Greenpea2

Well, I am so far behind I can't catch up yet. Made it to page 1205...kind of work-overwhelmed here. Never have the chance or energy to keep abreast of the Tribe happenings until the weekend!

@sid_9169 Manager? The manager spoke to the guy? What manager? Let's face it, that is a poorly run business. Wise words from an ole lady: There are always plenty of good reasons why not to pursue a new job. But there are also always good reasons when you don't like your job. P.S. I lubs me a good tomato-Duke's-salt & pepper sandwich! Umm. Unfortunately there are rarely truly ripe juicy tomatoes in the stores around here.

@Jamman54 have a great cruise! I look forward to your post-cruise report.

@SenatorsFan Have a wonderful NCL cruise. I know you will!

@mommio Those roses are incredible! Well done, girl.

@figmentfreak Congrats to your daughter on her engagement. It is very exciting...and wotta rock! Beautiful.

@Funsince1983 I hope you are feeling better!

@Hogladyrider agree on the hard pass re cosmetic surgery. I just try and keep my "figure" somewhat OK. That's enough of a job! I just never think cosmetic surgery looks natural. And sometimes it just looks darn weird to me. But totally OK with "each to his/own" too. 

@graphicguy Have a great cruise to Bermuda. DH and I did that one. We took a bus to the out of the way beaches, which was so nice. The only excursion we did was a real winner--sunset rum cruise, introducing us to Gosling's rum. (We have been well-stocked with Gosling's ever since.) And boy were they generous with the booze...

OK, thar's it. Back to my overwhelming life.

We all love to hate (or is it hate to love?) pier runners. This CC video is pretty entertaining. 

https://www.cruisecritic.com/articles/5-hilarious-cruise-pier-runners?lid=42u7ac8979k2&crm_source=58226&crm_pos=us&crm_cid=001a3948-ac9f-4bdd-a47a-d17981aa6152&crm_rid=Ad3PeIgBVQ1LqmSHx9pU&crm_cname=04.07.24 US Weekender - Other- 5 Hilarious Cruise Pier Runners

1 minute ago, mommio said:

That’s a cute place!  Good luck to Mr Greenpea’s band. 
 

Always happy when my guys play at fun places (good food helps), but sometimes get great surprises from pretty much dive bars. 

The band he was in before this one (when we first moved down here) played semi regularly at a dive/biker bar. That was a fun place, for sure!

A week or so again I posted about Mr. Greenpea and his band doing open-mike gigs, trying to drum up business. Well, it worked! And I love the place, it's right in our little downtown. Its called the First Street Tavern. It was always fun there but recently bought by someone new and they are really making it so nice. The place is booked for live music until August. They now have two dates there, one in August and one in September. I really hope they are well received so they can play there more. Love the place. New owner has made the website beautiful too:

https://firststreettavern.com

13 hours ago, Stowaway LFC said:

Just weighing in on the lawn situation... I have an acre in town with a house and large shop in the back.  My lawn guy charges me 85 per mow.  Which is usually every two weeks during spring and summer. He does a great job and we love him.  Prob a bit high in this area but his expertise rocks!

I think that is a good price for an acre. I hope we can find someone trustworthy and reasonable too!

13 hours ago, RenoNanaOz said:

What are those? Looks yummy.  

Frozen margaritas with just enough strawberries to give them color. They were potent---we had three each. I am feeling it this morning! But they were yummy.

It's time. 

1 hour ago, TravelGirlinDallas said:

We pay $50 every other week except during winter. I just text him when I want him to start up in April and let him know when to quit in November. It's a guy working for himself. He also does other stuff for an extra fee when we ask, such as cleaning our gutters, trimming hedges and trees, etc.

Now THIS is what I want. Someone working for himself. That sounds perfect.

26 minutes ago, TravelE said:

 

My yard maintenance is included in my HOA but at my prior house I paid between $180 to $200 per month for lawn care. In the spring, summer, and fall, they came 1x per week to move, edge, and blow. During the winter, they came every other week to blow as not much is happening during that time.

