Silversea Water Cooler: Welcome! Part Four

[TLCOhio]

Now in our Cape Town Hotel. Went up Table Mountain and back via the cable car. Amazing views. Huge queues! No sleep on either flight so early to bed. Need to be rested to take full advantage of the Spirit tomorrow. Night all.

 

YES!! Glad Mr. and Mrs. TTS arrived in Cape Town and got to go up to the scenic top at Table Mountain. When we were at this site two years ago, the lines were long, but our private guide knew some secret ways to help shorten that process. Look forward tomorrow to hearing much more as to how "our" Spirit is doing since our sailing on the ship in June.

 

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

 

AFRICA?!!?: Lots of interesting, dramatic pictures can be seen from this live/blog at:

www.boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2310337

Now at 36,455 views for this visual sharing including Cape Town, along South Africa’s coast, Mozambique, Victoria Falls/Zambia and Botswana's famed Okavango Delta area.

[Camillus112]

Greetings from a gorgeous day in Barbados! Bad connectivity erased a long post. Was able to post to my Roll Call members. Sorry. On to the Odyssey on Saturday.

[UKCruiseJeff]

Good Evening All, from a cold and wet and windy UK.

 

Cams ... envy you lovely Barbados.

 

TTS, good to see you both arrived safely!

 

It is remarkable that we no longer comment at all about The White House .... I guess nothing now surprises us. How long can this soap-opera continue. :)

 

Just completed my Ocado delivery for tomorrow morning and included cauliflower for a cauliflower cheese I have been commanded to provide.

[jpalbny]

Greetings from a gorgeous day in Barbados! Bad connectivity erased a long post. Was able to post to my Roll Call members. Sorry. On to the Odyssey on Saturday.

The Cooler must know that you're on another line, and it's blocking your posts! ;)

 

Just kidding. Have a great time!

 

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[mysty]

Have a great time Cam!

 

And J...Spins and I did comment on the WH. We were contemplating "the button" and the relative size of the two. It seems more like a penny dreadful!

[MissSophia]

Cam...enjoy your trip.....

 

Great pics TTS....good to see Mrs T enjoying with two shoes on 😉! Have a lovely cruise.

 

😊

[Lois R]

Hi friends, well, today I had that Dr appt with the Urologist.....(this goes back to the Kidney guy).......and I do have a

fairly large stone that needs to be removed:(.........I had a cat scan today and results should be in tomorrow but he

saw the results from that Ultrasound last month. The Cat scan will be more specific. But the Dr said this is surgical

(not outpatient) that is done through my back.......I will be put to sleep and would have to be in the hospital for about

2 days:(..........great way to start the year:mad:...........NOT.

[jpalbny]

Sorry Lois. Hope that it goes smoothly and the recovery is rapid.

 

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[UKCruiseJeff]

Good morning, I received an email from the Tour Company and they have decided to cancel their March Tours

so no Ireland for me............I wonder if this means I am just meant to cruise..........will be looking for a new birthday trip.

 

Hi L, .... no it doesn't at all. You made the decision that you wished to visit Ireland prsumably because that is what you wanted to do. You were even looking at luggage for the trip and discussing what to pack and wear - and your first choice company isn't doing it and that seems to have sent you off in a totally different direction a bit like a gnat! That doesn't mean that Ireland is closed ..... just find another trip and make sure you do what you want to do. Don't be controlled by completely controllable events! :)

 

Hi friends, well, today I had that Dr appt with the Urologist.....(this goes back to the Kidney guy).......and I do have a

fairly large stone that needs to be removed.........I had a cat scan today and results should be in tomorrow but he

saw the results from that Ultrasound last month. The Cat scan will be more specific. But the Dr said this is surgical

(not outpatient) that is done through my back.......I will be put to sleep and would have to be in the hospital for about

2 days..........great way to start the year...........NOT.

 

It's all horrible ..... but the best thing is to plan a rewards for yourself after the op .... something to look forward to. New experiences. Also, it's tough being on your own and facing stuff like this by yourself because you just keep focussing on it so keep posting. To take your mind off your challenges chat to people here about what they are doing and that will take your mind off of things a bit. You really will be fine and much better after the op. :)

[MissSophia]

G'Day All.....

 

So sorry to hear of Lois's problems....it is so hard when alone....agree with Jeff's post...keep looking for your birthday trip which will give you something to look forward to.....really hope this will all soon be behind you.

 

Thankfully at last our storms have abated....it's been a very blustery week!

 

As the weekend beckons l have two lunch dates to look forward to with family and friends....l keep putting the diet on hold!!

 

Just paid for my May cruise so something to look forward to once the house renovation is done....

 

Happy Weekend :)

[mysty]

Greetings Coolers! It is another BRRRRR day here. Temp is –10 F and with the wind it feels like –36 F.

 

Lois.....I agree with Jeff's suggestion not to abandon the Ireland trip. You seemed really taken with the idea. Originally you had a couple of different company options. Maybe consider researching one of the others. Hang in there on the health issue! Optimism tends to have a better outcome than pessimism in my humble opinion. :)

 

Miss S. exciting renovation plans! And lunches out with friends and family! Enjoy!

