purduemom1

OMG, Kat, I see Sundance goes thru the 29th. Pace yourself! I’ve heard that the skiing in the mountains here is the best in years also. No, I don’t ski but my daughter does.

+1😉

Melody, I will be thinking good thoughts on Monday and hoping that your surgery goes well. Also hope the weather doesn’t complicate things for you. On a lighter note, after all the information related to Lois’s tour planning, I too want to go to Turkey and I would also enjoy that foodie tour that Kat is contemplating. I’m looking forward to more details on both as plans come together. Christie, it sucks when a job no longer gives us satisfaction and a good feeling. It does sound like you have good things happening outside of work so that you can concentrate on those. BTW every cruise is something to look forward to and enjoy especially when you are also celebrating a big occasion! Hang in there. Kat, sounds like you have found a way to buffer some of the unpleasantness that is happening for you and other residents. So maybe you can come up with a different cocktail for each day that you are working? Would be interesting to see what you come up with. BTW, that orangecello sounds really yummy. OK so yesterday we received the workbook from our CPA. The tax season has arrived. 😕 OOTD sun is shining but with chilly temps (for CA) I’m wearing sweats and planning to take care of some potted plants that have been neglected during our parade of atmospheric rivers. Sharon

Hello All, lots of travel talk going on here. Lois, your tours sound interesting with a good mix of experiences. Will look forward to your first hand reviews. Kat, I look forward to your planning discussions and details. Almost, but not quite, as interesting as your travel reports😉. A foodie tour would be fun and hopefully yields some interesting recipes. Melody, according to the news, your area got quite a bit of snow. Hope all is ok with you. BTW, while Celebrity cutting back on the dinner options in the buffet isn’t a big deal for us, charging 9.95 for breakfast room service, other than continental, does disappoint me. We always enjoy ordering breakfast especially when it’s warm enough to eat on the balcony. Hope everyone following along here is doing ok and that the weather isn’t causing a lot of problems for anyone. Take care all, Sharon

Hi Lois, that will be quite an adventure. So many new places yo explore. I will look forward to reading about your tours. Hi Janet, I too have heard about the cut backs on Celebrity and it makes me sad. We have always enjoyed our cruises on their ships. Hopefully the reports aren’t entirely accurate. Keep us posted. Wishing you a great cruise. Sharon

Hi Lois, how exciting! Yes, I too wouldn’t want to pass up those tours either. Besides Istanbul, where else does this cruise go?

Hello All, Welcome back, Lois! I followed along and you certainly had a great, very relaxing cruise. Where to next? Gosh, Kat, your “season” so far has had its share of not so great experiences. Certainly can’t do anything about the weather but those kids-that’s another matter! Too bad there isn’t a rule that kids must have parental supervision when on the premises. Still raining here. Apparently one more storm to go later this week. Then we might stay dry for awhile. Lots of damage up and down the state. I’m sorry that these storms head east and are impacting so many in other states. I’ve spent the days working on projects I put aside during the holidays and have.made good progress. Also took care of my annual mammogram and visit to the dermatologist. Can check those off for another year! Take care, Sharon

Hi All, Lois, you are really having a relaxing cruise! Since the ports aren’t new to you, it’s a good opportunity to just enjoy all the ship has to offer. Sherri, I hope you find good fares if you end up going to Minni. You know they have lots of winter activities there. They are a hardy bunch up there. We spent the month of January there during the Polar Vortex and on the days when it got above about 20 degrees it was amazing to see everyone out and about. Gosh, Kat, your commute is kinda scary this time of year. What is the difference in altitude between your home and the condos? Cynthia, that sink hole is awful. Hope those in the car were ok. I guess it does give you a reason to work from home. With all the rain here, we have had mud, rock slides and smaller pot holes here but I haven’t heard of anything like that sink hole happening here in our area. Melody, how are you doing? I think you had some medical issues to deal with. Hope you are doing ok. Christie, I hope you are enjoying your calmer schedule while you plan for your cruise. Melissa, hope you are feeling better each day and enjoying your holiday. We are still dealing with the rain storms-one right after the other. So far, we have been spared the kind of damage that some parts of the state has had. I had to laugh last night when a report on the national news identified a large rock and mud slide as occurring in Ventura when it actually happened in the mountains above us. Had the reporter taken notice of the sheriff’s car also in the picture, they would have known it wasn’t Ventura. Unfortunately it cut off the route that many need to take to reach the valley. Take care all. Sharon

