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

[Luckynana]

4 hours ago, sgmn said:

Beautiful.  Just so beautiful!  Lots of happiness always to the Newlyweds!

[Sea Dog]

3 minutes ago, Ozark_Kid said:

Here’s a pic.  What is neat is that it functions as a phone too.  😂 

 

I will excited to hear your impressions. A lot of people like Samsung's camera better than Apple. I would be curious to see how they stack up? Enjoy. I sure like the size.

[bobmacliberty]

7 minutes ago, Sea Dog said:

What did you end up deciding on? Right now I'm leaning towards a Sony A7R III. The thing is a beast.

 

I'd really love to switch to a mirrorless, and the Sonys look fantastic.  They still have a head start advantage over both Canon and Nikon in the mirrorless category.  BUT...I feel locked into Canon with my glass investment, especially the 70-200 2.8.  I could always sell what I've got and start over I guess.  The Canon R6 also looks very nice but a little pricey for my skill level and amount of use and $500 more than the A7R III. The A7R III hits the sweet spot nicely.  Decisions, decisions.

[ReneeFLL]

19 minutes ago, bobmacliberty said:

 

Allure is out of PC.  Is there an office there?  I didn't see it on the list but it would be great if we could make that happen.

Sorry, buy I thought the Allure was out of PE. I don't know if there is an office in PC.

[Sunshine3601]

4 hours ago, bobmacliberty said:

 

Did I read recently that one of the ravens died?  Or is my memory going?  Or both?

You have a great memory!     Merlina a 14-yr old raven who was also known as the "Queen" of the ravens had disappeared this past January and is presumed dead.

The Tower currently has 7 ravens (6 by Royal Decree).     

I found the story of the ravens very fascinating when I toured the Towers and will have to dig out some of the pictures I took of the ravens.

[Sunshine3601]

3 hours ago, Jimbo said:

Thought we needed some representation for Calico  Cats.

 

Here is a picture of one of our cats "Jessie"

 

 

Beautiful kitty - I love all cats.   My Mother always loved calicos, they were her favorites. 

You also have a Lucy, is that right?

[Luckynana]

1 hour ago, Ozark_Kid said:

Speaking of spam, has anyone been sent gross spam text?  The spammer sends a text to about 20 numbers from usually a gmail account.  I haven’t seen any way to block it.  I haven’t received one for a couple weeks now but a couple months ago several people around here were getting them. Maybe AT&T or gmail is getting it under control.

Yup, spam texts also.  My daughter showed me I just had to swipe to the left of my android phone and it disappears.  It is so unbelievable.  Good grief!  Don't get me started about Messenger on FB.  

[Ocean Boy]

7 minutes ago, ReneeFLL said:

Sorry, buy I thought the Allure was out of PE. I don't know if there is an office in PC.

Allure is doing a brief stint in PC before moving to PE.

[Sea Dog]

6 minutes ago, bobmacliberty said:

 

BUT...I feel locked into Canon with my glass investment, especially the 70-200 2.8.  I could always sell what I've got and start over I guess.  

I also think it boils down to what you are used to and comfortable with. Canon is a great camera. I think mirrorless is the future. If you wanted to switch to Sony and keep your great Canon lenses, there are some really good adapters out there like Metabones. 

[Ocean Boy]

18 minutes ago, Ozark_Kid said:

Here’s a pic.  What is neat is that it functions as a phone too.  😂 

 

I'm thinking about going for the S22 when it comes out though my S8 still works fine. Sometimes I wish I had gone for the S20 since it still had the SD card slot. How do you like the S21?

[ReneeFLL]

 

15 minutes ago, Sea Dog said:

I will excited to hear your impressions. A lot of people like Samsung's camera better than Apple. I would be curious to see how they stack up? Enjoy. I sure like the size.

I have the Samsung S20 FE. I don't think it has the best camera out of the Samsung phones, but if I learned some of the settings I could probably take better pictures. I just want to point and shoot. 🤣

[ReneeFLL]

@lenquixote66 Wishing your wife the very best.

