RMLincoln

@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—

Good morning from a little north of Port Everglades where it is currently 69. Better than our 29 at Maryland home, or the grandkids’ home at 16 in NY. After long, late and tiring days yesterday we are gathering for one last push to get ourselves organized for embarkation. One of us is still flying, due to land about 8:30, but I see from flight status that the connection was doable even with her hour and fifteen minute delay getting to it, now only scheduled for a 15 min late arrival at FLL! I requested a WAVE from the PE port cam, so maybe a screenshot will come our way to share - if you get something please send it to me at rmlincoln at hotmail dot com. I’ll be the shortest one on our balconies, waving a red bandana. Port forward, deck 5. Rotterdam! I did manage 5 hrs of straight sleep, good enough, maybe tonight will be better. DH had a much better day yesterday with the eye meds and issues, very grateful for the improvement although no correlation to anything we can reproduce, but we’ll take it. @luvteaching Very happy for you and DH’s improvement! One day at a time is enough. As always, many thanks for this uplifting place of sharing. Love the pictures, the humor, the memories and ideas! Blessings to all especially our Care List! Extra hugs to those grieving! Healing, hope and comfort to those struggling. Protection to those in danger. Cheers to those celebrating - Life is good! You help us remember that through our difficult days! Smooth travels to all away, and Bon Voyage to all sailing away today! Maureen, and family!

So far it’s all happening. We arrived safely by car! Yay us! NY kids got flight to Boston then a nonstop to FLL, are on it now. NC kids on their nonstop now, we’ll leave the rental house to go fetch them. ID daughter taking red eye via San Francisco! To arrive 8:20am. Life is good, celebrating that lifts us all! But sometimes one day at a time is enough! Hoping your data gathering leads to a healing path! m—

Made it to Friday! So blessed to have this caring place to share all the parts of life! Blessings to Annie and Chuck and Neko. 💔 And their vet. Blessings for all the doctor appointments and tests going on! Bring in the healing! cheers for all those celebrating! They help us remember that Life is Good! Comfort and hope for Ukraine. And all those suffering disasters. And all in the storm! Hunker down if you can. And walk with extra care! Smooth travels for all away. We all need a break to refuel ourselves. Today is all our gathering family’s flights’ day. The early ones were canceled out of NY/White Plains. No plane. They just got rebooked through Boston to arrive FLL this evening. Hoping it all works. This is why we’re driving, too much uncertainty in flying. Two more sets of family flights to still happen. Thanks for all your caring prayers, feeling them for sure! I applied to Iceland for grad school back in the 70s. Wanted to study the geology there. But too expensive for foreigners who couldn’t get scholarships the first year. Finally got to visit using Icelandair’s no-extra-cost layover plan on our way to a Hurtigruten cruise. Fabulous place to visit. Bon Voyage to our cruisers! Hugs to each of you. Many thanks for all the caring support here! onward…. Maureen

@JazzyV condolences on your sad news. @Cruzin Terri good luck! @rafinmd Thanks Roy 🤞 Daughter won’t get in till Saturday morning! She’s an RN, works nights (6 13 hr **** a week! RBs in very short supply! She needs a vacation. But very willing to pick up extra shifts). The red eye flight suits her. Others leaving 6am and 6pm tomorrow! We’re out the door! Blessings everyone! M

I slept 8 hrs last night! WhooHoo! Was really tired, and the Benadryl helped! Annie, @marshhawk hoping you and Neko (darn yesterday’s auto correct!) can have a more comfortable day. 😓 Was in Hobart on 10 days of car trip around Tasmania. Drove up Mount Wellington. Really enjoyed Tasmania, interesting history and a lot of beauty, mountains, forests, beaches, glaciers! Reports from my old community in the northern NM mountains are that the storm blew through but not as much wind damage as feared. 👍 Blessings to all in need of healing, comfort or hope, especially our Dailyites, those suffering from disasters in NZ, Turkey, Syria, Ukrainian, Ohio and the storm track. I sure felt your blessings with me yesterday! Many thanks! Congrats to all those celebrating. life is good! 🎉 Smooth travels to all away, and happy cruising to those on ships. It’s hard to have a bad day on a cruise ship! Bon Voyage Katherine! Can’t make your bubble come up 🤦🏼‍♀️ I love the port of Baltimore, so easy! Wish HAL ported there…. Graham, @grapau27more blessings to Sarah and friends. Grief is a long road. m—

Checking in before bed…. Drive most of the way today, DH really struggling with his itchy eyes and face. I-95 was pretty amicable today. Left in drizzle at 36, arrived 4pm with sun and 84! Near NC/SC state line, glad it wasn’t longer. In December be did 600 miles the first day but DH was doing better then and we were trying to get beyond Ft Lauderdale to visit my sister in the Keys. Tomorrow’s target is Jacksonville- should be easy enough. @dfish you used to be able to rent a small dorm frig for $2/day. Did it fir granddaughter who was allergic to almost everything, brought special foods for her. Of course there’s not much room, just under the desk. Annie, @marshhawk Nemo sounds precious! Where there’s love there’s courage 💔 Roy @rafinmd Hoping the data gathering is a success that results in a path toward healing! Melissa, thanks for sharing your story! Blessings to all in need of healing, comfort or hope…. and SLEEP (I woke at 3:15, brain exploding details, but made it through the day ok, thanks for all your positive energy! I’m trying to stay awake to help DHs last eye drops tonight…. By then the Benadryl will kick in!) Cheers to all celebrating! Smooth travels for all away. And protection for all through the storms, and all the rescuers and victims of disasters. Hope to check in again before we shove off! Everybody stay well and safe! M—

