*OFFICIAL* CC Group Cruise 02/15/2014 Cupid's IV Southern Caribbean - Carnival Breeze

[momofzeke]

We went to town yesterday, and learned that several ranchers we know have lost cattle to this awful fire. They went up to their forest permit (where the fire is burning) and gathered the cattle as soon as the fire started, but I know from experience that you don't find all the cattle right away. They are good at hiding in brush and thick trees and if they stand very still, you might ride right past them and not realize they are there. Now, the ranchers are not allowed back up there so they've cut the fences to let the cows that are still up there come out. But, sadly, the ones that are making it out are not in good shape and they are having to put them down. If I had to shoot my own cows, I would be in a mental institution. I feel just awful for these ranchers that we know well.

 

More people were evacuated yesterday, but so far our friends that are out there pretty close to the fire are fine. Containment is not expected until sometime next week. First they were saying Tuesday the 21st, but now they are saying Thursday the 23rd.

 

The fire is now over 31,000 acres and there are over 1200 firefighters on it. Our fairgrounds is a tent city with firefighters everywhere.

[Flick]

We have been blessed with a lot of rain (water standing everywhere) so our drought conditions of the Spring are long gone. We usually have a lot of wildfires in the area but this year very few. They seem to be more in the center of the state South of where Cathy lives. Of course with all this water now comes the mosquitoes!!! As Roseann Roseanna Danna would say "if it isn't one thing, it's another!"

Edited August 14, 2012 by Flick

[Cruisin Dave]

Rick, don't worry too much about the skeeters. I'd be on the lookout for the Burmese pythons. Saw on the news that a 17'7" one caught in Florida this were. Now that is a snake.

Dave

[Roe95695]

HAPPY TUESDAY!!!

 

Sue- sorry the fires are so bad for you all. I feel for all your friends - what a terrible time. We have had some smoke in the basin from them, so far today isn't too bad. I know we could use some rain it would help.

 

Cathy - I too use splenda prefer it to any other sweetner.

[HeidiHo]

sue - I'm so sorry about the fire. I hope they get it under control soon.

 

We got lucky and had a good rain yesterday. We still need more but we got a nice steady rain all day yesterday that gave us somewhere between a 1/2" - 3/4". I won't go so far as to say our drought is over but at least we've gotten some relief.

 

Not much else is going on here. Have a good day.

[Cathy p]

8 hours down, a zillon more to go!:(

Renee, glad to see that you get to sleep a bit now.

Rick, Splenda is the only thing that I use. I think it taste better than sugar.

 

Did you get that huge storm this afternoon. Wam bam thunder and lightning which put on a show and 1/2 plus bunches of rain. It has stopped now and back to hot and humid.

Sue, I am so sorry for the loss of those rancher's cows. How sad that is. I glad that yours are safe so far and hopefully it won't get near you. Was it started by lightning or human error?

Dave, I would have died if I saw that snake and tho think it had 83 eggs in it.:eek:

 

Robin, yea another Splenda user. Do you make anything sweet with it? I would love a cupcake.

Well I guess I will get ready for dinner. Early to bed tonight as I have to be at work at 7 until 5. Chat later.

[Cathy p]

Good morning, Breeze buddies!

Ugh 7-5 today, oh well the sooner I do it the better I will feel.

Dave, it woke you from happy hour, how did that happen?lol

 

Rick, my daughter was about 7 and we all went to Maine including my mom and dad for my high school reunion. My ex hubby's grandparents lived in the sticks with an old house with a pot belly stove, outhouse and stream to keep things cold...I guess you get the idea. Well my mother was deathly affraid of snakes and Tina comes up with a little green one and says I have a present for you. Well my mom is all smiles and she takes it from behind her back....my mother went to jump up and instead fell back in the chair on her head. She always wore a dress so that went over the head. I never laughed so hard in my life.

Off to work!

[Flick]

'Nuff already with these ----- stories! I woke up in the middle of the night last night screaming..had dreamt that there was a (you know what) in the living room. 'Tis a real phobia and very disturbing to me. Give me baby tigers any time!

Edited August 15, 2012 by Flick

[HeidiHo]

'Nuff already with these ----- stories! I woke up in the middle of the night last night screaming..had dreamt that there was a (you know what) in the living room. 'Tis a real phobia and very disturbing to me. Give me baby tigers any time!

