ger_77

Good morning, thanks for the Fleet Report and Daily! Sally Ride definitely deserves a day, she was a real pioneer for women in space. I once won a paper airplane contest; not sure I could make one that good now. We don't have any redheads in our family, but my godmother was a bottle redhead and we loved her dearly. We had a great day yesterday, celebrating my Alternate Birthday. We started the morning off with breakfast/brunch at our favourite hotel downtown, then came home so I could get my hair cut at lunch time. After that we went shopping for a couple of hours, and enjoyed a lovely Greek dinner at a restaurant across the city. Here's us at breakfast yesterday: @Denise T your excitement is palpable! I'll be following along on your travels - good thing you're packing your patience, it's the most important travel tool you'll have. @Nickelpenny enjoy your last day at work, and best wishes for a long, healthy, happy retirement! @dfish I'm glad you're feeling somewhat better; let the healing continue. @1ANGELCAT my heart goes out to you today, but how wonderful that Fluff got to feel your love as she left for her trip over the Rainbow Bridge. We've got grey skies and wind today, but the rain over the past couple of days has certainly made everything greener. The leaves on the trees have practically exploded from their buds and the city has suddenly become much more beautiful with all the trees and grass that have come to life again. Not a lot on the plate today except buying groceries; I might go out and deadhead the dahlias (not a fan of them), to promote more blooms. I can see that the papyrus has grown since I potted it, so I think I should take a measurement to chart the growth over the summer. @0106 thanks for going behind the paywall to get the recipe, but I'm going to take a pass on it; DH would not like it, I'm sure. It's Friday night pizza night around here, so while we're getting groceries, I think I'll pick up a bake at home pizza from the deli, so we'll enjoy pizza on the deck tonight. And wine. Prayers for everyone who is in need, cheers to all with celebrations. Smooth Sailing! ☺️☺️☺️ Gerry

Congratulations to Captain Albert; may he have a long, happy, healthy retirement ahead of him!

Good morning, thanks for the Fleet Report and Daily! I can't imagine the gut wrenching feeling of being a parent of a missing child, and there are far too many of them. I brown bagged it most of my work life, and have never seen the Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy, but will honour Towel Day by washing ours. And yes, it is Wine Day!!! We had rain off and on yesterday and throughout the night, and it looks like we may still get more today - that is definitely going to help the farmers; I hope it is also raining in the forest fire areas because they certainly need it. I'm really glad we had the fellow over last week to clean out the gutters, or I'm sure we'd have a real mess on our hands. @Denise T I remember the excitement I had on my last work day before a cruise - it'll either go by really fast, or really slow. @0106 I've heard that vegans won't eat "anything that has a parent." @kazu your flowers are beautiful and your photography is so nice! @dfish I hope you were able to get some rest last night and can go home today. @superoma I'm glad to hear your day went well yesterday; they are never easy. I think I'd like to try today's drink of the day; it looks like adult Kool-Aid! We stopped at the port of Gibraltar on one of our trans-Altantic cruises, and we actually got to walk across the runway, which was really scary! I was supposed to get my hair cut at 9:30 but I just received a text from my stylist who said she has to run to the medi clinic this morning as she may have a UTI. We have rescheduled to lunch, but depending on how she feels we may have to postpone it to another day. Because I have a birthday that falls on a holiday (Christmas Day), DH has given me an alternate date and that's May 25th because there's nothing really happening in our family in May. I'm going to be relieved of cooking dinner tonight, as DH will be taking me out somewhere to celebrate - I've already opened the pretty card he had waiting for me at the computer this morning. So it looks like I'll be taking a pass on the menu suggestion and will choose something for someone else to cook for me at a restaurant table tonight. And wine. Prayers for everyone who is in need, cheers to all with celebrations. Smooth Sailing! ☺️☺️☺️ Gerry Cardboardeaux

Good evening, time for a quick check-in. I just heard from @dfish who said her surgery went well and as she thought, her doctor is keeping her overnight. Great news that it went well, and I’m sure she’s happy it’s over.

