I finally got around to last month's Bon Appétit and one of my Secret Santa gifts from Tom (The Frankies Spuntino Kitchen Companion & Cooking Manual) is on their "Favorite Cookbooks of 2010" list!

Scrappy, maybe we can help each other out with the writing thing.

I think 2010 is going to be more of a mixed bag in hindsight than it looks now. Right now, the year seems to have been dominated by vet problems. Max was diagnosed with his lung problems during the spring, nasal cancer during the summer, and liver failure and pancreatitis during the fall. And we had to say goodbye to him in October. Which was promptly followed by Marie's health problems.

On the other hand.

Marie seems to be doing better. She's eating more and more on her own, even with the feeding tube. And she's obviously gaining weight back. Which means we may be getting her IBD and swollen larynx under control.

Two new cats, Arthur and Victor, came into our lives with boundless energy and affection. So that even Marie, who finds it almost impossible to warm up to any other cat, is happy to share the couch with Victor.

And we started volunteering at Friends of Homeless Animals. Where we've met a number of fine people, as well as cats of all sorts. And (we hope) even helped to improve some lives.

In non-cat news, we had a far better Florida vacation than our budget would have predicted. And we got the finances back under some measure of control after all the vet expenses of the last few years.

2010 downer: no permanent job. Sent out many, many resumes w/ no answer. Had 3 job interviews that I felt positive & hopeful about, heard back nothing.

Passed my 99 weeks on Unemployment, so no further help from there.

Car broke. Basement flooded, taking out furnace & hot water heater. Lost two pairs of glasses. Had root canal.

Pluses for 2010 later.

I hope 2011 is better for you, Theo.

The elves delivered a gift from my secret Santa today! So many goodies! A delicious-sounding pear caramel tea, chocolate, Rock Star soap, a Saki book ( The Chronicles of Clovis ), bath salts (Blood Bath and Midnight Black), and jewelry, including a pair of gorgeous earrings that I have on already!

I wonder who it could be from ...

I know! I know!

The representative from the Elves Union refuses to comment.

Sorry, guys, but I have to get this out somewhere and here seems appropriate. I just got wished a better year in 2011 (than 2010) and while I appreciate the sentiment, it won't be better. It's a matter of semantics, but there it is.

That said, my 2010 was bad. Not by any means uniformly bad, but the bad was pretty overwhelming. Many, many times, what got me through was this place. When I couldn't face being around people and being alone in my head was also not a good idea, I could always come and lurk in these threads and be comforted that these conversations kept going on and, eventually, I'd be able to take part. Thanks for that, buffistas, it's a precious gift.

{{{-t}}}

I know exactly what you mean, -t. This place got me through chemo, surgery and radiation, because it seemed so hopeful to me that people were out there being brilliant and having lives. I still have to believe that it will get better for you eventually, and we'll be here.