 

Sorry Rick. Guess you don't want to hear any of Sue's stories. she's got some good ones.

 

Last night was insane at the OG. The Endless Pasta Bowl started and we had a a lot of large parties that came in. I will also be glad when Ramadan ends this weekend. No offense to anyone out there who is observing Ramadan but I'm tired of people thinking they should get bumped up on the wait list because they have been fasting all day and are hungry. I get it but I still can't bump people up on the wait list. I will gladly get them some bread sticks to munch on at sun down. We had one large group a couple of weeks ago that came in and I told them it would be "approximately" 30 minutes for a table. This was at 7:45. So then they asked if they could pre-order their food and have it sitting on the table at exactly 8:15 (Sun down that day was about 8:20). Well, that's all fine and dandy but what if the table is not yet ready at 8:15? What are we going to do with all that food then? The 30 minute wait time I quoted was an ESTIMATE. I understand that they are hungry but so is everyone else in the restaurant and if we gave them special treatment and bumped them up on the wait list our other guests would get really mad. Besides, everyone always has a story as to why we should give them priority. I've heard them all. "I have children," "my mother is 90 years old," "my father is diabetic," and so on and so on. We will bend over backwards to make the waiting a little easier but we can't give priorities. Have someone elderly with you and there's no place to sit? We'll bring a chair. Have hungry, cranky kids with you? We'll bring them bread sticks and coloring books. Have a diabetic who needs food ASAP? Tell us what they need and we'll get it. JUST DON'T ASK TO BE BUMPED UP ON THE FREAKIN' LIST!!!!! OK, rant over.

 

Off to work again. :rolleyes: Have a good day.

Edited August 15, 2012 by HeidiHo

[HeidiHo]

And no offense you those of you who are diabetic. WeDO understand and if people let us know what they need we'll get it for them, we just can't bump people up om the wait list. You should see how angry people get when they "think" we have done that. We don't do reservations but we do "call aheads." Many people don't know that so they see people come in after them but get seated before them. That's usually because they did a "call ahead" and were already on the wait list. They also get mad when say, they are a party of 6 and they see parties of 2 to 4 come in after them and get seated before them. I'd really like to see them try and squeeze 6 people into a 2 top. I once had a larger group go storming out of the restaurant just furious because whe had been seating smaller parties who came in after them. OK, I'm ranting again. Rant over. LOL

[momofzeke]

Sorry Rick. Guess you don't want to hear any of Sue's stories. she's got some good ones.

 

Ha ha ha ha!! Yes, I sure do, Rick would probably not like them though. I live in snake country for sure. We are used to seeing rattle snakes and lots of other kinds of snakes out here. The only ones that bother me are the rattlers, which are poisonous..the others are not. Rick, I'll spare you the details of all my various "snake stories". :p I do remember, Heidi, when Eric's snake went missing. :eek:

 

Heidi, I think it would be a tough job to be a hostess at a restaurant, and especially one as busy as the OG! People can be so dang clueless! They only think of themselves.

 

Cat ~ I am a Splenda fan also. I use the half-splenda-half-sugar baking blend all the time when I bake. I guess you probably couldn't use that because of the sugar, though.

 

The fire is now 50,000 acres, but thank goodness it hasn't burned any structures. They thought a cabin had burned, but turns out it actually did not. Flames are now being seen on the ridge just above our friend's place, though. It's still pretty far away, but I think it would be so scary to look behind my house and see flames!! They are at a Level 2 evacuation now, up from Level 1 earlier.

 

This fire was caused by lightning, Cat.

[Flick]

Heidi; as one of the diabetics here I took absolutely no offense. You learn to make the necessary allowances for "feeding trough" times go so you are not in an emergency situation and those that don't will get no sympathy from me!

Sue, I love your stories but please skip the ------ ones. THANK YOU, THANK YOU VERY MUCH.

[PoofyTheCat]

Hi Breeze Buddies!

 

Looks like we cannot wait the 550+ days for this cruise, so I think we need to book a cruise to get away from the Chicago winter in January. Got the permission from the bosses. Thank you bosses for approving!

 

We were looking at the Breeze in January, but the price jumped big time, so that is out of the question.

