Last year I carried a “Hi Mom” sign around in my travels and the pictures were seen by my dad who commented, “What about your dad!” If I was on my toes I would have written a dad message on the other side and flipped the sign for photo ops all over the world.

Well, dad, I will make this year the year of the “Dad sign”. I hope you like this shot which I took by myself on walkabout on Amchitka Island.

And, here is wishing you a very, very happy birthday!

I love you.

Tara

I love it. A new logo and a bit of dusting and cleaning of the site. Well Spiced Life owes it’s birthright to Sue Cline of Cyclonic Consulting. I will take credit as the birthing coach and now I am raising up this baby through content development. However, without Sue, I would have no voice, no vehicle, no blog matter to speak of.

Thank you, Sue.

If you are in need of a creative problem-solver, a web architect, or an intuitive consultant, check out Cyclonic Consulting. I have deep respect and gratitude for the access and support I have gained with Sue. On top of that, she is an amazing pastry chef and a great person.

Nine what, you ask? They are not resolutions. Instead, they are little hopes and dreams. Nine things I would like to learn or experience in 2009.

A friend recently challenged me to think of ten things I learned in 2008. I thought my head was going to implode. 2008 marked my entry into the blog-o-sphere or, as I think of it, the Great Plains of Social Networking. My list could be created out of a set of icons. I learned about tweets and twits, facials on a book and terms like search engine optimization. In my day, people would talk about “hooking up”…now you get linked in. It takes a lot of time just to try and keep up!

Well, I am not one to look back for too long. I find it much more adventageous to look forward. In doing so, here are my nine for 09′:

1. Go slow! I want to focus on recipes that rely on the art of slow food.
2. Acquire a copy of “1001 Foods You Must Taste Before You Die” and start checking items off the list.
3. Visit and tour three farms in Delaware.
4. Create how-to-videos to post on Well Spiced Life. (send me ideas/requests!)
5. Take a winery tour in Virginia on the Eastern Shore by kayak.
6. Incorporate recipes for diabetic and gluten-free diets into my toolbox.
7. Research, save and find a buddy to go in on a share of a CSA.
8. Go South to get a fix. As in a fix of real BBQ and ribs.
9. Work on an outrageously delicious recipe for a duck meatball.

Ok, that is it for me. How are you going to spice up 2009? What is on your list?

Comfort, ease, efficiency and economy are wonderful things in most cases, but their effect on cooking has been devastating.
~ Russ Parsons

How to Pick a Peach, The Search for Flavor from Farm to Table

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