kochleffel

I don't think that people need any special encouragement to drink beer, but I'm in favor of good neighbors and public lands, although Public Lands Day is always on a Saturday. A few years ago I developed a recipe for making kosher Swedish meatballs: use a mixture of ground beef and ground turkey, and for the dairy ingredient, use tofu sour cream. I would like Yule Nog well enough if the eggnog were lactose-free, but it's not exactly in season. At least it doesn't call itself a martini. I have some Sauvignon Blanc from New Zealand but not that one. From the Finger Lakes I might substitute the 2021 from the Hosmer Estate Winery, although it's probably more aromatic. I haven't been to Bergen, but when I was studying Norwegian, I learned (and have since forgotten) about some of the distinctive Bergen ways of speaking. I think that Johannes (kirken) would be John, not James. Today I need to buy groceries and mow the lawn (both urgent), and attend class. I have some sweet peppers that I want to sauté the Greek way, but no idea what I might put with them. I may be a little sad later, because I'm about to discard a favorite cabin bag that I bought in 1981, but which has become too dilapidated to use.

There have been long waits for medical screenings here ever since the shutdown in 2020. When they were allowed to resume, patients were still afraid to go, so the backlog continued to grow. There are more choices for imaging, if insurance will pay for a for-profit provider, but when I was due for a colonoscopy last year, it was five months from the referral.

Forgiveness is a theme of Yom Kippur, and there is a teaching that it's mandatory to forgive a person who requests it, but not until the third time they ask. On Yom Kippur, the rabbi at the service I was attending remotely in the morning preached on the times when forgiveness is not required: when the person asks insincerely, when a wrong cannot be righted by any human means. But he also said that it is better, when possible, not to let it dominate your life. I would be OK with the vegetarian lasagna (kosher cooking does not combine meat ingredients with dairy ingredients), except that I'd have to make it with lactose-free ricotta, which is hard to find, or a substitute. No on the pseudotini. I don't think we grow any Chenin Blanc in the Finger Lakes, so I might go with Bristol Valley's 2019 Valley White. I haven't been to Dakar. I'm scheduled to receive the new covid jab on Friday, but despite pressure from multiple directions (the government, the pharmacy, the media) I'm not having the flu jab at the same time. Two reasons: the last time I received two vaccinations together, I had a severe reaction, and the peak of flu season here is late. If I got the vaccination now, immunity would be decreasing by then. I had a new mattress delivered yesterday. The delivery window was 12:30 to 2:30, so I was ready at 11:30 and able to wait all afternoon is necessary. At 12:20 the driver called to say that according to GPS they were 15 minutes away. The doorbell rang at 12:35. Someone from the local interfaith coalition called me during Yom Kippur services. I didn't see the message until this morning. It's about an event on October 8. Are they always that clueless? In my experience, yes.

It seems to be on the spreadsheet now, but I haven't received email from you about it -- I asked for direct emails because there could be people in the roll call who aren't using the spreadsheet. I've been saying 8:15 for dinner, which is sort of early by Barcelona standards, but right for those coming from the museum.

I think that people are creating through selective quotation. The entry requirements for Spain need to be read carefully. There are no border checkpoints for covid, but travelers from outside the EU are required to have a pertinent document. The rest of the travelers to Spain, even if the covid-19 border checkpoints have been dismantled, they must have one of the three following certificates: Proof of vaccination: Documentation from the issuing countries' relevant authorities will be accepted starting 14 days after the final dose is administered, as long as more than 270 days have not passed since the administration of the final dose of the vaccine. For those under 18 years of age, proof of vaccination has no expiration date. Negative COVID test: A negative Nucleic Acid Amplification test (PCR, TMA, LAMP, NEAR, etc.) taken within 72 hours of departure for Spain, or a negative rapid antigen test (RAT) taken within 24 of departure for Spain, will be accepted. Proof of recovery from COVID: Documentation issued by relevant government authorities or by a physician a minimum of 11 days after the initial positive result via NAAT or rapid antigen test. This documentation will remain valid for 180 days following the date of the initial positive test result. Those under the age of 12 do not need to present any COVID-related documentation to enter Spain. Spain Travel Health –SpTH– and the associated form are no longer needed. https://www.exteriores.gob.es/Embajadas/dhaka/en/Comunicacion/Noticias/Paginas/Articulos/Covid19-Entry-requeriments-20sp22.aspx So in general, adult non-EU travelers need a vaccination that is at least 14 days old but not more than 270.

