Five Years. That's Right: Five.

Today is M&G's fifth birthday, which kind of astounds me, until I think about all the things that have happened in my life since I started blogging. Like having an actual flesh-and-blood child (who will turn four this month), undertaking a major home renovation/addition, and completing somewhere in the neighborhood of 500 work projects.

It's been a pretty busy five years.

It's also been a pretty busy summer, which is why, even though I've known that this anniversary was coming up, I never really planned anything special for it. Last night, when we got home from the beach, tired and cranky, I remembered that today is, well, today, and that I wanted to recognize the anniversary in some way, even if it's a small one. That's when I started reading.

Just clicking through the archives, I ran across tons of posts I barely remember and a ton of meals that I'd have completely forgotten if it weren't for the magic of the internets. Lots of crappy, amateurish photography (especially from the early days) and rambling paragraphs that try to connect art with food.

But some of it, I actually enjoyed rereading. I didn't make it through the whole blog last night - as it turns out, I can write a lot over five years - but I did collect a handful of posts that I still find interesting. Kind of a "best of" collection (except not complete. And maybe not all "best.") And, for your reading pleasure, that's right here:

• How I learned to cook
• How cooking transcends
• On fashion and food
• Matisse doesn't eat
• The food of Hogwarts
• In praise of regionalism
• Happiness is making decisions
• Lamenting the rise of the kiddie foodie
• Dots and food and romance
• Futurism's failure
• Remembering parties past
• I ruin my microwave
• The start of the Grande Diplome project
• Hot dogs and jean shorts at Keuka Lake

One more note: thanks to everyone who reads, whether it's every day or just once. It's nice to know that I'm not just shouting out into the darkness. Really nice.