Quartzsite Cruiser

Good afternoon. It was cloudy this morning when I finally opened the blinds, but there was not much wind. We actually reached 66F this afternoon, and the sun is coming in and out of the clouds. I don't remember the last time it was sunny. Our rain chances keep moving, and now Monday is supposed to be the rainy day. I just hope the prediction of warmer temperatures holds. The house is clean, at least for a while. After I finished the cleaning, and rested for a few minutes, I took some things to the attic to store, brought some things down that can be tossed. While I was up there, I changed the a/c filter. All I can say, it's been worse, but not by much. With our nice sunny afternoon and at least warmer weather, we took a golf cart ride around our neighborhood. I think the golf cart might have been lonely. Since I've been walking and picking up the mail, it hasn't been driven much this year. One good thing about all the walking was it was easier to climb the drop down ladder to reach the attic. Charlene, that was nice of your DH and DS to volunteer at the shredding event. Lorraine, I hope the new luggage works as promised and makes traveling easier. Terry, I know that was a difficult decision to sell your DH's car. I hope the job getting the house back in shape becomes easier. Eva, while it was a hard decision, I know you are relieved your father decided to hang up the keys. It's always easier when our parents make that decision in stead of our having to force them to. I was lucky that my father knew when it was time to quit, and to let my stepmother do the driving. Her kids weren't so lucky with her. Sandy, both pictures of you and Linda are adorable. When we lived in The Woodlands and the DDs were younger, we'd go to the Houston Zoo a few times a year. Joy, I'm glad your feeling better, but sorry your cough returned. I hope it's all behind you soo. When DH had his steroid shots in his knees, the same thing happened. The next day, he was pain free, but the following day, the numbing drug had worn off. Bruce, I'm glad you arrived safely in FLL and with all your luggage. I'm glad your surgery was a success. The recovery will take time, but following doctors orders does help. When DH had his surgery last fall, he was told to walk often, but to not sit in one place for more than two hours before returning to bed to rest. I think walking is the key, since too much time in bed can cause problems too. Lenda

@Overhead Fred I hope you and Mitzi have a wonderful day today. Lenda

@StLouisCruisers Sandi, Happy Birthday to you and your twin. Lenda

Good morning from a cool, 53F, central Texas. This may be the last cool day, as the temperatures are supposed to start warming for the coming week. It's still dark, but I suspect it is cloudy and likely windy. I will celebrate All is Ours Day remembering all the wonderful places we have visited. I don't think I'll attempt to draw a bird, but would like to visit a zoo. The Abraham Lincoln quote is very true. We'll pass on the meal and the drink, but the wine sounds nice. We have been to the Dominican Republic, but not to today's port. @aliaschief Congratulations on the upgrade to first class, and safe travels the rest of the way. @smitty34877 Terry, it sounds like you have a very good aide for Tana, but sorry there was a difficult situation yesterday. I hope the aide stays with you for quite a while. @Lady Hudson How nice of your twin to ask you to join her on the cruise. @richwmn Rich, that was a big day in baseball history. Now, it's time to get ready to clean the house. Lenda

Good evening. We didn't get any rain today, and I'm not holding out hope of getting any in the next couple of days. It reac hed about 59F this afternoon, but with less wind, ot wasn't too bad walking. I may not be cooking much the next few days since I cooked a lot the last two nights. We have a lot of leftovers. Last night, I made lasagna and tonight I roasted a chicken with mashed potatoes and asparagus on the side. I'm glad you made it home safely, and I hope you get some rest tonight. Brenda, thank you for the beaver pictures. 🦫 They are interesting animals. Jake, thanks for posting the link. It was a very interesting sailaway. Sandi, I'm sorry Ren's team lost. The tie breaker system doesn't seem fair. Gerry, I happy you made it safely at your family's home. Enjoy your visit and hugs. Lenda

Annie, we've been lucky that our doctor's office and the other places DH and I've had blood tests use the stretchy tape. DH has "furry" arms too, and we bought several rolls of the tape on Amazon to use when he needs a bandage on his arms. Linda, good news about DS's roof. I'd be okay if the alligator was just swimming by, but a little anxious if he decided to start walking my way. Karen, what a scary moment when you got to an empty room. I'm glad your DH was demoted to a regular room, and I hope he can be transferred to your local hospital soon. I can relate to how you felt seeing an empty room. One of the times DH was sent to the emergency room last fall, I was at home. By the time I got to the hospital a couple of hours later and they sent me to the his room in ER, it was empty. Turns out, they had taken him for a CAT scan of his chest. Lenda