I've studied about seven languages, plus historical versions of some of them, but English is the only one in which I'm really fluent. I can do well enough in German that people don't interrupt me in English. The meal would be OK with me, although I'm unlikely to make it. For a change the martini is not pseudo. Some Viognier is grown in the Finger Lakes, but few wineries bottle it as a varietal. One that does is Goose Watch on Cayuga Lake: "Known for its lush tropical passionfruit and peach aromas, Viognier is a rare find in the Finger Lakes region. Our cool climate slowly ripens the fruit producing intense varietal aromas and flavors in this medium-bodied, dry white wine." I've never been to Freeport, and only sort of to Nassau, a tech stop in the middle of the night.

@Vict0riann asked yesterday, "do you know lots about Spanish wines, too? We would like to get a couple of bottles of, probably a rioja, in Barcelona. There's a nice wine shop right beside the Boqueria, and I would like to have an idea to start with, and then we can take it to the Pinnacle when we go there." I know almost nothing about Spanish wines. I have about a month to learn, I guess, or I could just go in for "experiential learning" after that.

Food-service employees deserve more credit than they receive. I might enjoy the suggested meal but I don't know what it is. The original Rickey cocktail was named for a Col. Joe Rickey and was made with bourbon; the better-known Gin Rickey was a variation. Today's version, made with rye whiskey, seems to be a promotional idea for the Jim Beam distillery, which is a latecomer to the production of rye. Before Prohibition, rye was more popular than bourbon in the northeast, with production centered on western Pennsylvania. Only a few rye brands survived Prohibition at all, and today the same Kentucky distilleries that produce vast amounts of bourbon also produce most of the rye, although I know of at least one brand made here in New York. Rye tends to be drier than bourbon, which gives me second thoughts about a drink containing so much lime juice and nothing else to sweeten it. The wine is a Bordeaux blend, so I might suggest Maximilien 2018 from Ravines Wine Cellars. I haven't been to New Zealand. Yom Kippur ended officially at 7:41 p.m. local time, but the afternoon service that I attended (virtually) was over by 6:00. That was led by a friend who is now a rabbinic intern (by himself, no experienced rabbi there) at a very small congregation. In the morning I attended, also virtually, the service at a larger congregation in another city that lasted just short of five hours, which may not be a record but is definitely long. That congregation uses a prayer book that contains everything except the kitchen sink, and would probably contain that if cooking were allowed on Yom Kippur. It only rained here, but a musician friend working at a synagogue in Texas posted, "My favorite part of Kol Nidre last night was not the music or the sermon. It was the entire congregation's cell phones going off together giving a warning for softball- sized hail."

What are the odds that this would happen? They would have to want to go on cruises. They would have to want to go on 42-day cruises. They would have to want to go on two 42-day cruises. They would have to want the same itineraries that you do. With such low odds, it's a stroke of exceptional bad luck. Or do you think that they might have done it intentionally? There have been people in my family with whom I wouldn't want to be on a ship, but if they were ever to book a cruise, which is unlikely, they'd be so anxious that they'd be eager to get on one where they would already know someone.

Hmm, my garden is essentially a rabbit sanctuary. I'll be ready for cherries jubilee around 7:00 p.m., if you'd like to bring some over. I approve of hunting and fishing by those who eat what they catch. The phyllo meat pie would be OK, too. No on the cocktail. For the wine, maybe the 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon from Fox Run Vineyards. I haven't been to New Caledonia. I need to go to Aldi but may wait until the rain slacks off. I also have an outdoor group meeting (I mean that the meeting is outdoors) this afternoon, and it will probably still be raining but there's a shelter. Then Yom Kippur begins this evening. All of my attendance will be virtual, at three different synagogues, two of which, in other cities, are using some liturgy that I wrote (one in the morning, one in the afternoon).

I was able to get to the deck plans. Yes, unobstructed would be deck 1. I try to avoid locations with public space above.

Now they're offering it for $198. If I wait a few more days, might they make it free?

I made an appointment to get the next covid vaccination a week from today, which is almost three weeks before I leave for Spain. I received a similar email. My booking is for an obstructed OV. Upgrading to a verandah isn't even remotely in my mind, and I'm not sure that $298 for an unobstructed OV is even that appealing.

Nothing against any of the special days, but I probably won't do anything to celebrate them. Mark Twain is buried here. The "like bok choy" was yesterday. Dinner today will be haddock and ratatouille. To my mind a "classic" Old Fashioned would be made with brandy, not bourbon. For the wine, I'd choose Keuka Spring Classic Riesling. I haven't been to Sakaiminato-Matsue and wouldn't have been in the Celebrity cruise for 2021 that was cancelled. A long time ago I worked in a town that abutted Salem, Mass. I did not intend to wake up at 5:00 a.m.

For the record, the "like bok choy" isn't very much like bok choy.

Back from a quick shopping run. I was glad that I checked ibotta before going, because the food that DaVinci's sensitive stomach requires had a rebate offer. I bought three bags.

