RMLincoln

Good early morning. I slept till 4. Not horrible as I was so tired I went to bed early. Couldn’t pack clothes last night but there is time this morning.  I read yesterday’s posts. Happy birthday @Nickelpenny, wishing you an inspiring year ahead. 
So nice to hear @Lady Hudson you have an option for a cruise with your twin over your birthdays. Leaving DH in DD’s care will be hard but you deserve respite too. Only you can decide and once decided you can trust it was the right decision for you now. 
@Quartzsite Cruiser Lenda, grateful for DH’s good checkup. One day at a time is everything. 

Annie @marshhawk I hope all is on track for you and Chuck got his infusion and returned home safely. Just be extra careful paying taxis in Italy. Apparently American tourists can be easy to scam. When you pay the driver, show them the denomination of your paper money so they don’t swap it for a lesser bill saying you didn’t give them enough. We used undergarment money belts for passports and extra cash and credit cards, never a hotel safe.  I kept my wallet with just a small amount of money on a retractable cord clipped to a safety pin in my zippered pocket- like a retractable badge holder. I had it knocked out of my hand at least once in Italy while trying top au for something. Maybe not on purpose maybe so, can’t say for sure. You might not have these kinds of items handy now but you might see something useful in an airport store. Just be extra cautious and you’ll be fine. My cousin had her camera on a wrist strap ripped off her hand by a moped driver cruising by. A German tourist warned my husband that a guy next to him was eyeing his Canon camera on his neck strap while he was taking pictures with it. She sidled between them to warn DH. Looked like the guy may have had a knife or box cutter in his hand. Just watch your space and your things. Italy is wonderful with so much to offer and people are helpful and friendly. No need to be fearful or anxious just aware!  
 

Yesterday we signed with a realtor. She was very prepared, professional and experienced. She lives in our Leisure World 55+ community and she and her sister share the business. We’ll be stripping the apartment down to begin marketing Nov 1!  Grandkids will help, coming next week. I’m not panicking but just can’t see how it’ll all happen. And if it slips we’ll all be fine. Leap of faith, and moving forward on a lot of prayers… which have carried me thus far and through a lot worse!  
 

Blessings sent, especially to those in pain or struggling in mind, heart or soul. 
 

Congrats to those celebrating. Life is Good!  
 

Safe travels to all away. We’ll be heading out this morning to NY, visits with family and meetings at new place tomorrow. Home Sunday assuming the meetings go well and we won’t have to stay till Monday. 
 

Happy cruising to our many Dailyites aboard!  
Thanks all for being here!  Maureen 
 

Sunset from our Maryland condo night before last. Oops can’t get it right side up. 

Just a quick checkin, not really keeping up. Great photos Sandi!  
Sad for those in pain, it is exhausting!  
Blessings to all!  Near and far! 
 

We talked with movers and 1 realtor yesterday, second realtor coming today. Seems, with packers, we might move before Thanksgiving. It’s all happening fast. I guess that’s good. We’re driving north tomorrow for meetings Friday. Grandkids and daughter in from Idaho will join us - she’s visiting her girls for a week.  Stay north Saturday visiting with the family, drive home Sunday. Trying to take it one day at a time and stay sane!  Loading the car today with kayak gear grandkids will store plus stuff they can re-home. They’ll be down here in Maryland next week to help us sort and will take our kayaks home to their garage. 
 

Yesterday had a call from someone from the retreat group, wanted to drop something off… it was a framed photo of our retreat group from Saturday!  So touching!  
 

Praying we stay well through this whole process!  
 

Excited for those in the last week countdown!  Arrivederci Annie and Chuck, and soon Terri and Jim!  Keeping you all in my heart and prayers even when I’m not posting. 
Maureen
 

Beautiful cool morning in Maryland. We have both a moving consult and a realtor consult today. Yesterday we bought moving supplies: 8 rolls of tape, about 20 boxes, 4 rolls of  bubble wrap and 2 boxes of paper. It’s a start. Oiy!  Tomorrow  the other realtor who was supposed to come Sunday but was sick 🤞, the Thursday on the road north!  Friday meetings at new place, Saturday visit family, Sunday drive back. But today first!  
 

Have lived in tarantula country. I found them very interesting creatures. Useful too. Just lower in elevation from us where we lived in the NM mountains they would migrate each fall downhill towards the river. We’d see them trying to cross the road. Not much traffic on the 2 lane mountain road and residents were sympathetic to their plight so tried to miss them. They ate other nuisance bugs and were a plus to the environment. 
 

