I’ve done this before, but was reminded by reading Nan’s post that today might be the ideal time to post my year-end retrospective by sharing the first paragraph of each month’s initial post:

January: “Well, Day 1 of 2009 has reached its close. If it’s how the rest of the year goes, I’m going to be pretty happy. We cooked, we did a few chores, and otherwise we generally spent the day making merry.”

February: “I’m in love … with the library.”

March: “March 1 and 2: Snow! It started snowing Saturday as Rudi and I were walking home from our late night pizza dinner. It mixed with rain and sleet, so by morning we were still without accumulation. It picked up again around noon when we were at the market, but the temps were just too high to allow it to stick. It kicked in off and on all afternoon and evening, and finally around midnight started to stick to the ground. Around one, Rudi and I went out to play for a few minutes before returning home for hot tea and bed.”

April: “Fifteen years is a long time: It’s the amount of time it takes for a newborn to age enough to acquire a learner’s permit to drive.” (This post referred to the final episode of E.R. but more spoke to a nostalgia for my college friends and our weekly gatherings.)

May: “I promise to regale you with stories of my weekend — filled with embassy visits, tea drinking in the rain, and a small fiber gathering — a bit later.”

June: “We’ve enjoyed the May’s Masterpiece Theatre Mystery series, Wallander, starring Kenneth Branaugh. The haunting theme music, I discovered on Ravelry, is ‘Nostalgia,’ written and performed by Emily Barker. See if you don’t agree…”

July: “Once upon a time there was some yarn. It was Blue-faced Leicester yarn [in dk weight from Yarn Pirate]. Wool from Blue-faced Leicester sheep makes very soft yarn, much like merino — perfect for a baby’s sensitive skin.”

August: “You may have noticed I am not a good traveler. I’m a great visitor. I love being other places and seeing new sights and meeting new and old friends. But I’m terrible at the traveling part, probably because it relies on things I’m not especially good at — timeliness and organization.” (Off to the Sock Summit, where I also proved not to be a particularly good in-real-time blogger…)

September: “Soooo tired! Must type Three Beautiful Things and then fall into deep sleep…” (I really ought to re-read my TBT posts more often. They really do help to remind me of how much beauty surrounds my life.)

October: “As I mentioned in Wednesday’s post, Mia had cajoled me to come out to Berryville earlier this fall. Unfortunately, it looked like there would be conflicts (an out-of-town friend in town for the marathon and a bike weekend away for Rudi), so I told her I probably wouldn’t be able to make it. Clearly, those two situations ultimately did not prove to be a sticking point, and when she heard I thought I’d be coming, Mia offered to give — yes, give — me a skein of her handspun yarn.” (This reminds me that you haven’t seen the lovely yarn Mia brought me for Christmas earlier this month. All lovely pinks and pastels. It’s sat on my desk at home being pet each day like a pampered kitten.)

November: “I had hoped to be able to show you today photos of Mum’s birthday present, completed and modeled, but that was predicated on having finished it. As it is, I am still knitting away, although she did gamely drape the unfinished shawl over herself Thursday night when I delivered it still on the needles. Last night I suggested that it was long enough to stay in place if I let her wear it with the circular needles attached and tied in a jaunty bow.” (After a blog-low of ten posts in October, I picked up my keyboard with renewed interest in November. I’d like to say that’s why Mum’s shawl is still not done, but I’m not sure that’s the truth. Here’s hoping for today…)

December: “Oh, I meant the apartment, not this post, but still…” (This cryptic remark referred to the post’s title, “disorganized hodgepodge of stuff,” which also might be a good summary of 2009 — and my life — in general.)

Here’s hoping 2010 holds lots of interesting things to blog about, too!