Vict0riann

Carrot cake is iced and cut into 24 pieces. Two are plated and ready for supper, the rest are separated on a cookie sheet in the freezer for an hour. When they are hard I’ll wrap them for storing in the freezer. Should keep us going for a while. I licked the beaters from the icing.

Carrot cake is out of the oven! Just a small amount of thumb in it... 😉 Now I remember why it was so much easier just to buy it!

Good morning, Dailyites. I'm happy to hear that Sam may have a reprieve, But it's true what Jacqui says, we've had that happen, too. It may be the adrenaline from the vet's visit! We have been to Hilo, but my pictures are similar to those posted, to I thought I would answer @0106. Thanks for your message - I think we have had Michelle before, Pat said she was "unobtrusive"... I'm sorry you don't have Cesare on board, he is a lot of fun. When we had Niko as CM and Cesare as Italian chef on NS, we had an amazing Italian Cellar Master's dinner in Canaletto, I just have to show you my pictures. The desert was to die for! But we started with special drinks and tasty morsels by the Lido pool and then progressed into the Canaletto. Even the Hotel Manager joined us and a jolly time was had by all. I was hoping for something similar next cruise...

Thank you Melanie! I bought the carrots and cream cheese and will make it tomorrow.

Good morning, Dailyites! @Heartgrove, I'm sorry about your well-loved Sam, it's a difficult decision to make, but the kindest thing to do. And @marshhawk, I hope Chuck's surgery went well. Have a good nap. Still some snow on the ground here, but it should melt as the day warms, The hummingbirds are not happy with our weather, and this is the week of our annual flower count! I need to ask a favour - I need a recipe for a carrot cake. No pineapple or raisins, just nuts, and grated carrots please, not whizzed in a blender. I was looking on line and nothing appeals to me. I have been buying a carrot cake (Pat's favourite) from the grocery store for the last few years but they suddenly discontinued it. I used to make one but I can't find the recipe. Thanks in advance! We were in Heraklion, with our DD, in 2016 on a Prinsendam 42-day cruise in the Med. It was a wonderful time.

Quick question - was that Jerk lamb shank spicy? I don't know much about jerk seasoning, but I would like to try it if it's not too spicy hot. (In our house we use caliente and picante - I like caliente but not picante!)

I’m really enjoying your report, especially the food porn…. I agree that that lobster roll in Nami Sushi is the best!

We are Ann and Pat, and have enjoyed Cesare’s spaghetti carbonara on a couple of cruises! He is quite a character. The last time was on the Viking Passage in 2022, before that I think maybe it was on Prinsendam.

We're getting your snow now! Suddenly, everything is coated with white. I'd better bring in my tender hanging fuchsia...

Glad you are having a good time! I have a few questions if you have the time for a bit of research - I noticed spaghetti carbonara on the Lido late snack menu, and I wondered if the Italian chef on board was our friend from Victoria - Cesare? He was on the NS in 2022. Also wondered who the Cellar Master is? If you are busy having fun, don't worry about my requests, fun is much more important, and we'll be on board in a month and will look into it for ourselves...

Bon voyage! Take good care of my ship...😁

Here she comes.

Growly toot from X

That is a large ship!

Made it in time! I'll be waving at @0106 !

Good morning, Dailyites, Bon Voyage @0106! I hope to be here to watch sailaway. I have requested-a-wave for our departure, too, on April 7. It has always worked out very well when I've done it. We visited Arrecife ten years ago, on the Maasdam's Atlantic Adventurer, we loved that cruise! Lanzarote is very interesting and volcanic, I see I took 3 posts to talk about it last time on the Daily. We have to head out for church shortly, so I'll wait until we get back to review. Actually, we only drove through Arrecife, so I enjoyed the pictures of the big city today! That whole cruise seemed to be volcanic, our Cellar Master, Miguel, had fun bringing on interesting wines. I'll say a prayer for you all at church.

