Dancing Girls

Today a fund raiser for the American Heart Association was held at our local mall. A group of dancing schools in the area put on a performance, with parents and friends donating on behalf of each dancer. There were dozens of performances by dancers of all ages. My eleven and nine year old nieces participated. Here are some of my photos:

First, the little girls:






A little bit older:


Some of the older students:




The two girls in front, looking at each other, are my nieces:


My nieces with a post-performance treat:


My husband and I were there, along with my sister and brother-in-law, and my mother and stepfather, the proud grandparents. After, we all went out to dinner together. It was a nice afternoon.

What I Did While I Was Snowed In

This was the snowy scene from my back porch this week:


A couple of months ago I found an old quilt. Some parts were falling apart, but there were some squares that were intact and had some nice designs on them. So I cut out the designs, which made pieces that are about twelve inches square.


After I had the designs cut apart, I picked out some embroidery thread to accent the colors in each design. Over a period of several weeks, I worked on embroidering around the designs. I thought about framing them. I thought about making pillows out of them. The holidays were busy, so I set them aside for awhile.


This week, I was snowed in for a couple of days. I started looking at my squares again. I decided to begin by making a pillow out of two of the squares. I sewed them together and made a ruffle, then stuffed it with fluff. Here is the pillow I made:






I love the soft, worn feel of these old quilts. It makes a pillow that seems as light and fluffy as a little cloud. There is no modern-day fabric that feels like that.

Why Do I Do This?

I have been thinking about why I keep this blog and what it means to me. It's not possible to put all of my thoughts into a coherent narrative, because they come to me in random bits. So, here are a few of the random bits:

1. I don't do this to make money. That would make it feel too much like work. At this stage in my life (which I would call "late middle age") I have spent enough years trying to please other people in order to get them to give me money. Here, I can write what I want, when I want.

2. I don't do this for recognition. I see awards being passed out, and bloggers campaigning for "blogger of the year" or whatever. Again, at this stage in my life, I am not interested in competition. Those days are behind me.

3. I don't want to specialize. I write whatever is in my mind on a particular day. It doesn't fit into any category. I love reading all kinds of blogs. I have hundreds of blogs on my bookmarks list, and they are quite varied in subject matter. I love the visual blogs that are full of photos: interior design, architecture, art, crafts, photography. I equally love reading blogs with no photos at all: poetry, story telling, personal narratives, day-to-day life, streams of consciousness. In my own blog, though, it could be just about anything on any given day. Some days are mellow and I notice the beauty all around me. Other days I feel like venting.

4. I don't understand all the bells and whistles. I don't know how to make a sidebar. I don't know how to change my template. I don't know how to count hits or keep track of those who visit my blog. I just enjoy each individual as they come along. I would like to be able to add bits from YouTube and create links to other sites, but don't know how. I don't "belong" to any groups, or officially "follow" any blogs. I do have a list of favorites that I read every day. I love them, but I don't know how to "subscribe" to them.

5. I value those "kindred spirits" with whom I carry on a regular dialogue of comments. I would love to be able to meet them in person one day.

6. I try not to get too political. I have very strong feelings about issues and some days I am just bursting to write about them. Sometimes I have written about them. I would write about them more, but I don't want to stir up controversy or start up arguments that can never be resolved.

7. I love getting glimpses of what life is like in other parts of the world. It just amazes me that bloggers are everywhere on this planet. I believe what Saint Augustine said: "The world is a book, and those who do not travel read only a page."

Where Do We Go From Here?

We are nearing retirement age, and are beginning to think about where to settle for the next chapter of our lives.
My husband would like to live in Michigan where he grew up, but we have ruled that out because of the cold winters. He has also suggested northern California, because that's where his daughter and granddaughter live. Every time we visit our friends in Philadelphia, we think of returning there. We lived there for sixteen years and were happy there. (As I have described many times here on my blog.)

Our friends live near Philadelphia in a condo building designed for ages 55 and over. They love it there. It's a nice place, full of fun, interesting people. They love that there is a Wegman's store just a stroll away. (If you don't know Wegman's, it's a foodie's dream with all varieties of gourmet goodies.) We looked at two model units in their building, and at several others that are available. They were gorgeous units, with all the amenities. I think we could be happy there. We would be in an area we love, with friends we miss. We would have an instant community. We have already met some of their neighbors and we all have a lot in common. This is a picture of their building. It is new, very well maintained, with all the up-to-date features.