Windy Wellington has that name for a reason. We ported there on our Sydney-NZ cruise. Weather was rain and wind. We took the port shuttle to downtown and spent a fabulous day at the Te Papa museum learning of the history and culture. Great opportunity. After we disembarked the cruise we rented a camper van for 25 days. We drove around North Island then camped in Wellington before ferrying to South Island. That time Wellington was sunny and lovely. Thanks for the pix Sandi. 
 

Blessings to all in need of healing, comfort or hope. Especially the war-torn places!  @mamaofami Carol, we’re all hoping for Amazing improvement for Sam!  @smitty34877 Terry, heat is good!  @Cruzin Terri Terri, hoping you can have a smooth day!  
 

Congrats to all celebrating 🌈. Life is Good. 
 

Smooth travels to all away, and fun times for our many cruisers!  

Thanks all for being here!  Maureen 
 

🍁🇨🇦🍁🇨🇦🍁🇨🇦🍁🇨🇦

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!  Lots of Turkey and trimmings being shared!  🥂

I have SO much to be thankful for!  I’m emotional about a lot these days. The quote is perfect for me especially now. 
 

I haven’t been to Korea or any of Eastern Asia. Not expecting I will get there. I will enjoy what I do have and wherever I can travel to. 
 

Fire Prevention and awareness teaching was a big part of my work with the fire dept in NM. Smoke alarms save lives. Have a plan so you know what to do. Sleep with your bedroom door closed!  It reduces the smoke and heat load in your near vicinity, giving you more time to call for help. 
 

I deeply appreciate your compassion!  Lenda, Brenda, Gerri, Vanessa, Annie…so many here!  In the midst of your own needs you have acknowledged mine and reached out across the miles comforting me. Again and again. Thank you!  I’m working through the changes. Yesterday the realtor’s assistant called and cancelled our appt. She’s sick. Maybe come Wednesday if she’s well enough. Oiy! We can’t afford to get sick now! Another realtor coming tomorrow , and move consultant. It’ll all work out. 
 

DH and I rearranged boxes in our storage room. It will be our staging area. We sure don’t have the stamina we had even 3 years ago!  But we’ll have help. We both agree now is a good time to be making this move. We went to Home Depot for some supplies- bubble wrap and tape, will go to U-Haul today for boxes and paper. 
 

Love seeing the long list of cruisers!  What fun!  Blessings to all in need near and far. 
Hoping you each can enjoy a bit of today!  Looks like Graham and Roy are sure eating well!  Happy for you!  
Maureen. 

Just got through yesterday’s Daily. Such good news from Melisa ( @HAL Sailer I think). So relieved that her DH is improving. Praying it continues. 
 

Such sad news about Israel and Palestine and troubles for the  cruisers caught up in it, especially the medical disembark there. Trusting they’ll be well cared for and can return home soon. 
m—

I think I resemble today’s quote!  I’m recovering from my retreat weekend. Parts were excellent and calming, reflective and refueling. But the Saturday afternoon session had me upset and crying with sudden unexpected feels bursting through. A friend, the woman leading the retreat, stepped outside with me and helped me through it.  At the closing they had gifts for me and a special blessing. I came home drained, went to bed early, soon woke up from bad dreams, got up and had a glass of wine! (Rare for me!). Processing a lot. Then slept till 6:40! Also rare these days. Time to face the day! 
 

Noon today a realtor is coming. She’s more than recommended by the Erickson Living folks…  if we use one of their recommended realtors we get a credit from their kickback on their commission. We’ll interview 2 of their realtors and then maybe the excellent realtor who sold us this condo, she lives here too so knows it so well. Our place is in chaos but we’re moving forward. 
 

Beautiful pix Sandi!  We didn’t get ti Split, only Dubrovnik where it deluged and we saw next ti nothing. And got sick. 
 

Blessing already sent!  Hoping everybody can have a good day. Onward! 
Maureen 
 

Good morning from a rainy Maryland. I’ll be leaving for retreat soon, wonderful respite! I didn’t promise but I did say I’d try to come back next year, take tge train down!  The thought helps me take leave of these warm friends who helped me heal from the very difficult move from NM, feeling like parts of me were turn out as I left my community and work  there!  I did heal, and now feel internally ready for this next move, externally there’s a ton of stuff to figure out but it’ll happen. DH’s eye pressures are creeping up but not too bad. We’ll start working on a finding a new glaucoma specialist in NJ before the move. And start on appts fir me for screenings I won’t get here, mammo and colonoscopy. Onward!  
 

