RMLincoln

Greetings from gloomy but warmish (only this morning) Maryland. The Cherry Blossoms are near peak in Washington DC, not that we will make the trek to see them. We are laying low, just waiting for Tuesday’s glaucoma stent and cataract lens surgery for DH. So glad Carol @mamaofami was able to finally get her surgery behind her- but what a long day with a 6hr delay. You’d think they’d have generators! I am so sorry Carol that you had to deal with that, but good on you for managing to get through it. May your healing go well. Yesterday would have been my mom’s 112th birthday. I was very glad to talk with my sister. Our relationship with mom was stormy but she taught us many useful strengths too. She’ll be with me forever and beyond. It was a good day of reflection. Haven’t been to Tanzania. Very interesting and exciting that the World Cruise passed through 0,0! 🌍 Roy, the very favorite dessert on our family cruise was the Ricotta Raspberry Torte. Everyone loved it! Thanks for your alternative menus and pictures. Blessings to all in need of healing, comfort or hope. Cheers to all celebrating. Life is good. 🌈 Smooth sailing to all the cruisers, enjoy it all! Maureen

@seagarsmoker Hoping you had a lovely day to celebrate your birthday. And a memorable PG dinner in your suite. Perfect! We were in Punta Arenas but all I remember is the huge cross monument we watched for on the way out down the channel in the twilight. Blessings to all in need of healing (🙏 to @mamaofami) comfort or hope. Cheers to all celebrating, and Bon Voyage to friends on Noordam sailing away out of Auckland tonight,; smooth sailing to all our cruisers. Tired. Calls today were with dental office about payments we received directly from insurance… nothing adds up… no bill, invoices don’t match Explanation of Benefits… offices wants us to endorse over to them. I’m confused! And tired. Will revisit next week after eye surgery🤞.

@kazuYay Jacqui! 🚘 A bit sideways with delays and floods of memories but leaps forward! So happy for you. Today we went around again with an online checkin, this time for the post surgery followup appt the next day. Ugh. They still have my allergy to meds on DHs record. We try every time requesting they change that. My lesson: I cannot control these things, I must let go. Jacqui I hope you ease into your restored freedoms. Take care!

Something got delayed in posting…. Oh well. Debbie @dfish so glad you are through that and recovering with Moose Tracks! Rest, rest rest. Ann @Vict0riann glad you are passed the decision and moving forward. Time to breathe. Paul @kochleffel sounds like too much drama. It’s nice they want to celebrate you and your retirement. Indicates appreciation deeper than the bluster. Thanks for the beautiful pictures of Alicante. Maureen

@Vict0riann Be confident your decisions today will be the right ones. We support you which ever way this goes. We’ve all been through turning points, including you and Pat. Remember to breathe! Wishing you inner calm in the outward turbulence. m—

@Vict0riann Be confident your decisions today will be the right ones. We support you which ever way this goes. We’ve all been through turning points, including you and Pat. Remember to breathe! Wishing you inner calm in the outward turbulence. m—

Annie, @marshhawk I get what you mean that the docs say time is important, do this or that soon, but the scheduling systems don’t support that approach. Hopefully this is all a step sideways! Blessings that the PET scan clarifies this spot and you can experience a calming as the path forward unfolds. Maybe the important part of this visit is the new inhaler! New paths. I too am wired to share, I get it! Holding you in my heart! 💖. I know you’ll update us when the timing is right. Maureen

