularly fizz out at any point either!
I have to say, even accounting for proximity bias, I really did rather enjoy the ending of this one :). Much more so than that of Matter. Sure, not all the t's are crossed and i's are dotted, but let's face it, this is Banks, so they never are. There is, regardless, a genuine sense of closure. Especially with the revelation right at the end! I mean, who says he doesn't do recurring characters :D.
Having now got pretty close to the end of the series, I feel less of my initial amazement at how different each of the novels feel despite being set within the same universe. But is that purely because the last two books I've read are a mix of the many different things from before? Who knows. Not that it makes the reading any less enjoyable. And there's still the last one to read :).
I do feel the magnitude of the loss Ian Banks' death has left is beginning to hit me. I hadn't actually realized how soon after finishing The Hydrogen Sonata he passed :(.
So looking back on the year then. Has it been a good one? In many ways, yes. But in some ways sad too. I suppose just like every other year, and yet unlike every other year. I feel like I'm repeating myself :). Is it a phase of life thing? I vaguely remember all these "best year ever", or "a year like no other" type posts in the past. And now it's like "same same but different" :P. Maybe I am just getting older :D.
There's been a lot more travel, but a fair bit less exercise. Lots more seeing family, but some meetings tinged with sadness. This was also the year when I became Norwegian, but "stopped" being Indian. All in all, I think it has been a good year. One that leaves me looking forward to the next trip around the sun. Hopefully some cross-country skiing. Hopefully some downhill too! And finally that much delayed trip back to India!
