brillohead

And the last bit for now...

A few more...

1 minute ago, Keksie said:

Good idea not to post the picture.  Those are hilarious.

Yeah, I don't need another ten day ban for posting candy like I got for posting cookies!!!

And this one features OB's neighbor!  

Some memes that made me think of @Sea Dog and the other boozers here.... (will have to post some of them on FB instead, to avoid Monopoly!):

Hey @Ocean Boy, check out these Lighthouse Gummies!!!

https://www.reddit.com/r/NovaScotia/comments/17jcvnn/bought_these_lighthouse_gummies_at_the_airport_as/?force_seo=1

 

Note that I am NOT posting the picture myself, to hopefully stay in the good graces of The Powers That Be and avoid playing Monopoly this time!

1 hour ago, Kathy Cervoni said:

Thank you so much for all this information, I'm actually calling to finally this because when I asked they told me I could not and dialysis had to be at their center, my nurse and doctor informed me this wasn't true so I'm calling again. Plus now with all the information you provided me I'm more relax and prepared... thank you so much

You're very welcome!  If you look at the restricted item list, it doesn't list medical devices at all, so I don't see how they could restrict you from bringing your own.  I know people here have posted about doing IV infusions through a port or a PICC in the privacy of their stateroom -- I don't see how this would be any different!

On 1/13/2024 at 2:35 PM, taglovestocruise said:

That would depend on what departments have fewer crew. 

Exactly. 

Plus you only need one Captain per ship, regardless if there are two passengers or ten thousand.  Same for Hotel Director, Guest Services Manager, etc. 

And the number of "below decks" crew in the engine room, laundry facility, etc., aren't going to affect the guest experience.

Virgin peach daiquiris are my fave.

On 1/15/2024 at 10:40 AM, SoloAlaska said:

Print them and bring them with you. Often people borrow the hotels stapler to put them on if they flew in the night before. Cruise luggage tag holders are the easiest.

I've never been to a US port where the porters didn't have a stapler in their pocket.  When I have pre-printed my tags, I have them folded up / ready to go (can even do it in the Uber on the way to the port), and I hand them to the porter and he puts them on my bags and staples them. 

I've also had times when I didn't have them pre-printed, and the porter takes out a stack of blank tags and writes my info on it with a Sharpie.  

On 1/14/2024 at 5:22 PM, Sea Dog said:

I’ll have to edit a picture of me in photoshop and take out the mustache and see would I would look like.

I had to wait until I got home to be able to post this one:

On 1/13/2024 at 4:17 PM, Tree_skier said:

How full is Labadee going to feel and how is it going to be getting a lounger with some shade somewhere when I'm not one of the early ones off the ship.

I'm home now, so can share my pics of Labadee -- loungers and umbrellas galore!!!!

These are all at Columbus Cove.  Nellie's Beach is considerably smaller, so might be harder to find a lounger.  But Adrenaline Beach (under the zip line) is long and full of loungers as well. 

6 minutes ago, Ocean Boy said:

That is really unfortunate.

I'm better off without her toxicity in my life... wish I'd cut the ties that bind a lot sooner, but at least I was able to protect my son from her.  

And my experiences with my adoptive family meant that finding and being accepted and loved by my biological father last year was all the sweeter!  

Even though I told him I was home for the weekend and had plenty of food plus city water and a gas furnace and a gas water heater and a generator if we lost power, so I had absolutely no reason to nor intention of leaving the house during the Snowmageddon and Big Chill, my bio-dad still called and texted me four times over the weekend, just to make sure I was safe.  💗

9 hours ago, MJSailors said:

I use a Wahl hair trimmer for giving DH buzz cuts. They make good products.

He can go to their web site to check the trimmers out. 

If you already have a Wahl, you don't need to bother with a beard trimmer unless he just wants a smaller device.  Just choose the length of the guard you want, and away you go. 

I bought a Wahl for my son and his father's hair almost 20 years ago, and my ex is still using it to buzz his hair and trim his beard.  He even uses it to trim his eyebrows so they don't look like caterpillars.  One time he forgot to put a guard on at all and he did one eyebrow -- BUZZZZZZZZZZZZ, and it was gone, so then he had to buzz off the other one so his face would be symmetrical! 🤣 

 

On 1/13/2024 at 4:17 PM, Tree_skier said:

How full is Labadee going to feel and how is it going to be getting a lounger with some shade somewhere when I'm not one of the early ones off the ship.

Chiming in here to confirm what others have said.  When they rebuilt Coco Cay, they also added a BUNCH of loungers and umbrellas to Labadee.  Before then, loungers were available but you had to look around and drag it to where you wanted it, and it was hard to find any shade, but now it's set up like Coco Cay with rows and rows of loungers with umbrellas at alternating pairs.  (I have a picture I can post, but I'm at work and it's saved on my computer at home.)