 

Valor is now the choice. Anyone interested in joining us? End of January, boring Western typical itinerary, but the price is right. We're not port people, so it doesn't matter where we travel, as long as it is WARM IN JANUARY!!!

 

Been working crazy hours this week and last week, so sorry I have not kept up with the thread. This was to be my "summer break before the storm (when school starts again)" but that is not the case.

 

Have a great rest of the week Breeze Buddies!

[PoofyTheCat]

Hi Breeze Buddies!

 

Looks like we cannot wait the 550+ days for this cruise, so I think we need to book a cruise to get away from the Chicago winter in January. Got the permission from the bosses. Thank you bosses for approving!

 

We were looking at the Breeze in January, but the price jumped big time, so that is out of the question.

 

Valor is now the choice. Anyone interested in joining us? End of January, boring Western typical itinerary, but the price is right. We're not port people, so it doesn't matter where we travel, as long as it is WARM IN JANUARY!!!

 

Been working crazy hours this week and last week, so sorry I have not kept up with the thread. This was to be my "summer break before the storm (when school starts again)" but that is not the case.

 

Have a great rest of the week Breeze Buddies!

[Cathy p]

Good morning, Breeze buddies!

Nope did not bother this Diabetic. I am sorry I would never put myself in a postion to be desperate. I may not take insulin but I am very careful to eat right.

Rick, I am with you baby tigers for sure on that one.

Sue, maybe everyone needs to get together and do a rain dance, it can't hurt. Sorry did not mean to make light of it, I just saw an indian movie the other day where they were doing that. Thought about that at 7:14 am. Geez stupid thoughts.

 

Mimi, I am lucky I will get to squeeze that Feb cruise in 2014 as it is the busy season with renters coming in from Jan to May and ordering the paper.

 

Well time to motivate, will chat later.

 

Oh Char where are you, still that going here and there. I am missing you!!!!!:(

[momofzeke]

Morning!

 

Mimi ~ we cruised on the Valor several years ago, but on an Eastern Carib. itinerary out of Miami. I think you'll love her...great ship! 'Course, I have to admit, I've loved every one of the 5 ships we've sailed on...all Carnival. :cool:

 

Cat ~ yes, where's our girl Char? She is one of our frequent posters so I miss hearing from her.

 

Well, this cockamamie fire is now up to 85,000 acres and not expected to be contained until at least next Saturday, the 25th. They keep pushing the containment date farther out. The good news is that it has not burned any homes that I know of, although last night it was getting close. They have wrapped one families "cabin" in a protective silver fire proof wrapping and the fire was within 100 feet of it yesterday. I've seen pics of this "cabin" and it's more of a house...2 stories and really nice.

 

Cat, yes, please do your rain dance!! We could use some, although I would prefer not to have any on Sunday when we brand again.

 

I'll start preparing my branding food tomorrow. Round 2 will be pretty much the same with a few tweaks. Burgers, chips and branding beans (there would be mutiny if I didn't have those dang beans!) are the same. This time I'll do mac salad rather than tater salad. And the cake is going to be the Dump Cake that Renee talked about and another similar one where you mix pie filling in with the cake mix. I'm using yellow cake mix and raspberry pie filling. I hope they are good, cause I've never made them! My branding crew will have to be guiney pigs! ;)

[Cruisin Dave]

Good morning Cupids,

Sorry Mimi, we have already booked a cruise for the end of February on the Navigator of the Seas. Sails from NOLA. We are planning on staying in the Big Easy for a few days after the cruise.

Sue, sending prayers your way. All these fires are starting to p**s me off. We had them last year and they are starting up again this year. Thank goodness we are expecting some rain this weekend.

Cat, I agree about missing Char. We have cruised with her and Jim 3 times and they are really great people. Fun to be with and real nice.

Hope everyone has a great day.

Later,

Dave

[PoofyTheCat]

Hi Breeze Buddies!

 

Just thought I would pop in to say hello. I got an iPad and installed tapatalk so hopefully I will post more. Working a lot which I am very happy about.

 

Cheers!

[HeidiHo]

Good Evening!

 

We might consider a cruise this winter but we'll have to wait and see if we go to Vietnam. I know my sister is was considering a cruise in February and wanted us to go with them but she hasn't said anything about it lately and they are going to Europe in October so maybe they have changed their minds about it.

