Wednesday, March 30, 2011

My Dream Pool

In my last post I talked about how much I love to float in a pool. In this post I am remembering my all-time favorite pool. It is quiet and peaceful, and surrounded by beautiful scenery.


This is the approach to my favorite pool...


Here we are...


See how peaceful and quiet it is... perfect.



Palm trees all around...


and the ocean just beyond.


This is my view as I float on my back...


And, by the way, here is one of my favorite beach views... almost hidden, a little mysterious.


And at home today... it's snowing! Ugh.

Monday, March 28, 2011

Float!


My favorite feeling in the world. Floating in the water. It calms me, relaxes me, and makes me very happy.

I wish I lived in a warm climate and had a pool in my back yard. I could float every day. In reality, I usually float only when we are on vacation. Where they have a quiet pool, a pool without kids splashing around, without jocks playing water games, without athletes swimming laps. Just a private pool all to myself. It doesn't happen very often, but when it does it is heaven to me.

Some days I just close my eyes and try to imagine myself floating in a quiet pool. I want to go there.

Saturday, March 26, 2011

What We Are Doing Today


It's hard work! Going out to dinner later, but will I fall asleep at the table? After a glass of wine, I might!

Wednesday, March 23, 2011

All That Jazz with Ann Reinking

This is a follow-up to my last post. I was talking about Ann Reinking; then I found this video of her dancing and I wanted to share it.



Note: I just added some more Mexico photos. Two posts back, that's how Blogger works!

Tuesday, March 22, 2011

Oh, Gwyneth... Please Stop!


My eyes! I can't believe what I saw last night!

THIS is Ann Reinking:


She is a fabulous dancer. If you don't know who she is, you really should go see her in a show or a movie or something.

THIS is Gwyneth Paltrow:


She may be a big star, and she may be morphing into a singer... but she is NOT a dancer!

This is Bebe Newirth (also a pretty good dancer) with Ann Reinking on the Broadway stage in "Chicago":


They were BREATHTAKING doing the the "Hot Honey Rag".

This is Lea Michele and Gwyneth Paltrow last on on "Glee" doing the "Hot Honey Rag":


They were awful! Especially Gwyneth. She looked like a rank amateur, compared to Ann Reinking. No control of her body at all, just flapping around... ugh!

I know lots of young people love "Glee". I think it's great that they are becoming interested in glee clubs and old movie musicals (i.e., the "Make Em Laugh" number from "Singing in the Rain"). I just hope they don't get the impression that this is as good as it gets.

More Photos From Mexico

There was something about these simple stone steps that I found appealing.


If you look at the horizontal center of this photo just below the vertical center, there is an iguana. He hung out there every day, bobbing his head up and down. Why do they do that?


Here is the sign by the Cross Current Pool, explaining how it works. I loved it! You could just float around, carried by the current or you could walk against the current for a gentle workout.


I wish I had this pool (and the weather to go with it) in my back yard!


There were colorful flowers everywhere!


There were little sculptures everywhere.

Outside, amongst the landscaping:




And inside, where the housekeeper left them every day:



This lady was larger than life, hidden among the trees. I wonder who the model was?


One night we had a fancy dinner. They poured two kinds of soup into our bowls at once, making two-toned soup.


There were a lot of smiles all around... nice vacation!

Sunday, March 20, 2011

Pirates and Palapas

Here I am in Mexico (I'm the one in black). The grounds of our hotel were beautifully landscaped, with charming little sculptures along the way. I was taking a photo of this one when a friendly groundskeeper offered to take my photo next to her (or was it him?).


They have this circular pool, which has a current running through it. You can walk or float with the current and it carries you along, or you can walk against the current for a gentle workout. That was the extent of my working out during this vacation!


If you wanted to cool off, you could stand under this waterfall:


The path leads to the beach:


The breeze blowing the palm trees...


...and the flags.


The hallway outside our room:


We went with friends from Philadelphia. That's my husband on the right and our "frequent traveler buddies" with him:


Look at that bright blue sky!


Palapas with "cat's ears" on top. This one made me think of a monster face, with the "ears" it's eyes, then the ridge of light down the middle forming a big nose, then the wide mouth around the bottom. I kept expecting it to open that big mouth and growl at us!


Palapas and palm trees:


Pirates: wait, was that Johnny Depp?


Serenity and relaxation. I had my first ever hot stone massage. It was wonderful!


My husband, in the shirt I gave him to remind him to take time off:


And food and wine:



A good time was had by all!

Saturday, March 19, 2011

I'm Back!



We just returned from the Riviera Maya, in Mexico. The beaches are beautiful there! I ate too much, drank too much, and got pampered in the spa. I will write more and show some photos as soon as I come out of the vacation daze. I'm afraid my brain is still back on the beach!

Friday, March 11, 2011

Tuesday, March 8, 2011

Why We Need Public Broadcasting


Do you know what's happening in Kosovo? How about the Ivory Coast? Did you know that the American student reported missing in Madrid was found dead? If you watched any network or cable news today, you probably don't know any of these. That's because the biggest news story on all of our channels is about Charlie Sheen. Why is this news? Why is so much of our "news" centered on celebrities? Before Charlie Sheen, it was Lindsay Lohan, Paris Hilton, et al.

The best way to know what is really going on in the world is by listening to the news on Public Radio or Public Television. It frightens me that some Republicans in Congress are trying to defund public broadcasting. I don't want to see the "dumbing down" of America.

Sunday, March 6, 2011

The Only Video Game I've Ever Played


The Neverhood is a video game that was released in 1996 by Dreamworks. It features claymation graphics and a funky, catchy musical score. It was named "Game of the Year" by PC Gamer.

I was introduced to this game years ago by my sister, who was way ahead of me in the world of computers. It really appealed to my sense of imagination. It takes you into a wild, wonderful, wacky fantasy world. You can find a review of The Neverhood at Mr. Bill's Adventureland.