Ten years ago today, I pushed publish on this blog. You can see that first posting here. Of course, my site has undergone several visual changes, and I didn’t really know the direction my crafts would take, but the main goal still satisfies: simply to record.

Most people take this time of year to showcase what they’ve been able to accomplish over the last twelve months, but that’s not really my kind of thing. I appreciate it in others – especially when I am a new follower and haven’t seen all the wonderful projects! I simply don’t prioritize the effort to do it myself. I did recently post heaps of photos on my Library page of most everything I’ve ever made, so if you are looking to see a visual collection, let me point you over there.

I want to instead think about how much has changed since ten years ago. This is not a comprehensive list by any account, but I think it is fun to pause a little and see how far I’ve come, how far my world has come, how far humans have come. Ten years ago:

• I lived in a condo and worked at a bank. Today, I live in a house we bought that year and now work with my husband doing light tech/design work or contract work with outside groups. Between, I’ve worked (in no particular order) as a researcher, archaeologist, bioarchaeologist, adjunct, visiting lecturer, candy store operator, graphic designer, crafter, volunteer, and house manager. Boy’s office outgrew the single tiny room he was renting to a full floor with separated office space and server room.

• I drove a Hyundai Elantra, may her 16 year old soul rest in peace, that barely had a whistle and today I have an all-wheel drive car that nearly drives itself with all the bells and all the whistles. I was still holding onto the LG EnV, while today I carry around a micro-computer iPhone. At the bank, we might have still been using a dot matrix printer, though I do believe by 2009 we had upgraded away from using sorter machines running off of 5.5″ floppy disks. I blogged on a desktop Mac Mini, and now I have a MacBook Pro. I had no TV access (intentionally – we cancelled cable earlier and did not upgrade to the digital public TV) and lived off of Blockbuster movies, RIP. My TVs are bigger/clearer/thinner, my game consoles multiplied, and my movies stream through Netflix. The changes in technology are fascinating.

• I had just graduated with a Bachelor degree in Sociology (on the anthropology track) with the full compliment of an Associate degree in French, Fine Art, and Anthropology and Minors in Anthropology and Art History, and experience in art galleries, museums, and zoos. Now, I have a Master’s in Anthropology for Bioarchaeology with plenty of extra-curricular experience too numerous to name. My niece hadn’t yet been born – she’ll be 10 as well soon (and my nephew, 21!). I don’t think my brother-in-law was fully in the picture yet either. Boy and I were just planning our elopement – yep, our 10th anniversary is coming up as well (though we’ve been together for 20).

• I barely knew anything about crafting. Pretty much every project had surprises like giant wastes of thread that became knotted unbeknownst to me in the back, or skipped stitches, or missing bobbin threads. I’ve come a long, long, long way.

There are so many other things I could have listed, and the same holds true for anyone, of course. But how many times do we think back 5, or 10, or 20+ years ago and really take stock in all the changes? What was life like for you ten years ago in 2009?

Happy New Year to you and yours – may it be easier for you to chase the light in 2019!