It turns out I’m not the only one. My cats have found a new window in the house they like to visit. It faces the south. Each morning, they run to it no matter what’s in front of it and jump onto the radiator in front of it and wait for us to open the blind. They’ll sit there until we do that, willing to take just the little bit of light that is seeping through the shades. They’re also soaking up the heat from the radiator, I know them well enough to realize that.

Here is a photo of Bambi at the window on Saturday morning January 9. Bambi is about four and has lived with us most of her life. She was a stray and very young when she found us…weeks old, I think. She is so skittish she cannot be held. I think she was born that way and that she ran away from home when she was nearly an infant because she’s a little bit nuts. We are used to the fact that we can’t hold her, in fact, I forget about it from time to time, unless I want to take her to the vet’s for boarding.

When I say skittish and that you can’t hold her, I mean it. She becomes this insane whirling dervish that you can’t control. Hair and nails go flying. It’s impossible to hang on to her. It’s a scene you don’t want to be a part of.

Bambi does love other cats; she follows Toasty, my 17-year-old around the house constantly and cries when she can’t find her. She also adores Henry, the big red male cat but he is not really a cuddler of other felines. He prefers to be revered by humans, which works well in his favor.

So I was happy to see Bambi enjoying the sunlight on this January morning. She denies herself the pleasures of being adulated by her owners, so it’s nice that she can indulge herself in this modest way. We all need a little sunlight, especially in winter. I’m glad she realizes that at least.

When I first saw all of these trees en masse, I stopped abruptly. It struck me as sort of a morbid scene. Tree corpses cast out onto the sidewalk.

But the closer I got I realized how lovely these trees still were. The pine scent was still so fragrant. It was like being in a forest…sort of, except all of the trees were lying down. Some still had their decorations on them. I started to dig to see if I could salvage some but then I realized I was late to work…and that I had enough Christmas stuff at home, and so I was on my way. I am hoping they do something good with these trees, recycle them somehow…they really were beautiful and they must have been glorious inside these New York apartments.

Brewster reservoir

That’s when I remembered that I’d grown up with all of this beautiful, natural water around me. I now live on Long Island, which is a fairly congested area. There isn’t much free space. I like Long Island quite a bit and wouldn’t move back to the Brewster area; I’d miss the shopping, the energy and close proximity to the city if I left. Brewster for me was a bit too far from…everywhere, basically. Thank goodness we had that train station running through it to get to Manhattan.

But still, I did think it was very beautiful yesterday, especially when I saw the snow falling on the woods and the reservoirs….now that’s a good memory worth revisiting.

Being that it’s December 31, I can’t help but think of all those people lining up in Times Square, in the snow. I believe they need to be there right around now (2pm or so) and that they won’t be able to move out of the area, even to go to the bathroom, until after the ball drops.

Some say that is a once in a lifetime experience but I say so are a lot of other traumatic events…why subject yourself?

For us, New Year’s Eve means staying in and enjoying champagne and appetizers in front of the fireplace…what’s better than that?

Vdara was the first hotel to open at CityCenter. I was fortunate to be one of the first members of the media in to tour the hotel when it debuted on December 1. This hotel is quieter than Aria, the larger, more splashy and opulent gaming sister hotel to Vdara, which has no casino and a no-smoking policy. All of Vdara’s rooms are suites; I was quite taken with the spa, which seemed to be extremely tranquil.

If you start to feeling the hotel is too quiet you can always use the walkway to get to the Bellagio, and Aria, of course, is right next door. Just a little further away is the Mandarin Oriental, which opened at CityCenter, just days after Vdara (I was there, here’s my post).

All in all, I think Vdara would be an excellent hotel for women business travelers. The service is very attentive and it’s away from some of the more frolicking Vegas fun. Not that women business travelers don’t enjoy this, too, but this lets them get away into a very civilized environment.

As for that spa: Vdara Health & Beauty is an 18,000-square-foot, two-level spa, salon and fitness center that “celebrates the calming power of water. The spa presents a thoughtfully orchestrated journey, personalized to maximize each guest’s experience.”

The spa is also committed to being a part of the is the Green Spa Network and only works with retail partners that share its concern for the environment. It uses organic or wild-crafted, paraben-free products; the use of a recycling program and recycled paper for spa materials; and natural nail services using a vegan treatment line.

Vdara Health & Beauty’s personalized service is available to everyone, not just those staying at the hotel.

Pricing for a traditional massage is $130 for 60 minutes. A Head-to-toe Salon escape lasts for four hours and costs $295. It includes a manicure, pedicure, hair blowout, make-up application and champagne.

For spa and salon reservations call (866) 391-7111 or (702) 590-2030 or visit www.vdara.com. Daily hours of operation for the spa and fitness center are 6 a.m. – 8 p.m. and 9 a.m. – 7 p.m. for the salon and Champagne Bar.

Here are a few more photos of my walk-through of Vdara:

Corner suite bathroom

Vdara corner suite bathtub

Vdara corner suite bedroom