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I set two traps and got a mouse already! The trap is reset and we'll see what we attract. The pest guy is coming on Friday and we'll have him go over every place they could be getting in.

Good morning, everyone! It was a short night last night. I stayed up a while because I wasn't tired and then woke up this morning way too early and couldn't get back to sleep. I came downstairs and when I poured my coffee I heard funny noises coming from the drawer under the oven. I opened it up and there was a mouse! It was eating the bait we put out for him, so he won't last too much longer. We need to figure out where they are getting in. This is the second one we've found. I hope Annie and Chuck had a good night and that Chuck is better this morning along with Annie's hip. I also hope @mamaofami is getting stronger after her bout with Covid. I'm happy the eye doctor was pleased with @RMLincoln Maureen's DH's eye pressures. @JazzyV Vanessa, I hope you can lick the vertigo issue. That can be so debilitating. @Vict0riann I hope Pat can get some relief for his heart issue and that all is progressing well for you in your treatment. @Seasick Sailor I am keeping your DS in my thoughts and prayers. @smitty34877 Terry, you and Tana are there as well. I hope your aide gets well soon and can return. @Cruzin Terri I hope all is going well with you. The Fish Sandwich Festival was a nice diversion yesterday. It was held in a park by Lake Huron, so the lake breezes helped to cool us down. Sue says the sandwiches weren't as good as the last time she was there. It was a bit of a hike for a fish sandwich. But, I'm glad we did it. We do like barbecued ribs in this house. We get them at the butcher shop and they are pretty tasty. I haven't tried them in the slow cooker, but I do like to cook my ribs long and slow. This way won't heat up the house with the oven. Slow Cooker Baby Back Ribs This one has a slightly different rub for the ribs. The directions in this recipe say not to add the barbecue sauce until you are broiling the ribs. I like to finish mine off on the grill. BBQ Baby Back Ribs Another different rub for the ribs in this recipe and it has you dump the BBQ sauce in the crockpot and cook it all together for a good long time. Crock Pot Ribs Wishing you all a wonderful day!

I am glad Chuck is home now and I hope he shows some improvement now that they understand the problem and hopefully corrected it. However, I am concerned for you. Please be careful and have the hip checked out.

Hi Jacqui, Please remove Sue and me from the January 2025 sailing of the Oosterdam. We have cancelled that cruise and replaced it with January 11-28 17 day Circle Hawaii on the Koningsdam. Thank you!

Good morning, everyone! Hot and humid is the name of the game here in mid-Michigan. We're going to venture over to the thumb of the state for the Fish Sandwich Festival in Bay Port. I'm told the sandwiches are fantastic, so we shall see. @marshhawk Annie, thanks for the update. I hope you were able to get a good night's sleep last night. As already said, Chuck is in the best place he can be. We are doing the January 11th cruise. We can wave in the lot of the cruise terminal. We had flank steak with chimichurri recently and it was delicious! Today we're having the chimichurri with sirloin steak. So, if you missed it before, now is your chance. The chimichurri calls for parsley and cilantro. If you are one who tastes soap with cilantro, just use all parsley. That is what I did and it was divine. Sirloin Steak with Chimichurri There are some good tips on grilling your sirloin to make it tender. Grilled Sirloin Here's one that is smoked. I think the chimichurri in this one has a bit more heat than some of the others. Smoked Sirloin and Chimichurri Wishing you all a wonderful day.

@marshhawk Annie, we are all praying and holding you and Chuck close to our hearts. Hugs to you and Chuck. @ger_77 Gerry, thanks for letting us know what was happening with Chuck and Annie. Well, we did some rearranging of our cruises. We dropped South America/Antarctica and booked Hawaii in place of it. The Hawaii cruise is half the cost of the SA one. We will book the VoV while onboard the Zuiderdam in three weeks. We really enjoyed the Hawaii cruise last year and said then that it might become a staple.

It is in early booking status so we'd get those promotions as well as the additional OBC for booking onboard.

Hello again, We have completely turned around our thinking on the solar eclipse cruise. I looked at pricing and airfare and hotels and we found out that the VOV is only slightly more expensive than the "cheaper" Med cruise would turn out to be. So, we are leaning in that direction right now. The thought of another trip over the pond on an airplane does not thrill me. We're looking at booking when we are on board in a couple of weeks. Can any of you think of any reasons not to and to go ahead and book now?

