Heartgrove

Thank you Jacqui, thank you Roy, thank you Debbie, thank you Vanessa, thank you Ann, and thank you Dixie for all your work. And thank you everyone for being here! Prayers for the crew of the Nieuw Amsterdam. We all assume so much when cruising that we don't appreciate all that they do for us. Vanessa @JazzyV, I had bought a nice dog bed for Juno, our rescue Alaskan Malamute that we had before Sam. She was a normal size female and weighed 92 pounds. When I first met Sam, he hopped out of the Foster's van and I said "He's big!" Sam is 120 pounds and about six inches taller than Juno was. He is my Gentle Giant! Stay Safe, and prayers for those in need. - Jack Sam getting ready for a walk. Juno asleep on her bed. Sam asleep on the same bed. That is the largest bed they make!

Thank you Jacqui, thank you Roy, thank you Debbie, thank you Vanessa, thank you Ann, and thank you Dixie for all your work. And thank you everyone for being here! @ger_77 Thank you for asking about Sam. It still is week by week considering that he had his episode three weeks ago and we had made the decision to put him down two weeks ago. We are so glad that we didn't but feel better for when the day comes that we gave him as much time as possible. He does surprise me at times as he actually trotted into the house for his dinner the other day but then that evening would do two-three steps and pause climbing the stairs. Still loves his walks and "demands" them which are now shorter as he tires easily. We have the Rotterdam cruise in two weeks that I am staying home from even though we will lose the money paid. He could change in two days with his condition so I don't want to burden someone else with him if I was gone. It is DSIL's 75th birthday so Sue and her are still going. That is fine with me. Stay Safe, and prayers for those in need. - Jack Pictures from today's walk with Sam. A chilly 31 F!

Thank you Jacqui, thank you Roy, thank you Debbie, thank you Vanessa, thank you Ann, and thank you Dixie for all your work. And thank you everyone for being here! Stay Safe, and prayers for those in need. - Jack

Thank you Jacqui, thank you Roy, thank you Debbie, thank you Vanessa, thank you Ann, and thank you Dixie for all your work. And thank you everyone for being here! Enjoying some very nice weather this week. Sam is well! Today I am going back to the car dealership for some "training" on some of it's features. I have to give Subaru credit for keeping contact post delivery. I am meeting with a product specialist to make use of all of the electronics buiilt in. Stay Safe, and prayers for those in need. - Jack

Thank you Roy, thank you Debbie, thank you Vanessa, thank you Ann, and thank you Dixie for all your work. And thank you everyone for being here! Sam is doing well! Yesterday we had rain so he slept most of the day. But we have some really nice weather forecast this week. Sam will probably enjoy being outside most of the days. Stay Safe, and prayers for those in need. - Jack

Thank you Jacqui, thank you Debbie, thank you Vanessa, thank you Ann, thank you Dixie, and thank you Roy for all your work. And thank you everyone for being here! Sam continues to amaze me with his turnaround from last weekend. Yesterday when I was going to feed him in the afternoon - he actally kept ahead of me going in the house. And he is definitely back to his "talking" to us. Just love him! Stay Safe, and prayers for those in need. - Jack

Jacqui, feel free to speak up! I know that a rally can be shortlived. At the end with Juno, she surprised us with a rally but two weeks later she needed to be putdown. Sam seems to be mending well, but he has taken to licking his one forepaw over the weekend. He has not stopped licking so I know that something is still not right. I monitor how he is in the evening into morning closely. If he comes and wakes us up in the morning to be fed, it is going to be a good day!