Im not “getting” the quote.  We visited Isle of Skye on a land tour. It was stormy, pouring rain. The bus had to take the long drive around to the bridge because the ferry was stopped due to the weather. We visited the Clan MacDonald museum and in a short break in the rain we walked the gardens. Like everywhere, lots of history. I think it was King Charles I who escaped to there incognito in woman’s clothing.  Graham can clean up my memory. 
 

Blessings already sent! 
Bon Voyage to Jacqui, Tina and @St Pete Cruiser (so glad he’s recovered from his nightmare of his last cruise with tge deadly spider bite!). Life is Good!  
m—

Friday!  It’ll be cooling down here in Maryland. Fall is beautiful everywhere!  
 

I woke up way too early but that’s my pattern now. Plus my arm is sore from the COVID shot, that didn’t help but I’m not sick! Yay for that!   Once I wake up my mind jumps into all directions. We continue to make progress on the move on some fronts, some fronts are pending. There are other parts of life too so it’ll all work together. Thank you all for your encouragement!  
 

DH had his phone consult with the MDAnderson radiation oncologist who treated him in 2020. The bloodwork is ok, ever increasing a tad each time. We’ll continue to monitor every 6 months. DH’s glaucoma numbers are also on the higher side as he trials cutting one set of eye drops now that the drains are in. It’s all slow, thank you for your continued support.  His next appt is not till January, which will be after we move. So we’ll have to figure that out. Otherwise, I’m grateful we are well enough!  
 

Beginning this afternoon I’ll be at a retreat till tomorrow afternoon. It’s a welcome break to recenter and refuel. Sunday noon a realtor comes to give us her take on selling our condo. I’m not expecting good news with markets diving, interest rates up (but nothing like what I paid for my first house in the late 70s). Seems my path in life is to buy houses high and sell them low, but thankfully the next egg has grown in between the buying and selling!  
 

I might not post for a few days but blessings go out just the same. Thinking of all in need of healing, comfort or hope. Congrats to those celebrating!  Safe travels to all away, and lots of whatever is needed for our many cruisers!  Life is Good! 
 

Glad to see Amsterdam pix from Jacquie!  Glad Roy made the transfer in Quebec to his favorite ship. I wonder if he’ll port again in Saguenay. Our NCL Joy cruuse stopped there and the ship had a problem at security for people getting back on, the line was 90 minutes!  We sat on a park bench for 2 hrs waiting comfortably till the line was only 10-15 mins while enjoying the local entertainment on the pier, happy it wasn’t raining, but it makes us not wanting to choose Joy again. Of course Havens guest were allowed to cut in at the front of the line Maybe that’s worth the extra $$$?  
 

Hoping there are only good things happening in your lives today!  May peace and healing happen in our country, your country and the world! 🌎. Maureen 

OP asked about refunds. The cruise contract pretty much says there is no guarantee of ports or itinerary. The cruise will happen, the ports my change. If the partial transit is dropped, you might see a refund in the fees portion paid which would have included the canal fees. But then there will be other port fees, probably not as high. 

From Colon you can take an excursion to see the canal and view lock operations.  Not the same as doing it onboard but you can still see the wonders of the Panama Canal. 
 

Thanks for the memory jog Sandi on Tromso. We went to the Arctic Cathedral for a midnight concert on our Hurtigruten cruise. Quite lovely classical and folk music, beautiful setting.  Glad you had pix of the bridge. Norway is a grand place for civil engineers!  Beautiful bridges and amazing tunnels. 
 

Today we are scheduled for COVID shots if they have serum. And DH’s oncology phone consult on recent blood work. 🤞

Hope Tina made it to Amsterdam. And Roy transfers to his new ship ok. I think Piers 22 and 30 are much too far apart to walk. I think I saw a comment that he acquired another cane! He didn’t mention it in his blog.
 

Yesterday we got scheduled with a second realtor, I made brownies, and we arranged schedules with DGD and her husband for them to make 3 trips to help us. We located and called a storage rental place across from our new community so we’ll probably use that for transition space. And I made a batch of brownies for retreat weekend, will do another batch today. Wrapping them individually is the hard part!  Looking forward to retreat, tomorrow evening and Saturday!  A good opportunity to refuel myself!  
 

