Vict0riann

We came away from the appointment with the surgeon with some good news - the bone scan was all clear, no sign of any spread of the cancer. What a relief! Maureen, I'm happy the eye surgery was a success, and hopefully the a June 19 date will be a go! What was the surgery? My cousin's DH has about 8 different drops he has to use to prevent glaucoma. I've had an iridotomy, are there new things they are doing?

Good morning, Dailyites, Pat will do some errands on his own this morning, pre-op haircut, and hoping to renew his driver's license, he has an appointment for that on the 8th, when he will still be in hospital, and he hasn't been able to change it on the website or by phone. I will tend the garden, no time for meditation, there's lots of dead-heading and cleanup to do. Then, this afternoon, there's an appointment with the urologist to discuss all that's going on. I don't suppose he will have had the results of the bone scan yet, just hoping and praying it will be clear. The visit with the ostomy clinic yesterday wasn't much fun, but I suppose it's better to know ahead of time what the future will hold, and the nurse did say we should be able to travel. Thursday is clear liquids day and that awful purging, scrubbing with medicated sponges, etc., and then Friday I get to drop him off at the hospital at 8:30. I have a splitting headache, I can sympathize with Katherine, although mine is not a migraine. I used to get those, just awful! Mine is just tension, it started in Ireland, and they usually last from 4 to 6 weeks. They build up to a crescendo for about 3 weeks and then start to subside. Very annoying, and bad timing. I hope things improve for Tana, and that Jacqui has a good appointment and suture removal. Also that RMLincoln's DH has an amazing report! And Bon Voyage to Annie. I'm thinking of you all.

Good morning, Dailyites! I have been thinking of you all, especially Jacqui, @kazu, yesterday, and Tana, of course, even when I'm not posting. I do wish I was going to be available to entertain @marshhawk in Victoria, but I think I'm going to have my hands full. We are having multiple appointments daily it seems, with all the tests and meetings before Pat's surgery on Friday. Today we will have a session with the ostomy clinic, and I'm expected to participate. Not looking forward to that... Yesterday was a long time at the hospital with a full-body bone scan, to make sure nothing has spread. It is interesting that in the hospital, a lot of people are not masking, we are, of course, especially because we've been travelling. I'm not fond of tilapia, we ate it a lot in Kenya, and spicy is not for me, either. It does make me happy to see Ivan making himself at home at Jacqui's. Does he think he's a lapdog? We met a very large dog the other day at the Ogden Point while we were waiting for Copper to come off the NA, and we were told he definitely thought he was a lapdog. I have been tracking my missing AirTag, it is in Alesund Norway, today! I have now put it in "lost" mode, so someone on the Rotterdam with an iPhone may discover it and it will tell them who it belongs to... I don't know if I'll ever see it again.

John, we really enjoyed your visit! (Still enjoying it, actually. - doggy bag pasta and fish!😄). Were you the last passengers back on board? I noticed they closed the gate after you passed through….

Thanks, @middlehaitch, I was puzzling all night over a remembered pub beginning with “s”, but never got the whole word - senior moments! Will try them, but I did make a reservation at a place near us, so we can come here first and have plenty of time. PS just looked on line and there’s nothing available until Monday, May 1!

My mini forsythia has outdone itself this year. I’m happy we got back in time to see it.

Oh, and here's the menu from Romeo's:

We are home - have been for a couple of days, but we've been sooo busy with Pat's pre-op checks and tests that my mind has definitely been elsewhere. But we have the day off today, and hope to have a visit with Copper John this evening, if I can just sort out where we should go. The city is so full of people on this beautiful weekend. This is the closest I come to astronaut day... And a bit of Irish humour..

Another good morning, John! It should be a beautiful day in Victoria today, around 20 celsius! Hope you see some orca, and Maria some tulips (by the thousands!) Victoria seems to be choc-a-bloc full this weekend, the m.v. Coho has started up again, ferrying people from Port Angeles, WA., cruise ships abound, and I tried a number of places in town for reservations, with no luck. I think we are better off thinking further afield, I'll attach a menu from a little bistro in our closest shopping centre, the Artisan Bistro, failing that there is Romeo's, or the Penny Farthing Pub in Oak Bay, which I couldn't find a reso for after 5 p.m, but perhaps might have more luck on the phone. I won't offer to cook for you, I've forgotten how after a month away! But we would like to bring you out here to our home and have a drink and then go on to dinner somewhere nearby. How does that suit?

Good evening, John! We decided we should try to get a reservation at the Bard and Banker for a Saturday, but unfortunately there was nothing available. They said there is some space usually available for walk-ins, are you willing to try that, or have you any other thoughts on where you would like to eat in Victoria? There is a pub in Oak Bay, the Penny Farthing, we could try. Its menu is not as extensive as the B and B, or we could call around to see what is available. Was there something particular you wanted to try here?

