This post is somewhat of a continuation of the “Heart Prints and Wings” post, but the venue and the focus has changed. I’ve moved on to the part of the song that goes: “…keep the old. One is silver and the other is gold.” While I would prefer to change the word “old” to another …
Category Archives: beauty
Who ever said principals were boring?
I met a kindred spirit at Anamaya. She was a lovely lady with a quick smile and a patient voice, who quickly became an inspiration to all in our group. We sat together at dinner one night and through conversation discovered that we were both retired principals. E had been retired for several years and …
Dreams with Wings…
Monarch Travels Application Video Today would have been our 35th wedding anniversary. I celebrated by applying for a scholarship for educators to research Monarch butterflies at their winter roosting site in the forested highlands of Mexico. I figured that submitting the application today would somehow be lucky. In the application materials, I included a link …
Heart Prints and Wings…
It was my first trip out of the USA and I was traveling solo. There were many firsts on the trip… Costa Rica… the smallest airplane I’d ever been on… living in the Casita with three ladies I had never met… and more. I should have referred to “the three ladies I’ve never met” as …
Life’s a beach…
Sunset at the beach. What could be more perfect? While I had already throughly enjoyed many aspects of my trip to Costa Rica, sunset at the beach seemed to be promising as a highlight. Following a very rough, but scenic ride on dirt paths that serve as roads in the Costa Rican jungle and bisecting …
Storm Before the Calm
The occasional voice of thunder was deep and faint. The scent of rain was on the breeze as it gently accelerated and alternately slowed. The gray clouds tumbled into a roll and marched closer to the yoga deck from which I observed. Because of the vastness of the ocean and sky, storms could be seen …
Butterflies and Blue…
It’s so hard to pick a favorite spot in Costa Rica, but the edge of the infinity saltwater pool is definitely a contender. The edge overlooked a valley full of flowering plants and colorful butterflies that reached out into the distance to the ocean hues of turquoise, azure and blue. From this vantage point I …
Beautiful Voices
Every yoga practice has been beautiful in its own way. Thursday was about opening the throat chakra. Breathing in the ocean air and gazing across the turquoise and azure waves is the ultimate blue experience. Communication originates here, listening and speaking. The reflective properties of water, particularly when still, mimic listening and water in motion …
Chef’s Special
From a hammock on the deck at the Casita, I hear the howls of the monkeys and the chirps of the geckos joined by the clank of metal and the clink of glass from the nearby kitchen. As meals are prepared, the scents of spices travel like a ribbon winding through the rain and flower …
Happy Birthday, Dragonflies!
New dragonflies were born this morning, emerging from an unseen water source like a tornado swirling higher and higher, rising away from the rain forest floor reaching above the canopy, dancing in the sky and seeing the ocean that extends forever, unimaginable from the vantage point of their birth, for the first time. Their lives …
Beautiful
I arrived at Anamaya Resort yesterday and I have never heard, uttered or thought the word “beautiful” more in my life than in my time here. While the surroundings are visibly beautiful, so are the people, the experience, the food… basically, everything. It’s the rainy season here and thunder has rumbled in the distance on …
Duckling Wake
Today when I arrived at the lake, I spied a mama duck and her ducklings. After the initial silent “oh, they’re so cute” adrenaline rush, of course I took some photos. Then, I observed them and noticed each one’s tiny wake, extending from their tail feathers in a triangular pattern with each ripple reaching out …
Goose Island
When I drove across the Taneycomo Bridge yesterday, I noticed that Goose Island was visible and inhabited with about 100 geese and a few ducks. Before anyone points it out, I know that Goose Island really isn’t an island, but a peninsula or probably even more accurately, a sandbar. Goose Island just has a better …
First run of my (new) life
“Hey look Ma, I made it!” The first run of my “new life” was hot and hilly. It was the kind of run where patches of shade served as motivation to keep moving #OnTheRoadAgain I hadn’t run for a couple of weeks. Life was in the way. But this run felt good. Today I was …
Goats and Yoga
I went to a small educational farm in Rogersville, Mo. that holds fun animal interactions including goat yoga and bunny meditation. Their tag line is accurate: where joy and zen meet. Goats and Yoga is a wonderful experience with simple yoga poses and goats frolicking about. They naturally want to jump on flat surfaces, so …
Butterfly Shadows
Lying in the giant shadows of the much smaller butterflies, breathing the fragrance of the fuchsia fans waving from among the fronds of the mimosa. The sun sparkles through when the breeze makes room. This is my favorite tree. I had one in my yard growing up. It was “home base” for wiffleball and we …
Retired Girl?
Are you wondering why I decided to call myself “retired girl?” I mentioned in my first post that the word “retired” seemed like it referred to someone old and I don’t consider myself old. That’s why I added “girl” to bring in the idea of youth and fun. I guess I am a “young soul.” …
It’s Me!!!
Who? What? When? Where? Why? How?These are the questions that any writer must answer. These are the answers that the readers seek. So, for my first blog post, I’ll try. Who? Last week if you asked me who I was, within seconds I would have told you that I was principal of a nationally recognized …
Retired Girl in a Beautiful World 