Happy New Year

2009 has been a very good one for me.

I had many adventures...

• in Maine where I camped in Arcadia National Park and was rewarded with a night of swank accommodations in Portland.
• in Vermont, where I hiked a full 2.5 mi of the Appalachian Trail.
• in Michigan, where I spent a day climbing on trains of all sizes, shapes and provenance.
• in Ohio, where I bike-camped our own Cuyahoga Valley National Park and watched far off fireworks from a secluded campsite among tall grasses.
• on Kelley's Island, where we chartered a boat ride around the island and watched the sun set with friends and family.
• in Washington D.C., to see all the houses in the Solar Decathlon.
• back to Michigan, where I rode a steam engine with my parents and caught up with college friends.
  

I learned many things...

• how to rewire a boat trailer.
• how to install a trailer hitch.
• how to make an origami crane.
• how to use a GPS without throwing it out the window.
• how to install a new stereo in a Prius.
• how to trust the process.

I knit a fair number of things, too... (seriously, a 10k of yarn!)

• 6 adult sweaters
• 1 baby sweater
• 2 kiddo hats
• 1 sleeping tank top-ey thing
• 3 pairs of socks (including one lost forever to the east side... *sniff*)
  
• 3 cowls
• 1 pair of convertible mitts
• 1 pair of perfect mittens
• 1 original design hat
• 1 shawl
• 1 pair of ballet flats (my first ever felted project!)
  
• 1 set of christmas stripe elf hat/mittens for the sweetest baby in the world

I tried my hand at sewing again...

• 1 half-finished dress
• 1 pair of half-finished pajama bottoms
• 1 half-finished skirt of quilt pieces (are you seeing a pattern here?)
  
• 1 iPod case
• 1 knitting bag
• 1 knitting needle case
• 1 nightgown (recently ripped apart to adjust... not happy with it, so I guess 'half-finished' as well)

Then there was all that other great stuff...

Having my best friend around for the first time in almost a decade and getting to spend oodles of time with her and her family (although it still feels that I don't get enough time with them).

Meeting the Physicist.
There's almost too much in that to go into - and frankly, it's so good, I want to keep most of it to myself (sorry...)
But good.
Lots and lots of good.

Biking around more.
Getting pretty far with the boat restoration.
Seriously considering the Tiny House concept.
The quality of what we're producing at work and the new projects I've gotten to help create and launch.

So, it's been a good year.
I'm sad to see it go, but hoping 2010 will at least as good.