Welcome, 2018!

Happy New Year! I have had simply the best rest this Christmas season. I can’t remember ever feeling so relaxed and peaceful at Christmastime. I’m usually scrambling to get things done, prep the house, cook/clean/bake/make/buy/wrap/give/do/go/etc. 

This year, I did some of the above. A lot, actually. I was really pretty productive. But my heart changed. I wasn’t stressed about it, worried that it wouldn’t be enough. That I wouldn’t be enough. 

Maybe I’m starting to grow up, just a little bit. 

My last year was one of the most difficult and stressful years of my life. It was simultaneously one of the best and most grace-filled years of my life. I’m starting to recognize the amount of growth that occurred through all of it - that will be another post. 

For now, I’m just thankful. Peaceful. And heading to bed. 

Oh- but I have to share one thing. I pulled out the last flat of tomatoes from my cellar over Christmas, and saved seed from a couple varieties that were past the point of eating. And guess what? We still had quite a few little tomatoes, from our garden, that are still good for eating. It’s such a victory for me! 

The (heirloom) varieties that lasted longest were Long Keeper, Amish Paste, and I think the other was the Mountain Princess but I’m not totally sure. With 100 plants in the garden last summer, some mixing up occurred when we picked the zillion tomatoes. 

Again, another post but I had an amazing tomato crop. Made and canned tons of sauce which we are still using, I dried loads more, and I haven’t bought fresh tomatoes from the grocery store since early August. 

With that, I’ll say goodnight, but first I have to show you my brunch from today... 

January 1, 2018, I ate fresh and glorious tomatoes that we grew in our garden in summer 2017, from plants I started from seed in April. I ate them on hot biscuits with avocado and poached eggs gathered today, sprinkled with sea salt and drizzled with truffle oil. Being self-sufficient like this - growing so much of our own food - makes me more happy than I can say. 

Here’s to 2018!