Happy New Year!

A quiet day around here - PH had no clients and I did not have any particular responsibilities. I did some exercising (weights) and reading the newspaper and doing Sudoku and the crossword, then went out for a nice long walk with PH in the freezing rain. On such a day, PolarTec is a good thing. So is a delightful conversationalist as a walking companion.

A bit of cooking: spiced nuts (a legal and very satisfying treat) and apple-cranberry chutney, to accompany chicken and pork and other such things later in the week. Time spent reading and relaxing.

Dinner around here will be broiled lobster tails, baked asparagus with olive oil and parmegiano, a green salad with beets and oranges and red onions, and some sort of rice pilaf. Champagne, of course, since it is New Years' Eve. We will not go out - we are not big-crowd people and this night brings out the less pleasant aspects of some folks - but will stay cocooned in the house, watching "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button," assuming we can stay awake that long.

If we are still awake at midnight, we will say "rabbit, rabbit," as my children tell me we must do for luck, share a kiss, and then sleep soundly. Goodbye, 2009. It was a year with many blessings and many challenges. No reason to think that 2010 will be any different, and that's just fine with me.

Happy New Year! May your year be full of the sweetness and piquancy that makes life rich.