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| The difference between Mexico and Michigan |
Now I'm going to show you what a nut I really am. It'll give you a good Christmas laugh at your blog buddy who can't resist trying new mediums. I have made little videos before this, but nothing like this where I attempt to talk extemporaneously, learn a written script might have been best, but did a pretty fair job of panning.
This is the view from our balcony. It really shows you why we keep coming here year after year to put off having to deal with snow scenes like the one above--good as they are for painting. I hate my Midwestern twang, spur of the moment commentary, but I do love the Mar Carib enough to share. That water is a glorious mix of Thalo, Blue Green and Titanium White, a mix many artists stick their noses up at because it's crass and untamed by a touch of red orange. In Cancun, however, the sea is truly an untamed efflorescent aquamarine with a strong rip tide. What the Ritz did this year was to add a couple of sandbars to cut the strength of the waves so guests could safely jump through them. Good thinking, for in years past, this guest has been knocked on her ass by the power of this sea many times and wasn't all that comfortable with being doused with sand, sea salt and sea creatures.
You and Honey remind me of my in-laws... I had to laugh when he reminded u about your wine!... btw, I caught your mid-west accent... :-)
ReplyDeleteIt's hard to miss. Of all the lessons my mom gave me, she never gave me voice lessons, which would have taken care of that twang. --On holiday, there are quite a few wine times. Perhaps because no one has to drive home and you're walking it off everywhere you go. It was a long hike down to that beach. Did you see the sandbars the hotel installed. Clever of them. That whole Kukulkan hotel strip between main lands was man made back when I was 27. Repairing the beaches is an on-going thing. That sea has some strong waves. I go no further in than my shin bones.
DeleteI still don't understand how you managed to come back! Very good movie!I could spend the whole afternoon watching that blue sea...Best wishes for a Happy New Year!
ReplyDeleteAnd that's exactly what we did. Thank you. Next time I'll script it. This time was pure spontaneous enthusiasm. Happy New Year to you too Helen.
DeleteHow nice to hear your voice! I'm curious, what was for lunch?
ReplyDeleteOh you are being kind. Like most of us, I hate how I sound and do wish my mom had given me voice lessons, so I could control that twang. Lucky for me, everybody talks that way around here. Lunch at the RC is a little of this and a little of that, a buffet. It's very charming and a nice break from the beach. (Ellis and I have never eaten lunch at our lounge chairs at the beach; we like to break up the day).
DeleteLovely video - spectacular for sure!
ReplyDeleteIs that color gorgeous or what? It takes my breath away every time we round the bend driving into town from the airport. Muy simpatico.
DeleteI agree, that scene surely is as close to heaven as we have here on earth! Wow! I loved hearing the surf, almost drowning out your voice. I could almost smell the salty air....and taste the wine! I hope you had a lovely time! Merry Christmas!
ReplyDeleteIt should have drowned out my voice, but with no prep and on a whim with the iPad, I couldn't resist recording that color, that sound. We had just stopped in the room for a second to change from wet suits to dry ones for lunch. I was hanging mine on the balcony when I was struck by my spontaneous nature. Have a Merry Christmas too Katherine.
DeleteOh my, it is a knock out, for sure. Best part ever, it is so peaceful looking and yes it does appear if you wish to escape from the heavy crowds of shoppers- that is the place to be. I'm not a snow fan really, (gosh and I live in Minnesota, born and raised in Michigan) I must be a snow/cold/tundra lover of all- NO! Not really, but yes, for me that white stuff around outside on Christmas Eve, must be that cold, often wet or icy WHITE stuff called snow. But- after that, I am so ready for WINE!!! Yes, please pass that bottle around! Merry happy wonderful Christmas or whatever other holiday you may share with loved ones....enjoy, and thanks for such a COOL video!
ReplyDeleteWe met a couple of couples from Minnesota who were also looking to escape the inevitable snow and cold--also from Tennessee, New York, Illinois, England and Germany--all places nearly on the same latitude as Michigan. Then from warmer spots like Texas and Florida, both a little over an hour flight away.
