Casi Cielo

Yes, I'll admit that despite my conscious efforts to shop and eat local, I do fall off the wagon. I carry a Starbucks card and subscribe to their multi-media marketing blitz. Sorry. Well anyway, today Starbucks announced the return of Casi Cielo, a coffee blend from Guatemala. I could care less about what new (or old) coffee Starbucks is serving, but the words casi cielo captured my attention. I love the way they roll off the tongue. Casi cielo means "almost heaven" in Spanish. Beautiful.

So it got me to thinking, what is casi cielo in my world?

A nice long soak in a hot tub filled with fragrant bubbles.

You see, there's something you may not know about me . . . I'm part mermaid. I'm sure of it. A spell in the tub doesn't just make me happy, it is essential to my well-being.

When I was growing up, it used to drive me crazy when my mother would only allow me to partially fill the tub for a bath -- with the water level being just above your ankle if you stood. I'm not sure why she did that; probably that fear of drowning thing they instill in mothers, or maybe it had something to do with her growing up in a big family on a farm long, long ago. I honestly don't know, but when I moved into my first apartment I remember being thrilled that I could fill a tub as high as it would allow and soak as long as I wanted. Ah, the freedom!

I feel absolutely at peace when I'm immersed in the tub. It is where I decompress. Some people go to the gym to relieve stress; I just turn on the hot water and soak away the tension and noise of the day. Add a glass of wine and a good book to the equation and you may not see me emerge until the water gets cold. Of course, music and candles are nice too, but the scented steam rising from the water is ample ambiance for me.

My water-loving nature means I am equally at home in the pool. When I'm there, I prefer to soak up the sun while sitting in the water rather than lying beside it on a beach chair. (Unless I'm being splashed and jumped on by children. Then I'll take the chair and wait for a quiet corner to become available.) The Neptune Park pool is definitely one of my favorite places to be in the summer. You can find me and Declan there for at least a few hours a day on most sunny weekends. To be able to sit in the shadow of the lighthouse and overlook the ocean while enjoying an afternoon with friends at the pool is casi cielo in my book!

Oddly, I have discovered I don't have the same affinity for swimming in the ocean. Perhaps it's the fact that I end up with sand everywhere imaginable. Or maybe the fact that Declan and I have actually seen a small shark dart past our ankles when we were wading in the water at the beach near the lighthouse. While I think watching the tide is very soothing, I find swimming in it is not. I must be part domesticated mermaid.

But what it boils down to is that my casi cielo is right here. I have ample opportunity for lengthy soaks in the tub with bubbles up to my nose, a readily available pool in one of the most gorgeous settings imaginable, and miles of beaches on which to walk or just sit and listen to the sound of the waves. Si, mi casa es casi cielo.