Good morning, thanks for the Fleet Report and Daily! I still have the tiara from my high school graduation and wore it to breakfast with colleagues at the beginning of the month. Love, love, love escargot. I have a recipe that a friend created and although I haven't used it in a long time, just start salivating thinking about how delicious it is. Whenever escargot appears on a BHB, we always order it. I have a 1/2 brother in Toronto (we have the same birth mother), but we haven't seen each other in years. Thankfully we still have FB to connect with and stay in touch that way. Several people are being given special thoughts today - @superoma as she lays her dear father to rest today. @dfish undergoing surgery. @57redbird dealing with the news of her brother's terminal illness. Prayers for comfort and peace, and well being for all of them. Happy Birthday Jack @Heartgrove, I hope you have a great day today with many happy returns as well. I'm really late to the party today - for some strange reason I woke up at 3:23 and couldn't get back to sleep. I think I dozed for a little bit, but then we had more lightning and thunder which added to the wakefulness I was experiencing. Strangely, DH didn't hear a thing - he's usually the one who could hear a mouse hiccup in the basement, but he slept through it. I think I'll be needing a nap today. Still thundering outside so we won't be doing any yard work today, but it also means I likely won't have to water the plants, which will be nice. And it's great for the trees, helping wash off the dust and pollen covering all of them. @kazu I think you outdid yourself yesterday with all your plants - too bad Ivan couldn't dig the holes for you. LOL I'd love to try the wine, but I really don't want to sell a kidney, so will take a pass on it. Tequila sunrises are nice, though. I've never been a fan of fried or cooked cabbage, although it's the main ingredient in the borscht I make. A friend of mine used to hollow out a head of cabbage, stuff it with a rice/onion/ground beef mixture, cover it with tomato sauce and bake it. She called it the world's largest cabbage roll. I don't think DH is going to want to stand in the rain to barbecue tonight, so I'll take a look in the freezer - I think there's still a couple of containers of stew that will be thawed and heated for us to enjoy on the deck tonight. And wine. Prayers for everyone who is in need, cheers to all with celebrations. Smooth Sailing! ☺️☺️☺️ Gerry

@57redbird will definitely offer up prayers for your cousin’s peaceful and pain free passing, and for comfort to those who loved him.

Here's DH waiting for me at Villa D with a cold drink as I returned from the stingray excursion at Half Moon Cay.

Good morning, thanks for the Fleet Report and Daily! Although we don't have pennies here any longer, I still see nickels and dimes on the ground. I was taught the following: "See a penny, pick it up, give it to a friend for luck." So whenever I see a coin on the ground, I pick it up and give it to DH who is usually with me - I figure both of us are lucky then. I tend to stay away from taffy, knowing they could release one of my crowns. Besides the Geiko gecko, turtles are the only reptile I don't find abhorrent. I enjoy seeing videos of the babies heading off to sea. @dobiemom I can't imagine heading off to work with so little sleep - good luck today! @Denise T we always let our insurance company know when we're going to be gone over more than 1 prescription cycle so we can be sure to take enough to cover the time away. @StLouisCruisers we were cruising with friends one year and the 4 couples got together and rented Villa D - what a delight seeing your photo of it! @marshhawk welcome back - I'm sorry to hear you were ill and had such poor weather, but it's good that your DH wants to switch over to HAL permanently! @superoma thinking of you and your family with care. @dfishgood luck with your surgery tomorrow. @Cruzin Terri re: your dryer . . . you go girl!!!! We had a hot day yesterday, but it ended with lightning, thunder, and some rain. The thunder went on for over 3 hours, some of it seeming very close. This morning we're still looking at grey brown skies, so there wasn't enough rain to wash all the smoke and ash out of the clouds, because the cool air coming into the house smells like freshly tanned moose hide. About 2 hours north of us there are heavy rain warnings for the day, which could lead to flooding - what a strange place we live in. I think I'd like to try today's menu suggestion another time, but do have a question for @dfish - you often speak of riced cauliflower; how do you make it? Does it still have the strong cauliflower taste? Now that we've got good weather, DH wants to continue using the barbecue, so I've got some sweet Italian sausages thawing that will be grilled and served along with crudites and a bean salad on the deck tonight. And wine. Prayers for everyone who needs them, cheers to all with celebrations. Smooth Sailing! ☺️☺️☺️ Gerry

