RMLincoln

@HAL Sailer Blessings of comfort to all grieving your loved one’s passing. Loss of a loved one is always stunning. @rafinmd Thanks for the update Roy! So glad to hear folks are walking this path with you. Remember that they have gifts to share, and your accepting keeps grace flowing. Blessings for a steady improvement. @luvteaching It can be so hard having a loved one hospitalized, but maybe better than trying to do it all yourself at home. Blessings for the best path forward for you both. Blessings to all in need of healing and hope, especially those in the very cold zones now. And please be extra careful, now is not a good time to need emergency help, it can be super difficult and dangerous for help to reach you. @kazu Celebrating even small miracles with you! Congrats to all celebrating milestones of life and memories. Hearing of these helps encourage all of us. Thanks for all the beauty shared in pictures. They are uplifting! Smooth travels for all who are away, on land, at sea and flying. We’re good here at +25F! Maybe 10 tonight. Bright sunshine today but windy. I’ll take it over the deep freeze so many are managing through. Maureen Post Script: DS still hasn’t gotten his renewal passport yet, needed for the family Rotterdam cruise Feb 25. Applied Dec 27 online expedited. I hope he has a certified birth certificate…. DDIL wasn’t sure…. 🤦🏼‍♀️. As soon as I heard they booked, I told them to check passport expirations… sure enough one was expiring. I suggested they check for birth certificates too, just in case, and apply immediately for new copies if needed. They’re 50 something… that’s about all I can do 🤷🏼‍♀️.

We were in a steel rail balcony VH on Koningsdam. They are forward on deck 4. We heard music from the World Stage some afternoons for rehearsals and for the evening performances, which do not run late and didn’t interfere with sleeping. The balcony was quite large with some of it open to sun and some of it with good shade. We got it for the same price as an ocean view so it was a good deal. The view is not obstructed by life boats, just that from the railing down to the floor is not glass, it’s steel hull. Hoping you find something that works for you. Ask more specific questions here and we will try to answer. Call HAL to talk with a cruise consultant, ask questions and learn what’s available, may be better than trying to book online. If selection is thin, you could request to book a guarantee category and then be assigned a room in that category or better about a week before the cruise, but you will get a room, maybe save some money, but you will have to take what they assign. m—

Gray day in Maryland with temps maybe getting up to 40 before the cold plunge reaches us tomorrow night, forecasted to go down to 10. We chose to move here for many reasons, one being the temperate climate. Thankfully Maryland winters are generally kind. Santorini has mixed memories for me. Loved our tour of Akrotini, a Minoan Bronze Age city associated with Crete and probably Rhodes, abandoned when the volcano began erupting in ~1560 BCE, that’d be over 1600 years before Pompeii. We were so impressed with the multilevel engineering, water and sewer systems and the advanced bronze work, especially the bronze cooking pan with riveted handles. After the tour of the extensive ruins we were taken to town and DH and I spent time absorbing the fascinating and beautiful preserved ancient artwork exhibits in the archeological museum. But our way back to the ship was not pleasant. The gondola line would be 90 minutes so we walked down the “cliff” to the tender dock. Nearly got run over by a huge donkey on a sharp corner with nowhere to get out of his way. Had to watch our footing very carefully on the cobblestones often covered in donkey “stuff”. And it was quite surprisingly hot for October. Which also means smelly. But it is such a remarkable place, such a beautiful setting, that I’m so glad we got there. Blessings to all… those in need of healing and hope… Congrats to all celebrating milestones and memories…. Smooth travels to those away from home. Hoping we hear that Roy is improving, and that Kathi has a path forward. Winter or summer, whatever our situation, today is a good day to happy! — Maureen

@rafinmd great to hear you’ll be discharged. Means you’ve stabilized. More blessings for continued improvement, comfort and peace! (No more inappropriate night nurses…. geez that was insane!). Take things slowly! Happy for you! m—

@JazzyV Thanks for posting that your passport arrived! DS is awaiting his prior to our family cruise Feb 25! He applied (renewal) online expedited Dec 28. DH applied by mail Dec 26 expedited and received his about Jan 18! And his passport card came a week later. Roy just posted his passport arrived! Now he needs to be well enough to use it. 🙏

