All Things EARTH... part 2

[Sailor_Sally]

Wow ! You two really deserve a cruise !

[awhfy]

3 hours ago, Sailor_Sally said:

Wow ! You two really deserve a cruise !

That’s what we said when we were driving home on the snow!  Melody

[laurspag]

Melody, you and Les sure have a lot going on.  Take care of yourselves.

 

I don't know if Les has had the procedure for breaking up kidney stones before, but it is a quick recovery.  Just watch that infection though...it can turn to sepsis very quickly, from my experience.  

 

It is snowing here.  I've been thinking a lot about my March trip to Florida.  It's been a while since I've gone away during cooler weather.  Isn't it wonderful to have things you are looking forward to?

 

While I haven't mentioned my grandson lately, he is doing so good.  He isn't 4 months old yet, but it seems like he is constantly growing and doing new things.  For Christmas, I got him this little activity seat.  I would call it a walker, but it is stationary.  He is starting to play with the toys on it and talks to them.  It is so cute!!  It is so interesting to watch babies, when they are trying to develop that hand eye coordination.  He is a very determined little boy.

[pacruise804]

Prayers for you and Les, Melody.

[awhfy]

14 hours ago, laurspag said:

Melody, you and Les sure have a lot going on.  Take care of yourselves.

 

I don't know if Les has had the procedure for breaking up kidney stones before, but it is a quick recovery.  Just watch that infection though...it can turn to sepsis very quickly, from my experience.  

 

It is snowing here.  I've been thinking a lot about my March trip to Florida.  It's been a while since I've gone away during cooler weather.  Isn't it wonderful to have things you are looking forward to?

 

While I haven't mentioned my grandson lately, he is doing so good.  He isn't 4 months old yet, but it seems like he is constantly growing and doing new things.  For Christmas, I got him this little activity seat.  I would call it a walker, but it is stationary.  He is starting to play with the toys on it and talks to them.  It is so cute!!  It is so interesting to watch babies, when they are trying to develop that hand eye coordination.  He is a very determined little boy.

The stones are too big to be blasted, this’ll be a surgical removal. He already had the infection, Vernon antibiotics since Christmas. He. Too,is looking forward to just sitting on our aft balcony watching the waves!

 

kiddos grow so much & change so much in the first year, enjoy every second!  Melody

[Sailor_Sally]

20 hours ago, laurspag said:

 

 

While I haven't mentioned my grandson lately, he is doing so good.  He isn't 4 months old yet, but it seems like he is constantly growing and doing new things.  For Christmas, I got him this little activity seat.  I would call it a walker, but it is stationary.  He is starting to play with the toys on it and talks to them.  It is so cute!!  It is so interesting to watch babies, when they are trying to develop that hand eye coordination.  He is a very determined little boy.

Enjoy every second with your grandson . They grow up too fast .

[Anita Latte]

I'm ALMOST jealous of all the jumpsuits. That is something that doesn't work at all on this body right now...my top size and bottom size are too different...if one fits well the other is too tight or too loose. But I must admit that the thought of jumpsuits is daunting to me when thinking about bathroom breaks...especially in a public restroom where I wouldn't want any fabric to touch the ground. I like the look though...

 

Less than 3 weeks for me until our Harmony cruise!!!

 

I've been fortunate lately and feel like I've been doing quite a bit of travel...beginning with our first trip to London early last year. Point being, even though I live less than an hour from our embarkation port, I'm still going to be packing with a minimalist view to my travel wardrobe. I haven't yet officially planned what we are going to do in our two ports...San Juan and St Maarten. I'm pretty sure that I was to go to the fort and the historical area in San Juan. I've been to St Maarten before...we had a beach day...and I have heard that St Maarten hasn't recovered too much from all the storm/hurricane damage...so not sure if other thoughts are much of an option.

 

I know we'll be exercising and doing more active things on the ship during the day...so will be bringing activewear and exercise clothes. Maybe even 3 swimsuits...thinking about using the thermal suite...definitely the hot tubs...the possible beach in St Maarten and the definite beach of CocoCay. 