Good morning, thanks for the Fleet Report and Daily! Please, no more musical instruments in this house - we have more than we need. Yay for National Maritime Day - it might be the day to book another cruise, who knows? Goth certainly has taken a back seat to other fashion trends, at least around here. Happy Victoria Day weekend to all my Canadian friends - if you're traveling, please stay safe. We've got cloudy skies and a gentle rain began about half an hour ago - I don't think it's enough to wash the smoke and ash from the skies, but it will help the trees and lawns a little bit. Once the rain stops, we're expecting a high temp of +31C (87F), so we'll be monitoring the house heat and closing windows as soon as the temperature creeps up. Trying to be environmentally aware, we attempt to regulate the house heat as much as we can, only turning on the A/C when necessary. We had a nice day yesterday, heading out into the country for a meeting with the president of Sumy University in Ukraine. We chatted with him for a good hour before they had to continue on their way. We learned that Sumy is in the NW part of Ukraine, only 30 miles from the Russian border, so they are constantly on high alert for missiles going overhead. I can't imagine it, can you? Not a lot going on here today, so will do some computer clean up and perhaps work on setting up an email list and creating an invitation to our Summerfest barbecue for July. Neither of us is a fan of eggplant, so will take a pass on today's menu suggestion. I'd like the drink of the day, and YAY for an affordable wine! We've still got a few uncooked cobs of corn in the fridge, so we'll have a scaled down version of Saturday night's barbecue, with just a burger each, some coleslaw and corn on the cob out on the deck tonight. And wine. Prayers for everyone who is in need, cheers to all who are celebrating. Smooth Sailing! ☺️☺️☺️ Gerry

Good morning, thanks for the Fleet Report and Daily! Yay for the person who founded the Red Cross. Do post-its count as memos? Bless all those serving in restaurants - so many working for minimum wage and relying on tips to make a living. I'm late to the party today - I slept in until nearly 9AM - something that is unheard of around here! We had a great time with our friends yesterday afternoon and evening, and that may have contributed to my lengthy sleep. We did consume a lot of wine, as I recall. LOL We served grilled burgers, purchased at a small store nearby and found they were better than the ones we'd bought from a larger operation, so went off in search of more to put in the freezer for cook-outs later in the season. While we were there, we ran into other friends, so ended up going for coffee with them, and now the morning is almost gone. The weather is browny grey clouds from the smoke and when you come indoors, you smell like a freshly tanned moccasin. There's a good wind blowing, but it doesn't seem to be doing anything to move the smoke along, so I don't know what's happening. Thanks to all of you for your good wishes for our kids safe return from Japan - they made their flight without any issues, and arrived home by mid-afternoon. The 2 littles didn't sleep a wink on the 9 hour flight, so it was hoped they could keep them awake until a reasonable bedtime last night. I'm not sure what time they all crashed, but DS messaged me to say that at 3:14AM, all 4 of them were wide awake, as it should have been 6:14PM in Japan. I think it's going to take a few days to get their internal clocks straightened out again. Thankfully it's the long weekend, so they don't have to resume their normal activities until Tuesday. @Denise T go to the dollar store and pick up a sleep mask - it will be your best friend, trying to sleep when the sun is up and trying to peek in your windows. We originally had a free day ahead of us, but DH had an email from a university colleague who said later this morning he was picking up the president of a university in Ukraine and would be taking him on a tour of historical sites near Saskatoon - that would include some of the sites on the Riverlands Heritage tour that DH created. Sooo, it appears that we'll be heading out there and will be meeting with the fellow, bringing along some snacks and drinks to enjoy at one of the picnic tables along the tour. I just hope there aren't any ticks. Finally, a wine I don't have to sell a kidney to enjoy; even though it's a white, I'd try it, just for the price! I'd like to try today's menu suggestion, and would definitely go with the first offering, but would cut the Sriracha in half so DH could enjoy it as well. I'm thinking after we have a mid afternoon lunch in the countryside, that this evening we'll have a light dinner of leftovers from last night on the deck. And wine. Prayers to all who are in need, cheers to everyone with celebrations today. Smooth Sailing! ☺️☺️☺️ Gerry

