PRINCESS CRUISERS: HOW ARE THINGS WHERE YOU ARE?!

[PurpleHays]

On 11/25/2020 at 10:47 AM, voljeep said:

well, first off, we are all healthy, have plenty of food and beverages stockpiled along with masks ( wife makes them )

 

 

Does your wife make the shaped or pleated masks? I make both and like them for different reasons. Also; does she make them able to hold a metal strip to shape to the nose? If so, how does she do that? I'm using a 6" bias strip attached at the top to the inner layer and was just wondering if there was an easier way.

[Papa Yoda]

2 hours ago, PurpleHays said:

Does your wife make the shaped or pleated masks? I make both and like them for different reasons. Also; does she make them able to hold a metal strip to shape to the nose? If so, how does she do that? I'm using a 6" bias strip attached at the top to the inner layer and was just wondering if there was an easier way.

 

Pipe cleaners work well ... but Amazon has the metal strips

[Thrak]

We are probably being "bad Covid people". Our middle son, his wife, and our second youngest grandchild all came to dinner on Sunday. Our daughter (youngest child), her husband, and our youngest grandchild also came to dinner. The two little girls - 2 and 3 - totally freaked out about having another kid to play with and got along wonderfully. It was really GREAT to see them playing together so well. (They don't really know each other as they don't live near to each other and then the whole quarantine thing has totally kept them apart. We had turkey with all the trimmings as well as Pumpkin and also Walnut pie. (Walnut pie is the same as Pecan pie but using walnuts. I have made this pie for Thanksgiving for something like 40 years or so. It's freaking AWESOME!)

 

Today (Thanksgiving) our older son came for dinner. Our daughter, her husband, and youngest grandchild also came (again). Once again, we had turkey with all the trimmings as well as Pumpkin pie and a freaking awesome deep-dish Apple pie. This holiday has likely not been good for my waistline... 

 

We would have loved to have everybody on the same day but, unfortunately, our sons had a huge falling out a few years ago. They will likely never even try to get along again. Obviously this totally sucks from a parental point of view. (Never enter into major financial transactions with a family member!!!)

 

As difficult as the "family situation" has made things, we had two wonderful "Thanksgiving" celebrations. Both were awesome and, on the first occasion, we got to see the youngest grandkids playing together wonderfully. (I specify them as the "youngest" because they are 2 and 3 years old. The others are 18, 20, and 24.) There was one early meltdown from one of the girls but, when we figured out what it was about, she had though her "new friend" had gone away. (She was actually just on a bathroom break.) It actually made us all feel better when we all realized why she was upset. It's been soooooooooooooooooooooooo damn long since either of them has been able to play with another kid. They were starved for "kid time". Damn, I really hate this virus and the quarantine stuff.

 

Although we did have two Thanksgiving gatherings and therefore "broke protocol" we are still soooooo very happy to have done so.  We have all been so careful - our oldest son hasn't been anywhere since early March - and we are reasonably sure we didn't cause a problem. We also had a large "family Zoom call" around 6:00 PM. Family members (actually all on my wife's side - but that's another story) with their kids and such. Probably around 15 or so folks. It was so very good to see their faces. (Some of them are awesome and always make me smile and totally lift my spirits. They are freaking awesome!)

 

I hope others here had a great day no matter what they did and no matter where they live. Today was a US holiday but people everywhere need to have a great day as often as possible. We have met some of the nicest people in the world while cruising and they don't all live here in the USA. I hope you all have done so as well.

Edited November 27, 2020 by Thrak

[Lindaru]

No household mixing on this day, but kept in touch with others over Messenger and in chat rooms.

Great dinner and now lots of left overs.  Spent more time doing dishes than I would have liked, but oh well . . . worth the pay off for the meal we had.

Also "virtual travelled" on You Tube remembering my time in Portland visiting neighborhoods I used to live in, work in and just visit (walking tours).  Did I break the rules by virtual travelling?

😆

Hope everyone else had a great day!

 

[Keksie]

7 hours ago, Thrak said:

We are probably being "bad Covid people".  

