A NEW YEAR - A NEW BEGINNING

Good morning, everyone. This is the first day of a new year, the first day of the rest of our lives, the year and the day of new beginnings. Today I will read no enews, no newspaper, watch no TV news, all of which is bad and depressing. I will post no bad news. Today I will have peace and tranquillity in my home, review my joys and blessings and (try) to cultivate hope for our futures.

Today I welcome you into my home for a virtual cup of coffee or which beverage you prefer at the hour you read this.

It is a bright, warm, sunny day in Houston, Texas, a glorious day. Out my 7th story apartment window I see a still green lawn, landscaping trees bereft of their summer foliage, although a few manage to cling to yellow leaves, and the dark green clumps of the oleanders. On the sidewalk below I see a sporadic ant trail of my fellow elderly residents strolling or rolling towards the shopping strip mall a few blocks away. I do not need a thermometer to determine the temperature outside; I just note the attire of my neighbors as they venture forth. Old people get cold easily so if they are bundled up, I know it is chilly.

The sky is a clear blue spotted with a few white, puffy clouds. Hobby Airport is busy today. I watch planes landing and taking off in the distance and hear the roar of their engines. Now and then a plane will make an approach over our building and the roar is deafening, but that is rare. I enjoy watching the planes, wondering where they have come from and where they are going. I imagine the people inside, and wistfully remember my own traveling days. I loved to travel, loved to fly, and never feared even when the plane would encounter rough weather.

Close at hand, the view of the strip malls isn't inspiring, but the forest of treetops over the residential neighborhoods is lovely. At night, however, the strip malls are changed into a multicolored panorama of jeweled lights, the airport lights punctuate the horizon and the small lights from the arriving-departing planes are like moving stars. I spend quiet time occasionally sitting in my rocker and admiring the night view.

My apartment is miniscule by my standards. It is not much larger than the living room at my home. Previous home, that I sold when I moved in here. But it suffices for one old lady and a cat. At present, there are three more cats in temporary residence while I babysit my youngest daughter's pets until her apartment renovations are completed and she can occupy it. Four cats in this tiny apartment are an experience.

Inside, it is quiet and peaceful. The cats are asleep; one is stretched out on the double window sill basking in the sun. The plants in my window side jungle are basking also. I love plants and the small garden at my window takes the place of the extensive gardens at my previous home. My back yard, patio and gardens were so lovely that a number of outdoor weddings were held there. Here I have plants scattered throughout the apartment where ever they may survive, but most are by the windows.

I forsake draperies for plants at my windows. Privacy is not a factor on the 7th floor, and anyway,
there are blinds. Draperies must be dry cleaned; a quick spritz in the shower cleans and refreshes the plants. There are three hanging baskets; one on each end of the double windows and one in the middle: two baskets of golden pothos and one spider (or airplane) plant.

Two small tables under the windows hold books and objets d'art. A hibiscus bush and a pot of aloe vera sit atop the tables. On the floor stand a small areca palm and a 4 1/2' massengea ("corn") plant. A grouping of geological specimens sit between the floor plants, including a "desert flower" from the Sahara, a slab of iron ore partially covered with oyster shells from the coast of w. Australia, and a chunk of what is alleged to be a piece of meteorite but I think is a volcanic bomb. Around these are strategically placed statuettes of an elephant, a tiger, and a giraffe, completing my jungle.

At the end of the windows is a small table covered with a table top fountain, surounded with ivies and sansevera. Nestled amid the ivies is a statuette of an Indonesian goddess from Bali. The rest of that wall is taken up with 2 etageres filled with books, family photos and small objets d'art. At the other end of the windows is the dividing wall between the living room and bedroom. Against it is the entertainment center containing the usual TV, DVD and VCR, stacks of videos and dvds. There are ivies atop the center, a lamp and a handcarved Indonesian puppet. Small art objects are placed on the shelves in front of the vids and dvds.

That's about all you'll see when sitting on the love seat, sipping your coffee. Except, ofcourse, the coffee table, one of my favored acquisitions. Husband commissioned it when in Bali. It is exquisitely hand carved from teakwood in intricate detail and protected by a glass tabletop cut to fit.

Sit back, relax and enjoy the peace and quiet. I'll put on some music if you like. I have ecletic tastes so have cds of everything from opera to country and western and everything in between. Even some foreign music, but some of that is an acquired taste. You are welcomed.