Rabbit Rabbit White Rabbit. I’m still trainable. Woke up to a surprise snow today in Maryland. Hoping the roads will be ok when I leave for the dentist’s. Sending blessings to all in need of healing and hope. No frowns from @kazuJacqui’s doctor, may the comment be “AMAZING!” Same from Roy’s doctors. Cheers to those celebrating milestones and memories. Smooth travels and happy adventures to those away. Thanks for sharing with us your travels of past present and future. Always Love the pictures of such varied places in the world. What a delight! Thanks to all who contribute their time, effort and spirit to this thread! — Maureen

Sarah is feeling great! Had to re-read that. Excellent! That lifts the spirit! Thank you Graham. Now you and Pauline can enjoy those beautiful meals with more peace! Maureen

Greetings Dailyites…. Blessings to all those in need of healing and hope. Smooth travels to those away. Seems some are have more fun, and some aren’t there yet. Cheers for all celebrating! Green Chile Clam Chowder is something that shows up in New Mexico! DH was born in Boston but they moved away when he was 8. But DMIL eventually found herself in New Mexico, and did not appreciate the locals adding green chile to an otherwise classic New England clam chowder! I must admit it took me a long time to get used to having green chile with just about everything there. Now I miss it! But I sure enjoy Maryland crab cakes😁. Roy, Glad you are being treated for your multiple needs. Steps forward often have a few sideways. No hurries. Lots of blessings. Still hoping we hear from Kathi…. Working on plans for our family cruise Feb 25, and the drive to FL! It’s going to get a lot colder here and a lot of places soon. Stay safe everyone! m—

I carry my passport card ashore as my government ID. I leave my passport book, an extra credit card and my driver’s license in the room safe, along with essential medications. If I lose the passport card ashore, the copy of my passport on my phone and ship card will most likely get me back on the ship. If I miss the ship, I’m hopeful ship security will get my safe contents to the shore agent and to me. I need my driver’s license to get home from the port so I hate carrying it ashore. The passport card is not as essential to life for me. No system is perfect but I’m confident that with some help it will all work out. m—

Thanks for keeping us updated! Hopefully you are stabilizing, that’s the critical first step. Then improvement will follow! Hope you can get some rest. m—

It’s a new day! Grateful for that! And grateful for all of you, happy for those with relief and good news! Prayers and positive thoughts for those needing healing and hope! Blessings For Smooth travels for all! @rafinmd FIRST: Thank you for posting! We are all on your side…. No room for negative thoughts! DELETE and Replace those with the hope and courage you share with others. OUR BODIES BUILD BILLIONS OF NEW CELLS DAILY. With the support you are getting, medicine, nutrition, oxygen, rest, the right amount of time, plus faith that you are right where you need to be right now and all is well, all will be well, you will be well. Sending blessings for your comfort and peace of mind, heart and spirit. There are two things you need to do today: Breathe in, breathe out! oh, and give yourself a gentle hug from all of us! m—

Or you can call from your stateroom phone. The phone lists the number, maybe it’s 88 but the phone list Dining Reservations. They’ll want your stateroom number which will come up on their system showing if you are fixed or open seating. We often requested 5:15, and we’d specify Table for 2. If you’d like to share, you can request that. You can make Open Dining reservations for 2 or three nights at a time. If, after your first night or two, you like the time, the table, the waiters you might be able to request that for cruise duration. You can’t make Open Dining reservations before you get on the ship. m—

Roy, we always ask, What caused the fall? And now to ask, What caused the low sodium? Hope you get some answers tomorrow! 🙏 That’s their job, your job is to rest. Our job is to keep sending you positive thoughts and lots of love! Blessings, m—

At Ft Lauderdale in December the paper boarding passes from home were useless - the readers couldn’t read them, not ours, not anybody’s. HAL knew it was a problem and prepared with a printer station there printing them out inside the terminal for anyone who didn’t have an electronic version to show on a smartphone (which was the faster way that day). As I recall, I could be wrong, no one asked for a boarding pass to get into the terminal. If that’s really true, I see that as a security failing. It does help to have the app opened to the boarding pass before being inside the terminal as the cell signal is weak inside. Although paper isn’t always foolproof, and neither is the app, it helps to have both, IMO. We will do our best to have both paper and app at the ready in Ft Lauderdale Feb 25 boarding Rotterdam! m—