DeleteWhile others around here prefer Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, Ellis and I like three and a half hours nonstop and we're there in our bathing suits, on a lounge chair under a palm tree gazing at the sea, me with my paints, him with his newspaper.
You are welcome. Have a Merry...and a Happy.
What a heavenly view! Both of them... but I prefer the blue and sunny one! Merry Christmas, Linda!
ReplyDeleteI prefer blue and sunny too. But here we are just past the Solstice with the days growing longer. Before we know it (ha,ha) blue and sunny will be coming our way. I really should have taken up skiing.
DeleteIk vind het mooie foto het filmpje doet het bij mij niet dus kan ik daar niets over zeggen fijne week lieve groetjes Daniëlle
ReplyDeleteDanielle, I seemed to have lost Google translation so I have no idea what you are saying in Dutch or how to find out. I'm sorry. I enjoyed your comments up till now. And now, can no longer respond to them. Google had done something weird--or I have?
DeleteCiao to you too Linda!
ReplyDeleteGreat video and fantastic snow photo. I love them both for so many varied reasons!
The snow scene is screaming for you to do a "Jackson Pollack" type work!
(Oh, so much fun to hear your voice on the video!)
We are expecting our first major snow next week. Yippee!
Take care.
Your art buddy!
Michael
Sorry, glad for you depending on how you feel about snow, ice and slush. Pollackesque would be about right. But, I really think the photograph stands on its own. After the hoopla of the holidays, I'll get back to business: my guys.
DeleteThey say howdy and chow in the midwest? That pool is unbelievable!! As for the beach, my cousin came down to visit from Boston once and told us that we lived in paradise. We laughed, but it is true. Thanks for the film, it was fun.
DeleteChow is chow, food. Ciao is bye in Italian. I should have said Ola (hi) and adios (bye) being in Mexico--next impulsive moment. I guess I was too influenced by the Texans we run into there every year. It's hard not to fall into their drawl. There are no beaches in the states like this one. Naples, FL came close, but didn't have that glorious color. I think there's a touch of Ultramarine in that mix that goes to deep violet and indigo as you look out to the horizon. Making the film was fun. Getting it to post was a chore, not being too swift with such things.
DeleteHmmm ... Mexico or Michigan??? I think I pick Mexico!! That is a a gorgeous hotel and beach! Truly heavenly!!
ReplyDeleteBack to art - that snowy tree scene would make a fabulous work in graphite.
And before I sign out, I KNEW you would get the film figured out!!! Thank you so much. It's great to see there is a warm sunny place somewhere right now. :)
You have to transfer the video to documents in order to post it. I had already sent it to my F drive, my external drive, in my quest for making more memory on this laptop. I had to put it back into the C drive--not in Pictures, but in Documents. It only took me a morning of fooling around!
DeleteOddly enough, the RC had the best preseason prices. For four nights, you got the fifth free. So we stayed for five nights. The hotel is elegant, but not stuffy. The staff is very tuned into whatever makes you happy. You can, however, run into stuffy guests--their first time in a five star hotel of international fame sort of folks. They aren't as friendly. I think because they are inhibited by their surroundings--tapestries, wood mouldings, elegant service. Too bad, most of the folks there are thrilled to be there and to meet and talk to other happy RC campers. And no one dresses up. Guys in shorts. This gal in "dress" warm up pants/elastic waist, tank top and flip-flops. Hair as it came out of the pool, which is kept at 84 degrees. I love the place. It is my pleasure (that's what all the service people say every time you ask them for something) to be a guest there.
Upon arrival, the Bellman said what he says to all arriving guests, "It's my pleasure Mrs. Roth to welcome you to the Ritz Carlton." I said, "No, it's my pleasure to be here." Then he said, "No, it's my pleasure to have you here." And we went back and forth till both of us were laughing and I punched him lightly on the arm and told him I get the last pleasure since I'm the guest. Meanwhile I use that phrase with my clients all the time. It's a great one.
