So, it seems it has been a while since my last post. Hopefully, I will fix that and post more often. The end of 2015 was a nice and quiet time. My part-time job is easy and stress free, so I still have time to follow my interests and it gives me money to do so. The garden had its issues. The pepper plants never really grew or produced much. The tomatoes did very well and we will need to build or acquire better cages than the ones we had this year. I stil have a few cabbages in the garden and will make use of them yet.
The holiday season let me play a lot in the kitchen this time around. A couple of coffee flavored cookies that I really like and a cranberry almond shortbread cookie I fell in love with. The Mexican theme for our annual Christmas Eve Open House was well accepted by our guests. 2016 marries both Christmas Eve and Hanukkah, so we are going to go with Hanukkah favorites - that should be fun.
A new year brings a new resolve to lose some wieght for me. So I decided to follow the Cooking Light Magazine diet plan. For a small fee, I get to plan out my meals with a restricted calorie count. I have choices of meals, so I am not locked into things I do not like. They offer good recipes and it forces me to try new things and not get bored with what I make. It even gives me a shopping list, which I really like. My husband is going to join me on this little adventure, but we will see how long that lasts.
This time of year I also do an annual purge of unnecessary clutter. My sewing studio and my tupperware pantry were victims so far. How I ended up with 3 candy thermometers and 2 food mills in a baffler. I have a planning journal that I use for goals and events that helps me to put ideas onto paper and keep ideas straight. My frinds think I am silly because I already have plans for Christmas. If they only knew what else I have outlined.
We are planning to build a permanant pavillion over our patio this spring. I am going to get a couple of quotes to see how much it will cost for professionals to do it, but we may end up building it ourselves. We are pretty handy people, but it would be nice to have some help at least, if not have someone else do it for us.
So, those are the grand intensions for the year so far. We shall see what the months bring. Wish me luck on the diet. I am ggoing to need it!
Ciao!
Birdie in Cucina
The garden is growing just fine. We need to pick the bolted romaine lettuce. We have also joined a local CSA for produce. The first haul was just the right size for the two of us and tasty, but I hope future ones are a bit bigger, as I think it was expensive. 
