There's something particularly compelling about the way we live our lives in this modern world, physically isolated yet intricately connected. I work at home, just me and the cats, and that isolation engenders a certain hunger for human contact -- but it doesn't have to be literal contact, face to face. I IM all day with my husband, with friends, with authors I'm working with. I keep track of peoples' comings and goings via their Flickr pages. And, more and more, I lurk quietly on the edge of a huge community of bloggers.

I just spent unknown hours in some sort of blogging hole, jumping from blog to blog. It goes without saying that these are all food blogs -- ferchrissakes, I have to limit myself somehow (except there are a few others).

So, I share some of the news I've gathered (for those of you who don't already know).

Orangette is getting married! Her story is really incredibly charming -- her husband-to-be emailed her about her blog a year ago. He lives in New York, she in Seattle. And cross-country food-obsessed romance ensued.

Tara at Seven Spoons just had a baby! She (or, rather, her brother, posting in her stead) introduced Benjamin Thomas in January. She has apparently been feeding him spring pea soup and pea and ricotta crostini. (Actually, no, but that's what she's been blogging about.)

Melissa, who blogs at The Traveler's Lunchbox celebrates her one-year blogging anniversary! That's one full year of amazing photographs and global culinary wanderings. I suspect, actually, that there are a number of food bloggers who are celebrating one year in the business soon. Chubby Hubby turned one in March. I'm Mad and I Eat celebrates one year in May. Last spring was about the time that the baby boom began, in the blog world. In fact, a quick glance around at archives shows (though I suppose it's possible that a software migration or something like that could be thwarting my very brief research) that Life Begins at 30 and In Praise of Sardines reach the mark in June, Food Musings comes of age in July, as does Knife's Edge.

I know there are more out there. It's quite impressive, really -- not only because of the sheer numbers, but also because of the very high quality and joyful readability of all these blogs. Congratulations to all!