Cunard Cruisers - How are things where you are ?

[Host Hattie]

Beautiful view @Camgirl & great to see the before and after shots @frankp01.

Lovely to hear from everyone, nothing much to report here, there's been no real changes in Wales so my only trips out of the house are my commute to work.

I had to change the insurance on our previously rented out, now empty house and had difficulty explaining to the call centre that I couldn't agree to visiting the house every 7 days as that's currently against the law ! Strange times indeed.

Have a good weekend everyone.

[BklynBoy8]

Well we in NYC  are proceeding in our 9th week of Stay Home - Stay Safe.

 

Weather has been very uncertain at times and now we will be facing the rain in the early part of this week from the first tropical system that developed before the official Hurricane Season. A lots of rain and winds here in the Big Apple which is very different from other years. Not a traditional May by no means.

 

DW is waiting to visit the Nursery for her flowers of course under social distancing which will be a first there since is a very popular location and attracts quite a crowd normally. Which makes it very socially entertaining with all talking to each other about our growing experiences. But this will will be a first.

 

But we all doing a lot of walking. Interesting living in the flight path of the three airports, we are lucky to see one helicopter in the air a day when we would see dozens of planes now grounded. Also walking along the shore line of the NYC - Narrows by the VZ Bridge no more viewing the half dozen each weekend Cruise Ships leaving to destinations of pleasure.

 

After 9 weeks, we finally are going to have to move our cars for Alternate Street Cleaning. Streets need the cleaning after all this time except for the heavy rains once in a while.

 

Well it's only 13 months and 2 weeks till our sailing which we truly appreciate and looking forward too!

 

Edited May 16, 2020 by BklynBoy8

[naturelovergirl]

Hello from Florida.

We have had some restrictions lifted in the state- we are in what they refer to as Phase 1. Honestly my husband and I have only chosen to take advantage of a few small things as part of this phase... we are kind of in a wait-and-see mode.

We have not been to any of the recently opened limited capacity restaurants (not really interested in that yet), but we have GREATLY appreciated that some of the lovely State Parks have opened with restrictions and social distancing rules. We went on a beautiful bicycle ride and then a terrific hike on another day. Both activities were completely socially distant, but gave us a sense of "normalcy" which has been lacking of late.

Salons did open here last week with stringent regulations (masks, clients waiting in the car for appointment, and limited capacity), and the place I go, specifically, opened up this weekend. They have outlined all of the modifications they are making- and I feel confident that they are going to do their best. I have made an appointment for the end of the month for a haircut.

As a person with extreme wanderlust, I am constantly aware that my love of travel is a bit (or a lot) hobbled at the moment. I long for the day when I can travel again. Still, I am realistic and aware of the magnitude of this global quandary. It has also shuttered our small business until life gets back... and so that is an additional loss in our normal existence. We miss working very much.

Still, we try to find the joy where we can. Luckily, we are resilient, and have the moxie within ourselves to keep life vibrant.

Stay safe, everyone.

 

(Thanks HostHattie for the Gavin & Stacey pic of Nessa... We are Americans who absolutely loved Gavin & Stacey! It is almost impossible for us to say the words, "I Know" without saying them like Nessa)

 

[vettprincess]

22 hours ago, Lanky Lad said:

The ISS is due over England at about 10:50 tonight, and thankfully, the sky has cleared here, I just hope it stays that way and I get to see it pass. 

 

I have seen a Valet stand in a charity shop in town only £10.  I have no idea when it will be open again, but I will keep checking.

HI:

I was excited to write today about the ISS. Absolutely clear sky last night. Went out my front door at 11pm and there it was

coming from sw heading ene.  Almost right over my head and just a perfect view for me and then my daughter 25 miles away. It seemed brighter and bigger than the last time it passed by.   We got notice today that it will be here tonight at 10:13 however it will be very cloudy tonight so not visible. I hope you got to see it.

[Kynance]

@alc13 - glad you are enjoying Bosch! I’ve been to LA a couple of times and stayed up in the Hollywood Hills where Bosch has his apartment. I always think that the cinematography seems to capture the heat of the city as I remember it. 
@Camgirl - I love the photo of the sunset. Sorry to hear about the lettuces. Ours are intact so far but something is definitely munching away at a few of our bonsai trees (which are the domain of my other half). Thankfully our acers seem to be immune so far. We have a few different ones but since my OH has never kept the plant labels, we don’t really know what they are beyond the generic acer description. Here’s a photo of one which has tremendous red bark in autumn when it has shed its leaves. 
 

 

 

[Lanky Lad]

3 hours ago, vettprincess said:

HI:

I was excited to write today about the ISS. Absolutely clear sky last night. Went out my front door at 11pm and there it was

coming from sw heading ene.  Almost right over my head and just a perfect view for me and then my daughter 25 miles away. It seemed brighter and bigger than the last time it passed by.   We got notice today that it will be here tonight at 10:13 however it will be very cloudy tonight so not visible. I hope you got to see it.

