RMLincoln

Thanks for letting us know. Be gentle with yourself. Hugs from your Dailyites!

@kochleffel Paul, I’m sure you learned a lot for your presentation, and the glowing feedback shows you shared it well! 👏 @Denise T Seems you are in an upsetting setting which can be more than unsettling, it can be unhealthy and even dangerous. This might be a catalyst for a positive shift. I’ve observed we are happiest when our needs are being met, so for a positive change, I encourage you to spend time identifying your needs, including being safe and peaceful. Then you can explore new potential locations with criteria that will bring you happiness! When we were prepping to move from NM I made 2 lists: things to look forward to in our next environment, and things I would not miss! I managed 2 more hours of late morning sleep! Facing what’s left of the day more renewed. m—

Pretty nice day in north Jersey, high clouds and heading up to 70! Slept 7 hrs so that should help! Laughter is the best medicine. Thank you all for posting cute memes, many make me laugh! Dolphins are such a treat to watch from cruise ships! I do like a traditional martini but haven’t had one in ages and I’m sure it’s not on today’s agenda. Today I’ll research lodging options near my brother’s location, prepping for his wife’s funeral, send that info to family. DH will finish the calculations for 2024 estimated taxes so we can e-file the remainder of the 2023 taxes. Blessings sent out earlier… sad to read the events on Rotterdam. May we all find a smile and a laugh today! Thank you all for being here, all the support and reminders that life is good🌈. I thought of Gerry @ger_77when I saw the crocheted blanket that was placed in my DSIL’s room for hers or our comfort for the long days and nights. ❤️ Maureen

Dismal looking in north Jersey but not raining. The Daily is a great lift to my spirit with everyone’s memories of fun times and looking ahead to new adventures. Yes, Life is Good!🌈 That’s so important to remember at times when life is waning in loved ones. Thanks for posting here as well as the main board Bruno @atexsix. Again, my condolences. I’m glad you have your mom’s help and the funeral home too. No matter how long the journey to the end, we’re never prepared for the impact. My condolences to other who are dealing with losses. Hugs! Our first visit to Aruba was on our second cruise, first was Alaska then Panama Canal transit stopping in Oranjestad. 2004. We did a ship excursion with my first snorkel. The best memory was wading from the beach as far as we were comfortable and letting schools of small silver fish swim around us. It was magical being an “island” engulfed in their shimmer. After that I decided I needed an underwater camera. On subsequent visits I did taxi tours to the lighthouse, aloe farms, fun shopping -still enjoying my tie-dyed Aruba beach dress and delft souvenirs. On our most recent visit there we took the bus to “Nancy’s” 😉 casino on the beach and rented see-through kayaks. We didn’t see much but it was a fun adventure. Today I’ll email all the cousins what to anticipate for the services my brother and niece expect. Talked with siblings last night about it all. Of course we can’t anticipate the timing but it’ll be a morning viewing followed by a Mass at their church at 11 then lunch, so everyone coming from our side of the family will need accommodations which I need to research, and directions….. I just hope we can make it and the timing doesn’t conflict with DH’s eye surgery in Maryland but what will be will be. My “angel messages” that I pick up on all the time reassure me that it’ll be ok! One foot in front of the other. Blessings to all in need of healing, comfort or hope near and far, for my country and your country! Cheers to our cruisers heading out or heading home, and all away for smooth travels! A toast to those celebrating 🥂. Welcome to the new folks here, I’m not at my best to get names and blue bubbles but thank you for trusting us enough to jump in! Thanks all for being here with your caring support. When my niece was saying it was amazing how certain things fell into place, I said there are a lot of folks pulling for you! More than she realized! Enjoy something special today! Extra hugs to Jacqui, Terry, Tana, Melissa, Karen, Terri, Bruno, anyone who needs one! Maureen

Thank you for letting us know Bruno. May you feel our collective support and condolences. I hope you share with us some of your fondest memories of your travels together when the timing is right for you. Maureen

