In September, Hammock Publishing made a pledge to help the folks at Louisiana Cookin’, a New Orleans-based magazine heavily impacted by Hurricane Katrina. One of our efforts to help culminated in a CD of all the magazine’s mouth-watering recipes from 2005. New subscribers receive the CD as a bonus with their first issue.
And what a bonus. Louisiana Cookin‘s crawfish jambalaya, creole pralines and zydeco grit cakes will make you say goodbye New Year’s resolutions and hello Mardi Gras!
It comes quickly. Here we are just 24 days into the new year and already were supposed to be depressedreally depressed. According to a British psychologist, Jan. 24 is the most depressing day of the year. Here in Nashville, we love to sing songs about feeling blue, but some of us around the office dont agree with the British shrink. Were a pretty happy bunch, despite the gray days, freezing nights, and pasty faces. Here are some reasons why Jan. 24 makes us clap our cold hands together:
I love taking walks in the evenings when it’s not to cold but you can still smell the lingering odor of wood burning fireplaces. It reminds me of childhood.
-Patrick R.
This is a great time of the year for doing things like cleaning our barn, cutting dead limbs and clearing fencerows. Mainly because creepie-crawlies are at a minimum, and it’s cold, so you don’t get weary from the heat. It’s also great sleeping weather. I do get depressed when it’s wet and miserable and cabin fever sets in.
-Bill
Because Jan. 27 is my half birthday!!!! It’s a joke, people. I’m not THAT obsessed with my birthday. (Note: the box decorated with balloons next to my desk is for presents).
-Lena
I love wearing sweaters, and since they are dry-clean only, I can wear them a couple of times (at least three) without doing lots of laundry!
-Emily
I am NOT a winter fan. It’s cold and rainy, and there aren’t any fresh tomatoes to be had for months. The only good thing about Jan. 24? Just 23 days til pitchers and catchers report.
-Laura Summer weighs in from Austin, Texas, where it’s 70 degrees today. We have no sympathy:
I love this time of year because the warmth of the sun and the cool bite of a soft breeze make for a perfect afternoon walk with the dogs. January also brings chocolate Italian cream cake to our house. We have several family birthdays in January (a couple on Cole’s side, a couple on mine), so we all get together for a day in Gruene, Texas, for some live music, good food and great conversation. And the leftover cake always makes it back to our house!!! Today is special because ten years ago, we adopted Neyland, our dog. Despite his muddy paws, he is a great way to cure mid-winter depression!
-Barbara
I hate this time of year. Or maybe I’m just down because the bill for my New Year’s trip just came due. But to be a good sport, I love this time of year because it’s movie award season and you know how much I love going to the movies.
-Jamie
I love cold weather in general. But there needs to be sunshine. I don’t care how cold it is, as long as it’s sunny.
-Allison
I love this time of year for its silencethe calm after the storm called Christmastime. And I can start counting down the days to my birthday (only 115 days left!!)
-Megan
I love wearing turtlenecks and eating chili. It just doesn’t taste as good in August.
-Shannon
I like the way the silhouettes of leafless trees looks against a winter sunset.
-Susie
The ancient Babylonians reportedly were the first to start making New Year’s resolutions some 4,000 years ago, with the most popular being to return borrowed farm equipment. Though people all over the world have been breaking their resolutions ever since, some of the Hammock crew decided to give it the ole college try.
Bill: I resolve to take my first rides in a helicopter and on a Jet Ski, and to enter a dance competition. UPDATE: I entered my first (and maybe last) dance competition Jan. 21. Won a few rounds, too, and got some ribbons. Kinda like taking first place in the county fair pickle contest.
Barbara The Production Director: Mine is to use clipless pedals on my bicycle and not to fall with them. So far, I’ve done three rides without falling. Plus I’m cutting back on sweets.
Shannon: To call my grandmothers more often.
Natalie: To stop cursing.
Laura: I normally eschew New Year’s resolutions but last year I tried a couple and they worked out great. So this year I’m going to resolve to choose colors and get my house painted. And hey, while I’m at it, I’ll resolve to keep my house as organized as it is right now, after being at home for a week.
Megan: To get rock-hard tasty abs. (OK, so I got that idea from a Tenacious D song.) Oh, and to finally fix my old clamshell iBook.
Rex: To get rock-hard tasty abs. No, wait. Megan said mine already.
This photo, taken just a few hours ago, is the sales gang of MyBusiness Magazine out for a post-dinner (photos from dinner, here) stroll in our nation’s capitol where we are having a sales meeting. (That faint glow in the background is the White House.) A good time is being had by all. (But I guess that may be obvious.)
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In honor of Benjamin Franklins 300th birthday,American Spirit editor Jamie Roberts baked a cake for us at Hammock to enjoy. We were so eager to celebrate, in fact, that several of us couldnt wait for this photo to be taken before digging in. Which we guess is in keeping with his aphorism, Eat to live, and not live to eat.
In September, Hammock Publishing made a pledge to help the folks at Louisiana Cookin’, a New Orleans-based magazine heavily impacted by Hurricane Katrina. One of our efforts to help culminated in a CD of all the magazine’s mouth-watering recipes from 2005. New subscribers receive the CD as a bonus with their first issue.
Today is special because ten years ago, we adopted Neyland, our dog. Despite his muddy paws, he is a great way to cure mid-winter depression!