 

I am so glad you were and had that time with your family.  We are too.  My son came for the big day.  I see him every other week anyway so I guess I have been bad since we moved here.  That is why we moved to Florida - to be close enough to my son to get together often.  I am sorry your kids don't get along and that must be hard but two turkey days are good.  I told my husband that we need to cook one more often because by the time I sent leftovers home with my son we don't have that much left over.  Now to get ready for Christmas.

[voljeep]

12 hours ago, PurpleHays said:

Does your wife make the shaped or pleated masks? I make both and like them for different reasons. Also; does she make them able to hold a metal strip to shape to the nose? If so, how does she do that? I'm using a 6" bias strip attached at the top to the inner layer and was just wondering if there was an easier way.

 

9 hours ago, Papa Yoda said:

 

Pipe cleaners work well ... but Amazon has the metal strips

she started with the pleated ( sideways? ) then switched to shaped ( duckbill? )

 

she got some adhesive metal strips from Amazon for those who want to add those on, but she doesn't sew them in ..

 

she does put 'toggles' so people can adjust the elastic bands to suit them

 

definitely as much a fashion statement as well as some protection

[LoriPhil]

Wonderful morning, with coffee, kitty on my lap while watching finalists compete for the honor of Great British Bake Off - Star Baker on Netflix.  Later I’ll be fixing the turkey which should surely be thawed by now, and chowing down on yesterday’s leftover pumpkin pie. Perfect!

Edited November 27, 2020 by LoriPhil

[memoak]

10 hours ago, Lindaru said:

No household mixing on this day, but kept in touch with others over Messenger and in chat rooms.

Great dinner and now lots of left overs.  Spent more time doing dishes than I would have liked, but oh well . . . worth the pay off for the meal we had.

Also "virtual travelled" on You Tube remembering my time in Portland visiting neighborhoods I used to live in, work in and just visit (walking tours).  Did I break the rules by virtual travelling?

😆

Hope everyone else had a great day!

 

In Portland Oregon today it is foggy but Timberline is already open for skiing ⛷ and Mt Hood Meadows opens on Monday. Subject to crowd limitations of course

[Lindaru]

6 minutes ago, memoak said:

In Portland Oregon today it is foggy but Timberline is already open for skiing ⛷ and Mt Hood Meadows opens on Monday. Subject to crowd limitations of course

I have been watching the news clips they have of the ski resorts there.  It makes me feel a bit of a kinship given that we have had snow building up here since a couple of weeks ago.

❄️

 

[Thrak]

Ahhhhhhhh... Breakfast PIE!

[Loki S]

On 11/21/2020 at 12:37 PM, GonzoWCS said:

Will be set for the restart of NRL!

 

Cheers

Steve & Vicky  

Saw on the news last night that it’s just over 100 days till the NRL starts again ..... time flies 😎. Teams are back in pre season training. Fingers crossed everything continues with the control of COVID-19 here, so that the fans can return to the normal stadiums to watch the NRL or AFL or any of the sports we love to watch live. 

[Loki S]

10 hours ago, Lindaru said:

I have been watching the news clips they have of the ski resorts there.  It makes me feel a bit of a kinship given that we have had snow building up here since a couple of weeks ago.

❄️

 

Love reading about the ski resorts and snow, whilst parts of Australia are in or about to head into another heatwave. Some parts will be approaching the high 40 degrees (Celsius). I’ll be in the air conditioning watching Netflix. Only seen snow ❄️ once in my life.

[Lindaru]

3 hours ago, Loki S said:

Love reading about the ski resorts and snow, whilst parts of Australia are in or about to head into another heatwave. Some parts will be approaching the high 40 degrees (Celsius). I’ll be in the air conditioning watching Netflix. Only seen snow ❄️ once in my life.

🥵

I will take the snow over the heat.

You can always put things on or cover yourself to get warm, but you can only take off so much when it gets too hot.

Stay cool!

[Thrak]

14 hours ago, Loki S said:

Love reading about the ski resorts and snow, whilst parts of Australia are in or about to head into another heatwave. Some parts will be approaching the high 40 degrees (Celsius). I’ll be in the air conditioning watching Netflix. Only seen snow ❄️ once in my life.

