Cunard Cruisers - How are things where you are ?

[alc13]

15 hours ago, Host Hattie said:

Yes, Mr HH doesn't have a work from home option these days !

I'm not sure what prompted the biting, he just launched himself at my wrist, he's got massive teeth so it's not a pleasant experience. 

Hopefully we'll get on better tomorrow, that's my last day working from home for a while.

He wants another visit to the pub?

[navybankerteacher]

 

2 hours ago, alc13 said:

He wants another visit to the pub?

Don’t we all want a break from all this damn isolate-at-home routine?

[Host Hattie]

He hasn't bothered to come with us since that first visit, last time we sat in the beer garden/car park watching him stalk something in our neighbour's garden.

He was much more amenable today, day off tomorrow to take my car for her overdue first service, then back to the office for the rest of the week. Two of my colleagues live in the county being locked down so there was some discussion this morning about what happens with them.

[Bigmike911]

I review the Texas Department of Health and Human Services Covid 19 data base frequently. Trends for Texas testing continues with 5.5 million so far. Positives 640 thousand to date. Trends include fewer positive, now under 7%, fewer hospitalizations, and for three days zero deaths. We are going in the right direction. But we just had our Labor Day, our 'end of summer' holiday and lots of people partying and going to the beach. So we will see what happens in two weeks. 

[Host Hattie]

This is an example we were given today of how one holiday caused 13 cases.

[Lanky Lad]

It's a reminder that the social distancing rules are there for a reason.  If figures go down, it means the measures are working, not that you don't need to bother with them.

 

Things have gone wild in Bolton, which is not good as that is where my friend lives.  It seems that young people have decided they are bored with social distancing.  There was even one on the local news yesterday who said he thought the virus was a hoax.

[alc13]

Have you read about the August 7 wedding in Millinocket, Maine?  Apparently one or more of those attending was positive for covid-19, and the inn that hosted the reception was not strict about enforcing distancing or mask wearing policies.  Over 150 people have been infected (so far), with 3 deaths.  Maine's case positivity rate is still less than 1%, so most people take it seriously; but this is a good example of how quickly the virus can spread when people aren't careful.

 

[Host Hattie]

@alc13, yes I had read a story about the wedding party, how sad for everyone.

I had my most interaction with others today (apart from work), two visits to the car dealership to drop off and collect my car, a visit to a couple of shops to kill a bit of time buying wine and cat supplies and finally lunch inside a restaurant.

I wore a mask for everything except lunch but nowhere felt particularly busy or unsafe.

 

[oskidunker]

• Like Mars near SaFrancisco. Photo at 10 am. High smoke with fog underneath. Air not bad. 

[Colin_Cameron]

Does anyone else have someone in their life that just makes them feel totally inadequate?

 

Yesterday I cut the grass, and today the plan was to make a start on our leylandii hedge. But it was raining so I had a lazy day.

 

Tonight I called my dad, who’s 90, to see what he did today. While he was out of lockdown we managed two, socially distanced visits and he assured me there were no jobs needing done. He’s now back in lockdown again. 

 

This morning he decided to fix the leaky guttering at the back of the house! Having removed a couple of lengths of cast iron gutter to clean and redo the joints he discovered that the real problem was a blocked down pipe.  Drain rods and a pressure washer with a drain cleaning attachment soon had that unblocked.

 

After lunch he decided to do something about the sticking doors on the garage. The problem is the garage is starting to lean to one side (timber frame). So he removed the doors, set a couple of ground anchors, and with a couple of heavy-duty ratchet straps, winched the frame straight again. Fixed some cross bracing, and job done. Except the doors no longer fit. He made new doors last year, but of course they were made to fit a slightly mis-shapen frame. He’s managed to remake one of them but will leave the other one till tomorrow.  “Well, you wouldn’t want to have nothing to do tomorrow. Would you?“

 

When I asked why he sounded different tonight it turns out that he’s lying on his back in the crawl space below the floor trying to fix the wiring to an outside socket that has died. But he knew that I’d call so he took the cordless house phone with him.

 

I guess I’ve got no excuse to put the hedge off for another day. Have I.

