Out of a sense of morbid curiosity, I checked the Chronicle and the jobs wiki for academic postings in my field. This is by far the worst year I’ve seen, and I’ve been paying attention to the market since about early 2008. There are a grand total of 8 tenure-track postings in my field. One of them is at “Red State University” (of earlier fame on my prior blog), two or three are at schools that mandate something I don’t have (licensure as a classroom teacher in a particular state), and all of them are basically in places I don’t want to live. One of them involved moving to a far-flung country in which my behavior (as a woman) would be severely curtailed. Having had friends who lived and worked there (both male and female), I’m awfully certain that it’s not the kind of life I’d want.
If I was going to pick a time to fling the double-middles at the academic job market, I couldn’t have picked a better one. So glad to not be faced with such bleak prospects this year, and so very grateful to be in a job that I like.
And now, a pretty picture!
(Garden of the Gods in Colorado Springs)
La Vida Burqueña 
Thrilled for you that life is on the upswing. Beautiful pix! My life has changed as well, and we enter a new stage with the death of the MiL (last living parent) right before Xmas. Ten years….
My condolences. I know the last few years were rough.