Tried to post late last night but couldn’t get in. Nor earlier this morning. Like life, sometimes we need extra patience for things out of our control. That has been my most pressing lesson to absorb recently. @dfish, @mamaofamiPraying for AMAZING ! @marshhawk, @Vict0riann, @kazu and others including ourselves dealing with the ups and downs of medical issues: there’s a lot of going sideways to make some forward progress. @kochleffel A house can be so filled with the lingering presence of a recently lost loved one while it feels so utterly empty. 💔 Yesterday we made frustratingly slow progress. We got email with a link to confirm DH’s eye surgery next week. The link didn’t work. Called John’s Hopkins tech line. They couldn’t help. Tried other browsers. Finally got checked in by smart phone but couldn’t print the QR code. Tried screenshot but got message, No screenshot allowed for security! Took photo of QR with other phone. 😳. No call back on payment for special implant lens. No pre-op prescription yet. DH miserable with the skin reaction to his eye meds but managing. This has been a long process nearing 10 months. Hoping we can get this stent implant to reduced the number of glaucoma meds needed. And the cataract lens implant done. Then get the other eye scheduled…. Blessings to all in need of healing, comfort, patience, courage, or hope. 🙏 Cheers to all celebrating milestones and joys. Life is good! You help us remember this in tougher days! 🥂 Smooth sailing to all the cruisers! Enjoy it all! And a special shoutout to my CC Vancouver friends (not sure they’ve posted so I will use discretion) flying out late tonight to Auckland to board Noordam as soon as they get there which will be Saturday morning! Noordam will be on a 35 day T-P repositioning back to Vancouver. So many ports we’ve loved! Living vicariously through our own trying times is a lift! I love the quote today. I remember my fire chief telling me when I was so nervous about passing my EMT exam, If you fail, they don’t shoot you, you just take it again! It was a very difficult state certification exam, only given 3 times a year and we had to travel 200+ miles, stay 2 nights. The morning was the written part: 120 questions in 2.5 hrs; at “halftime” I was only up to question 40 and had skipped 10! Time for a new approach! The afternoon was practicals- one trauma, one medical with Autofails at every step. During the day there was absolutely no talking to anyone, had to be escorted individually to restroom, (we didn’t have smart cell phones in those days!). Of my classmates who tested that day 6 of 8 passed, better than the usual 50% rate. No one was shot, the 2 passed the next time they attempted. I was a volunteer EMT 17 years in rural New Mexico. It was a constant learning of life and a great blessing for me. 70% of EMTs in the US are volunteers, similarly for firefighters which we were also. I’m glad we did it but I don’t miss it. I’m content in this chapter of life! And without that experience we might not have had the motivation or insight ti make the shift from our beloved mountain home to Maryland and all it has to offer us here. Life is good! Maureen

Sunny, cool day in Maryland. No crabs in sight! But I do keep some Phillips crab cakes in the freezer 😉 Blessings for all the medical appts happening. We look forward to good reports! We won’t get a time for DH’s eye surgery till next Monday for Tuesday. Waiting on a call about the extra payments for the cataract lens, no replies from the office. Haven’t gotten word of the prescriptions he’s supposed to start before the surgery, sometime this week. My lessons are to be calm (sometimes hard for me) and accept that there are things out of my control (always very hard for me). You all help me along by your sharing about how things don’t always go easily but you all somehow seem to manage, and you give me hope that we will to! Thank you all! Blessings to all in need of healing, comfort or hope. Cheers to those celebrating joys of Life! And smooth, happy sailing to all the cruisers! We were in Cairnes in October 2013 on our Oz 6-week land trip after cruising Volendam LA to Sydney. We stayed a few days with each of two sets of friends(Newcastle and Arundal) that we met on a T-A on Ruby Princess in 2010 and kept in touch with - even hosted some of them and their friends in New Mexico. The photos bring back grand memories. We took a taxi from our hotel to the tour boat to get to the Great Barrier Reef, had a magnificent day, then slowly walked back to hotel from the harbour in the heat of the later afternoon. The next day we took the scenic train to Kuanda, cable car down. I never imagined I would see such sights! As a kid growing up in Brooklyn, the dream of seeing Disneyland as pictured in my fourth-grade geography book was as far away as those stunning galaxies pictured above. Life is good! On days when I feel the burdens more than the blessings, I work on my list of, What’s good right now! So much! even on the tough days. Maureen