That's a great map of Ogden Point. (I might steal it!) We usually park up in the area near the heliport, entering at No,3. We would then walk over to the new terminal and look for you there. I'm not sure about on-street parking at the Bard &Banker, but we should be an able to get into the parkade at the Bay Centre across the street. I'll check the timing, but there is also a big lot closer to the Inner Harbour. So we will see you at 6:30 tomorrow.

We could pick you up at the ship after your tours, the Bard and Banker sounds good , or we could go somewhere else - wish our favourite, the Oak Bay Marina, was still open! What time do your tours end? We fell asleep quite early last night, but will practice this evening staying up past 9 o’clock! After all, this is home, right? Really looking forward to seeing both of you.

Love the cat! Hi, John, we are just back from our travels, and just read your thread today - what day are you in Victoria? Is it tomorrow? Sorry I'm so late in "getting onboard", but do you have plans in Victoria, or can we take you out? Is it that awful 6 p.m. until 11, or will you be around for longer? I don't know what we could fit in, I'll have to check times at the Air Museum, which we promised you so long ago, but Butchart's should be looking good.

Fred, I wanted you to see what you ate in the Sel de Mer, and I ate in Plymouth, red gunard ( in the English Market in Cork today)

Hello from Ireland. 😁 I like the sound of all the days, the food and drink. Happy birthday to Annie and Charlene. My father knew a lot more times tables than I ever learned because of pounds, shillings and pence, also guineas, and I’m not sure why, but he was very fond of the 14 times table! Decimalization has made life so much easier… The weather here has been very changeable. One minute the sun is out, the next it is cold and raining. We are back at the very comfortable International Hotel at Cork airport for a couple of nights before we leave. I think Pat has had enough driving on the left, I am a nervous wreck, and the car beeps at him every time he gets close to a bush or anything on the side of these narrow roads. So he’ll return the car this afternoon, walk back across the parking lot to the hotel, and tomorrow we’ll just take the bus into Cork city. We had nice visits with friends and family, now we are ready to go home.

Happy Birthday, Tony, (belatedly)! Looks like everyone is having a good time. We are getting ready to return home in a couple of days. Still no sign of a “special gift”?

Is it still morning? Here it is 4 p.m. the road from Kinsale to Courtmacsherry is called the Wild Atlantic Way now, and boy, was it wild this morning. We went to the Lusitania Museum on the Old Head of Kinsale, and you could hardly stand up against it. I am finding it tiring being the Navigator, and having to say at every turn, “Stay left…”. Pat wanted the porridge for breakfast this morning but it was all gone, and looking at the menu I could see why - it was made with Bailey’s! So he had the “Full Irish” and I had the Kinsale Grilled Kipper. Now he has gone to visit his cousins, and I have had a little nap in our hotel room. The Courtmacsherry Hotel has the last remaining cork tree in County Cork. Thinking of you all, especially those with ailments! Hope the puppy dog works out, Jacqui.

I didn’t eat all the beans!

Thank you , Graham, and you’d be proud of me, the first evening I ate my mushy peas! and today there was black, and white, pudding! (And Clonakilty sausages).

A few pictures from our Rotterdam tour One last look as we drove away Railway bridge monument The park The ship is there, but the sun was in a bad position!

Oops! It seems I left an AirTag behind! I hunted and hunted for my suitcase one and decided I had packed it already. Now that I have internet I did a search to see if all four were with us, and one is still on the Wilhelminakade! Somewhere in room 5050 is my AirTag. Isn’t that funny - something like one of those Cruising Ducks, now there is a Cruising AirTag.

We had a final quick breakfast in the Lido this morning, and made it to our bus for our Rotterdam tour and transfer to Schiphol Airport, where we are now waiting for our flight to Ireland. So it’s all over for us, but I hope there will be some CC members cruising on to let us know what happens next! Will there be that “special gift” that we were told about, or was that just a reference to the 150 tiles? Will the laundry situation improve? Will the festivities continue? Inquiring minds want to know…..

Oh, well, I’ll try again from the airport tomorrow if there’s time. Dinner was very nice. They were trying hard to allow everyone to finish in time to go to the party around the Lido pool. I’m afraid we didn’t stay, as it was SO crowded. I took a few pictures and we left. I thought it might be on the TV, but no luck there either. Maybe someone with a place to sit might be able to tell us about the ceremony. Dinner, scallops and lobster, tomato bisque, tenderloin and the chocolate dessert. Around the Lido pool

IMG_3745.MOV IMG_3745.MOV I have been trying to upload some videos, but it doesn’t seem to be working. Can you see what is above this? Maybe I have to do them one at a time, but it takes ages. Maybe I’ll try tomorrow in Ireland!

Yes, ours is the same