Hi vettprincess, I got an excellent view last night, but sadly, like you, it was thick cloud here.

[Lanky Lad]

On 5/16/2020 at 12:45 AM, Bigmike911 said:

LL. Perhaps they have a web site or a facebook page that has opening information, and maybe you can put your 'order' in for the Valet Stand. Good Luck. 

Hi Bigmike we are still in lockdown so the shop can't open until this is lifted which will not be before June.  I will just have to keep checking.

[vettprincess]

17 hours ago, Lanky Lad said:

Hi vettprincess, I got an excellent view last night, but sadly, like you, it was thick cloud here.

Just thought I would send you to coordinates for tonight in Minnesota. Pouring rain all day and night so no chance to see.

Time: Sun May 17 9:25 PM, Visible: 6 min, Max Height: 45°, Appears: 10° above SW, Disappears: 10° above ENE.

Coming again near my house. Third night in a row do not know when it will stop over here.

[Bigmike911]

What an amazing evening. We dined out, in our favorite Mexican restaurant. The Margarita tasted better, the Nachos subroso were warm and tasty, the entree was warm, fresh and wonderful. The feeling that I got being there, with many of their usual employees including our server Elizabeth who has waited on us for eight years was one of elation. There were even other regulars in the restaurant to wave to. The experience was terrific and wonderfully uplifting. We, all of us, the entire globe will get there. Don't let any one say it will all be different and new. it was exactly the same, just fewer people for now. 

[Host Hattie]

@Bigmike911 that sounds lovely, I'm missing going out to eat but I can wait a while longer. Mr HH is still doing most of the cooking so that helps. We would normally have gone away or at least out for dinner for our Anniversary next week. Hopefully the weather will be good enough for a barbecue.

 

Thanks for the Bosch recommendations. We watched the first episode last night and it looks like a keeper.

[Camgirl]

Host Hattie, this is really weird! At the start of this thread we both had our birthdays close together, now it looks like our wedding anniversaries are close together! Ours is June 1st, so just under 2 weeks away. I chose that date for our wedding thinking it would be a good date for my husband, that he couldn't forget. However, it is always over the page on the calendar, so it doesn't work!! I have to write a note on the calendar in late may saying "anniversary coming" to remind him!!!

 

I hope you get your barbecue.

Edited May 19, 2020 by Camgirl

[Host Hattie]

I'd never considered that ! We chose a Bank Holiday weekend, I can't remember why now ...

[Colin_Cameron]

1 hour ago, Camgirl said:

I chose that date for our wedding thinking it would be a good date for my husband, that he couldn't forget.

Our anniversary is two days after my wife's birthday. The theory being if I forget one there's no way I'll be allowed to forget the other.😃

[Camgirl]

6 hours ago, Colin_Cameron said:

Our anniversary is two days after my wife's birthday. The theory being if I forget one there's no way I'll be allowed to forget the other.😃

Clever!!! 😂

[Bigmike911]

Another milestone. A haircut. Since I went "silver" my hair has been awful to take care of and I made it a practice to get a haircut every week and keep it short. Over the past few weeks I gave it a corona-clip with my beard trimmer, not a particularly good clip, but it dealt with the cow licks. Today, I went to my barber shop. They alternate half the staff every other day. I went last week but my barber was not on the list for Wednesday so I went today, Tuesday and he was there. I had to wait for two before me to be finished. The procedure is to write your name, cell phone and barber and then wait in your car or in the chairs, benches or porch swing they have under the front eves out of the sun. It is 94f 34.4c and there was a nice breeze so it was easy. It is required to wear a mask, but that was easy. So I am clipped and feeling pretty good about it. 

[Colin_Cameron]

Good News. After a week in a coma, and over a month in hospital with the virus, a friend’s daughter has been allowed home. It sounds like great news until you’re told it’s likely to be a year before she’s fit enough to walk again.

 

At lunchtime I heard somebody on the radio downplaying the impact of this pandemic, saying something along the lines of, “It’s not that bad. It’s not like it was in the war.” I’m of an age where that implies WWII so I started doing some quick ‘back of an envelope’ calculations. He’s right. It’s not the same.

 

UK WWII casualties averaged 6,250 per month over the course of the war. Depending on which source you choose, in the UK, we’re approaching 50,000 deaths over the last two months, or 25,000 per month! Four times more.

 

If you only look at civilian deaths, after three months we’re likely to have passed the total number of civilian deaths from the entire six years of the war!

 

To say I’m gobsmacked would be putting it mildly.

[Colin_Cameron]

18 minutes ago, Bigmike911 said:

Another milestone. A haircut.

