Here we are, my tenth year of annual review year notes round-up.

Unlike weeknotes, I don’t actually like writing these and when I re-read them I find myself a bit insufferable. Only a yearly chore though and you know I love a streak. 2023 was good, an 8/10. Wee Charlito had no more seizures - thank you to everyone who manifested that with us per my 2022 yearnotes request. I got a new job at the FT as Technology Director, which I am enjoying mostly because I am learning a lot.

The smalls

The kids both continue to make my brain smile - just two silly little geese going about their silly business. I am deeply, deeply, into life as a craft mum, E and I do all kinds of making things together. We go and look at art and talk about what it means, we paint, draw, print, sculpt, prototype and build. C’s interest in cars is really out of control. He just IDs every car we go past at this stage like it’s the most interesting thing he’s ever seen. “Tesla mum! 3 door hatch back mum! vauxhall mum!” every car must be acknowledged by me.

C hasn’t had a seizure for over a year, so we are beginning to slowly taper off his medication and if we make it to September (ie two years seizure free) we might be able to take him off it entirely. This will coincide with him starting school.

Everybody work work work work work work

In June I started a new job as the Tech Director for FT.com and the apps. Interim at first and then officially in November. It’s been an interesting six months as I figure out the role and the new colleagues. I’ve learnt a lot about proper leadership, rooted in actual theory rather than what I had been doing before which is just going by gut instinct. I think I have great instincts but that’s really not helpful when explaining to anyone else why I did something: “er because it seemed like the right thing to do? just try and be like me and magically know things, off you go, good luck!”

I’m finding it hard to write about the job without sounding too self-important, or smug, or haphazard, or like I’m writing for the linkedin-crowd. Most of the things I’m proud of in the last 6 months are not fit for the blog but are basically some form of improvement through raising the bar a few millimetres.

In June I gave a talk at the first Staff Plus conference in the Barbican. This was my first talk in ages. It was about how we rebuilt the rendering pipeline for FT.com so that we can have better separation of concerns and fewer APIs (“going from spaghetti to lasagne” to quote Kara). The talk was very well received and I had a really great time at the conference, attending the talks and in the hallway track, though I was totally wrecked by it too. Like, spontaneously crying wrecked.

House and Garden

We got an air source heat pump installed so we are now off gas. Excluding installation, heating the house in this way has proven considerably cheaper than gas.

I’m decorating the house in a very haphazard way. I’m a bit worried it will never be done. Maybe that’s what owning a house while also being veryyy uh… well whatever the specific and mild form of brain-rot I have is.

🍅

I expanded my tomato growing enterprise this year to eight plants, the max the greenhouse can fit. We had some really delicious Skyomish heirloom tomatoes which I will grow again. The Red Zebra were OK but some got bottom rot, and the Gardener’s Ecstasy were fine but not as good as the Sungold from the previous year.

🎃

I had some good success with the Hokkaido squash, definitely going to plant them again in 2024

💐

The dahlias (Arthur’s doorstep collection from Sarah Raven) survived last year’s snow and did even better this year so we go again in September 2024!

I still can’t drive

It’s weird looking back that this didn’t make last year’s yearnote, but I’ve been learning to drive since May 2022. In June 2023 I took a nice little 3 month break while I settled into my new job, it was a very pleasant 3 months. Then in September I resumed the lessons with a new instructor. I really don’t enjoy driving and can’t imagine ever enjoying it, but I don’t see a future where being able to drive isn’t extremely convenient, so I will continue to have the lessons and do the practice until I pass a driving test. I hope that’s in 2024 or I’ll have to resit the theory which would be incredibly annoying!

Some pics as proof of life

Here ya go babe

Shall I make a plan for 2024 then?

Last year I couldn’t say anything about what I wanted to do in 2023 because I was feeling quite depressed. This year has been better, so I’m going to go ahead and suggest:

1. Leave the country for a holiday. I haven’t been abroad since 2018 and I am super embarrassed about that. I think we’ll take a little family holiday to France if everyones annual leave will allow it.
2. I know I say this every year but I do need to move my body more, some how. Probably a class that I feel too much peer pressure to not do…?
3. Go to a dentist.
4. Pass my driving test.

That seems like enough I think.

Bye!

The End

Here are the rest of my yearnotes: (2022, 2021,2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014).