Royal Caribbean Cruisers -- How Are Things Where You Are? (was "Routine" ​ 😁 ​day in lockdown... how was yours?)

[ValerieJo]

1 hour ago, Keksie said:

Hopefully with the research showing other benefits of the drugs and more drugs being approved for weight loss like Wegovy the insurance companies will cover more.  That is what I am hoping for anyway.

I’m hoping for that as well.  Once I switch to Medicare, it will not be covered. 

[Ocean Boy]

1 hour ago, Keksie said:

Hopefully with the research showing other benefits of the drugs and more drugs being approved for weight loss like Wegovy the insurance companies will cover more.  That is what I am hoping for anyway.

Eventually coverage will probably happen. However, insurance companies tend to be slow to adopt new treatments. They would rather not spend a dollar today even if it will end up costing them ten dollars next week.

[lenquixote66]

4 hours ago, StanleyandGus said:

You are truly a good dad! Good luck with the grout- we ended up chipping it out and replacing it in a previous house, which I never want to do again! I will be interested to hear how it works.

 

I am on the last day of a Panama Canal cruise, which has been fantastic. We haven’t even looked at the weather at home!

We did a Panama Canal cruise in 2010 that was our best all time cruise.Glad you enjoyed yours.

[Luckynana]

1 hour ago, reallyitsmema said:

 

It is also causing issues with availability for those with diabetes.  My DH is diabetic and we had a tough time getting one of his prescriptions because of the demand.  It took three weeks to get the new prescription dosage because of no availability in our area at all.  Luckily, he could use the lower dosage in the meantime.

Wow, that's scary!  Jim's had no problem with availability with his diabetes medicine (so far).  

[Keksie]

45 minutes ago, Ocean Boy said:

Eventually coverage will probably happen. However, insurance companies tend to be slow to adopt new treatments. They would rather not spend a dollar today even if it will end up costing them ten dollars next week.

I may get desperate enough next year to just go ahead and pay for it.  A couple of them are tier 3 on my plan so not full price.

[Luckynana]

56 minutes ago, ValerieJo said:

We really enjoyed Dora the Explorer.   There is one area near the fort where the vendors are on the aggressive side just so you’re aware. 

Thank you.  I have read that vendors can be aggressive.  

I hope all went well at your doctor appointment last Thursday.

[Luckynana]

43 minutes ago, lenquixote66 said:

We did a Panama Canal cruise in 2010 that was our best all time cruise.Glad you enjoyed yours.

So many people say the same about their Panama Canal cruise!  We are certainly looking forward to ours!😉

[bobmacliberty]

2 hours ago, Luckynana said:

Your daughter and SIL are so fortunate that you and Micheline are helping with the many tasks before them!  We bought our Victorian home back in 1975 when I was pregnant with our twin daughters.  Our home was well over 100 years also.  Luckily my family came and helped with the initial cleaning.  Our home had no insulation (man, it was so cold that first Winter!), and we had to have all of the Wiring in the house done, then we had baseboard done, etc.   Together, we stripped the paint off all of the beautiful woodwork in the house.   When Jim worked nights and our babies were sleeping, I'd strip the wallpaper.   We so loved our beautiful home, just as I know your daughter and SIL will love their new, beautiful home.  You and Micheline rock!!

It’s actually my older daughter, who isn’t married, that bought the house. She has grand plans but works long hours and doesn’t have a lot of extra money after the mortgage payment. She’s quickly learning how to do a lot of things herself. She definitely wants to get all of the paint off door hardware and the staircase banister. I’m proud of her but worry that she might have bitten off more than she can chew.  She’ll definitely have some sticker shock when she sees her electric bill for heating this winter. Lots of drafts and poor insulation. 

