marshhawk

@atexsixCarnival in Alaska is totally different than Carnival in the Caribbean. There is a naturalist on board, lots of films about Alaska to see, and even the shore excursion talks were not bad. No there is not a lot of classical music on board, but the ship was not bomb blasted with the constant techno music. Local storyu tellers, artists and musicians were brought on board to sing, and tell stories. Folks did not stay up late partying, it was all about the Alaskan experience. Now that was 2016 when we did Alaska in September, but I doubt if it changes much. We visited Skagway, Ketchikan, Juneau and Glacier Bay for a day (incredible). Our next cruise there in May is on HAL, only because the person who is paying for the cruise (we are responsible for the excursions and hotel stays, and things to do in Vancouver) booked it for where it was going rather than the line itself. I have no idea why Carnival gets such a bad wrap. Prices are always good, food is good, ports and excursions are good, and a cruise no matter what line you are on, is what you make it. Some ships spoil you more than others, that is true. But I have a funny feeling that HAL is not going to spoil me for my first cruise with them, any more than being Platinum on Carnival does. Which is pretty much never. I am very happy that you are about to book a cruise with your father. I hope that you have a great time! I love Alaska, and am very grateful to our BFF who wanted to go back.

I have printed the directions, and we are leaving at 2:30 for a 3:30 appointment. Winnie the Pooh was not part of my childhood. BoxCar Children, Bobsey Twins, Nancy Drew and any book about horses were my thing. I found both Pooh and Paddington in college, and they became my two new best friends.

To the Dailyites-ALL OF YOU whether you post here or not-

Good Wednesday Morning Dailyites! @aliaschiefoh no not the air horns! It's bad enough just to get answering machines, which I didn't get very many of. Texas must has been having weather last night, as I just got, Line did not ring. DH's boss told him he had to have a sale in the next two days, or they were letting him go. He decided he would stay on line until he got a sale. He started at 4, and worked until midnight, and he got a sale at 10 pm. After work you need some down time, so I went to bed at 12:30, and stayed awake while the cats first fought over my body (scary) , the big Bobagingee climbed on my feet, the other two calmed down, and when DH came to bed, they all took off, and I got to sleep around 2. But I work today at 10, and since I work until 9:30 tonight, and have to be up at 5 for one of my Dr. appointments tomorrow I wont be up until midnight and beyond again. It is foggy, the computer says it's 58 degrees, and I cant wait to see todays meal. Yogurt for breakfast for me, and a salad for lunch. Then off to DH's eye specialist appointment, I would normally print out directions, however, the printer is broken, (due to cat) and I will need to write the directions down. NO highway! Maybe though, just maybe, I pass a Cracker Barrell and can get a hot dinner on the way home.

@dfishI go to appointments when the doctor tells me they cant run a test because Medicare wont pay for it, or if I had made the appointment for two weeks later, they could run my A1C test. Ummm, they told me to schedule it at that time. Now they get paid for the visit, and I get to pay them too, but I have to reschedule for the tests so they get paid twice by Medicare, and twice by me. Not fair to the patient. Golly gosh, I wrote the top portion of this post hours ago, thought I had sent it, and no, it's right here going no where quickly. So much drama today in DH's life! His boss told him if he didn't get a sale in the next two days, he was going to be let go. He got in touch with our coordinating boss, and he said he would look into another job for him. Then tonight he decided to work until midnight (he calls the west coast) and guess what? At 10 eastern time, he got a sale! three weeks with no sale! It's like me with fundraising. I got a huge donation tonight. Yes, I'm being sarcastic. 20 bucks. I felt like I should have matched it. Well next week and the end of this week, I will be working two jobs, and finally seeing some money come in! Now if only the bills I mailed on the 6th would get to where they were mailed to. It is so frustrating doing the right thing, and with the mail box thefts, and the mail being slower than snails, I cant seem to get my checks to where they need to go. Does anyone else feel that the world is off balance? When what was normal is so out of whack? I was told years ago that normal is a cycle on a washing machine. Have a great night!

Good Tuesday Morning Dailyites! My computer is spot on with the weather, it says, it's raining now. And it's right. I have no idea what the temperature is, but it's above freezing because I ended up going out the back to the front door and gave Bubbles some food. He has taken to sleeping on a blanket that is on the front porch, and has stopped coming around to the back of the house. And Uggles has returned. Mr., Mean Macho cat that he is, will beat up his own daddy. So sad . @StLouisCruisers I have cancelled a cruise because I really didn't want to be with the people that we had originally booked with. BUT as you said, this was a cruise you really wanted to do, and you get to cruise with @dfish!! It's not just a cruise, it is an adventure, so no, I would not change. They said they were thinking about doing it. Is this their norm,? Maybe they haven't' booked it yet. And if you change it, you lose, they may not even get on board. Or maybe they read cruise critic?? I asked DH what he would do, he said if they do show up, then tell them the truth. And then go on your way. I on the other hand, say tell the truth, and would watch my back. Good Luck. I like lamb when it is in gyro meat. Other than that it is too gamey for me. But I have always wanted to try the Lamb chops that look so good on some menus.

