The Annie's Annual Catalogue is incredible! I must admit that I had given up on Annie's, it seemed too esoteric for me (which is saying a lot! hello, rebel without a cause, I love esoteric!). Looking at the website, I couldn't figure out what plants would really look like and they all seemed so exotic but not in a good way. I didn't think they would work where I live and it gets so hot in the summer, unlike temperate Richmond in the San Francisco Bay Area. Now the catalogue has changed everything. There's a whole page devoted to plants that like hot weather. There's a few page spread on cottage gardening and each blurb explains exactly what is better about each plant than something else you might use. The catalogue is free and I highly recommend it if you garden in California or closeby.

I predict big things for 2007 in my life as follows.

New Year's Resolutions:

1. Knit a sweater. I have tried to do this twice, perhaps more times, and have not been successful. This year I will triumph because I have a knitting buddy who I knit with about once a week. And a cute pattern.

2. Have a vegetable garden that recieves water all summer and includes padrone peppers.

3. Either move house, or commit to not moving.

4. Craft extensively. I would like to commit to finishing at least one big thing (something substantial like a quilt or complicated item of clothing, or complete series of smaller items) per month. Dying will also be a priority, I need to develop my own colors. There is something slightly quiet and rich about amateur dyed fabrics that I am drawn to.

5. Complete 50% of my super-secret project including all non-bathroom/plumbing/couch items.

6. Enjoy my life and stop getting so wound up about things that are not important. I have to be one of the luckiest people in the world, I need to appreciate that more. This will be the hardest one.

7. Grow nasturtiums and morning glories.

Motto for 2007: I love it already!

This weekend I was very proud of myself! I took care of many chores and made a few savory and healthy soups for us to have for lunches through the week. My biggest triumph was cleaning out my vegetable garden and harvesting all of the tomatoes that had been languishing including a couple pounds of Sungold cherry tomatoes and several giant sized Amish Paste plum tomatoes. These are great varieties for this region and I will plant both again, they succeeded incredibly against insurmountable odds: no water and almost complete neglect. It was basically a Tour de Force. I ground up all of the ripe tomatoes in a food mill and cooked them up with some chicken broth I made last week (from the leftovers of our organic free range roasted chicken) seasoned with rosemary from the front planter. I threw in a can of some garbanzo beans (would have done dried but I didn't know I had so many tomatoes left) and it was good and made me feel like a soup making goddess! Thaddy and I have agreed that next weekend we will do absolutely nothing since we were so productive this weekend to celebrate the end of daylight savings time.