[frankp01]

It sounds like there might not be enough to keep him occupied. We'll pay his fare to fly him to Philadelphia. We can keep him busy for a few months!

 

P.S. He sounds a little like my father, who, into his late 80s was volunteering building houses with Habitat for Humanity in Mexico (much to my mother's chagrin).

Edited September 9, 2020 by frankp01

[Host Hattie]

That sky is incredible @oskidunker.

 

[Bigmike911]

This morning as I stepped out to collect the newspaper, the most wonderful thing happened. The outdoor temperature was cooler than the indoors. For the first time in five plus months. I am looking forward to this fall with great anticipation. 

Edited September 11, 2020 by Bigmike911

[Lanky Lad]

Our forecast is for it to get hot over the weekend, then cool off again. 

 

It looks like too many people in the UK (plus Spain and France) thought the virus was no longer a problem.  Now we need to get back on top of it before it takes off again.   

[Host Hattie]

I've finished work for a week and a day, we're going to Pembrokeshire on Monday. Our area still has fairly low figures so hopefully the new restrictions will keep it that way.

One of our Crane drivers had a positive test result on Thursday, it's been decided that as he'd socially distanced at work there was no need for anyone else on the shift to self isolate 🤞

Have a good weekend everyone, Mr HH & I are enjoying a nice bottle of Gewurztraminer purchased in Wednesday.

[LewiLewi]

Florida is still very hot and humid. Our friends in Oregon had to evacuate their house because of the fires that are raging up there.

We decided to book the 2022 World Cruise on Queen Victoria for 97 days leaving from Ft. Lauderdale to Southampton. There seem to be a lot of sea days, which we love. Hopefully, the world will be back to normal by then.

[Bigmike911]

I listened to the "last night of the Proms" this afternoon, ( I am six hours behind London)  before going out to dinner. It was a very melancholy experience. I did not find the commissions particularly good this year, but my very favorite classical piece, Ralph Vaughn William's 'the Lark Ascending" was played beautifully by Nicola Benedetti. I am of the personal opinion that the audience lubricated by a soupcon of alcohol makes the final night a joyous occasion. That was very much missing tonight. It was almost as if they wanted to make this year's final night a downer. We don't need that, we need uplifting events. Next year we will have better, and who knows maybe I can be there as I was on Sept 14 ,2001. That was a glorious Last Night I will never forget, even though it took me nearly two weeks to get back to the U.S. after that

[naturelovergirl]

Hello all from Central Florida

Everything is still going fine for us here, except for the fact that the business of performing arts is still so challenged by the pandemic.

We look forward to the time where people can congregate again and share in the collective magic of live theatre, music, and all of the other wonderful performing arts. Our world needs the arts- and a “virtual” life, frankly, does not cut it for that human desire and need.

I know that the beauty and importance of the arts feeds my soul... and I am not alone.

We did visit one of our favorite art museums the other day. They had an excellent system of required reservations, staggered times of the reservations, and mask rules.

I cannot tell you how that visit to the museum made us feel... because it warmed my heart so much.

May we all have our passions, our normalcy, our loves, our beloved holiday trips, & our dreams of the future returned to us and in our grasp as soon and as safe as we can.

Best to you all.

[Kynance]

@Host Hattie - have a lovely break in Pembrokeshire. Hope the weather holds (or improves), depending on what it’s like in Wales today. 
 

We have had a fine, warm late summer’s day today. I’ve just had a really lazy, relaxing day in the garden, reading & pottering about. Gave my agapanthus collection its final feed for 2020. 
 

I’ve got a couple weeks off  - looking forward to a trip to Cornwall with my other half in a few days’ time. Fingers crossed for the weather and everything else in these still uncertain times. Cases in west Berkshire are still low, thankfully - this is a rural and semi-rural area with small market towns (Newbury, Thatcham). I love where we live but I have missed the sea so much - luckily, we managed a short break to Cornwall in late February, so I haven’t altogether been deprived this year. 
 

We need some new spring bulbs, particularly daffodils, so a trip to a garden centre may be in order this week. If so, this will be my first trip to the shops in about a month, although I have been to the chiropractor, hairdresser (yay!) and the drive-thru of a well know vendor of fast food for breakfast. ☺️.

