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| Early morning at Lake Padden |
I almost forgot what it feels like to have a sky full of sun. It was quite cold last night and fog hung over everything as I drove to Lake Padden, but occasionally the fog would lift and I was blinded by the low sun shining right in my eyes. About fifteen of us met there to ring in the new year with a quick walk around the lake.
This was the first walk I ever made with this group, three years ago today. I wrote about it
here, and back then I stayed to take pictures of the Polar Bear dip. This year I didn't stay that long; there are only so many pictures you can get of people immersing themselves in frigid waters before it all becomes more of the same. I did briefly consider doing it myself today, but when I saw that the temperature was only 27 degrees F, I quickly changed my mind.
After our walk, we shared coffee and hot chocolate that Cindy had brought, and several other walkers brought goodies as well. Notice that the bench is still covered with frost (brrr!), but we were quite warm after our brisk walk. Before we left, people were beginning to set things up for the Polar Bear swim.
I feel I should mention that I checked over my blog posts for recommendations about good movies I've seen this past year, but many of them were at the beginning of the year (
The Artist and
The Iron Lady, for example) and were made in 2011. Ones I hope you won't miss this year, however, are
The Intouchables, a French movie I just loved, and
Searching for Sugarman, a documentary about a singer called Rodriguez. Last week Judy and I went to see
Les Misérables, and I simply couldn't stop raving about that one. It's a musical, and there are hardly any words that are not sung. To my mind it was a masterpiece, almost more like an opera it was so grand in scale. I read all the reviews and found that those reviewers who didn't like it mostly didn't like musicals, or had preconceived notions of what the movie would be. If you go with an open mind, I think you will love it, too.
:-)
i think a brisk walk sounds MUCH better than a polar bear dip! glad you had some sunshine!
ReplyDeleteah saw les mis on broadway in HS...it enchanted me...cant wait to see this...and even after watching them dip in that frigid water i would need coffee...ha...
ReplyDeleteYour brisk walk sounds wonderful - but I think I would have braved the swim. It probably was no colder than Antarctica which was my last chilly swim.
ReplyDeleteHave a wonderful New Year, and I am pleased that is has started so well for you.
What a wonderful way to start the New Year. I loved 'The artist' this year but looking back I don't seem to have been to the cinema as much as usual. I did go and see 'The exotic Marigold Hotel' with a group of friends and we couldn't stop laughing. Also saw 'Salmon fishing in the Yemen' which was ok but much preferred the book.
ReplyDeleteAt least there is no snow there, and it is above zero..and it looks green! Happy New Year!! :)
ReplyDeleteYou know DJan, I think some people simply do not get cold like in how I or some others get cold. I could not even in my wildest dreams imagine a dip in that pool up there. However, I do admire the spirit that takes some there.
ReplyDeleteI need to start renting dvd's again so I can see some of these movies.
Peace for you in the new year!
yeah sunshine...
ReplyDeleteToo cold for me! I prefer to snorkel in the sunshine! Glad you had fun on New Year's Day.
ReplyDeleteStick to walking. Leave the polar bear stuff to some one else.
ReplyDeleteI don't watch many movies but I find your reviews interesting and well done.
It is cold here too. We went to the dog park early today, and I was pretty cold, but it was so fun to see Boston happy. Then, we went to photograph the lights at the Broadmoor tonight. What were we thinking? it was 19 degrees! I had a cold induced asthma attack and we had to go inside in 20 minutes. It was beautiful and fun though.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed a brisk walk on this brisk, sunny day too.
ReplyDeleteAs you know from Facebook, we had mixed feelings about Les Miserables. I have never seen the stage play, but I have heard so much about the beautiful music. This movie didn't care about the beauty of the music. Much of the singing was not even melodic because the director chose to have the songs acted rather than sung. I did think the acting was amazing, and the set design and costuming were wonderful, but the movie bogged down in the middle because the storytelling dragged, perhaps due to the non-stop but not melodic singing.
