When I Am Old I Shall Wear Yellow

But first, a note of thanks ...

My goodness! The nicest people read my blog, as evidenced by the beautiful comments made after the post on April 22nd. Thank you for all your kind words. They helped me to "get out of the weeds," so to speak on some things that have been weighing on my mind. So thank you all!

Now to continue with today's blog post which is a playful truth.

***********************

"When I Am Old I Shall Wear Yellow"

Up until just a few years ago, I never 

(and I mean, NEVER) wore yellow.

This personal conviction began when my (now middle-aged) children were in Kindergarten and younger. We were deciding on the paint for our children’s rooms. Not surprisingly, the boys’ walls went from builder’s basic eggshell white to blue. Our daughter got yellow, in part because pink was more than my husband wanted to see every day, and because sometime during that era our daughter decided yellow (“Lello” as she pronounced it) was her favorite color.

Around that time I read an article in the newspaper about color. It said all color has either a blue base or a yellow base. That intrigued me but then more so when I read a book, Color Me Beautiful, that said we should wear colors that compliment our skin’s basic hue. 

I analyzed myself, following that with conversations with a girlfriend at church who was really into this color idea. It was determined that I was a “winter”, which meant my best colors were the jewel, or gem tones such as blues, deep reds, purple, forest green (as opposed to olive green), navy, and black. (That meant I should not wear brown, orange, beige, and yellow)

I will add that my color consultant friend was very attractive, never wearing colors that did not flatter her skin tone. I gradually filtered out the yellow-based shades from my closet. That philosophy has worked well for me over the years and I have no regrets about it. 

But then my life took some unexpected turns. Widowhood ambushed my life. Among many changes was the loss of 20 pounds due to my grief. I eventually had to buy some new clothes because what I had just hung on me like a limp cloth. I learned that even when wearing the "right" colors, grief negatively affects one's personal appearance.

By the goodness of God, a new love caught my attention! A few months after our first date, Gary stated he wanted to give me a bicycle for my birthday. This initiated some interesting thoughts:

* Should I permit that kind of expense at this point in our relationship?

* It was decades since I last rode a bicycle. Could I even do it?

* My senior citizen body would have to make peace with a bicycle seat.

* And of course, what clothes would be bicycle-appropriate? 

When riding a bicycle, it is really important to wear clothing that road traffic can see. I read a study one time that said fire engines are more easily seen when they are painted chartreuse (yellow-green) as opposed to “fire engine red.”

That must be true because as we all know, road construction crews and outdoor landscapers often wear the yellow vests and shirts with the hope car traffic won’t hit them. Thus began my personal battle opposing one of my longest-held promises to myself: I needed some yellow clothes!

❤️ WHAT I DID FOR LOVE ❤️

This item of highway couture was my first foray into the goal of being more visible. However, the velcro tabs were a real bother and I quickly realized I wanted something else.

Yellow tops are not hard to find. I even shopped at a highway gas station where shirts for road construction crews were on sale! As the seasons came and went, I gradually collected long sleeves, short sleeves, sleeveless — supplying my athletic wardrobe for all outdoor temperatures. 

On the bottom half, I choose to wear black pants, capris, and shorts, always with a pocket big enough to hold my cell phone, in case of emergency. (That’s as important as wearing yellow, in my opinion).

At first I wore yellow only when riding our bikes but then this cute T shirt showed up when we were vacationing on Jekyll Island…. I was learning to not be so strict about this color thing. A book title came to mind that gave me further permission:

While I have no plans to go as wild as that story, I have given myself permission to broaden my wardrobe horizons a little.

I usually (but not always) wear yellow when taking a walk through my neighborhood. On impulse I found this wonderful yellow hat at a store closing sale. Clearly, by adding yellow to my closet, I have done something that years ago I never thought would happen. 

We were drinking our usual morning coffee the other day when I shared with Gary some thoughts I’d had about the future. He listened and then with the experience that accompanies years of wisdom he replied, 

“Don’t put a seal on that."

Another way of summing up his counsel is 

found in the New Testament:

Now listen, you who say, 

"Today or tomorrow we will 

go to this or that city,

spend a year there,

carry on business and make money." 

Why, you do not even know 

what will happen tomorrow...

Instead you ought to say,

"If it is the Lord's will, 

we will live and do this or that. 

James 4:13, 14, 15

*P.S. Regarding that 20 pounds I lost, I found them again.🤭

Until next time, grace and peace.

Barbara

Also check out The Christian Lounge, where occasionally my devotional writings are featured.

https://thechristianlounge4u.blogspot.com

A Romantic Birthday Getaway

 

key lime pie

Yes, I am still celebrating my birthday. When you're retired, you can do that, even a full week after the actual day recorded on the birth certificate.

Previously I had hinted that Gary had something really special in mind for my birthday. It was going to happen last week, but the weather forecast was so foreboding that he called and delayed the excitement so our highway travel would (hopefully) not be so harrowing. Nearly 2 hours on the turnpike and unfamiliar freeways in driving rain and strong wind -- we just didn't want to do that.

