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Haleluiah!

Sounds like a smaller craft is in their way - Captain said they're trying to depart.

I hope it isn't too late for toots!

That's what they just said.

Under way momentarily !

That's what I thought, but wasn't sure.

That was certainly a quick trip!

They changed departure time to 1800 hours.

Zuiderdam now departing 1800 hrs.

Checking in - been watching the yacht being loaded; very interesting, indeed!

Good afternoon, time for a quick check-in. @Seasick Sailorthanks for scouting out the Bigelow tea for me; I'm a happy girl now! @luvteachingI only use white sugar in the recipe. @kazuyes, that's the drinking game; I'm pretty good at it now! I can definitely identify with your last meme; how many times has that happened to me over the years!?! @dfish and @Quartzsite Cruiserthanks for granting me admittance to the Messy Bakers Club; I'll wear that badge proudly.

I'm hoping for admission into the exclusive Messy Bakers Club with this application: That's icing sugar on my well-worn moccasin.

Bon Voyage; enjoy the sun, sea, and sand!!!

Good morning, thanks for the Fleet Report and Daily! Sometimes when we cruise with family members, it feels like we're herding cats. I've been known to re-gift, but haven't for a long time. Right now I'm drinking my favourite Bigelow brand I Love Lemon tea; I was disappointed to see that the Oosterdam no longer had a selection of Bigelow teas on our trans-Atlantic. Maybe on the Rotterdam in January? Fingers crossed. It's going to gradually get colder this next week; we're fortunate that we're not going to be directly hit by the major storm system sweeping through the midwest and spreading eastward. I checked the forecast for next week when we'll be driving to Calgary and the high that day is expected to be -26C. We'll be sure to have our emergency winter weather duffle bag packed in the car. Like many of you, I was happy to hear @kazumade it safely to San Diego. I do hope she is able to get some rest now so she can enjoy her cruise. @marshhawkwhat a great idea putting mincemeat on top instead of the butter tart filling! I'm going to try it with my next batch; DH is going to love it, as he really likes mincemeat. @smitty34877sending prayers and good vibes that you will get clearance for your surgery. I'm off to get my hair cut this morning, then we'll head out to get more food for Sochi, as there are only a couple of cans left. DH has mentioned he'd like a burger, so will take a pass on today's menu suggestion and it looks like we'll be stopping by Five Guys for their cheeseburger and fries that we'll enjoy at the kitchen table tonight. And wine. Prayers for all who are are in need, cheers to all celebrations today! Be safe, stay well. Smooth Sailing! 🙂🙂🙂 Gerry

Just heard from @kazu; she’s through U.S. Customs and is waiting for her next flight to San Diego. Yayyy!!

Good afternoon, time for a quick check-in. Hopefully @kazu is well on her way to San Diego by now, escaping Mother Nature's wrath. A busy morning - did some grocery shopping when the flyers first come out before things get picked over or bought out. I finished the Little Logs and made a huge batch of Puppy Chow for DS. @JazzyVhere's my mom's recipe for Butter Tart Slice; it's simple - if it isn't easy, I can't make it, so here you go: 2 cups flour 1 cup sugar (I use 3/4 cup) 1 egg 1 tsp baking powder 1 cup butter/margarine Filling: 2 cups raisins 1/2 cup sugar 2 Tbsps flour 1 cup boiling water a squeeze of lemon juice (fresh or bottled) a few drops of vanilla Combine first 5 ingredients and pat 3/4 of mixture into a greased 9 x 13 pan. Combine filling ingredients except vanilla and cook until thick. Stir in vanilla and pour over base in pan. Top with remaining crumb mixture and bake at 350 until brown, about 30 minutes.

Good morning, thanks for the Fleet Report and Daily! I'm not sure what More Good Today really means - maybe it means spreading good cheer and doing good deeds more than you usually do. We do what we can to conserve energy; all our lights are now LED's, the furnace doesn't get turned way up and goes down at night, etc. Will pass on the roast chestnuts - tried them once and wasn't impressed. Well after our social whirlwind yesterday, today is a stay at home day. Our "almost daughter" Sophia came over last night with her daddy's famous spicy noodles to put in the fridge, so while she was here, I packed up their Christmas gifts along with a big bag of Christmas Crack, Nuts & Bolts, and butter tart slice. Now I have some baking to do, as that was the last of the butter tart slice. @Sharon in AZHappy Anniversary to you & Craig! @kazumany prayers coming your way that you get out of Dodge and into San Diego without any weather issues impeding your progress. @summer slopeI'm sorry to hear your DH is still testing positive; that's not fair! I have lots to do today, getting a bit of baking done, finish wrapping the gifts, then making the grocery list for things to take to Calgary with us next week for Christmas dinner. I think we'd both like today's menu suggestion, but we're planning on having some delicious spicy noodles at the kitchen table tonight. And wine. Prayers for everyone who is in need, cheers to all who have celebrations in their life. Be safe, stay well. Smooth Sailing! 🙂🙂🙂 Gerry

I looked up your town on the weather.gc.ca site; hopefully it applies and you don't get much snow until you're safely on your way. @StLouisCruiserswill keep your DD in my prayers for a successful surgery and easy recovery.

