Thursday, January 1, 2009

Happy New Year

I love this time of year. I actually think I like New Year's more than I do Christmas in many ways. No stress, nothing to do, no expectations. I like taking down all of the Christmas decorations, packing them away, cleaning the house and generally getting a fresh start.

The weather has finally turned cold, but last week we had a couple of perfect winter days: Temperatures in the 50's, clear blue skies, light breezes. Everything looks so-- clean. The yard and gardens, the trees and plants all stripped bare of leaves... there's something about the light coming in at a low angle and making the shadows interesting and long. As much as I love the idea of the tropics, I would miss this if I were somewhere that never really got cold.

BikerDude has today off, too, so he's downstairs getting the woodstove going. We had a pretty tame New Year's-- a glass of champagne at midnight, watch the ball drop in Times Square and go to bed. He was going to shoot off some of his totally illegal fireworks, but with the high wind last night he decided that probably wasn't a great idea. Having to explain yourself to the police and the fire department is just not a good way to start things off.

It's going to be an interesting year. This is more than just a new administration. This feels different. I think we are at one of those Moments In History where the country shifts gears. The new leadership has come not a moment too soon-- after several years of false prosperity and eight years with an absolute vacuum of leadership, I think our country is ready to rethink a lot, and thank God we've had the wisdom to put someone into office who can lead us in a responsible way.

May you live in interesting times, indeed.

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