Today is warmer than usual for this time of year. It is 44˚. The breeze is slight. The sky is a light blue. It is a pretty day.

I need to put Christmas away, but I’m reluctant to take down the trees. They bathe the living room in a cozy light. I like to sit there. Without the trees, the living room is dark, the furniture silhouettes. I never sit there.

My sister Moe can always be counted on to give me a new book every Christmas, and I swear every book every year was written by James Patterson and his co-authors, too many to name. I finished this year’s book last night.

I am at critical for laundry, down to one pair of underwear. I also need to change my bed. Those are my chores for the day should I decide to be industrious.

For some reason, my muse has deserted me. I’m watching Lost in Space, the remake, and ignoring the blank computer screen. I’m almost sorry there are no commercials.

We don’t have parties anymore. When I was younger, my friends and I often got together on a Saturday night. We’d have a few drinks and socialize and maybe even go out for dinner. I don’t know when that stopped. It was long before I retired. Now it’s movies in the summer and dinners in the winter. My guest list is never long and neither is the evening.

I have favorite places. Boston tops my list. I have loved that city since I was young. I was twelve or thirteen when I could go to Boston with my friends. We’d take the bus from up-town and get off at Sullivan Square to take the T and then we’d roam all over the city.

Ghana is, of course, my second favorite place. I remember stepping out of the plane to the top of the stairs on the tarmac when I arrived the very first time. It was so overwhelming I have never forgotten. The last time I was in Ghana, I stopped again, same spot as always. It is my return ritual.

I don’t know Accra anymore, but I usually know enough to tell the taxi driver where and negotiate a fare to get there. Side note: in Ghana, they are always taxis, never cabs. I find that interesting. Anyway, in Bolga, getting around is easy. It also feels like home.

Portugal is a favorite country of mine. I loved traveling the small roads, seeing the Roman ruins with blue tiles on the floors still being excavated and staying at inns and small hotels. Lisbon is beautiful.

Old Quito is on my favorite’s list as is Marrakesh. I’d go back the, to Marrakesh, roam the souks some more and eat amazing food. I loved Ougadougou in the old days, the same with Togo and Lome. In Accra, I never felt like a stranger. I knew the city well, but in other Africa countries, I was more of a tourist taking in the sights, visiting the Grand Marchés and going out to dinner for European food at least once.

I like being home in the winter. I can stay in my cozies all day long. The house is warm and quiet. It is, right now, my favorite place.

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