Thanks for the Daily Sandi. And all the luscious food ideas Debbie. After making 10,000+ dinners new ideas help! Glad you are getting checked out Roy 🙏. We’ll be holding our breath until we hear you are getting the care you need. Carol, what a relief finding your glasses. I can relate…. for me it’s usually my keys! Jacqui, you are a lucky one to have such great responses from the clinic and neighbors! Keep positive. Focus on what’s good right now! Positive thoughts supporting your healing. You can do this! Thank you for all the pictures of South America! Great memories and beautiful scenes. Nancy, hope you have a beautiful day to enjoy the Magellan Strait. I fell in the house in November. Had that horrible cold/RSV? and was returning to bed with a protein shake in my hand. Got my foot caught and when I tried to right myself I launched face-first into the desk. My safety glasses saved my eye. The desk is a drop-leaf, fold-open style which broke under my fall and probably saved me more damage. My face had multiple lacerations, lots of blood but no serious damage. Thankfully DH was home, bundled me off to hours at the ER where they did head and neck scans, nothing broken! Glued my face back together instead of stitches, works better!! It’s still healing. MY LESSONS: Know where I’m putting my feet, and do one thing at a time…that’s the harder one for me! Hadn’t fallen in over a decade, and now getting into late 60s and the age where falls cause more trauma. DH just turned 80 and we’re looking ahead to a different living arrangement, independent living in a higher attention community. Fewer things to worry about and people around to help, especially when alone. But right now, glad to be here in Maryland, out of the deep winters where we loved it for so long in the NM mountains. Friends told me last night they’ve had 79 inches so far! Change happens, new chapters come. Life is good. Under a month to our next cruise, Caribbean on Rotterdam!! Blessings to all in need of healing and hope, and to those celebrating milestones of life! m—

Thank you Roy, and hoping for improvement for you, and for Sarah, and for Jacqui, and all the others in need of healing and hope. Hope we hear from Kathi soon! Smooth and healthy cruising to all aboard! Love to hear about new places, and remember old places! Good Sabbath to those celebrating tonight. I remember when I was a little girl in Brooklyn, maybe 5 years old, asking my mother about the numbers marked on some of the neighbor ladies’ arms. She didn’t explain too much, just that they were prisoners in the war. As I grew up a bit so did my dawning of the horrors of the world. Blessings today to the Ukrainians. Hope the tanks make a difference very soon. And blessings to all celebrating milestones and events. Life is good! I have a Zoom soon to learn about a retirement community we may move to for our “next chapter”. Then to a church group of ladies who do Spiritual Companioning together monthly. Thanks all for being here! Love this connection! m—

Seabands work for most people IF they are positioned properly. The bump on the inside of the band must be over the acupressure point. Seabands come with directions and a diagram. The acupressure point helps nausea from any cause from motion to chemotherapy to pregnancy. As an EMT in a rural mountain area, we were allowed by our Medical Director to use acupressure to comfort our patients’ nausea while riding in the ambulance, as well as ourselves! Several of our EMTs got nauseated in the ambulance on the twisty roads especially disoriented by not being able to see the horizon. On one of our early cruises my husband said he wasn’t sure he’d feel like eating dinner, starting to be bothered by the motion! I got the Seabands out and on him. About 30 minutes later I asked him, How are you feeling? He said fine, why? 😁 Other observations: —Ginger candy and peppermint candy can really take the edge off mild nausea. —Although midship moves least, towards the aft moves less than towards forward because of the ships’ weight distribution. —The main stage shows end relatively early, earlier than BB King’s which can be starting sets pretty late. —The galley is the worst to be under, they roll carts all night long. Avoid at all costs! —Being near an elevator has never been a problem for us. —If you wind up in a place where you are more stable but are concerned about noise, consider bringing a small white-noise generator. Wishing you the best! m—

Jacqui, we are hoping all works out for our family cruise Feb 25-March 8, Rotterdam RT Ft Lauderdale to Eastern Caribbean. We will be 8! if all flights happen🤞. Family flying in from NY and NC day before departure, and from Idaho overnight (yikes) day of departure. We’ll drive from Maryland over 3 day’s time somewhat leisurely. Excited, this is our biggest group yet! m—

@luvteaching Karen, so good DH is in hospital for the serious help he apparently needs. Now you can breathe, be beside him, and know you are in good hands there and here. Blessings to you both and DH’s Care Team. Hoping they find the best combination! m—