 

Char - Where are you?

 

We're finally getting an estimate on the new furnace and A/C tomorrow. I know Dave doesn't want to spend the money but it's something we have no choice on.

 

Have a good night. :)

[Cathy p]

Good morning, Breeze buddies!

A quick hi and I mean quick as I have 1 minute before I leave.

So hi and have a good day!

[Flick]

Kay and I decided to have a backpack drive this summer so we wouldn't have to spend too much of our precious food money on replacements. We are planning on 150 kids this school year. Yesterday we counted the backpacks already received and we have 200!!! The little kids in grade 1-3 tend to drag the bags along the ground so the bottoms wear out fast as a result so we are thrilled to get so many bags with more coming yet. PLUS we have received cash donations for bags of $300.00 that we haven't used so we are in fine shape.......We also have been receiving some food donations so our family room is crammed to the hilt with backpacks and food. We have to store the food here for the summer (only that food that is wrapped in paper, foil, etc.) for fear that critters could get at it at our storage facility. Anything in cans can be stored elsewhere.

[momofzeke]

Hi gang!

 

No new news on our fire yet this morning. Last night, a friend that lives out there near it posted that the flames had reached the valley floor (instead of the hillside woods behind the valley). That is where the homes are...I am very worried.

 

Mimi ~ an ipad, how fun!! Ok, I've seen this "tapatalk" talked about...what the heck is that? I know it's some kind of app, but what does it do?

 

No cruise for us this year. I have to catch my breath from all the traveling of the last few years...between cruises, Hawaii, and my Oregon Duck BCS Bowl games (3 years in a row....$$$$$$), we need some time to save up and get ready to cruise in 2014!

 

I'm getting cabin fever from being trapped in the house to avoid all the smoke. :( I was doing so well with my daily walking routine for an hour each day...haven't been able to since the fire started. I have a treadmill and workout DVD's, but have a hard time making myself do those. Stupid fire. :(

 

Man, this has been the year of WEDDINGS! We have had 6 so far...didn't make it to all of them. And I just got another wedding invitation yesterday for a family friend. Crazy!

 

Have a great day, everyone!

[Cruisin Dave]

Good morning Cupids,

Mimi, I love my iPad and I have Tapatalk, too. I have an iPad 2. Brought it with me on the cruise.

Rick, have fun with all the kids.

Heidi, I know what Dave is going through. We had to replace our entire system a couple years ago. Now I'm glad I did.

Sue, hope you get some rain soon. That will help slow the fire down and contain it.

Cat, don't work too hard.

Dave

[Flick]

I don't know if I have shared this with you before but here goes......

 

I have been in many places, but I've never been in Cahoots. Apparently, you can't go alone. You have to be in Cahoots with someone. I've also never been in Cognito. I hear no one recognizes you there. I have, however, been in Sane. They don't have an airport; you have to be driven there. I have made several trips there, thanks to my friends and family. I would like to go to Conclusions, but you have to jump, and I'm not too much on physical activity anymore. I have never been in Doubt. That is a sad place to go, and I try not to visit there. I've been in Flexible, but only when it was very important to stand firm. Sometimes I'm in Capable, and I go there more often as I'm getting older. One of my favorite places to be is in Suspense! It really gets the adrenalin flowing and pumps up the old heart! At my age I need all the stimuli I can get!

[Cathy p]

:eek:Good morning, Breeze buddies and HAPPY SATURDAY!!!!

4 hours to go before 2 1/2 days off. Yea!!!!! Not to mention it is beer day at the American Legion.

Rick, I loved your little story. It was so funny! I also love to hear about what you and Kay are doing for those school children.

Sue, still trying to blow out those fires for you, however, even with my windedness (is that a work?) I guess it is not working. God Bless all those people and you with that smoke.

Dave, don't worry today I surely will not work hard.lol

 

Heidi, no other cruise this year, however, I am looking in 2013. My DGD graduates with honors next May and she always wanted to go on a cruise so looking for a good price on one. Of course it would be in the summer where the rates are :eek::eek:. Then she is off to college.

Well shall look around a bit!

Char, come back I really do miss you!!!!