Catch up from 2009

I've been to three Williamsburg cons and enjoyed them all greatly. It's a relaxing time with your buddies. Nice, but small venue, but they may outgrow the place eventually. Great price for rooms in a resort area by the way.
Skipped both Historicons for various reasons, but looking forward to Fredericksburg. Still go to Cold Wars and Fall-In in Lancaster. Drove home in the snow on the Fall-In Saturday.
Made a good deal on 40mm painted Sash and Saber Union infantry. I've got to paint my Confederates now and a few more Union. Really want to do some Zouaves.
Looking at simple rules now, having bought most of the new ones. They usually don't suit me in one aspect or another so now I'm finding some old simple rules, especially those that are quite modifiable. Even found a set that says, Modify me, add different modules and play different periods. This will be a lot of fun in the long run.
I've had great fun in this hobby, but I think I could have enjoyed it more not falling for every new rule set that came along and then trying to get some units together to play. Usually the real painters in my groups had already moved on to the next rule set, leaving me with partial and unpainted figures, which I usually sold and bought the next great thing. I think I have finally stopped doing that. It has to be what I want to paint and play. Otherwise I'm spinning my wheels and they are very worn wheels.
Keep it simple, Stupid and God is on the side of SMALLER battalions. And the latest best piece of advise, why pay so much attention to casualties when most of the game can be handled by morale rolls. Because I like to shoot, darn it. It doesn't seem right, but it makes a lot of sense if I can wrap my brain around it. Hope to be painting by New Years. I would really like to put on a game or two in 2012. Borodino comes to mind but I would have a lot of cav and arty to paint first. So either 28mm ACW or French and Austrian 28mm Napoleonics. I have figures for 1809. I'm just a little late on the anniversary. Well, I do enjoy reading when a club puts on a big anniversary game. It's very inspiring to me and tends to keep me going and looking for more ideas. Movement foreward would be good for me.
Even though some Old Schoolers have some monster armies, others do not and there are a lot of brigades and divisions fighting each other which look like fun battles and can still represent a much larger battle. So I'm pumped and hopeful, that my new approach will work and I can really feel like a wargamer/hobbyist. I hope painting becomes as fun as it once was.
Happy Thanksgiving. Despite the rotten economy, we Americans, on the whole, still have a lot to be thankful for and we will correct our errors, I'm sure, starting this coming year. So hang in folks. The rough times aren't over, but they are a little closer to being over each new day.