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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

It doesn't look like it.

This is like watching paint dry!!!

Finally we see her!

Maybe the PP was the only one available today.

Heard she's dropping lines and under way.

Yes, I believe it is. Sadly.

Checking in - I just came in from working in the yard and thought I'd missed sail-away!!

Good morning, thanks for the Fleet Report and Daily! I worked with a woman who suffered from CFS and I wouldn't wish that on anyone. It made her life miserable. Bless all the nurses, in and out of hospitals and medical facilities, for all they do. I love the limerick that Terri made up - good for you! My dream was to have a rewarding career, marry a good man, and have a respectable family - I've been blessed to have had all three. I believe many women in the entertainment field feel they have to choose between their careers and their personal lives. A cloudy sky this morning, with some rain in the forecast, which hopefully will encourage the leaves to start popping out on the trees. Already we can see faint hints of green on bushes around the city, but I think a good rain will just make the leaves open like magic. We have the heat, just need rain - and speaking of rain, we're praying for rain in Alberta, which is under a heat warning right now. Scary time. This morning we have to go out for groceries; we're having our young Ukrainian family over for a casual barbecue tomorrow, so I need to pick up some things. After that, it'll be time to rake the bare spots on the lawn that seem to have suffered from snow mold; I hope the patches will come back, but am already prepared with grass seed just in case. Welcome home @richwmn, I hope you had a great time - I know I certainly enjoyed following your posts. Just a note about the blue bubbles - when I add one, my font size doesn't switch back to the default, it stays at 18. I'm not sure why, maybe it's just my computer, or would it have something to do with the program? I use Chrome; maybe it changes in Firefox or Edge, I don't know. I think I'll take a pass on the drink of the day, it sounds pretty tart with the lemon juice. Just thinking about it makes my salivary glands go into overdrive. I'd like to try the wine if I could find it, and vegan pizza . . . um, no. When our friends were here from out of town, one was on a dairy free, gluten free diet, so I bought some vegan cheese slices. I dubbed it "orange cardboard", because to me that's most what it resembled. It's Friday night pizza night at our house, so we'll check the online menus to see what appeals - right now I'm thinking an all dressed will be on our deck table tonight. And wine. Prayers for everyone who is in need, especially those who are affected by the fires in Alberta. Cheers to all with celebrations. Smooth Sailing! ☺️☺️☺️ Gerry

Thanks so much for taking us along with you; it's been great!

Good morning, thanks for the Fleet Report and Daily! DH and I tend to eat what we want, and it shows! LOL Ever so thankful for technology, especially for the 8 years our son was living in Japan - we were able to stay in touch almost every day. I've never made a book, but have a friend who has made them for her family, just as @StLouisCruisers is doing now. It's partly cloudy and only 8 degrees right now, but we're looking at a high of 22 today, which will be very nice. I'm sure there will be a bit of a breeze to keep those working outside more comfortable. DH is going out to get his hair cut, then we're heading off to various grocery stores to see what they have for hanging baskets. Because it's Mother's Day on Sunday, all the greenhouses (both full time and temporary) will be bursting at the seams with plants. After looking at the dahlias we bought and planted the other day, we both agree, they are less than stellar, so will also be looking for pot stuffers to fill them out. Re: technology - I've gone to 18 font for my posts for I don't know how long. It just seems easier to read, I guess. Sometimes people use different fonts on their iPads which look nice, but are really difficult to read on a PC. And I'm talking about myself - some time ago I used a script font to wish folks Bon Voyage, and was quickly told by one of the cruisers that they couldn't read a "dam thing". 'nuff said, will change fonts. LOL I'm pretty sure I'd like today's wine, will give the drink of the day a hard pass (don't like Bourbon), and know we both would like today's menu suggestion. I think a lazy girls version (which would be mine) would be to put a tablespoon of grated parmesan into each bowl of tomato soup. I'm all about easy when it comes to cooking. For us tonight, though, we'll be having baked salmon with the delicious strawberry relish (I use sugar instead of honey which makes it too sticky for my liking), parmesan potatoes and coleslaw 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! I'll be cleaning most of the rooms in the house today, as there seems to be dust everywhere. Once we open the windows in spring, we regularly get dust on every surface. I salute all small businesses and try to utilize them whenever we can. A big shout out to School Nurses, although here they are a thing of the past. Now the only time they appear is when there are vaccinations due. It's a beautiful, clear day out there again and no wind, yay! We're expecting warm temperatures all week which will mean if we buy more plants, we can (fingers crossed) put them safely in the pots outdoors, rather than hosting them on the dining room table. We've been to the port of Malaga twice - the last time we took a wonderful tapas tour arranged by @kazu which was led by Laura, a wonderful guide. We enjoyed several stops along the way and saw some of the more unusual places that you wouldn't find on your own. Great memories of that trip with some really sweet people. We'll be supporting a small business today, as we're having some guys come to clean out the gutters. DH said he hopes they don't charge too much, but I told him whatever they charge, it isn't going to be as much as a hospital bill if he falls from a ladder. We don't have to pay for hospital stays, but you know what I mean. Time to get going - I'm going to pass on today's menu suggestion, just too much dough in tortellini. I've got a couple of chicken breasts thawing that will be pounded, breaded and baked in the air fryer and will be made into chicken Caesar salads to enjoy on the deck tonight. And wine. Prayers for everyone who is in need, cheers to all with celebrations. Smooth Sailing! ☺️☺️☺️ Gerry

