Quartzsite Cruiser

Bruce, thanks for the answer. Craig Dahn used to be a regular entertainer on HAL when we first started cruising on BHBs. He is every good, and we always enjoyed his shows. We have a couple of his CDs too. Does he still wear the flashy costumes and the shoes with Swarovski on them? Lenda

Carolyn, I'm glad DH's sister arrived safely. I know he will enjoy the big surprise. Lenda

Bon Voyage!

We've been to Ensenada at least six times, with our most recent two stops last March on Koningsdam. Our first time there in 2012 on Golden Princess, we did not get off the ship, because or tablemates told us it was not worth seeing. Beginning with our Veendam stop in 2014, we have gone into town all but one or two stops. Last March I went in the day we were there all day, but the next time we stayed on the ship. In 2014, because Veendam could not stop in Lahaina due to rough seas, Captain Peter Bos, headed to Ensenada with arrival timed for an afternoon and evening there. Since we had more daytime in port, we took a tour of the town and to La Bufadora, the blow hole. Our first stop was an old hotel or maybe it was an old night club that has been restored and has become the civic center. Centro Social, Civico, y Cultural, Riviera de Ensenada La Bufadora The shopping gauntlet getting to and from the blow hole The shopping street in Ensenada on a couple of visits This year, instead of the shuttle dropping us off near the middle of the shopping street, the shuttle stopped at an old building that is being restored near the far end of the main street. The area looked a little dodgy when we left the building so I attached myself to a group of people until we got to the main street. The plaza in the building at the shuttle drop off In March 2012, the sealions were gathered on the rocks near the ship and boy were they "talking". Another time, they were swimming near the ship, so they were quieter. This year, we were at a different dock in the same complex where we have always docked. The building was closed except for going through security. The grounds around the building were nice. Lenda

Good morning from mostly sunny central Texas where it is currently 56F. The forecast is calling for highs between 63F and 78F for the next ten days. I have no complaints with that. Right now there is north wind. I just looked at my across the street neighbor's tree and most of the leaves have fallen, and most of the fallen leaves have already blown into our yard. Hopefully, I won't have to get the leaves out of the port many more times this winter. Old Rock Day is one to celebrate since without the third rock from the sun, we wouldn't be here. I also took a geology class my freshman year at UT, and particularly enjoyed the first semester which was studying the different types of rocks. DH was a programmer writing a software program that was licensed by refineries, chemical plants and papermills, and which gave us a good, comfortable life and retirement. We don't have any bobblehead dolls. I like the Friedrich Nietzsche quote. We need music in our lives. We'll pass on the meal and drink. Today's wine Chateau Ste. Michelle Riesling is my go to white wine. It has just a hint of sweetness and is not too dry. Their dry Riesling is too dry for me, and the late harvest Riesling is too sweet. I have almost two cases stashed in the closet. Around Christmas, I could get 25% off if I bought six or more bottles of wine. We have been to Ensenada several times, and I'll repost my pictures in a few minutes. @aliaschief Bruce, do you mind sharing the name of the guest pianist? We were on a cruise once years ago with a pianist who worked with Liberace in Las Vegas. I'm very glad you are enjoying the cruise. @summer slope Dixie, I hope the crown doesn't give you too much trouble until you can get it reglued. @richwmn Rich, thanks for the picture of the beautiful sunrise or sunset at sea. @StLouisCruisers Sandi, thanks again for the link to the Ensenada pictures. Congratulations on your DGD's engagement. @ottahand7 Nancy, I'm sorry you have a bad cold, and I hope it clears up soon. Lenda

Terri, I hope you're in the house by Wednesday, too. In 2021, DH had what was the experimental procedure to clean the build up on the nerve going through the bursa in his right hip. The doctor used a probe with ultra sound to break up the deposits, then with water added sucked the deposits out with the same probe. I don't know if it would work in your case, but it might be worth looking into. iIRC, the procedure was developed by the Cleveland Clinic. Lenda

