Saturday, August 27, 2011

hello loyal blog fans

this is the end of the line for "Thinking Too Much"

 
I have blogged for years (since 2007 be exact) under the title, "Thinking Too Much"
"cause my dad always said that was my problem

recently a friend told me that what he liked about me was that I thought for myself.

so a new blog, not negative and critical of thinking but positive

 "Thinking for Myself"!!


hope to see you there......



Monday, August 22, 2011

LOVE THIS PROPERTY

we are selling our house in Mexico


we are living in Florida now and can only love one house in the tropics
at a time

if you know someone who might be interested
please send them this link



it's an affordable, livable house in Cuyutlan
a nice little beach town 30 miles south of Manzanillo
on the pacific west coast of Mexico


it is summer now for you pacific north westerners and northerners
but it will be winter again
and it's nice to have a warm place to go......


will consider all offers, especially from friends
and friends of friends

this property wants someone to love it




Wednesday, August 17, 2011

wow

a Saturday night drum at our beach in Englewood



Beth and her awesome new friend Becca came and brought the kids


the girls had a great time and joined in

this is a drum that I made with Reba back in Port Townsend
too many years ago
thanks Reba!!
 I have the one that Cam made with her too
they hang together on my wall at home



it was fun having them there


Arlo loved it
 I was amazed at his attention span


we drummed until the sun went down


peace

Sunday, August 14, 2011

anniversary part II

we saw a performance of
Cirque du Soleil in Fort Myers on the way home!!

Alegría 
"A baroque ode to the energy, grace and power of youth"

Ah - La - Gre - Ah


"Alegría is a mood, a state of mind. The themes of the show, whose name means "jubilation" in Spanish, are many. Power and the handing down of power over time, the evolution from ancient monarchies to modern democracies, old age, youth—it is against this backdrop that the characters of Alegría play out their lives. Kings' fools, minstrels, beggars, old aristocrats and children make up its universe, along with the clowns, who alone are able to resist the passing of time and the social transformations that accompany it."


"The White Singer is the storyteller who echoes in song everything she sees around her. She sings of melancholy and despair, of joy and happiness. Her luminous white gown is exquisite – underneath a bodice and skirt-frame adorned with jewels and pearls, is miles of flowing crinoline. In her dress and long white gloves, she moves like a delicate porcelain doll in a jewelry box."

she had the most wonderful voice and she sang in French which was so refreshing
one could feel the music instead of trying to understand the words

"The nymphs are youthful and ethereal. Their exuberance is infectious and their enchanting dance can melt the hardest of hearts. These gentle creatures exude sensuality and beauty as they glide across the stage."

"The nostalgic Old Birds observe the goings on as though they were still young and beautiful and the future was still theirs. They admire their reflections in mirror-less frames but are only empty shells, shadows of their former selves. They are the old aristocracy, still convinced of their power and beauty. But they are twisted, deformed and ugly. They wear fanciful hats and hide behind their flamboyant costumes in rich tones of mauve, green and gold, covered with lace, jewels and embroidery."

and of course the aerobatics were mind bending


they made it all look so magical and easy


not to mention the costumes were amazing

there are 22 Cirque du Soleil shows going in the world right now
I hope to see another one soon

ps these are not my photos, you knew that
and the quotes are from their website

oh and do go see this show when you get a chance!

*************************************************************

as a side note of slight interest, my great grandfather was an aerialist in Germany 
before he came to this county
he was friends with the Flying Wallendas and my mom remembers when they came to town to perform
they would come over to her grandpa's house later to drink and play cards

(I am not sure she said "drink", or "cards" actually....)
I was young when he died and do not remember those stories

and by chance my other grandfather on my fathers side was a gymnast in the Olympics
like 1920 or something
when he came over to visit he always made us do hand stands in the yard and work on our back flips
I learned to do it but I did not learn to love it

watching Cirque made me wish I had paid more attention to my grandfathers!!

Saturday, August 13, 2011


Happy Anniversary to US!

16 years!!



we went down to Sanibel Island for a couple days
about 50 miles south of us and just west of where my parents live

we decided not to drive a long way to vacation
when there are so many really nice beaches nearby
plus it is off season and us thrifty locals got more than half off on the room....


we took our kayaks and put in at the Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge
as pointed out on the above map

we paddled out to an island and saw about 20 Rosetta spoonbills sitting in a dead tree
they were spectacular
and no this is not my photo, wish

Sanibel is known for it's shells
talk about abundance!

this is where Anne Morrow Lindbergh wrote, Gifts from the Sea


the hotel was about where the "o" is in National Wildlife Refuge on the map above
we had a great view from our room
through the screen of course - this is Florida in the summer


we stayed at an older property, that had lovely access to the beach
and had some real history and charm



and the beach was gorgeous


16 years and counting!!



Tuesday, August 9, 2011

Sunday, August 7, 2011

4 generations

the best part of living in Florida is living near my mom
and having Beth and the kids here makes it perfect

we all went to the children's theatre at the Broadway Palm dinner theatre
to see "Aladdin"


it was a lunch matinee
and there was a buffet of all the kid favorites
mac and cheese, hot dogs, french fries, jello, cool-aid
and a big salad bar for adults


here is Em with Princess Jasmine


with the Sultan.....

they had great costumes
it was cool that they were all in the lobby after for pictures



but it was Mr. A. who stole the show for us!!








Wednesday, August 3, 2011

a lovely birthday at the water park!

I like 59, I think I am going to stay 59 for several more years.....

the park had these huge slides, we did not go on them


we liked the lazy river


it flowed around the whole park
you could not swim against the current


E and A liked to just swim with the current sans tube

us grandmas liked the tubes.....

we rode the lazy river around all day
took a break at the rope bridge and swam under the big fountain



we wore the boys out


afterwards it was back to Beth's for a delicious birthday cake
german chocolate, mi favorita



made it from scratch, I did something right with that girl!


plus she makes adorable grandchildren!!

I had a great birthday
thanks to my great family and great friends
!!

Monday, July 25, 2011

What would summer be with out frequent trips to the local swimming pool??



bring the kids, bring your friends, make sure to bring lunch


A. did not want her picture taken

so E. decided she did not want her picture taken either
makes it hard for the blogger


I kept trying
look at the lovely smile


Arlo loved it


not sure who was more excited when he caught it, him or us!


he seemed pretty happy though

sun, water, kids, ball
great combination
great summer

Saturday, July 23, 2011

passion vine up-date

I have been home long enough now to have posted all the photos of the trip,
caught up on my sleep and almost caught up on my yard work
this is not a great time to work in the yard here
many afternoons it clouds up and we have thundershowers and rain
then there is the heat
the heat is not so bad, but the mosquitoes are


the vines are filling in nicely


one of my favorite ones opening on the side of the arbor
most of the blooms have been with the front runner on the fence

 I am so proud of that flower....


the right side filled in on the inside of the fence

and the outside


we also have a surprise watermelon plant
we have already eaten one watermelon - it was wonderful
the plant is taking over the flower bed

I know what I am going to plant lots of next year
watermelon!