Good morning, thanks for the Fleet Report and Daily! I'd love to be a millionaire - must keep buying those lottery tickets, I guess. It was National Bike To Work day here yesterday - it seems not many people were into it, even though our current mayor has installed bike lanes around the city. We have to protect our endangered species, the list of which keeps growing longer by the day. I'll pass on the drink of the day (bourbon), but think it would be nice subbing in vodka instead. The wine sounds lovely, but until I win that lottery, it won't be served at our place! @superoma again, my condolences to you on your father's passing. My dad, like yours, had all his arrangements in place when he died, leaving us very little to do at a difficult time. Sending you caring thoughts as you go through the process in the coming weeks and months. @Crazy For Cats Bon Voyage; have a wonderful cruise! @Horizon chaser 1957 welcome home - I don't envy you having to deal with tent caterpillars; ugh! We haven't had them for a couple of years, but they do go in cycles, so who knows when they'll show up here next. @kazusending you strength to deal with the bureaucracy involved in settling the estate - I can't begin to imagine your frustration level at this point. Well it seems the crossed fingers, prayers and good thoughts worked, as our family is in the air as we speak. The flight left Tokyo on time, and I started using the Flight Aware app as soon as I got up, tracking their progress. Another 6 hours until they land back in Calgary and they can sleep in their own beds again. The temperature is supposed to get up to a balmy +27 today, but we've woken up to brown cloudy skies from the wildfires in both provinces. The air quality index is very high again, but even with smoke in the air, it will be nice weather for those hitting the camping sites to celebrate the Victoria Day long weekend. Normally our May long weekend is very much like @kazu's meme, ending in snow. I'm not kidding. I really like today's menu suggestion, and think I'll use it the next time we have salmon. Today though, friends are coming over for a late afternoon visit and we've decided to grill some burgers so we can just enjoy their company for a few hours, rather than having to make a great big meal. It's looking like burgers, Caesar salad, and great conversation around the deck table tonight. And wine. Prayers for everyone who is in need, extra for those fighting fires in Saskatchewan and Alberta. Cheers to all with celebrations. Smooth Sailing! ☺️☺️☺️ Gerry

@superoma Oh my gosh, what a horrible shock for you! I am so sorry to hear of your father's passing; may his soul rest in peace. Prayers for you and your family as you deal with your loss.

Good morning, thanks for the Fleet Report and Daily! Boy's and Girl's clubs provide a great service to children in various parts of the city; we support them whenever we can. My mom always planted a garden, even in her last year, and they were always beautiful. I didn't inherit that gene. Not a fan of Nascar - can't figure out how people can spend hours watching cars going around in circles. I know @marshhawk is likely taping it so she can watch it on her return. Sure hope she, DH and BFF are having a good time. I checked the overnight forecast before turning in last night and saw it was only supposed to go down to +4 overnight, but when I got up a short time ago, see that we're at +2. Our yard sits lower down than other areas of the city, so I'm hoping we didn't get frost. It's too late to do anything about it now, but I'm keeping my fingers crossed. We do have bright sunshine and clear skies (no smoke), and it should get back up to +26 again, so maybe we're back on track. It looks like people will have good weather for the Victoria Day weekend. The first thing I did when I got up this morning was check the WestJet site and saw that the pilots and the airline reached an agreement overnight. I'm hoping the flight that will bring the plane to Tokyo today will be a go, which means that our family can board it tomorrow night for their return home to Calgary. Fingers crossed. @dobiemom I hope everything goes well with your eye appointment. @Denise T I can feel your excitement building; I do the same thing with a countdown before every cruise. @kazu I hope you and your workers manage to get most of your yard work done - that's a huge job! @StLouisCruisers I hope your feeling unwell is short lived. I'm pretty sure I'd like the drink of the day, and would really like to try the wine, but again, $$$. I like the menu suggestion and might just make the celery salad to see what it's like. It's Friday night pizza night at our house, so we'll head out and pick up something from our local pizza joint to enjoy on the deck tonight. And wine. Prayers for everyone who is in need, especially for the people of Ukraine. Cheers to all with celebrations. Smooth Sailing! ☺️☺️☺️ Gerry

