Quartzsite Cruiser

Roy, I'm so glad you listened to your body and got it checked out. I am sorry about the diagnosis, and hope the treatment will help and you will be recovered quickly. We'll be keeping you in our thoughts. Lenda

Welcome home Graham and Pauline. I'm happy you had a great cruise. Thanks for the pictures of the former Rotterdam VI. She is a lovely ship, and we enjoyed a total of 67 days on board. Karen, I'm glad the Thanksgiving dinner with family was so nice. Great news you were able to get your shopping done without the huge crowds. Fred, we've been to A Coruna twice, and enjoyed both visits. The first time in 2004 on Noordam III, we took the city bus out to the lighthouse, Torre de Hercules, which is built on the base of an old Roman lighthouse. We then took the bus back into town and wandered around. It is a very walkable town with shopping streets and a nice beach area. The second visit in 2011 on Prinsendam, we took a ship's tour to Santiago de Compostela, and enjoyed it. We even had time to wander around the town again. I'm sure you and Mitzi will enjoy your day there whatever you decide to do. Lenda

Maureen, I'm glad you are settling into your new place. I suspect that once you are settled, you will make new friends and connections. A belated HAPPY 81 BIRTHDAY to your DH. I hope he can get some relief for his eyes at his appointment Thursday. Glad you had a nice Thanksgiving with your family. Debbie, with not being in Quartzsite last year, it is taking a bit longer to settle in. Thanksgiving and Christmas decorating were nice, but did slow things down a bit. Also, I'm taking it a little slower this year after the hectic two weeks getting things out of the old motorhome, sorted and either stored or put in the new motorhome. Never fear, we have enough wine and gin (DH) to last until I make it to the store tomorrow. That is one thing I planned very carefully before we left Texas. Vanessa, I'm sorry you are still having so much trouble sleeping. I hope sleeping in the recliner lets you get more sleep. Not having to climb the stairs before bedtime might help, too. Wishing your UK friends a safe flight home tonight. Lenda

Good morning from a clear Quartzsite where the full moon is making the desert look especially beautiful. Since it's 43 F and feels like 41F with a 4 mph breeze from the NNE, I'll admire the scenery through the window. The humidity is 44% with a dew point of 22F. Our high today is predicted to be 63F with mostly cloudy skies, increasing winds and 0% chance of rain. With the cooler temperatures, I'll probably work inside today finishing the decorating and making a much needed grocery list. Tomorrow, we are supposed to get our new HVAC system, and they say they'll be here about 8 am. While it is being installed or maybe a little later, I'll head to Blythe to get groceries, and restock the liquor and wine cabinet. It is woefully empty with just a few bottles of wine and one partial bottle of gin. We decided not to transport what we had in Texas to Arizona, since California prices are much lower. Next spring, we may be bringing quite a few bottles back to Texas. International cake day got my attention, but baking a cake will have to wait a while. Law day is also a good day to celebrate. Someone else can take my place at a small brewery. The Helen Keller quote is a very good quote from a very remarkable lady. The meal sounds good, but I am out of potatoes. We'll skip the drink, but the wine sounds like it's worth a try. We have not been to Jakarta or any other place on Java. Captain Cook was another explorer who helped open the world to Europeans. The first national Thanksgiving is worth celebrating, but it is not celebrated by most Native Americans on the East Coast. @StLouisCruisers Sandi, I'm glad you are feeling better and hope you are 100% by tomorrow. @rafinmd Roy, your dropping energy levels are concerning, and I hope the Urgent Care doctors can help you. Please let us know what they say. @Seasick Sailor Joy, your cruise sounds a lot like our Koningsdam cruises, only we'd stop in Billboard On Board for a set or two. Thanks for letting us know about the life boat yesterday. @kazu Jacqui, I'm sure Ivan will love his hedgehog. It's adorable. @cruising sister Lorraine, thanks for the update on Murphy. It sounds like she is making slow but steady progress and that she is where she needs to be for now. I know that's hard on her parents, but the stronger she gets, the better it will be for all when she finally goes home. @GTVCRUISER I think I gained a few pounds just looking at all those cakes. That's almost too many to chose from, but I'd probably pick the chocolate ones. @ger_77 Gerry, I'm glad you made it home safely without any trouble yesterday. @smitty34877 Terry, that is good news you made it home safely. I'm glad you had a good visit with your DS and his family. I'm glad the teenager wants to learn to cook. I think men should know how to cook more than the basics like bacon and eggs. Lenda

