Normally it feels worthwhile to sit down and reflect upon the events of the past three hundred and sixty five days. And yet, as I've been perusing our photos and journal entries from the past year in preparation for this post, I've been overwhelmed by the task at hand. See, 2013 started off with a bang when we moved to our land in Vermont, and it never really did let up. We've been busy.

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I could write about the foundations we poured, and the road we built, the workshop we hosted, the Norwegian timber frame structure that now stands proudly on our land, and the bicycle touring cookbook that is now published. But I don't really want to. Instead, I want to raise a glass to those I love. I want to express how deeply grateful I am to the many people who have touched our lives this past year.

To all of you who read this website, to all of you who send us really sweet emails and comments, to all of you who supported the release of my cookbook, thank you. To our neighbors, families, and friends, without whom we'd be seriously floundering, thank you.

I also want to take a moment to reflect on the enormity of what can happen in a year's time. Each day's work can feel insignificant, and progress can seem to eek by as slow as cold molasses, but a lot can change in three hundred and sixty five days. If we live "balls to the wall", as my friend Ian says, where will we be this time next year?

I hope that in this year to come, you make mistakes.

Because if you are making mistakes, then you are making new things, trying new things, learning, living, pushing yourself, changing yourself, changing your world. You're doing things you've never done before, and more importantly, you're Doing Something.

So that's my wish for you, and all of us, and my wish for myself. Make New Mistakes. Make glorious, amazing mistakes. Make mistakes nobody's ever made before. Don't freeze, don't stop, don't worry that it isn't good enough, or it isn't perfect, whatever it is: art, or love, or work or family or life.

Whatever it is you're scared of doing, Do it.

Make your mistakes, next year and forever.

Neil Gaiman