I’m toast. We got up early for us, drove through rain and traffic to hospital, met with my brother… still surreal, remember I’ve seen him once (February) in 22 yrs. After 30 mins he left hospital to go home, get ready for his daughter, my niece, to fetch him for meeting with funeral home folks to start the ball rolling. DH did fabulous driving through the traffic and the rain! It’s just a lot to absorb that he can still see! Next eye surgery will happen no matter when my brother’s wife passes. So we thought we’d stay for a bit, have a chance to just sit quietly with SIL. She’s in a private room in the hospital but under hospice care. But that’s not quite what happened…. We fielded med staff pop-ins, phone calls, texts and I visited with my SIL’s niece (daughter of SIL’s sister) for two hours. I’d never met her, maybe as a baby just before I moved from NY/NJ to NM at age 23! Fascinating visit, filled in some gaps in my family knowledge base. My niece texted, asked if we could stay at the hospital until she could get there after the funeral home and returning her dad back home. Of course we would. Spending time with a dying family member is a privilege. She was peaceful, sleeping. She’s on comfort meds which seem to take the edge off…. Cancer took hold of her more easily than most people I believe because of her pre-existing conditions. We walk alongside as loved ones follow their path. We show up with love and support. And flowers and snacks. And tissues. And wait with them. There’s a lot more I could say now but I feel like I’ve used more words today in person and phone calls and texts than an encyclopedia. It rained only a little on the way home. We left at 4:30 and like a parting of the Red Sea the traffic was manageable. I had little appetite but enjoyed curried Red Lentils Dahl. Different for me. But it’s been an unusual day. Sorry Terri for losing Anita, glad you found out. Sorry Karen on another loss! Hugs! Sorry all, the rest of today’s Daily is a blur. Fantastic animal sightings, what a joy to experience! Thank you all for your support. On days like today I feel carried and strengthened by loving care from near and far! Blessings to you all. Maureen

Today was tough for brother and niece. SIL was moved to hospice care and they are making her comfortable. DH and I will head there tomorrow morning. DH got a 👍 from oncologist today, bloodwork again in 6 months. Hoping the eye surgery schedule can be maintained for April 23rd. Don’t know what will be needed for SIL and family. Or when. Happy for Terri and Jim! Vanessa’s BFF, 1 pass! Rest. Annie, great encouragement on our Cape Cod ideas, thanks too to Terry and @Hogladyrider Annie, love the cats watching the Cornell cam! @Nickelpenny beautiful shadow box for Martina! 🎂 @Haljo1935s DH! Hugs to you all! m—

Dismal looking day but no rain until later on. I had trouble getting to sleep, too much stirred up but at least I slept till 9! Dh has oncology phone consult this afternoon. We’ll see what he says and what the next steps might be. We talk to him twice a year after he gets the semiannual blood tests. Numbers have been trending up from zero but I guess that’s to be expected? We’ll learn more today. Taxes are ready! We still have to do the filing… NJ by mail, the rest we’ll e-file. I hope I unpacked enough of the desk stuff to find the large Manila envelopes. We’ll drive to a post office tomorrow to mail them directly. Next year we should have professional help, a COA who can support us through the future and trust filings. It gets complicated but it’s good to know there are funds to make it happen. Norfolk was our first HAL cruise departure port back in 2006. We took my NC brother and SIL to thank them for the weeks they spent with us that year building our NM house. It was our 4th cruise and we really liked Maasdam and HAL. I lot of what we liked is gone now with the smaller ships and Norfolk has changed too. We did a Carnival cruise out of Norfolk in 2022 on Magic - I liked our Cove Balcony! I doubt we’ll cruise from Norfolk again, the itineraries aren’t worth the effort to get there from here. Parking was offsite but lots of buses. I’m glad we tried it. The new cruise port is quite nice, better than standing out in the rain back in 2006! My other visits to Norfolk were when my stepson was stationed there. Then I got to tour his ships! Very special but those pictures are unlikely to be excavated! He retired from the navy as a Commander several years ago! Blessings to all in need near and far. Hope @Cruzin Terri and Jim get a good report! Thank you Vanessa for keeping track of us! Hope your BFF does well today. I’m sure you’re counting the days down till the 22nd 🤞I know I am, that’s the day we’re supposed to drive to Maryland for DH’s surgery. Day by day! I’ll post an update on my NJ SIL when I hear more… I think they needed to make a decision today about continuing interventions. Then the next steps are expected to be moving her to somewhere not in hospital under hospice care. I doubt we’ll be able to shift DH’s surgery date, just trying not to get too far ahead… Maureen