 

And in case anyone needs a giggle:

 

 

Have a great day all!

[UKCruiseJeff]

Good Afternoon all ....

 

Sophia ... so much excitement to look forward to and you cannot beat a good lunch .

 

M ... that looks cold ... we have a spring like day here and I made her some spit roast Welsh shoulder of lamb with a Rosso gravy and mint sauce with some onion-cauliflower cheese on a baked potato.

 

 

 

 

 

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[mysty]

OOOOOH J! What a treat! Beautiful dish!

[jpalbny]

Yum!

 

Quiet weekend planned. No travel...and we are not working. A rare treat!

 

We do have to take care of a few things around the house, so it won't all be play. We should take down the last Christmas tree, and clean the aquarium. The bathroom remodel is almost done so it's time to move back into the master suite.

 

And we need to get packing for Chris's birthday trip next week. In between that, we do hope to do some relaxing. But we will stay inside, and keep out of the cold. I like watching the snow from the new hot tub in the sun room. It's awesome!

 

A few days ago I made a nice dish with a pork chop, served over arugula and garnished with cherry tomatoes. A nice vinaigrette made it all come together.

 

 

It's a mimic of a dish we first had over 15 years ago at a long-since closed restaurant. They used a veal chop, butterflied and pounded thin. It was the size of a Figlmüller Schnitzel!

 

I still drool when thinking about it. But this isn't a bad substitute.

 

Happy weekend all!

 

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[spinnaker2]

Food looks amazing.

 

Temps here warmer..51F.

 

Sticking with some resolutions. Today the linen closet.

Kidlets will have to take their sheets and blankies.

Or they will be gone.

 

Not giving some choices to kidlets like their camp sheets, or college dorm extra long, or twin sheets, or cot sheets. Good grief, why was I keeping them?

Sent DH off with 14 sets of sheets to bring to donate. All were last ironed by my Mom and I had packed them away. They will need laundering again, but I won't do it. At least they look crisp and pressed.

 

Following the furor in the White House...

[mysty]

Spins...good to know that I have company in terms of things kept well beyond their "best before date". We're still slogging through the basement stuff. No end to it in sight!

 

Following the furor in the WH here as well. I haven't been able to determine if the book has been released.

[UKCruiseJeff]

Lovely food JP. :)

 

I had an odd vision of the White House today.

 

Outside the front door were mums holding their childrens coats and chatting and waiting for their screaming kids to run out of the nursery after a day of play.

 

It is difficult to understand how on earth this all happened when it was all so predictable. Well, I say predictable but who'd have ever thought it could be as bad on a rolling daily basis as it is turning out to be.

[spinnaker2]

Jeff.

Stay tuned.

Lots more to come.

 

Mysty.

I have so many other closets.

I am embarrassed to say I haven't been able to part with my work suits.

I must force myself.

I won't be wearing them again.

And you said the other day kids don't want our silver or crystal or China.

Yep there's that too....

DS said the other day it's a shame having furniture you have to worry about putting a wet drink on.

That says it all.

These are trivialities and I know it.

Time to part with these "things".

[UKCruiseJeff]

Oh, I'm sure there is. Just starting reading the book now ... this really is not good reading unless you enjoy your drink.

[mysty]

Spins...I left work in 1992. My closet was all suits and business separates. I had no comfy clothes. I held on to those pieces of business wear until just a few years ago. I knew when the time was right. Off they went to the Salvation Army. Now my closets are packed with "cruise wear". :) And I do not miss the suits. And I do agree about the "stuff". I value enjoyable experiences over possessions these days. Unfortunately the experiences I enjoy the most probably cost more than the possessions. Still a worth-while trade-off at this point.

[mysty]

By "not good reading" do you mean - not well-written or do you mean "the stuff that causes nightmares" J?

[MLeh]

mysty & spins: I got retired 3 years ago (Jan 1, 2015). My work apparel consisted mainly of Vis-vest, safety boots and hard hat (and it’s still piled up in the corner of the front hall closet). As a woman I loved the instant credibility I got from putting on my PPE and carrying a clipboard.

 

 

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[mysty]

WOW MLeh! What a cool job you had! And I love the instant credibility! Business suits do not give that!

[MissSophia]

How similar we all are! With the imminent arrival of my new dining room suite I've been clearing out...crystal glassware that belonged to my Mum....very good stuff but no longer the current 'trend'...kids not interested so I've stored it as l haven't the heart to part....silverware the same...maybe I'll still give it all the annual outing for Christmas!

Had a word today with an antique dealer as l have a lot of Doulton to move on....no interest at all and told me that the figurines l paid at least £200 each for these days struggle to sell for £30....guess they'll be stored too!

China tea sets and teapots....who uses a teapot nowadays.....maybe it's an 'age ' thing 😉

I'll not go into the clothes hoarding.....yet!

 

😊

[mysty]

I have thought about the suits from time to time and wondered why I kept them for so long. In my case I think it was because I was struggling with losing a part of my identity. I was no longer a data analyst. In social situations people tend to ask you "What do you do?". I had lost my easy answer. I seemed to then become "the wife of". I have come to grips with this and I think that is when I could let the suits go. Just my personal experience. :)