New Year's Day 2010

New Year's Day was a lovely day filled with things I love to do.

My first act of the New Year was to write in my journal--I did this not long after midnight.

When I awoke in the morning, I went to La Madeleine Coffeehouse, where I read the first Times-Picayune of the New Year and had coffee au lait and tartines.

Then I rode my bicycle on the Mississippi River Levee bike trail as far as the Huey P. Long Bridge and back.

At 1:30 p.m., David and Alex came over for a New Year meal. They brought hummus, crackers, and cucumbers as an appetizer. Then we had black-eyed peas, rice, brussel sprouts (little cabbages), cornbread, and tossed green salad. For dessert, we had cheese, apples, cherries (from Alex), and dark chocolate. Alex told us about her work as an artist (writer and actor) and a therapist in Baltimore.

After our meal, David and I walked on the Mississippi River Levee at sunset.

Later that evening, I spoke with Merry, and I read a good bit of Karen Armstrong's Through the Narrow Gate: A Memoir of Spiritual Discovery, about Karen Armstrong's life as a nun.

New Year's Day was a great start to the New Year 2010. It included writing, reading, a coffeehouse, healthy food, friends, and exercise. May 2010 be a blessed year!