@kochleffel Thank you for sharing Junior Cat with us here! You lost her like I lost mine long ago, on the way to the vet. I still dream about her, 40 years ago! Sasha will be with you always! Love is like that. @JazzyV We are feeling pretty much over any setbacks. On track for surgery the 28th although we’re still waiting on a call back from the admin folks about a payment…. The PCP was able to fax over the required forms for the physical. We’re just lying low trying not to jeopardize anything! @Quartzsite Cruiser MDAnderson is an amazing place for cancer treatment. We are so grateful we could relocate to Houston for that. DH will have followup blood tests soon 🤞and we’ll talk with the oncologist by phone. They continue to track him and I’m thankful for that. They were the most kind, positive and upbeat group beyond my imagination. I’m glad your loved ones were able to get treated there too. I hope they doing well. Maureen

@Real NHDOC Thank you the expanded perspective. Disappointing that it’s so inconsistent. We were a party of 8, 4 cabins. 2 balconies, 2 OV. I didn’t ask the OV folks for details, maybe I will. @fsufancc We wash underwater during our showers. There’s a retractable clothesline in the shower. I think you can do a laundry service bag-rate but that might vary with itineraries. I try to pack with laundry in mind. Enjoy your European travels! m—

Happy Equinox! “It’s a Good Day to be Happy!” was a sign at the oncology radiation check in station at MD Anderson where we went for DH’s treatment in early 2020. It was such a great reminder and has made lasting impact on me. We were very blessed to be able to go there and stay for nearly 4 months, while COVID started. So, No matter what the situation, it’s a good day to be happy! Blessings to all in need of healing, comfort or hope. Calmness and courage to those getting ready for surgery. Cheers for all celebrating! Life is good! Smooth Sailing to all our cruisers! Enjoy it all! Maureen

We were on Rotterdam Feb 25-Mar 8. We were told by the room steward that they provided one service per day, our choice of morning or evening. We had a balcony room on deck 5. No towel animals, no chocolates. They or someone would leave tomorrow’s Daily in our mailbox in the early evening.

@grapau27 Thank you Graham for Fr David’s sermon and the beautiful pictures of the beach with Pauline’s flower and blessing. And the reminders about our mams, mums and moms. Blessings to all in need of healing, comfort or hope. Congrats to all celebrating milestones of life. Cheers! You uplift us and remind us Life us Good! Smooth sailing to all cruising. Enjoy it all! Thanks to all who build this thread and contribute to it, giving it and us heart! Today is a good day to be happy! No matter the temp, the winds, the snow or ice, the situation. It’s not an easy time for me or for many here, but together we remember there is a horizon out there. Many thanks, and Blessings all, Maureen

Good Saturday to all! Thank you for the the Daily Report. Love the photos of ports! And the humor , always a help! We were in Corinto at least once. My overriding memory is that it was very hot! Welcome @trivia addict! @mamaofami Blessings for you and your care team. May your preparations give you confidence, your procedure be easy, and the recovery be quick! We hope you will let us know how you’re doing. Blessings to all in need of healing, comfort or hope. Cheers to all celebrating. Bon Voyage to all the cruisers! Life is good! Happy to hear many are sleeping! For those with sad news, it’s part of all our lives, give yourself a hug! Maureen

Top O’ the Mornin’ to all! 🍀☘️🌈 Happy St Patrick’s Day! And Thank You to all the Submariners for your service. Cheers to all celebrating 🍻 Blessings to all in need of healing, comfort or hope! Bon Voyage to the cruisers. I hope the flight “through St Patrick’s Day” to NZ and Melbourne was comfortable and the cruise is a delight. Today we begin on taxes. But every day is a good day to be happy. Maureen

Bon Voyage to @kplady and @seagarsmoker ! Blessings to all in need. Cheers for those celebrating! Life is good! We’re on the upswing here! Thanks for the boost from being on the Care List @JazzyVVanessa! Thanks for the info and photos of today’s port in Chile. Interesting trip to the observatory @rafinmd Roy. Thanks for sharing that unusual aspect. We weren’t in that port but I was very impressed with our multiple stops in Chile, beautiful in so many ways and lovely people, very civilized. Too bad it’s so far away! Wind has died down, still cool out but a nice spring day in Maryland. It’s a good day to be Happy! Maureen