Kat, good news about your car. Always a relief when an otherwise expensive repair is covered by the manufacturer. You can rest easy now that everything has been taken care of especially with the winter driving that you do. Melissa, congratulations on completing your treatments. Wishing you good results on the 19th. I will keep you in my thoughts. Even though your weather isn’t the best right now, relaxing at the lake is still a good thing. Lots of rain happening in CA. Badly needed but it comes with consequences when we get so much all at once. Mud and rock slides and flooding. The ground is so saturated that the winds cause trees to fall over. It looks like we can expect one storm after another. Still working on taking down Christmas decorations. No, it isn’t because I put out a lot but rather I’ve just been a bit lazy about it all. Also have worked on reorganizing things hoping it will be easier next time. That remains to be seen. Take care all. Sharon

Happy belated New Year wishes to all. I finally caught up with all of the posts. Melody, good news about the ulcer and hoping all the tests come with good results. Kat, that was certainly a white knuckle drive for you! I was relieved that you made it successfully. Pork and sauerkraut sounds interesting. Recipe? Cynthia, your NYE dinner sounds delicious. A fun way to end ‘22 and begin ‘23! I did not know that about Hoppin’ John. Lois, I think I missed the chance to wish you Bon voyage. Hoping you might stop by and let us know how it’s going. PurpleHays, that was quite an exhausting Nov, Dec. Good that it’s behind you and that you have your big birthday cruise to anticipate. Our hospitals are so full that there are SOS announcements on TV asking everyone to do all possible to stay well. We have 3 large hospitals and it isn’t enough. To add to it all, the only hospital in the county north of us has closed and filed for bankruptcy. Not getting enough $ to cover costs for Medicaid patients. All that county’s hospital needs will now fall to our hospitals. Not a good situation at all. Sherri, sounds like you made good trip plans breaking ir up with an over night stop. Of course you now have that lovely new kitchen to enjoy. That is unless you have a cruise coming up. To all the other posters, hope the new year will be a good one for everyone. Yes, absolutely, let’s keep this thread going. I agree, it seems like we are all friends even though we have not met. It was a busy several days for us. NYE. morning friends came for brunch and brought a bottle peach Bellini from Wilsoncreek winery. That is the winery that hosted our AMA Danube cruise. They are located in Temecula. We love their almond champagne and now the peach Bellini will be another favorite. NYE night we had dinner with our neighbors. It was raining pretty hard and we had some items to bring so we ended driving across the street. Several jokes during the evening about limiting alcohol since we were driving! On Monday we took our DS’s cat up to Sacramento so she could go home with them on Tues. It had rained so hard that a section of 99 was under water and closed. That meant that we had to cut over to I 5. Saw some flooded farms along the way. However, the closures and flood warnings meant no traffic to deal with and a quick drive. Interesting that the GPS said it would be a 4 hour 38 min drive which actually took only 2.5 hrs. Sac was hit pretty hard with rain and wind on NYE.. 2 homes on our DIL’s parents street had trees fall on their roofs. The damage was really bad. Fortunately no damage to our host’s home. We delivered the cat, all 4 grandparents took our granddaughter to the park, had lunch, said our good buys and we started for home. Again, no traffic and an easy drive. Kids flew home yesterday to a huge snow storm in Minneapolis. Pretty bad there today too. DS doesn’t fly until tomorrow so hoping conditions improve by then. Forgot to ask him if this trip involves layovers in warmer places. While on our way home on Monday, DS called to say he had checked air fares for our next trip to MSP. Fares were down so we booked outbound using our Delta employee (son) travel benefits discount. However, return flight will be on Alaska as their schedule was better than Delta’s. Cost was really good. I booked it. The next day the fare we got had increased by $120. per person. Thanking my lucky stars that I booked when I did. Christmas decorations are still up and lots to catch up on but little by little it will get done. Predictions for today and tomorrow are for heavy rain and wind up and down the state. Unfortunately, this state has not set up good infrastructure that will allow the rain to be diverted for storage and instead we will deal with flooding. We should be ok where we live bit unfortunately that won’t be the case elsewhere. OOTD since I will be staying home, sweats top and bottom! Take care all, to those in the path of storms, stay safe. Sharon PS Hope my typing or auto correct hasn’t taken over and changed any of this post🤞

