After a righteous snow storm last week, our province is insulated by a sparkling, pristine white blanket of snow.  The air is still and crisp, and as I stood in my kitchen with a hot cup of tea, gazing out into the back yard, all that I could think of was, “FAILURE”.

Meet Lexi, the garden cat.  Some people have garden gnomes, but I would hardly be a good Crazy Cat Lady if I scattered the yard with bearded little people instead of dirty old ceramic Persians.

In the summer time, Lexi stands guard over my wandering zucchini and cucumber patch.  In the winter though, Lexi just stares out with those hideously all-seeing eyes and she judges me.

She judges me for the “squirrel proof” bird feeder, which was badly battered by villainous fluffy-tailed vermin, and eventually physically torn off the tree from whence it dangled.  Squirrel proof my arse, I say.   It in no way repelled them, it just made them more creative.  That said, the damage was done in August, and you can see how far I got with repairing the feeder and finding it a new home.

Lexi shakes her head at the tall bush in the back yard which is growing fungus faster than a high school wrestling team.  In the spring time, my Mother cautioned me that the bush was sick and the three or four affected branches needed to be cut off before the disease spread to the rest of the shrub, and eventually to the other plants in the yard.  I really meant to do something about that…..

Lexi has no comment at all for the abandoned plant pots.  Although it has never been said directly, I totally knew that she thought putting okra in pots was a bad idea, and she blames me for the poor yield, most of which withered on the stalks.

What she will hound me for, however, is the unconscionable wasteland of dead tomato plants which were never cleaned in the fall and still stand staked in the ground.

Lexi had a few choice words for me about that one.  Every now and then she’ll just look at me with those unfocused green eyes, and point a regal paw at the frozen tomatoes which are still on the vine.  Nobody does palpable disgust quite like a feline, and Lexi makes her feelings clear.

2010 was a busy and challenging year, with an abundance of joys but an equal number of missed opportunities and things left to slip through the cracks.  In the fall, which I like to think of as the height of wedding planning hell, time was of the essence and we started to neglect this site of ours.  After the wedding, there was a whirlwind of ‘catch up and close out’ at work before the holidays, and then with travel and whatnot…..not a lot of cooking, not a lot of blogging, and a whole new level of neglect for my house plants.

Something has got to give.

I’m not particularly good at making New Years resolutions, but I am a fan of setting goals, creating a plan, and executing the vision as flawlessly as possible.  With that spirit, I wanted to share with you a few of the goals I’m setting for 2011.

1.  Water house plants at least every 2 weeks.  Do not convince self that the suffering will make them stronger.

2.  If self insists on only cleaning bathroom before guests come over, for god’s sake, start inviting over more company because that tub is truly appalling.

3. Work less, sleep more.

4.  Trick Mike into thinking that Bitter Melon is actually cantaloupe, and record his outrage and disgust.

5.  Time is limited, but make every effort to post at least three (3) Choosy Beggars articles a week.

6.  Comments are one of the single greatest joys of running a blog, so let people know how grateful we are.  Respond to comments at least every two days, particularly comments with a question or inquiry.

There you have it.  I have goals for myself and goals for this blog, and hopefully sharing them with you will keep me honest and bring some momentum to kick-start this year.  Because really, Lexi is a little bit terrifying and I’m doing my best to stay on her good side, one task at a time.