Jacuzzi @ MindSay

when i was a little girl vs the bigger girl there were several things I wanted to master and never did:

yodeling, whistling- especially that NYC hail-a-cab-fast sort- roller skating, snapping my fingers, and tying a bow. I accomplished several except the whistle, despite a month of practice with a pamphlet entitled how to whistle with your fingers. I wanted to astound Jim in front of the Warwick whistling down a cab o sixth avenue so for a change we did not get  to the opera late. we were always getting to the opera late because the met started at 8 and I was confused that he NYV opera starts at 7:30... so we always had to take default seats in the ring which was always an improvement on the tickets we purchased. Even Tosca late is worth the money... but turandot was a major disappointment even though the music is sublime. anyway I never learned to roller skate either although I did become  a competent cross country skier who could even make it up some hills if all the conditions were right and the stars in my favor. and eventually I learned to  tie bow. and tap dance and go up on toe, and take a master class with paul taylor's little lila redhead. and i learned to snorkel and dive both that deep fetch starfish from third float dive and the get out as far into the water dive for racing. I even learned to do the tumble turn at the end of the pool that lets you push off so beautifully into the perfect crawl. but yodeling  was never accomplished . I mention this because I used my Jotul stove today and the words are so similar and each makes me smile. and i was impressed.

I did everything arlene told me, get a daft going, start a small fire with kindling and then add a log. but adding new logs is a hassle because you have to stack and get air into the pile but there is something deliciously self sufficient about building a fire on a gray rainy day and tucking your feet under you  with a cant stop turning the pages book. enhanced no doubt by genoise, tea and a soft cat purring in your lap. content to let you  turn the pages as long as you pause to rub her ears. . so in short today I yodeled, found a guy to open a doorway from BR number 4 into the master suite giving me , finally, a dressing room again, made several calls and spoke to answering machines and laughed with Toni as we called british actors yummy. she likes greg wise. I am a michael kitchens gal. we both love wharton, only a fool would not. Ha. reminder: check out two person  thermo spas. it might be cheaper than a jacuzzi every night.

 and certainly more jets. Jim gave me a move in date. Finally its settled. And he arrives Saturday early for Indian feasts and love and quiddler and errands and maybe he can meet neill.

This is a video of a girl shitting in a hot tub.  I don't know if this was real or if it was staged, but it's funny nonetheless.  :)

Been refining the fine art of doing nothing. Well reading a lot and building fires and last night I even put up an eight feet tree all by myself. It leans a little but I have it attached to the wall in three places with fishing line. So far Abi has only been sniffing it and hiding beneath it. I hope she is too prissy to try to climb it.  Last night S and D came over for spaghetti; it didn’t  feel right to be alone once a tree was up  and the lights were on. I aim waiting before I decorate the remainder.

Austen  Burroughs’ book running with scissors was a great romp and yesterday I pick up sellevision and dry. I even dug out the yarn for the sweater coat I started planning before I moved here and it’s def time to make it.

A tiny Chanukah bush is  on the kitchen island topped w a blue magen david. And the north cocurtyard has blue lights covered the camellias hedges and maple trees. I must confess I am having a ball doing this myself at a leisurely pace and even messing around at 1 am if I like. The weather is pretty rainy and windy, I am still sleeping with a window open and climbing into a cold bed after a soak in 104 degree water is one of life’s small pleasures. How often I slip into the hot water, scented with juniper, sigh and say out loud to Abi, oh man this is the life. Did I ever utter those words in Montgomery? Hell no.

So Jim’s gifts are purchased and I am picking up odds and ends for Abi’s stocking which will get wrapped in white paper so she can tear  them open herself. I think I need to order more firewood soon too, And this time stack  it in the garage, after all Jim will be here to haul it upstairs.   Maybe before New Years Eve we will have a red dining room and a green bedroom.

    I'm not sure how many people will remember these guys but there is a country music band called "The Confederate Railroad" who were about the biggest thing around, back in the late 80's and early 90's. They had songs like "Trashy Women", "Jesus and Momma", "Daddy Never Was The Cadillac Kind", "Queen of Memphis", and many more. They sold about 6 million records. However, once things started getting "politically correct" many of the DJ's stopped playing "Confederate Railroad" records, even though there is not a racist bone in any of these guys bodies. The Confederate Railroad was actually, originally one of the organizations who helped slaves get out of the south before and during the Civil War and these guys named their band after it.

    Anyhow, this was the third time we went on a cruise with them. Here is a picture from one of the shows that they played on the ship. We got almost front row seats.

   The lead singer (Danny Shirley) is always very gracious and he stops and chats with us when he sees us up on the deck or anywhere on the ship. We have enjoyed their music for 20 years, and I have performed many of their songs on stage myself, so it is a special treat to be able to sit at down with each of them and listen to stories about their music and travels.

  More about that later. We enjoyed eating breakfast at this spot on the back of the ship.

Here is the view out the window.

After breakfast, a dip in the jacuzzi was nice.

On the way back from breakfast that morning, we snapped this picture of a guy and his ice sculpture. Unfortunately, it was already partially melted.

Each night, the people who turned down the bed, while we were gone to dinner, would make a "towel animal". Here is the one on Tuesday night. I think it's a rabbit.

We spent all day Tuesday, on the boat, sailing from the Bahamas, around Cuba, and on to the island of Grand Cayman. More pictures at www.countrydrive.com Tomorrow, swimming with stingrays.