2013: The year that whizzed by

It really did, didn't it? It flew and on this last day of 2013 I am left feeling very restless. I guess if I have to sum 2013 up: I did a heck of a lot of stuff but perhaps not quite what I wanted to do.

In June I stopped working at Bassline:

During the 3 years there I developed a wonderful appreciation for African music: reggae and its big grand-daddy – raga, kwaito, hip hop, township jazz to name a few – and stand up poetry was a winner. I was certainly shaken out of my tame musical ‘rut’. I found out that I love very, very loud music and I knew about twerking years before Miley Cyrus did her stuff on stage this year. The Bassline twerkers knock spots off Miley - her twerking would be classified as ‘novice’ by some of the Bassline gals!

The gaiter business carries on:

Our desert gaiters are becoming a firm favourite around the world. Quite a bit of business is word of mouth but a lot comes via Lisa’s website. www.ar.co.za. She gets 12,000 – 15,000 visits a month (her blog gets about 10,000) – with this audience our little business is doing well. An interesting thing is how different the markets are for each of the 3 gaiter products – the desert gaiters are by far the most fun; apart from standard stock items in very ordinary colours, we frequently get requests for the brightest, most flamboyant colours and designs you have ever seen.  This amazing photo of a team racing down a sand dune in Abu Dhabi shows our bright green gaiters (made to match the shirts) is a real winner!

Reading, reading, reading:

I read a lot this year – favourites that really stand out are: The Auschwitz Violin (very haunting), The Luminaries, The Goldfinch, The Signature of all Things, Silent House, The Book Thief, Big Brother. And lots of other bits and pieces thrown in for good measure.  

Travel:

Nothing to speak of this year but I do have plans for 2014 and 2015. Hopefully this will take care of my restlessness!

Bracken:

Our little tabby cat is still going strong – she turns 19 on 1 April 2014. She is quite vocal these days and sets up a howl of many decibels when she wants someone to go running to her. It amazes me that one little cat can generate such a huge sound! We really are blessed to have this little animal in our lives.

2014 plans/goals and resolutions:

My only resolution is to write down all the goals for 2014 – plan properly and make sure everything (well just about everything) gets done and ticked off.

With 2014 in mind, my very best wishes to you all. May it be a fun filled, productive and interesting year.