It Went like This...

The eve of 2009 gives me pause to reflect on the previous year’s accomplishments and look forward to the possibilities coming up. I see this time of the year as a magical period where anything is possible as I renew and create new intentions.

I reviewed my blog and was able to recreate some memorable moments of the past year.

The only New Year’s resolution I made in 2009 was to take Fridays off work, and I was more or less was able to do that, making this year the best year for reading books.

I read tons of great books this year, but I really, really, really, enjoyed Stieg Larsson’s trilogy. As luck would have it, I received from my hubby the last book of the trilogy for my birthday in December. Because it is not yet released in Canada he had to order it from Amazon UK and I am so glad he did. Yay!!! I am therefore blissfully ending the year reading “The Girl Who Kicked The Hornets’ Nest”. I highly recommend you read all three books because in my humble opinion they are the BEST books ever.

The concert highlight of the year was seeing Leonard Cohen in concert at the National Arts Centre in Ottawa. Wow!!! Double wow!!!

In 2009 I had my first vegetable garden! It was not very big but I harvested green onions, carrots, zucchini, two types of lettuce, potatoes, tomatoes, peppers, and various herbs. In 2010 I am going to be adding even more vegetables. But will have less lettuce because I had too many lettuce plants last season. I didn’t realize that with lettuce one could just trim the tops of the plant and it would keep growing all summer. My whole family loved the garden and helped with the harvesting. Absolutely nothing compares to vegetables fresh from the garden.

I blogged a lot about tea, here, here, and here. I must enjoy it immensely!

Sadly, the 2009 summer was a dry one. In that we didn’t have use of our swimming pool because when the old liner was removed we noticed some serious damage to the concrete putting into question the integrity of the pool. Since we plan to rebuild our house we thought it best to not invest into the pool until we have a design of the new layout.

On the bright side, a new experience for me was staying at a B&B not too far from Ottawa, which opened my mind to the possibility of staying at B&Bs in our plan trip to Scotland in 2010. Staying at this B&B coincided with another new experience, sending our son off with his schoolmates for nine days of camping in Quebec. It was the longest we have been apart!!! Fortunately, I was being pampered at Hummingbird Hill B&B Spa, creating a wonderful distraction while hubby went to meetings during the day.

I was lucky to have been able to visit briefly with my mom, some family and friends while on business trips out west. In the fall, I had a surprise visit when my cousin from Fort Chipewyan showed up in Ottawa. I had not seen him in about 20 years, and what’s up with the fact that he didn’t gain an ounce? He and his girlfriend joined me for a lovely lunch at Sweetgrass Bistro in the Market. Later, they sent me a surprise package with homemade jams and dried fish. I’m never losing contact with them again.

What do you do when there are no cookies in the house... my son baked his first batch of cookies all my himself, skyped me at work and showed me.

On the whole, I experienced a magnificent 2009 where I renewed contact with old friends and family, made new friends, wrote more, and laughed more. My very favorite pastime is spent at home, drinking tea, and enjoying the company of my family,dog, and fish.

A 2010 intention:
Inspired by the foodie blogs I read (check the blogs to the right)…to cook more healthy and creative meals! Now all I need is a sharp knife and willing taste testers. Awww, where are my hubby and son? Ok, I’ll bake some sweets too, guys, come back!

Cheers! Wishing 2010 brings you health, happiness, and peace!!!