The year is &8216;slip-sliding away&8217; and there are a few things you should consider.

If you received gifts during the holiday season, I do hope they were of the non-commercial variety.

You know&8230;hand made, hand painted, hand written, sung to, spoken, etc.?

However, if your gifts were of the commercial type, please think twice before returning the ones that you don&8217;t care for.

If you received a gift that just doesn&8217;t fit your lifestyle, personality or body; consider the following thought:

If you would spend more time with the person that gifted you, perhaps that person would get to know you better and understand you a little better.

The gift might be a way for a friend to reach out to you as if to say, &8220;Please be my friend.&8221;

The old clich/ is: &8220;It&8217;s the thought that counts.&8221;

The rest of the paragraph is almost never spoken&8230;&8220;the thought lies, not only with the giver, but also with the receiver.&8221;

Keep the gift as a reminder for the New Year to be good to the people who have been good to you.

With the days getting longer now, it&8217;s easy to stay motivated in the garden.

I&8217;m counting the days until Groundhog Day collecting the last of the seeds from the faded plants in the garden.

I think I&8217;ll clean and sharpen my gardening tools in between football games this week and that should keep my hands busy enough to keep the rest of me out of trouble!

I&8217;ll be back next week with more gardening tips for 2007.

Happy New Year everybody!

For more on these and other gardening tips log on to Home Grown Tomatoes at http://HGTradio.net