End of January

Well, I guess that's it eh? We've made it through January. Hallelujah!

Superbowl time and Valentine's around the corner. One event I look forward to, the other I don't.

January is a ridiculously challenging month. It's cold. It's depressing. Bills are on the table and the produce in the fridge tastes like plastic. Ever eat a strawberry in January? Yuck. Don't bother.

I guess I should look forward to planting a garden and eating real fruit and vegetables again, but that's going to take another 6 months. There was a time that each January I would look forward to the seed catalogues and even start my own plants. I always found petunia seeds frustrating... so small, so fussy and so incredibly long a process to start them yourself. I guess that's why I don't do it anymore. That, and you can buy a 6 pack of petunias on any corner stand for $2, when May rolls around.

Tomatoes... that's a better use of energy. You only have to start them 10 weeks ahead of time and even a couple plants can give you a garden full of fresh tomatoes. I start them myself (or I did) because I like off beat varieties like Lemon Boy and Cherokee Purple, things you don't find at the Home Depot.

Gardening used to really be my thing. Heck, I used to write a gardening column for the newspaper. And then, I had kids. And then they took all my time and energy. Now they use that time and energy to support their hobbies. Mine are just a memory. I guess you could say my hobby now is writing.  Travel isn't a hobby... it's what saves my sanity.

So anyway, good riddens to January. And, go 9ers!