[Sunshine3601]

9 hours ago, bobmacliberty said:

It's been a while since I've posted here.  We're still working on my daughter's "new" 130-year-old Victorian house.  We WAY underestimated how much work is required. We knew that we couldn't do everything that needs to be done on this trip (that's going to take a few years) but we hoped to completely re-do the living room, kitchen, and main bedroom, since my daughter would be spending 90%+ of her time in these 3 rooms.  The house was absolutely trashed. The woman who lived here previously must have been allergic to cleaning.  The electricians who rewired the whole house (eliminating old knob and tube wiring) contributed to the mess with the holes they needed to make to pull new wire and the plaster work they did to fix everything.  The fridge alone took almost a full day's work before we'd even think of putting something in it.  Every room requires multiple rounds of floor, wall, and window cleaning since one round wasn't enough. 

 

Our initial plan was to completely sand, meticulously wood fill, and paint the baseboard and crown molding so that it would look like new.  Ha! Through the years, previous owners have done what my daughter calls a landlord paint job where another layer of paint was slapped in top of the previous layer.  Between some sloppy caulking, wood filling, and painting from the past, there's not much we can do with existing molding. I sanded where possible, filled some obvious cracks/holes, and then added to the existing layers of paint.  It at least looks OK...clean and bright.  My daughter will need to replace all molding in the future when she has the time/money.  Holes/cracks in the plaster walls have been filled and the primer coat of paint is done in the living room. Final coat should get done today (maybe tomorrow) and then all that will be left in the living room is a final floor cleaning with a rental floor machine and a coat of Scotts Liquid Gold Floor Restore.  We'll do that to the hardwood floors that are in the entire first floor, except the kitchen.  

 

The kitchen is fully clean and plaster walls patched where needed.  It just requires a coat of paint and a final deep clean of the floor, including trying to bring the grout back to the original color.  I'll try a technique that I saw on YouTube for the grout.  Mix up twice the recommended amount of Oxy Clean and water, paint it onto the grout, and then scub with a brush attached to a drill.  Fingers crossed. 

 

The bedroom is a little behind the living the living room and kitchen.  There was a mural painted on the headboard wall that my daughter want to replace with wall paper.  We've sanded and cleaned that wall to make it smooth, and the rest of the room has been cleaned.  I removed 3 generations of curtain rod and blind holders from the windows, which required taking off about a dozen layers of paint and some of the wood underneath.  That's been patched and sanded so the windows and walls are ready for paint.  We'll then do the wall paper on the feature wall.  The upstairs bathroom was recently remodeled and just needed a good cleaning...especially the disgusting tub.  How could anyone live like that?  

 

I knew this wasn't going to be fun, and I did something to my back a couple of days ago.  I couldn't bend over yesterday without stabbing pain.  It's a little better today...more of a dull ache than a stabbing pain. I'll hopefully be back to full duties tomorrow.  The tentative move in date is either this coming Saturday or Sunday, assuming we're ready.  I need to be able to lift furniture by then.  

 

We've barely touched the outside other than pressure washing the sidewalks and continually battling leaves from 2 large oak trees.  It seems like it's taking 3 weeks to drop all of the leaves.  We'll tackle more of the landscaping work next spring.  

 

I miss my golf and warm weather (and bed, and TV, and...)

 

@helen haywood - Any of this sound familiar?

 

@George C and @#55worktoplay - I'm so sorry to hear about the loss of your cat and dog.  That's always a difficult decision.

WOW!  I am sure the home will be beautiful when all done.   Definitely an enormous project.  I'm exhausted just reading of everything you have done so far.

If you have any photos to share I would love to see them.

I hope your back feels better after some rest in your own bed.

 

[reallyitsmema]

12 minutes ago, Luckynana said:

Wow, that's scary!  Jim's had no problem with availability with his diabetes medicine (so far).  

 

His endocrinologist has been stepping him up on one of his medications and was okay with the delay as it wasn't critical to increase immediately.  It was just more of an attempt to get his A1C down.  If it was a critical need, we would have gone pharmacy shopping to try to find it.  CVS just didn't have any in their network.  I am glad your husband hasn't run into issues finding what he needs. 🙂 

[Sunshine3601]

1 hour ago, #55worktoplay said:

Love the view. I’m like you I never want to rush to the ship with the crowds. 
 

