2023 is almost over. Are you happy with it?

Dear users, dear authors,
how was your 2023? Are you happy with it? Were there any nice highlights? What would you still like to finish before New Year’s Eve? Do you have any wishes for 2024? 
How are you celebrating New Year’s Eve? Do you like end-of-year parties, or not so much?

Tell me about it. 

The year 2023 was a mixed bag—there were times when things went well, and then there were times when my fear for my sister really got to me, and that period isn’t over yet. Toward the end of the year, things weren’t exactly thrilling for me, because I unexpectedly ended up in the hospital with a suspected heart attack—which, thank God, wasn’t one at all, but rather fluid that had started to build up in my body after another COVID-19 vaccination and had almost squeezed my heart. Bottom line: I’ll never get another COVID vaccine, because I don’t need that to happen again. When I asked the cardiologist at the hospital if it was caused by the vaccine, he said I wasn’t the first patient he’d seen with those kinds of symptoms.
As for my crafts, I’ve still made good progress—the cardigan for myself was finished weeks earlier than I’d expected, despite my fears. My projects for the children’s food bank were once again plentiful and varied, and I ended up making more than I thought I would.
I’m hoping that, all in all, the new year will be a bit calmer and that I’ll be able to continue sewing and knitting for the children’s food bank.
New Year’s Eve will be a quiet, low-key affair for us, just as it has been for years—we haven’t celebrated in style for a long time, and neither of us misses it at all. We don’t even toast with champagne at midnight because neither of us can handle it—we toast with fruit juice instead :-) If it’s dry and not icy on New Year’s Eve, I’ll go outside for a few minutes to watch the fireworks, but I don’t set any off myself. Usually, I’m in bed by around 12:30 a.m. and asleep.

Love, Inge

Well, actually, 2023 was pretty good—it always depends on your perspective. We’ve definitely had better years—and of course we used to be much younger—but there were no disasters, my husband’s health didn’t get any worse, I’m still in good shape, the home renovation is finished, and the rest of the family is doing well too, so really, everything’s pretty decent.
If things stay that way in 2024, I won’t complain at all—that would be really good given our situation. I have nothing against things getting better, but that’s highly unlikely.
We don’t celebrate New Year’s Eve anymore—my husband can’t keep up with it for that long. But that’s not really that important to us anyway; we used to travel a lot over New Year’s Eve, and we haven’t enjoyed the big parties for a long time now. We like to get together with family or friends, but that has nothing to do with the date.
I do feel a little wistful when, on the 31st, I finish crocheting the last row of the temperature blanket—it’s been with me for a whole year now. It’s really a lovely idea and was a lot of fun. Next year, I’d like to crochet or knit myself a sweater and a jacket; I’m not quite sure yet, but I already have a few things in mind.

Well, I can’t complain either—everything’s still going well. No one had COVID, everyone’s still in good health—except for a few colds—I changed jobs (in a positive way, it’s more relaxed), and everything’s okay.

I also got to celebrate my 60th birthday with a small group; everyone I hadn’t seen in over a year was there—it was nice.

Everyone still has a job (my kids); no one was laid off. My husband is allowed to take early retirement starting March 1 of next year (the approval finally came through after a long processing period).

I’m going to keep working a bit longer (and save for retirement); if everything works out and we can make ends meet financially, then I’ll stay home too (we’ll have to figure out the health insurance).
I’m already looking forward to that. Then I can crochet to my heart’s content. Right now, I can only do it after work or on my days off.

I hope you all have a healthy start to the New Year.

A year full of changes is coming to an end for me.

Now I can say it was a good year for me and my family. We managed things well and are back on track. I still need a little time and hope I made the right decisions in quitting my job after 29 years and starting again in a new job at half capacity from mid-January. But it feels good.

As for crafts, my needles are clacking away again, which is a good sign of my well-being.

I don’t like New Year’s Eve at all, so this year, just the two of us will stay home again and let it all pass us by. If it turns out to be a nice, mild night and we’re not too tired, we might go out into the field to watch the fireworks. But most years recently, we haven’t managed to stay up that late.

Wishes for 2024? Just that we stay healthy and that our family and friends are doing well.
The world is so full of sad and bad news right now that those are the only wishes left.