A late good afternoon after a very busy day. The biggest task was cleaning the house, and by now, you know how I feel about that chore. Afterwards, DH and I replaced the broken handle on one of the storm doors. BTW, if the handle breaks and just moves freely, you don't need to replace the entire handle, just the inside handle. That's where the spring mechanism is located. The next chore was getting more leaves out of the port. It was windy, but not too bad except every time I started to pick up a pile of leaves there'd be a gust of wind. I also tried to get the leaves out of the flower bed and drainage ditch. I was somewhat successful. Needless, to say supper will be easy and cooked in the air fryer. A nice group of days which all deserve honoring. Since I'm not a coffee drinker, the quote could be me if you served me coffee.😉 We'll pass on the drink and the meal. The wine sounds good, but like Ann @cat shepardsaid, there are good cabs at better prices. Guess what, in the last week, we still have not been to today's port. 🤣 Terri, I'm happy for you that your move in date is getting closer. Annie, thank you for the pictures of the other family members including those you posted later in the Daily. Jack, congratulations on the good airfare. Enjoy planning for all your cruises, and I hope the weather cooperates for your cruise in two weeks. Karen, thanks for letting us know about Jacqui's @kazu injury and medical disembarkation. We're sending positive thoughts that she has a successful surgery and heals quickly. Carolyn, I hope your DH enjoys his belated birthday party. Mary Kay, I sorry you need MOHS surgery on two spots, but I hope you enjoy Hawaii and your cruise. Vanessa, I'm sorry your bursitis is causing hip and leg pain. Steroid shots in the bursa helped DH get relief. Nancy, great news about testing negative and that there are less than 2% who are positive. We heard the story why baked beans are the answer when we were in Boston. Debbie, it sounds like the move also let you find the right doctor to take care of the two problems. The right doctor can make all the difference. Lenda

Jacqui, we are both sorry about the elbow and your medical evaluation from the ship. Sending positive thoughts your way for a successful surgey, fewer hassles with the insurance, and a speedy and complete recovery.

Good evening. I finally have a chance to respond to some of the more recent posts after a busy day. Annie, my apologies to Tazi for calling her a him. If I'd really thought about it, Tazi is a girl's name and Taz would be the boy's name. I'll amend my comment. Tazimis a bautiful girl. Catolyn, I'm doing a happy dance aling with your neighbor to have thoses trees cut down. Charlene, thanks for sharing your pictures of Eden. Your first attempt posting pictures was a hit. Melissa, I hope DSIL's sons can put their fued aside and do what's best for their mother. Thank you for your pictures of Falmouth. DH and I spent a week there at the Trelawny resort in 1975. I'm not sure if it's even there now. Thank you for posting the link to @Scrapnana's blog. We wish Kathi all the best on this unexpected medical journey. Terri, thanks for the update. I'm happy for you that things are moving along, and that you should be home next week. Lenda

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Melisa, I couldn't like your post, but thank you for the update. What a mess it is turning into with her sons having such opposing ideas. Your DH seems to have the right idea of the situation, and from what I've gathered from your posts, it is what his DS would want. Does she have an advanced directive for this situation? I'm sorry all of you are having to go through all the drama. Lenda

A late good morning from sunny, not windy, and currently 56F central Texas. I got an early start to a busy morning when it was 38F. DH had a prescription I needed to pick up, and since I had a few things to get at the store, I thought I'd beat the crowds. I did beat the crowds, but the prescription will not be ready until this afternoon. Evidently, the notice it was ready that he got yesterday was erroneous. Today is also laundry day which has kept me busy. It's almost time to put the last load in the washer. National Bird Day and George Washington Carver Day are both worth celebrating. I won't be honoring National Keto Day though. An interesting quote by Seneca. We'll pass on the meal, the drink and the wine. We have not been to Eden, New South Wales -- yet. @Seasick Sailor Joy, I imagine the staff and crew are glad there aren't many kids on board, even if they won't admit it. I'm sorry the veal liver was not good in Canaletto. I'm glad the last of your neighbors has tested negative, and I hope she feels better soon. @cat shepard I'm glad Bindi is feeling better. @aliaschief 🎈 🛳️ BON VOYAGE, SUE AND BRUCE! 🥂 🛳️ I hope you have a great cruise. The small town meme hit home. We didn't drive up and down the same streel, but we circled the local hamburger joint Friday and Saturday nights. @dfish Debbie, I'm glad you and Sue were able to get the additional chairs. We're looking at replacing our chairs and maybe even the table, but not for a while. @marshhawk Annie, thanks for introducing us to Tazi, another handsome guy. @ottahand7 Nancy, I imagine those in the NS are not happy about the breakfast situation. Thanks for letting us know about Linda @lindaler finally getting her luggage. I imagine she was thrilled. @garlictown Welcome home. @smitty34877 Terry, I know you are very happy to be able to run some errands and to drive. @durangoscots Susan, I'm glad the ED of the shelter is working out well and taking some of the burden off your shoulders. Lenda