Thank you Jacqui, thank you Eva, thank you Vanessa, thank you Ann, and thank you Dixie for all your work. And thank you everyone for being here! It appears that I jumped the gun yesterday! But, we are probably just kicking the can down the road. I really appreciated all the kind words that were said yesterday. Sam, has had a complete turnaround from the weekend! Saturday he was in pain almost unable to stand without great difficulty. A couple of times I used a towel as a sling to move his rear legs. Yesterday, after I wrote my contribution to the Daily yesterday - Sam barked to go on his walk, was anxious to have his afternoon dinner, and was back to his current normal! He still is an old dog so moves slow, but he can move. Reflexes are still good as I toss him treats that he catches midair. I just was having trouble yesterday on maybe cancelling Friday. My younger daughter came over with Lily to say goodbye. Her feelings were to delay. She said it might be next week, maybe two weeks - but just not now. I have decided to call the vet late today to cancel Friday. We are booked to be on the Rotterdam April 7 - 13. It is DSIL's 75th birthday that week. Sue and DSIL's brother was going to dogsit with Sam. But I have decided to stay home with Sam just in case. He does not do well with warm weather being a Northern breed so I expect that this is a brief respite. But Sam can still be Sam for now! Stay Safe, and prayers for those in need. - Jack

We sailed on the MSC Splendida in Fall 2022 in YC on a 7-night cruise. Loved it so much that we are sailing in YC again onboard the MSC Splendida but to Greece and Turkey for 9-nights this time. Three days later, after disembarking the Splendida in Trieste, we race to Genoa to board the MSC Divina in YC for the 20-night Grand Voyage to Miami. The Fantasia-class is what we enjoy. Last September we sailed on the MSC Preziosa in the Fantastica experience as well. Very enjoyable as well. Given the threads on sailing MSC in the US, I am so far reluctant to try those cruises.

Last September we flew back from Copenhagen after an MSC cruise disembarking in Hamburg. Before coming home we stayed two nights at a hotel in Norreport which is close to Rosenborg Castle (Slot). I had wanted to just take the Metro but DW prefered a cab. To get to the airport we did take a cab that was a good half hour drive. Our hotel was much closer than Oceankaj.

Thank you Jacqui, thank you Eva, thank you Vanessa, thank you Ann, and thank you Dixie for all your work. And thank you everyone for being here! Sorry for not posting for a while. Life got in the way. We have been feeling very sad for a few days. Out of the blue my dog Sam has taken a turn and I will need to put him down. He has been getting weaker due to his hip dysplasia, All of a sudden on Thursday night he let out a shriek! It became very painful it seemed to rise. He was very restless after that and I ended up laying on the floor next to him trying to sooth him. Friday I spoke to the vet and doubled his pain medicatio. Somehow we got through the weekend as he got worse as his front legs were now causing problems. The vet came yesterday morning to the house (Sam is 120 pounds and unable to get in a car) to evaluate him. He has even less muscle mass in his rear legs and could have underlying issues beginning to materialize. The decision I madw was to put him down at home on Friday morning. We have only had him 2-1/2 years and we knew what we were in for. The rescue organization classified him as a hospice dog to live the rest of his life in a kennel. But then I adopted himand gave him stability for his remaining years. His original owner had passed away and the family gave him up for adoption. He was adopted for four months but returned "as being too needy." After that , two foster homes until I got him. I had actually agreed to adopt him before letting my previous Alaskan Malamute Juno go at 13 years 2 months. Sam has been the most affectionate dog I have ever owned. He will be the hardest to let go. One year ago on February 2, 2023. Stay Safe, and prayers for those in need. - Jack

Thank you Jacqui, thank you Eva, thank you Vanessa, thank you Ann, and thank you Dixie for all your work. And thank you everyone for being here! Stay Safe, and prayers for those in need. - Jack

Thank you Jacqui, thank you Eva, thank you Vanessa, thank you Ann, and thank you Dixie for all your work. And thank you everyone for being here! Stay Safe, and prayers for those in need. - Jack

The other option is a MSC Sales Concierge. That is what we use. Very, very helpful with the nuances of cruising with MSC. Looking forward to our 9-night YC to Greece and Turkey followed by our 20-night YC Grand Voyage Transatlantic this Fall.