I wonder if you can get contracted work just for just spring, summer, and fall. I can deal with leaves (or whatever they blow).

Oh wait--maybe you mean snow blowing? In that case I def don't need a yard person in the winter!

27 minutes ago, Travelicious said:

@Greenpea2 good luck with the house hunting!  I think I understood you to say you won't have a mortgage payment.  If that is correct, the additional expenses of home ownership should not be much of a hardship.  I had a 30 year mortgage, but was able to pay it off in 13 years (houses were so much less 23 years ago), 8 years before I retired.  That certainly made the reduced income in retirement years easier to manage.

Yes, that was what I was thinking. Although utilities (for larger space) and taxes, lawn care, etc will be higher than renting an apartment--the RENT won't be there! And honestly, I believe the increasing rent would be a hardship once I retire and we are both living mostly on SS. I have 2 small retirement accounts but even with those, SS just is not a lot. I will feel more financially secure in a home that is paid for.

1 hour ago, sid_9169 said:

Going back in time a little, we got to the hospital and checked in. They said when you see your name on the board to go back to the prep room. Took my clothes off and put on the gown. Put in an IV and asked some medical background questions. Then the doctor came in for a minute, and had me sign the form saying if anything goes wrong it's not their fault. 

 

He asked if I had any questions. I inquired about what I should eat soon afterwards, and he said pretty much anything you want. Then I asked about drinking, and he said I'd have to wait at least until I was off the hospital property. 

 

Next, they wheeled me into the little room, and the "thing" was sitting there coiled up on the stainless steel table. I said "is that the thing you're about to stick up my butt", and he said it was. They gave me the anesthesia, and next thing I knew I woke up in the recovery area. Feeling a little groggy, but glad they didn't find anything, since my diet is pretty bad to be honest. 

 

Pretty soon they were wheeling me out in a wheelchair, and we were on our way home. I cooked up some scrambled eggs and toast and pounded that down as quickly as possible with a big glass of water. Also, I got home just in time to watch Judge Judy, so that was a bonus. I'm going to go take a little walk, but not too far, since I still feel a little drunk from the propofol... Dinner will probably be hash browns and a couple of fresh lime margaritas...

Yay! Good job getting thru this. I was pretty sure you could eat/drink most anything after but when I saw a couple posts saying to be careful, I thought "Oops, Greenpea". I guess I was right after all. That doesn't happen nearly enough. 

5 hours ago, scubagal44 said:

Happy anniversary, @MeganGC1983!!!!

 

What a day - my bday, your anni, AND National Burrito Day?! I love that for us. 😆

AND National Sid's Colonoscopy Day!

21 hours ago, Hogladyrider said:

@Greenpea2...congratulations on the good financial news so you can begin house hunting.

 

I totally understand where you are coming from wanting you own place, your own rules etc.

BUT yes I know, there is a BUT, in fact several.  If this is your first venture into homeownership research is your friend.

 

There are so many other things that go along with home ownership.  Homeowner's insurance, property taxes, homestead exemption to name a few.  Most importantly BUYER BEWARE of what any real estate agent will tell you.

 

Please don't think I am trying to give advice just care about fellow Tribe members here and would hate to see anyone taken advantage of.

 

My goal had always been to build my own home.  I was blessed to accomplish that.  Guess what, after living in it I realized it was too big!  We stayed there for 11 years, loved it, but hated it as well.  There is ALWAYS something needing to be done when owning a home.  As I got older I  just did not want to spend my weekends working around the house and I was just too cheap to hire any of it out since I worked in the construction business.

 

Wishing you the best of luck and much much happiness!

I don't mind you giving me advice! I look for that here. But I can tell you I have done research for several years now, part of which has been talking with homeowner friends. I do know it can be a lot of work.And thongs break down, so expenses without a maintenance department to see to. My sister is older than I am and lives in a house alone now (since her man passed last fall) and she is one of my biggest supporters in understanding I want this and agreeing with it for herself. She loves doing lawn work, so there is one difference, ha ha. She loves having a home SHE owns.