A last check in before I close things down for the night. We had spaghetti with Italian sausage for supper tonight. DH would have preferred Italian meatballs instead but we didn't have any in the freezer. Confession, I buy the mini frozen ones. Some how, I've kept the movers from packing the garbage. 🤣 Joy, beautiful flowers, and how nice of the couple to send them to you. Charlene, I'm glad you made it home safely. You have some very nice and thoughtful neighbors. That's one of the few things we haven't moved. Bruce, I'm glad you and Sue arrived in Miami safely even if late. Lenda

Good afternoon from sunny 64F central Texas. It's been a busy morning with varied tasks. @marshhawk Annie, I forgot to mention that Furnando is a handsome cat. Karen, I'm glad your DH is doing well at home. We also found that the services provided for DH were not exactly what we expected. The nursing was once a week to check his vitals and see how much pain he was having. PT was three times a week. Still it was about what he needed, and that all ended before Christmas. Carolyn, we have always unpacked the boxes after our moves. For our last two moves which we were paying for, we also packed the boxes. One move, I looked for a plant and found it packed in one of the boxes. It would never have survived the move. Terri, I think it was good the movers had an emergency. Moving in in the rain is not fun, and we did it once. The movers dropped DH's recliner in the mud. Lenda

As I mentioned, we were in Durban on March 19,2000, as part of the P&O world cruise on Oriana. That cruise, I still had a film camera, but DH had a fancy digital camera. All the pictures are ones DH took. Our visit to Durban was a half day visit. With all the warnings about exploring Durban, we opted for a tour to a private game preserve not far from Durban. Seeing the animals in the wild was great, even though we did not see lions or elephants. The first three pictures were taken from Oriana as we approached the pier. In the second picture, you can see some of the people lined up to watch the ship's arrival. There were also a lot of people lined up when we sailed at dusk. These are pictures from our safari vehicle, which was a Land Rover Defender with stadium bench seats so everyone had a good view. We saw a lot of zebras and wildebeests. The zebras had light brown stripes between the black strips. These are black rhinos. I'm not sure what type of antelope these are. I suspect they are pronghorn antelope. A couple of ostriches. The only hippo we saw, and he/she was hiding in the water. There were quite a few giraffes. Back at the main building, we were served afternoon tea with some of the best scones complete with clotted cream and strawberry jam. Sorry there is no food porn, but this is the area where we had tea. Some of the surrounding countryside. One last look at Durban as we sailed toward Cape Town. Not a sunrise, but the moon rise over the port. I wish we'd had more time and could have gone to a preserve with lions and elephants too. Maybe someday. Lenda

Good morning from a mostly sunny, very little wind if any, and 45F central Texas. The wind is supposed to pick up later this morning, and the high is predicted to reach 65F. We've had just enough winds from the south the last few days to "fill up" the port with leaves again. Looking at the trees across the street, getting the leaves out of the port will be an on going project, not to mention the leaves already in the neighbors yard waiting to move across the street. It's been awhile since we had spaghetti, so that may be on the menu tonight. I enjoy playing trivia on BHBs, and really enjoy it when they ask the right questions -- the ones for which I have the answers. 😉 Braille opened the world up to the blind. Todays quote is one that I had to think about. I suppose I am me with my circumstances added, but I'm not sure I completely agree with it. @marshhawk Annie, thanks for the explanation of the quote. We'll pass on the meal and the drink. The wine might be interesting, but it is pricey. We were in Durban, South Africa, on March 19, 2000 on P&O Oriana's world cruise. I'll post some pictures in a few minutes. @ger_77 🎈 🛳️ BON VOYAGE! HAVE A GREAT CRUISE! 🥂 🍾 @Seasick Sailor Joy, enjoy the next two segments of your cruise. Where does the last cruise go? @StLouisCruisers Sandi, I hope the tornado watch stays just a watch. @dfish Debbie, I agree that unpacking boxes after a move is difficult. When we moved into this house in 1999, I remember standing in the kitchen surrounded by boxes almost bewildered trying to figure out where to put things. To this day, I'm still rearranging some cabinets. @cat shepard Ann, that is good news that the vet had good meds that will have Bindi back to herself soon. @aliaschief Bruce, safe travels to you and Sue today. Congratulations on the upgrade to business from Atlanta to Miami. I've enjoyed your memes. @Cruzin Terri Terri, that is great news the insurance company will pay to have the boxes unpacked. I hope there are no emergencies today so Service Masters will be at the house today. @marshhawk Annie, glad your boss gave you a less stressful part of the campaign, and I hope the sales jobs open up soon. From the discussion about the world cruise blog from the past, it sounds like I missed an interesting blog. I didn't start reading the WC blogs until a few years after that one. Lenda

Congratulations on the upgrade to a balcony. What a great way to start the World Cruise.

