Vict0riann

Good morning, Dailyites - or Good Afternoon, if you are east of us! Jacqui, @kazu, I hope all goes well with surgery, and you are much improved, and pdq. Gotta get you in shape to travel! I approve of all the days today, and of Mother Teresa's saying. We saw her once in Calcutta, at a church service, I'm not sure if she thought we were the parents of one of her novices, but she gave us a big smile. I seem to be posting at the same time as Tony, I see, so I'm sure we have all the same pictures of Rhodes, I can at least get in a few lunch pictures from a different tour. At lunch, we had a beautiful fish. And I can't remember if I showed you this latest picture of our granddog, Oskar.

Here the garlic rule is - pull in August, plant in September, but I will be checking earlier, too. But we are always way behind Ontario.

Good morning, Dailyites! Oh, Annie, @marshhawk, what a time you are having! Stay strong, we're rooting for you. I hope you can find someone to help with your DH. and I think we can all say your boss is a nitpicker! He's lucky to have you, I think you sound like an amazing (and very interesting) person. I love your stories. When we lived in Nairobi in the '70's, we used to rent a house in Mombasa for a couple of weeks when the children were on holidays. We've never been there on a cruise, but there was certainly a lot of shipping around. Every house had a bucket of solvent at the door so you could clean off your feet from all the oil on the beach. Black blobs everywhere in the sand. I wonder if it is still like that. Painting of a street scene in Mombasa, done by my art teacher in Nairobi.

Sorry to hear this. Hope it has been caught early. They do wonderful things these days. I am feeling so well after my lumpectomy, I'm glad that is what I opted fort, although I'm not really looking forward to radiation. Fortunately, the surgeon didn't have to take any lymph nodes, and now, four days later, I was out gardening this morning. Gotta keep up with those weeds! Happy Canada Day!

PS We got a reminder that final payment is coming up for our next cruise - and Club Orange was not listed on the itinerary. I'm a bit concerned about that, as someone else on CC mentioned they had lost their CO, so I'll be checking that out with our PCC.

Good morning, Dailyites, tomorrow is Canada Day, so the newspapers this weekend all seem to have extra puzzles to do, which will keep us busy. I love avocados, and lobster in any form, so today's my day! The drink sounds pretty good, I'd try it. We haven't been to South Korea, and I'm afraid the developing world is not calling to me these days. I was tired and grouchy yesterday, I think I had maybe overdone it the day after the surgery, but I slept well last night and feel good today. Off to church soon, I think I will wear a mask again, then breakfast at the golf club - I'll take the mask off for that. This is early for the first hurricane of the season, hope it is not a taste of things to come! It is a bit overcast here but no rain yet. I'll say prayers this morning for those ailing on CC, especially Tana and Jacqui! Lobster roll in Halifax and the real thing in Newfoundland!

Good morning, Dailyites! I'm not crazy about lightning, either! When we lived in Virginia, near the top of a hill ("Tallwood Terrace") a tree across the road was struck by lightning and it stripped all the branches down one side - we had an even taller tree than the one that was struck, right outside our bedroom window, so we had it cut down. Here, we very seldom get thunder and lightning storms, in the last 30 years maybe 10 times, if that. I had a good night, very comfortable, and I just took some Tylenol this morning, I imagine all the hospital drugs have worn off by now. Pat has an ECG and bloodwork this morning, and then hopefully next week the cardiologist will tell us what is in his future - he is definitely slowing down and much more tired and quickly breathless. DD sent me a couple of funnies.

I'm home, had a lovely 2-hour nap and I'm cooking a Dr. Oetker pizza with mushrooms, to which I have added bacon and artichokes. I'm hungry - very little discomfort and I'm very pleased it's all over. Thanks and you can take me off the list, Vanessa! And thank you to everyone sending out good vibes for me.