We visited Saint John, NB, on October 5 and October 17, 2004, on b2bs from NYC on the old Regal Princess. I didn't take too many pictures, but I did find a few. Our first visit, we toured the town, and the second visit we rented a car and drove east along the coast of the Bay of Fundy. These are some pictures from our day in Saint John. This is the Founding of New Brunswick Cross Monument in King's Square. St. John's Anglican Church, which is often referred to as the stone church, built in 1823-26. These are from our drive east of town. The remainder of the pictures are of the reversing river taken both days we were in Saint John. It was going out the first day and coming in the second. The ones from October 5. From October 17 when the weather was not nearly as good. Lenda

Good morning from another cloudy and windy day in central Texas. It is currently 52F and our predicted high will only be 55F. The rain chances for today seen to have decreased. That's typical Texas weather, especially in the spring. We like popcorn, but I'm not a fan of caramel popcorn, or really anything caramel. On the other hand, I'll take popcorn with chocolate drizzled on it. Beavers are an important part of the earth's ecology. Several times when we drove to Alaska, we stopped at an abandoned provincial park just north of Summit Lake in BC. There are several beaver dams, and one large one in particular. Our dachshunds would get on the dam since they could smell the beavers. The larger one even jumped in the fast flowing creek to try to find the beaver. Fortunately, she was on a leash and DH could pull her back to safety. Maybe they confused the beavers with badgers. 🤣 I used to enjoy a cold beer in the summer or with certain foods, until a certain medication was changed. Now, beer doesn't agree with me. Happily, wine and I still get along very well. 😁 Another interesting quote today, that I'll have to think about. Swordfish is one of the fish varieties I like, but when they were found to contain high levels of mercury, we stopped eating swordfish. The recipes look good, but I'd definitely leave off the cooked tomatoes. They're my version of Debbie's @dfish carrots. 😉 We'll pass on the drink and the wine. @StLouisCruisers Sandi, sending good thoughts that Ren's new team wins today. I just checked the Dallas weather, and it's not supposed to rain today. It will be cloudy and in the mid 50s though. @seagarsmoker Thank you for more pictures from your cruise. @marshhawk Annie, I hope this next round of tests show better than expected results. @Crazy For Cats The look on the cat's face reminded me of Ralphie in A Christmas Story. @grapau27 Graham, thank you for the Easter card. It is lovely. @cat shepard Ann, the moonrise picture is beautiful. @Cruisercl Caron, I enjoyed learning about your Polish Easter traditions. @kochleffel Paul, an interesting story about the second night Seder. Lenda

Oh no! It was nice of the gentleman to give your his guest pass to the lounge. If your new flight is canceled, hopefully they'll give you a hotel viucher and meal vouchers. Lenda

Good afternoon after a busy morning. I managed to get all my errands completed including dropping some items at the thrift store that benefits local veterans. That was the iffy one, since the store does not seem to have regular hours. At first, the gentleman refused to accept the two small bags because they had run out of room for anymore donations. I managed to persuade him to take them since several of the items were things sick or disabled veterans could use that DH got in rehab and no longer needs. I think that is what clinched the deal. Once I got home, I needed to unload the car, straighten the house and get everything put away. One of our grocery stores had a deal of 20% off wine when you bought six bottle of more, so our wine cellar has another case of Riesling, and seven more cardbordeauxs of Pinot Noir. And the cardbordeauxs with the discount were cheaper than Total Wine. 👏 The other grocery store had a good deal on bone-in ribeye steaks, so I picked up six that look very good. Now, if the weather will just cooperate so we can cook outside. I also got my walk in before the rain came, and of course, it still hasn't rained yet. At 51F with a strong wind, it was chilly doing the walk. I confess, after a morning shopping and running errands, I did the shorter loop. Eva, thanks for the Tartans of Canada. RNB, while we miss your humor, taking can of some issues out weighs the need for laughs. We'll be here when you're able to provide the humor. In the meantime, we'll be thinking about you and hoping the issues are resolved easily and quickly. Sand, another pot calling the kettle black, since I tend to see if nature will take care of aches and pains, but I hope after this long, you get checked out. Eva, I was still using film when we did our 90 day world cruise in 2000. DH was shocked at how many rolls of 36 exposure film I took. Thank goodness, he had switched to a digital camera for the cruise. Thanks for the sail away picture of the Stad Amsterdam. Maureen, I'm sure your friend and the other members of the local department will be comforted by your words and memories. Lorraine, safe travels today, and I hope your don't have a detour to Atlanta this time. I'm glad the trip helped your DSIL. Terry, I'm glad you are able to walk as much as you did before the hip replacement. Vanessa, a roofer could reattach the flashing, but how soon would be the question. Maybe a local handyman could do the job. Sometimes, I wonder if we rely on computers too much as when the nationwide outage kept you for getting your prescription. Maureen, that's great news from your DH's oncologist. Susan, I need to do spring cleaning, but I'm better at procrastinating on things I don't like doing. Carolyn, I hope you both feel better soon. I'm glad the doctor could give you a lower dose of Paxlovid. Paul, I enjoyed learning about the Jewish tartan, and the web-site is very interesting. I found the tartans belonging to several names of ancestors in Scotland including the infamous Clan McGregor. Thanks for the link. Annie, I'm glad the PET scan is behind you. Sending positive thoughts that the second spot has not grown any, and that any treatment will be easy. Ann, it is good that your mother's dress tartan can be used by other family members. If we all add all the carrots we want, then there will be less for Debbie to have to deal with or even look at. 😉 Nancy, I hope the procedure goes well and stays minor. Roy, thanks for the picture of the Elegant Explorer. She is still lovely, and looks like a ship, not a floating apartment building. I just wish her hull was still HAL blue. Lenda

