My "title line" should be "Happy New Year's", shouldn't it? And, as I'm sure you all know....I do wish you all a VERY Happy New Year. But, and I hate to admit this, I tend to be a 'stick in the mud' at New Year's...always have been. Poor Mr Z likes to party hearty but he doesn't push me. I'm so 'blah' on this night that, when still single, a friend of mine called and said she and her husband weren't doing anything special and would I like to come over? I told her I would but wasn't dressed very festively for New Year's; in fact I had on a grey sweatshirt and sweatpants. I walked into their home 10 minutes later with a fresh layer of lipstick and a 30" strand of pearls over my sweatshirt. "I'm ready! Let's party!" We played Trivial Pursuit. My idea of a New Year's Eve!
The photo above tells it best for me, particularly this New Year's Eve. I'll be pensive, I think I'll take a walk by myself in the afternoon, maybe on that jetty in the picture.....maybe watch the sun as it sets on the ocean and on 2008.
I'll be thinking about America and what's happened to her, and if we'll escape islamist terror again this year on our shores, and hoping my family and friends remain healthy, and the economy, and what obama will be like as he leads America. And I'll try to remember the many blessings in spite of these worries.
I'll remember Jesus Christ (Hebrews 13: 8 "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever." forever) and how important forgiveness is because that's been greatly on my mind especially the last few days and because I've decided it's the most important thing. Next to Him. I'll think of wonderful friends in 'real life' and you wonderful people I have had the great pleasure to get to 'know' through blogging. Reading the blogs gives me hope; your good values and good character are conservative qualities which remind me that all is not lost. I'll be hoping that everyone who's typing New Year's blogs will be doing this next year, too. And I'll be praying hard that things will have gone better in 2009 than they have in 2008. I'm not depressed, just realistic.
And very hopeful. Because of my faith; not because of much else, I have to admit. Thank you, God. What would we do without you? That's another thing, come to think of it: What would America be without God? I don't want to know.
Happy New Year, everyone. Sorry to be so pensive and to be uncharacteristically open about it. But, that's my heart and mind today. That's my blog today.
God bless you all. And, God, PLEASE BLESS AMERICA.
Mr. Z sends his warmest New Year greetings, too. And, yes, while we will have two good friends over tonight and we'll have some special food and drink, it'll be quiet, and Mr. Z wonders if any of you have a great party you can invite him to!!
z (the photo's by Mr. Z)
45 comments:
Hey, have a glass of champagne w/ Mr. Z... it won't kill you! ;-)
Happy New Year!
I used to celebrate New Year's Eve in a most festive manner. I don't anymore. In fact, sometimes I'm fast asleep by midnight.
2008 has been a year of misery for this household. I'll be glad to see the calendar turn over. Nonetheless, I'm not all that hopeful about 2009.
How's that for being negatively pensive?
Great thoughts, Z! Tell Mr.Z he can come to our party, but, we don't do much either. I seem to be all partied out after Christmas and have nothing left for New Year's Eve.
We must continue to blog, blog, blog and pray, pray,pray for our great nation.
Z, Thanks for sharing that post with us. I thought it would be good and it was.
I have come to the conclusion that reflecting on the past year as the new one approaches is probably not a bad way to spend New Years Eve.
I think it gives us the ability to continue to hold on to that one virtue that I believe keeps this country moving forward inspite of all the difficulties and set backs we experience, and that is HOPE.
We hope for better in every sense of the word and it is with this hope that our Faith is increased by stretching out just a little bit furhter on what we believe, and finally with our Hope and Faith yet intact our capacity to Love even the unloveable has survived yet another year.
And for all this we say "Thank You God" because without Him we would indeed be 'men most miserable.'
Happy New Year Everyone.
Blessings.
no party here but I am going to the Insight Bowl.
Happy New Year from NYC!:)
I'm a bit like that too Z, but Happy new year to you and your readers anyway. May it be a better year for us conservatives.
I'll probably be asleep before midnight, typical for me. But Happy 2009 to all here anyway.
Even if it's another rotten year there's no reason we can't be happy through it. God shows His power best when we are weakest, as you know.
Happy New Year ....MY Friend
FJ...We will definitely have a good meal and probably some champagne (or Cosmopolitans!)...with a couple of good friends who live nearby.
I didn't mean to make it sound like GLOOM AND DOOM...just PENSIVE....just mindful of all the important things people here have commented on.
Thanks, everybody. Happy New Year.
