atexsix

Thanks. There are a lot of additional considerations when traveling with health issues, most have been worked out, but it'll be a different kind of cruise, a lot of time in the room resting, so the suite will be good for that.

Thanks. At least we're having a mild winter here in Washington. And yes, the views are breathtaking.

Hello everybody, I know it's been a long time, I just logged in and noticed a number of people were asking about me a couple of weeks ago, I very much appreciate it, I couldn't reply to that thread though because they lock them now apparently. I do pop in every so often to peek at the care list and drool over the pictures, which are a blessing and a curse, Dear Dad and I want to cruise so badly we can taste it. A lot has been happening and there's been good news and bad news. To begin, Dad is doing okay, the kidney disease is still considered stable, but memory issues are becoming more of a problem and he was recently diagnosed with Mild Cognitive Impairment, which is considered a precursor to Dementia or Alzheimer's, but not always. Case in point, after the fire in Maui I showed him the pictures we took in Lahaina and he had no memory we were even in Hawaii, let alone a cruise to that specific port. And over Thanksgiving we had family staying with us, I had to repeatedly remind Dad they were here, even as they slept in the next room. Neuropathy and Gout cause daily problems, and the current concerns are protein in the urine which indicates damage, and A1C, with kidney disease it's always something, but he hasn't given up hope which is remarkable, between the good attitude and quality at home care, his doctors feel he's living much longer than if he had been "placed" (euphemism for care home, nursing home, whatever you want to call it). We moved from our townhouse in July and now reside in a high-rise flat with fantastic city/mountain views for Dad. The tower is beautiful and the conveniences within the building and everything nearby are numerous. But despite having help from a number of family members, the stress of the move took a toll, and I had a 2nd stroke shortly after in late August. It was small thank God, but I was immediately put on two months of rest, and no driving, so the convenience of being in an urban area paid off. At least it resulted in no new deficits, and the main focus is to keep stress levels down and lose weight, which is next to impossible this time of the year. We are looking at cruises to Alaska next Fall and I'm going to discuss it with Lisa when she returns from her Caribbean cruise. The Eurodam in a Neptune, they are the only staterooms with wide doorways which is all DD needs, we don't require accessibility elsewhere, and they are always booked up well in advance. We looked at a number of other cruise lines, with Oceania a top choice, but only the owner's suite has a wide enough doorway and those are never available either. But that's beside the point, we really miss the familiarity of HAL and because of specific health related needs, the Neptune lounge as close to our stateroom as possible will be a Godsend. So those are the highlights, caregiving takes up 95% of my free time, which keeps me away from the daily I'm afraid, but an upcoming cruise could change that as someone alluded to in the daily back in November. Thanks again for the well wishes, I'm so happy I had a chance to stop in before the holidays. Feel free to ask any questions and wish me to elaborate on something. ~Bruno and Dad (David)

Love your name, I'm imagining all sorts of contexts (caught in the christmas tree? knitting? swimming? watching people take vitamins?) LoL Anyway, gave me a chuckle and memories of when I first saw that movie, long before I'd ever been on a ship, and wondered what it was like.

Good Morning! It's foggy this morning, but no precip, and the local weather has assured us the warmup will begin today, for a low 60 high, fingers crossed we can finally shut the heaters off, I've been running them less and less, but....today's main agenda item is already crossed off the list when I took our ballots to the drop off box, they are having a local special election. It's Tuesday so Dad gets his bath from the HHA, as usual he grumbled about it. Thanks @dfish for the menu explanation, I had no idea what it was. The drink sounds good, I can usually handle vodka, it doesn't put me under the table like most hard liquor. @StLouisCruisersAgree on penguins, I think they are adorable, one of my favorite animals. Used to be able to watch the Monterey Aquarium feed the smaller penguins on webcam. You're certainly having a cool spring by Georgia standards, I lived there for 4 years and by this time it would be in the 80s. Thoughts/Prayers to all. I'm enjoying all the pictures many of you post each day, you really get a personal perspective that a brochure could never give. I particularly study beach photos because they are always empty when advertised in the commercial sense, but are they really? @aliaschief hoping you have smoother seas, the last couple we took there were days we couldn't get out of bed and normally I've got strong sea legs. Have a great day everyone! ~Bruno

When we were on Princess last year there was a violin duo from Ukraine that performed throughout the ship, I would imagine something similar on HAL because it definitely gave them more flexibility, going wherever needed. They even split them up one evening, thankfully we caught one in the Crown Grill lounge area and it was probably the best concert we ever attended on a ship. It was hard not to talk about the war, and they were approached by several passengers. The passion definitely came out in the music, at times intense and vibrant, at others a pronounced sadness. But it was so much more than musicians following a script (no offense to Lincoln Center, we enjoyed those throughout the years too).