It was announced on the news this morning that both Devin and another passenger were killed. They showed a young athletic female cheer leader. But I didn't catch her name.

@durangoscots Yes, I'm sorry, but rarely do I look at the map, and say, wow I know someone from there. Durango was right in the middle of a big blob of purple -foot or more. Stay safe, stay warm, and I hope you have slopped roofs.

Good Monday Morning Dailyites! 36 degrees and sunny in the holler this morning. Weather forecast for the week, warmer with rain. I celebrated do nothing yesterday. DH thinks that his vaccine is catching up with him, and he has been a bit under the weather. So we stayed in and watched the end of season 7 of Vera, touched base with a few football games, and watched the end of the Dakar race. And then we found on Peacock, Road to Perfection, the 70 year history of Formula 1. I made him turn it off at 11. Since I did nothing yesterday, I have a ton of stuff to do today, including a zoom training at 4 for one job and right after that go to the other job. (travel time from one job to the other? less than 30 seconds...LOL) I need to grocery shop today, and tomorrow I work both jobs for a full day of work. I believe in dragons. They are portrayed in art in all cultures as far as I can tell. But they disappeared in the middle ages. @dfishI printed the first recipe, and will give it to DH. He loves that meal. @rafinmdThank you so much for rising early and getting our day started! And thank you for working double duty! It is most appreciated. For those getting snow, @grapau27, @Mr. Boston, @Crazy For Cats, I am jealous. After the weather we had last week, winter would be lovely . I was watching the weather news, and Durango was on the map for some big heavy snowfall. I hope you all have a great day!

@StLouisCruisers What else is plugged in where your TV is? Can you check to see if you have power out of that plug? I have a plug in my house that we just cant use come heck or high water. @XBGuyI hate sneaky bugs!

I apologize for my water inquiry. You all must think I am a water snob. I guess I am. In fact when we booked our cruise from Rome, the first thing I did was look up bottled water. I cant drink sugary drinks, diabetic. I cant drink alcohol, sober 32 years, so my choices are coffee, tea and water. Now if the water is good, then the coffee and the tea should be good. Even on the lido deck. So after a few, sorry Carnival cruises, I got into the habit of buying water in advance so that I have water with me. Mango Bublé and Blackberry Bublé are great bubbly drinks. Zero sugar, zero additives and zero calories. But they make me....um burp. A lot. Which makes it hard to take pills. So I am always in search of water being taken care of when I travel. So forgive me, this is my downfall. Limited perks in life, I just make the perks I can get, better. @Cruising-alongHave it All was 1748.00 for two of us, and then you have the add third person, that gives us two excursions each, all the booze we don't drink, and upgrades I think, to the specialty restaurants. We will eat in the specialty restaurants, but for a first time HAL experience we wont eat all the meals there, we want to dine in the MDR, and on the Lido. It just costs too much for things the 3 of us wont use. Excursions are already paid for. @Vict0riann I love the relationship your husband had with the horse. It looks like the horse is kissing your husband back, it was a mutual love. So sweet!! He might be a secret Horse Whisperer. @StLouisCruisersWe were watching the news live when the storm hit your area. The weather people were more than their usual excited, I think they knew immediately how severe that storm was, papers were flying everywhere, they were calling out to each other...checking all their different computers. Even Chris Holcomb went silent for a moment. You were very lucky. @grapau27I truly am sorry about your Church store's sales lady.

@Sharon in AZ Thank you. Since this is all on BFF, I have no idea what our booking number is. He has not finished paying off the cruise, and he is totally unaware of all the requirements he will need to get the three of us on board. I ask, and he sends me partial info, or way too much info. Until he pays off the cruise, I am keeping my fingers crossed. But at this time, not investing one more dime. All the excursions are booked, (we paid for) Our plane reservations are paid for, and the hotel is wanting at least the first night paid for in a couple of weeks, and yet he keeps procrastinating. He finally got his flights settled,. But instead of flying from Boston, he is flying from Providence to Newark to Vancouver , getting in 4 hours before we do, and then flying back, well, he's booked as far as Toronto. Once that cruise is paid for, I will then step up to take care of the rest. All previous trips that the 3 of us have done, were planned, and paid for by me. He said he didn't know how hard it was to do these things. @RowsbyI am so sorry to read about your new medical adventure. Thought this might give you a laugh.