It's strange how most people hate the way they speak - but it seems to be a fact of life. Of course there isn't, in the whole English speaking world, a correct RP (Received Pronunciation)and we all sound perfectly reasonable, just that we don't sound the way WE THINK we should sound! Posh English, tends to represent 'class' in the UK, but is only a result of the influence of Mercian Saxon, not class!! If Caxton had put his press in Scotland ... then a Scottish accent would be the posh standard! (Guess who has been studying the history of the English Language?) I thought it was a great video (is that still the term?) including a lovely commentary
ReplyDeleteI know what you mean about interlocking structures :0)),,,you'll not be surprised to hear.
It looks like you had a ball, even drinking with the 'Limies', hope you've come back with your batteries fully charged.
Of course I was being spontaneous. I had the iPad in my hand and it takes cool pics so I thought I'd try to record what I was seeing when I took my wet bathing suit out to hang on a chair to dry. Too many "knockout" came out of my mouth. But that was an apt description. Listening to the video later and laughing at my lack of eloquence, I wished I had scripted something, but then I would have had to memorize it and what was spontaneous would have turned into a big production. Our luck-of-the-draw room blew me away particularly the view from the wrap around balcony. I had to share, for certainly this was a once in a life time happening. Who knows where you're going to luck out again.
DeleteAs for the sound of my voice--the closet line I said on normal pitch was "I'm talking to my friends." But I still wish my mom had given me voice lessons (instead of all forms of dance), for then I would have learned voice control and how to play down the Midwestern twang of a long A.
You are a man of many interests. As were the two 'limmies' we had great fun with. There was also another English couple we spent some entertaining times with and an other English couple who had moved to Monte Carlo and were vacationing with their newly divorced son and his three sons. I wished we could have gotten to know all of them better, but on holiday, ships mostly just pass in the night.
I hope this presages a new chapter in your blogging. Now you've mastered the production and posting of video you have also created the expectation that this will be a regular feature of your fascinating diary.
ReplyDeleteI don't think so. I was grabbed by the moment and happened to have the iPad in my hand.
DeleteOh, boy, I do wish I was there......I'm cold today. I loved to hear your voice, just as I knew it would be, full of joy and enthusiasm for life, painting, colours, people, family...etc, etc, etc, everything. Next thing is to video yourself painting!!!!
ReplyDeleteThat's very funny. But thanks for being kind with regards towards my video efforts. It was spontaneous. It was the thrill of the place. It was me hanging my wet suit out to dry on the balcony with Ellis at my back rushing me off to lunch--not that he couldn't have gone on without me.
Deletehappy christmas to you and your family linda !
ReplyDeleteThanks Jane. Same to you and yours.
DeleteBuon natale!!
ReplyDeleteFeliz Navidad Gabriella to you and yours.
Delete(sorry, bad typo above, I have to delete and fix it!)
ReplyDeleteoh I love the film...what a spectacular place!! I agree with you, that it is a "knockout"! Man alive....what a view!! I also loved your accent. I believe I have one also. The midwest accent is a good one (but it is true, it is twang-y). I guess I like it because it sounds like home to me. Loved when you told Ellis that you were talking to your friends. That was very sweet indeed! Thanks, friend, for the pretty travelog!
Glad you enjoyed it. I really couldn't stop looking at that view. It made my heart sing. --I couldn't stop thinking and saying it was a knockout. IT WAS A KNOCKOUT.
DeleteDear Linda, it was nice to share so many things, this lovely travel in the Caribbean Sea, which has interrupted your and also my winter. So much has happened here but are not yet subject to blog ... so when a little bit of calm will descend upon me I will update you on what has happened in my "frantic" month of December. I wish you and your family, Happy Holidays at home !!!CIAO!!!Rita.
ReplyDeleteA great interruption for me and I hope you too. I also hope all the happenings at your house this crazy month are the good kind. And yes Happy Holidays dear Rita Ciao to Chow.
DeleteHello Linda, I wish you and your family a Merry Christmas and a Happy 2013!! A hug! Tito.
ReplyDeletea hug back Tito and to all of yours this Christmas season.
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