So sorry you are dealing with this, so I thought I'd pipe in since cat care is my biggest worry while away. I don't think you mentioned his age, but it does sound like it might be time for the rainbow bridge. I think boarding would be more reliable (I've also had in home sitters that did not follow instructions and kitty ended up at the vet hospital anyway); however, the stress of boarding is difficult for cats. Tuff decisions and praying it all goes well.

@Cruising-along Sounds like we have similar plans for our "heat wave" later this week. So I'm going to have to go from heat, to air conditioning, and back to heat in less than a week, welcome to Washington! @grapau27 We were 41 last week one day and they said it was the coldest April day in 125 years, so we sent it your way. @dobiemom <waving> @dfish I think this is the strangest weather year in recent memory @StLouisCruisers LOVE the celebration tree! I've been looking for seasonal decorating ideas now that Easter is over and it's too early for the patriotic summer stuff.

Good morning, The sun is trying to peak out, hinting at a much needed warming for later in the week, and perfect timing, I need to get the plants moved outdoors and work on our gardening. Dad is fine, we had some kidney related itching challenges last week that kept me away from the daily, but I spoke with the doctor this morning and he's approved an increase in the Gabapentin, so crossing fingers. PT was out last Wednesday and Dad surprised us both with his ability to get to the edge of the bed, but standing and putting weight on his legs caused too much pain, at least we now know what we're working with. I think cruising is looking less likely for this year, there's too few itineraries that we're interested in, so we're going to focus on 2024. Thoughts/Prayers to all, I haven't yet read through so I'm going to do that in a moment. Have a great day! ~Bruno

Have a great time!

Carolyn, looks like you beat me this morning, I just wanted to tell you I LOVE your garden, I'm surprised you have as many blooms as you do given how crazy cold it's been, course Rhodie's are pretty hardy. Strangely, my Christmas cactus bloomed recently, maybe it's a Christmas/Easter cactus? I won't go anywhere that involves a drive to Seattle, even Bellevue is downright hell on earth and a big reason we're considering a move to the south end next year (olympia or puyallup), since my stroke driving in traffic is a challenge for me.

3 days in a row I've managed to get to the daily, that's pretty good. I can relate to @Crazy For Cats comment about the heat being switched off/on as yesterday the sunshine warmed us up to the point of having windows open and ceiling fans going, and a few hours later we were back to the gas fireplace🤣. We're supposed to have showers today with a high of 51, that's a high folks....brrrr! The week's grocery shopping is out of the way, I did it this morning, and I have what I need for the weekend cooking, mostly chicken stuff. I need to make a decision on trading up my iphone to the newest model as I'm going to the mall on Saturday, but an almost 7" display size seems like it would be too heavy, would love opinions on this. On the cruise front, we're going ahead and booking my birthday cruise for next May, but the Hawaii sailing for this year is in limbo, we're just not impressed by the Crown Princess, the lack of suite variety or even a suite lounge on a ship this size is mind boggling. Thoughts, Hugs, and Prayers to those that need it today, whether mentioned on the list or not. No nurses or specialists scheduled for today so Dad gets a break. @GTVCRUISER my favorite view in the world is waking up in that hotel across the street to see my ship smiling at me @marshhawk the weather everywhere is strange this year, it looks like the northerners are going back to reality in a few days @luvteaching Karen, I can relate to what you are going through, and I'm praying for you and your husband. Your experience is what keeps me going in my own caregiving journey, we don't want Dad's savings account wiped out. In doing my own research I have learned that hundreds of nursing homes across the country have closed, it still means thousands are available, but it's slim pickings in many areas, have you considered an adult family home? We are seeing more and more of them pop up. They are about half the price of a nursing/rehab facility. Have a great day everybody! ~Bruno~ PS I removed 1 "very" from my post and replaced with another word

@Cruising-along Your hail storm made the news last evening, except they called it an ice shower, I hope it didn't hurt your plants.

Thank you, enjoy the weather, reality will return for Wisconsin eventually, I grew up in Illinois so I know these mild winters are few and far between. Despite the coolness here I'm going to move my plants outside this afternoon, it's really quite beautiful out.

