Time as a river is one of those metaphors that resonate for me.  I took this picture of the flow of the Pigeon River as we were coming home from our honeymoon, and it seemed just perfect for a post about the year’s forward movement.

I’m not usually one for lists.  But 2009 was so eventful, and so wonderful, that it didn’t seem strange at all to list some of the joys and thrills of it at its conclusion.  (Oh, my God/dess, does the fact that we’re almost to 2010 freak anyone else out a little bit?  It seems impossible….)

In fact, I was amazed at how much had happened this year, and the exercise reminded me yet again that I set my standards for myself way too high.  Before I made the list, just this morning actually, I’d been mentally berating myself for failing to get as much accomplished as I’d hoped during the calendar year.  Now I’m shaking my head, bemused at my own foolishness.  My list of achievements was obviously much longer than this, but I narrowed it down to the top 9 in three categories for the post.

Where possible, I’ve included links to my own blog posts, some of them from my other blog, to illustrate my selections.  Perhaps you missed out on some oldie-but-goodies.  Just roll your mouse over the item you’re interested in, and the linked portion will show.

It was a really fun exercise for me to go back and reread my earlier blog posts.  If you count both blogs, I’ve now written nearly 250 posts.  Isn’t that amazing?  I’m now not quite such a baby blogger.  I’d say maybe more like a toddler.

Without further ado:

9 Not-to-be-forgotten Events in 2009

1. F. dug me a kitchen garden from our blank-slate, rented yard.  In it, I grew some of our food organically, trying to pursue a no-kill, cooperate-with-nature policy.
2. The family heirloom seed was brought back from the brink of extinction in one glorious season.
3. We joined a CSA and got almost all our food supply locally for about five months, including pork, chicken, eggs, fruit, vegetables, herbs, beef, butter, and milk.
4. I quit smoking.
5. In August, I started a blog.  Two, actually.
6. A hummingbird flew so close to me her wing brushed my skin.
7. I went on a retreat in the Blue Ridge Mountains with my closest girlfriends.
8. F. and I got married.  And we did it in Walhalla, the county seat named after the mythical Nordic paradise.
9. Our honeymoon was in Tennessee  — and the trip was a totally out-of-the-blue wedding gift.

9 Favorite Victory Garden Posts in ’09

1. in a hurry to bloom (the one that started it all)
2. fire ant confidential
3. yin yang
4. golden treasure
5. the jig is up
6. seeing things
7. the unknown radish
8. sweet reminder
9. heritage

9 Excellent Performers in the ’09 Garden

1. Family heirloom half-runner bean (It really needs a name; doesn’t it?)
2. ‘Cherokee Purple’ heirloom tomato
3. ‘Sumter’ cucumber
4. Genovese basil
5. Japanese eggplant ‘Ichiban’
6. ‘Whirlybird’ nasturtiums
7. Cardinal climber vine
8. Heirloom morning glory ‘Grandpa Ott’s’
9. ‘Fife Creek Cowhorn’ heirloom okra

Print PDF