I don't understand why people spend money on the "loungers for two with a clamshell" when they can get two loungers with an umbrella (with better ventilation than the clamshell) for free!  Ditto for the beach beds -- to get sun protection, you have to enclose yourself in the curtains, which cuts off your breeze.  

As stated, they might not open the buffet at Columbus Cove depending on the number of passengers, but there are free trams that will take you back and forth.  (And even if the buffet isn't open, the bar will be!)  Or if you have a late breakfast on the ship, you may not want to bother with lunch ashore at all.

On 1/11/2024 at 6:32 PM, Lionesss said:

The greatest accomplishment is she now has made the connection to asking for what she wants with sign language. 

Are you teaching ASL, or just the "kiddie sign language" for the most-used words?

I had grand plans to use signing with my kid, but every time I tried to teach him a sign, he'd just say the darn word instead!!!  He had a legit vocabulary of over 100 words at 13 months (my MIL and I wrote them all down to count them). 

I had high hopes that his extreme verbal skills would translate into a love of reading, but I was mightily disappointed -- he inherited his father's lack of interest in the written word.  True to form, though, he will talk your ear off to this day!!!!

On 1/11/2024 at 11:09 AM, h20skibum said:

Somehow, Daryl had to appear in our family photo we took in the tiki hut of our house rental.   The grandkids were also making a “Daryl” movie.  My one grandson is taking a film making class.

PLEASE share this video when it is completed!!!  

On 1/9/2024 at 11:32 AM, A&L_Ont said:

Owen now has his G2, and can drive on his own. Now he has to save up for some wheels, but until then we don’t have to drive him to all of his practices.
 

I loved when my son got his license.  My rule was that he had no curfew, but he always had to call me and let me know when he was headed home.  This served two purposes:

1. It gave me an idea of when to expect him, and when to start worrying if he wasn't home by the ETA.  Until he exceeded the ETA, I just didn't worry. 

2. It gave me a built-in DoorDash driver!!!  I'd text him my order and he'd go through the applicable drive-thru and bring me my food!


Recommendation for those with high-school-aged kids (or grandkids):  If the parents have a decent credit score, get an "authorized user" card in the child's name (with rules about what/how much it can be used for).  Even though the child isn't legally liable to pay the account (which is in the parent's name), they still get acknowledged for the responsible usage of a credit card, and it's reflected in their credit score. 

Most kids don't have a credit history until they're living on their own and paying for utilities, etc., and then they have to start at nothing and build their history/score up as they go.  But being an authorized user on a card starts establishing a credit history before they even graduate high school, and makes it easier to rent an apartment, get a car loan with a lower interest rate, and get a lower premium on their insurance.

In my case, I gave the kid two different authorized user credit cards.  One was The Mom Card, so if I sent him for food or to fill my car's gas tank or whatever, he used that card (and if he was picking up food for me, he was allowed to get food for himself on my card).   The other was The Kid Card -- if he was getting gas for his car, or taking his girlfriend to dinner, or buying a pair of shoes beyond what I provided for him, he put it on his card, and he paid me in cash at the end of the month so I could pay off the card each cycle.  

When he graduated high school, even though he had no job (he was leaving in a week for the Army, but wasn't drawing a paycheck yet), he qualified for a $2500 credit card limit from our credit union without even asking (they just offered it to him when we went to open his checking account).  He was the only kid in his barracks with a credit score >800.  I still remember the time he texted me and said, "I just checked my credit score -- thanks, Momma!" 🙂

On 1/9/2024 at 8:51 AM, h20skibum said:

After disembarking yesterday, we traveled to central Florida to visit with a couple friends.  

 

We have never been to this place before. 

 

All I can say is OMG, the things I wish I could unsee. 

The VD rate there is astonishing....

On 1/8/2024 at 7:04 PM, HBE4 said:

The local ice arenas are so jammed packed with various adult & children leagues that they could probably stay open 24/7. Some kids leagues are schedule for 7 am on Sundays & I know some of the adult league play up to midnight.

 

Having said all that, you do have a point in that hockey is a distant #4 compared to the other 3 in this area. Part of it could be unlike football, baseball or basketball where you can just go outside to your backyard to play hockey requires a commitment.  Not everybody has parents like Wayne Gretzky who built a ice pond in the back yard to practice.

I've seen practices before 6am for high school kids.  Ice is very in demand (and expensive!).

We built a rink in our yard a couple years when my son was just getting started.  It was a lot of fun, but also a lot of work without a Zamboni!

On 1/8/2024 at 5:38 PM, DaniDanielle said:

I thought you all would appreciate this.

Except for some of us, our mothers BRING stress instead of relieve it!!!

Coming up on 22 years since I've seen/talked to my mother, and I have no desire to ever do so again.

9 hours ago, HBE4 said:

Both series against the Devils & Canucks is what got me hooked on hockey.  My friends kept  cautioning me that I'm going to be disappointed going forward as not all games are that intense &  exciting.

There's no hockey like PLAYOFF HOCKEY!!!!  It's on a whole 'nother level!