Happy New Year! And a litany of excuses...

Hey folks, we can relax.  The Mayan Apocalypse did not materialize, and we didn't go over that Fiscal Cliff.  All is well.

Time to set some New Year's resolutions!

I hate to set diet / exercise resolutions.  Mostly because I hate to diet or exercise.  Well, I like to ski (and it's ski season, baby!) so I guess that counts as exercise, right? Because after skiing all day last Saturday, wow, I felt some muscles I didn't know I had.  And as far as diet?  I guess I can go with eating more fruits / vegetables and drinking more water.  There.  Done.

I've set my new GoodReads 2013 Challenge!  Last year I signed up at 50 books, and I pulled off reading 54 in total.  So, this year, I'm going for 55.

I know, I've been awfully quiet on this blog in the last few weeks.  I blame credit a few things. 

• First, the holidays are just so darned busy. 
• Second, when the Newtown atrocity happened, it was really heavy on my heart, and it was difficult to write about anything.  I didn't want to write about Newtown, but it felt weird trying to write about anything else.  So, instead, I argued with my Facebook friends about gun control. 
• Third, I was under some Christmas knitting deadlines.  Note: American Girl Doll clothes are harder to knit than you might think.  It's actually easier to knit a full size sweater than a tiny one (how do people knit Barbie clothes?  OMG!). 
• Fourth, I think I'm part Maine black bear, because in December, all I wanted to do was hibernate.  If I sat on the couch, I would fall asleep.  No lie.  Ask my family.  I think they took pictures.  Quite pathetic, really. 
• Fifth, the 2nd season of Downton Abbey has re-run on PBS, and Fringe started from the beginning on Science Channel.  Two shows I really like.  Plus I had a pile of coupons for free rentals at VideoPort that expired December 31.  So, yes, I've been watching way too much TV.



http://www.markkurlansky.com/

• Sixth, and finally, I'm addicted to a stupid MahJong app for iPhone, and I'm embarrassed proud to say that as of last night, I'm ranked 50th in the world.

I did finish one book, Mark Kurlansky's Salt: A World History, which is even part of my Bookshelf Project.  I was mostly intrigued to see how on earth someone could write an entire book about salt, but sure enough, it's possible.....  quite fascinating, really.  Lots of "fun facts" - Salzburg is named so because of their major salt industry.  A tremendous amount of the exploration and investment in New World endeavors were salt-related.  During the Civil War, the South was not able to adequately provision their troops because of a lack of salt for preserving meat.  The fellow who discovered oil in Pennsylvania?  He was really trying to drill a brine well for making salt.  Same thing in Texas.  Morton salt, especially the typical iodized, salt-shaker salt, was novel for its time for its uniformity, whiteness, and modernity.  Today, consumers are backing away from uniformity in favor of all things artisanal, and so there's a resurgence of sea salt and other types of hand-crafted salt.

Oh, I almost forgot my biggest New Year's Resolution: NO OVERDUE FINES AT THE LIBRARY.  Let's see how long I stay on the wagon on this one.....