Monday, December 29, 2008

A day to remember

While on our vacation in the Bahama's, we stayed at the Atlantis. What a gorgeous resort. My Daughter and I was very fortunate to have a day together. This day was a very memorable one for the two of us. We didn't know if my daughter (Jen) was going to be able to do this out of fear. To start out they suit you up. Believe me when I say it...those suits are very unforgiving, and are the most uncomfortable thing I have ever put on. I think the embarrassment of putting this skin tight suit on, was a help to forget some of the fear of the dolphin.LOL


Before we went to the waters, we watched a movie and had a small lecture about these beautiful mammals. These are bottlenose dolphins...Just like flipper. Our Dolphins name was Hercules. Which certainly didn't help Jens fear what so ever. And the fact that have 105 or so teeth. Hercules was a gentle giant. They lined us up like soldiers. Then we had to kneel down.



The water was the perfect temperature for both mammal and human. The water was very shallow and dropped off very quickly. The dolphins needed some deep water to show off their talent. And talent they have. I can not believe how talented these incredible mammals are. There are 16 dolphins at Dolphin Cay that were rescued from Hurricane Katrina. And I am happy to report that they are doing great.

They took us one at a time to meet Hercules. They picked me first..I guess they saw the excitement in me. My husband was near the beach taking photos. When I had the chance to look at the photos, you can see my daughter praying for her mothers safe return. LOL...



There was a professional photographer in the water taking photos. My Daughter wouldn't go by herself, but she did want her picture taken so I went with her. I got to kiss Hercules, and he tasted very salty. And they feel like rubber. They shed their skin about every hour or so.



I was so proud of Jen for being able to dig deep for some courage to be able to experience this wonderful adventure. The dolphins were so happy to perform for us, and it was very exciting to watch them show their talents.

I will always forever remember this day. I know I will return to the Atlantis many more times. My Darlin Husband is already looking for another trip....soon.
Kindredly,
Ellen









Sunday, December 21, 2008

Winter Solstice


From Pink Saturday to White Sunday. It has been winter wonderland around here since yesterday afternoon. I even lost power for 3 hours this morning. It sure did get chilly in the house fast. My DH and DD worked together cleaning the cars and driveway.
I wish a pair of red cardinals would show up at the bird feeder. I just love when Mr. & Mrs. Red are showing off their color against the white of the landscape. The flower beds are covered with just a few dried flowers lingering around.




And oh how lonely this table and chair is. It was so full of life all summer long, with laughter as we wined and or dined there. I long for the days of late sunsets and dinner on the deck.


But there is nothing prettier than evergreens with their blanket of white.


It not only looks like winter...it actually is. I won't have to dream of a white Christmas.
Happy Holidays,
Ellen






Saturday, December 20, 2008

Pink Saturday

Oh it's so nice to be back to blogging.


Last year in December I had an accident and slipped on the ice in my drive way. I had to have surgery on Christmas Eve. I also had to endure many months of going to physical therapy. Nancy was my therapist, and she was not only a great therapist but also a wonderful person, whom I had gotten to know.
She knew that I loved to craft, and was working so hard to get my wrist as close to normal as possible. So I thought I would craft something for her to say thank you. It seemed like every time I went to her, someone had taken her pen. So I painted this pot and decorated some flowers for her . She was so happy and loved it. I also painted one for myself to have next to my computer.
I'm sure there is a list of wonderful sites at Beverly's that will connect you to some beautiful pink. I know my world is full of white right now, so lots of pink sounds wonderful.
Thank you Beverly for hosting this again.
Enjoy!
Ellen

Monday, December 15, 2008

Award


Thanks to Carrie at Oak Rise Cottage for sending me an award. I just got home from vacation, only to find no power at home. When I get things up and running I will pass this award along. I will also post some pictures of the beautiful Atlantis Resort in the Bahamas. I hope those that had bad weather, have all recovered. Ellen

Wednesday, December 3, 2008

Count down really begins


Oh my how exciting...one week from today at this time I will be in sunshine warmth of the Bahamas. As a family Christmas present we will be in the Bahamas for 4nights,5days. We will be staying at the Atlantis. I am rather exciting in hope to go this year. The family had to go without me last year due to a broken wrist. But this year I will be basking away. We have tickets to see the Jonas brothers and also tickets to swim with the dolphins. I wanted to swim with the dolphins so bad last year. This year we were able to get free tickets, so my daughter Jenn and I will be loving them up. We'll see, Jen is afraid of EVERYTHING. She said no to the dolphin experience but after horseback riding this fall, she's ready to conquer the world. This will be her third year in a row at the Atlantis in December.

Beaded ornaments

My 50th Birthday banner my sister made for my surprise party


Hedda Hopper


Birth:

May 2, 1890
Death:

Feb. 1, 1966
Actress, Journalist. Despite a 23 year career that encompassed over 120 motion picture appearances and chorus girl roles on Broadway to motion pictures, she is best remembered for her newspaper column and radio show that focused exclusively on Hollywood gossip, a subject she was able to tell more about to her audience due to her Hollywood insider status. Born Elda Furry in Holidaysburg, Pennsylvania, she left school to act on Broadway. In 1913 she married marquee star William DeWolfe, a man who was 32 years her senior. They had one son, and divorced in 1922, but she kept his name for the rest of her life (and changed her name to Hedda on the advice of a numerologist). In 1931 she began “The Hedda Hopper Show”, which initially ran as a 15 minute gossip show mostly devoted to Hollywood marriages and divorces. Enormously popular, it ran until 1951, and on the strength of its popularity she started the “Hedda Hopper’s Hollywood” column in the Los Angeles Times in 1938. She steadily gained a reputation for exposing tidbits about the lives of Hollywood figures, and created a character of herself in her own right, especially in regard to her vast collection of sometimes outrageous hats, and a long standing feud with rival gossip columnist Louella Parsons. With the advent of television’s popularity in the late 1940s and early 1950s, he radio show waned, but she herself became a staple of television programs and game shows, being a frequent panelist on “What’s My Line?’, and appear on shows like “I Love Lucy”, “The Colgate Variety Hour” and “The Beverly Hillbillies”. In 1960 she received the Journalistic Merit award, and published her autobiography “The Whole Truth and Nothing But!”, which recapped her over 20 years or being an Hollywood insider. She died in Los Angeles of double pneumonia in 1966, working right up until her passing. As a Hollywood icon, she created a number of friends and enemies; she gave harsh advice to actress Ida Lupino, which helped her gain recognizable part, but was despised by actress Joan Bennett, who once sent her a skunk. In 1985 a movie about the feud between her and Parsons was released as “Malice in Wonderland”, which Jane Alexander as Hedda Hopper and Elizabeth Taylor as Louella Parsons