Good evening. Well what was to be an easy day got away from me. After I did an early shopping run into town, all that was on the agenda was taking DH to get a blood test. First there was an unexpected bill I'm still trying to get straightened out, and it wouldn't have been a problem if the original claim had been coded correctly. It will get straightened out without too much hassle. It's just annoying to have to deal with it. When DH and I got home, I needed to take the car up to get the new wheel and tire balanced even though the station owner said he'd balanced it when he mounted the new tire on the new wheel. It was fine when I drove the car to Waco to bring DH home, but when we took it to Waco for his two month post op visit there definitely was a vibration. I think he did balance the tire, but did not spin balance it, which it needed today. After the spin balancing, it drives much more smoothly, and he did not charge me. That's what is nice about a neighborhood service station. At least our weather was sunnier and warmer than predicted. Our high was in the low 70s. Terri, that is good news from the post op visit. From observing DH don't rush things, just wait until you are very confident in taking it to the next level. Carolyn, thank you for your great pictures of Amber Cove. I can understand your frustration with the tour guide. We had an over enthusiastic guide on a Montpelier on your own tour. The guide spent at least half our time there, if not more, leading us around the city. Rich, glad you have a balcony for the World cruise. Unfortunately, I missed the sailaway. An early congratulations on your retirement in June. Joy, that is quite the tale. I'm glad the Coast Guard finally let the ship resuce the two people. Thanks for your pictures. Thank you for sharimg you story about your first husband. I'm sorry you and your children had to go through that. I too hope Damar Hamlin can make a full recovery. Annie, thank you for sharing your pictures. We too have had tour guides who seemed to know the shop owner very well. We called it a visit to Cousin XYZ's place. Lenda

🛳️ BON VOYAGE ON THE WORLD CRUISE! HAVE A GREAT CRUISE! 🥂 I hope the cruise is everything you want it to be. It will be a great adventure.

Good morning from a cloudy but not windy central Texas. It is currently 62F with a predicted high of 68F, but no rain. An interesting collection of days. I got about 7 1/2 hours sleep last night, so I can celebrate Festival of Sleep. We tossed our last fruitcakes a few years ago after DH forgot about them and they turned into bricks. Thanks to Graham's @grapau27 explanation of Humiliation Day, that is another good day to celebrate, but I think it could be named a bit better. Horace's quote is not a great one since we should meet some of our expectations. Today's meal sounds interesting, but tonight it will be the last of the cabbage with ham and the blackeyed peas. The drink sounds good, but we'll pass on the wine. We have not been to Amber Cove since we haven't done a Caribbean cruise in 20 years, only longer cruises that make a couple of stops on the way to South America, Europe or the Panama canal. Our thoughts are with Damar Hamlin, his family and his teammates. Sending positive thoughts for a full recovery. @ottahand7 Nancy, I hope the in transit process goes smoothly and quickly. @Seasick Sailor Joy, good for you going back to the vendor and getting two more birds. I always wait until the last day to shop on the ship since that seems to be the day they have the best prices unless it's a deck sale. @cat shepard Ann, I hope the vet can help Bindi with the digestive problems. @aliaschief Bruce, I hope your weather cooperates for your 9 am flight tomorrow. Safe travels. @Petunia1950 Welcome to the Fleet/Daily. Beautiful cats. @ger_77 Gerry, I'm glad you and your luggage made it safely to Fort Lauderdale. I hope your friends arrive safely today. @Cruzin Terri Terri, enjoy your day off today. It sounds like things are moving in the right direction now. @superoma Eva, I'm glad most of your family is safely home now. @marshhawk Annie, I hope the CT scan does not have any surprises, but does have answers to your questions. @Overhead Fred Thanks for your pictures of Amber Cove. 🛳️ BON VOYAGE TO ALL BEGINNING THE WORLD CRUISE TODAY! HAVE A GREAT CRUISE! 🥂 Lenda

