Welcome to Next Year, Baby

One of my favorite songs by Jamie Cullum
is Next Year Baby:

Next year, things are gonna change
Gonna drink less beer, and start all over again
Gonna read more books, gonna keep up with the news
Gonna learn how to cook, spend less money on shoes
I’ll pay my bills on time, and file my mail away, everyday
Only drink the finest wine, and call my Gran every Sunday

Resolutions, baby they come and go
Will I do any of these things? The answer's probably no
If there’s one thing I must do, despite my greatest fears
I’m gonna say to you, how I felt all of these years
Next Year
Next Year

I’m gonna tell you how I feel
I‘m gonna tell you how I feel

Resolutions, baby they come and go
Will I do any of these things? The answer's probably no
If there’s one thing I must do, despite my greatest fears
I’m gonna say to you, how I felt all of these years
Next Year
Next Year
***
Food, books, and shoes. This is the second time this has come up today. We were just talking about charities for the neediest people on Earth and how people around the world can use food, books, and shoes to begin living a new life with hope & promise. The thought is profoundly overwhelming to me, as I often worry about any effort being the proverbial drop in the bucket. Thanks to Jane & Rachel, I learned about the following charities. Not to sound like Eddy Monsoon, but last year was the Year of the Shoe for me, and I would now be thrilled to buy shoes for African schoolgirls (or food or books or whatever I can).
The Hunger Site
Heifer International
Each New Year, I need to recalibrate and tweak some things to get my life into better balance. I don't make resolutions, per se, but every year I do vow to read more books, and this year is no different. I don't watch much TV, but I can fritter away time online like nobody's business, and, although it's entertaining and sometimes necessary escapism, when I look at the stack on my nightstand, I feel pangs of guilt b/c there are many, many great books waiting for me to crack them.
I've also got a slew of cookbooks, and Christmas brought me a few more, including the awesome Caramel by Trish Deseine. Last night, I used this book for the first time, making caramel sauce, which we poured hot over vanilla ice cream and ate before midnight. This morning, I used the rest of the caramel sauce for breakfast -- a sugar-jolt kick-start to 2007. I sliced up golden apples and bananas, fried them in butter, made pancakes and topped them w/the fruit and caramel.
Troy and I used to sometimes go to Bechelli's in San Francisco for their wonderful banana pancakes, and all these years later, I still love making them for us. With the addition of the caramel, the banana pancakes were kind of Bananas-Fostery, and the apple version a sublime culinary nod to Normandy, an American twist on the incredible edible salted-butter caramel crepe. Both were delicious, and must join my repertoire.
But getting back to the song up there, it's a nice feeling to think we have a clean slate and a chance to start all over again. None of us knows what the new year will bring, and personally, I'm hoping for a smooth, quiet ride. There are friends for whom I cross my fingers, and I hope 2007 shows them what they desire & deserve, with contentment to all, in whatever form it's delivered.
Happy New Year.