Just resting today! Seems to be the best. Disappointed to miss a local extra-special prayer group tonight. Slept through my old NM prayer group by zoom last night. But no worse so I guess that’s good! Was Dumbstruck in Rome’s Forum when I stood at the spot of Caesar’s stabbing on the Ides of March! Happy to hear @bennybear “recovering”! Lovely flowers, enjoy it all! Congrats to Ren and Colton. Very exciting for those who have contact with that youthful exuberance in their lives! Karen, @luvteaching May today go well wrapping up the plan for home tomorrow! Every blessing! Glad to hear of better nights, and recoveries. Patience and hope for those struggling. Thanks to Sandi and Vanessa and Debbie and wine updates for all the uplifting photos and ideas. Didn’t get to Adelaide. Buzzards can be fun to watch from afar. Made salmon last night, but the coconut curries sound excellent! Blessings to all in need, cheers for all celebrating! Bon Voyage and smooth sailing to our cruisers. Condolences to those dealing with loss. My cousin’s passing is fresh. Waiting for more info about next steps, seems slow to hear but I’m not up for any travel now so slow is good. Maureen

We’re hanging in here! COVID is tiring but thankfully not too bad. Cold meds help. Happy to read so many have hopeful news, especially Karen @luvteaching! Great that your husband will be coming home! I posted last night and am out of sync… I’ll blame the cold meds! Storm here is wind through tomorrow. Actually so nice to see the sun! Blessings to all near and far in need of healing, comfort or hope! Congrats to those celebrating, Cheers! Happy packing and Bon Voyage to those cruising away! (I feel like I never want to go anywhere again…. but I know better!). Good resting all! And many thanks for your uplifting support, sharing happy pictures, fun food and drink ideas! Life is good! Maureen

Been a busy day here but we are managing ok. I’m feeling better but pulled/twisted a lower back muscle. Probably my body reacting to my head panicking yesterday! Neighbor brought us fresh fruits and veggies! Angels all around us! Tomorrow is to be a stormy day so not even going out to do a grocery order/pickup. Even with being gone 17 days we have the basics covered. Good mountain-living training. @dfish Debbie, glad you’re on a path forward! The medical system is tough! Love your positive attitude. And courage! @durangoscotsSusan, awful sounding, but seems you know how to get through it. Lots of bad bugs around. So sorry you are going through this. Terri, you take whatever time you need, we’ll be sending our collective good thoughts to you! @kazuJacqui, hunker down! Please try not to do much now, I hope you can take a break, and stay extra cautious- not a good time to be needing help to come to you. Physio will be open soon enough. @rafinmdRoy, thanks for the great Dunedin views and memories of @erewhon! Hope you sleep later! @marshhawk Annie, hope the work situation stabilizes. @Overhead Fred Outstanding! Good night friends! Stay safe through the storms, they seem to be everywhere! Good healing rest for all ailing…. Maureen

Good day Dailyites! Happy Birthday Pauline! Cruisers to LIVE life! I’m grateful for all it’s given me. We were in Dunedin twice, same trip, once by ship, once by camper van. The miles of piles of timber were staggering! We went out the peninsula to the albatross rookery. Twice. The second time it was closed, Dec 25th! Stunning place on this earth! Yesterday was a rough day for me to deal with. We tested positive for COVID. It’s not the COVID that is the problem but how it separates us from the medical system. So today we must regroup, reschedule?… and do what we can to keep moving forward. I don’t know how that will look but in life’s earlier calamities I’ve learned to ask myself, “What’s good right now?” So much good! Yesterday I was panicky. Today I’m more grounded. I’m not strong or stoic but I have a lot of support. Thanks for being part of that! Blessings to all who need healing, comfort or hope! Or all three! Congrats to all celebrating. Life is good! Bon Voyage to those cruising! Living life! You lift us all with that joy. Thanks to each of you. Remembering Jacqui and Kathi too! Maureen

