Annual report 2012

Facebook has identified twenty highlights of my 2012. But Facebook doesn't know about all of my highlights (neither about my downs) because I don't share them on Facebook. It has picked up the fact that there was something going on in the middle of May, and it has noted that I had a Cornwall holiday. But it doesn't understand that the photo album dedicated to Miso wasn't exactly a highlight.

My sixtieth birthday was doubtless a highlight, but apart from that it wasn't a happy year. But it is almost over, and I have a lucky memory that only stores good things.

Facebook hasn't picked up that I have totally changed my attitude toward clothes and learned thirty-nine ways of tying a scarf. If possible, this was a more important highlight than my birthday, or at least it has left more impact. I will never ever wear black again unless it is dictated by the dress code. Speaking of which, I graduated last summer and have now a MA from Cambridge. Not that I know what to do with it.

Work has been good, and I have won some important battles that will make the coming years better still. My first Cambridge PhD student has successfully completed. My other students are making progress, publishing articles, attending conferences, actually hosting a conference! They are all so brilliant and a pleasure to work with. (And I have wonderful colleagues too).

I have finished a book that will hopefully appear next year, and a co-edited book came out in September. Also a couple of articles and chapters that I am happy with.

I have cut down on travel and, apart from Sweden for my birthday, have only been to Germany, Norway and Spain, all for work. And in Scotland if you count it as a separate country. Our children have visited regularly. In February we had an invasion of four grandchildren. Julia and Pontus visited several times, as did Anton, and Lisa with two boys was here recently. And our dear friend Norton Juster stayed with us for some days in May.

I am now a proud owner and user of a smartphone (thanks to the kids) and an iPad (my own venture). I cannot imagine how I survived before. 

I have already shared some of the best books I read this year.  The best movie I saw this year was Hugo. The best theatre show I saw this year was Matilda. The best concert was Murray Perahia. The best exhibition was Literary Landscapes at the British Library.

This past summer, my garden started looking the way I want it. Still a lot to be done, but I didn't have to plant annuals to fill the gaps. The strawberries were watery because of too much rain, but we had three harvests of raspberries. I planted some new roses. We bought an electric lawnmower. We built a new fence. 

I have made some new room boxes, added to the existing dollhouses and started a dollhouse blog. 

And of course our precious Miranda came to us this year. 

 Photo credit: Pontus Walck