Cruising-along

Good morning all! Another lovely fall morning here in the PNW. Low 70's, heating up to the mid 80's this weekend, then back down again. DH will be getting the last of the pressure washing done today, and once things dry out I'll be doing a little painting (wine after painting, not during LOL) I've never been a fan of salami, just don't like the flavor. Right now we have a great mail person, but we sure had a bad one for a few years. Suffice it to say, he should have been fired, but according to his supervisor they couldn't get rid of him. 😡 The only beer I like is Guinness. Not a fan of lighter beers. Will pass on the meal and drink, and this Riesling sounds a bit sweet for me. We will visit Port Canaveral for the first time next month on our Quebec City-Fort Lauderdale cruise that many from the Daily will also be aboard. We'll be taking the tour to The Kennedy Space Center. I have a couple questions about testing and the latest booster. Many people here in the states have mentioned that testing isn't free like it was in the past. They were referring to the testing done at pharmacies etc. We've always had our testing done at our clinic, they have a drive-thru 7 days/week for that purpose and we have never, ever been charged. The last time we did it was a couple months ago for travel. Have things changed recently? I know either Medicare or our Tricare picked up the tab those times. The other question is if you know which booster, Moderna or Pfizer, we should get this time. Our initial vaccines were Pfizer, as was the first booster. The second booster we chose Moderna because we'd heard it can be good to mix and match. As far as I know, the only difference with the latest one is at what age it's recommended -- am I wrong?

Oh yes, Jonathan Kellerman! Thank you! Adding this to my list. 🙂

Thank you, what a kind offer! The one who comes to mind first is Ann Rule. She was a local author/ celebrity and I have all her books. I like mystery, historical fiction, and true crime (not the gory kind, but like Ann Rule's books). I have met sister Sue and can vouch for her. I think she would bring lots of humor to the group and fit in nicely. 😄

Good morning all! Another beautiful day. I'm enjoying the lower temperatures and sunny days -- Saturday and Sunday show 85F degrees -- what's up with that? I guess one last blast of summer. I think I'll celebrate Fight Procrastination today by doing something I've been putting off for a few months. I still haven't framed my large counted cross-stitch of the European bistro scene. I have everything laid out to do it, but have really been procrastinating. I think it's because once it's done it can't be changed. I need to remind myself that then I can hang it up! I don't read as much as I did in the past, and I realized it's because my favorite authors have died 😞 I need to find new favorite authors. Have no idea what an egg toss would be like, it sounds horribly messy. Good quote, and the meal sounds great. I love mango salsa and always look for it on cruises. I know they had it at the taco bar in the past, but not sure if they still do. Will pass on the drink and wine. We visited Portree on the VOV in 2018. We took a tour to the 13th century Eilean Donan Castle. We weren't allowed to take photos inside, but really the exterior was much more interesting anyway. Yikes @RedneckBobabout lightening striking twice!! I think I would move! Sandi @StLouisCruisersHappy Anniversary!!! Graham @grapau27thank you for the clip of the Beatles tribute show. I don't usually care for tribute bands of bands and singers I have seen in person, but this was good. I saw the Beatles in California when I was 14. One of our tenders going into Portree On our way to the Eilean Donan Castle we see our ship anchored out. Sheep in the beautiful highlands And a cottage in the highlands Our first view of the Eilean Donan Castle We walked a little ways to get to the castle. The surroundings were gorgeous. We explored the whole exterior.

Good morning all! Happy Labor/Labour Day. Nothing to be late for today, this will be an at-home day for me, catching up on some housework. I like cheese pizza, but prefer Hawaiian pizza. It's a good day to gather items for charity. The quote is good (IMO something remarkable doesn't have to be earth-changing, it could be something remarkable to only you). I'll pass on the meal but both the drink and wine sound great. Have never been to this port. @Cruzin TerriI'm so sorry about the leak and damage to your house!! What a nightmare. The same thing happened to a neighbor -- in fact we found out that all the houses in our neighborhood have that potential. Most of us have replaced that piece on every sink and toilet since then and pray it won't happen. Joy @Seasick Sailorprayers for your DH. Gerry @ger_77so glad you and your DH are safe. @HAL4NOWI don't get migraines, but do get headaches if there's even one tiny bit of cilantro in a dish (and so many have it). For me it's a bitter taste, not soapy -- and one little flake will ruin the whole dish.

It was good, wasn’t it. I bought the book today and will bring it next month on our cruise. If the popcorn here had been $9 I wouldn’t have gotten any either. It was only $3 here!

