A More Productive 2016

Snow in the mountain





Beirut is grey, cold and drizzly. Not a pretty sight, but a good beginning of the new year. It is becoming a bit of a tradition; a large storm at the beginning of each new year.  We got some snow in the mountains, but it wasn’t cold enough to last. It was lovely though, sitting in front of the fire place, watching the snow flakes fall. And as warm as my mountain house is, my Beirut apartment is the opposite.



Most Beirut houses are – in general – not build for the cold; aluminum window frames, single sheets of glass, and walls of single cinder blocks. I’m on the roof, to top it off, so no cover either. Wind coming in from all sides, lovely in summer, icy cold right now. 

Birch trees



My house does not even have central heating. It may have had at some point in time, but northing is left of it.  You can install AC’s, and use the heating function, but it is annoying to have the humming sound all day, and the moment the electricity cuts, your heat is gone. But I am not complaining. I’ve got electricity, bought two electrical heaters, and will deal with the electricity bill when it gets here.



I have made no new year’s resolution, but I have decided to make a greater effort at blogging. Last year was probably my lowest year ever, and I did not even notice I had passed my silver blogging anniversary (February 2005).  And although the home, family and friends situation is all good, my work has been strenuous and not very inspiring, which seems to have affected my productiveness as a blogger. 



Umbrella pines



But a change is going to come in that department, and I have – after the ‘100 Happy Days’ challenge, decided to undertake the ‘365 Grateful’ project on Instagram, so all in all, I am promising more posts in 2016.