Rabbit, Rabbit, White Rabbit. Good morning, everyone! No pain this morning in the left leg, so I take that as a good sign. I've got yoga today and we're going downtown for River Days this evening. I'm not sure what that entails, but we will find out. We enjoyed the steak and chimichurri last night. We have enough left over for another meal. We're still debating over the Med cruises for the solar eclipse. I'm less certain that I need to do one to maintain my credentials. That is a lot of money for 4 minutes. We've got till tomorrow to decide. Today's meal sounds tasty, but no way I am heating up the house making it during this heat wave. It will have to wait until fall. It is a little high in carbs for me. Taco Soup 1 Here is the Pioneer Woman's take on it. It has a bit lower carb count. Taco Soup 2 And here's one that uses ground turkey instead of beef. Taco Soup 3 As always, adjust seasonings to fit your palate and leave out the stuff you don't like. Wishing you all a wonderful day!

Good evening, everyone. I had decided that the solar eclipse cruises were too expensive and that I should just stay home and put a new roof on the house. I also want a new driveway. My PCC called to talk about those cruises and I told her the northern routes were too expensive and the Med one was too hot. Well, the Med one is pretty reasonable in price. And, we discussed that with the northern cruises it is often cloudy out and that would affect our enjoyment of the eclipse. So then she suggested the 13 day Med cruise on the Oosterdam. That looked ok, but I really liked the 20 day one and Sue, who was listening in said if we were going to go all the way over there, we should do the 20 day cruise. So, right now both the 13 day cruise and the 20 day cruise have a hold on them. We have to let her know by Friday. Now, as a former Earth Science teacher, I am almost compelled to go see that solar eclipse. I mean, they could strip my credentials if I don't, right? @quilty964 What cool quilts and how wonderful that your DGD wanted the quilt she made to go to someone who didn't have one. @StLouisCruisers That is a great opportunity for you and Dennis to spend some 1-1 time with Ren. I'm sure he'll enjoy it as well. It is so nice that you are able to do that.

@ger_77 I'm so sorry to hear of the passing of Maurice's friend. @quilty964 Your granddaughter is beautiful and the quilt is lovely! @luvteaching Happy Birthday to your son! @Vict0riann I think if we descended on @kazu Jacqui would organize us but we might end up on the deck drinking wine. As well as being messy painters and bakers, we are also good wine drinkers. Why do you think we make such a mess painting and baking? It would be a fun time, though. @Quartzsite Cruiser I don't know what the issue is with the leg, but It will come up at my follow up appointment. I'm going to give it until next week and see how things are. Needle trauma could explain the pain in the back near the injection site and down through the butt. I've had that before and it takes about two weeks to go away. The rest sometimes feels like an aggravated nerve and sometimes doesn't. They did say it could take a month for the ablation to take effect. I am still enjoying not waking up at night in pain. That's the best part for me.

Ok, I give up understanding this left leg thing. I went to the gym and used all my machines and it didn't hurt one bit. Hasn't hurt since. Let's hope it stays this way. It is different from the pain I used to have in that leg. That pain was mostly in the front of the leg above the knee. This pain doesn't center there. I am now wondering if the calf pain is from stretching. If the weight machines help it, then I will have all of those on our cruise. I will also have the pool and intend to use it. We have late dinner and 5:00 pm is a good time to use the pool. No one is around. We are having the flank steak and chimichurri for dinner tonight. I'm going to go make the chimichurri now so the flavors have time to blend.

Good morning, everyone! It is going to be a hot one here in mid-Michigan today. The predicted high is 88F with mostly sunny skies, high pollen, and high humidity. How can we be so lucky? Nothing at all on the agenda today except the gym. The pain in the left leg is back full time, although not as bad in some aspects and worse in others. It used to go down to my knees, now it goes all the way down the leg. But, it isn't as intense all the time as it was before. Just enough to let me know it is there. And I can walk it out most of the time. I have a follow up appointment for nerve ablation and will bring it up then. @JazzyV I don't think I need to be on the Care List until I get confirmation about the hernia situation. Yesterday I wasn't bulging, so it may be my imagination. Who knows? Anyways, there are people much more in need of prayers than I am. Today's meal sounds quite refreshing. It is actually a side dish and would go well with grilled chicken or fish. Adjust the peppers to the heat you like or tolerate and make it your own. Heirloom Tomato Salad This one has a different dressing to go with it and includes avocadoes in the salad. Leave them out if you don't like them, but I love them! Roasted Corn and Tomato Salad This version sounds good as well. Tomato Salad with Sweet Corn Wishing you all a wonderful day!