FJ..Gotcha! You, too!
Always...I'm sorry about this last year and I know you're with me about 2009...we just must remain hopeful!!
JM....have a great time, anyway! Yes, BLOG and PRAY. But, we HAVE to do more and Z has her thinking cap on!
I.H.S...thank you so much. You're a great new blessing to my site, I'm so glad we 'met'. Happy New Year to you and Mrs. I.H.S., too.
MK and ANgel..thanks! Something I guess I didn't impart in my blog was WE MUST REMAIN HOPEFUL!!
CJ..right...beautiful addition about God, thanks so much.
Dude...same to you!
And Elbro...INSIGHT BOWL.
You win!! GREAT line!
Dear Z,
I understand perfectly the need to be contemplative on New Year's Eve. For me it's always been an acute reminder of the passage of time and the brevity of this life in the light of Eternity.
At the same time I appreciate Mr. Z's eagerness to greet the New Year with CELEBRATION and CONFIDENCE.
I think we need both approaches. They should not be irreconcilable.
John Adams felt this dichotomy about the Fourth of July. He felt (quite rightly) that it should begin with a reverent service of Praise and Thanksgiving to Almighty God, and then progress to feasting, bonfires, cannonades and displays of celestial rockets.
Either way you spend the time, however, it should be a CELEBRATION, because another year gives us another opportunity to enjoy one another, learn to understand one another better, and of course, do what we can to make this a better world.
So, let's all strive to make 2009 a truly HAPPY NEW YEAR!
~ FreeThinke
To a Glad New Year
Toot the trumpets ~ strike the strings and sing!
On your feet ~ step lively in the dance!
Age and Youth alike are on the wing
Going forward: Time moves like a lance
Let loose by some celestial super strength
Amidst the muck and mire of our dozing
Driving us, reminding that life’s length
Never gives us room for much reposing.
Esurient? Appease the appetites
Which feed the soul. The body, gross and vile,
Yields but sickly transient delights ~
Evoking ennui with a knowing smile.
Awake! A blessed New Year is at hand!
Resolve to love and give without demand!
~ FreeThinke
Thank you, FT.
I'll not be depressed, as my blog said, but I will be PENSIVE, that's all...always am on this night.
Thanks for the cheerful wishes.
Happy New Year!
And God bless you!
We will be going out to the Elks Lodge with a group which includes family and friends.
We ring in the New Year every year if we can, with dinner, dancing, noise and good company.
It's an excuse to party, and we do. I can't imagine not dancing the night away, and holding hands with others, while singing Auld Lang Syne, then kisses all around.
The last home party we had for the New Year was to welcome in 2000. The new millenium. Even then, so many were unwilling to be on the road it was not what I had hoped.
For me, I have the next day and the whole year ahead to reflect. On New Year's Eve, we put all that aside and celebrate, and have fun.
Sometimes in troublesome times the best thing to do, is lighten our hearts and enjoy the moment. To remember how joy feels, and dancing with your loved one is just too good to pass up.
So, in the spirit of looking ahead, and hope for the coming year, I raise my glass to you all, and wish you A Happy and healthy New Year!!
Love, Pris
http://www.mullings.com/
Read Rich Galen's take on 2008..politically. It helps!
Thanks, Pris!
We're all different, that's for sure! I've NEVER enjoyed this night and I probably never will!
But, I'll celebrate my relationship with my dear Mr. Z (and my dear family) and with YOU and the others here, and especially all my friends in 'real life' (which you have become, thankfully, so good to have you at our Christmas party!), and I do remain hopeful for 2009.
I envy your dancing all night (as you know, Mr. Z and I just did on Dec 20th!) and having that kind of fun........I'm just never in the mood tonight. Plus, there isn't anything nearby which sounds anywhere near like what you're describing. That does sound fun! ENJOY!!
Happy New Year to you as well, and again thanks for your relentless support of America. How we so need it.
BZ
Hi Z. You and Mr. Z have had your share of tripping the light fantastic this year, for sure. I do respect the way you feel about the New Year.
I'd like to take this opportunity to thank you Z, for providing this forum which has added so much to our opportunity to express our views. A big plus, for sure.
May the New Year bring you even more success with GEEEZ!, and bring more nice folks here to share with the rest of us.
I wish for you and Mr. Z, in the year ahead, continued success and happiness. You deserve it my friends.
Happy New Year to you both!