OMG, thanks guys, I finally found the water! I think I will back track, and get some Buble in Vancouver and take that on board with me. At home I use a Britta, and while I have only cruised with Carnival and their water is awful, I have always been able to pre order water with them. I do understand about no plastic! @kazuI looked over your cruise blog, (loved the menus by the way) I did notice that there was a charge for painting, but not for coloring. I will bring my own colored pencils. I am not going to paint on a cruise. @Quartzsite Cruiser I am an eating problem. If I just sit still, I have a tendency to end up on the Lido with a plate of food. Also when you put 3 people in a cabin for 14 days, we do need to take breaks from each other. BFF likes bridge, I like art, DH likes the casino. Unless he is having an off day, and then he goes every where with me. The three of us are on all the same excursions, except one. BFF wants more time in the forest in Kodiak than we want, but we will probably run into each other on our excursion. My theory on Alaska, is to see as much country as I can when I am in a port. So, not so many critters excursions, but lots of lets go see inland glaciers type of excursions. BFF can nap anywhere. If he sits still too long, he falls asleep. I wish I could do that. Actually if Im not on line here, I'm dreaming of a nap, but always doing something.... @smitty34877I do hope that Tana is feeling better. It's always better when the sun is up, but I know those long nights are taking a toll on both of you. Please take care. @grapau27Thank you so much for posting Father David. He seems a little frazzled today, I hope that he is doing well, please send him a hug from me. Thanks for all your help. I wish I could get BFF on this site, so that he can ask you questions, but he is church secretary for two different churches, and it is end of year tax time at both of them, so he is a bit overworked at the moment. But he told me last night to thank all of you for being so kind and generous with your knowledge.

@kazu I just checked out the beverage packages. I think I will skip ordering the water. I cant see where I can just order water, it appears to be a group of drinks called Quench at 17.95 a day. When all I want is a good bottled water to take my nightly medications. Way too extreme for me. I will just order one bottle at a bar each night and DH and I can take our meds. I will go back and look at your cruise blog, and thank you for the information!

and for a laugh

Good Sunday Morning Dailyites! It's currently 30 degrees and sunny. I think it's sunny the drapes are still drawn to keep the room just a bit warmer. But I do see blue. And it's not the sea. I would love to have a bagel this morning, but it's Yogurt instead. or Skyr. from Iceland. Yesterday we had such a late lunch, and the shots were catching up with both of us, that we had no urge for dinner. We watched a couple episodes of season 7 of Vera on Britbox, and had ice-cream. Was it better than steak and mushrooms? Yes. OK, got some HAL questions for you cruisers. We don't drink alcohol. But we do want good water. Can we bring bottled water on board? I tried to see if we could pre order it for the ship to be delivered to our cabin, and while there is wine, I don't see how we can order bottled water. I like coffee, I live off coffee, but just a cup of black coffee. Is the coffee package worth it? Does it include everything at the coffee shop including any pastries that might be there? Or is there coffee on the Lido 24/7? Besides the vast amount of Trivia Pursuit offered on the ship, what else is there to do, that's a must do? 14 day cruise of Alaska I think I saw adult coloring, which I enjoy, but what else can I look forward to? Are there arts and crafts classes? Build a bear? We have 4 days at sea, and one day of cruising the Inside passage, which I have done before, and I plan to be outside on that day, as it's beautiful. We are doing a Meet and Greet, and we plan to attend tea in the afternoons. DH was very excited about that. What on board event/activity is a must for you? Oh, and BFF is now brave enough to try Tamarind.

@StLouisCruisersComing back from Europe is just Chuck and I, none of our friends moved on that cruise in time. BFF is the one in charge of our first HAL cruise in May. Just Chuck and I for Europe and the TA back.

Good Saturday Morning Dailyites! Computer says it's 33, but that is not adding in the wind chill. The last time I flew a kite, was in November of 1973 on Skaket Beach on Cape Cod. It flew out over the water and then crashed, breaking apart at sea. I pulled out a string. I have purchased kites since then, and never remembered to take them with me when there was an opportunity to fly it, and I don't think January is the right time of year here. I have not been to Cartagena, but will be there on my TA in October. I never have tried Shepard's Pie, but it sounds like a feel good type of meal on a cold day. I will not try to dress up the cats. It's cruel. To me, not them, too many claws involved. Work today, then a trip to the Dollar Tree,. DH and I did not win the Mega Millions, so nothing has changed around here. My ribs that I made last night had a bit of heat to them with the mild chili, and there were enough left over for lunch today. So that lunch is covered, but why is lunch the hardest meal to figure out, if you are not eating bread? Have a great day!

@StLouisCruisersI am assuming you are still without power. If you want to come up and stay with us and the cats, you and the hubby are more than welcome. Tomorrow night will be even colder. Tazi was hurt that I didn't post a picture of her on the 13th. She used to be my office cat, but she has retired, and spends her time hiding from Furnando.