Have a great cruise. 

Same here.  We prefer to do check in around 1 pm or so and go right to our cabin.

[Coralc]

9 hours ago, bobmacliberty said:

The kitchen is fully clean and plaster walls patched where needed.  It just requires a coat of paint and a final deep clean of the floor, including trying to bring the grout back to the original color.  I'll try a technique that I saw on YouTube for the grout.  Mix up twice the recommended amount of Oxy Clean and water, paint it onto the grout, and then scub with a brush attached to a drill.  Fingers crossed. 

 

You are a good dad, Bob. That sounds like a hideous amount of work. I've spent the last week cleaning the concrete grout in between our slate tiles in the entryway. Which has been done, like never. The hardest part was getting up and down off the floor stool. 

 

I used a mixture of half cup baking soda, about half a scoop of oxy clean, a couple of drops of dish soap and about 3 tablespoons of water to make a paste. I brushed that in firmly with a narrow hard scrub brush, and then sprayed it with white vinegar. Let it sit for few minutes and then wiped it with a water wet grout sponge. It looks greatly improved. I just have to damp mop it and have Bill seal it. 

 

They are irregular green slate tiles, and some of the concrete grout is over an inch wide. It is a very 60's dated sort of look, but the slate is an amazing product that repairs itself from scratching and dings because of the slippery stone nature of slate. 

Edited November 21, 2023 by Coralc

[Luckynana]

5 minutes ago, reallyitsmema said:

 

His endocrinologist has been stepping him up on one of his medications and was okay with the delay as it wasn't critical to increase immediately.  It was just more of an attempt to get his A1C down.  If it was a critical need, we would have gone pharmacy shopping to try to find it.  CVS just didn't have any in their network.  I am glad your husband hasn't run into issues finding what he needs. 🙂 

Thank you, mema. So far, so good.  I hope all stays well with your DH.

[ValerieJo]

30 minutes ago, Luckynana said:

Thank you.  I have read that vendors can be aggressive.  

I hope all went well at your doctor appointment last Thursday.

Thank you for asking.  My doctors appointment went great.  He was very impressed with my numbers.  👍😁

[Coralc]

3 hours ago, Luckynana said:

We're doing the Panama Canal in March.  I'm guessing there were no problems with ship traffic getting through the Locks?  We're doing a Tour in Cartagena with Dora the Explorer.  I've read how hot it is there!

I also was reading on the Celebrity threads that there's problems in Colon.  Did you get off of the ship there?

Colon is kind of icky/sketchy. There are tall buildings like most cities, but a lot of the windows are broken out. I read that Carnival had people in orange vests, warning people out of some of areas of the city. When we were there with Royal, we were just advised not to leave the port area. It might be better to take an excursion if you do get off. The Cristobal Terminal Area was large and secured, with a lot of vendors and bars, so we didn't need to venture out. 

Edited November 21, 2023 by Coralc

[Coralc]

53 minutes ago, Keksie said:

I may get desperate enough next year to just go ahead and pay for it.  A couple of them are tier 3 on my plan so not full price.

Very Tempting, isn't it? ☺️ 

[Ocean Boy]

Below Deck was full of drama tonight.