Peace was the chapel theme yesterday at HIU (it's always on Wednesday) and there were prayers and readings from various religious traditions. The most recent lectures in the psychology course I'm taking through edX were about gratitude. The meal suggestion makes me feel a bit queasy, and I would rather have my Laphroaig straight. My alternative for the wine is Buttonwood Grove 2021 Sauvignon Blanc, which they say is made in the New Zealand style. The winery overlooks Cayuga Lake and also has cabins for rent. I haven't been to any port in Brazil. Stonehenge has been legally protected since 1882 and is now owned by the Crown and managed by English Heritage; the surrounding land is owned by the National Trust. I visited it in my first trip to the UK, in 2008, when I rented cars twice. First at Gatwick Airport for touring in the southeast, using Rye as a base and returning the car at Canterbury, and then picking up another rental car at Salisbury to visit the southwest and the Cotswolds, returning that car at Gatwick. A friend who came out from London to meet me at Rye constantly exclaimed "We're lost! We should be there by now!" because she didn't realize how slowly I was driving on minor roads. I'm a little frustrated in the edX course, because part of the grade is earned by replying to others' posts in discussion forums, but I seem to be ahead of everyone else, so most topics have no posts for replying to. There could be thousands of people enrolled, but many would be auditing and not necessarily submitting any of the work. Dinner last night was ratatouille and scrambled eggs. That was supposed to be for the night before but I didn't get home in time to make ratatouille. I'm not sure about tonight's dinner, partly because I have class until 7:00 p.m., but also because I have too much of too many vegetables on hand. I'm thinking I should blanch the green beans and save them for later, and have the "it's like bok choy" tonight.

No pepperoni for me, and also no shrimp. I do not want "a nice Hawaiian punch." I am rarely ready for anything, so why should today be any different? No on the drink. Yes on the wine, or maybe Lamoreaux Landing 2018 Cabernet Franc. I was supposed to get to Goteborg/Gothenburg last year but the port was changed to Aarhus in Denmark. However, my TCM practitioner spent a year of high school and a year of college in Gothenburg. The rest of my class assignment is a personal narrative to be delivered orally in no more than six minutes. If I were from Boston instead of Ohio I would be able to say 50% more in the same time and could tell the story properly. It's about being lost in the snow in the Sky Lakes Wilderness, so this cartoon is relevant.

I'll pass on all the special days, but I applaud New Zealand. OK on the chicken, NOK on the drink. For the wine, I'll suggest Standing Stone Teinturier Dry Rosé 2022, made from the Saperavi grape, which has red flesh so the wine is redder than a rosé made from, say, Cabernet Franc. I hardly need to say that I haven't been to Kahului. On the bacon topic: in the U.S., English bacon as Graham describes, made from the pork loin, would be recognized as Canadian bacon: https://www.foodnetwork.com/how-to/packages/food-network-essentials/what-is-canadian-bacon. But what is it called in Canada? Today I'll be headed to the nature center at the top of the hill to do the assigned reading for my class. And I have another class, through edX, from KU Leuven that starts this week.

I'm feeling a bit better today and will likely go out to the farmers' market this afternoon. Illness affected Rosh Hashanah celebrations at many synagogues. At the one I attend, the choir director and accompanist was home with covid. He had recorded backing tracks for most of the music and those were used (and the tech worked, which is not guaranteed), and a choir member filled in as conductor. At a synagogue in a nearby city, the Torah reader had covid.

May the Almighty bring comfort.

I have no personal experience of a guarantee on HAL, but I've booked them on another cruise line. In my experience, it happened when there were no remaining cabins of the type, except possibly accessible cabins, but a reasonable expectation that some would open up. For the kinds of cabins that I would book, the line would also have the option of assigning a better one, but I think that in this case, the booking is already for one of the best cabins on the ship. I don't think that the OP was trying to save money, but rather wanting a cabin of which there are few to begin with.

I didn't realize that this was a Holland America port, but I see that the Eurodam is scheduled to call there a few times in 2024. I haven't been there. That is all I should post right now, but I'll update my Friday post. I continued to feel mildly ill through the weekend, and all my Rosh Hashanah attendance was virtual, even reading Torah over Zoom on Sunday. On Yom Kippur I'll attend at least one of the services virtually, at a synagogue in another city that is using some liturgy that I wrote.

Another HAL port that I haven't been to. Naples is the closest I've been. @rafinmd Roy, I concur that if you're only tired, cruises a good way to recuperate, and I'm guessing that you'll go to NYC by train, not by air. I'd say to pack light in case you have to handle your own luggage, but with Cunard packing light probably isn't feasible, so yes, you should send a bag ahead.

Picton, NZ, is a Holland America port, but I haven't been there. The only other thing I can post that would not be off topic is that I've been looking at Greenland cruises for 2025, but only on aNother Cruise Line because that's where I have a credit to use. I'm stunned by the prices, although HAL's are higher for similar itineraries.