I’m still up Terri! Sending out extra blessings! Have a good sleep, tomorrow will be here soon! @Quartzsite Cruiser Lenda, thank you for your extra caring. It’s not going too well… and more troubling news with other brother’s family… I’ve been busy reaching out to the nephews and niece there too. And Very glad for Steve’s’s progress! I knew when we moved from NM to the east and we’d be closer to my family - siblings, cousins all older than I- there’d be impact of loss, but it comes in waves or bunches. Not much I can do but try to be supportive to those who I can connect with. It’s draining but I’m glad I’m connecting with them. @JazzyV Blessings for a smooth day with BFF’s MOHs. You two are quite a team! Impressive. m—

Excellent info! Thank you for sharing that. I have a lot to learn about a new place for us, always part of the fun! m—

Good looking day today, not as warm as yesterday’s 75. I’ve been updating siblings on SIL’s condition. Both brother and niece called me yesterday, update is not encouraging, they are grappling with difficult decisions. I pass the updates on to sister and other brother. We siblings are not close but we care about each other and keep in touch by phone and text. I’m the youngest so they were mostly gone from home during my teens; we’ve all lived in different states until just recently when DH and I moved to NJ which is where my oldest brother settled. The quote is an important reminder. We’re now considering a trip to Cape Cod for my birthday adventure or post-birthday because my birthday falls on Labor Day, a crowded day most places. Ten years ago for my 60th I chose a Grand Canyon river rafting adventure! So glad we grabbed that opportunity! I’ll still look at some Sept cruises but Cape Cod is a place we’ve never been to so it would be a new adventure! Thanks for the beautiful pix of Petra! I doubt we’ll travel that far anymore. Taking it one day at a time! Blessings to you and yours, all the Care list, our country and yours. Enjoy something of Life’s offerings today! Maureen

🎂 Beautiful gift of caring from your DS Karen, @luvteaching May you begin an inspiring year ahead! 🍾 Happy Anniversary celebrations Gerry and Maurice @ger_77 . Never enough anniversaries 🥂 Blessing to all especially those in need, and happy celebrating for those with special days or good reports. Smooth travels for all away. Many thanks to all who make this thread happen! m—

We had some clouds which made it possible to get some direct photos. Mostly we used a long pin-hole indirect viewing tube on our balcony. I think we were supposed to get to 91.6% We had fun! m—

30s early morning but 60s this afternoon! A 30 degree spread is unusual here in north Jersey. But clouds are expected. We have a car maintenance appt at 11, hopefully not more than a couple of hours but our first time here since we moved so not sure what to expect. Our community will have an eclipse viewing party 3-4 with glasses on one of the patios but I think our apartment balcony will work for us. We’re said to be at 91.6% so maybe we’ll notice a bit of darkening beyond the clouds. May all on the road for this event be safe! Happy Anniversary to @erewhon and DH. Sounds like you had a lovely celebratory lunch 🍾. Hard to believe it’ll be 10 years this September since we were on Volendam together! And to @Overhead Fred and DW on your celebration cruise. Never enough anniversaries! 💞 And double Happy Birthday Sandi and your sister. 🎂🎉🎂🎉 Thinking of you today Roy and hoping for good results. 🤞 Thank you Vanesss for your excellent lists! And for including us. It’s been a long journey with DH’s glaucoma. I hope that seeing our journey encourages everyone to get their eye pressure checked. It was a routine check by a Costco-contracted optometrist that caught the first signs of his issues. There have been several members of my family with glaucoma but no one in DH’s line until him. Some in my family lost sight in one eye but that was before they had this amazing type of surgery DH had in January and will have again this month🤞. Thank you all for your support! Blessings to all in need, as Vanessa says, “whether mentioned or not!” Hoping that those who need relieve have it soon. Blessings for our country, your country, all those struggling to survive war and oppression. Peace to all burdened with grief and worry. Thinking of @HAL SailerMelissa and DH one day at a time! Cheers to all celebrating joys of Life🥂. You lift our spirits and remind us that Life is Good🌈. Smooth travels to all away especially our cruisers and eclipse chasers. Welcome home to those returning, there’s no place like home🏡. Maureen PS. There was mention of Ramadan recently in the Daily which is a sacred time for our Muslim friends, not Hindus who had their sacred day of Holi recently. 🙏 The Daily is a place of respect for all our varied traditions and I felt uncomfortable leaving that uncorrected. m—

