Ah, "Deor"! I had to translate that poem (along with "Wanderer" and "Seafarer") when I took Anglo-Saxon as a required course for my grad program. All of us in the class had t-shirts made with "Þæs ofereode, þisses swa mæg" printed on them. It IS a comforting thought. (We usually translated it as, "That passed; so may this.")

BTW, I adored your MMSS New Year's icon.