@Haljo1935 Bon Voyage, and have a great cruise. Lenda

The tree is decorated and the ornament box is put away. The tree that goes in the kitchen is also up, but all it required was plugging in. We have a lot of ornaments, some of which I made for the DDs each Christmas, some they made, quite a few that were given to us or the DDs, and the remainder we bought as souvenirs on our travels. This year I didn't put them all on the tree, just most of them. Tomorrow the rest of the house will be decorated. Hopefully, I'll get the outside lights up in the next day or two. Annie, it sounds like you got a lot done today. We had cats for many years plus dogs. The bottom few branches of the tree remained bare. Lenda

Good afternoon from a sunny, cool and windy Quartzsite. The house is looking a little straighter, and I only forgot to get one thing off the motorhome, not counting the food. The tree is up, relatively straight depending on where you are in the room. 😁 Now, I hope I don't jostle it while I'm putting on the ornaments since the angel on top is actually straight for once. Usually, it take many tries to get it straight. This year I tried something new. I put the tinsel on the top first, then the angel, so the top didn't move as much. It will probably be tomorrow before the rest of the decorations are set out. Debbie, I'm sure you and Sue are a great influence on River. From what you've said about her home life and taking her age into account, it may take her a little longer to mature and not be as impulsive. I'm sure her cousins are a good influence on her too. Marcia, I'm glad you are doing better and hope the remaining symptoms clear up soon. I'm glad you keep testing negative. Carolyn, it's funny, I like the red peppers and DH likes the green, so I make half red and half green. Annie, antibiotics can certainly mess up your digestive tract. I'm glad you are feeling a little better and that the yogurt is helping. Please don't over do,. The bracelet looks nice, Pennie. Now, I better get back to the tree. I don't think the ornaments will magically arrange themselves on the tree. Lenda

Good morning from Quartzsite. It is 45F and feels like 44F, but how they can tell the difference beats me. We should get up to 64F with sun this afternoon. I hope to get the Christmas tree up and decorated today. So far, last night, I got some of the decorations out of the closet. However, before I can work on Christmas decorations, I have to do something with the spare room/office. We just dumped things in there the past few days, and it is beyond cluttered. We should support small businesses, but the only two permanent ones here are the grocery stores. I need groceries, but I need more than I can find locally. I'm trying to hold off going to Blythe for groceries until Monday. I don't want to be on the Interstate even for only 20 or so miles with the holiday traffic. A parfait would be nice, and I don't remember the last time I had one. It's interesting that Maize has its own day. I don't need any shopping reminders. I spent too much saving money on essentials online on Black Friday. Albert Einstein has given us another good quote. I prefer meat in my stuffed bell peppers, but I kept the vegetarian recipe when that was the meal of the day. I saved it to serve when our vegetarians are here. Today's drink does not appeal to me, but I would like to try the wine. We have not been to Melbourne. Today marks a good day in US history, but a not so good day in England. @StLouisCruisers Sandi, I hope your tummy feels better soon. Thanks for the pictures of Melbourne. @Seasick Sailor Joy, I'm glad the cruise is going well, and that there are so many crew members on board from past cruises. @Crazy For Cats Jake, safe travels for you and your DH today. @Heartgrove Jack, that is good news you tested negative. I hope the symptoms go away very soon. @marshhawk Annie, I'm sorry you are also having tummy issues. I hope you get better soon. Please tell Chuck, @catmando that I understand how his pride is hurt more than his face after the fall. I feel the same way about walking into the motorhome slide out. @ger_77 Gerry, I'm glad you got the timer changed and did not have any trouble with the ladder. I'm very happy that your DH's CT scan did not show any problems. We are celebrating Texas big win over Texas Tech last night. Unfortunately, there were several players who had to tended to on the field, and one Tech player had to leave the field on the medical cart and taken to the ER. I have not heard or seen anything about his condition.. Texas secured a spot in the Big 12 Championship game next Saturday. For many years, the game was played by the top team in each division, but now it's between the top two teams in the conference. It seems strange that the number 2 team can be the Big 12 Champion. Anyway, Texas will play either Oklahoma or Oklahoma State. I'm hoping it's OSU since we seem to have trouble beating OU. Lenda

Both stories made the news here. I think that is because the news media likes stories that make cruise lines look bad. Lenda

