2011: The year that wasn't

Around this time last year I wrote a post to summarise 2010, so I thought that a summary of 2011 would be a good way to jump back on the blogging wagon.

There's just one problem with this. It's going to be a VERY short blog. 2010 was filled with so much excitement and adventure and 2011 just hasn't quite lived up to that. I think I'll split the blog into the following subtitles and go from there: work, play, home and away...

Work

My role has changed quite significantly this year. I'm now working in a new Division, with a new boss and I have a new job title: Scientific Coordinator. I've transitioned fairly slowly between the two roles, so it doesn't really feel like a massive change, but looking back I suppose it's pretty different.

I'm working with lovely people and really enjoy what I do. I guess I feel needed, which is always nice.

Play

I've recently picked up a new hobby - crochet. No, I'm not kidding you, I've been crocheting. It's fun and relaxing and it's kinda cool to make something that I could use/wear. I've started work on a blanket, but I have a few projects lined up, so I can imagine that I'll keep switching to those as I get bored of granny squares. I've finished 10 squares so far, which is about a sixth of the way through!

I've also joined a gym recently and have been trying to get into the whole weightless, fitness, thingo. It's been good so far. I've signed up for a year, so hopefully I manage to stay motivated!

We've had a number of visitors this year... both sets of parents, my brother-in-law, my sister - all the way from London, and a number of friends. It's always nice to have visitors so that we have an excuse to get out and see more of Melbourne and head out to nice restaurants!!

I'm keeping up with my cooking and baking. I had one awesome cooking class this year - dumplings and had booked into a brioche class, but unfortunately that was cancelled, so now I have to wait for the new schedule to be released so that I can book into another class.

Home

We've finished off bits and pieces around the house this year - landscaping, double-glazing, blinds - I guess we're really starting to settle in. 

We've tried our hand at veggie gardening with mixed results. At the moment we have zucchinis and tomatoes on the go and we are actually picking and eating these, so that's been great.

Away

I've visited Adelaide a few times this year to spend time with friends and family. It's always lovely to catch up with everyone. I also had a visit to Sydney to surprise my sister, Megs, who was visiting for work. My parents and I had arranged the whole thing in secret and the surprise went down very well. It was a great family weekend!

We spent two weeks in Coffin Bay towards the end of the year with my parents and Stef, Matt, Giorgia and Martina joined us for a week. The weather was fantastic, the fishing was awesome (as always) and we saw some amazing things - at one stage we had dolphins playing at the front of the boat, less than a metre from where I was standing, camera in hand.

We've had a couple of long weekends away around outer Melbourne - Apollo Bay and Mornington Peninsula. Both were fun and I hope we'll be able to do more of those this year.

I think I'll leave it at that. That's stretching my memory far enough and is probably just about long enough to get boring without including pictures. At some stage I'd like to write in more detail about some of the things that happened towards the end of the year and post some photos, but we'll see how I go with that.

So, looking forward... I'm not sure what I have in mind for 2012. There will be big changes at the beginning as my sister moves in and starts looking for a job and place of her own in Melbourne. I guess I just hope that I keep moving forward and enjoying life. :)

Happy New Year to my no doubt very diminished reader-base.