 

Today we were supposed to be at sea heading back to Melbourne. We would have already done a 6 day Southern Australia cruise and be finishing up a 13 day Australia/New Zealand cruise. We would hit Melbourne tomorrow and then head out for our final 14 day Queensland cruise. We would get back to Melbourne on December 13 and then fly home. It was to be our first time in that part of the world and we were really looking forward to the trip. All 33 days would have been in C731 on Sapphire Princess. Nice big balcony and we had the full Princess Plus package as well as $1,750 AUD OBC.  Poop.

 

You are, as you say, "heading into" summer when it will be quite hot but we planned our cruises for this time of year when it's actually quite nice there. It's about 7 degrees (Celsius) here or 45 degrees (Fahrenheit). Maybe I'll rake up some of this mass of leaves that's covering my back yard. Before that though I'll likely get started with the Christmas lights. Nothing huge or fancy but I will have to fiddle with the cord setup. I finished the pie for breakfast. A bit of pumpkin and some deep-dish apple. It's a good thing we don't have pie all the time.

Edited November 28, 2020 by Thrak

[Loki S]

4 hours ago, Thrak said:

 

Today we were supposed to be at sea heading back to Melbourne. We would have already done a 6 day Southern Australia cruise and be finishing up a 13 day Australia/New Zealand cruise. We would hit Melbourne tomorrow and then head out for our final 14 day Queensland cruise. We would get back to Melbourne on December 13 and then fly home. It was to be our first time in that part of the world and we were really looking forward to the trip. All 33 days would have been in C731 on Sapphire Princess. Nice big balcony and we had the full Princess Plus package as well as $1,750 AUD OBC.  Poop.

 

You are, as you say, "heading into" summer when it will be quite hot but we planned our cruises for this time of year when it's actually quite nice there. It's about 7 degrees (Celsius) here or 45 degrees (Fahrenheit). Maybe I'll rake up some of this mass of leaves that's covering my back yard. Before that though I'll likely get started with the Christmas lights. Nothing huge or fancy but I will have to fiddle with the cord setup. I finished the pie for breakfast. A bit of pumpkin and some deep-dish apple. It's a good thing we don't have pie all the time.

That would have been a wonderful trip as you would have seen some beautiful parts of Australia as well as New Zealand.  You would have experienced different scenery and temperatures, as they say Melbourne can have 4 seasons in a day. 
 

I’m crossing everything that you’ll be able to do this trip into the future. Australia can be very diverse across the states and territories. I’m bias but IMO think Australia is a fantastic place even for visiting, from our beaches, Great Barrier Reef, the outback, the wineries and the people 😉. Not to forget our wildlife 🦘 🐨 🦜.

Edited November 28, 2020 by Loki S

[PurpleHays]

On 11/27/2020 at 8:44 AM, voljeep said:

 

she started with the pleated ( sideways? ) then switched to shaped ( duckbill? )

 

she got some adhesive metal strips from Amazon for those who want to add those on, but she doesn't sew them in ..

 

she does put 'toggles' so people can adjust the elastic bands to suit them

 

definitely as much a fashion statement as well as some protection

Thanks. I'm just trying to get an idea what other folks are doing.

[MamaFej]

3 hours ago, PurpleHays said:

Thanks. I'm just trying to get an idea what other folks are doing.

I started sewing for the first time in about a quarter century when mask wearing became necessary. At first, I was doing the horizontal pleat ones, simply to get started. I made a few for my son, with his school logo ironed onto on them, and other teachers and staff liked them, so I suddenly was making 25 more. Once I got past those, I started looking for something with a closer fit. 

 

I came across "The Jesse Mask,"  designed by an engineer who was frustrated with poorly fitting masks. Hubby loves his, and so does my daughter. I'll be making more. My daughter fell between measurements for height, and I was too lazy to alter the pattern, but should have. I ended up just sewing folded pseudo  "darts" in, and it worked out just fine. I'll probably alter the pattern next time. It sounds like you are a much more experienced sewer than I am, but if you need a bit of help, there is a video on The Fabric Patch's Website and YouTube.