 

We have the Unlimited Dining Package...so I'll have to get onboard and get my reservations made first thing. Not thinking that we will eat every meal in specialty dining though...I don't know that I want my vacation to be that scheduled. I already have show times scheduled...I didn't make any reservations for the Headliner shows...only Grease, the Aqua show, Columbus, and the comedy club on the last night. Again, because I don't want to be too scheduled.

 

Plus...we have a double wide Central Park balcony. The white space (hoping it's not too loud) next to our room (the kind of thing that indicates a storage closet or other crew use area) still has a balcony in front of it...even though there is no window from that area. That balcony is linked with the balcony for our stateroom. They put a table and chairs on one balcony and two pool loungers on the other balcony. With the music that plays in Central Park in the evening, I have thought that it would be lovely to plan to sit and have dinner on our own balcony for at least one evening, if not more. I don't want to pay for room service, but I thought we could easily get the buffet to go and come back to the room to enjoy a more romantic evening. Especially since our cruise is the week of Valentine's Day.

 

DH has said that he is wanting to learn how to do the Latin dancing I like so much. I've learned the basic steps of salsa, cha cha cha, bachata, etc., with Zumba...and I recently was exposed to how to do those steps with a partner...so DH and I are going to do some practicing of the Latin dancing at home...and he's going to dance with me on the cruise. I really hope there is some good Latin music onboard. There should be in Boleros...I think.

 

One thing on my personal agenda before August (possible moving out of our current apt) is to made some significant headway in my sewing project pile. For that, I'm hoping to make at least one if not two things to take on the cruise. A simple dress...maybe a swimsuit coverup...that type of thing. Nothing too difficult. 

 

My home is very quiet after the holidays now. Mom and Dad visited for about a month...DS too...but DS left right after New Years. Mom and Dad stuck around until this past weekend. DS's birthday was this past Friday. 😞 First birthday away from home. We surprised the heck out of him with tickets to see Pearl Jam (Eddie Vedder is one of DS's all time favorites and he claims him as an influence in his music) in Hyde Park this summer about one week after his first college year ends. DH and I would love to go there for that too but are thinking that it probably isn't going to happen. 

 

I've been continuing with my efforts to be more active and progress with strength training. This Friday DH and I are going to go kayaking with the manatees!!! We went to see them at Blue Spring State Park and that was incredible to see. There were a few that were active. We were along the boardwalk observing them...this time, we will actually be kayaking in the river that they will be in!! I'm really looking forward to that. 

[awhfy]

Anita, if it’s allowed bring some heads of lettuce for the manatees,  they love it. When we lived in Cocoa Beach our house was on the Banana River, the kids used to run out & feed heads of lettuce (I’d buy it specifically for that)  to the manatees a couple of times a week. Huge, gentle creatures. I’d love to kayak with them
 

Your Cruise is one week before ours!  Have a ball!  Your cabin with extended balcony sounds just perfect, love the idea of Valentines dinner on the balcony!  We have a concierge balcony on the aft (for 21 days). I’m looking forward to just relaxing with a nice glass of wine & watching the wake. 
 

St Maarten is coming back. Orient Beach is still pretty much a wreck; Maho (with the planes) is pretty much back; Grand Ainse Beach (right off the water taxi) is fine. Many of the shops tho never reopened. 
 

I'm bringing way too much stuff for this cruise because of MardiGras, our group is dressing up & our CC/FB group is actually doing a parade. I’m not getting as wacky as some, just a 78” boa, mask, light up headband & beads. I bought the boss for 6 of us...had no idea how big 78” boas that are green, yellow & purple feathers really are 🙄. We’ve actually decided to bring an extra suitcase & put shoes, snorkel gear, MardiGras stuff in it. I also have MardiGras ducks to pass out/hide...not sure how I got talked into doing those (but they are cute). I’ll grab a picture. Melody

[pacruise804]

Laura, 4 months is such a fun age.  Enjoy every minute!