Blessings All!  Thinking of those with uncertainty surrounding loved ones in hospitals and at home. One day at a time!  Sending blessings for Healing, comfort and hope!  Focus on What’s good right now!  Breathe. Know you are loved. It’s a privilege to serve our loved ones in their time if need!  (((Hug!)))
 

Safe travels to all away. Rest for the weary. Relief for those in pain. Peace for all- our countries, our communities, our families and in our hearts!  
Maureen

Tina, remember to breathe!  Glad to hear alternatives are available. I hope it doesn’t cost you more money, I thought that’s the advantage of using Flight Ease but I’ve never used it so I don’t know much. 
 

Terry, hoping you to can take a deep breath and relax a bit with Tana’s new aide.  Yay!  
 

We made leaps of progress on our fast-track move yesterday!  Trust docs are signed!  Finally!  The lawyer did a beautiful job. (And the extra time this summer was really better for us to mature our thinking.) I am very pleased with this restatement, it’s come a long way since it’s inception in 1998!  This is very much simplified!  And we signed new wills too. It’s all done!  All will be scanned and sent to the new retirement community in NJ today!  That will complete our financial information file and resident profiles. Our approval is pending. 
 

We have a realtor coming Sunday, another working on scheduling us. The move planner will call us today and we have a meeting set for next week. She said in her email that our timing for late Nov/early Dec will work!  
 

Niece and her SO are coming from Seattle to visit for a week Oct 31- Nov 7! wow. But I’m taking a deep breath and envisioning it will all be good!  They will spend most of their time seeing the sights in DC and Baltimore. I hope. 
 

Onward!  Blessings to all in need of healing (Scott, Murphy, Steve, Vanessa, Chuck, Joy… All!), comfort (Tina, Terry, Karen, Marcia, All!), or hope.. All of us!  One day at a time is Everything!

Cheers to all celebrating 🥂. Life is Good!  Have a grand time Terri and Jim!  And Vanessa, enjoy your special day!  Thanks for all you do to bind us together with your lists!  
 

Safe travels to all away. Tina let us know how it goes. Jacquie, hoping you’re there ok!  Roy, hoping the weather improves, the food looks great!  
 

I think it’ll be turkey burgers again tonight, and many night to come…. for now! 🌈

Maureen 

2 hours ago, puppycanducruise said:

@Cruzin Terri  Happy Anniversary to Terri and Jim! 🥂

 

@JazzyV  Happy Birthday Vanessa!  🎂  And many more! 

+ me!  

@kochleffel Paul, our first cruise was to Alaska in an inside cabin on Carnival Spirit, 2003. We loved it. We used the now and aft cams as our windows in the world. We are late to enjoy as much light as possible, late Sept. We had outside decks to enjoy the scenery or lots of places with seating next to big windows inside. It was magical. And something to look forward to!  And FCC too, excellent!  👏

2 hours ago, luvtoride said:

Maureen, where in NJ are you moving?  Have you ever lived here before?  

It’s a great place to live and close to cruise ports!  I hope all goes well with your move arrangements.  

 

Busy day with trusts and wills.  Not things we look forward to doing, but important to get those done.  

 

I am going for my Covid Vaccine and Flu Vaccine today.  I’ve done two shots at the same time in the past without any issues.  Fingers crossed.  

 

Have a great day all.  

Brian 

Hi Brian, yes I am somewhat familiar with parts of NJ but never actually lived there. Commuted to Rutgers-Newark from Staten Island for grad school in geology in the 70s. Lived “out west” (Colorado and New Mexico) until 2021 when we moved to Maryland.
 

I have a brother in Matawan, niece in Union Beach. We are moving to Pompton Plains’s Cedar Crest senior living community, just over an hour from granddaughters in Poughkeepsie NY who will watch over us as needed. I have a ton of cousins in the Hudson Valley area. 
 

It’ll all be good when we get there but it’s a LOT right now. 
Thanks for asking!  Welcome to the Daily!  
M—

@Cruzin Terri 🥂Happy Anniversary Terri! 
 

@smitty34877 Love the photo of you and Lou and the kids!  Thanks for sharing. You have a lot to process. It’s Good!  So glad you felt so loved by Lou. You still are… hugs from afar. Enjoy something in your life today!  
 

A good morning here and hopefully for you each too. 
 