Good morning, Dailyites! Oh, wow, thanks for all the good wishes. I’m ready to go to the operating room , but there’s probably an hour to wait still. Surgical daycare is a busy spot - lots of coming and going. Jacqui, I’m sure you are very worried about your foot. I do hope the surgeon can help, and quickly. We need you healthy and happy! we have been to Aarhus, and I might even have some pictures on my phone, but they would look like the ones already posted, I remember we had a nice day there.

We've been through the Panama Canal three times, I think. In 2015, they were working on the new locks. The machinery and dredging were amazing!

Good morning Dailyites! Yes, @Live4cruises, my surgery is tomorrow. Today is prep! Wash sheets, etc., and I will get my hair cut in a little while. My lovely DD aunts always had a hairdo, wore their best makeup and outfits to see the doctor, and when we quizzed them on it, they said "We want to look worth saving!" So, in their honour, I will have a hairdo today, so I look worth saving tomorrow. Pennie, what a terrible thing to have happen. I can't believe you did it yourself with a spray of water, maybe stitches dissolved before they were supposed to? Happy birthday, Carol. 🎂🥂 I do approve of bar codes, but I wonder if QR codes will now get a day of their own. They seem to be the latest thing. I like the Harry Potter books. My mother wrote a memoire of our time in the prison camp, I wish I had asked her more questions about it. We haven't been to Oman, and I think I will cook half a salmon tonight, so there will be leftovers. We had pork chops a few days ago.

Good morning, Dailyites! Every morning, with my second cup of coffee, I read the Daily News and then I line up my port pictures (if I have any) make my list of birthdays, anniversaries, patients, . And by the time I've done all that the day has begun and I never get back to it. Then, the next day, I discard all yesterday's photos and start over! Anyway, I'm here, thinking of you all. Hope Roy had a happy birthday, and that those ailing are improving. Terry, I think of you and Tana and your families so often. And Terri has had one catastrophe after another. Things are going smoothly here. The guests have gone. I have one picture to post of our visit to Butchart's, it was a beautiful day. We decided the tea at the Empress is better than the tea at Butchart's, but it was very nice (and half the price of the Empress). I had my bloodwork and ECG yesterday, doctor's appointment today, haircut on Wednesday (must look worth saving!), and the op is Thursday. I should be home the same day. So quite minor, really. I made a carrot cake yesterday (thank you, Melanie) and froze a couple of meals and DD and DH will look after the rest. Don't I wish this were my garden!

Good morning, Dailyites, I have had time to do a quick read of the threads, but no time to post. The visitors have gone to the flower shop and then to the cemetery to visit Janet's parents, so we are alone for the time being. It has been a busy few days, they are leaving tomorrow for Orcas for a week and then home to California. But I am thinking of you all, prayers for Tana that things improve, also for Jacqui. Lambie, I loved the romantic story about Howard, but 52 is much too soon to go. And Gerry, I laughed too, You paint pictures! When Pat was working in Sri Lanka on water supply the group had to follow a stream to locate a water source; when they got back to the hotel, everyone else was bloody from their waists down - leeches had attached themselves to them, but couldn't pass their belts. The hotel staff were horrified. Pat was the only one who wasn't bloody; I had sprayed all around his pant cuffs, as he is allergic to mosquito bites, and that had deterred the leeches. We are going out to Butchart's this afternoon for tea, and then I figured we wouldn't want to eat much tonight so it will be cold BBQ chicken and a salad. Following Tony's example, I have picked a lot of lettuce, washed it and now, hopefully, it is crisping up in the fridge.