The heat came on this morning, it was 36 at dawn, heading to 55 and sunny! Might not be sunny tomorrow. We have a car maintenance appt at 11, hoping to be back before eclipse time, not in line of totality but maybe we’ll see something. Bon Voyage 🎉 to @Heartgrove’s DW and SIL, @Overhead Fred and @Vict0riann and Pat! After your journey from Vancouver Island you need a vacation! My mountain home address was on Beaver Trail. I never saw one there but DH did! On the Ridge where we were there wasn’t much water but the beaver did well in the streams below us, always working on their mid-stream lodges. I think the Key Lime cocktail needs Key Lime juice. Key limes are small and taste different from regular limes. After the earthquakes I was reading iO on NJ geology; found myself less adept at converting English to metric than I used to be… I was reading about deep earth pressures reported in “atmospheres” but I was taught to think in kilobars. Ugh, brain not as flexible as it used to be! Yesterday I had difficult conversations with a niece and nephew trying to warn them that they need to be prepared with more knowledge and appropriate legal documents so they can assist their parents through aging. Maybe now is a good time for them to have the conversation with their parents, on the heels of two family funerals last week. My other brother’s wife being in a health crisis brought these issues to their daughter’s realization, that she doesn’t know the first thing about her parents’ finances so if her father crumps she’ll be totally lost about how to care pay for her mother’s care. I’m glad I talked with my other brother’s kids but that’s about all I can do, and hope for they best, that the “kids” (they’re all 40s-early 50s) will take it up with their parents. Sending blessings to all in need of healing, comfort, hope, relief from pain, a better night’s sleep, direction on decisions about procedures, a miracle from insurance, protection from storms, wars or worry! And for any other needs that weigh on us 🙏 🍾 Cheers to those celebrating happy events. Smooth travels to all away! Thanks all for being here. Thanks for all the rich photos that transport us to happy places, times and memories! Welcome home Graham and Pauline, I’m sure you both needed some refueling! 🫠 Maureen

41 and cloudy in north Jersey. No more earthquakes to report! We’ll do another run-through on the NJ paper tax return, yesterday’s draft got us through a few knots and I think we’ll be ready after today. TurboTax should work for federal, NM and Maryland. Stayed up late to watch the very exciting Iowa State vs UCONN women’s basketball Final-4 game, congrats to Iowa State heading to the championship game against South Carolina who routed NC State. All these women are amazingly good! We enjoy most sports finales and major events. Soon we’ll pick up the Stanley Cup series. There’s always somebody to cheer for! Blessings to all in need! Welcome home to our returning cruisers and cheers to all celebrating good times! May you each enjoy something today! Life is Good🌈 Thanks all for being here. Maureen

The first wave to come is the P wave which is a compression wave. The bang is similar to any compression wave hitting, similar to an explosion that pushes a compression wave through the air. The Bang is just that something hit the building.