Following along! Bon Voyage, happy 51st and happy new year!

Melody, I’m sorry you have those issues to deal with. Hoping for good results for you. Lois, nice itinerary! Good way to start the new year. I think that your “ resolve” to search out new activities could be counted as a resolution of sorts. I’ve heard of Newcomers as there was a group here but not currently. Janet, I didn’t realize that Newcomers was for everyone even if they are not new to the community. Sounds like a lot of fun. Kat, your vacation account is growing nicely. Sorry that guest unloaded on you. Cynthia, good luck with your 2023 goals. I am still thinking about mine.2022 was a busy year for you-downsizing and moving could easily be a goal for me…..I just have no idea where I’d move to and DH has no desire to sell and move. OK so maybe my goal should be changing his mind? You know, I think of Debbie from time to time. She was a frequent poster until she developed medical issues. I do wonder how she is doing ok. I also hope that Melissa is doing well. Sharon

Hello All, Melody, great family pictures! Glad your family was there to celebrate with you. The situation with SW is just unreal. Our DIL’s sister was supposed to fly from San Diego to Sacramento, on SW, was at the gate waiting with other pax on the 24 th when the flight was cancelled because SW couldn’t locate the flight crew-had lost track of them. Never heard of such a thing. She ended up missing Christmas with her family as did so many others. Don’t think I will ever book with them. Nice chunk of change, Kat, the hamster wheel is turning isn’t it? Lois, your next cruise will be here really soon. I bet you are in planning mode. Cynthia, I hope your travels were/are uneventful but your family visit a good one. Hoping all who traveled, like Sherri, are doing ok. We had a really nice Christmas especially since we were all together for the first time in 4 years. After breakfast on Christmas morning we drove half way to Sacramento to meet up with DIL’s mom so she, DS and GD could spend the rest of their trip with DIL’s family. Their cat is still with us but we will take her to Sac next week so she can fly home with them. Our zoo put on an amazing light show every night during the season. Beautiful lit lantern type displays. They really upped their game this year. We did as many Christmas activities as we could fit in and also took GD to our children’s park so she could run off some of her boundless energy. Did this more than once! DS and DIL made Beef Wellington for Christmas Eve. They used a recipe from Gordon Ramsay. Watched the video multiple times. It was delicious! DIL made Baklava for DD birthday, her request, waaay too much temptation happening over here! Since 2023 is fast approaching, I’m wondering if any of you have made NY resolutions. As for me, I always have good intentions but then….. Take care all, Sharon

Hi Everyone, just wanted to stop by and wish all who celebrate a very Merry a Christmas. I hope all are safe and that the weather is not causing problems for anyone. It has been a great but very busy week here. Weather has been in the 40’s_50’s and very foggy. Take care all, enjoy this season of holidays and I will catch up soon. Sharon