Carolyn, we have one email account that we don't use, that let's us mark emails as spam, and that's all that we get on that account. Sometimes on our other accounts, the spam emails just disappear when we hit delete and do not even go to the trash. BTW, I think I know the word that got you in trouble because my last post had to be approved before it would post. Charlene, I'm glad you all had a great if different cruise, and that none of you got sick. Wishing you a safe and uneventful flight home. Mary Kay, I'm sorry you had such a bad episode, and I hope you go even longer than 8-9 years before you have another one. Terri, it sounds like things are back on schedule, and I hope this is the last snag in getting back into your house. Ann, see my comments to Carolyn, @Cruising-along above. The account I mentioned is a Gmail based account. Lenda

We are also getting more spam emails and texts in the last few months. Plus, there are some robo calls, the main one seems to be in Chinese, and for those we just hang up. We have stopped trying to unsubscribe to the spam emails, instead we just delete them from the in box and from the trash. DH says that just opening spam emails and texts much less unsubscribing, lets the sender know they reached a valid email address or phone number. We do block the junk numbers before deleting the call from the call log on our phones. Lenda

Good morning from a very overcast and windy central Texas. Our chances of rain today have dropped drastically, with most of the rain and severe weather east of us. Something I'm never seen in a forecast was, "There is a marginal chance of severe weather today". We're supposed to be in the 70sF today, then mainly in the 60s with a couple of 50s and a 70s the next ten days. Right now it's 69F. Today looks like a good day to stay inside and see what paperwork I can safely throw away. I'll also finish putting the Christmas decorations away. Stopping spam has been an ongoing effort for years, and I wish we could stop it. I remember the phrase about running it up the flagpole from my youth. I am somewhat of an introvert, but one who likes to talk to people if I'm comfortable with them. I totally agree with today's quote. Chicken pot pie looks good. I like mine with a bottom and top crust. @dfish Debbie, I'll take your carrots. We'll pass on the drink, but the wine sounds nice, and it's not expensive. We have not been to Port Lincoln and are looking forward to seeing pictures of the port. @mamaofami Carol, please wish Sam a VERY HAPPY 87TH BIRTHDAY from both of us. @dobiemom I bet they don't cut any of the commercials from the rerun of the Rose Parade. 😉 🤣 @ottahand7 Nancy, great news you passed your covid tests yesterday. Hope you have a great day on HMC. @Cruzin Terri Terri, now that the holidays are behind us (except today), I hope the work on the house will resume and you're back home soon. @StLouisCruisers Sandi, a VERY HAPPY BIRTHDAY wish for your DDIL. Hope your DD has an easy day at school today. @Cat in my lap 🎈 🛳️ BON VOYAGE! 🥂 🍾 and safe travels to Ft. Lauderdale. @richwmn Congratulations on the negative test, Rich. @smitty34877 Terri, wishing you a good doctor's visit tomorrow, and I know you'll do the work to correct your gait. Lenda

⁹Good evening. All most all the Christmas decorations and lights are down. They will be put in the attic or the cabinet over the refrigerator tomorrow morning. Then, DH's desk will be returned to normal. Tonight, I tried a recipe I found in our local paper for a cabbage dish that included smoked ham. Instead of smoked ham, I used some of our spiral sliced ham. It was easy and turned out even better than I hoped. We will definetly be having it again. That along with the blackeyed peas and cornbread muffins covered our New Year’s Day good luck foods. Gerry, I can't believe that tooth broke again. I hope the super glue holds until yiu get back from the cruise. It does seem as if the repair was not good. I hope you get some sleep tonight. Safe travels tomorrow, and BON VOYAGE. Carolyn, i can understand more energy doing outside work. I told DSIL the other day that I would rather mow the grass than clean house. Sandi, first horned frogs are not frogs or toads. The TCU Horned Frogs refer to the Texas horned lizard which has a wide body and head. They were common where i gew up. We'd catch them, and when we turned them over and rubbed their stomachs, they would go to sleep or into a trance. I doubt that would work with the TCU Horned Frogs. Another name and the one we used was horny toad. BTW, TCU stands for Texas Christian University. This is a picture of one from the internet. They look fierce, but are fairly docile, unless on the football field. 😉 Lenda

Terry, I knew it was 38 years, but didn't proofread well. I was on my phone, and my fingers often hit the wrong key. Either way, it's quite an accomplishment. Lenda