Chance = Change

Yikes! And so, for the first time in over a quarter of a decade,the City has shut down in all areas transportationally, and thousands and thousands of New Yorkers are walking to work!!! In 20 degree weather! If not walking, then biking, sharing cars (4 to a car is the rule by law) or cabs, or special vans,etc....The Transit Workers Union sent its people out on strike two days ago and, even though it is unsupported by its parent TWU, the City subways and busses are dead as the proverbial doornails...though it is officially against the law, this strike has taken hold and is effective: it is crippling the city, though New Yorkers are so damned stalwart and determined, I have a feeling a lot of business will continue as usual...do not tell a New Yorker they cannot have what they want: so...the strikers will stick to their demands, and the ordinary citizen will stick to what they need to do! The City will roll on , or rather walk on...and life will continue...inconveniently, perhaps, but on it will go! God Bless all concerned....people are so mad at each other....lots of folks think the Transit Workers Union is being selfish and bad...others think their demands are reasonable...SInce,as usual,I do not know all the facts or histories involved, I reserve judgement...

Peter took a day at home yesterday,since getting down to Wall Street (where he is currently earning money) seemed a dicey proposition at best...today he has struck out walking hoping someone will pick him up along the way....from our home down to lower Manhattan is a great walk in the Spring or Summer,but in this cold? I do not wish to lose an adored husband to frost bite! At least the sun is shining brightly through the utter chill. New Yorkers are so strong and good.

We bought the most beautiful Christmas Tree last night...after spending a good part of the day clearing away space for it to live while it is with us...in so doing, we completely transformed the living room space and this is good...opened it up...and once the tree is gone, we shall have ever so much more room...the great thing about visitors and holidays is that one is forced to clean house and throw stuff away! You always say you are going to and never do ..but if "they" are coming soon, and a Holiday approcahed, you really have to get down to it...especially, if a new thing like a 10 foot tall tree is coming to visit!!! And we put lights on it and we hung our large collection of ornaments on it, and low and behold: a beautiful thing is now standing next to my desk, aromatic and comforting. Cyrano,our boy doggie, has found a snuggly place beneath it...I may have to put the wrapped gifts gently around the spot he has made for himself..put a pretty ribbon around his handsome furry neck...Sally stays stubbornly in her sofa spot and will not venture under any new trees...no way, not her! I made a near-perfect loaf of bread last night, and plan to bake cookies today....EVALYN BARON: DOMESTIC GODDESS!!! I love having this time to do that sort of stuff...My darling Ann J. in Abingdon is a genius at all this stuff, and seems to do it all so effortlessly, though I no whow hard she works at all she does....everytime i make some place in our home look pretty, i think of her...Ann: you will love the new purple Guest/Meditation Room...I found the most wonderful curtains....and we will finish it off just in time for the arrival of Peter's folks, who arrive tomorrow. YAY!

So, the Holiday moves onward apace, and before we know it, it will not be 2005 anymore,....impossible to quite grasp how quickly this year has gone by...like magic.
We lost our dearest Alice W.,and Paul's Mom...Peter got to sing with Reba M. and meet a few industry folks he could otherwise not have met, if we were not here...I learned there is a wide world out there...(soon I will write about the most intriguing meeting I had Monday at the famed Stella Adler Studio, with Cynthis Adler Tom Oppenheim, and Carlos Coldat, all of whom so deeply impressed me with their warmth and heart and mind. I love leaving meetings with titles of books to read by authors new to me!!). Suffice it to say: I am discovering a wider world than I had expected on our return here...for some reason, I thought I'd be falling back into the same ruts and patterns I was in before we left for Abingdon...how naive of me...maybe that's why it felt so wrong to come home: I already knew I had outgrown my old life here...well, little did I know (or trust) that there are horizons and horizons to travel toward in a City like this...of course it was that way when I was younger...so much new to discover when young...but as I've gotten older, I must admit I had allowed myself to get into a space of "Been there, done that"...and now, thank God, I have been proven wrong: there are vistas far more exciting and satisfying than I ever imagined...all one has to do is be brave and stay open to the new....stay hungry for it.

So, 2005 has been that for me: new horizons...for that i am grateful. Well, heck: for so much ...I am grateful for so very much.

Not the least of which: you ,dear friends and readers.