As promised, its time to look back and recall the top ten events of 2005. It was a unique year in a number of ways. There will never be a year quite like it. I toast 2005 and look forward to an even better 2006.

Let’s launch right into things and count ’em down.

10. Home Projects. Last year we moved into our current home and spent the rest of the year getting to know it. This year, we began making changes in earnest to make it our own. Projects we completed this year include shifting our home office from upstairs to our downstairs dining room. I fetched my grandmother’s antique bedroom furniture from Florida in April, though it was weird seeing her house empty. The furniture now furnishes Hallie’s room as well as our guest bedroom.

We had been planning to fence our backyard but needed to fix the grading before the posts went in. A homemade fix in January wasn’t ideal, so we called in the pros. A few bids later and the perpetual lake in the back corner was gone for good. The fence went up a few weeks later. There’s nothing like a nice fence to make you feel pride in your home!

The next projects were the most challenging: painting! The work itself isn’t as hard as determing colors. Kelly prodded me after Thanksgiving to revisit this, so we settled on a few colors and got to work. Now we have a nicely-painted den and foyer, with the kitchen and hallways next on the list. Paint can really fix a home up. We’re pleased with the results!