Good morning, thanks for the Fleet Report and Daily! I love cocoa in the winter, but don't make it often; I try to cut the sweetness of it by making a mocha. Thanks for the explanation of Saint Lucia, and we have enough musical instruments in the house without adding in a violin! I like today's quote - I think it applies to a lot of Daily folks. We've often had the wine of the day, as when we're in FLL, we would walk over to CVS and pick up a bottle to bring onboard for sail-away. A busy social day for us - this morning I'm meeting with my retired colleagues for a final time this year; I won't be joining the group in January as we'll be on a BHB. Then a friend is taking us for a later lunch; we helped him start his photography business 46 years ago. After that, another colleague is retiring and there is a come & go wine and appetizers near the dinner hour. Wow, it seems we sit at home by ourselves for ages, but when the invitations come, they are all at once! @Seasick Sailorloved the photos of you, DH, and your cabin - looks great! @kazuI can imagine you scurrying (well, limping) around your house getting things tossed into suitcases so you can get out of Dodge tomorrow. I just checked the forecast and at this time it's only calling for periods of snow with an accumulation of 2cm. Keeping my fingers crossed for you, girl! @grapau27glad you had good results from your medical appointments. I like today's menu suggestion minus the kale, but won't be worried about dinner tonight. Because we'll be attending the come & go for my friend, we are not likely to be hungry, so the kitchen will be dark tonight. Never fear, we'll still have wine. Prayers for all who are in need, cheers to everyone with something to celebrate. Stay safe, be well. Smooth Sailing! 🙂🙂🙂 Gerry

You were lucky you found somewhere only 60 miles from where you live. When we applied for our Nexus cards, the nearest place for an interview that was available was 800 miles round trip and of course included an overnight stay. They didn't have iris scan machines available, so a couple of weeks later we had to go 650 miles round trip in the other direction to get that done. We did that trip in 1 day. Now we've got our cards and don't have to worry, but it was a pain trying to get an interview and iris scan anywhere close to where we are.

Interesting, on our trans-Atlantic from Barcelona in November, there was a special "Seafood Boil" dinner in the Lido on our last night. There wasn't a charge for it, but it was delicious! Huge head on shrimp, crab, sausage, potatoes, corn on the cob, onions, etc., as well as lobster curry with huge pieces of lobster in it were all in the mix and you could go back as often as you wished. Maybe they were just anxious to get rid of all the extra seafood before we arrived in Miami. I'd gladly head to the Lido if they had one on our next cruise.

Good morning, thanks for the Fleet Report and Daily! I leave the gingerbread decorating to the experts - I have no artistic ability. I like Ambrosia Salad in the summer, and because we have a cat, we don't have poinsettias in the house, so I enjoy looking at them in the stores. Today's quote gave me a chuckle; it pretty much applies to a lot of governments around the world. The dining room table is cleared, the wrapping paper is out, I found the "good" tape and scissors, so that means today I wrap gifts. Last year I used gift bags, but this year I'm going to try to use up some of the dozen or more rolls of paper that we've amassed over the years. I'm not the best wrapper, but as long as I've got lots of tape, I'm good. The gifts give the recipients something to do on Christmas morning. . . get through all the tape. LOL Speaking of gift wrapping, I saw something funny online yesterday - it's a new drinking game. Set your favourite libation out on a side table with a shot glass. When you're wrapping your gifts, every time you lose either the scissors or tape, take a drink. LOL @grapau27I'm glad to hear your surgery went well; hoping for a good outcome for you. @kazuI'm keeping my fingers crossed for you weather-wise; when do you expect to fly to San Diego? @seagarsmokergood to hear you're feeling better! @smitty34877how disappointing to know you won't be able to join the rest of your family this Christmas. Maybe you can do as we did during lock-down and have a virtual gathering with a laptop at the table. I think I'd like to try today's meal suggestion, but I know DH doesn't care for squash of any kind, so will leave it for when I see it in a restaurant menu. I told DH I was wrapping gifts (he doesn't like doing it), so he said he'd take care of dinner tonight. My guess is we'll either have a bake it yourself pizza or soup and sandwiches. I'm good with either. And wine. Prayers for everyone who needs them, cheers to all who have celebrations. Be safe, stay well. Smooth Sailing! 🙂🙂🙂 Gerry

That's it for me as well - thanks everyone! See you next week!