2016 Round-up (a.k.a. Roll on 2017!)
Etc,  Life

2016 Round-up (a.k.a Roll on 2017!)

December 29, 2016 / 37 Comments

2016 has definitely been a year to forget. It’s been my most emotional, stressful and upsetting year, and one I hope I never have to repeat. Thankfully, it’s nearly over and it’s onwards and upwards for 2017!

My first post of the year was I lost my boyfriend to Nintendo this Christmas. Little did I know I really had lost him… to another woman, possibly other women! Yes, nearly half way into 2016, I discovered my boyfriend had been cheating on me for months. He’d been lying to me (and about me), to her, to his friends, to his parents… Heck, his parents knew he was cheating. I’ve never felt anything like it and hope to never be made to feel like that again, but I learnt who I could trust and who I could rely on (and boy, isn’t that a small circle).

Moving on…

Cheetah at West Midlands Safari ParkI love days out and trips away, so I threw myself into visiting different places. I had A Wild Day Out at West Midlands Safari Park (I love photographing animals and we got so close to some of them), visited National Trust properties such as Powis Castle & Gardens and Attingham Park, and made the most of joining English Heritage by visiting Stokesay Castle, Clun Castle, Moreton Corbett Castle, Haughmond Abbey and Wroxeter Roman City. Not forgetting the local beauty spot, Clywedog Dam and Bryntail Lead Mine. I’m very much hoping to get out and about much more in 2017. Oh, and don’t forget to check out my UK Staycation Tips!

HoverflyI always take a camera with me on days out and trips away, but it’s always to hand when I’m at home, too. During the summer months, bees can often be heard buzzing about the garden so, of course, they featured in Weekend Snapshots: Bluebells and Bees and A Lazy Sunday. Animals are always great subjects when out taking photos (when they behave, anyway!). Plus, who can resist a snapshot at Dusk?

Bookish events featured in the autumn. I got to spend An Evening with Damon Hill (Former F1 World Champion) and An Evening with Johnny Herbert (ex-F1 Driver). And I couldn’t miss Shetland Tea & Murder Mystery with Ann Cleeves. I didn’t make it to Hay Festival this year, but 2017 will be its 30th anniversary so hopefully I’ll be there next year.

Traveller's JournalMy love for stationery grew in 2016 and I shared some of my favourites with you. It started with my Stationery Sunday post and kind of snowballed from there! Something which I carry every day is my Traveller’s Journal – I love it so much, I want another made! I was lucky enough to win a Pocket Notebooks subscription and the pocket notebooks fit perfectly into my traveller’s journal. Then I saw these limited edition Field Notes Lunacy Memo Books and I had to have them (in fact, I got two packs!). Who knew I could like a little set of notebooks so much?! The Silvine Originals notebooks brought back lovely childhood memories of trips to the village shop and I was lucky again when I won some Fountain Pen Day Goodies in November. Talking about fountain pens, the Lamy Safari Dark Lilac Fountain Pen began a new-found love for fountain pens. I have more of them to share with you, if you’re interested. Of course, with fountain pens comes ink… More importantly, Shimmering Ink!

Sleepy SilkyBack in November 2015, a new member joined our family – Silky the cat. She has settled in well and has been the subject of more than one blog post: Adopting a Cat – An Update, Silky & Leo – 6 Months On and The Struggles of a Humble Cat Owner.

There’s been more, but if you’re a regular reader you’ll have seen it all and if this is your first visit then you’re very welcome to have a browse around. I’ll be glad to see the back of 2016, but I’m looking forward to 2017 and everything that it brings…

For now I’ll leave you with More Things Kids Say or, more accurately, More Things My Nephew Says! Before Christmas he came out with “I go nuts, I do. That’s what my undercrackers are called!”. I do love him!

All the best for 2017!

Don’t forget, you can also find me on Instagram and Facebook.

A forty-something year old blogger from the hills of Mid Wales.

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