 

In other news, I’m very excited that I have managed to register for an Ocado account (online grocery shopping for readers abroad). This is mainly because they are now supplying M&S products - and I love M&S even more than I love Waitrose!!! 😊😊❤️  I might arrange a delivery for when we get back from our Cornish hols. 
 

Take care everyone and have a good week. 

[Host Hattie]

Thank you, it's been a beautiful day in our part of Wales today, there hasn't been much of a breeze which is unusual for here !

We've used Ocado for a few years and we're enjoying the M&S food, it might be just coincidence but there seem to be more items out of stock or substituted than there used to be. Hopefully it will settle down soon.

I went to the local supermarket for only the second time this morning. They have the doors shut so 1 person can go in as 1 comes out. That's the instruction, 3 people went in when the doors opened the first time and somebody barged passed me the second !

It's less than a 2 hour drive for us tomorrow but we're taking MIL to her caravan and Mr HH's new shed is due to arrive in the morning !

Stay safe everyone

[beaveh]

Just as we are having a hot spell again, hubby has a week off work. All being well we plan to drive to Lyme Regis for a spot of fossil hunting tomorrow. If time and energy allow, we might come back via Weymouth and see if we can spot QV in the bay 🙂

[Camgirl]

My son is a professional musician, so i completely agree about the performing arts. It is a sad world without live music etc. 

 

He runs a rehearsal studio for bands to rehearse at. He has only re-opened on 1st September, and bookings are really low, as no-one has anything to rehearse for. He also runs, and plays in, a function band company. We all know what has happened to all the functions, especially weddings. I am really hoping and keeping everything crossed that he can survive this period, and still has his company at the end. It is a sad and worrying time for all musicians in the world.

 

On a happier note, we have just returned from another lovely day trip to north norfolk. It was sunny and hot, with virtually no wind. We finished the day watching the sun go down over Blakeney quay. So beautiful!

Edited September 13, 2020 by Camgirl
Spelling!

[Lanky Lad]

22 hours ago, Bigmike911 said:

I listened to the "last night of the Proms" this afternoon, ( I am six hours behind London)  before going out to dinner. It was a very melancholy experience. I did not find the commissions particularly good this year, but my very favorite classical piece, Ralph Vaughn William's 'the Lark Ascending" was played beautifully by Nicola Benedetti. I am of the personal opinion that the audience lubricated by a soupcon of alcohol makes the final night a joyous occasion. That was very much missing tonight. It was almost as if they wanted to make this year's final night a downer. We don't need that, we need uplifting events. Next year we will have better, and who knows maybe I can be there as I was on Sept 14 ,2001. That was a glorious Last Night I will never forget, even though it took me nearly two weeks to get back to the U.S. after that

I agree about the commissions.  About 20 years ago, I was lucky enough to hear the lark ascending being played at a prom concert.  I was in the cheap seats, as high up as you can get on the left, with only half of the stage visible.  It was still wonderful.   Nicola Benedetti was excellent as always.

 

I had a trip to Southport today, a nice seaside town on the west coast of England.  Quite busy, but plenty of space to move about safely.  I took my lunch and sit on a bench overlooking the boating lake to eat it. 

[navybankerteacher]

We have entered the wonderful late summer pattern here - comfortable sunny days in the 70’s (F), with cool nights - all windows open, the quilt pulled up.  Sad to think about storm-threatened US Gulf Coast, and California and Northwest burning - with air close to unbreathable .  My younger sister in Seattle reporting “darkness at noon”.

[alc13]

We did it -- booked a cruise for May 2022, using FCCs.  Somewhat complicated in the end...  We decided that FCCs were not going to be usable since the itineraries showing as of last week were either booked up or not tempting, and the deadline for using them was approaching.  1.5 days after submitting the refund request I looked again and new itineraries were up, including something close to our canceled cruise from last spring.  Woot!  Customer Service reversed the refund request and booked a new reservation, and we're all set. 

 

Yesterday I got an email from Cunard about our "upcoming voyage."  Upcoming is an exaggeration.  Unless they mean like the upcoming Ice Age, or the upcoming return of Halley's comet.

 

Turns out the deadline for using FCCs has been moved back, and Cust. Service thinks it may be lifted altogether.