As 2009 begins, I publicly resolve to—

• Start my vegetables earlier this year.
• Spend less time at my computer and more time outside.
• Put on a jacket and work in the yard on sunny, calm days this winter (I've always been a fair weather gardener, but I can use the fresh air and exercise-and I never run out of things that need to be done).
• Get into the habit of picking up gloves and a weeding tool every time I go outside (instead of making mental notes when I see things I need to do and then forgetting them until the next time).
• Use the patio as an extra room of our house this summer (no, Phil, we can't move a TV out there).

If I succeed in keeping these resolutions, you'll hear all about it at the end of the year. But, just so you know, these goals are not new for 2009. I've been making these resolutions and failing to keep them for more years than I care to admit.