Springing Forward today! So many to thank for all your kindness and prayers. I am feeling better, DH worse yesterday but I think this will pass quickly. Cold meds helping! Rest helping! I tried to make a list of all to thank but really it is all of you being here for your uplifting sharing. Happy Birthday celebrations to Lenda and Mitzi! Life is good! Great news shared by Sandi on her DBs med coverage! Miracles are around us every day! @luvteaching Karen, you are inspiring through all the roller coaster of your DH’s issues! One day at a time is everything! 🙏 To: Lenda (no bubble), @marshhawkAnnie, @ottahand7Karen, @TiogaCruiser, @smitty34877, @rafinmd, Roy, @JazzyV for adding us to the care list!, @bennybear, @grapau27 Graham, @Cruizinalong, @erewhonJ&P 💕, @ger_77Gerry…. and all I’ve missed…. I am so grateful for your good wishes, encouragement and condolences. This is a hectic time in my heart, mind and body. I feel your loving care! A huge thank you to all who helped get SailAway screenshots of us! Especially Lou and Co. who made it possible. Treasures! I was a Girl Scout long long ago; have enjoyed some very meaningful travel to ancestors’ lands, especially Cornwall; and I always thought Goulash had beans, but if I make it without beans I think DH would enjoy it. I doubt I’ll get to Reunion but that’s ok, there’s abundant beauty and joy in my world! Blessings to all in need of healing, comfort or hope. Bon Voyage to today’s cruisers! Cheers to all celebrating! Life is good! One day at a time is everything. Maureen

Good morning Dailyites! Checking back in after our family cruise. Rotterdam returned us Wednesday… DH and I drove home to Maryland, arrived safely yesterday. It’s a tough slog up I-95 with lots of traffic and periodic congestion. Thinking I don’t want to do it again. Glad to be home safe, but not too sound… I am sick! It began second day on the road home. Maybe a cold maybe COVID. I am so disappointed - we wore KN -95 masks 100% out of our room. Only ate in MDR with the family. No shore excursions, avoided crowds, etc. Not sure how this will impact DH’s eye surgery schedule - he has pre-op physical Monday, surgery the 28th. That’s the great concern now. He needs the eye drain implants for glaucoma so he can get off (some?) of the eye drop meds that he has become allergic to or sensitized to. He has three meds, only two come in preservatives-free versions. He has constant itching of the eyes and face. Still hoping we can get the surgeries started this month, one eye at a time. Appreciate your prayers! The cruise was excellent. 8 of us - daughter from Idaho, son and wife from North Carolina, 2 granddaughters and the married one’s husband from New York State. Some flight problems, cancellation, delays arriving but everyone made it. They did lots of excursions, tons of fun! We had a table for 8 in main/late dining and the most exceptional servers we ever had! Some did specialty dinning a couple of nights but it was all good. The ships is a great place for people to have their own space. I think they want to do it again! Rotterdam is a beautiful ship with stunning artwork. She certainly felt very new! The MDR wasn’t horribly noisy like Koningsdam. The Lincoln Center Stage musicians were excellent. I don’t know when their contracts end and HAL shifts them to a main stage act but we thoroughly enjoyed them. We found a place to sit in the BBKings lounge away from people so we could feel safer. No idea where I picked up this bug, probably disembarking. Will let you know how we do, how it impacts us. Thanks for the excellent screenshots of SailAway! I captured them this morning, will share them with family. How special this “family” is! Blessings to you all, and Kia Ora to our NZ friends who have shared the last decade with us! You all lift my spirit and I deeply appreciate our connections. Have tons to catch up on, here and everywhere! Plus I lost a cousin while we were away. She was a great positive influence in my life and a wonderful role model for my sister and me growing up. She wound up living in Houston but DH and I got to visit with her many times- when we trailered around the country, when we used the Houston port, and during our stays there for MD Anderson for treatments. The longer we live the more people we lose. I’m so grateful for all the myriad connections we enjoy. Maureen

On Rotterdam! Starting to move. All the family made it! Canceled flights, delays… we’re all here! Thanks to all for the support and good wishes. Will wave! Maureen—

Rmlincoln on Rotterdam with family awaiting sail away together in forward port balcony x2. We all made it, flight canceled, flights delayed but now together! Will wave, have a red bandana! watching Apex turn toward tge cut! Bon Voyage to all the cruisers! m—