@marshhawk I sent you an email concerning your post. I am so concerned about what you have to deal with basically on your own. Chuck's medical team should be providing you with more support and answers. As for my hernia, I don't know that the hernia is the problem. I'm just guessing at this point. The mesh was tacked down at 7 places and the pop occurred near one of them. I think the other six tacks should hold it in place. The tummy bulge is smooth, not bumpy like the last time, but that is probably because of the mesh holding most it in place. I have to put in a call to my doctor. Toes are all painted, yoga was great, and we did early voting today. Now, to relax.

Good morning, everyone! We have a rainy morning here in mid-Michigan. The silver lining is that we don't have to go out and water the flowers. Nature is taking care of that. Only yoga and a pedicure on the agenda for today. @marshhawk Annie, I hope the appointment today is productive. @kazu It sounds like you are making good progress. Grilled pineapple does not make a meal, but it would be a great accompaniment to a pork roast, ham, or pork chops. Or, have it for dessert with a scoop of vanilla ice cream on it. Chocolate sauce would go well with that, too. https://therecipecritic.com/caramelized-grilled-pineapple/ The first recipe was really easy and basic. This next one uses a honey lime mixture to grill the pineapple. https://www.skinnytaste.com/grilled-pineapple-2-pts/ I like the flavor variations offered in this recipe. https://www.dinneratthezoo.com/grilled-pineapple/ Wishing you all a wonderful day!

Just back from today's walk. 2.15 miles. I did wear a lidocaine patch to help with the compression pain I get in my lower back. That was yesterday's problem. I had cut out my Aleve and discovered I still need it. My left leg was not happy. I managed to walk that pain out. I did stop and talk with the neighbor from the burned house. They still have not found the cat and report smelling decay near the house. The cat's body may be under debris. They don't have an official cause of the fire, but they think it was the dishwasher. I guess that is not uncommon and there have been several recalls on dishwashers in the past due to electrical problems. Before my knee replacements I was going up on all fours. I called it the crab crawl. It helped take the pressure off the knees, but that is a different problem than yours. It sounds like you have a decent plan of action doing the physio before tackling the stairs. As much as we'd like to avoid stairs, the purpose of surgery and medical intervention is to make us as whole as possible and stairs are a part of daily life. You'll get there, but not as fast as you'd like. That's the thing with being a senior. Everything takes more time. Meanwhile, I think my hernia repair has come loose. I felt something pop on my left side two weeks ago. It was pretty sore for a few days, but seemed to get better. However, I am bulging out the abdomen again. The bulge is not from weight gain because I've actually lost 10 pounds. Sigh...... They said I couldn't do anything to hurt it, so it wasn't my fault!

Good morning everyone! It is a warm start to the day here in mid-Michigan. As @ottahand7 Nancy said, it isn't cooling down at night so the house stays warm and just gets hotter. So, we gave in and turned on the AC. Yesterday's hike went well. I managed 2.5 miles, a great improvement over struggling to do a half mile before the ablation. I'm going to try again today with some modifications and see how I do. I'm not taking the hiking poles for this walk as they do cause pain in my neck. This afternoon we are meeting the siblings for coffee in the park. This activity started during the pandemic and has kept going. Some of the new traditions are good ones. I ran across this article yesterday and thought I would check out these cruises. It all depends on price. 2026 Solar Eclipse Cruises I so enjoyed the last eclipse that I want to go eclipse chasing. There are three itineraries and I've ruled out the Mediterranean one due to heat at that time of year. Today's meal might be too much for a hot summer day, but would be good on a cool fall day or a cold winter one. The recipes are very flexible so that you can use just the veggies you like. I like the idea of separating the veggies in to the hard veggies (like carrots and brussels sprouts) and soft veggies (like zucchini). I would add the soft veggies when I was heating up a portion of soup to eat. You know that these recipes make enough to last a week! Clean Out the Fridge Soup The soup above has a broth base to it while the next soup looks to have a cream base. It almost looks like pureed broccoli. Use up all the Veggies Soup This one adds noodles to the mix. Clean the Fridge Soup I hope this finds all of you well, or healing from any ailments. @kazu Little by little. Wishing you all a wonderful day!