We got our family to the train yesterday after a very productive weekend. Then we dug into making connections we needed for getting the ball rolling on more fronts. I found out the Move-in Planner for our new community in NJ is “unexpectedly out of the office for an undetermined time” so we are instructed to “lean on” her counterpart at the Maryland place under the same corporation. She did get us contact info for their recommended movers and realtors; left messages with 2 of the three and now have a realtor coming Sunday. It’s a slower start than I’d hoped but we’ll keep going. 
Trust attorney coming tonight with notary and witness for a signing party for trust and wills🤞.  

Sorted and filed a bunch of old documents I found in a box in the storage room. Today will tackle filing recent pile!  
 

It’s so nice to see the appreciative comments about EMS.  We did it as volunteers for 19 years. 70% of EMS/Fire service force in the US is volunteer.
So glad to hear Steve got an encouraging report. Hoping Joy is ok. And Vanessa can get onto a better track. And Tana’s new aide is just what’s needed. 

My first several cars got named but when I bought new or newish cars I found they didn’t have a “personality” yet. A couple got named later on but eventually that gave way to generic references: the car, the truck, the Jeep… I’ve had 20 vehicles, most were a joy and a blessing but some were a lot more difficult!  I’m very happy with our one car now, quite possibly my last. I’m confident it’ll serve us well. 
 

DH got his semi-annual oncology blood work. He’ll have his phone consult with his MDAnderson doc in Houston Thursday.  The results are still in the OK range but a tad higher each time. Grateful for today!  One day at a time is Everything!  
 

Safe travel blessings to Jacquie and Roy and all our many cruisers!  So excited for @lindaler heading off to the serene South Pacific!  
 

Blessings to all for a meaningful day!  Thanks for being here, sharing and supporting!  
Maureen

@Quartzsite Cruiser Hoping this is just a step sideways and meds can be adjusted 🙏 for you both. Good you’re there with him. Walking the path together!  
 

@Seasick Sailor Hoping you feel better soon and DH is ok. 
 

@kochleffel Paul, not sure if my comments will help but here are some thoughts. We took a bus from airport to Barcelona, had our luggage with us. Thievery did not seem to be an issue except for pickpockets on Las Ramblas. re: hospital bills…my nephew was hit by a streetcar in Amsterdam and hospitalized 3 days, they billed him at home months later, not a lot.
Our annual travel insurance includes a benefit of money wire transfers.

Our credit cards are associated with an investment house from which we can electronically transfer money into accounts accessible by debit cards or credit cards or ACH transfers. We do not carry much cash, not over maybe several hundred dollars at most, divided between us for an extended trip of several weeks. Mostly we use credit cards and ATMs.  
These are important factors to consider for travel. Good for you for asking the questions. 
Maureen 

@HAL Sailer Sending blessings for healing, comfort and hope!  DH is on his path getting the best care possible and you are walking beside him every step!  That’s how love works. We’re all sending you our best!  
 

@Quartzsite Cruiser Lenda, glad Steve is walking carefully and continues to improve. As an EMT we always checked pupils with a light to see if they were reactive and equal but we weren’t sophisticated enough to have a measurement of how fast they reacted, that’s impressive!  
 

@smitty34877 Hoping the right person is on their way to you!    
 

Rabbits rabbits white rabbits! Needing all the good luck this month I can call in, it’s going to be a huge month in so many levels prepping for the move. Mary Kay, How. Did. You. Do. It?  So happy for you on vacation now!  
 

I’m relieved the government didn’t shut down. Sad at how it happened. Extra prayers for Ukraine. And Scott and his wife!  And Steve and Lenda (Amazing!) And baby Murphy and family. And Vanessa. And Terry and Tana and family. And Karen returning, and Terri and Paul and Jacquie and Annie and Chuck, Bruce, all planning and prepping. And all on our care list, sending out blessings. 
 

So happy for Roy on QM2, doing better than he expected!  That gives me more hope that I too will find some unexpected resilience!  
 

Congrats to all celebrating! Reminding us Life is Good!  Great job Ren on that goal!  
 

DH is trialing off the double med eye drops again, pressures higher but not bad, 3 days now at half doses, hoping!  
 

