The Bathhouse

Bathhouse door.  City Island, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. September 2013.

Why it’s simply impassible!
Alice: Why, don’t you mean impossible?
Door: No, I do mean impassible. (chuckles) Nothing’s impossible!

~ Lewis Carroll, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland & Through the Looking-Glass

Harrisburg skyline from City Island. September 2013.

I’ve been sorting through photos, and came across a series that I took on City Island the last time M and I were in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.  Since it’s a rather gloomy day here at the Wabi-Sabi Ranch, I thought it would be nice to revisit a sunnier time.

The Bathhouse.

I haven’t been able to find much information about the bathhouse on the island other than that it was built in 1921 or 1922.  There is a concrete beach just down the hill from the bathhouse.

Windows on the bathhouse.

I don’t know if people still swim there (I think they do), but according to stories I’ve heard from family, it was once a very popular spot for swimming and sunbathing.

The Beach on City Island.

I don’t have any more information about the bathhouse to share.  I wish I did.  I’d like to learn more about it since it’s such an interesting looking building.  Perhaps I’ll find time to do a more thorough search another day.  For now, I’ll just show you the photos and ramble about something else.

Looking up at the bathhouse from the beach.

As I was out on my walk today, I got to thinking about how this is the time of year I’d be showing you ice or snow, or perhaps the Christmas tree and Christmas lights.  We have none of that on the Wabi-Sabi Ranch right now.

Another window and door.

Mother Nature, of course, has decorated for the season so I could show you photos of holly and ivy, boughs of pine with pine cones still attached, red berries and green leaves, and mistletoe hung high in the trees.  We are lacking in ice and snow (but not in rain and clouds).

The Rules

I did give thought to bringing in some of nature’s decorations to spruce up the house, and to help us get into the spirit of things.  But with things still so chaotic, it didn’t make sense to add to the mess.

Balcony

As a result of not decorating, I’m feeling a little bah-humbug-y this year.  I bet if I took the time to look back, I’d find I feel Ebenezer Scrooge-ish most years around this time.  It might be the chaos of the season.  The craziness of the holidaze.  I often wonder what happened to the excitement I used to feel at Christmastime, especially as a child.  Is there a way to get that back?  Scrooge did.

Is it just me or do the windows look a little sad?

I am sure I’ll perk up and get into the spirit of things very soon.  The shopping is done, and packages are ready to mail out.  I’ll sit down and finish the cards tonight.  By the weekend, I’ll be with my sons, daughters-in-law, and granddaughters, and I’ll have forgotten all about my Scrooge-ish moments.

A look inside.

How do you feel this time of year?  Does the season get you down?  Or have you retained a sense of childlike wonder and excitement about the holidays?

A glimmer of cheer

Thank you for stopping by today.  I hope your Tuesday has been going well, and that your inner Scrooge, if you have one, isn’t putting a damper on things.  Now that I think about it, I hope my inner Scrooge isn’t putting a damper on things (including this post).  It might be time for a visit from the ghosts of Christmas past, present, and future to put in an appearance.

Green lights

Be good, be kind, be loving.  Just Be.  🙂

Red lights

It is a fair, even-handed, noble adjustment of things, that while there is infection in disease and sorrow, there is nothing in the world so irresistibly contagious as laughter and good humour.

~ Charles Dickens, A Christmas Carol