Thank you all for the good wishes! I’m always stressed until we get started. Just finished my last supper, that is, lady one I have to make for a couple of weeks! Maybe THAT’s why I cruise. Made the mistake of weighing this morning! If I’d have waited I could blamed it all on the trip! The married granddaughter and her husband are anxious to see St Thomas on this cruise because they went there soon after they got married and spent 3 months working feeding disaster cleanup crews following Irma. My own sister’s house was heavily damaged by Irma in the Florida Keys, but repairable. It took over a year. It’s so hard to get the work done when everybody needs help. Sending out blessings to all the storm and earthquake victims and workers. And to my old area in the NM mountains who are hunkering down prepping for a severe storm expecting very high winds, blizzard, falling trees and power outages. I pray they all come through without injury! (Glad we’re in Maryland! Tough as it was to make the change, it was time for us! ). Signing off for now but might be able to check in briefly before we board! Will miss you all💕 And no I didn’t request a wave, might try to en route, thanks for suggesting! m—

Today is finish packing day, and arrange food for our road trip. Shrove Tuesday (aka Mardi Gras but I didn’t know that until later in life…) was never a big celebration other than a good day for pancakes. I enjoyed HALs ferry to St John more than the ride around the island. Pretty place but the tour wasn’t stellar. @erewhon glad to see the number of missing coming down for your country! May it continue to improve. Appreciate your good wishes for us! Looking like good weather at all our family’s airports Friday, but if there are planes available is another issue due to expected mid-country storms brewing. Just have to continue hoping for the best, airports and our 3days trekking down I-95! Blessings to all in need of healing, comfort or hope, near and far! Cheers to all celebrating milestones and accomplishments. Life is good! I posted by memories of Gene Young elsewhere. He did a beautiful service for Remembrance Day / Veterans Day / Armistice Day on our Tales of the South Pacific cruise. Condolences to his loved ones. I won’t have internet onboard though some family should with their HIA, but most likely I will be offline for a couple of weeks. Grateful for each of you and this uplifting place we can share. For sailaway we’ll be out on 2 balconies, Rotterdam’s port side forward, deck 5. I’ll wave a bandana to show my appreciation for all of you! (When I can I’ll check for screenshots to share with the family !). Hopefully there’ll be 8 of us on 2 connected balconies if we can get the partition opened before departure! (The other two rooms are OVs, one is a single.). Everybody keep healing, stay well and safe! ❤️ Maureen

Gene was CD on our Tales of the South Pacific cruise several years ago. He was excellent at his job but what I remember most was the very moving and personalized Remembrance / Veterans Day service he organized. Flowers, poppy pins, microphones in places were attendees could remember their loved ones aloud, many sharing how they served and where. It was a beautiful service. Gene descended from Samoans IIRC on his mother’s side, and Pago Pago was one of our ports, which was a bit more special through his connection. The museum there has a picture of a grandfather of his who was a US Admiral in charge of American Samoa at one time. Blessings to all his family and friends. M—

Happy Presidents’ Day, mostly for George Washington’s Birthday which is the 22nd, truly Father of the US who held it together as it was being born. Looks like a nice day and week coming to Maryland. Today is laundry day and packing the gazillion little things, tomorrow is packing all the rest of it! Wednesday we begin the long drive to Ft Lauderdale but breaking it into 3 days should make it pretty easy. Looks like good weather for all the family’s airports for our gathering Friday. Thanks all for the good wishes. UPDATE: Son received his passport, Yay! Not sure when exactly but we finally got word from his wife yesterday. Whew! @grapau27 Condolences to Sarah on losing a close friend. Not everybody who dies is old. It’s impressive how he turned his illness into a gift for so many. What courage and heart! @luvteaching Karen, Sounds like you and DH are making great progress, one day at a time. Hoping he can be released before your Medicare days run out! 🙏 Roy, we feel you’re on a good trend getting stronger! 🙏 for that trend to continue. @ottahand7Nancy, hoping your house is undamaged. Enjoy the rest of your cruise. Thank for tge many pictures, great memories! @StLouisCruisers Glad you’re home safe. Thanks for sharing your cruise with us. @kazu Jacqui you are inspiring looking beyond the ice and snow to planting bulbs! And one-armed! Blessings on your claims and your elbow. @erewhonWe are really jolted to hear of the staggering losses in NZ. 🙏 for the families and for the rescuers. Keep us posted as your news unfolds. Here it gets buried by so much other devastating news in the world. We loved our time in NZ, and being with such warm and caring people! Thanks to all the contributors here, making this uplifting, safe place happen. Blessings to all in need of healing, comfort or hope near to us and around the world. 🎉Cheers to all celebrating milestones and good happenings in their lives! We need to remember that Life is Good. Thanks for adding us to the care rotation for DHs eye situation. It’s very troubling but I try to be grateful always, it helps ground me. I’m helping him with his new preservative-free eye drops three times a day- they come in individual dose ampules which don’t clip into the old dropper bottle alignment appliance, so it’s harder for him to administer himself as he can’t really see that close in, although reading and distance are still good 🙏. We’re hoping the surgery late March (and other eye later on?) will eventually help get him off the meds that are causing the itchy facial dermatitis. That would be a miracle! One day at a time… today is a good day to happy! Maureen