But now, with no further delay, I will share the MANY snapshots we took of our one-night stay at the Orlando Gaylord Palms Resort. (click on the hotel name for their website)

Gary at the main entrance

Be warned, this is a major "photo dump," as some bloggers like to phrase it. Since this blog is a journal of my memories, this post is going to be more of a scrapbook for my benefit. I'll write captions for most of the snapshots. (You may want to just skim through the pictures quickly and call it done.) This is just a fun place for me to record some wonderful personal memories. Most pictures here are in the order they were taken, with some exceptions.

Where's Waldo Barbara?

huge lobby with a definite Florida theme

fountain outside the main entrance

walking from the front lobby to the HUGE atrium 
that is fairly central to the resort

Tulips don't seem to grow outdoors in Florida.
They do well in greenhouse-type conditions

Many rooms with balconies overlooking the atrium;
I can't tell you how many waterfalls we saw (lots!)

The architecture was Spanish, reminiscent of St. Augustine's
Castillo de San Marcos National Monument

Lots of water (streams), bridges, and 
abundant tropical horticulture

*Note: while checking in, the lady commented that if you intend to sit on the balcony of your room, you may want to get one with the black metal railing instead of the concrete, the latter of which tends to block the view when you're sitting. We appreciated that advice and definitely chose the black metal railing.

one of several restaurants;
they are not all open all the time.

The Moors [seafood] restaurant, which is where we had our dinner.
Our table was on the very far right behind that
pronounced white stripe running the length of the boat.
It was not open when I took this picture.
I'll show our dinner later.

Lots of colorful Vinca, some Daffodils, 
other very well-tended plants everywhere.

White, orange, and yellow Carp in the streams throughout.

A perfect location for a proposal -- but, 
😘 we're already married! 💕

another waterfall 

our room; 
the balcony is beyond the sheer drapes

the shower: there are 2 faucets,
but the higher one is not in this picture.
Note the metal bar for propping your foot.

We each got our own sink;
that blue dot in the mirror was a touch-light
that controlled the [excellent!!] mirror lighting 
and also changed to a night light.
(the next morning my eye liner looked really good 
with this wonderful lighting!)

the first glimpse of our balcony view
(we were on the 4th floor)

The view from our 4th floor (out of 9 stories in some parts)
was mesmerizing to me. 
Notice the Spanish fort tower to the
right of center.

I purposely included my knee in this picture to give
perspective of the view from the balcony.
That is a breakfast buffet restaurant 
with the arches.

Florida is famous for its Manatees. 
This framed photo was in the bathroom. 
Manatees are gentle giants.

Several of the hotels we have visited over recent years
have a personal greeting on the TV screen.
See Gary's name.

Our dinner reservations were for 5:30 pm.
The sun flooded in through floor-to-ceiling windows
on this part of the restaurant on the boat. 
We chose a table where the sun was to our backs.

Seafood was the primary feature although steaks were offered, too.
We both ordered the Grouper served atop wonderful 
creamy rice with freshly-steamed broccoli spears.

Freshly-baked dinner rolls were served
with the most heavenly, soft,  Honey Citrus Butter.
(not shown)

Gary let it be known we were celebrating my birthday.
We had a choice of this Key Lime Pie, 
a chocolate ganache,
and 2 other desserts that I don't remember.
We shared this and then waddled out of the
restaurant! Ha-ha!!!

The atrium view from our balcony
after sunset.

As the sky grew darker, 
there were fluttering butterflies created
with special lighting up above us.
(look at the white metal bracing)

The boat sails from our dinner restaurant
from our balcony view.

This is that same breakfast buffet restaurant 
shown earlier. It felt like we were 
looking into the windows of a doll house!

View of the large screen TV from the bed.

For breakfast the next morning, we didn't want to pay $30 each
for the large breakfast buffet, 
so we got our cereal and bananas from a
grab'n go place frequented 
by many of the same opinion as us.
Gary is on our balcony holding our sack of food
while I took his picture from below.

Balcony breakfast served on my lap!
(no table, just 2 chairs)

Yep!
After breakfast, we walked over to the water park,
still within the boundaries of the Gaylord resort.

Not planning to swim.

There were at least 2 death-defying water tube slides 
as well as all sorts of other water-related attractions.

back in the main atrium area was an Easter theme,
including an extensive tunnel with rabbits and eggs, etc.

We walked through the Gaylord version of the
Spanish Castillo de San Marcos
and found 6 vignettes with artifacts
appropriate for that time in history.

Every once in a while, we would spy
a tiny figurine lounging on a raft
in the streams as we walked past.

While the atrium faithfully depicted Florida's flora and fauna,
all of this was indoors. That meant there were
no Geckos running around. I loved that!

There were 3 baby gators behind glass,
which explains why I was willing to
get this close!!!

There were 4 snakes, too, also in glass boxes, 
who were very much alive. NOT A FAN!
I did not take pictures of them.

We walked, climbed steps, sat, 
and just took it all in with a relaxed pace.
We're not big spenders, although I did stroll through 
all of the shops. I got this fancy paper bracelet when we 
entered the water park.

Check-out time was 11am, so 
we returned to our room to close up our bags
for departure.

all of my birthday cards

A night at the Orlando Gaylord Palms Resort was a fun birthday celebration that (with the help of all these snapshots) I will always remember. Gary showed me a wonderful time and we thoroughly enjoyed it together.

"Arise, my love, 

my fair one, and come away."

Song of Solomon 2:10 and 2:13

Until next time, grace and peace.

Barbara