 

Anita, I'm also a fan of jumpsuits on other people.  I think I'm too short/mis-proportioned (plus the whole bathroom issue 😉 ) - love the look on others though.  Your cruise sounds great - enjoy dancing with DH.  We have an Eastern Caribbean cruise in May that includes St. Maarten and I think that is the port where I saw a Yoda museum - not sure if that would interest you or not.  I enjoyed Pearl Jam a lot "back in the day" - I didn't realize they were still performing, hope your son has a great time.  Last year was the first time DD wasn't with us for her birthday 😞 The kayaking sounds wonderful ❤️ 

 

Melody, sounds like you will have a lot of fun with your cruise too 🙂 

 

 

[Anita Latte]

Melody...my one and only experience of Mardi Gras was not anything that I would dress up for!! LOL. The streets were so dirty...and it was SO COLD. My college roommate and I drove from San Antonio where we were very comfortable wearing shorts and tees to arrive to 40 degree weather in New Orleans. OMG...it was so cold. We froze! I was so fortunate that I had a long pair of pants and a fleece pullover...I wore them every night. We had to clean our shoes every night too...the streets were disgusting. Good times though!

 

Not sure about feeding the manatees. We're headed to a state park and the last state park was pretty emphatic on a don't feed the wildlife rule. There are no single use containers allowed into the park at all. Everything has to be in a "permanent" container. This is fine and I have lunch kit items to use...but the point being that they are cracking down on habits that may negatively affect the spring and wildlife.

 

I forgot to say...Laurie...back when DS was 4 months old...the quintessential 4-month old picture was to put DS on his stomach and wait for him to push himself up on his hands to be able to look around.

 

I finally decided to invest in the waterproof Birks...my flip flops for pool, beach, etc. are too rough to walk in. I need something that doesn't promote grippy toes, etc. I had asked a woman wearing the waterproof Gizeh style on our Mariner cruise and she raved about hers. Said that they lasted 2-3 seasons. I searched around and found a great sale. Happy to find a non-black color:

 

https://www.sunandski.com/p/4064052111916/birkenstock-women-s-gizeh-essentials-sandals-turquoise?vpc=4064052111916-0473800&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI_PeZgvaK5wIVCpyzCh28_gVKEAQYAiABEgJuk_D_BwE

 

I have these in "normal" Birks...and I love them. The cross strap on the foot keeps them in place well...no grippy toes and the sandals don't flop around my feet. Excited to have them for February!

 

Pearl Jam is releasing a new album in March. They haven't ever stopped touring...just stopped touring in the USA. They were fed up with the ticketing system here and the cost of tickets, etc., and so they have only been touring overseas. They did a stadium tour in the US a couple years ago...I think 6-8 shows? But the tickets sold out quickly. I think they have decided to tour in the US again this summer, but would have to look again at the tour schedule.

[laurspag]

It's funny, because I have issues with the fit on jumpsuits too.  One needs alterations, but easy to do stuff.  The design of the jumpsuit makes it easy to just take in the seams for the right fit.  If I had one of those sewing mannequins, I could do it myself but I'm going to bring it to my seamstress because I do not, and trying to pin it in all the right places while wearing it just won't work.

 

The other one was very interesting, in that thee was literally no difference in the bottom from a 6 to a 8.  I think the key here is that it seams like more and more clothing manufacturers are realizing that women wear a C or D cup more often than a B these days.  I am finding that there is more room than there used to be, overall.  With the WHBM jumpsuit that I am referring to, I only need to sew down where it crosses over so it doesn't open.  It seems to fall just right when it is on a hanger, so I am going to pin it from the outside while it is hanging up, then try it on to make sure.  I think I can do this one myself since I am literally just sewing a straight line  The hardest part will be making sure I have the correct thread color.  