Happy Father's Day, and hope everyone is having a nice day. DD gave Pat a gift card for 5 car washes - mainly, I think, because her car needs a wash.... He'll be a good father and take it in next week, before the California cousins arrive on Wednesday. After hearing the Covid stories here (so sorry, Terri, hope you recover quickly), I have decided I should wear a mask in crowds for the next 11 days! I think there was one other person at church wearing a mask, but I also didn't hear any coughing, so that was good. After church, we usually go to breakfast with my cousin and her hubby, she had a fall last week, and is really, really, banged up. Nothing broken, fortunately (she spent most of the day at the hospital being x-rayed, etc., but her face is cut up and bruised, also her hands. Also 4 people at our exercise class fell, two broke hips, one broke her pelvis and one, the eldest at 91, is okay. Disaster zone here! I love eggplant, so would enjoy the meal, but we are having steaks and vegetable lasagna tonight. I will do the steaks, and not make Pat get the barbecue out. I think he is progressing toward needing that new valve, because he is tiring very quickly since he got back from England, plus it might be just a bit of jet lag. After seeing @sailingdutchy Tony's vegetable garden yesterday, I thought I would post mine - one tomato, 9 beans (my radishes were a failure, too) and a zucchini, plus some parsley. Oh, and my pot of 6 lettuces which are beginning to bolt! We are being threatened with funnel clouds - I wonder if they are tornados in Canadian - and as we drove home from breakfast, we saw this.

Good morning, Dailyites! Pat made it home safely last night, the flight was delayed, of course, so we got to bed after midnight, and he was up at 7, full of energy. My holiday is over! Cleaning lady comes today, so we are busy tidying up for her... Next week our visitors (the California cousins) arrive - I haven't even started thinking about what to feed them, how to entertain them, etc., my mind has been elsewhere. We have invited one set of local cousins to dinner one night, and I think we'll invite the other local cousins to join us at Butchart's for tea. But I am procrastinating. Can't seem to get in gear and get going. Prayers going out for Terri, Terry and Tana, Annie and Chuck (sorry I missed the birthday yesterday, hope the breakfast was good!), Jacqui, and all the others with worries. Definitely peony season here, too.

Just heard from the surgeon’s office. Surgery will be June 27. Pretty speedy, I think!

Good afternoon, I'm just back from the surgeon and hope he will get me in for a lumpectomy soon. The nurse will call in a day or two to organize (I hope). He did give me the option of lump and radiation or a full mastectomy, and I picked lump... He quizzed me on my stamp collection first, I think he was checking to see if I had all my wits about me! Anyway, I must have passed muster. Terry, I'm sorry Tana now has a stomach bug. And Terri, I'm sorry for your woes, too. Be very careful on your way home on Thursday. Pat gets home tomorrow. I think he will be glad it's over. His sister told him her hubby, (whom we love to bits) has been diagnosed with a form of dementia. So sad, but he looks quite cheerful in the pictures Pat has sent of the family gatherings. We have been to Kodiak a few times on the 14-day Alaska cruises. We have taken the shuttle into town and on the last one in '23, Pat got a last-minute spot on a whale-watching tour someone on the roll call had organized. He had a wonderful time, saw many whales bubble-feeding, etc., and came back very happy (but tired). But the town itself is very nice and the little harbour is full of sea lions and sea otters.

Afternoon here! I spent most of the morning being interviewed for the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging, which I have been part of for over 10 years. Boy, am I aging! They want people to wear 2 monitors for a week to measure activity, but I declined. I'm not sure how things will be for the next few weeks. I forgot(!) that part of this in home interview includes memory tests, things like "all the animals you can list in 90 seconds" _ think I ran out after 30. Especially as my mind is elsewhere. Then, after lunch, DD and I went out to ReStore to donate some items, now DD has gone to Home Depot, and I get to put my feet up. We have been to Malta twice, once on Prinsendam (I think we met Tony and Martha on that cruise) and later on Koningsdam (also with T&M) We had DD with us on the first and DSIL and her hubby and also a cousin and her husband on the K. My pictures are many duplicates of Tony's and the others, but I'll add a few. Malta was acknowledged after the war by England and the US. The ferry to Gozo The natural bridge - don't step back (it collapsed after we left) and a bit of Maltese food porn .