Love, Pris
I totally love Bloviating Zeppelin's miserable wet cat picture. That's SO how I feel about 2008 and it makes me laugh.
Pris, thanks SO MUCH. I love the great commenters..the good discussions...I hope that continues!
CJ....if you love BZ's cat (?) you'll love his blog on the Israel/Hamas situation...check it out!!
I' m like you !
I go to sleep at 9.00!
Plan to hit the champagne tho!
Hi, Fras! We took out 2 bottles..just in case! heh heh!!
Mostly, it's COSMPOLITANS though.
quiet New Year's, but delicious!
happy new year mr. and mrs. z!!!
PhoenixFire is working tonight...so it will be even quieter...pensive and contemplative are good...helps to get our minds prioritized for the coming year. Also helps clear the decks for the new challenges we will face.
Have a Very Blessed New Year!
tmw
Having an anniversary celebration w/husband and offspring ..early...then quiet with a fire and a book...
Tomorrow-up early to do chores then to watch the out-door hockey game in Chicago..my Red Wings vs Black Hawks...10 AM PT...
Have a Very Happy New Year- Z and family...
My hubby is always asleep by midnight. I wake him for a kiss and we usually go to bed...
This new year's, I'm ringing in the year at work.
Happy New Year, Z.
Be happy... There's plenty of time to be pensive the rest of the year. ;)
Thanks, Carol, thanks, Pat!
Brooke...I'm being pensive TONIGHT and HAPPY the rest of the year! HOW's THAT?! (Smile) Same to you, kiddo.
BROOKE SAID THE FUNNIEST THING AT HER BLOG..(which you should check regularly if you're not)..
She mentioned how the Clintons have been chosen to drop the ball tonight...and that she couldn't have put it better herself! THAT is HILARIOUS!
TMW! HAPPY NEW YEAR, dear friend! Yes, we'll have challenges..OY!
EVERYBODY: I'm having a heck of a time with my computer the last few days. it's all my nerves can take negotiating the incredible slowness on this blog let alone getting around to wishing all my buddies a very happy new year. It would take hours and hours...and put me in a BELVIEW!!!
I'm so sorry....we're hoping to get a Geek in here by Monday.
I miss your blogs........see you then.
New York Philharmonic's New Year's Gala Concert in fifteen minutes.
Would prefer it to be The Vienna Philharmonic at the beautiful Golden Hall of the Musikverein, or The Vienna State Opera's production of Die Fledermaus, as we used to have every year for a long time, but the NY Phil is no slouch even if Avery Fisher Hall is an undistinguished piece of architecture.
See ya!
HAPPY NEW YEAR!
~ FT
We can't do without the New Year's Day concert from Vienna...the dance is breathtaking!
Even if we DO have to sit through Walter Cronkite. GRRRR!!
Enjoy your concert, FT! Have a sip of champagne for me..it's early here!!
The one thing the left can never do is dethrone God. He will triumph in the end.
Well, maybe this coming year won't be as bad as it looks to be. We can hope, anyway. At the very least, it means four days off from work and that can't be bad!
My best wishes to Mr. & Mrs. Z for a very Happy New Year.
Mr.and Ms. Z,
I just watched the entire series The War, by Ken Burns. It gave me an appreciation for being an American. We owe our freedom to those who fought for it. Enjoy the holiday and don't forget those who fought to make us free. Happy New Year.
Compared to previous years, this
one is going to be a relatively quiet celebration at our house.
Good riddance to 2008.
May 2009 be kinder to us all.
Ring out, wild bells,
to the wild sky,
The flying cloud,
the frosty light:
The year is dying
in the night:
Ring out, wild bells,
and let him die.
~ Alfred, Lord Tennyson
Happy New Year, Everyone!
~ FreeThinke
Happy New Year Z and Mr. Z!
Happy New Year, Z! Be well in 2009!
Happy New Year to you and Mr. Z! We are quiet here - steak for dinner and champagne for me, Makers Mark for Husband. We always stay in for New Years.
Happy New Year to you and Mr Z!!
Blessings to all in 2009.
Happy New Year and thank you SO MUCH for coming by...it means the world to me and Mr Z
We actually DID have a lovely evening with our friends after all..amazing food and 'beverages'!
God bless us and keep us all...
Thanks again, xx Z
2010; I'm looking at this post and amazed; who knew Mr. Z wouldn't be around for the next new year's eve. Maybe sometimes in me knew, tho I've never really been fond of that night.
hmmmmmm
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