 

I get more an d more excited about going to Fort Myers all the time.  It is one and a half months away.  I don't need to bring anything "special" to wear, and I have Red Sox apparel for all sorts of weather.  It's more about short sleeves vs. long sleeves, do I need to bring a hoodie, shorts or cropped jeans, etc.  So really, it's all about seeing what the weather is like closer to the date of the trip.  The second day doesn't involve baseball, but we aren't planning anything fussy.  Currently, we don't even have plans for that day as we don't know yet if my SIL will be in town or not.  We are staying at her place, and if it is just us, we will do exploring.  If she is there, we will see what she recommends and we will definitely take her to dinner to thank her.

 

I told my husband we have to reserve a car...today.  I'm not a procrastinator, for one thing.  Secondly, I was getting all sorts of different pricing when I looked online, telling me that we need to get it squared away for the best possible price.

 

I am also going to get my hotel and airfare situated for the November trip this week.  I don't think my TA is in today, but I often use Air to Sea if the prices and flights are comparable because they will guarantee to get you to your cruise.  November should be fine, but we had snow this year before Thanksgiving so you never know.

 

Anita, one thing I have noticed with concerts is that the tickets are immediately bought up and resold for a small fortune.  I find that very frustrating.  We paid a lot to see Fleetwood Mac, and my daughter and husband were wanting to see Paul McCartney when he was playing at the Dome...SU employees were allowed to purchase tickets (with a limit) early and even then, they were almost all sold out.  It is a really frustrating thing.  I don't hear much but if the setting is right and I adjust my hearing aid as well as review the playset in advance, I can do pretty good.  

[awhfy]

Anita, we’re dressing up for an on board parade.    I’m wearing shoes that I plan to throw away to go downtown. Already heard horror stories (don’t know how to turn off bold!  Sorry) 

 

I wondered about where with the manatees. Too bad, it was a lot of fun feeding them. We had asked the game warden what we could feed them & they said lettuce. Melody

[Anita Latte]

Good call on the shoes...I didn't, but I was wearing my day hikers. They were high top lightweight hiking shoes. It's amazing how much trash can accumulate in the gutters...and with the streets being the way they are...you have to deal with it. If it rains...then the water may back up with all the trash in the gutters. Like I said, we washed our shoes each night! If you are still there for Ash Wednesday though...it's CRAZY what happens at midnight...the police on the horses and the clean up crew...it's almost like a cartoon, the difference between the pre-street cleaners and the post.

[awhfy]

12 hours ago, Anita Latte said:

Good call on the shoes...I didn't, but I was wearing my day hikers. They were high top lightweight hiking shoes. It's amazing how much trash can accumulate in the gutters...and with the streets being the way they are...you have to deal with it. If it rains...then the water may back up with all the trash in the gutters. Like I said, we washed our shoes each night! If you are still there for Ash Wednesday though...it's CRAZY what happens at midnight...the police on the horses and the clean up crew...it's almost like a cartoon, the difference between the pre-street cleaners and the post.

We leave at 10pm on Fat Tuesday. There from Sunday at 6pm

[Anita Latte]

Ah...I guess you might see the difference when you disembark then. Quite the sight. How long is your cruise? Aren't you doing a B2B? Too many travel plans around here...I can't keep it all straight.

 

Laurie...did you ever get my email from back in November/December?

[Sailor_Sally]

Everyone enjoy their cruises ..We hopefully will be able to go somewhere later in the year . In the meantime I get to enjoy your adventures .I was thinking the other day how happy I am to have travelled so much when I was younger .The memories are priceless .

[awhfy]

Anita The MardiGras cruise is 10nights then we stay onboard for 11 more nights for southern Caribbean. 21 nights on board...cannot wait.  I completed what I’m bringing this morning. 3 suitcases & my rolling backpack (carryon, that'll  have the big iPad, meds, jewelry, etc) I’ll have my Kors tote as my personal item ( with my purse inside). The shoe/snorkel, candy, etc bag weighs 30 lb. my clothes bag weighs 30 lbs & Les’s clothes bag weighs 30 lbs. think we’re good. We laughed when we realized they all weighed the same. Easier to push 3 light bags than 2 heavy ones. My backpack will get the wine bottles once we get to FL

[Anita Latte]

Hope you are feeling better Sally. Hope that you will get to travel later this year!