Just had a second earthquake, aftershock! How cool is that 😎 m—

I was reading the Daily this morning when the earthquake happened. Pretty exciting for me, my first “real” earthquake that I could feel the rolling shaking. We’re in top floor, 7th! Apartment shook for a good 20 seconds after the initial BANG, slight pause then the shaking increased for about 20-30 seconds. Nothing came off shelves, the building and our complex seem intact. Epicenter was maybe 25 miles to our SW. As a geologist I have to say I was excited to experience it! I’ll honor Gold Star Spouses🫡 but can’t celebrate. Had a lot of texts and a call from a long-ago friend who said, “you didn’t have to set off a quake to make me call you!” 😆 Happy to report all family travelers to funerals have made it safely. SIL in hospital is showing a glimmer of improvement! Responding to antibiotics and IV nutrition. We’ll see day by day. Thank you all for your caring support. Hoping for better days Terry! Interesting about the dog… animals are so sensitive! And stable days so Terri and Jim can travel. Hang in Jacqui and stay safe. Hope Vanessa can get some relief. Glad Debbie is healing! Paul, hoping “all of you” can feel better soon. What era are you addressing in your presentation on electrification of NY? Interesting! Loving the bluebonnets! We’re slogging through taxes, making progress! Next year we’ll have local cpa support but this year they said, Call anytime after April 15th! Oh well… Blessings all. Maureen

Good to hear Graham. I know you’ll keep an eye on her. Your and Pauline’s love give her the foundation to be open to love in her life…. like today’s quote implies, if we’ve learned we deserve love we receive it. m—

It stopped raining but not sure we’ll see the sun. 35-45 so it feels cool and damp. Glad for the good reports from Dailyites in Taiwan! And I’m hoping Mike can improve in the rehab facility and not get worse like my SIL did. Sue must be exhausted! I think Tana is so much better off with Terry @smitty34877and the family, hard as it is! Prayers for these acute cases to improve! Debbie @dfish I hope your eye improves today! @Haljo1935 I wish the eye doctor would file with insurance, they might pay something. One of DH’s eye surgeries last year was supposedly not covered - we were told the stent/shunt/ drain implant procedure was only covered when it was part of cataract surgery which he didn’t need because he had that in 2009. But insurance covered it all, the stent, the doctor fee, the facility fee and anesthesia. Bruce @aliaschief love following your cruise, many thanks for your efforts to share it. It’s a joy for me! @summer slope how are you and DH recovering? And @cat shepard how’s your sister? and @grapau27 how’s Sarah? @Quartzsite CruiserLenda, sorry you and Steve had to make the extended push to get home but glad you made it ok. I learned not to arrive at the end of a long day, what I called arriving “cold, dark, hungry” with a lot of work to get the house systems spun up- heat, water, satellite etc. And there was always some glitch bro deal with, had to muster the wherewithal to problem solve. I’m glad the storms didn’t cause harm to our Dailyites. More bad weather coming especially in the far NE and I’m guessing @kazu will have to deal with it, you must be so tired of it all… I think you need a vacation! I’ll honor Victims of Violence Wholly Day but I won’t celebrate it. I believe the quote is profoundly true. I’ve owned a couple of Jeeps, one large one small. The years in the mountains everything had to be 4x4 but they weren’t all Jeeps. Over the decades Jeeps have been built by various manufacturers, not all of them good in my experience. My 1975 Jeep Cherokee was a lemon. But our CJ5 was a workhorse. I like gin and I like champagne but not sure I’d like them together. Blessings to all in need of healing, relief, comfort, strength, direction, hope! 💐Joy to all celebrating! Smooth travels to all away! 🌅 My NC brother and his family are driving from yesterday’s funeral in PA to Long Island NY tiday for my SIL’s brother’s wake this afternoon. It’s 4-5 hrs and not easy getting around the city. At least it’s not raining! May everyone have something to feel good about today🌈 Maureen

@smitty34877 Terry, while the storm rages outside and there’s turmoil within I hope you and yours can find comfort together. We may be far in miles but we’re close at heart. You all share so much love, we’ll just surround you with a bit extra. Hoping to get some rest. Glad to know you’ll get some help too. One day at a time is Everything. ❤️