 

I got the nose wires on Amazon, because they came with the spools of elastic cord. I find the cord more comfortable for ear loops than regular elastic, just be sure to singe the ends, so they don't unravel in the wash. I also use the silicone loop stops for adjustability. The adhesive on the nose wires is very good, but I sew a channel in pleated masks or sew a rectangle scrap around them on the Jesse masks, just for a bit of extra security. The wire ends up sewn to the inside the inside  layer, and I just use a scrap from that fabric. 

 

Amazon now has pre-cut ear loops with pre-installed adjusting stops in a variety of colors. I may end up getting some of those eventually. Masks will be a part of our lives for a while. I will not be surprised if the masks I made with Halloween and fall fabric, as well as the LA Dodgers masks and Christmas and Hanukkah masks will be a part of our lives in 2021 as well. 

 

I've ordered some cute Girl Scout cookie fabric and other special fabrics to make very personalized masks for gifts.

 

I'm sure that's far more information than you wanted. I ramble when I'm extra tired. 

 

Let's be honest; I sometimes ramble when I'm not extra tired. 

[Loki S]

What a great morning watching the news seeing the first flights from Sydney to Brisbane without people having to do quarantine. Queensland has kept out COVID-19 now I think for over 70 days. Queensland boarders are now open to all states apart for some areas of South Australia. It was great watching those long awaited hugs 🤗. Must admit couldn’t hold back the tears. We just have to keep up the good work so things can get back to some type of normal, including holidays for Christmas.

 

However not to forget all the bush fires currently, especially on Fraser Island (one of our favourite spots), hope everyone still on the island is safe along with the dingoes and other wildlife. It’s such a beautiful place and so sad to see the largest sand island in the world on fire. Thanks to all of the fire fighters, permanent employees and volunteers.
 

Stay safe everyone.

[Thrak]

Done. The outside Christmas lights are up and working. My wife has much of the indoor stuff in place. We gave a ton of stuff to our daughter this year. We have a small tree in a pot that we bought last year. It's grown a bit but is still quite small. It's kind of weird because I always got a big tree each year. Now we have no need of all those ornaments, the new string of 200 LED lights, etc. so all of that stuff plus a number of Christmas place mats, tablecloth, etc. all went to our daughter. They will get a nice tree and our granddaughter (and their kitten) will surely enjoy all the stuff. We'll bring our tree in the house in a couple of weeks and decorate it with what we kept back. Getting old is weird.

[Lindaru]

Our Christmas tree for the last several years.  Yes, getting old for us means cutting back on the work.

 

[Papa Yoda]

2 hours ago, Lindaru said:

Our Christmas tree for the last several years.  Yes, getting old for us means cutting back on the work.

 

 

Charlie Brown's Christmas Tree!

 

[Lucky TGO]

Hi to all my Cruise Critic friends, 

I just wanted to say I love all the Charlie Brown Christmas Trees. I have one in my back yard and right now is getting Soaked it’s raining so hard outside. 
The Captain of The Rowboat,

Tony

 

[Lindaru]

Then, of course . . . it would not be Christmas without one of these which we purchased a few years back but is now behind some other stuff on a shelf.  Really need to keep it safe because it is "fra-gee-lay".

 

😉

 

 

[Loki S]

3 hours ago, Lucky TGO said:

Hi to all my Cruise Critic friends, 

I just wanted to say I love all the Charlie Brown Christmas Trees. I have one in my back yard and right now is getting Soaked it’s raining so hard outside. 
The Captain of The Rowboat,

Tony

 

Please send the rain ☔️ our way, we really need it. 

[Wichenford Wolf]

Nice to see everyone getting things done for what will surely be the strangest Christmas on record.

 

Most of our conversations seem to be about how we can see our children and the mother-in-law on Christmas Day without breaking the UK maximum three households rule. Let’s hope it’s back to normal soon.

 

To give ourselves something to look forward to, we’ve actually booked a cruise! 12 nights round Britain at the end of August on Sky Princess. And it hasn’t cost us anything yet to take the gamble that the voyage will happen - FCC from this year covered the £50 deposits.

 

Have a great Christmas and here’s to cruising again very soon.

 

Karen and Paul