Skirt!!

Whew!! It's done. It took me 6 tries to get the invisible zipper in (and notice in the photo how marvelously invisible it is!), but I did it. I had some major tension battles with my machine along the way and had to rip out a few seams and redo them. I going to start looking for a new machine. In the meantime, I will bask in the success of my cute new skirt, and try to remember the sewing police will not pull me over and issue me a citation for not redoing a couple of sloppy seams due to my tension problems. And I think I did a pretty darn good job on the topstitching too.

Maya Tulum

I just got back from 5 nights at Maya Tulum resort. It was idyllic paradise, a haven, an escape...do I need to go on? It was relaxing, so very relaxing. For 5 days my brain was quiet. I spent hours just staring out at the blue Caribbean sea, and really not thinking of anything. My days consisted of some variation of yoga, walking, eating, napping, reading, staring at the sea, eating, lounging, swimming, walking, napping, eating, reading, knitting, staring at the moon and the sea, and sleeping.

The good:
A gorgeous room with a spectacular view, wonderful food, great staff. Soft sand. Going barefoot the entire week--I didn't have to wear shoes to go in to the restaurant! Laying on my bed with the windows open, enjoying the view. Laying on lounge chair under a beach cabana, enjoying the view. Enjoying the view while eating breakfast, lunch and dinner. No sunburn! Swimming in delightfully warm water. I can touch my toes without bending my knees. No TV, no shopping, limited internet, no phones. LOVED the technology fast.

The not so good:
Yoga was way more advanced that I expected. The beginner's yoga flow class (Tuesday) had us doing the dolphin pose into an inversion, and some serious twist/lunge thing that makes my shoulder twinge just thinking about it. Sadly I didn't listen to my body well for that first class, so I could barely move for the next day or so. Thank goodness for massage! The moon salutation class (Thursday) that was suppose to be all levels had us doing the wild thing (which I did!) and the twisted trunk pose. I did a better job not pushing myself, and the instructor was a little more helpful in how to adapt the poses,  so I did some way bendier things than I thought I could.

Over a dozen bug bites, 3 bruises from the concrete floor in the yoga hall, sore muscles (but a good sore).

It was a little jarring coming home. The Cancun airport was loud and busy, and after 6 days in blissful paradise it was unpleasant.

The interesting:
A cat welcomed me to the resort after dinner my first night. I think he really wanted to sleep in my cabana, but I wouldn't let him in. I really must have sucker in blazing neon on me!! He got a good ear scratching out of me.

Geckos hanging out on the ceiling of my room. One managed to poop on one of my books (sorry library!).

Sleeping under a mosquito net is cool and dreamy, and eliminates any worry about gecko poop!

Throwing your toilet paper in the trash instead of in the toilet takes some getting used to.

The resort's shampoo and conditioner have honey in them. I really like smelling honey all day. :-D

Eating avocado and fish every day rocks.

Drinking out of a coconut also rocks. And it's fun to see your waiter use a machete to hack a hole in the top of the coconut so you can drink it! I think the machete is underutilized.

Nothing dries! My clothes, my hair, etc all pretty much stayed damp the entire time I was there.

Kundalini meditation....some breathing with different sounds which vibrated in different areas of the body, and some chanting. Apparently serious practitioners wear a turban to keep their skull from flying apart. Thankfully I didn't experience that, but it was kind of wild feeling vibrations in your chest, throat, and forehead and top of the head.

Snorkeling in Yal-Ku lagoon in Akumal. OK, so I did one thing while I was there. This was the only time I left the resort. It's a man-made lagoon about 30 minutes from the resort; I found it to be a bit of a tourist trap, but snorkeling is snorkeling!

We got a pretty good storm front in Wednesday night that stayed the rest of my trip. I actually didn't mind the rain, although I did worry that first night with the thatched roof, which did fine. Water seeped in through the doors and windows though so I had good size puddles in my room. In fact I think there was more water in my room over two days than we've had rain here at home!!

Little Witch

She's a cute little pin. I painted her today at the Heart of Texas Tolers meeting. It's a Rosemary West design.