Busy day here yesterday. DH worked on transferring financial info and last arrangements files to his son. More financial set-ups to do today. DS also unscrewed our printer problems!  Yay, miracles abound!  DIL worked with me in storage room.  We checked each box, about 30 maybe. Categorized and restacked them into Move As Is, Sort Through, Re-pack/Consolidate, and Re-Home.  It took a lot more out of me than I thought it would to get that far which is a bit scary.  I just can’t see how it will all happen but I have faith it will. They might come back Thanksgiving weekend to help with the final push. Grandkids will be here later October, no dates yet. 
 

We have appointments in NJ for Oct 13th to be interviewed by the social workers at the retirement community, and work with the interior finishes person on selections and specific requests.  We’ll haul some stuff to grandkid’s garage then, and see DH’s daughter while she’s visiting from Idaho to see her girls. It’ll be a great break for me, us!  I think I’ll even enjoy the 4/5 hr drives up and back. Respite. 
 

Comments for yesterday:  Suva is a great visit!  Love Fiji. Beautiful. Vibrant. Friendly to travelers. Safe!  But I feel for them too. Fiji has a sad (to me) and serious class division between the native-born Fijians and those descended from the people that the British colonizers brought in from India to work the fields. The Indian descendants who are a slight majority of the population, and comprise most of the professional and entrepreneurs, cannot own land or vote. Fiji went for 14 yrs without a constitution or president (some of the time span between our first and second visits there) but now have both in place but at a cost of writing out people who’ve been there 5,6,7 generations. When we travel we see and learn different ways of life around the world. 
 

Prayers for our country, your country and all countries. 
 

It’s time to feed the family here. I’m grateful we have food and money to pay for it!  Blessings all, be safe, be well, know you are loved!  Thank you for being here!  
Maureen

@Quartzsite Cruiser  Lenda, what you described of Steve’s improvement sounds Amazing! May he continue to improve.
 

@StLouisCruisers 🙏 

@JazzyV 🙏for a pain-free path forward!  
 

Happy Friday!  
Bon Voyage Roy!  Thanks to @Cruzin Terri I’m following your blog, like old times!  We expect to be cruising out of NY more, living in NJ soon. Manhattan worked well boarding this month’s cruise but our plan to get a taxi upon debarking was not good. Hoping to learn more about the Red Hook pier in Brooklyn. Your car service idea sounds like a winner!  
 

@Quartzsite Cruiser Lenda, hoping all is good and you and Steve can go home today. 🙏 the results are Amazing!  
 

@kazu Holding you and your newly widowed BF close for your visit today. I had a long phone visit yesterday with my TX friend whose wife died Sept 3. We covered a lot of ground, good visit for both of us. I’ll see him in Dec when we go to granddaughter’s wedding in San Antonio. But we’ll always be close in heart. Friends are family we choose. 
 

Love the Lincoln quote. Trying to be happy in the midst of upheaval here. We’re on a good path forward to the NJ retirement community near the grandkids. Moving is hard!  Mentally taxing, emotionally wrenching and physically draining but worth it all!  
 

Blessings to all in need of healing, comfort or hope. Yay for all celebrating milestones and accomplishments! Life is Good!  
Bon Voyage to Roy and safe travels to Mary Kay and all heading to their embarkations. Happy safe and healthy times for those aboard. 
Prayers for peace in our country and your country and around the world. 
Thanks to @JazzyV for the great lists and all who make this thread so warm and caring !  
 

We have family coming in today, might not be posting but will be keeping you all in my heart and blessings. Have an excellent weekend all! 
Maureen

Does anyone have a link to Roy’s blog?  Thanks! 

@Quartzsite Cruiser prayers for Amazing!  Safe travels. 
 

@rafinmd Roy Safe travels. I’m guessing you’re taking the train to NY/Brooklyn?  Enjoy the ride!  
 

Great pix of Bergen. We took a train there from Oslo to board Hurtigruten Midnatsol for the Norway coast cruise, all the way up to the Russian border and back. Bergen was picturesque but drizzly. Norway is a fabulous place to visit. 
 

Paul McCartney wrote Hey Jude for John Lennon’s son. 
 

@lindaler We loved Tales of the South Pacific. DH says his favorite. Hard for me to pick a favorite cruise trip. Immerse yourself in its beauty and cultural diversity and richness!  
 

@ottahand7 Glad you’re back ok Nancy. Enjoy those crabcakes!!  
 

