Maybe the Recovery Spa would have a regularly scheduled half-hour walk through the park to get our circulation moving. In fine weather only of course.

Extra soft flannel pajamas and nightgowns in soothing floral prints. No jarring colors. Occasional short sets of live music; harp, acoustic guitar, string quartet. The sound of waves gently lapping the shore, or birdsong. No talking, no phones, no computers.

Mary, I like those suggestions and I'll certainly add them to the Recovery Spa fantasy inventory. Maybe some nice flannel bathrobes and terrycloth slippers too. And for when we're sitting out in the spring air, some cashmere scarves.

Hot water bottles on call, and your personal humidifer can be programmed to scent eucalyptus, peppermint, lemongrass, or lavender. Inside the spa, your own personal bathroom with a deep tub and nice clean surfaces and lots and lots of towels. And a medicine cabinet full of your favorite cold remedies and a thermometer. I think a nurse should come by once a day and take a look at you too, and let you know you're getting better.

I'm not a pajama and robe person, so is it OK if I just wear some Indian style top and trousers in nice lightweight cotton and go barefoot? This place has to absolutely ban make-up too. I want a masseuse please. And my alka-seltzers, vicks salve, and Mrs. Grasses Noodle soup. Not high tech, or gourmet, but comfort measures from my childhood and they still work for me when I have that rare cold.

I don't want to loll around in a bath tub, I want a heated lap pool and a waterfall for the sound effects. Also an aviary. And ample time to get outside into the gardens. Lots of fresh flowers in the vases and plates of swiss chocolates and fresh fruit everywhere and a hospitality card making endless loops with juices, and hot tea of your choice.

And cats! Lap cats to curl up with. And a doggie or two to pet and comiserate with you.

Whiskey & Honey.

I'm sorry you have a cold, it's a bummer.
I do love your idea of a Recovery Spa.

Well, this is fun -- head cold is now chest cold. I'm dosing myself with Yogi's Cold Season tea, which has valerian in it and therefore should combat this sleeplessness.

I'm going to name part of the Recovery Spa the Calliope Wing. It's going to have a courtyard with an atrium top and a rock formation with waterfall that lands with soothing sounds into a pool below, while plantings of ferns wave their fronds happily in the mist. To the side of the waterfall is a screened aviary where the birds can fly around and hop from branch to branch of a driftwod tree arrangement; cedar benches encircle the aviary so you can sit and listen to the birds, but if you come close to the screen, you'll soon see one little bird out of the small flock that looks right back at you with interest in her eye, and when you speak to her she chirps, and preens, and briefly extends her wings in all their luminescent beauty.

Through the glass doors over there is the heated lap pool, whose water is cleaned through a special filter so that chlorine can be avoided but illnesses are not spread. The hospitality cart is refreshed ever fifteen minutes with hot water and your tea is served in wide two-handled mugs so you can lean over it and breathe in the steam. You can wait at your own lounge chair station, enjoying your own vase of flowers and whatever treats the cart brings you, until the masseuse comes by and gently taps you on the shoulder, now that she's ready for your appointment.

To one side of the Spa there is an English garden with a separate walled herb garden with gravel path. Out the other side, though, you see the mountain view for which the Spa is famous, and clear breezes play along the deck which was built so you could enjoy the scenery as theater. If you wander down the steps from the deck, you can enjoy the alpine garden growing in terraces on the slope beneath, and wander in the sheltered sunlight as you observe the tiny plants in their native habitats. On the other side of a small valley you can see the horse farm, where chestnut horses frolic or feed quietly in a large corral, while some Spa guests mount up outside to go for a trail ride.

Did I mention what a boon the Spa is to the local economy?

It'd be worth having a cold if there were truly a Recovery Spa with amenities such as those mentioned above!

Sounds like heaven.

Ditto the massages and lap cats. It sounds a little weird, but I would like facial massages as well--work the sinus area a bit. And someone with strong hands to squeeze fresh oranges a couple of times a day (to be served with liquor upon request).