Well, it's 2010 in most of the world right now, but we've still got a few hours of 2009 left here in the American Midwest. Just enough time for me to do some reflecting on the past year.

I'm having a quiet night in this New Year's Eve, which suits me just fine. It's cold out, and it seems like staying in was the thing to do for a lot of my friends. As I told a couple people today, I could use the evening to look inward and focus on becoming the best me I can be... or I could watch silly movies with the cats. Movies and cats it is!

I did clean the stove extra well after doing the dishes earlier. Just a little something special for 2010!Anna to wake up to. I know that 2010!Anna will never let soy milk boil over, so it's only fair to scrub off any lingering traces of how remiss 2009!Anna could be.

So, let's see... 2009...

In January, my pal Rob came to visit. We went to the Science Museum and the Como Park Conservatory (the best place to visit in the dead of winter). I discovered dark nail polish.

In February, my mom and I took a trip to Fort Meyers, Florida. Okay, THAT is the best place to visit in the dead of winter. Temperatures in the 80s and absolutely nothing better to do than sit on the beach.

In March, I realized that the worst of winter was over, and it really hadn't been so bad. I think that was in large part due to settling into a routine of going to the gym in the morning and then spending time at the coffee shop, working on my laptop.

In April, I went to the UK for the London Book Fair. Rob and I also had a week or so in Ireland. I met my nephew Rowan (my friend Em's son) for the first time and decided he was the best baby ever.

In May, I went up to my parent's new cabin (which they'd closed on in April) for the first time. It was still cool-ish there, even though it was starting to warm up in the Cities, so I decided I didn't like it. I did a heck of a lot of manual labour in my back yard and created a huge amount of new garden space. Then I began planting various things to eat. May was nice.

In June, we had a long stretch of dry weather. My grass all but died, and I thought for sure it would be a miserable growing season. I made my first dress from a Japanese pattern and realized that patterns are much easier to follow without all that pesky language comprehension getting in the way.

In July, Rob came for another visit. I saw Elvis Costello in concert. We (Rob and I, not EC) went to my parents' cabin, and I decided that I actually really like it, after all. There are trees and nice breezes and a cafe where you can get breakfast for under five bucks. And tiny donuts. I went back by myself at the end of the month to enjoy the solitude. We started getting much more rain, and my garden took off.

In August, my garden continued to flourish. My lawn looked amazing. The tomatoes started ripening and then wouldn't quit. I spent another week at the cabin, reading submissions for work. Alex and I went apple picking and ate cider donuts.

In September, I had two patio 'parties'. The first was an effort to get rid of my glut of tomatoes, and the second was to celebrate the amazingness of seitan ribs. I found a Minnesota-shaped cookie cutter and made apple cookies.

In October, I went to Germany for the Frankfurt Book Fair. I had a really nice time, despite getting something suspiciously flu-y as soon as the fair was over (and my vacation began), and I also knit two hats. And ate my weight in pastries.

In November, the entire state reveled in glorious, above-average temperatures. I made a LOT of pumpkin puree from the pumpkins I grew. I started drawing little paper houses. I upgraded to a new version of Movable Type because of a dream I had.

In December, I started selling the paper house pattern downloads. Many, many thanks to everybody who bought one; it's definitely been a success! I had one of my best birthdays ever, and I also had a nice Christmas-time, even with all the snow we got.

And that brings us to the present.

I don't have much of a sales pitch for this, but I created a type of yearbook or annual with many of my photos from 2009. It sort of covers the general categories of my life: home, garden, cats, travels, food, etc. I wanted to have a hard copy of some of what I produced this year, photographically, and it made a really nice Christmas present for my family. It's forty pages, full of pictures, and it's not just a blog-to-book project. And it's available here, if you find you have some holiday gift money that's burning a hole in your pocket.

Happy New Year, everybody!

-- Whew, what a week! Tuesday was my birthday; Wednesday was spent finishing up the last of my presents and then wrapping them; Thursday was Christmas Eve with my mom's side of the family; Friday was Christmas with my parents; and yesterday was Christmas/Boxing Day with my dad's side. That's a bit too much holidaying!