I think haircuts here are still along way off. Mine isn’t quite back to like it was in my college days, close to waist length, but some days it feels like it. 💇‍♂️

[Bigmike911]

26 minutes ago, Colin_Cameron said:

I think haircuts here are still along way off. Mine isn’t quite back to like it was in my college days, close to waist length, but some days it feels like it. 💇‍♂️

I am glad to hear that your friend's daughter is home from the hospital. I hope that given time she is able to fully recover. Last year I took care of a friend who had cancer, requiring chemo, and surgery, followed by three serious infections. He came home in a wheel chair, but with effort, good nutrition, physical therapy, and a strong will, he is now walking daily for exercise. There is hope for your friend's daughter. We have been very lucky here in Texas. The number of cases and deaths has been a fraction of those in the northeast of the US. And Texas has 30 million people, the U.S. second most populated state with 48,000 cases, 1347 deaths. Over half of those infected have recovered. The state has begun to reopen' hence the hair cut today. 

[Lanky Lad]

2 hours ago, Colin_Cameron said:

Good News. After a week in a coma, and over a month in hospital with the virus, a friend’s daughter has been allowed home. It sounds like great news until you’re told it’s likely to be a year before she’s fit enough to walk again.

 

At lunchtime I heard somebody on the radio downplaying the impact of this pandemic, saying something along the lines of, “It’s not that bad. It’s not like it was in the war.” I’m of an age where that implies WWII so I started doing some quick ‘back of an envelope’ calculations. He’s right. It’s not the same.

 

UK WWII casualties averaged 6,250 per month over the course of the war. Depending on which source you choose, in the UK, we’re approaching 50,000 deaths over the last two months, or 25,000 per month! Four times more.

 

If you only look at civilian deaths, after three months we’re likely to have passed the total number of civilian deaths from the entire six years of the war!

 

To say I’m gobsmacked would be putting it mildly.

Clearly that person does not know anyone who had been badly hit.  For most it's a minor thing, but not for all and as I don't know which I would be, I would rather not find out. 

[Photo Andy]

We decided to cut my hair in the garden,  we did not mess up the house. My Braun shaver has a beard trimmer so my wife cut all the hair off, it took ages. Two of the local cats had killed a bird in our garden,  with my hair looked as if we had a ritualistic voodoo killing in the garden.

On Sunday evening at 7-30pm we walked around Durham city, NE, UK and it was empty, normally a very vibrant city. Durham has a famous cathedral built just after the Norman conquest, the main door has a knocker and the door was shut with a steel fence in front. The Knocker was used to attract attention and people were allowed sanctuary in the cathedral. It is now closed so sad and surreal.   Please see attached picture it is black and white seemed more real than a colour photo.

Best wishes stay safe.    

[Lanky Lad]

I had an email from work today, still no date for when I will be back. But I don't think it will be within the next week or so.

[Host Hattie]

We've agreed terms for the next 2 months of furlough, some people are coming back to work and others furloughed. 

It was the warmest day of the year so far yesterday and I managed a couple of hours in the garden when I got home from work (sitting not gardening !).

There are photographs in the press of packed beaches in England, we're still not allowed to drive for exercise so the only people who can go the beaches in Wales are those who live close enough to walk. We could theoretically but I've never actually been to the nearest one, there are cliffs in the way.

There was heavy rain overnight although I think we missed out on the dramatic lightening over Swansea.

[Camgirl]

10 hours ago, Lanky Lad said:

I had an email from work today, still no date for when I will be back. But I don't think it will be within the next week or so.

 

My husband is currently working from home. He is thinking he is going to be doing that long term. Possibly to the end of the year or even beyond. 

 

I think this virus might change the way a lot of people work with lots more working from home than before.

[IB2]

1 minute ago, Host Hattie said:

We've agreed terms for the next 2 months of furlough, some people are coming back to work and others furloughed. 

It was the warmest day of the year so far yesterday and I managed a couple of hours in the garden when I got home from work (sitting not gardening !).

There are photographs in the press of packed beaches in England, we're still not allowed to drive for exercise so the only people who can go the beaches in Wales are those who live close enough to walk. We could theoretically but I've never actually been to the nearest one, there are cliffs in the way.

There was heavy rain overnight although I think we missed out on the dramatic lightening over Swansea.

 

You are allowed to drive to exercise, following last week's tweaks to the rules.  But not from England into Wales.  The guidance within Wales seems a little tighter but even there it isn't a blanket ban.

[Host Hattie]

1 hour ago, IB2 said:

 

You are allowed to drive to exercise, following last week's tweaks to the rules.  But not from England into Wales.  The guidance within Wales seems a little tighter but even there it isn't a blanket ban.

I live in Wales, no driving to exercise here.