We still have clouds and a damp day though the rain has stopped. It will stay cloudy and in the mid 40’s all day. I have no plans for today.

Yesterday Nala was at her most larcenous. She found a new target, a bookcase in the living room which had been untouched by her. How excited she must have been to find it. First was one sandal which I mentioned yesterday. Next was a ceramic house from Porto, Portugal. I then covered the shelves or so I thought. Nope. She stole houses from Philadelphia so I moved the rocker to in front of the shelves. I had secured the shelves, her original target, but not her new target, the coat rack. The last item was from the coat rack, my Konica camera, one I bought the year I bought this house. It was on the driveway.

The second most memorable New Year’s Eve in my life also happened when I was in the Peace Corps. It was my second and last New Year in Africa. I was on my way back home to Ghana flying from Niger, from Niamey, from the desert and from the camels to Ougadougou, the capital of what was then Upper Volta, now Burkina Faso. I arrived there the morning of New Year’s Eve and stopped at Peace Corps and found an invitation to all volunteers from the ambassador inviting us to his house for dinner. I wore my best dress. It was made of Ghanaian cloth and had two straps, wide colorful straps. Anyway, the ambassador’s guests were wearing gowns and tuxes. We volunteers were not, but we were wearing our fanciest. Circling through the crowd were waiters wearing white gloves pouring champagne or offering hors d’oeuvres. The food table was filled with foods I hadn’t seen in nearly two years. I filled my plate with sweet potatoes, turkey, gravy, stuffing and real mashed potatoes, with squash and carrots. I sat at one of the tables with other volunteers. Their plates were as filled as mine. We ate and we drank champagne. We chatted at dinner. It was a wonderful evening. As we got closer to midnight, the coffee and pastries were served. We’re talking real coffee, brewed coffee and chocolate cake and so much more. We all stood with filled glasses for the countdown from 10 to zero then we toasted and drank for a Happy New Year!! We all yelled and hugged. We sang Auld Lang Syne.

I didn’t know many of those volunteers, but I knew them. We all clicked right away. I think it had to do with us sharing a love of where we were. We hugged a long time that night. That this was our last New Year’s Eve in Africa was on our minds. The New Year felt almost nostalgic. It would be filled with lasts.