Good morning, everyone! It is a chilly start to the day here in mid-Michigan, but the forecast has us with sunny skies and a high of 87F. I may break down and turn on the AC. We're planning to go out to Chippewa Nature Center to hike this morning. There is a 3 mile loop we have done before and I want to test out how well I do on it. Working up to doing my Jordan Pond hike in Acadia in 4 weeks. Today's meal sounds fancy! I think I'd like it as it is reasonable in carbs, leaving room for a veggie along side it. Grilled Salmon with Peaches I think that was a unique recipe and didn't find any others with exactly that title. But, here's one for seared salmon. It doesn't include the peaches, but does have the pistachios. Seared Salmon with Pistachio Gremolata This one grills the salmon but leaves out the pistachios. It would be easy to add them in. Grilled Salmon with Peach, Basil, and Tomato Topping Wishing you all a wonderful day.

@57redbird

Good morning, everyone! It is going to be another beautiful day here in mid-Michigan with sunny skies and a high in the mid 80s. They have adult swim at the outdoor pool this morning so I will head over there to do my water exercise routine. I'm glad I have that option. @superoma Eva Bon Voyage to @Horizon chaser 1957 I hope your cruise on the Volendam is the best! I love ratatouille and have made it for years. Sue won't eat it because it has eggplant so it is all mine! I would leave out the farro though due to the carb count. Ratatouille with Farro This ratatouille has a large dice to the veggies. What a colorful dish it makes! Ratatouille This one is missing directions, but I'm sure most of us can figure them out. It includes feta cheese and eggs for protein, so makes a complete meal. Summer Ratatouille Wishing you all a wonderful day!

Enjoy your dinner!

Today I was able to walk a mile without stopping. That is a major improvement. Before I had to stop often! I am excited because that means I will probably do just fine on our Jordan Pond hike next month. Time to celebrate! @Cruising-along You can easily leave out the cilantro. Only one of the recipes called for it. The others use parsley. Heat can be adjusted to the palate or left out. I'm glad I'm having less pain, too! Now to just figure out the right hip. @StLouisCruisers Happy Birthday to Morgan! I hope her day is the best ever. @JazzyV @Quartzsite Cruiser Vanessa and Lenda, no one is happier that the nerve ablation made such a big difference than I am. All I can say is WOW! The other benefit is that I don't wake up in the middle of the night with uncomfortable heaviness and aching in my knees and ankles like I did before. I'm sure that was related. I was using lidocaine patches at night to be able to sleep. I'm going to stop the Aleve and see how I do without that. The fewer pills, the better. @ger_77 Enjoy the time with DS while he is "home". @RMLincoln I hope the pressures stay down. It sounds like things are all going in the right direction. @marshhawk I don't know how you do it. I couldn't. Or wouldn't. @smitty34877 I'm glad you got some respite last night. Bless all of you for taking such good care of Tana and her teenager. The stability you are providing for him must help Tana rest easier. @kazu Please don't overdo things. You don't want to jeopardize your recovery for your cruise coming up. And, selfishly, I am hoping you'll be well enough for a meet and greet in Saint John next month. Off to CELEBRATE!

Good morning, everyone! It is a bit of a nippy start to the day, but that is fine by me. We have abundant sunshine in the forecast with temperatures in the low 80s by mid-day. A great day for working outside or relaxing on the deck with some iced tea. After the gym, of course! I am happy to report that I had very little pain in the left leg yesterday - less than the day before. Some of the pain is from the injection site and may be needle trauma. I've had that before. What I like best is not waking up with horrible back pain. The fire department was out at the house with the family yesterday. I'm sure they were investigating cause. There is still one cat unaccounted for. The grandma has a house about 20 minutes away and there is a son in town. So the homeowner and her daughter will have some options on places they can go. I wonder which ones took the snake. I would eat today's meal in a heartbeat. Sue would probably turn her nose up to the chimichurri sauce, so I just won't tell her what is in it. This one marinates the meat beforehand, which I think is a great first step with flank steak. I would do it overnight. Steak With Chimichurri Sauce This one does not have a marinade for the flank steak. Chimichurri Steak This one doesn't marinate the steak first either. I think I would. But this recipe and the last one have some good tips for grilling the steak and making the chimichurri. Flank Steak with Chimichurri Wishing you all a wonderful day!