Yesterday’s rain has gone here in Maryland! It was a wild day for us beginning with a fire evacuation alarm in our high-ruse condo building, thankfully nothing serious apparently. We quickly grabbed what we needed for our day and evacuated to a friends townhouse. Then to eye doctor’s for DH’s eye pressure check, more ideas on prep, and paperwork for his March surgery - he has become allergic? to some? of his glaucoma meds resulting in several months of itchy eyes and face. Surgery will put in a stent to help the eye drain, lower the pressure hopefully not need as many meds. Some are available preservative free, some are not. We left there in a downpour to head to downtown DC for chamber music at Kennedy Center, parked at Metro and rode train in and back. Lovely respite! But gone from noon to 11pm, slept in today! The surgery schedule has been complicated by our family cruise in late Feb - Rotterdam will have 8 of us for 11 days. Surgery will be late March! One step at a time is enough…. @kazu sorry for the sideways progress but happy you have good care and are moving forward! Graham - hoping the shots are AMAZING for Sarah (and you and Pauline) @rafinmd keep warm and rest! This cold bug can be tough but you’ll get there! @Copper10-8 Thanks to John, always there for us! Never enough days to celebrate a spouse! Blessings to all, celebrating, searching, healing, hoping. m—

Greetings Dailyites! The chicken dish description is mouthwatering. I’m impressed with the creativity here! Blessings for AMAZING going out to Jacqui - increase in pain says something is wrong! and to@cruising sister… never a good time, hoping it resolves quickly… and to Sarah… and for those traveling… and all in need of hope and a hug! Thanks for the education on lovely and historic Kotor, not been there. Rainy today in my part of Maryland, we’ll take it, so many are dealing with so much weather woes, May relief be close to them. Cheers to all celebrating! Will let you know if the eye doctor has any new suggestions for DH to relieve the itchiness caused by the eye drops, a potential complication with March surgery, one step at a time… Maureen

@Cruising-along congratulations on DH’s last treatment 🔔. I hope he got to ring the bell! That was a big day for us after 39 radiation treatments for prostate cancer. We went to Houston in 2020 to MD Anderson, stayed 15 weeks! COVID started while we were there but they didn’t miss a treatment. What a time of uncertainty. @rafinmd Condolences to the Baltimore Fire Family. I’ve rung the 4 5s too many times😢. Makes me cry even now just thinking about it…. Thank you for the 🙏. Just getting the complex eye surgery and pre-op physical has taken a set of miracles! We’re working around a family cruise on Rotterdam Feb 25-Mar 8, there’ll be 8 of us. Plus 3 day drive here to Ft Lauderdale then back. Pre -op physical has to be within 30 days. Results have to be faxed 7 days or more prior to surgery. The math got complicated. First date for surgery got nixed by the surgeon… scheduler then became inaccessible! But we’re set up now, hoping we can stay well enough through all that’ll be in-between! Amazing we’ve made it this far 🤣!

We made our open dining reservations at the MDR podium or by phone. They will reserve two or maybe three nights out. They do not reserve for times between 5:45 and 7:15, or so. We got a 5:45 but in the books it was 5:30. We were going to Lincoln Center Stage 5:00 performance and their sets were usually 30-45 minutes but we were at the podium about 5:40, worked great. m—

Best upgrade we ever had was when our assignment wasn’t available until we were at the pier. We tracked down the shoreside porter with the assignments clip board to get assignment and luggage tags. It was a nice surprise. Here’s hoping! m—

Good morning all. Love this group! So much to admire! Compassion, edification, nostalgia, humor, food and drink, hopes dreams and challenges. Collectively you’ve got life covered! Thank you for welcoming me! love the snow cartoons, passing them to friends back in my New Mexico mountains. There, the rule of thumb was that we needed a 10 foot winter to avoid an intense fire season, so a foot a week for ten weeks. When we’d get to100 inches I’d stop “holding my breath” and at 120 inches I’d breathe a sigh of relief. I don’t miss it. Maryland winter is kind… Jacqui, you are an inspiration! And managing very well, give yourself a big hug! (compliment… 😉) And hugs and comforts to Carolyn and all of Patricia’s family. Chili Mac works for me, not DH. Not happening here…. Can’t drink red wine anymore. Too many beer cans need to be collected from the roadsides! IMO. Today is groceries day, tomorrow eye appointment for DH, then a treat to go hear Chamber Music at Kennedy Center in DC- one of the reasons we chose to move to this area, Maryland side of DC. (And why we’ll miss Lincoln Center Stage on HAL, love the quartets.) More another day about our eye challenges with DH… grateful for making progress! Surgery scheduled for late March. Miracles getting that scheduled last week! Blessings to all, in needs and celebrations. m—