Hi Everyone, Finally, all the Christmas prep is done and we are ready for the kids to arrive on Monday. Will grocery shop tomorrow and then rest up so I can keep up with our GD and all the activities her parents have planned. Lois, good on you for finding that helpful insurance agent. It is a big relief when you get everything arranged. You can go on your cruise and not worry about which plan to choose, Kat, love those shoe laces. They really jazz up a pair of shoes! Your drive to and from work sounds like a white knuckle experience. Good to know that you have the option to stay over if things are really bad. So sad about the girl who died. I feel so bad for her family. Cynthia, you mentioned recently buying a new laptop and I wonder if you were as confused as I was by the ports and the required cables and adapters. I ended up calling Apple and the rep walked me thru’ what I need to purchase. I bought an iMac which comes with a wireless keyboard and mouse. Apple doesn’t include the cable needed to charge them! Fortunately it is the same cable that my iPhone and iPad uses but otherwise it would be an additional cost. I did have to buy a USB3 to USB adapter. Honestly, I’m still confused! I hope zMelody and Sherri are enjoying their cruises. Fog started rolling in around 4pm. It’s going to be a bad night for those on the road. Take care all and stay well, seems like there are nightly reports about all the viruses circulation now:( Sharon

Hello All, Melody, I really miss the Costco in-store photo department too. Nice to order prints on line and then pick up in an hour or so. No shipping charges when ordering from them Most of all, much easier to get help if needed. Lois, I”m glad that you have found an agent to help you with Medicare coverage. That should make your decision much easier. Cynthia, Disney trips with family are the best! I grew up in Anaheim and I recall many visits with extended family. Of course back then Disneyland was a one day experience, not like now. I will most likely continue to use my laptop too. I am noticing that the track pad is “difficult” at times. My new computer is an iMac. I rarely take the laptop anywhere because I have an iPad so decided to go for the larger screen this time. Kat, I feel your tree lighting pain. We decided to buy a new tree this year rather than deal with a half lit tree. It’s smaller than the old one but much easier to set up. Hope your light stringing goes well. I can just hear that hamster wheel whirling around….faster and faster! I’ve not yet visited Iceland but it would be an interesting experience. So many choices-should be fun for you to research and plan. Had planned to decorate and wrap last week but it never happened so today we decorated our new tree and a smaller tree that is just for the ornaments our kids made when they were growing up. Also put out other decorations although I now keep it to a minimum. Even doing that, it took most of the day. Wrapping is next (I hope) as we have several gifts that will be given/ delivered before Christmas. OOTD. Since we ran some errands early this morning, I did put on make up but wore comfy clothes. Take care, Sharon

OMG! Already on page 17 and you just sailed today. I am really behind but will follow along as I really enjoy your reviews. Wishing both of you a fantastic adventure.