Good morning all! Another lovely fall morning here in the PNW. Today we'll be going to DD and DSIL's house to check on their kitty and a few other things for them while they're on a 3-day camping trip. I think I'll also pick up the book "Where the Crawdads Sing" to bring on our cruise next month. I was going to put it on my Kindle, but I admit I'm really not a Kindle gal and prefer a book to hold. The movie was very good, and I'm eager to read the book now. Oh, and besides the $3 movie tickets yesterday, they also were selling large bags of popcorn for $3 and large drinks for $3. $12, wow. We should bring our manners everywhere, our son was a newspaper carrier in his early teens, and hurray for spices. I would try the meal, but pass on the red pricey wine and the drink. I love rum, but not coconut or pineapple. Not sure about the quote, and haven't been to the port. Sharon @Sharon in AZHappy Birthday to your Dear Mom! Sandi @StLouisCruiserslove your DD's Autumn Tree 🙂 Gerry @ger_77that's a great house key!!

And @0106we just got home and loved the movie. I'm sure there will be some award nominations. Now I'm going to read the book and you're right, more detail is better.

Ditto. I have the Fall 2022 Issue, which I haven't even opened yet.

I will! I haven't read the book but my sister has and says the movie was well done. I seem to do things backwards, so I'll probably be reading the book now lol.

Good morning all! It will be a pleasant 72 F here today. Our early September is living up to its good reputation for weather. Have never been to a tailgating party, and the nearest skyscrapers would be half an hour south in Seattle. Thank you @0106for letting us know about the $3 cinema tickets for National Cinema Day. I checked, and there's one movie I would take the time to see, "Where the Crawdads Sing". I've heard good things about that movie and our theaters are honoring the $3 tickets. Now I'll see if DH wants to go. Maybe a late afternoon movie and then take-out for dinner. I'll pass on the drink, but the wine and meal both sound great. Have never been to the port, and the quote is so true. Our son has had a life-long deep hatred for all geese ever since he was about 3 years old. He was out to a park with his aunt and one chased him. Apparently he had to jump onto a picnic table to escape it 😞 @luvteachingKaren my condolences on the loss of your good friend Wayne. @aliaschiefBruce your new phone takes great photos.

Thank you for the info...can't say I'm surprised. I switched back and forth between Travel and Leisure and Food and Wine. So many ads in both.

Good morning all! It feels like fall is arriving, we had a few days in the mid 80's F and now it will be down in the low-mid 70's for awhile. It feels good! A good collection of days, I'll take a hard pass on the meal but the drink sounds good and the wine is one I've had before and liked it. Never been to this port, thanks for the photos! Today we'll be doing a grocery run and need to buy some paint (hahaha). It's for the post that I always have my Sweet Peas climb. DH will need to pressure wash it first, then I'll try to get it painted (no wine involved, darn!) before the weather turns. Sue @Rowsbyenjoy your month in Hawaii! Loving your photos. 🙂 Lenda @Quartzsite CruiserHappy 55th Anniversary to you and your DH! Sandi @StLouisCruisersHappy 14th Birthday to your DGS Austin! Thank you Vanessa @JazzyVfor the correction on @marshhawk's anniversary date. I was sure she had said it will be the 9th. 😉 Well hopefully things will be returning to normal now that my neighbor is back home. This morning I saw Jinx on his own porch with a bowl of food. I really wonder if the girls thought he'd gone off and died (he's elderly) and that's why nobody was looking for him. Teenage girls shouldn't have been left alone so long, but that's a whole other story...

They definitely can be delivered to your cabin, some or all. We always do that. And it isn’t only the MDR but any other restaurant too. They will find your wine. 😉

Ann @marshhawk I remember you telling about that cat. I just can’t stand to see any animal hungry or suffering. Thankfully there are lots of people besides me who love this cat and try to look out for him. Just now I was gardening and sure enough he found me. He seems content (here he is on our porch) so I wonder if he got some food today. I still haven’t seen his owner but know she’s home. He’s a beautiful boy.

Thank you Sharon. It really is a tough situation. The problem is that if I say anything about feeding him, she'll know her kids were neglectful because she knows I would only do that in an emergency. In the past a neighbor kept food on her porch for him and any other cat. So Jinx put on too much weight (his owner had him on a special diet with lower calories). Of course he went to that house to get treats. 😉 I'll be home today and will keep an eye out (I hope she gets him inside!) and will talk to her if I see her (what I'll say other than welcome home I don't know). I feel like saying something like "Jinx missed you!" lol