Good morning, thanks for the Fleet Report and Daily! We've visited many museums over the years but one that truly stands out in my mind is the Museum of Antiquities in Cairo, Egypt. There we were able to see the actual mask of King Tut - something I'll never forget. Neither DH nor I like to see dirty dishes in the sink. Although we have a dishwasher, I have never minded doing dishes - I'd rather clean everything up and put them away than having a mess in the sink. While we won't visit relatives today, we plan on taking a couple of days this summer to head to the south part of the province to do just that. I don't have a problem with today's quote. LOL Well the cold front that brought us the smoke also brought cold - this morning we're sitting at a chilly +4 (39F). I kept checking the weather app last night to see if we had to run out and cover the plants, but finally trusted it after a few hours when it said we would only see a low of +3. There's a stiff breeze which will either blow the smoke away or bring us more, I'm not sure which. All I know is it's cold out and we'll definitely need jackets if we're going anywhere. A little concerned about our family currently in Japan - they're due to fly home on WestJet on Saturday, but beginning tomorrow, the pilots may either be on rotating walkouts or will be locked out. So far our DS hasn't had an email from the airline indicating their flights are unavailable, so we're keeping our fingers crossed that they'll be able to get home as scheduled. It's too cold and windy to even think about doing yard work today, so will likely just stay indoors doing laundry and never ending vacuuming and dusting. When I read today's drink of the day suggestion, I thought it might make a great dessert drink - yum! We'll be having pizza tomorrow, but the idea of making our own flatbread is a good one; our recently widowed friend started making his flatbread during the lockdown and has become quite good at it. Because it's chilly out, I think I'll warm us up a bit by tossing a frozen rotisserie chicken carcass in a pot and will make a pot of chicken soup; that'll also help use up some of the frozen vegetables that are taking up way too much space in the freezer. I'll likely make a batch of 2 hour buns as well, so we'll be enjoying chicken soup and fresh buns at the kitchen table tonight. And wine. Prayers for everyone who is in need, especially for our Daily furry friends who are having issues and vet visits. Cheers to all with celebrations. Smooth Sailing! ☺️☺️☺️ Gerry

Good morning, thanks for the Fleet Report and Daily! I'm married to a pack rat and I'm afraid to say some of it has rubbed off on me. Fortunately though, my collections tend to be fabric, yarn, and things we can use when we travel, all useful, right? I've always had good blood pressure except when in the doctor's office - I always find the arm cuff so tight that it's truly painful. I describe it to my DH just like we were playing "snake" as a child where you twist the skin in opposite directions at the same time. I always take my BP at home and take a photo of it before I have a medical appt so they can see I'm not lying or dying. Telecommunications and Information - wow, where would we be without them? Does anyone remember the original teletype machines? Big beasts with ticker tape coming out of one side and heavy round typewriter keys. My aunt often invited me to their auto glass shop so I could learn to type on it - I'm sure that's where my administrative talents took hold. Well we're in the smoke big time today - like @bennybear - we've got air quality warnings in the extreme range due to the smoke from wildfires in both Alberta and Saskatchewan. Currently there are 30 wildfires in our province alone, but that's much fewer than in Alberta. About 30,000 have been evacuated from various northern locations with more to come. Any outdoor activities, even like groceries will include masking - thank goodness we still have them around. @kazu thanks for the recipe for tick repellent - DH had 3 on him at the acreage, and after he came home, found another one. I'll pick up some essential oils, and give it a try! Not a lot going on today because of the smoke, so will concentrate on finishing a couple of blankets. I discovered the other day that when using an acrylic/viscose blend, my eyes became very dry and itchy; even thought I'm not prone to allergies, I think I'm allergic to it. I have a blanket that's about 2/3 complete, and think I'll try using a mask when finishing it to see if that helps. It seems a shame to take it all apart at this stage. I'd like to try the drink of the day; it sounds like something we would call "Adult Iced Tea". The wine sounds delicious, but is a little on the high side of my budget. Neither of us is a huge fan of gnocchi, so I'll take a pass on today's menu suggestion. I cleaned out the fridge freezer yesterday and found a couple of salmon fillets that will be baked in the toaster oven on the deck and will be served along with corn on the cob and a marinated vegetable salad. In the kitchen (too smokey on the deck). And wine. Prayers for everyone who is in need, cheers to all with celebrations. Smooth Sailing! ☺️☺️☺️ Gerry