I have heard both sides. But this is something I really have wanted all my life. I expected it to happen all my life. I never expected it NOT to happen by now! Just as I never expected not to be able to have children. This I can do, though--I know there will be other expenses. We pay apartment insurance so yeah I know home insurance will be more.Property taxes here are very reasonable, less than you might think. Higher utility bills for a house--yup. But we won't have mortgage payments (like we have rent payments now, which increase every year), and we will have a strong investment for if/when the time comes we have to move to assisted living (or whatever).Yes, I agree, there is a lot to deal with owning a home, more than I can really know. But there also is a lot of emotional, psychological happiness and security and pride in having you own place. That you OWN. 

What's the worst case scenario? It's too much to handle, we regret doing it? Then we sell it and rent and hope we can afford to pay ever-increasing rent until we die. Right?

22 hours ago, TravelGirlinDallas said:

Finding someone else is definitely what you want to do. Believe me.

I hear ya. Worried about how often and what it will cost. I looked a bit online and it says every week you should mow your lawn in the summer down here! No way...right??? That is some serious moola. Maybe I can find someone who has his own small lawn gig going and doesn't charge as much as the big boy companies. They don't have to be wonderful, just get it done. 

1 hour ago, canes20 said:

I have had it done twice, Both times with morning appointments! That is rough having it done later in the day. The second time, the stuff I had to ingest did not do a darn thing until around 3:00 am!! I was scared they would have to reschedule, I was afraid to go to sleep,, but it ended up OK. I wouldn't expect it to "happen" too soon. Then again, there seems to be a bunch of different things people drink for this fun event. Good luck, Sid!

We received some financial good news that means it is looking likely we can start house hunting by end of summer if not before. That IS good news because if it was later we would have to deal with a month-by-month or 6-month lease. I want a house. I had a couple people ask why, at this point? My answer: because it is one of several life dreams I still have not been able to make happen. I don't want to be told how many pets I can have, or have annually increasing monthly rent. Or have people living upstairs that jump around late at night. I want my own home, I'll take care of the darn lawn myself or find someone else to do it if I have to.

Nine pages to catch up on..DONE. It's been a week, and it's only Wednesday...So much work and I misjudged on how much I could easily handle. Which is not something I normally misjudge. So anyway, martini time came in handy and I told myself to just keep my eye on the game (meaning the invoiced hours). There is always a bright side. I am not having a colonoscopy tomorrow like @sid_9169. Sid, It will soon be over, hang in there buddy.

@LincolnLegend Happy birthday to your Dad--94 is awesome.

@ggooglyboogly Very happy to hear your Jade cruise delivered. I have not been on that ship but I hear good things about it.

@scubagal44 Not sureif it is your birthday yet, but if it isn't, I'll be the first: Happy birthday!

@MeganGC1983 Hoping the car thing is OK by now.

@TxTeach79 That sounds like a bad week for sure. God bless you.

Nothing new here, really, which I suppose is a good thing. At least it usually is once you are of an age. 😉 Oh, by the way: @ceilidh1 you freaking raw, Miz Shenanigans. 

2 hours ago, ggTexasGal said:

Is this now false? https://www.ncl.com/cruise-ship/spirit

Must be true! I lost track of the Spirit, obviously! Good to know it is still around. Really unique beauty of a ship.

43 minutes ago, TxTeach79 said:

B and I tried a new (to us) spot for dinner last night and it absolutely delivered. 
 

 

Perfect weather with a light breeze, so we sat on the patio… started with a dip trio with guac, pico, and this amazing pimento cheese from an iconic local German restaurant/grocery that’s been in business a century. My mom used to go there as a little girl, and it was decades in back then. On point. 
 

 

roasted Brussels with bacon and hot honey

 

 

B got the Wedge, “add steak”…. So they added a whole 9 ouncer. 
 

 

 

and I went with the Yelp favorite, the chicken fried ribeye with jalapeño bacon gravy. Elite. I was stuffed until well into this morning. 
 

 

 

saw this guy in the parking lot at our next stop, and I couldn’t relate more. 
 

Wow, that food ALL looks just so good! Me want!