Good afternoon, time for a quick check-in. We stopped at a couple of greenhouses and ended up picking up 4 pots of multi coloured dahlias. I've never had them before, and am hoping they are continuous blooming, or we'll be replacing them. I wanted to share my mom's button box - I'm sure some of you still have one like it around. It was interesting opening it, because in addition to very old buttons, there were earrings, a cuff link, a belt buckle, and even a little ivory handled pen knife. Great memories in that one container.

Good morning, thanks for the Fleet Report and Daily! For years I've maintained that the Single Sock Eater lurks between the washer and dryer and only makes an appearance when we leave the room. I remember sorting buttons in my mom's button box as a child - I still have that ornate round tin box somewhere. A hard pass on the Moscato, although DH likes it. A busy day ahead - have to drop a couple of bags of things off at the Salvation Army store, then across town to DH's son's house where we'll check on things while he's away on a holiday. From there we have to pick up groceries, and we might (who am I kidding, we definitely will) stop at a couple of greenhouses to see what kind of hanging baskets we can find for our yard. @kazu Ivan looks like a new man! He has such an expressive face - does he bark or "talk" to you? @JazzyV I'm sorry to hear your legs are giving you such trouble; I do hope you can get some relief before you have to fly home. @luvteaching a belated Happy Birthday to your DH, and congratulations on the arrival of your second GGD, Ivy Dawn. What a birthday gift!! I just heard on the news that a Saskatchewan Indigenous journalist, Connie Walker, has been awarded a Pulitzer Prize for her podcast about her father surviving residential school. That's wonderful news for our province and for the Indigenous community! Neither of us is a fan of sweet potatoes, although I do enjoy them once in a blue moon as sweet potato fries, but that's it. It's going to be a nice warm day (22C, 71F), so I think we'll have a simple meal of ham sandwiches and potato salad on the deck this evening. And wine. Prayers for everyone who is in need, cheers for all with celebrations. Smooth Sailing! ☺️☺️☺️ Gerry