[Sunshine3601]

2 hours ago, lenquixote66 said:

I believe that things happen for a reason.My wife had a former co-worker friend who was elderly and ill.She lived alone with a dog.Every Wednesday my wife and I drove to Queens,NY to bring her groceries and at times to take her out for lunch.One day we arrived at her house,rang the doorbell and she did not come to the door.The dog would always bark shen the bell rang.We had no idea where the woman could be .I had a feeling that she was in the house .My wife had a key but was reluctant to open the door.We called her phone number but there was no answer and no barking.I said I want to go in.Just then an elderly man approached the house.He said he was a member of the woman’s church and was concerned about her because she did not answer her phone that morning.He told us that he was a retired Police Officer and would take responsibility.We opened the door and the woman was on the floor at the bottom of a staircase,bleeding and her dog sitting next to her.

We called 911 and when the ambulance arrived the retired police office pointed to me and said that I had saved her life.

That is a great story.   Any idea how long she had been at the bottom of the steps.      I wonder why the dog didn't bark to get her help when you were at the door, but then again, it was probably better he didn't bark.    I hope her and her dog and doing ok now.   

[Luckynana]

1 hour ago, Ozark_Kid said:

Most of the time my phone warns me of spammers but if a call comes through and it’s not in contacts, I don’t answer it.  I have never set up phone messages either.  If someone needs me and I don’t answer they can text me.

I'm the same way...phone mostly warns me of spammers, and when it doesn't, and I see the area code, I don't pick up and look to see if there's a message.  I just hate that they're now using the same area code as the doctor offices.

45 minutes ago, island lady said:

 

We went to ACE hardware to pick up our gallon of Wet & Forget yesterday.   Totally depressing to see all the black mold on the the pavers in our screened court yard when we got home.  All summer of neglect with us being gone.  The mold demons took over.  😛

 

Sorry about all of your moldy pavers.  This past Spring when we arrived home, I couldn't believe what our lawn looked like.  I spent a lot of time reseeding, etc. and the lawn looks great now;  I'm hoping when we get home from Florida next May, that it won't look like it did this past year.

[John&LaLa]

1 hour ago, lenquixote66 said:

Wainwright is a great pitcher.I hope the METS wake up tonight.

 

Yep, you can't afford to lose to teams that are also in hunt for wildcard slot.

 

 

[Ozark_Kid]

15 minutes ago, Sea Dog said:

I will excited to hear your impressions. A lot of people like Samsung's camera better than Apple. I would be curious to see how they stack up? Enjoy. I sure like the size.

I rarely use a phone so for that reason I don’t get internet on cruises.  With this I am using the OBC to get internet so I can share the cruise!  What I liked about this is the 3x and 10x optical zoom.  I will let you know how that works out.  
 

You may be able to help me with another buy.  I have been looking at the dji pocket 2.  I like the gimbal and the angles you can film at.  Also stuff like time lapse and tracking.  But I see that September 17 I could order the new dji Osmo 5.  They say it will handle this phone where the Osmo 4 does not.  Have you looked at any of this?

I was looking at the Sony A7R III. That looks nice. I bet you would enjoy it.

[John&LaLa]

26 minutes ago, Sunshine3601 said:

You have a great memory!     Merlina a 14-yr old raven who was also known as the "Queen" of the ravens had disappeared this past January and is presumed dead.

The Tower currently has 7 ravens (6 by Royal Decree).     

I found the story of the ravens very fascinating when I toured the Towers and will have to dig out some of the pictures I took of the ravens.

 

Similar legend about the monkees in Gibraltar 

[John&LaLa]

22 minutes ago, Ocean Boy said:

Allure is doing a brief stint in PC before moving to PE.

 

She's here now, we sail her in 3 weeks

[Sunshine3601]

1 hour ago, island lady said:

 

Yeah, not so much caffeine (I only drink one cup coffee a day at the most) but if I ever have to go without breakfast (my most important meal 😉 )...I get an awful headache.  Could be another reason you got the headache...tummy saying "feeed mee!!"   

Yes, I am sure that is what happened yesterday.     I had a busy morning and had a cup of coffee with toast and jam at home around 6:30 am then got to the office around 9:30 and had 2.5 more cups of coffee and didn't eat anything till about 3:30 or 4:00 pm yesterday.   I know its not good but yesterday was a strange day at work with unscheduled meeting then some scrambling around with customers files due to more counties being added to the disaster list from Ida's flood damage.     Today's much better and I had my normal breakfast with 1 cup of coffee and only 1 cup when I got to the office.    2 is enough for me unless I am on a cruise and sometimes enjoy an afternoon latte.