A quick good morning from a chilly central Texas where it is currently 49F. It is also cloudy and windy. We are supposed to get rain beginning later today and most of the day tomorrow. I'll be heading out shortly to run some errands, and then I'll try to get my walk in before the rain starts. Three good days to celebrate. The California poppies are always pretty. Thanks @TiogaCruiser for the pictures. Since we both have many ancestors from Scotland, I imagine we have several tartans to chose from. I am now trying to walk everyday unless the weather is bad. Another interesting quote today. I think we'll pass on the meal and the drink, but thank you Debbie for finding a recipe with carrots. I may have to try it another day. I would love to try the wine, but it is pricey. We've been to Georgetown, Grand Cayman many times, but only once in the digital age. I did not post any pictures of the port since all my pictures from our 2002 visit were taken while snorkeling. And that day, the world of photography was forever changed. Graham, thank you for the information on Tartan Day. I had not realized our Declaration of Independence was modeled on the one from Scotland. Jacqui, good to see you posting. You can whine to us all you want to since you are always there when we are the ones who are whining. Take care, and I hope things are better soon. Lenda

After yesterday's discussion about how to cook eggs, we had breakfast for dinner. DH had scrambled eggs while I had two fried eggs over easy, along with bacon, toast and blueberry preserves. Laura, I'm glad you and your DH are feeling better and will be free on Saturday. Sorry you missed four NZ ports. Sandi, the score of 10-0 sounds more like a football game score. I'm glad Ren played so well. Congratulations to Ren's brother on getting into UCLA. Maureen, that is good news about your DH's eye pressure being lower and his getting off some of the meds. Our condolences to you, your friend and her family on the passing of your friend's husband. Lenda

Joy, when we put the yard in 23 years ago, we had top soil added and then the sod put on top. We went with Bermuda because it does not require as much water. It did all right until about several years ago when the crab grass began invading the yard. It took over so much of the front yard, that it choked out a lot of the Bermuda, and I think the big freeze followed by the drought did the rest of the yard in. I'm trying to kill or pull as many weeds as possible, then add more top soil and sod. While I have my fingers crossed it will work, I'm not holding my breath. The strong weed killer has killed some of the weeds, but others have taken their place. The saving grace is our neighbors' yards are just as bad. Even those who rocked their yards have weeds. Lenda

Carolyn, I'm sorry you tested positive, and hope your symptoms remain mild and you are well soon, and that your DH is better soon. I enjoyed your pictures from Barbados. Thank you, Graham. Joy, I'm glad you are feeling better now. I wish the dandelions were the worst of my weed problems. Living in the country, I'm battling every invasive Texas weed and wild grass. Just as I get one under control or eradicated, a different one pops up in the cleared area. I guess I can look at it as it gives me something to do, but there are other things I'd rather do. One neighbor says that as long as it's green, he mows it. My problem is some of the weeds and grasses grow ten times faster than the others and the remaining grass. With those weeds I could be mowing very two to three days. 😱 @AncientWanderer Maxine, I'm sorry you caught what ever that nasty virus is. Please rest and take it easy. I hope your are feeling better soon. Lenda