Good morning, thanks for the Fleet Report and Daily! My mom always had irises planted in our yard; I liked them, but they bloomed for such a short time. I like the idea of rewarding yourself today - I'd better not let DH know, or he'll go out and buy something we really don't need! We've heard from our family in Japan - they made it safely and are already enjoying time with the in-laws. The grandsons have 4 cousins they've never met, so they were getting together; it will be interesting to know how that went with the language difference. Yesterday DS was taking the oldest DGS to the Akihabara district where all things technical can be found - I'm sure the young man's eyes were as big as saucers. Today we're having lunch with a friend we haven't seen in a number of months. Just after we returned from our January cruise, he left to spend several months at his brother's in Mexico. It will be a great time to catch up on each other's lives. Happy Nurse's Week - we know several and know they have difficult jobs. I like today's menu suggestion and will tuck it away for a cool day because instead of having our pulled pork last night, we ate at DH's daughter's. We brought over some herbs we'd bought and spent time on their deck, when she invited us to join them for dinner. She's a great cook, and last night was no exception - we dined on shrimp and scallop linguini in an alfredo pesto sauce. Yum! So tonight it'll be pulled pork sandwiches and coleslaw on the deck. And wine. Prayers for all who are in need, especially for the families of the victims of the senseless gun violence again in Texas. Cheers to everyone with celebrations. Smooth Sailing! ☺️☺️☺️ Gerry

Good morning, thanks for the Fleet Report and Daily! While I'm not into homebrew, I have sipped some - serious firewater! I'm all about tourism and laughter, often together. Another bright sunny day out there, but we've got some wind moving the treetops around - could definitely use rain, as can our friends in neighbouring Alberta who are dealing with wildfires. So many homes and businesses have already been lost and at this point around 25,000 people have had to be evacuated. I can't imagine being given 20 minutes to gather up all you can and leave your home, possibly forever. Praying for rain. We're meeting with friends for breakfast this morning at a restaurant where they have various bands come in to entertain patrons. This morning we'll be listening to "honky tonk" music, so it should be fun catching up with our friends and enjoying the music. @aliaschief how did the 6 year old's birthday swim party go? @cruzn single glad your surgery is over and hope the healing is quick! After breakfast, we'll head over to DH's daughter's, as we purchased a few pots of herbs that she had on her list. She works all week and knows we like to head out to see what's in the various greenhouses, etc., so gave me a list of things to pick up if we saw them. This year she's devoting one large planter to herbs, which I'm sure will be quite nice, as she's a good gardener. I have a brown thumb, so I buy most of my stuff. LOL I think we'd like today's menu suggestion, but I have a pork loin thawing in the fridge that will go into the slow cooker along with a bottle of barbecue sauce. We'll be enjoying pulled pork sandwiches and coleslaw for dinner on the deck tonight. And wine. Prayers for everyone who is in need, especially for the families of the victims in Allen, TX. Cheers to all with celebrations, with extra cheers to @marshhawk who will be embarking on her first BHB today. Smooth Sailing! ☺️☺️☺️ Gerry

Good afternoon, we're back. First of all, thank you for your messages of condolence regarding my cousin; he was a sweet guy, and I know his presence will be missed. Now, on to what happened. DH and I got up, dressed, and stopped at Tim's for a coffee to go this morning. We hit the highway, I started knitting (as I usually do when DH drives), and enjoyed some tunes on the radio for about an hour or so. I started telling DH about some of the memories I had of my cousin, and thought I'd pull out the obituary on my phone. While reading it, I came upon something interesting. Today isn't Saturday, June 3rd. That's the date of the memorial service. LOL So, we turned around, and came home. Now we've got the afternoon completely to ourselves with nothing on the agenda, woo hoo! I hope everyone is having a great Saturday!

Good morning, thanks for the Fleet Report and Daily! I do enjoy beverages - usually starting with flavoured tea in the morning and working my way through the day with others. I've never gotten into scrapbooking, I have enough unfinished projects around without starting another. Yesterday we bought some little rosemary plants that will remain on our deck for the summer, so I was early in the Herb Day celebration. I wish King Charles the best. We'll be off in a short while driving to attend a cousin's funeral in a city about 2 hours from here. He was in his late 80's and in poor health, so it was a blessing. Sad, still, but he's not suffering. We'll attend the service and have been invited to stay for a late lunch with the family, so I won't be enjoying today's menu selection. I'll tuck the idea away though for another time. We'll be coming home by early evening so we'll get a chance to sit on the deck and enjoy listening to the night birds sing. And wine. Prayers for everyone who is in need, cheers to all with celebrations. Smooth Sailing! ☺️☺️☺️ Gerry