Still here, it's Good Morning, Dailyites, although I know for some it's Good Afternoon! Interesting day, I would love the meal - I would eat rice every day. When I was a child in Manila I had ducks (and chickens, birds, fish, a cat and a dog). The ducks were Donald and Daisy of course, and Donald laid the eggs, so I think I misjudged there. Jacqui, I'm sorry you are feeling that the house and garden are getting to be too much for you. But, if you are going to make a move, it's best to do it while you still can! "Downsizing", selling stuff, donating, packing up all the things you have to have, all get harder and harder to do. And as long as Ivan has you, he'll be happy, with a fenced garden or not. He's a lucky boy! It is a big decision, though. How unfortunate that @Cruzin Terri's holiday is turning out to be not relaxing at all! I hope the rest of the vacation improves and there are no more problems. Yesterday I binge-watched Top Chef for most of the day, preparing for the finale on Eurodam on Wednesday. Oskar, the grandpup, was here for a visit a few days before Pat left for England. A real sweetie (both of them!)

Got the email from HAL today. Looks like I don't get Bravo on my TV listings, but it seems to be on the Food Network too., I looked on the 12th and the Top Chef is called "Set Sail" and it says "new", so I hope that's it. Eurodam is our favourite, or maybe a close runner-up to Nieuw Statendam now.

Good morning, Dailyites, and thanks for the daily news. Bon voyage to those about to sail! I, too, thought there should be a "not" in the quote of the day, but you never know... Actually, I had a call yesterday to move my appointment with the surgeon up to next Tuesday, the 11th instead of the 25th, so maybe it does work sometimes.. I would like the gribiche sauce, as I love capers and cornichons, but I really wonder how they would go with hard-boiled eggs as a topping for asparagus. I suppose it would end up something like a pickle relish, only French. DD makes a great egg salad sandwich which includes a pickle relish, so maybe something like that. Pat seems to be having a great time in England, his cousin's 96th birthday party went on for 7 hours yesterday, first they had lunch at DC's favourite restaurant, the French Table, and then continued at his home with cake and presents. I had no idea what to give him, so Pat organized a gift card beforehand at the French Table, and that seemed to go over well. Pat has been trying to send pictures, but evidently the hotel internet is too weak. Beautiful weather here, everything is growing furiously, and I am having to water. The reservoir is down to 93% and I worry about the summer.

Good morning, Dailyites, thanks for all the news. Prayers for Annie and Chuck, @Haljo1935, anbd the others suffering. A little good news here - DD went to the hospital to see the surgeon and check her humerus, he says the bone is healed and just to continue her exercises. She is still uncomfortable, but I guess it's muscles, tendons, etc. so she must keep trying to do things. And I had a call from the nurse to discuss what's going to happen to me. All very encouraging! We have been to Bermuda a few times, twice to King's Wharf, including this Spring with Tony and Martha on Nieuw Statendam. My pictures are like the others, but I do remember a guide telling us once that, because of the shortage of fresh water in Bermuda, every building must maintain a sparkling white roof and have ways to collect any rainwater that falls. Maybe @bennybear is going to have to suggest her city do the same! A few Bermudian (?) roofs - Even the port building Many years ago, Pat bought his blue hat in Hamilton, it has been his signature for a long time, and as he usually races on ahead of me, a lot of times it is his proof of presence! The hat is getting threadbare now after many washings, so we looked for one in the shops this time, but no luck. Maybe we'll have to stop travelling...

@0106, I can't help with the travel to Nyhavn from your dock, but we did enjoy the canal tour the most in Copenhagen, and I think the ticket was part of the HoHo ticket price (you could check on line. There was a stop at the Little Mermaid on the bus, so you might be able to board there and buy your ticket back to closer to the canal ride. We even saw a diving competition off one of the buildings on the canal tour. Eek!

Senior moment! I knew that... 🙄 My cousin's 10-year old Lab has been having urinary incontinence and she had to take him to the vet - who expressed his blocked anal glands, and now things seem to be better. I wonder if Blue has his anal glands; sometimes the vet will remove them when the animal is young.

Good morning, Dailyites, and thanks for the news! Pat leaves this afternoon, so today will be busy, but I just wanted to mention urinary crystals to @Sharon in AZ - as a reason for incontinence in cats - it can be terribly painful for them. I wonder if a new vet might not have checked that? Blue is a cat, right? In dogs it might be that their anal glands need expressing... (TMI?)