Good afternoon, Dailyites! Thanks for the mention, Graham, March certainly came in like a lion yesterday. We had wind, rain, snow pellets, and then sunshine, all in one day. We are threatened with a couple of freezing nights next week, and then I hope winter is done for! March has to get ready to go out like a lamb. I bought radish and scarlet runner seeds today. I know it's too early to even think about the beans, but after I clean up my little vegetable bed, I will plant some radishes and see what happens. My vegetable bed is about 18" by 3 feet, so I definitely have to practice that old "square foot gardening". Pat's favourite lettuce is "Red Sails" and I never seem to find seeds, but occasionally can buy a few plants at the garden centre. I'll be looking for those, too. I usually put them in a big pot on the deck so I can get at them easily from the kitchen. Bon voyage to those preparing to travel - that'll be us in a month! I go to the Navigator every Day to check what's on the menus! I noticed that for the Lido now there is a "Late Night Snack" menu, which I don't remember seeing before (but mainly I check the MDR menu). A Bbelated Happy Birthday, Chief! Sounds like you are having a great time down under.

Yes, order it ahead of time. If we’re going somewhere hot, I like having one in the room . It doesn’t always appear though, I have had to remind the steward on occasion.

Wear pink! One lady in our group was in a pink wetsuit and the dolphins nuzzled her, must have thought she was one of them...

Talking about the pink dolphins, on our Amazon cruise on Prinsendam, we went on a private CC tour to see them, Pat went in the water with them, I stayed on dry land! They were curious. A face only a mother could love!

My DH says it is wiser to walk counter-clockwise because then your heart is on the inside, which would be less stressful. I think that's the way horse races are run - except in Ireland...

Good morning, Dailyites! Thanks for all the news. Reading the "days", my mind immediately went to my father, who had a strange ability to polish whatever was in his pockets, even before I read Graham's explanation. People were always giving Dad bits of jewellery, spoons, coins, etc., to polish for them. I have no idea how he did it - his mother was reputed to be a witch, so perhaps it was another bit of the family magic! I miss him, now I have to get out a polishing cloth... After a small snow flurry yesterday, it has been rain ever since. Reservoir still at 100%, but I imagine it will go down quickly as soon as the rains stop. DD made vegetarian chilli yesterday, but I made chestnut chicken, so that's what we had. She can freeze portions of the chilli for future reference. Prayers for those needing them, and cheers to those celebrating! Just one more day and it will be March - which will be a busy month for us, lots of doctors' appointments and things to do before our cruise. We are both feeling restless. I have to have my Prolia shot in March, but I would like to get in to the dentist before I have it, and he is away at the moment. I will keep trying! We also want to see if we can get a (slightly early) Covid booster before we travel. I have an eye checkup, and Pat has ENT and a couple of other appointments in March. DD is going for a hearing evaluation, as she is still quite deaf after her fall two months ago.

Good morning, Dailyites, we have been busy, Pat had the Epley maneuver done on Friday and had no ill effects from it. Hopefully, that vertigo will not reappear, but he's not going back to exercise until after his ENT appointment on Friday. He had a few nosebleeds after the cautery, but hopefully that's the end of it. Nice to see Annie posting again, I always enjoy her stories and adventures. Those ailing are in my prayers. We are having strange weather. too, a snowstorm yesterday and freezing last night. Pat brought in the hummingbird feeders to keep them from freezing. February is definitely going out like a lion, I don't know what March will do. We haven't been to Phillip Island, but we visited a small island off Western Australia called Penguin Island which also has the fairy/little penguins. You can walk around on raised walkways so as not to disturb the nests, and there is an "arena" where injured or damaged penguins are kept and fed, and become quite tame.

The azaleas are gorgeous! When we lived in Northern Virginia, they grew like weeds. I remember when they used to sell "babies" for 25 cents, and you could plant dozens, and it didn't matter if a few died, because the others would quickly fill in the spaces. Here in the rainy, cool, northwest, I have no luck at all with azaleas, but the rhodies are happy. They think they are in the Himalayas! The trees are starting to bloom here, there are lots of daffodils out, and the early rhododendrons. They're going to have a shock this week when the temps go below 0! Better late than never, DD brought up her amaryllis for me to make bloom, it is supposed to be "Apple Blossom", a very pale pink, but it's orange. Very strange. The one not blooming yet is supposed to be "Red Lion", we'll see soon what it really is...