I have the next two days off; errands down the canyon are slotted for tomorrow and Thursday some major cleaning in the APT is in order and possibly even laundry. These are quite exciting plans to kick off the new year.

This is the time for resolutions, but I've never been one to make such demands on myself (at least not at New Year's; no doubt Tonia will remember "The Semester of Self-Improvement"). But, like most Americans at this time, I can't help to think about my weight.

Let's be frank, folks: I've packed it on for winter. With all this extra poundage you'd think I wasn't coming out the den till April.

I don't care whether or not I have a washboard stomach. This isn't about appearance; it's about health. Granted, I'm not morbidly obese.

Mostly I worry about diabetes, since it runs in the family. That and when the snow melts, I don't want to be waddling up the mountains like a fat tourist only to have to turn around after a few hundred feet wheezing my way back to the trailhead.

I'm considering taking up snowshoeing for the winter months. It's good exercise and it'd get me outdoors. The only problem is the equipment. I can get snowshoes from the Y for free, but I'd need some good winter clothes in order to brave the elements.

And that means I would have to spend some money. And I don't have much to spend.

It all goes to food....