But I'm glad we saw it. it was a spectacle.
Oh are you kidding NO SNOW??????? I'm on my way :} Starting the New Year going back to my old stomping -hiking ground my the water.....sooon... it was 28 today it's 7 now...... *SIGH* I am just not in shape anymore to withstand that sort of cold! Hopefully by next winter I will be :}
ReplyDeleteOh I enjoyed the movie Les Miserables...but it was so hyped up, that the performances were lacking for me. As I said on my blog, I think Russell Crowe did the best job. For me, I liked the scenery [as opposed to plays]. There were good parts, great parts and some not so good. And, I did go into the theater with an open mind.... [and I LOVED the Artist]
ReplyDeleteAs for polar bear dipping, with 27 degrees...I'd not do it either.
Beautiful images once again DJan. Happy New Year.
Whoa - good to hear you had a brisk walk to welcome the New Year and not by a cold Polar Dip. There are many dips taking place all over our countryside as well, but this is not for me. I love that first photo DJan. Welcome to 2013 my friend.
ReplyDeleteWhat a gorgeous spot for a walk, in any season! You were absolutely right in one of your reviews about Life of Pi. What an incredible movie!
ReplyDeleteWhen I go to FL after the Caribbean I'm going to see Les Mis. Can't wait now. Nice hike. Hope your year is healthy and happy!
ReplyDeleteWe're on our way to see Les Miserabe this weekend. I thought Lincoln was a great film with great writing and acting....
ReplyDeleteDJan, I saw Les Miserables on stage a few years ago and can't quite bring myself to see it on a screen. It is an all time great in my estimation and I don't want to change the memory. Glad you enjoyed it.
ReplyDeleteI admire the Polar Bear club and their enthusiasm. Unless it makes your heart stop how bad could it be.
Speaking of how bad can it be...I deleted my blog after a Google notification that one of the blogs that I have linked on mine is a Malware carrier. Malware, as you probably know has the capability of capturing every key stroke on your computer and thereby learning passwords, bank account numbers, etc. Not worth the risk to try to remove the link, so I just removed the blog.
I may set up another one in the near future, but in the meanwhile I will content myself to visit you and a couple of other folks that I enjoy.
Be well.
Wow! I just love your early morning photos! They are spectacular.
ReplyDeleteWe just watched the video "Beasts of the Southern Wild" because it had such fabulous reviews by all the critics. Frankly, we just couldn't understand it. Why would this get 4.5 stars and Les Miserables get 2.5? It's ridiculous! I'd really like to see Intouchables. I'll put it on my list right now.
Your early morning shots of the lake are beautiful DJan. I would much prefer the brisk walk to the swim on such a nippy morning. I haven't seen Les Miserables yet but probably will soon.
ReplyDeleteI wish some of that sunshine would work its way over to our side of the state.
Can't wait to see it. Even hubby is excited but we have not been able to get a time. I hope it will be soon.
ReplyDeleteGlad you are still out there walking in the beauty of nature.
Those first two are such beautiful photos, DJan. So peaceful and lovely.
ReplyDeleteAnd you'd never catch me even considering the polar bear dip. I ease into the water slowly, even in the height of summer. My niece does it every year in Lake Erie, though.
Beautiful lake!!! But definitely too cold for me to join in a swim! :p
ReplyDeleteLes Intouchables was a fabulous French film which I also enjoyed immensely! And I've been raving about Les Misérables since I saw it! I was very happy it was mostly singing... because they don't dub the singing here! So that means for once I got to see most of the movie in English! :p
Beautiful lake!!! But definitely too cold for me to join in a swim! :p
ReplyDeleteLes Intouchables was a fabulous French film which I also enjoyed immensely! And I've been raving about Les Misérables since I saw it! I was very happy it was mostly singing... because they don't dub the singing here! So that means for once I got to see most of the movie in English! :p