OK, so we've counted down the top 5 stories of the year -- but what about all those hundreds of others? In one final bit of navel-gazing before we head out to drink ourselves into '11, let's take a look back, month by month, at the year that was.

January & February

Haighteration didn't exist yet, therefore there was only darkness.

March

We only covered half a month here -- we launched March 15th -- but here's what you need to know about March. Revolver opened and Roland's closed. Also, Nancy Pelosi turned 70.

April

April was a busy month. There was a dogfest, a beerfest, and an artfest walk. On the Corner closed, Prairie Collective opened, we got hit by a 14ish-hour power outage, and Nopalito got booze. Also, Noc Noc and The Page both had a little work done.

May

Panini (a.k.a. Cafe Divis) opened, as did Estrella Taqueria, and a new microhood was born. In news that could have been worse but wasn't, there were some mysterious noises in Duboce Park, we lost the pickle van, and Robotspeak almost kind of closed.

June

If June was about one thing, it was about World Cup fever. If it was about more than one thing, then how about these? There were closures (RNM and Hairdoo Voodoo), an opening (Aline's Closet), an expansion (Little Chihuahua), and an effective merger (Clay Oven and Indian Oven). Meanwhile, Three Twins had a big gay weekend, and folks started staging BP protests at the ARCO station (whatever happened to those, by the way?)

July

New in the neighborhood in July were SF Collection, Sam's Cleaners, and Gorilla Pete's, and a marathon passed through the 'hood. In crime news, there was a bee massacre at Hayes Valley Farm, a robbery at MaduSalon, and a murder in Buena Vista Park, which isn't quite the Lower Haight, but is still too close for comfort.

August

Looking back on August, we're amazed at how much bad news there was. There was a homicide on Hermann Street, a fire in the Mission, and a near-takeover of the 'hood by feral cats. The ARCO protests got a little ugly, Burger Joint closed, and we started to question whether we even exist. In lighter news, there were a few free events -- namely, an art walk, a produce giveaway, a coffee giveaway, and a bike wash. Also gay marriage was made legal oh wait just kidding.

September

A lot happened in September, much of it great! We lost some koi (albeit briefly), but gained some Flourish. Duboce Park hosted a movie night, Alex Pardee hosted horror movies at his pop-up shop, and we dipped our toes in the dangerous waters of Ike mania. In personal wish fulfillment news, we got a ticket to Flip Night at AT&T Park, took a look inside the U.S. Mint, welcomed the delicious Ragazza to the neighborhood, and feasted on pie. A tasty month, indeed!

October

Ah, October, our favorite month, bookended by a Haighteration Happy Hour and Halloween. OK, so it wasn't all joy. We learned that Five-Star Truffles and Country Cheese Co. will soon be leaving Divisadero, and we got just a little spooked by the pink mansion. Also, a pennant was clinched, a mural was painted, and an earthquake was drilled... for.

November

We tried to do two things in November: solve the great train whistle mystery, and help Hayes Valley Farm raise a boatload of cash. We batted .500. Meanwhile, the Lower Haight mural got tagged, a cop got dragged, and a local got pepper-sprayed/mugged. Fortunately all of these crimes were solved -- well, except for the mural one. Oh yeah -- the Giants won the World Series, and the neighborhood went a little nutty.

December

And that brings us to December. There was a holiday art walk and a window decoration contest (Upper Playground won). We met the delightful Neal Gottlieb and Veronica Belmont, who are not related. And even more unrelatedly, SF Collection was robbed. We also spotted a hawk in the park, a motorcycle on the sidewalk, and raccoons all over. And just this week, we battled to the finals of the Curbed Cup, Bistro St. Germain closed, Cafe Divis transitioned, and Palmyra prepped to open.

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What a year 9.5 months! We can only hope next year is as eventful -- but hopefully with fewer crimes, feral cats, and Muni failures. Happy new year, everyone -- here's to a great 2011!