[xpcdoojk]

18 hours ago, sgmn said:

I made the mistake of letting Gary go to our village butchers to order the Xmas turkey instead of getting one from the supermarket. He's ordered a huge one costing over £100 😳 

AND I think number 1 son and family will be at his partners family so it will just be four of us plus baba 

I bought a frozen butterball today, smallest I could find, 14.05 # cost $13.08 plus tax.  It is in the Yeti in the garage, hopefully thawing by Friday.  DW’s 86 year old aunt is coming to town from New Orleans it has been several years since we have seen her, so, going to cousins house for two lunches on Thursday, then to the lake Thursday night.  cooking turkey on Friday so I have leftovers to make our favorite turkey tetrazzini.  Probably freeze half of it for more Turkey Tetrazzini at Christmas time.  I have bought the fresh high dollar turkeys in the past, and I will say they are better, but only marginally.  I liked looking at the date on the frozen bird, good until sometime in late 2025…. I am pretty sure I don’t want to eat a two year old frozen turkey.  🤣

 

jc

[lenquixote66]

1 hour ago, Luckynana said:

So many people say the same about their Panama Canal cruise!  We are certainly looking forward to ours!😉

That was a very special cruise in more ways than just seeing the Canal.

We went with my best friend from college and his wife and Toby’s best friend from HS and her husband.My friend passed away in 2020,we knew each other since 1964 but only went on that one vacation together .

[A&L_Ont]

15 minutes ago, Ocean Boy said:

Below Deck was full of drama tonight.

Is it never not. 😜

[A&L_Ont]

My “live” view.

Currently between the second and third and we are ahead of the #1 team. Not sure how long are boys can keep it up. My fingers are crossed up I’m not so sure. 
 

 

[patattack]

4 hours ago, Luckynana said:

We're doing the Panama Canal in March.  I'm guessing there were no problems with ship traffic getting through the Locks?  We're doing a Tour in Cartagena with Dora the Explorer.  I've read how hot it is there!

I also was reading on the Celebrity threads that there's problems in Colon.  Did you get off of the ship there?

I did a tour with Dora in October.  YES it is hot there.  I was thankful I had a couple tissues in my pocket to wipe the sweat.  Our guide was her Niece and she was very nice and we enjoyed the tour.  I do wish I had brought my portable fan that goes around my neck.

[Coralc]

29 minutes ago, xpcdoojk said:

I bought a frozen butterball today, smallest I could find, 14.05 # cost $13.08 plus tax.  It is in the Yeti in the garage, hopefully thawing by Friday.  DW’s 86 year old aunt is coming to town from New Orleans it has been several years since we have seen her, so, going to cousins house for two lunches on Thursday, then to the lake Thursday night.  cooking turkey on Friday so I have leftovers to make our favorite turkey tetrazzini.  Probably freeze half of it for more Turkey Tetrazzini at Christmas time.  I have bought the fresh high dollar turkeys in the past, and I will say they are better, but only marginally.  I liked looking at the date on the frozen bird, good until sometime in late 2025…. I am pretty sure I don’t want to eat a two year old frozen turkey.  🤣

 

jc

 

We are having chicken . Rocky, the free range chicken. https://www.petalumapoultry.com/story/?gclid=Cj0KCQiApOyqBhDlARIsAGfnyMokr2ECZAS7GqhmzAnJOfRSnKtDMNbKHIlLQWp7q1jsTHZ-eLd6h2caAltNEALw_wcB We used to buy small turkeys, but we decided many years ago, that we don't really like turkey all that much. They are meaty little things. And we like chicken better. 

Edited November 21, 2023 by Coralc

[George C]

8 hours ago, Sea Dog said:

Detroit has been incredible. They are playing really well. I got a bad feeling about the Chiefs tonight but we will see.

Great game and your chiefs won a fun game to watch, Bills need to win at least 2 ot 3 of there next 3 games against the eagles the cowboys and the chiefs, we will b on a cruise for the eagles game but hopefully it will be on ships tv. 

[Sea Dog]

Just now, George C said:

Great game and your chiefs won a fun game to watch, Bills need to win at least 2 ot 3 of there next 3 games against the eagles the cowboys and the chiefs, we will b on a cruise for the eagles game but hopefully it will be on ships tv. 

Chiefs lost and played like I thought they would. Chiefs receivers are horrible and the right offensive guard is a joke. Chiefs lead the league in dropped passes. You can’t win a Super Bowl with crappy players.