I used to make deep dish pizza, but we found we like the thin cruise pizzas better. I rarely go for broke unless it's the last night in Las Vegas on the slot machines. Dandelions look good in an open field, but not in my lawn. My father also had a version of today's quote that is similar to Sandi's @StLouisCruisers. For me, it depends on the guest(s) whether or not I want to throw them out after three days. Today's meal sounds interesting since I like Vietnamese food, but the tofu would not be part of the meal. We'll probably pass on the drink and the wine. As I mentioned earlier, in the 1990s we were in Barbados many times, and we did the catamaran tour on one trip. While we were heading to the snorkeling site, the Concord had just taken off from the airport and flew directly over the catamaran. We got a fairly up close look at the underside of the plane. In 2000, while on P&O Oriana, we decided to wait until we returned to the ship to buy some beer for the cabin. That was a big mistake. By the time we got back to the port, the British passengers had relieved the liquor store of all their beer and gin. Fortunately, when we got to Bonaire, they left a couple of cases of Amstel beer in the store for us. @richwmn Rich, thanks for adding the Today in History feature. I hope you are enjoying your day in Casablanca. It is an interesting port. @StLouisCruisers Sandi, I'm glad Ren's team is still winning. Good luck to them tonight. @seagarsmoker Enjoyed your pictures. @cat shepard Ann, loved the comic relief today, especially the "traffic report". @smitty34877 Terry, I hope your DH gets a good report from the doctor today. I'm glad you hired the aide, and I hope she is a good fit to work with Tana. @grapau27 Graham, thanks for reminding us about the meaning behind some to the days. I know Sandi appreciates your information about the positions in soccer and your kind advice for Ren. Thank you for the information about Passover greetings. @kochleffel Paul, the explanation of the various foods used in the Seder was very interesting and informative. Thank you. @aliaschief Bruce, while we don't have an oak tree in our yard, we get all the side "benefits", especially the leaves from our neighbor's oak tree. At least, it's pretty in the spring and summer. Great memes today. @ger_77 Gerry, I am amazed at how generous and nice all your friends are with helping the Ukrainian family. Safe travels tomorrow, and I hope your "Grandma's Cookies" are well packed for the trip. @marshhawk Annie, I'm glad you were able to get Furnando back inside. Congratulations on the two sales. I hope the PET scan tomorrow does not show a serious problem. Earlier, I was beginning to question my memory when others thought it was today. @Safety Squirrel Welcome to the Fleet/Daily, and thank you for the poem about military kids. @dfish Debbie, I'm glad Michigan accepted your tax return. Now, I won't have to clean the rust off the file before I put it in the cake. 🤣 Lenda

Good morning again. The clouds have moved on to depress someone else, and we have a mostly sunny morning. It looks like the forecast has changed again. It is now 56F and will (hopefully) warm up to 68F this afternoon. I may have to change out of my shorts and back into jeans. 😒 It seems I clicked on submit replay instead of the multi-quotes. I decided to do them in another post because of the time limits to edit. Lenda

@NextOne Edi, I hope you have a wonderful birthday with many more to follow. Lenda

Good morning from a cloudy, windy and cooler central Texas. It is currently 61F and should warm to the low to mid 70s this afternoon. A very noisy thunderstorm rolled through here about 5 am leaving 3/4 inch of rain. I turned over and went back to sleep until 7:30 Since I'm running late today, I repost my pictures of Barbados, and then finish reading the Daily. I only found pictures from our 2000 world cruise on P&O Oriana and the 2015 Ruby Princess. I'll try not to repeat any pictures. We had been to Barbados several times before 2000 on various ships and cruise lines, including two calls on 1998 on the Ryndam. Each time, we've rented cars are visited various places on the island. We have always enjoyed our visits to Barbados. First a look at the port. There was a nice shopping complex at the port. In 2015, we took the tour through Harrison's Cave. These are of the complex looking down from the top of the cliff and the elevators to reach the complex. I'll not repeat any pictures of the caves. We also stopped at Animal Flower Caves on the northern tip of the island in 2015. Since we'd toured the caves, which are partially open to the ocean, with our DDs in 1998, we did not go back down. These pictures are of the restaurant, the sea cliffs and the entrance to the caves. A nice beach In 2000, we stopped at St. Nicholas Abbey, an old plantation house. For the Garden Club, one of the flowers in the Abbey's garden A street scene in Bridgetown In 2000, at the suggestion of the cruise staff, we stopped at the Boatyard Beach Club, and enjoyed a beer. Lenda

Wishing you all the best tomorrow, and a speedy recovery so you can see that new granddaughter. Lenda

Supper tomorrow may be breakfast. 😃 Lenda

If I don't have toast, then I used the hash browns. I also want it over, especially since it helps get the white cooked. I've found several good egg cookers, but the best was Jade on the Veendam in 2019. Sadly, she went home before we did. Lenda

So true about the toast, and without the toast, you just have a runny mess. 🤞 The Michigan return is accepted soon. If we don't raise the bail, we could send a cake with a file in it. 🤣 Lenda

I wonder if the potential mess is what makes us member of the messy painters club and the runny yolk club? 😁 That would have been something to see. When I fix eggs I have them fried, but DH has them scrambled, which is his preference. He usually saves the fried eggs for when we are on a BHB. Lenda

The best way to eat fried eggs. I'm glad Carolyn @Cruising-along and I aren't the only ones who like runny yolks. Lenda

It is amazing that between the four of us, we have the same likes for the wives and the same likes for the husbands. Like my mother, I like to wipe up the runny yolk with my toast. Lenda