[John&LaLa]

19 minutes ago, ReneeFLL said:

 

I have the Samsung S20 FE. I don't think it has the best camera out of the Samsung phones, but if I learned some of the settings I could probably take better pictures. I just want to point and shoot. 🤣

 

I think we are having 'picture chat' on the Bella Cruise.

[Sunshine3601]

14 hours ago, Ozark_Kid said:

Roasted Garlic 

I have never roasted garlic.  How do you do it and how do you use it.  I am looking for a new way to me to use up my garlic.

I am not sure if anyone else answered your question.    but roasting garlic is a great option especially since you grow your own garlic.     

It's really easy to roast.     Keeping the garlic as a whole bulb peel offer the top layer of the paper like skin,  cut off about 1/4" +/- of the cone end of the bulk, place one garlic bulb into each section of a muffin pan or several into aluminum foil, drizzle with olive oil and rub the olive into the exposed ends of the garlic, then fully wrap up in the foil or if using a muffin pan put foil over the top of the muffin pan, then roast at 400 for about 30 minutes.     I use my toaster oven.     

 

Once they are cooled down you can either store as is or you can squeeze the paste like garlic into a container and it is good to use for several weeks or you can even freeze them like this.       The paste is great for many things, it is easier for your body to digest too.

great for adding to mashed potatoes, sauces, spread onto pizza dough before adding sauce or toppings, spread onto burgers, steaks, etc etc.     

 

It is delicious and gives the garlic a whole new flavor and texture.     Try it - you will like it!😋

[Ozark_Kid]

1 hour ago, ReneeFLL said:

We put the cloves in foil with a little butter, cover it and bake till it's a brownish color. It's like eating candy to me. I love it, but I don’t make it very often. 

When I gave my neighbor some he said he cooks them in butter too.  That sounds good to me.  When I look up recipes, they all say cut off some of the root side and drizzle olive oil over them.  That sounds good too.

so what temperature do I set the oven and about how long does it take.  I think I will try some with butter and some with olive oil.  They also recommended after it was done to mix it into mash potatoes or spread on baguettes.  Sounds like you and my neighbors just eat it alone.  

[Sunshine3601]

2 hours ago, dani negreanu said:

We're invited to 3 weddings in the next month - today (good friends), Sunday (our DIL's sister) and mid-October (next door neighbors).

 

Can't say we're not a bit wary being among so many people. You're supposed to be either vaccinated, after COVID or to show a negative PCR.... The venue management has to check.

 

We haven't been to a wedding for the last 5 years....

 

Weddings and cruises are the only places were I can dance. I absolutely like dancing.

 

Not sure about dancing at those weddings, though.

 

I love weddings.   I haven't been to a wedding in a couple of years either.    I can definitely understand being a bit wary but also think once you get there and hopefully feel "safe" you will relax and hopefully dance the night away.

[Ozark_Kid]

3 hours ago, Paul from Maryland said:

 

I put Wet & Forget on my roof once a year, every other year at the most.  Easy to use, just spray it on let the rain wash it off.  It stops the black algae stains from gaining hold.  Roof looks so much better without those black algae stains.

 

On the back side of the roof, which gets less sun, it also stops moss from growing.

 

Our deck is on the back side, so this year after pressure washing the deck I also sprayed it with Wet & Forget.

We had moss problems on a portion of the back roof.  We got rid of the moss by replacing the roof.

[Sunshine3601]

1 hour ago, reallyitsmema said:

 

My son has been to four weddings this summer and has another one to attend next month.  Some were cancelled from last year to keep all safe and all chose outdoor venues.  Three of four went without a hitch, all attending were to be vaccinated, no issues reported after.  Unfortunately, the last one he attended was not so lucky.  The bride ended up feeling sick a few days after the ceremony and tested positive.  Twenty people that attended the wedding ended up positive, all had been vaccinated.  The wedding was a distance away so all had rented houses or had gotten hotels.  My son had stayed in a house with a total of six people.  One in the house tested positive but my son and the other four were all negative.  I felt so bad for the bride and groom as they took all the steps they could to try to keep everyone safe.

👇    Unfortunately, there is probably a lot of hugging and kissing of the bride and groom that doesn't help these days.   Hopefully everyone has a full and speedy recovery.