Good morning, thanks for the Fleet Report and Daily! Welcome back @richwmn, it's good to have you here again. You left the Daily in good hands with @StLouisCruisers; Sandi did a great job in your absence. I do love trees, as they are essential to our lives on this planet - we should be doing more to plant them everywhere. I mentioned before that we had sea monkeys - they were gross. I've only got a couple of purple items, one of which is a heavy sweater, so that won't work for today; I'll have to see where my purple t-shirt is and wear it for peace today. We've got another beautiful day ahead - clear blue skies, just a hint of a breeze, and hot temperatures predicted for this afternoon. Yesterday we reached our predicted high, and today's going to be even warmer with a temp of 31C (88F) expected by mid afternoon. Definitely happy we installed A/C a few years ago, as the summers are definitely getting hotter, and the heat is coming earlier than before. @aliaschief wishing you and Sue a very Happy Anniversary and many more to come! @smitty34877 I'm happy to hear the new aide is working out well, giving you a reprieve from some of the responsibilities you've shouldered. @Cruzin Terri sorry DH had such a rough time getting settled - I know it's as hard on the "support staff" when that happens. DH and his son are heading out to the son's acreage to check on things and do the first mowing of the year. Thankfully there's a ride on mower there - unless it's been stolen - that I'm sure DH will enjoy doing some of the mowing with. The one thing they have to be on the alert for though, is ticks. I know as soon as they come home, DH will be stripping down and doing a full body check to make sure he hasn't had any little hitch hikers come back with him. I'm pretty sure we'd enjoy today's menu suggestion, but don't have any shrimp in the house. Because it's so warm, I think I'll just make up a small charcuterie board that we can enjoy in the pergola tonight. And wine. Prayers for everyone who is in need, cheers to all with celebrations. Smooth Sailing! ☺️☺️☺️ Gerry

Doing a late evening check-in. @1ANGELCAT, sending good vibes for Fluff and hugs for you.

Good morning, thanks for the Fleet Report and Daily! Chocolate chips go with practically everything! I love fresh oatmeal chocolate chip cookies, although DH prefers them with raisins. Sliders make great appetizers, but it's tough finding the little buns to make them. Special honour to all the fallen police officers - lately there have been way too many of them in the news. Had a great Mother's Day yesterday; breakfast on our deck (DH wanted to take me out, but I knew the restaurants would be crazy busy), then we spent time working in the yard. I potted the papyrus plants and plan on keeping track of their growth this year. Last year the plants started out around 18" tall and grew to nearly 8' by the end of the season. I had a lovely chat with our son and grandsons in Japan, then we drove across town to DH's daughter where she had a beautiful Greek meal prepared for us - ribs, salad, lemon roast potatoes, etc. Of course, the evening there wouldn't have been complete without a few games of LRC played with quarters . . . I won twice, woo hoo! @Cruzin Terrisending prayers for Jim and for his surgeon today. @kazu yay for the winter tires finally coming off . . . that still doesn't explain where the extractor from your vehicle went, though. Hmmm. @aliaschief happy last grandsitting day to you; you've earned that cruise! @StLouisCruisers thanks for taking over for Rich while he was away - you've done a great job. Today is another bright, sunny one, and I think we'll end up turning on the A/C because it's supposed to go near 30C (86F), and although we keep the windows closed, it still gets pretty warm. Sorry to hear @puppycanducruise and @kazuare still having frost; I hope the warmth we're having makes it's way to you soon! Yesterday DH spent a couple of hours putting up solar lights in the pergola, and when they came on last night, we discovered he'd put them up too high, and we can't see them from the deck. Oops. I think I'd try to make the drink of the day into a punch for guests, would LOVE to try today's wine if someone bought it for me, and I know we're going to enjoy today's menu suggestion, as we both love tzatziki, just not today. We've still got a lot of leftovers from our barbecue the other night, so we'll be enjoying burgers, dilled potatoes and crudites on the deck tonight. And wine. Prayers for everyone who is in need, cheers to all with celebrations. Smooth Sailing! ☺️☺️☺️ Gerry