-- I had one of my best birthdays ever this year. My cake went together without much fuss (that's it above, and here it is pre-cutting -- it's 'German Coconut', with filling/icing made using this recipe; the coconut cake itself isn't worth making again), and then I spent the day with my mom, eating good food, getting massages, and finding ridiculously good deals at Old Navy. AND I received two packages with products for review -- Zevia Sodas and Newman's Own Organics. More on that at a later date.

-- One of my birthday presents was a little Sony point-and-shoot. I had an Olympus that I really liked until it mysteriously stopped working after six months. Now I can take photos when I'm out and about without having to lug around my SLR, which isn't always convenient. And the new camera takes nice photos.

-- It started snowing on Thursday and didn't really let up until Saturday evening. And then it snowed a bit more today. Since the cats and I had packed up and were at my parents' for three days, that meant I had to shovel all the snow this morning. Luckily, thankfully, some kind neighbour had done my front path, so I only had to worry about the back path and the driveway. It took about an hour, but it was sunny, around 20F (which isn't too bad, don'tyaknow), and I had a new Elvis Costello album on my iPod. Snowy.

-- The bad news with the snow was that I had to hop through it while packing up the car on Christmas Eve, and I managed to hurt my ankle. I didn't even land on it very hard or twist it much, but I knew I'd landed wrong as soon as it happened, and it's been bothering me ever since. It's nearly back to normal now, but it gets achy every few hours. I've been slightly distressed, because I've been enjoying running lately, and I don't this to mess it up.

-- Christmas itself was very enjoyable. My dad's side of the family usually celebrates in the afternoon/evening, but the gathering was pushed to Boxing Day, due to the snow. So my parents and I (and the cats and their dogs) did our usual thing in the morning (presents, brunch) and then lazed around for the rest of the day. I read comics and drank tea out of my new favourite mug, which I got from my aunt on Christmas Eve (which is when my mom's side of the family gathers). Perfect.

-- Even though I only turned one year older last week, it seems to have had a dramatic effect. After I got home yesterday, I kept thinking about how I could assemble and use my new vacuum in the morning and then clean the floors with my new slippers. I think I might have had my most excited reaction to opening that particular gift. I hadn't even asked for them, because how could I have ever imagine such perfection existed?

Ah, the day after Thanksgiving. The day on which I do NOT go shopping, because I find that particular activity tiring and annoying on even a regular weekend. (I don't mind shopping during the week, but I'm still good for only three stores that require driving in between, tops. If I'm in a good mood.) But it's a great day for leftovers.

Despite my plans to not investigate the sales, I woke up at 4:00am. Four. In the morning. Why? I tried to fall asleep for an hour and then gave up and played iPod solitaire for almost another hour (you'd think I'd get bored of it, but no!). I dragged myself out of bed and had some breakfast and contemplated the day's possibilities. I don't know about you, but whenever I wake up significantly earlier than expected, I find myself thinking -- while still in bed -- that I could use the 'extra' time to go to the gym and get out of the house. How virtuous. But then I put my feet on the floor and remember what it's like to be awake after only a few hours' sleep, and any gym plans go out the window.

I had a very satisfactory pre-lunch nap, however, which got me primed for the real star of the day: the leftovers. I made an outstanding sandwich for lunch with Quorn Turk'y and roasted veggies (it was missing cranberry sauce, but I made do). And later in the afternoon I had a slice of pumpkin pie, which is mandatory.

And then the rest of the day just slipped away, between working on paper houses and going to Mill End Textiles. (All the fabrics were half off! And I needed to get stuff.) I have that strange sensation of today feeling both exceptionally long (having woken up at 4:00) and also puzzlingly truncated (using the end of my nap as a 'starting' point).

I had a really excellent dream while I was napping, though. Not much happened, but I had a new home out in the woods/country, so now I know exactly how I should build my house. Hey, the dream-inspired Movable Type upgrade turned out -- how much harder can a house be?

p.s. -- Oh, frabjous day! On a whim, I went to Hulu's page for Lost, and they've uploaded the remaining episodes from season five. I know what I'm doing the rest of tonight!