I do participate in the duck exchange program on CCL. It really makes for an interesting cruise. Finding ducks where you least expect to, and checking to see if the ones you hid had been found. In Chatham MA on the Cape there is a store dedicated to nothing but rubber duckies-I should have bought some, but I would have wanted them all, so it was easier to say no to them all.

@1ANGELCAT I have a terrible time trying to pill the fur babies. I used to have a rather large friend, who could never find clothes to fit him, so he bought and wore scrubs. The cats I had then (this was many years ago) thought he was a vet, and they had no problem with him giving them pills. Guess I need to buy some scrubs, because these current fur babies, are terrors. We had salmon last night. I usually buy farm raised from the Faroe Islands, but wanting to change the game up I bought King Salmon. Denser and less fatty. But very tasty. Tonight is roasted carrots (the tri colored ones) BBQ ribs, made a dry rub, then covered in mild chili sauce. Will add BBQ sauce after two hours, then go back to chili, then back to BBQ and put under the broiler to finish the glaze. I threw in some bacon bits, celery leaves, green onions and chopped celery. I have no idea if this will work, but will let you know how the flavor turned out tomorrow. It will have texture. @dfishGreat A1C results! Is there a cut off of low? When it gets too low? I have no idea. I have a cruise to Greece for next year. It has a list of I think 8 ports. Starts in Rome, ends in Rome. It's on another cruise line. But the cruise does not show anymore. And three ports have no excursions listed at all. I called the cruise line to verify that the cruise still exists. It is not listed in the 1500 plus list of CCL cruises for this year. She said it was my computer, and as long as I have a confirmation, I have a cruise. I'm still worried. You would think that excursions for those 3 ports would start showing up. I guess, I may see some of Greece, but they have changed the itinerary, and if the ship was full and that's why it doesn't show, then maybe they are not going to tell us of any changes until it's too late to cancel. Wouldn't matter, I'm doing the TA back on the same ship.

Good Friday Morning Dailyites! I read the list of days to DH, he didn't believe it! A lot of pictures last night on the news about what happened near Sandi. The worst part was that the building without the roof, was a Hobby lobby. I was imagining balls of yarn blowing around the south, with hundreds of cats chasing them through the streets. However, there are not many streets open down there, lots of trees down. So @StLouisCruisersSandi-stay home if you don't need to go anywhere. The governor has declared a state of emergency. Highs yesterday upper 60's, today, highs are low 40's. I have not had a bloody nose for years, and today, I was sitting in the bathroom, and I felt my nose drip. I have had that cough for years, I felt like I was coming down with something yesterday, so a runny nose would be expected. Nope, it was blood, all over the floor, all over me, it wouldn't stop. I tilted my head back, and about drowned. After about 10 minutes I got it to stop. DH was asleep, otherwise I would have called out, it really was scary. I wonder if this was an created by the shots I had yesterday? Has anyone else had this happen after the boosters? Booster 3, and flu shot. Other than walking the dog, and fixing crock pot ribs, I have nothing planned. So once the dog is walked, I will fix lunch and then go down for a nap. To everyone who is posting food porn, thank you. I had a granola muffin this morning, the pics are making me hungry. There are only two Friday the 13ths in 2023. So celebrate the day. The next one is in October.

@StLouisCruisers I am glad that you are OK, we went outside at sunset, the sky was PINK! The light was PINK! and the dog's mom across the street's yard is full of part of her scotch pine tree, and some of it is in our yard too. Not sure what is on our roof, there were lots of bangs, but so far all is good. Fawn was very scared. After the heavy rain, when the sky was black! then went to green, and the lightening kept on popping. But nothin like you had south of town. I think that the shots are getting to me, I feel like a have a "bug". I'm going to grab a cough drop and hit the hay.

Good Thursday Morning Dailyites! I need to get my flu shot this morning and booster 3 (which I read wont help me in the future) am preparing for the worst, so off to store afterwards. Will catch up and finish reading when we get home. Storms coming in today.

I am now becoming an expert in eye drops. DH tilts back, I put in the drops. Two different types, at least 4 times a day. And they can(it says) make his vision blurry. He was already seeing fuzzy, now he sees fuzzy and blurry. Maybe this way I can actually look better to him? Or perhaps I appear as a giant fuzzy monster. I'll just blend in with the cats. My boss reminded me that I start with the OTHER boss next week. I told him, that I had worked a schedule that would let me work all of his hours, but one. Unless he wanted to let me go, and then I could work for just one boss, for less hours, when I need more hours. He said he was not letting me go. EVER. My previous boss sent me a text that she wants to be working with me again soon. That they want me back on Arizona Opera. That would have to wait until the end of May. Oh, I love being in demand. And tonight, I got a pledge for ...wait for it...a thousand dollars. My boss asked why I didn't get it on a credit card, and I told him, because once she talked it over with her husband, they may make it more.😁