In case you haven't heard, it's friggin' freezing outside. I for one have avoided going outside over the last two days because my delicate constitution can not withstand the harsh conditions. On days like this I wonder why, why, why did my people come to this freezing country? Thankfully today isn't as bad as yesterday being only minus somewhat rather than minus insanity. Susan Hay was on TV yesterday afternoon reporting temperatures of -42!

Anyway I am possibly on the verge of wrapping up this book which goes to print on December 24. Some press guy will be cursing my name when he should be at home getting drunk on peach schnapps or something equally foul. Sorry dude. I don't set the dates.

Last month, when I said I was "done", I meant that I was done designing. There has been plenty of work since then. The sad part is that I haven't had a chance to thoroughly clean up my gardens and have done very little in terms of winter preparation. I did the stuff that was absolutely necessary and left the rest. At this point my plants are basically on their own. I still have two packs of bulbs waiting to go in the ground! It's safe to say that, that won't be happening anytime soon unless I get out there with an ice pick and start chipping at the ground. Thankfully I have special tricks that make up for my negligence.