The thing is... I have never thought I would want to live in a place without my own land, complete with trees and wildlife. I have always dreamed of a cozy cottage in the country. In my mind it looked a little like this:


Or this:


But how practical is that for retirement? Who would tend the yard? Who would repair things and do maintenance in the house? Who would our neighbors be?

Could I be happy in a condo? Should it be in Philadelphia? Should it be near a beach? How about something like the photo below? On HGTV's House Hunters, they often show couples who retire to places like Mexico, Panama, and South America. They seem very happy... but I'm not sure I could be that adventurous.


Could we afford to live in California? Would I like living in California? What about Hawaii? I have always wanted to live there... but could we manage it? It's very expensive. We know no one there. But look at this... how could you not love seeing this every day?


So, how to decide? Where to retire? Are my dreams of living near a beach too impractical? Do we want to be close to friends, or close to family?


Retirement... will we even be able to afford it? What kind of lifestyle? Am I daydreaming? What about being practical and realistic?

My Weekend Escape

Good morning! I am back home in Kentucky. If you have been seeing or reading any news, you know that Kentucky was hit by a big winter storm last week. We had a foot of snow, covered by a coating of ice. Many places lost power, but thankfully ours stayed on. I was afraid I wouldn't be able to get to Philadelphia on Thursday; the Cincinnati airport (which is actually in Kentucky) was covered in ice and snow. The runway looked like solid ice, and I wondered how the plane could take off under those conditions... but it did.


So, my weekend began with a flight from Cincinnati to Philadelphia. We waited on the plane for about twenty minutes while they de-iced our small plane. The de-icing machine passed over the plane several times. It was like being in a giant car wash where you sit in your car and the machine goes back and forth. After that, the flight was uneventful (I love uneventful). We landed in Philadelphia and I felt the familiar buzz of being back in my adopted city. I got on the train that took me from the airport to my friends' neighborhood.

I was going to visit with my friend, R. She and I were going to a "spa retreat weekend" with a larger group of friends. They picked me up at the train station. The next morning, we drove to Princeton, to begin our spa weekend. On the way to Princeton we meandered through Bucks County, enjoying the scenery along winding country roads. We stopped for lunch in New Hope, which is full of artists, shops and cafes. We had lunch in a tiny, friendly cafe where we chatted with other customers and had a glass of wine.


The retreat was put together by another friend. It was held at a conference center in Princeton, New Jersey. We had package that included our room, all our meals, and activities. Everything was great... good service, good food, fun activities. The hotel is a great-looking place:



Saturday morning we had a "hula hoop dancing" lesson! Yes, this was a group of grown women. "HULA HOOPS?" we thought. We haven't done hula hoops since we were kids! But it was fun... the teacher brought special adult hoops which are larger and heavier than the small plastic ones. It was good exercise. It works your "core" and burns 600 calories per hour. Hula hooping photo below:


Saturday afternoon we had yoga and meditation. Later that night, we had "zoomba dancing". Zoomba dancing is a new exercise craze, apparently. It's a mixture of salsa, merengue, and Cuban dancing. It is VERY fast and involves a dizzying array of leg, arm, and hip movements. Continuing with the Latin American theme, we had pitchers of mojitos.



Saturday night, I was tired! I slept well in the wonderful hotel bed... it was like a cloud.

Sunday morning, I had a massage, then a leisurely breakfast. Then we drove back to Philadelphia.


Sunday night, back at R's place, we watched the Super Bowl with another group of friends. They treated us to buffalo wings, homemade pizza and lots of snacks and desserts. On Monday I spent a couple of hours in the Philadelphia airport. First, I got on a plane scheduled to leave at 1:40. After we sat at the gate for a while, they told us to get off the plane. The plane had a flat tire, and the flight was cancelled. They gave me a meal voucher, which I took to the bar and had a cocktail. Then I got on another flight at 4:30... and finally got back home.

Back Home

Well, I'm home now... home from Philadelphia. It was a great weekend. Lots of fun, but I'm too tired to write about it now. Coming home, I was on a flight that ended up being cancelled... the plane had a flat tire. I waited three hours and got on another flight... this time we made it! I will write more tomorrow, but right now I need to sleep.
Goodnight!

From Philadelphia

Hello from philadelphia!
I am posting this from my I-phone.
More tomorrow when I get home.