Good afternoon from Quartzsite where the weather is beginning to cool. It was sunny this afternoon and warm enough to work outside wearing shorts. I did some clean up of the yard, but it will take a day or two get get it all done. The main thing this afternoon was getting my favorite "room" ready to enjoy. It is the south patio, and all the furniture, cushions, etc. are in place, vacuumed and ready for a sunny afternoon. Now I just need to find the time. I also got some of the sunscreens off the windows, so it is lighter in the house. It will be a day or two before the last three really big sunscreens come down. We do leave the ones on the east side of the house up so the bedroom doesn't get light quite as early. This morning, I got everything off the motorhome from both the outside compartments and inside. All that's left is some of the food in the pantry and the refrigerator. This year the refrigerator is not as critical since it is a residential refrigerator, and we'll leave it on anyway. It will be my overflow refrigerator instead of the small one in one of our sheds. Now, I just have to figure out what to do with everything I brought in and dumped in the spare bedroom/office. At least, I left a path to the computers. Susan, you and the Chihuahua, plus Bandit, could compromise and spend winters in Quartzsite. We've only seen snow in the mountains here once, and it was gone by 10 am. I wouldn't recommend spending summers here, but many people do. Ann, the way the picture came up on my computer, the buck was the first thing I saw. Vanessa, good news on the Black Friday deals at the grocery store. DH used the cart as his walker on occasion. I'm sorry you don't feel like joining your BFF and UK friends tonight. Susan, I know what you mean about losing friends. When we first moved to our little community, we were some of the youngest ones there. All our friends were quite a bit older. Now, most of them have died. There are only four of the people who were there when we moved in still living in our community. Debbie, the trees are lovely, and Sue's wreath is beautiful. I'm sure River's help made a difference, and what good memories for her. Ann, I'm glad you both got good reports from the doctors. Good that you could take advantage of Black Friday deals. I'm sorry your cousin's family is having so many medical problems. I'm pretty sure I know the antibiotic that caused the problem. DH was given it many years ago, and it caused acute tendonitis in his elbow. It was known for causing problems with the Achilles tendon, and I think it may now have a black box warning. In DH's case, the tendonitis eventually cleared up. I hope that's the case for your relative. The UT game is starting in about 2 minutes. HOOKEM HORNS. Lenda

@AV8rix Susan, we wanted to wish you an early Bon Voyage so that you might see it. Have a wonderful cruise, and enjoy your time unplugged. I can understand your PCP's sense of humor. My parents' PCP was the same. When my father complained about a rough place on his ear and asked the cause, the reply was, "Process aging." Lenda

@Himself Bon Voyage, Father. Lenda

@Niagarawine I hope you have a wonderful cruise, and that the good memories of cruising with your son out weigh any sad memories. Lenda

@Seasick Sailor Joy, wishing you and Allen as wonderful time on Rotterdam. Lenda

@Vict0riann Ann and Pat, I hope you have a wonderful 62st Anniversary. Lenda

Good morning from Quartzsite where the sun is beginning to make an appearance. It is 51F and feels like 49F. There is a 7mph wind from the south. The humidity is 77% which is high for the desert, and the dew point is 44F which is also high. It will be sunny today with a predicted high of 67F. With the sun it should not be too bad outside. It is the time of year when our highs are in the mid to upper 60s with a couple of days in the 70s. Historically, December is the coldest month here. This year, we have done some on-line Black Friday shopping, but for things we need here. It was nice to get some of them at a better price like the battery powered cork screw. You can see where my talent is too. I like to support local businesses, but the only local shopping here is the vendors who come to town for the winter. We are supporting the local business that does mechanical work with the purchase of a new HVAC system. In this house though, to day is ORANGE FRIDAY. Today is the last regular season football game for the Texas Longhorns. 🤘 They play the Texas Tech Red Raiders in Austin beginning at 6:30 CST. We hope it really will be Black Friday for Tech. Knowing your family's health history, and I am fortunate to know the health history of my parents and grandparents. My father even made sure I had his medical history for the last 16 years of his life. We keep most of our medical records. Other than wine drinking, I'm not sure what my talents are. D. B. Cooper left an intriguing and enduring mystery behind, but I'll not celebrate what he did. The quote is interesting and true to some extent. I like salmon and greens, but I don't think I want them cooked in the slow cooker. Tonight it will be hamburgers and potato chips as we watch the game. We'll pass on the drink. The wine sounds nice. We've been to South Africa twice, but not to East London. 1639 the observation of the transit of Venus was important event in astronomy. The discovery of Tasmania in 1642 was important in the exploration of the world. Charles Darwin certainly upset the way people looked at animals and people with the publication of On the Origin of Species. @puppycanducruise I hope the snow melts and you and Bertie can have a long, safe walk. @aliaschief Bruce, I loved the meme of the Meerkats. @rafinmd Welcome back to the US. Safe travels home. @cat shepard Glad to see Christmas trees going up. Normally, I would be putting our tree up today, but I haven't dug the tree out from under things in the shed. Hopefully tomorrow. @RedneckBob RNB your pond looks lovely. I hope Sam keeps his distance. @kazu Jacqui, I hope the good memories out weigh the sadness on this the anniversary of Jose's birth. @cruising sister Lorraine, enjoy your dinner with your family. @ger_77 Gerry, be careful on that ladder. Lenda

