A friend came over today and we tried burning a BluRay disk for him, but the file wouldn't open in the player attached to the TV. It's one of those things we realized you need to "produce" (in the Hollywood sense) with lead-ins and such, and my software wasn't cooperating with his software. So he'll have to learn more, and we trashed a disk, but we learned a lot. I got rid of the software I loaded after putting in the drive (it didn't have any drivers in it, it was for the person who doesn't already have all of the burning and editing software I have). I reinstalled my Nero program and will get more use out of it now. I did a lot more work clearing and organizing my photos (this after I showed a friend how to use Windows Explorer to organize her photos - I figured I ought to do mine as well). All in all, the computer is up to speed for the things I want to do this year.

I cooked some pinto beans this afternoon, and they're still simmering now since I added some blanched tomatoes from the garden. They're still ripening. The friend here is a good cook, but he thinks black-eyed peas taste like dirt, and since another friend came in and none of us is from here, we felt quite comfortable in trashing southern traditions in favor of our own. :-) Pinto beans will be fine (I prefer kidney beans, but I didn't want to run to the store) and my neighbor sent over a bowl of her mix of collard and mustard greens she cooked up last night. They smell wonderful.

My New Year's Eve is as usual, spent here at the house. I enjoy the puttering and watching old movies. I'll put in a load of laundry, clean up the kitchen, and have a neat house to enjoy tomorrow morning. It's a small ceremony along the lines of "begin as you mean to continue." I will take down my Australia calendar in my office (from my secret santa last year) and I have a new one up behind it already (doesn't have a photo, so if something prettier turns up in a discount bin in the next few weeks I'll pick one up.)

Two big things I want to do this year - start transferring my father's cassettes to DVD, and scanning my grandfather's articles. I've mentioned it before, but not in this thread. Something I plan to resume is the blogging that was sidelined by other stuff during the year. I enjoy it when I get back to it, but the buildup of unfinished articles has been a bit of an obstacle - what to resurrect and publish, what to leave alone for now and write fresh stuff. Just getting moving is what is needed.

My garden is going to grow larger and I am going to build the low stone wall in the front yard. I've spoken to enough practitioners (bricklayers on campus) that I know how to do it, I just have to get started. I'm going to continue selling the extra stuff around here on eBay, and I will use the proceeds to target my credit card bills. It would be nice to pay this off this year, and since it doesn't look like the lottery will come through, I need to do it on my own. :-/   

Yes, we'll have to see what it looks like a year from now. Andrea, good luck on choosing which tasks to tackle in what order. My brother is going to be in the same boat - he just bought a house that he said "I'm going to keep for the rest of my life." It's in the perfect place, has the right set up for his interests (a house at the beach in our home state, with a good dock and deep enough for mooring a boat year round) but it needs some basic work. Permits and plans and contractors are in his future. I'm not to that point, I can't say that this house is it for me, but it works for now, so I'll keep working on maintaining the value, and adding value where I can.

We have other gardeners who participate here. I'll be interested to hear what you each plan. My growing season is a lot longer (and I was out weeding the key hole garden today, working on digging the Bermuda roots from under the center walkway) so we may not hear about those plans till spring. I am going to try to space my plantings better, and I'm going to expand the beds further down the hill along the driveway. And put in new beds smack in front of the house. My yard will be an Edible Estate by the time I'm finished.

I'll lift my glass of wine at midnight and offer a "skoal!" Have a good year, all! Stay healthy and happy!

SRS