That came out wrong. The first few days we were open dining, but we showed at the same time every night, always taking us upstairs to the same table, so they changed us to fixed dining for the 2nd half of the cruise, and at that point we could show up through either entrance.

We're looking at Oceania more now that they have a ship homeported in Seattle for the Alaska season. We're so over these large ships, I know it's all about the bottom line so I doubt they are going away anytime soon. As to the Pinnacles, we found them to be the perfect size, but we also miss the Amsterdam, Ryndam, etc.

We always have late fixed dining, usually in the upper MDR and it's never full. Of course to get there we have to enter from the lower level which is also not full at the 8:00 or later hour. 5:00 however there's always a line. In reading a lot of live threads I've noticed open dining is still a mess on many ships, after all these years they just can't get it right, I think you've hit it on why, many ships just aren't designed for it.

When we had our condo in Redmond we were terrified of wind, those trees towered 100 feet higher than us, and we were on the 5th floor. Wind and tall trees do not mix. Enjoy your mini cruise!

Good Morning, another cold one, 40, and only a warmup to low 50s, definitely still jacket weather. A brief glimpse at the ten day forecast didn't look promising, although at least we're getting some much needed sunshine today. Thoughts and Prayers to all that need it. Love grilled cheese, classic comfort meal. I'd like to try the Mai Time (catchy name). No issues with lawyers, only their billing statements, I nearly fainted after the last estate attorney we visited. We don't have any in the family, wish we did, they are good for general advice. @Crazy For Cats that's a lot of critters running around @JazzyV I'll try to be here more often, crossing fingers on the PT, will know more when they assess next week, if he can get to the edge of the bed and stand up, then we're making progress, we can certainly cruise with a total disability, but it's harder and we have to plan out further due to the lack of accessible cabins, it's hard to believe how few of these are available, HAL is one of the better ones, Princess not so much @dfish hope all goes well with your test @Quartzsite Cruiser what strange weather this year, mid 70s in Texas, 80+ in Canada and New England, something is off @GTVCRUISER Now that's what I call a grilled cheese sandwich, ordinary cheese/bread, not the gourmet stuff On tap for today, I have a couple dozen PO's to issue for work. But I spent all day yesterday researching staterooms, so there you have it. We have to do a Facetime call with one of the V.A. nurses, Dad's got an infected toe. And at some point I need to tackle the snail mail pile, it's been neglected the last couple of weeks. Hope you all have a great day! ~Bruno~

Thanks. I hope your husband is doing well. And yes, we desperately need some warmth around here. Thanks. It sounds like I picked a good day to drop in. I think he knows he won't be doing much travel if the PT doesn't work, I hope you have a great cruise, I have yet to sail on that ship, one of these days. Thanks. I hope everybody out your way are doing well. So do I. Now send some of that Arizona heat up here, lol

I suppose I should check in even though I sound like a broken record. Dear Dad is doing better actually, he's completed the 2nd six month period of kidney tests and he remains stable. That means his only ailment centers around the effects of being bedridden for all this time, so PT is starting up once again in the hope he can be ready to get up and start moving around. But either way we're going to try and make cruising this year a reality, he really wants to go back to Hawaii and Princess happens to be offering a RT Seattle this October. The weather has been awful, still winter up here if anybody is heading this way for the Hawaii season out of Vancouver. I can't even imagine Alaska season starting in just a couple short weeks when gale warnings have been the norm in the Strait of Juan De Fuca. The rest of April is supposed to be just as unsettled, so strong sea legs are in order. I can't think of much else to say. We considered moving to a single story townhome this summer, but nobody feels like it, so we'll probably stay put for another year, I wasn't up to having to get to know new neighbors and finding a new pet sitter. The effort we've put in here has been challenging as it is, the people moving in lately don't even want to talk to you, they quickly look the other way just as your about to wave to them. Prayers to everybody here, you're in my thoughts, can't believe how much I've missed: your cruises and life events. I can't say I can be here every day, but more frequent than before, as there will be the inevitable question about this ever changing world of cruising, therefore CC to the rescue! ~Bruno

Trying to get a couple of bookings off the ground and it's impossible to pass up the daily in the process. I didn't have time yesterday but I saw it there, beckoning.

I sprinkle diatomaceous earth (food grade) along the foundation, baseboards and doorways, cuts down on critters considerably.

My oh my how much I've missed! If it wasn't for your list I'd really be confused. Prayers and a great big hello to you all!

I had to pop in when I saw you were handling the daily, good job from what I can see!