Good morning, thanks for the Fleet Report and Daily! I remember lots of smiles and giggles from everyone doing the chicken dance at weddings. We aren't dog people, but know how wonderful it is to bond with any furry creature. Wish we had Decency Day every day - we do on the Daily, but not so much elsewhere. A beautiful day ahead for us; right now the skies are clear and just a hint of breeze, with a predicted high of +26C (78F). The first thing I did notice this morning is the distinct smell of smoke in the air from the wildfires in Alberta. Prayers going out to all who are affected, and especially to those helping fight the fires. We had a lovely evening yesterday; our young Ukrainian family came over and brought along a friend of the husband, who we met at their home. The 6 of us enjoyed dinner and conversation on the deck for nearly 4 hours. The little girl (Margo) really liked the back yard especially the rocks around the fountain - apparently she loves rocks, so of course DH had to find a couple of special ones for her to take home. She found the garden chimes and rang them so much that it sounded like we were in a church! LOL I just think it's so wonderful that our paths crossed when they did, and that they've chosen to become a part of our lives. Happy Mother's Day to everyone who is in the role of being a mother - that isn't a role exclusive to women, it includes men as well. Mothering is caring for, guiding, and protecting children, and you are to be commended for it. Wishing all mothers, whether to human or furbabies a very Happy Mother's Day. I will give today's drink a pass (Bourbon, ugh), thought the wine would be very expensive, but quite surprised it's in my price range, and would really like today's menu suggestion. I'm going to definitely tuck the recipe away for another time because we've been invited over to DH's daughter's house for dinner tonight. She gave me the choice between barbecue ribs or Greek ribs - I've chosen Greek. I don't know what else will accompany the ribs, but whatever it is, I'm sure it will be delicious, as she's a very good cook. We'll be enjoying dinner and conversation around her dinner table tonight. And wine. Prayers for everyone who is in need, cheers to all with celebrations. Smooth Sailing! ☺️☺️☺️ Gerry

Good morning, thanks for the Fleet Report and Daily! I am grateful for my birth mother having given me up, as I had a life she could not possibly have provided for me. Even though she refused to acknowledge me and my half siblings, we all appreciate that we were given better opportunities than what she could have given us. Go frogs?!? While not a fan of store bought hummus, I do appreciate the hummus a friend of ours makes - he loads it with garlic, and it's delicious! A bright sunny day already and we're looking at a high of +26C (78F). I'll get the fans going on the deck so it isn't super hot late in the afternoon, because that's when our young Ukrainian family will be coming over for a barbecue. Until then there's all the prep work to be done so there's nothing to do but enjoy their visit when they get here. I've got a couple of bottles of rose (no accent, couldn't get it to work) chilling and have some sparkling pear juice for the little girl. I'd like to try today's menu suggestion, but will have to tuck it away for another day. Tonight's menu includes grilled hamburgers, Asian coleslaw, dilled potatoes, cucumbers in vinegar, and assorted crudites, and we'll end with cherry delight for dessert. And wine. Prayers for everyone who is in need, cheers to all with celebrations. Smooth Sailing! ☺️☺️☺️ Gerry

@richwmn great photos; what is the name of the hotel where you're staying?

Well, smooth sailing to all on the trans-Atlantic voyage on the Zuiderdam!

Nope.

Maybe I spoke to soon - now we have sound