38 minutes ago, Daniel A said:

How many butlers are there in the Haven?  Would asking for a different butler be an option?

I don't know how many. But now that you bring this up--and i totally forgot about it since it was decades ago--I am remembering the first time I was in a Suite (there were no Havens yet), on the Spirit (no longer in the fleet but a gorgeous "little" ship) our butler was a total dud. So many things not done after he saying he would, never could get a hold of him, just almost every day. Minor reasonable things. Normal understandable things. needed. Finally we spoke to the Concierge and asked if we could have a different one. She was appalled to hear the things we were concerned about and gave us a new one immediately. So I would say that YES, if things are really bad and you have spoken to the Concierge, you can have a new Butler. Probably not ideal for the new  Butler, of course, but if it is merited, I would say yes.

Yay. I am up for more of your shenanigans (I won't be specific as to the TYPE of shenanigans I most look forward to, but ...) Have fun and I am along for the ride, girl!

8 minutes ago, Treasure Hunter said:

I’m so sad. NCL needs to step up its game. Or they will lose us too. You hear a lot of MSC yacht club chatter on this board..And the new Sun Princess is moving towards a Haven /Retreat for all new builds. Princess will now have a suite restaurant instead of a cordoned off area in the MDR ( club or reserve class.) They have lovely elegant ships, well run with lots of high energy cruise staff games for sea days. The food has gone down hill since acquired by Carnival but price is great. I guess they are still cutting corners because of covid debt. 

I think this is an isolated unsatisfactory incident. For future, though, were it to happen again, as others have said, talk to the Concierge. Nicely, of course,. Tell him/her in a reasonable conversation what you are wanting and how to go about it because you were unable to make it happen. He/she will want to know about this, trust me. I also, regarding "only having the MDR menu", would then ask, "Can you get it for me please?" And if that got a "no", I would then ask if this is something I can ask the Concierge about. They will not want you to do that. Just stay calm and polite. But firm. No, you should not have to work for it, but once in a while there is a Butler or Cabin steward, or whoever that is not really trying. Don't accept that easily.  

Happy Easter, Tribe. We don't really do much at Easter except during pre-Easter load up on pre-Easter candy. Which for some reason, we never did! Yesterday we did a quick grocery shop and saw what was left--so of course we got some of it. 

I am cooking beef stew in the slow-cooker today, and we will have it with some wonderful crusty bread made at the supermarket. I have to say, as much as I miss so many wonderful foods in NJ/NY, this grocery store bakes the best bread I have ever eaten. The rest of their stuff is meh, but their bread! Awesome.

I started the online process of setting up a Military burial thingie for my Dad. Confusing and a bit frustrating. He had papers but not the one form I need, so had to request it. They will snail mail it to me, God forbid they can send it electronically...so who knows how long this will all take. Plus they are not clear regarding start/end dates needed for someone like Dad who after ending active service, began service in the Reserves. I had to kind of guess as to what answers I gave. .There is a phone number for the Military burial contact for the Marines in NY state. So I will call them next week just to touch base. I wish the process was easier, but it is what it is.

1 hour ago, sid_9169 said:

And just like that, it was over with... Well, almost. I'm sitting in the rinky dink Melbourne airport waiting for my flight home. I pretty much spent the entire four days just "on vacation"... Not a single food or drink photo, even there was a lot that could've been. Good food, good tequila, and good company was all I was looking for this week. 

 

There's no tequila in the freezer back home, so I'm going to try and go sober for a few days while I get ready for my colonoscopy on Thursday. Tomorrow morning it's back to the 'ol salt mine, but I've still got the rest of today to relax. I'm probably just going to walk from the Marta station to my buddies house where my car is parked. It's only about a mile, and I haven't had a lick of walking or anything in since before I left.

 

The little flight board here... Pretty small airport.

 

 

So glad you relaxed and had some fun, Sid!

Remember I bought a really cool tracker to find my glasses? Remember? Well, it said charge it every 30 days so it was time. 

And guess what?

I can't find the stupid charger!!!!

I guess I now need a charger tracker...so frustrating! I am a crazy lady.