Good evening. Our Thanksgiving dinner was a hit with DH even if I was late getting it on the table. I was aiming to have it ready by 6, but it was after 7 when we sat down. It turned very nice this afternoon, and I worked outside instead of unloading more food from themotorhome. There was a very pleasant delay in starting cooking. Younger DD called, and we had a very nice, long conversation. Older DD and DSIL are in London this week. We had a simple meal of a Cornish game hen, which we split, scalloped potatoes and cranberry sauce. Dessert was ice cream. That is very good news. Karen, I'm glad you spent the day with your DDIL's family. We stopped exchanging gifts in 2020. For several years, we all had been struggling to find things for each other. Not being able to be together that year was the perfect opportunity to stop exchanging gifts. We haven't gone back to the old ways. I'm glad you arrived in FLL safely. It's always good to hear about an airline doing a good job. Debbie, the food looks wonderful, and so does the family. Lenda

The sun has cleared the clouds away, so it's time to get outside and get a few more things done. First, I have to vacuum and dust. The rest can wait a few more days. I just don't want us being able to "finger paint" in the dust on the table while we have Thanksgiving dinner. 😉 @dfish Debbie. thank you for sharing your feelings about The Daily. It is how I feel too. Now, I have a few more comments from yesterday's Daily. @cruising sister Lorraine, I'm glad you are feeling better and that the hand is healing nicely. @marshhawk Annie, I'm glad you are sleeping better. I still can't believe you have not gotten the oxygen the doctor wanted you to have. I was sorry to read the news about your friend having kidney cancer that spread. Heeding the warning signs can make a big difference. Congratulations on your boss thinking you do an awesome job. @summer slope Dixie, I hope your DH is feeling better and is over his reaction to the vaccine. @Cruising-along Carolyn, I was happy to see that most of your test results were the same, but sorry about the one that dipped. I hope it is just a fluctuation between tests. @Vict0riann Ann, thanks for the pictures and information on the Moeraki Boulders. That is very interesting. Lenda

The water problem has been around for as long as we've owned a lot here. That's part of living in the desert, especially during a drought. The big difference with the new owners of the water system is they do not buy and truck water from town to fill our tanks. As our neighbor said yesterday that she tells all her visitors, if there's water, run take your shower quickly, wash the dishes, etc. It is nice knowing we have 100 gallons of water in the motorhome for emergencies. Jacqui, I'm sorry about your nasty weather. Please, both you and Ivan be careful when walking. Sandi, thanks for reposting @bennybear Brenda's picture of their new granddog. She is a sweet looking girl. Thanks, Sandi. I came close to remembering the name. Welcome home, Linda. I'm sorry you had such a long day. Jack, I'm sorry you have Covid again, and thanks for the picture of Lily. She's a real cutie. Carolyn, enjoy the dinner with your DS and DDIL. I bet it tastes extra good since you did not have to cook anything. Thanks for the pictures of Tallinn. Lenda

We have been to Tallinn three times, 2003 on Rotterdam VI, 2005 on Marco Polo and 2016 on Prinsendam. It is a lovely place, and the old town is magical. In 2003, while walking down a back street in the old town, we passed this bar that had a Texas flag flying outside, and it may have been called Texas Bar, but don't hold me to that. The inside is a Texas type bar. An interesting downspout The big square once you've climbed the street to the top. Another interesting street in the old town. The view from the top of the old town The area outside the hall where the choral contests are held. A wooden submarine, and a couple of interesting boats. Looking at the plaza/transportation hub from the old town In 2005 and 2016, we took the Ho-Ho to see more of Tallinn. These are scenes from the 2005 Ho-Ho. Lenda