 

Melody...agree with dealing with the lighter weight. Also good to have more leeway in the luggage weight because as gross as it is...dirty clothing weighs more than freshly laundered clothing. You're picking up wine in Louisiana? Or are you somehow traveling to FL?

 

I went through my fabric stash yesterday. I'm determined to get through some projects...so I went through and catalogued all the fabric I have and all the other sewing projects (alterations) that I have. I picked out the fabric and pattern for a dress I hope to take in February. I usually sew things for other people...I don't have much that I have sewed for myself. But I'm excited to get started. I have a dress form...but I haven't really figured out how to use it...but I think I'll give it a go. The dress form will work for me for now...back when I had trimmed down when I was teaching Zumba and we moved to GA, I actually shrank out of the size of this dress form. So I should figure out if I find the tool useful or not...because if it is useful, I would need to get a different size eventually. I do plan to achieve my health and fitness goals... 

 

Anyway...I'm using a batik type fabric that I bought back in GA when Hancock went out of business. I really like the dress style pattern I have and think that I would also make a second dress from a batik fabric Mom bought for me from St Kitts? I'd have to look at the bag. Hoping to have the learning curve on fabric that isn't so "special". LOL. Fabric Kim got in Africa kind of sort of, doesn't really "go" with the Hancock fabric...but there are ties at the waist on this dress and I'm thinking about using some scrap of one of those fabrics to add a special touch to the dress. I like mixing fabrics...

 

Here's the sample dress from the pattern:

 

 

This is the version I'm going to make...but I'm not going to use contrasting fabric on the side panels...just on the ties at the waist:

 

I think I might make the maxi version out of the Caribbean fabric...which has a lot of variation in the color, so using more of the fabric makes more sense to show all the color variation.

 

 

[awhfy]

Anita, we’re cruising out of Ft Lauderdale, going  in two days early on the 19th. Total Wine is behind our hotel 

[Anita Latte]

Gotcha...so a fun diversion in New Orleans before heading to FLL to board a ship that is overnighting two nights in New Orleans and staying on for the next sailing too. Awesome. Should be a good time. Are you celebrating anything in particular?

[Sailor_Sally]

Anita  That dress is so cute . I love it in the maxi length . The short length is nice but I would skip the ties . 

Melody , It is so cold in Florida now. Hopefully it will warm up soon. 

[MJC]

Cute dress. I'm with Sally on skipping the ties, but that is just because I never wear anything belt-like. I do like the idea of contrasting fabric for the ties, though. Or maybe the ties and the front panel.

[Anita Latte]

It is COLD today. It was 30 something when DH left for work thing morning. I haven't updated my weather forecast yet, but Friday was supposed to be a high of 77 so...we should be recovering soon.

 

I normally would skip the ties too...but this dress has a LOT of wearing ease and the video I found with a sew along used the ties. Check it out and tell me if you still think no ties. She tied them loosely just to give some waist definition. The pattern calls for 13" of wearing ease!! She culled it down to about 10". She shows off the dress in the first few seconds/minute of the video.

 

 

[awhfy]

3 hours ago, Anita Latte said:

Gotcha...so a fun diversion in New Orleans before heading to FLL to board a ship that is overnighting two nights in New Orleans and staying on for the next sailing too. Awesome. Should be a good time. Are you celebrating anything in particular?

Actually we’re sailing out of Ft Lauderdale, cruising up the Mississippi to New Orleans, staying for 3 days (using the ship as our hotel) then sailing back down the river to Cozumel & Grand Carmen back to FLL. Staying on board, sailing to Cartagena, Aruba (2 days), Bonaire, Curacao & Grand Cayman.
 

Anita, after watching the video I still vote no ties. , Melody

Edited January 22, 2020 by awhfy

[Sailor_Sally]

I also vote no ties .