2017 – My Thirteen Highlights

I know, I know – there are a lot of things that weren’t so good about 2017. It was an upsetting, completely off tilter year to many, not least me.

Still, it would be churlish to not admit that there were some moments of happiness and beauty in there. I’m really happy that 2018 is here, but let’s put 2017 to bed properly before we jump straight into talking about the shiny new year. Why thirteen highlights? Well I tried to control myself, but just couldn’t stop after ten – that’s why.

Here are my favorite things, big and small, from last year:

The Women’s March – The year started off with a bang, and a brand new hat. The march was an amazing, emotional experience to be part of, and it was satisfying to witness the discourse, and year long domino effect that it sparked off.
The East Wing – A new happy place. I fell in love with this newly reopened part of the National Gallery last year. It has a beautiful light and art, and is the perfect escape from the burbs on gray days. Go visit it.
Yayoi Kusama – the Infinity Rooms. After years and years of waxing lyrical about Kusama to students, and boring the socks off them, I finally got lucky enough to visit her work in the flesh. Mind…………….blown.
Analog Art. 2017 was the year I dedicated a lot more time to painting on canvas. I’m self taught, pretty rusty, and a lot of what I created is terrible, but the sensory input is delicious, and the process is truly satisfying. It’s a form of meditation, it’s messy, and I’m going to keep doing it.
England Trip. Always, always a source of happiness. The kids and I met old friends, ate a lot of battenburg cake, used public transport every day, and fell in love with East London again. I’m actually shocked that I never wrote a blog post about it! Hmmm…. Another London blog post coming up, I guess.
The mayor’s visit. The campers at the Noctiluna Summer Camp were pleasantly surprised by a visit from the mayor of Vienna. It was like the scene in Elf, where Buddy spots Santa in Gimbels “Mayor!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”
They shared their ideas about town planning, and I was so ridiculously happy and proud of them all.

8.Solar Eclipse. A singular and eerie experience that I got to share with my campers whilst continually half squealing “wear your glasses!”, and worrying about bad luck (it’s an Indian thing).

9. Crafty Bastards – I got in this year!!!!!! Woohoo!!!!! The premier craft show was held at Nats Park on a bitterly cold weekend, but boy was it an amazing experience.
Note to the organisers: I WANT TO DO IT AGAIN.

10. Gift and Gather – After years of saying that I should… I did!
Get my products into a shop, that is. You can see them at Gift and Gather in Occoquan, VA, which is run by a fellow crafter with an amazing eye for beautiful, well crafted things. 2018 will be the year of more shops.

11. Grump at Zoolights – By far my favorite show of the year! The lights were magical, the people were lovely, and I found the perfect spot to sell my (Mostly animal themed – well what do you know!) shirts! We went back again with the kids, and it is a really fun event.

12. Mini crafter – This was the year that my eleven year old started getting creative, and making things. She taught herself to sew and now makes the most adorable felt toys. Mostly food based (she is my child after all). She has sewn little macarons, cookies, samosas, doughnuts, and a range of trucks for her brother. I am in total awe of her.

13. The Books, all the books! – I really can’t go into great detail with this one because, well, I have a tendency to ramble when it comes to books. Suffice to say, I read some great ones last year, including The Lilac Girls, The Muse, The Elegance of the Hedgehog, Born a Crime, and Americanah. I already have a 2018 pile waiting for me. Yippee!