We made connections yesterday with the moving facilitator from the local retirement community that is under same corporate as our NJ community. She will send us names of realtors and a moving company. We’ll interview them and pick. The NJ moving facilitator has not responded to me, maybe out this week?  Arrgh.  But we got final editorial comments on the trust done, should be ready to sign Monday. DH has almost all the paperwork for our Resident Profile scanned into electronic form; we’ll send by email and do a zoom call, don’t know yet when. 
 

Made the decision to fly to granddaughter’s wedding in TX which is Dec 16. Can’t face 3 1/2 days drive each way at this point. Got flights using Philadelphia!  It’s about 2hrs +traffic allowance from either here MD or new place northern NJ. This way it won’t matter where we’re living. But we’re guessing we’ll move end of Nov shortly after we “take possession” of new place on Nov 21. It’s too expensive doubling up so the sooner we can get out and get our condo on the market the better.  I got rental car and hotel reservations in San Antonio. Done. Have a plan. Moving forward. 
 

Tomorrow son and DIL are coming up from NC by train for the weekend. DH has financial stuff to work on with his son… I’ll take DIL to our storage room and start sorting out what I can get rid of, what must go, and the stuff that needs a look. Too much stuff!  We’ll meet them downtown at Union Station. It’s so easy from here by Metro compared to how it will be in the next place… but we’ll learn. Today I need to get groceries and make a Key Lime pie for tomorrow - it’s the easiest!  And get some laundry done. 
 

Blessings all!  Hugs and cheers!  Safe travels to all away. And thanks all for being here.  
Maureen
 

2 minutes ago, smitty34877 said:

I waited three months for my appointment in New York.

I’m due in Dec for my mammo, and Dec for my colonoscopy. I think they’ll both wait till I get to NJ. I’m hoping they won’t slip more than 6 months. I’m way overdo for a dermatology screening so with the reminders here, that’ll also be on my list to discuss with my next primary care doc. 

Great to have another day of progress yesterday. The financial guy has been amazing. Then we each made our read of the trust final draft, still several little correction but we’re down to typos, middle initials, email addresses etc. It’ll be ready soon and in time for our financial review at the new retirement community. 
 

@kazu condolences on your loss!  Our friends are woven into our fabric. When we lose a friend a part of us is lost too. And we relive our own losses. I know you’ll be helping your friend but please be gentle with yourself too. I’m sorry your elbow is still problematic. I know you’ll keep at it and not let it stop you. 
 

Forgiveness is huge. Not forgiving is like take poison and expecting the other person to feel the impact. My book group read Desmond Tutu’s Book of Forgiveness.  It was a very tough read. My take-away in the end was that we can try to agree together to move on, but if one party can’t agree to that then it’s best to relinquish the relationship. Either is tough work. 

Thanks for the Fleet map. Having fun tracking friends on Eurodam! 
 

@grapau27 Graham, hoping the storm doesn’t creat lasting problems. You and yours: Take no risks, Stay safe!  
 

@rafinmd So happy for you Roy!  It’s all gonna happen!  
 

@Nickelpenny and @ottahand7safe travels! 

Welcome home @St Louis Cruiser and @Heartgrove. 
 

Happy Anniversary @Cruising-along Carolyn and Henry 🎉. Anniversaries are an accomplishment. 
 

Thanks @JazzyV for our lists. Hoping you can find relief very soon. Pain is exhausting. 
 

Blessings to all in need of healing, comfort or hope. Gentle hugs to @smitty34877 Terry, and miracles finding the right aide for Tana. Grieving is exhausting too. Remember to breathe!  
 

Cheers to all celebrating, Life is Good 🌈. And to all our cruisers!  Safe travels all!  
 

Prayers for Amazing results Lenda! Safe travels. Hugs Terry!  Hope Lorraine!  
 

Made great progress with trust attorney yesterday!  Should have been 3 months ago but here we are…. we’ll have something we think the new community will approve. 

Off to the investments office for figuring out how we’ll pay the entrance fee for our new place!  That’s why we saved it I guess…. 
 

Have been to Freeport several times. I think the first time we visited a fort. The rest is a blur. 
 

I’m not good with languages but have successfully used a bit of my high school French in several parts of the world. DH is absolutely terrible with languages but he proudly mastered ordering 2 scoops of chocolate gelato anywhere in Italy!  🤣
 

Blessing to all!  Safe travels Nancy, Sandi, all who are away!  So excited for all our cruisers. Counting the days down for those fast approaching sailaway!  
 

Wishing peace in our country and yours and around the globe!  
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