It a rainy day. And in PA which my brother, his wife and kids got to yesterday from NC for today’s funeral. Im feeling like I should have gone too but it’s too late now. And we have appts for today and taxes- we got the call yesterday from DH,s pension people -took 2 weeks to tell us they don’t have the data TurboTax wants for calculating the NJ return so, we’ll have to do a paper filing for them. My SIL in NJ is not improving, had more interventions yesterday. Niece is beside herself between not wanting to do these interventions but trying to give her mom all the chances possible. Tough days. Happy for you Jacqui! I’ve too have had relief from acupuncture. My close friend in NM teaches acupuncture! I was a lucky friend! My NJ brother worked at Bell labs in 1973. There were a lot of breakthroughs then! I guess there still are but it takes a while to work them into our lives. Blessings to all our Care list, all in pain, sorrow, worry… all traveling! Protection for all in danger and for our countries and the world. m— Note to Nancy @ottahand7 I replied late yesterday. Yes Wilmer Eye Institute in Bethesda. More in my note yesterday. Thanks! m—

@ottahand7 Yes Nancy, the surgery was at Wilmer Eye Institute of John’s-Hopkins in Bethesda MD. We’ll be back in 3 weeks for the left eye. The surgery is a Trabeculectomy. In 2023 they did 2 surgeries to implant drains/stents/shunts, which helped but not enough. DH has a low pressure version of glaucoma meaning that even at relatively modest pressures his optic nerve still gets damaged. The surest way to get the pressures down and eliminate the meds he became allergic to was this path! I am so grateful. We have another long and dicey road to go but we’re making Amazing progress! m—

The weather is cloudy, rainy, wind increasing and temps in the 40s. Not pleasant but no snow and nothing severe like other places. Blessings for those out in more dangerous conditions. 🎉😅Here’s some happy medical news! DH’s visit with eye doctor has us declaring Victory! The complex glaucoma surgery in January has his right eye pressure low and stable! I think this news has been sinking in all night! He’ll finish up 2 more weeks of the post surgery steroid drops and be done! The hope is that there’ll be no more need for the meds he’s allergic too in that eye! But what it really means is that his doctors have saved his sight in at least his right eye apparently forever! That means he won’t go blind! At least not from glaucoma which is where he was heading. He can’t regain what’s been lost but he can and will be able to see! Left eye surgery coming 4-23 to save left eye ! Another 3-4 months 🤞. I’m feeling my heaviest worries melt away!🌈 @JazzyVVanessa, we can all celebrate this. Thank you all for your support! @ger_77 Gerry, I’m glad you shared how it went with you and Ollie saying goodbye to Gord! It’s traumatic and important. Ollie w had the privilege to walk with her beloved to his last day/only one of a couple gets to do that! And you helped her! It’s huge! Thank you for sharing it with us, we’re here for you too. It is so not easy. And thank you for being such a rich blessing in so many lives! Update us when you can about your Ukrainian friends! Your love spreads far and deep! Blessings for Maurice every day in his challenges! @smitty34877Terry, so sorry for Tana’s bad night. DH coughed most of the night here, I’m wondering if it’s allergies. @summer slopeTough days for Mike and Sue. Hoping for a breakthrough soon and renewed hope and healing. Sounds like he is getting the care he needs, I hope she is managing to take care of herself. @marshhawk Gook luck at the oral surgeon office. Hoping you get the info you need. And the money comes in the best timing! No word on my SIL. My other brother and his wife were to be driving from NC to north PA today, a long day for them and iffy weather. I remember delicious banana bread French toast on the MDR menu, wow! Don’t remember what ship, could have been Rotterdam, Or maybe our last cruise, NCL Joy. Not healthy but memorable ! Blessings to all in need near and far, our country, your country and the world. Cheers for all the joys! Life is Good🌈 Smooth travels to all away, lots of Dailyites and families on the road, and lots of cruisers! Thanks all for being here! 🙏 Maureen