Good morning all! We're getting a slow cooling trend, and fall is in the air. I've had 2 ginger cats in my life -- "George", my first cat as a child, and "Parkour", our grand-kitty who passed a couple months ago. I would love to have a cherry popover, but will pass on the Tofu. Also will pass on the meal and red wine. The drink does sound good though. I was happy to see that my neighbor has returned from her trip to AZ with their oldest daughter who will start school there. Whenever she's away, no matter who is left home to care for their pets, the indoor/outdoor kitty Jinx (who all the neighbors have adored for years) is pretty much ignored and left on his own. He has a feeder on their back deck, but unless they let him inside it means he has to jump over the fence. Also I suspect that the dogs get to that food first. 😞 Some of us realized a few days ago that her teenage daughters weren't bringing him in at night, and he was extremely hungry. 😞 Very upsetting -- in fact last weekend when we realized what was happening, we thought he looked close to death. Other than this quirk, this family is wonderful and great neighbors. I think they're more "dog people" and just don't realize that an older cat can't be left outside on his own indefinitely. I know they mean well, but this just is not good. So I did something I always told her I wouldn't, I started feeding him (all the neighbors had been leaving water out for him already). It took a few days, because he was so weak, but now he's looking so much better. The first couple days he was too weak to eat more than a few bites. Am I upset? You bet! 😡😞 I hope to see her soon...at first I thought I would tell her what's been going on, but my neighbor convinced me that this is different from when she had pet sitters and we let her know what was happening -- this is her daughters and we've always had a good relationship with them. It's a real dilemma, a fine line between letting her know and keeping a good relationship with the family. So glad it's September, now I can say my cruise is "next month"!!! We also got the email about our Quebec City embarkation port change. Now our hotel isn't quite as close, it will be .3 miles instead of .1. I guess we'll play it by ear whether to walk or get a taxi. @Cruzin TerriI hope you have a very Happy Birthday and enjoy your birthday dinner!

Maybe messier, but also maybe we wouldn't care? 😄🤷‍♀️

Could I pay you in wine? Of course part of the deal would be I get to drink with you. 😉 😂

Well, 😂 You couldn't be any worse than if DH or I did it 😉

Can I hire you??

Ugh. I hate that! Hope you are able to get hold of them and get someone out there.

Good morning all! Eating outside is nice sometimes, as long as the bees don't get in my face and food. Love trail mix. Dear Dad wrote his memoirs for the family. He had an interesting life of 101 years starting in a log cabin on a Montana ranch in the middle of nowhere. It will be too warm today for the meal, I think we'll have tacos tonight. Will pass on the drink but the wine sounds good. We were in Manta in 2015 on the old Statendam. We went to see where a family made Panama hats (as Sandi said, Manta is the birthplace of Panama Hats, not Panama). I'll just show a few of the photos from that day, as they're much like Sandi's. Each family member would work 1.5 hours/day in this family business. The woman on the far right was 73 years old and started at age 5. Trimming the hats DH did buy one

Good morning all! It will heat up today and tomorrow to the mid 80's, then slowly cool down again (for how long?) School starts here tomorrow for most of the children including our grandsons. I can't believe they will be in the 2nd and 4th grades -- I remember when I was that old! Where does the time go?! Sadly many of us here have had a lot of grief lately and in the past few years. My goodness Gerry @ger_779 friends/family in only 18 months.....just too much. 😞 I'm not a beach person, but do like a beach day sometimes. There have been many hearts touched in this community. The quote is true, will pass on the drink (sweet) and meal (trying to limit pasta). I do love a good Chenin Blanc, and would love to try this one if someone else was buying! At first I thought we'd never been to this port, and then I saw Sandi's @StLouisCruisers' photos and realized we took the same tour. I tried to find different photos from her great selection. Debbie @dfishyou have my utmost admiration for all the painting you're doing! My gosh, just one room would do me in for the year!! Sue @Rowsbysafe flight and thank you for sharing the gorgeous photo! Jack @Heartgrovewe had to change PCCs recently too. We may have had the same great PCC who recently quit after many, many years. So far we're reserving judgement on our new one, she hasn't had to do much for us yet, and like you, we don't need much help. She was assigned to us by the PCC supervisor. I did want to say that we use the Big Box for our Celebrity bookings and have always been happy with them. Seriously, it's as easy to get answers and replies to calls from them as it is from PCCs now. And then there's the Big Box perks that we've used a lot. Some photos of the Orchid House and Sunbury House. Collection of sewing machines in the Sunbury House Swim suit from the early 1900's (!) Optometry equipment The rum flowed freely. We got a huge kick out of the gals doing the rum tasting. It was a lot like watching an episode of I Love Lucy. 😉

Good morning all! It's starting to warm up again, will it be summer's last hurrah or will summer continue through September? We never know! I've never seen a bat around here other than in the zoo. I try to use less salt, and motorist consideration unfortunately is a joke around here. We really wonder if some people even know what a yield sign means..... The quote is good, will pass on the meal (not a fan of gnocchi) and the red wine. The drink sounds good. We've been to Montreal once or twice, on Quebec-FL or FL-Quebec cruises. I won't post my photos of Notre Dame, as Sandi @StLouisCruisershas posted some gorgeous ones. On one visit at the end of the cruise we spent one night in Montreal. We got the bright idea of walking from our hotel to the top of Mont Royal and back to the hotel (having no idea how far it was). The weather was good, it was in May, and the walk was really nice but oh my did my feet hurt afterwards! We found out then that we'd walked 10-11 miles total (we were about 10 years younger). Sitting on a plane all day the next day actually felt good after that 😉 It was actually a nice walk, even though long! We walked past interesting buildings Eventually we were going uphill... Past the university district Beautiful springtime blossoms The park was lovely and full of other people walking, jogging, with dogs, on bicycles, etc. The view from the top was worth the climb. And of course I had to take photos of the beautiful flower gardens at the top. The moon over our hotel that night.