Yesterday, I had good intentions of coming back and commenting on what had been happening to everyone. However, I ran out of time, but did manage to read yesterday's Daily. I'll try to incorporate what I wanted to say last night in here too. Things as usual didn't go as planned yesterday. Our development has it's own water company, which was bought by a larger company a few years ago. All was going well, until the person who lived here and oversaw the water system left. The new person doesn't do as good a job, and the much needed improvements to the system are causing problems, which include low water pressure or no water, sometimes for more than a day. Yesterday was one of those days when the pressure was low and then no water. When it came back on a little later in the morning, we dropped everything and refilled the water tank on the motorhome. That's when I realized the branches from our neighbor's plants were hanging too far over the fence and it was difficult of not impossible to walk between the motorhome and the fence with the slide out. I did a bit of trimming and finish trimming the plants in a day or two. The neighbors bought the place after we left in 2022. We finally met then yesterday, and in spite of what some of the other neighbors said, they were very nice. The do tend to keep to themselves though. Also, they have no problem with my trimming the overhanging limbs. We played hooky for a bit in the afternoon and took a ride into town to see if there were many changes. There were a few, but basically, it is the same. The biggest change is a new Tesla charging facility behind the new gas station. That is the second Tesla charging facility since there's one behind Carl's Jr. I managed to find time to wash two summers worth of dirt off the front and back patios. Now, I can put the patio furniture out and begin enjoying the good weather. We'll be having canned cranberry sauce with our meal today. DH likes espresso on cold days, and who didn't enjoy the jukebox when they were growing up. One of our favorite restaurants when I was growing up had the small jukebox units at the table. The Josh Billings quote is so true. Some of us play the cards dealt to us better than others. We'll pass on the meal. We were served Ramen noodles on a JAL flight many years ago, and that made me swear I'd never eat them again. In stead, the two of us will split a Cornish game hen, along with scallop potatoes, the cranberry sauce and a salad. Dessert will be ice cream, since, for some reason, I haven't had time to bake. The drink might be worth a try, but knowing how sweet southern tea is, plus the sweetness from the peach schnapps, I suspect it will be a very sweet drink. We have been to Tallinn, and I'll look up my pictures in the links Sandi @StLouisCruisers posted. The Cutty Sark is an enduring ship. We wanted to see her when we were in Greenwich, but she was behind heavy plastic due to some work on her. @StLouisCruisers Sandi, again, thank you for posting my pictures the past few days. @0106 Tina, thanks for the pictures of the Pride of Baltimore and the Clipper Stad Amsterdam @dfish Debbie, that was nice of you and Sue to get River a new dress and shoes for today. I know she is thrilled with them. Enjoy Thanksgiving in your new home with all your family. @ger_77 Gerry, I was sorry to read about your DH's problems, and I too hope it is just from the blood thinner. @Cruzin Terri Terri, I hope the weather cooperates and you can go ashore. Like you, I am very grateful for all my Daily friends. Even when they did not know it, their friendship and support the last few year was a great help. Lenda

@Nickelpenny Penny, a late BON VOYAGE. I hope you are enjoying your first sea day. Lenda

@1ANGELCAT A belated HAPPY BIRTHDAY! Lenda

🦃 HAPPY THANKSGIVING! 🦃 Sending good wishes to all our US Dailyites for a Happy Thanksgiving. Good morning from Quartzsite, where it is 48F and feels like 48F and partly cloudy. The high this afternoon will be 73F, but beginning tomorrow our highs will be in the mid to upper 60s. As long as it's sunny with no wind, those temperatures will be comfortable outside. I'll leave you with this, and come back in a bit to comment on yesterday's and today's posts. Lenda

A quick good morning from Quartzsite. It was 48F when we woke up at 7:30. It is now 64F and the sun is shinning with no wind. It has already been a busy morning, and it will be a busy day. I'll check back in when I can find some time. The explanation for our low electric bills this past summer is that our a/c and heater died. The local repair guy was out here within 30 minutes of DH calling him. He did a system check, and we need a hew unit. It will be installed Monday morning. Lenda