Thank you Jacqui, thank you Eva, thank you Vanessa, thank you Ann, and thank you Dixie for all your work. And thank you everyone for being here! Stay Safe, and prayers for those in need. - Jack

Ray, I actually was a Coastie. - Jack

Thanks Jacqui! It is a 2024 Subaru Outback Wilderness. This model from the factory has an additional 3/4" ground clearance vs. other Subarus, different gearing, all-weather tires, and a turbo engine. It is actually designed for "soft" off-roading vs. rock crawling. Probably not as offroad-capable as my Jeep CJ iwas n the '70's, but certainly more comfortable.Nearby are some forest roads that we might investigate this summer.

Thank you Jacqui, thank you Eva, thank you Vanessa, thank you Ann, and thank you Dixie for all your work. And thank you everyone for being here! We brought the new car home on Wednesday afternoon. I have to admit it was an essentially easy experience. I usually liken buying a car as to going to the dentist! The last two days I have been going out driving just to break it in, although I still have less than 100 miles on it. The picture was taken at one of our local Virginia wineries. The black-out look makes it look like a younger owner's choice in my opinion. Probably my last car so - why not! Stay Safe, and prayers for those in need. - Jack

Thank you Jacqui, thank you Eva, thank you Vanessa, thank you Ann, and thank you Dixie for all your work. And thank you everyone for being here! Stay Safe, and prayers for those in need. - Jack

Late at night posting I used "invoice" twice. The first time I meant to use "MSRP." Sorry for the confusion. - Jack

Thanks for the suggestion. We went out again today to a different dealer that has two the color that Sue likes. I told the sales manager that I wanted his best offer as I still had two other dealers to visit. He really believed me as his offer was 8.5% below invoice which is 2% under invoice. I doubt that I can do better with a different dealer as Subaru had a positive January. The particular unit I am looking at has minimal options and the ones it has are what I would want. That is good enough for me so I will contact the sales manager tomorrow to start the purchase.

Thank you Jacqui, thank you Debbie, thank you Vanessa, thank you Ann, and thank you Dixie for all your work. And thank you everyone for being here! Test drove the model Subaru I intend to purchase yesterday. But the dealer doesn't have the color that Sue wants! We will visit a different dealer today that has two in stock, although it is not my intended dealer. My intention is to wait until closer to the end of the month when they scramble to make their sales quota. Stay Safe, and prayers for those in need. - Jack

I was very happy with the whole "selling" experience. The only negatives with Carvana were their location was a 4+ hour roundtrip drive to drop it off. I chose the option of them picking it up which occurred one week later. With that they charged me $590 for the pickup. I was still ahead from the other companies (CarMax, etc.) offers, dealer trade-in, or doing a private sale. The only apprehension I had was the car market is so volatile right now that I worried they might go out of business before concluding the sale. If the price was right, I would use them again. Now I don't have to haggle with a dealer over a trade.

Thank you Jacqui, thank you Debbie, thank you Vanessa, thank you Ann, and thank you Dixie for all your work. And thank you everyone for being here! I have been busy the past few weeks with buying a new car. The car market currently is in a real upheaval and it has moved to being a Buyer's Market. I finally made the first step the other day by selling my current car to Carvana. It was a '17 Subaru Outback purchased as a "Certified Previously Owned" car that now had 89K miles. Besides needing tires, it was approaching some thorough, but pricey, scheduled maintenance. It has been a very good car for the five years that I owned it. The only costs have been a battery needing replacement and routine maintenance. Interesting living with having only one car (Sue's Subaru Forester) in the household. A bit more scheduling is involved. But next week I will be making the rounds of the local Subaru dealers for a new one. Yesterday we made reservations for the Pinnacle Grill on our upcoming Rotterdam 6-night cruise in April. It is the last cruise from FLL before it leaves on the Transatlantic for Summer 2024 deployment. Spots were going fast probably because it is not a full week cruise. Stay Safe, and prayers for those in need. - Jack

Thank you Jacqui, thank you Debbie, thank you Vanessa, thank you Ann, and thank you Dixie for all your work. And thank you everyone for being here! Have a Great Weekend! Stay Safe, and prayers for those in need. - Jack