OMG, I am sooo behind! First of all, I want to echo Kat’s and Cynthia’s comments about being grateful for all of you and all the good and not so good times we have shared. As bad as the pandemic has been and apparently continues to be, I don’t think that we would have this cyber connection if it weren’t for the pandemic. Happy Anniversary and Congratulations to Melody and Les on 50 years well done! May you enjoy many, many more happy years. Also want to wish you Bon Voyage and may your upcoming cruise be a wonderful celebration of this special anniversary. Sherri, hope you are enjoying your cruise, it is nice that you don’t have to fly. I’m glad you had a nice time with your GS and this cruise is a great way to relax before the busy holidays. Kat, good luck now that you have begun this year’s work. I hope you are soon joined by other employees. Having to go handle it all with just one other person sounds daunting. Hoping that Kat and Cynthia find the perfect cruise at a great price. Lois, you have a cruise planned for early next year don’t you. Melissa, wishing you well with your next chemo. You have a really positive attitude! Planning your European adventure is a great diversion. Funny how news of Trader Joe:s products has spread to another continent, I do most of my shopping there and at Whole aFoods. I joke that if we move, there has to be a Trader Joe’s or I’m not going! Well actually, it’s isn’t a joke-I mean it. PH, I hope your days will soon settle down so you can enjoy the holidays. Lois, we have our supplement and part D thru AARP/United Health. We have had good experiences so far. Good luck figuring out which plan will work best for you. So nice to hear about all the Thanksgiving Day events (meals). DD felt better by Thanksgiving so we went to her place after all. She had purchased that Trader Joe’s brined, cooked turkey breast, their heat and eat cornbread stuffing, cauliflower casserole and pie.. We took a green salad and Trader Joe’s fresh cranberry sauce. I was amazed at how good everything was, especially the turkey. Every bit as good as the meals I have spent hours preparing in years passed. It was a warm, sunny day and we ate on her front patio. Even did a multi-way FaceTime call with ny sister, brother, DS DIL and GD, it was a really nice afternoon. We goy home just in timetime to start some Black Friday damage! First of all, I bought a new computer. My 10 year old MacBook Pro is still working but showing its age. Also bought a one time Microsoft Office license. No year,y renewal required. Both were on sale so saved some $. However, I think I spent that savings, and more, on several other BF and Cyber Monday deals. Some Christmas gifts and some “me” gifts. Ended up having to make a list so I can be sure everything arrives! I feel pretty good about progress with gift purchases. One big project that I worked on for the last several weeks was a photo album for our GD telling her the story of her first Disneyland visit which was last May. She loved it all but won’t remember it so now she will have her own story book .I used Costco which meant that I had to figure out just how their photo book process works. Directions are sadly lacking, very confusing and live help was actually worse. However, after several trials and many mistakes, I figured out how to get the results I wanted. I have used Costco for these books in the past but since the last time I made one, Costco’s photo service has apparently decided that it would be easier if their program just populated the book for you. Not what I intended. Finally figured out how to stop that from happening and then chose my layouts page by page. After I got all the pictures into the book (38 pages and 58 pictures) I then went back and wrote the story page. by page, added backgrounds to the pages and proofed it several times. Sent it off last night and just hoping that it turns out as I am visualizing it. I ordered a second book for us We have such good memories if that trip. Also ordered our Christmas cards from Costco. Thank goodness that was far easier. They are on their way and should be here soon. It rained, yes I said rain, all day Thursday, and today with some possibly tomorrow. I plan to decorate tomorrow and, if I have time left, wrap gifts that need to be delivered before Christmas. Probably over planning here🙄. Take care all, Sharon

Hello Everyone, well once again I’m waaay behind so may not remember all the comments I’d like to include. Here goes but not in any particular order. Sherri, I know you will really enjoy your beautiful, new kitchen. I also noticed that you have a really pretty view from your balcony. I know you will have fun with your grandson even if you need a long nap after he leaves. Melody, it’s good that your foot surgery will happen after you return from your family cruise. I think you will be leaving in a few weeks? Lois, it must be a big relief that the drug company is going to work with you so your drug cost will be reasonable. You mentioned AARP, did you decide on one of their drug plans? Well, the shingles vaccinations are now behind you. Good that you didn’t have a really bad reaction and that you now feel better. Kat, sounds like you could benefit from some good meds for that cough. Hope it isn’t anything serious. So much going around these days. DD came home from a short cruise followed by a 3 day work conference and is now sick. Tested negative for Covid but apparently others that she cruised with now have it. She said she will test again in a few days. Looks like we won’t be celebrating Thanksgiving with her. Take care and recover soon, Kat. BTW, I must have missed the eggnog yogurt comments last year and I also have not noticed the yogurt at TJ’s but I’m going to look for it. I too like to mix granola with yogurt. Cynthia, sounds like a few days off are just what you need. Eggnog bread sounds interesting. I may have to look into a recipe for that. Something different to serve or gift. Thanks for the link to Olio 2 Go. I liked that you can search for items by region. DS was in Boston today and explored the Italian neighborhood. His comment was that it is probably the most Italian neighborhood that he has been in outside of Italy. Melissa, your cruise and land trip is really something special to look forward to-a nice reward for completing your treatments. Enjoy the planning. There is a lot of trip planning going on with all of you. I hope everyone finds just what you are looking for. As for me, I’ve just been plowing thru all kids of things that I kept putting off and I’m making progress. Also trying to work on “Christmas” and can see some headway with that too. Wishing all a very happy Thanksgiving. Sharon

