Just another day of sun...

Hello! I was going to write about our grand adventures in the Caribbean as soon as we arrived home, but an annoying cough turned into bronchitis which then turned into walking pneumonia, and now here I am, weeks after vacation and nary a post or picture in sight!

Yesterday's weather was so gosh-darn beautiful that I was content to live in the moment - windows down, moon roof open and music blaring as I drove through brilliant sunshine on my way to work.  In February. In Wisconsin.  Today, however, clouds, gray skies and the promise of rain and/or snow are all making me long for the Dominican Republic again!  I hope all of my South Dakota, Minnesota and northern Wisconsin friends don't get the snowfall amounts that are being predicted, but just in case here are a few pictures that you can use to escape the coming storm.  Close your eyes, add a little background music and daydream about white sand beaches, ocean waves and pina coladas served on the beach!

Here are "our" beach chairs.  Phil walked down to the beach early every morning to claim the perfect chairs, which offered a restorative view of the white sand beach and the ocean!  Mp3 players, headphones, books, towels, sunscreen, and my camera...perfect companions for relaxing days.  I kept hitting the repeat button for Another day of sun from the LaLa Land soundtrack over and over and over again!

 

And while we lounged all day by the beach, here was our view...

Ah yes, our Born Free kite!  It goes where we go, this time tucked safely in Phil's golf bag.  It makes my heart soar to see it flying high, bringing back such great memories of my Dad, who designed this one as a special gift to us. Can you spot my intrepid kite flyer on the beach?!  He drew quite a crowd before the wind died down and he had to pack it up.

 Meanwhile, back on the lounge chair, important decisions awaited - which book to tackle first?!  Did I want to hang out with CIA spies, an intrepid private investigator or Jesus?  (Answer: always Jesus, of course, but this was actually Phil's book so he read Roman and Jewish history while I hung out with the spies)

 

 And even though Vince Flynn has sadly passed, his carefully chose successor writes a very believable Mitch Rapp story!

 Ok, truly, you'll have to believe me on this.  The book title below is only a title - it had nothing to do with whether I might have become best friends with the friendly bartenders at the beach bar right behind us, and since this was an all-inclusive resort, might have enjoyed all the lovely free pina coladas a sun-starved Wisconsin girl could ask for...

Hmm...well, there is this photo that might tell a different story...

More to come in my next post, but in the meantime stay warm!  Here is a great poem by Joyce Sutphen - being alive does indeed have its attractions. And oh yes, I most definitely want to sit in the sun and rub my toes in the sand at the beach again!

The Idea of Living

It has its attractions,

chiefly visual: all those

shapes and lines, hunks

of color and light (the way

the gold light falls across

the lawn in early summer,

the iridescent blue floating

on the lake at sunset),

and being alive seems

to be a necessity if you want

to sit in the sun or rub your

toes in the sand at the beach.

You need to be breathing

in order to eat paella and

drink sangria, and making love

is quite impossible without

a body, unless you are one

of those, given - like gold -

to spin in airy thinness forever.

"The Idea of Living" by Joyce Sutphen from Modern Love & Other Myths.  

Red Dragonfly Press, 2015.