How cute those boots are! Have fun with them, Kat. Sherri, good to hear that your condo is ok. Fingers crossed that your kitchen is finished on time. Lois, hope your condo is ok. I know you are not on the beach but hope the wind didn’t cause you any damage. I have watched waaaay too much election reporting. Cynthia, I get your point. Just hope the final results are worth waiting for. AZ and NV also pending and could be for several days. There is one assembly race in the county where my sister lives that is also a cliffhanger. So I’m watching that too. Oh wait, maybe I need to just stop watching ALL of it🙀 Our rain is over for now. Lots of snow in the mountains. One ski resort opening this weekend. Really early for them. We decided to take a drive and stopped in Mariposa which is not far from Yosemite Saw a few patches of snow on the side of the highway but that’s it. Found a really nice shop as we entered Mariposa.Did a bit of damage there-Christmas that is.Other than that, we just wandered around. Weather was sunny and in the 50’s. I looked at TJ’s latest flyer and saw so many yummy things. So, if as you mentioned, Kat, all are available, it will be a OMG moment at the register. Although it might not be so bad if, after I check the nutrition labels, I pass on some things. Sharon

Hello All, well looks like I’m once again late to the party! Sounds like Lois and Sherri really enjoyed their cruises. Looks like both are in Nicole’s path. Seems late in the season for a tropical storm. Hope both of you stay safe. Melissa, good to hear that you are now on the downward slope with your treatment. Kinda crazy that you mentioned summer while all of us are heading into winter. On a cruise a few years ago, a couple from Australia had the cabin next to us. While we were out on our balconies we chatted about Christmas during the summer vs during the winter…interesting. So yesterday (and today) we got a fair amount of rain and snow in the mountains -yay! However, while Kat’s tires were being installed, we were calling AAA to jump start our car’s battery so we could purchase a new one and yes it was raining! Cynthia, I’ve never seen voting sticker like those. We dropped our ballots in one of our county’s drop boxes so no stickers for us. Hoping that Nicole passes you by. Melody, here’s hoping that you and DH won’t need to use that silicone treated shovel all that often this winter. BTW, Sherri, how is the kitchen coming along? Watching election coverage as I type this. Coverage can really get intense depending on which station I watch. OOTD or rather night, comfy and warm sweats.

Minestrone and Focaccia sounds like a real possibility😋

Welcome home, Cynthia. Good to hear you had a wonderful trip. I’m sorry about the unwanted “souvenir” and I wish you a speedy recovery. Sharon

Oops, just turned in CNN thinking I’d watch a Stanley rerun and it’s the new episode! Well, I don’t have anything remotely Italian prepared unless I can count the grilled veggies that I marinated in olive oil. Yes, I’ll go with that!

Sherri, glad you enjoyed the Illumination cruise. parliament is so beautiful lit up. Good to hear that you, DH and luggage arrived as planned. Happy cruising with good weather. Lois, I hope you are enjoying Quebec and also having good weather. Melody, that red dress looks so nice on you-good find for sure! The jackets will change the look so almost like taking 2 outfits. Kat, SNOW ! I guess it’s happening other places too. Last weeK DS sent a picture of snow taken from their balcony and today it was 75 there. As for us,we are finally in the 70’s and I hope temps won’t go beyond that until next spring. What’s on your menu tonight for dinner with Stanley? Since new episodes start here at 9, we will have finished eating. Yes, I know, we ate about that time when we were in Italy but that’s only because when Italy we did as the Italians do…… Talked to BIL who has the condo on the bay in Naples. He said that had the water risen just 2 inches higher, his first floor and all his new furniture would have been ruined. He considers himself very fortunate that he had no damage. They are planning on waiting until January to go and stay. Hoping that much of the damage to Naples will be cleaned up. Wishing all a good week ahead. Sharon