The Daily for Wednesday October 27, 2021

[StLouisCruisers]

2 hours ago, marshhawk said:

I told our black cat to enjoy her day.  Currently she is hiding under the sofa away from the newly adopted very orange male (neutered) kitten.  We have a house full of fur babies.  I love the daily, so thank you for posting this.

 

My DH (carmando) is having surgery today on  a clogged artery in his right leg,  four years after the heart attack, so if you can, please add him to your prayer list.

 

I am new to Holland, and it is so nice to find a thread that is uplifting and joyful.

 

Good thoughts and prayers sent out to your DH today.  Hope it all goes well.🙏

[Cruising-along]

Good morning all!

Wow, page 4  (and I'm sure it will be page 5 before I finish typing) 😉   

I love all cats, but think black cats sometimes can be the sweetest.  We had one (Ebony who passed in 1999) and I have a buddy black cat who lives across the street (Jinx) and who visits me often.

 

I appreciate anyone who is a good story teller and lung health is so important, especially now with Covid. Not a fan of sweet potatoes, will pass on the red wine, but the drink sounds good.

 

We were in St. Petersburg in 2014 on the Eurodam, and took the 2-day SBP tour -- 25 hours of touring over 2 days -- and they were having a heat wave.  Not sure I could keep up the pace now, we sure were tired afterwards but it was well worth it.

 

We're feeling hopeful that something may finally be done about the trees behind us in the protected land.  Someone will be coming out to look at them, not sure yet when but the work order has been put in.  We had more wind last night and it's always a worry for us and our neighbors.

 

Yesterday I fell (!!) in the house, I had come in from outside, my sandals were wet I guess, and my feet went right out from under me.  That tile in the entry is hard!  I'm hurting all over today, but nothing broken surprisingly.  I came down on my left hip. 

 

@grapau27Happy Birthday!!

@St. Louis SalI admire you so much.  I hope the drug trial will help you as well as others.

@marshhawkWelcome to the Daily!!

@cat shepardand @StLouisCruisershappy you're getting your boosters today.  @StLouisCruiserswhen DH and I got our boosters they were giving full doses. In fact at that time they weren't called "boosters" but "3rd vaccines".  Things may have changed since we got ours in September.

 

St. Petersburg photos

Church of Spilt Blood

 

Hermitage

 

Catherine Palace

 

Catherine Palace

 

Peterhof Palace

 

Peterhof Palace and gardens

 

And some black cats

This one was in Rhodes on our recent cruise

 

And my buddy Jinx from across the street.  Yes, he's chubby 😄

[Quartzsite Cruiser]

As I mentioned, we spend four days in St. Petersburg spread over two visits on BHBs.  I decided for clarity and to not have too many pictures at once, to divide them up by days.

 

On September 5, 2003, our tour took us to Moscow to see the exhibits in the Armoury and the Patriarch's Palace and Church of the Twelve Apsoltes inside the Kremlin.  We also visited the KGB Museum in the Lubyanka, the infamous building and prison.  We only got to see the museum.

 

The weather in St. Petersburg was very foggy, so we got a tour of St. Petersburg on the way to the airport.  

 

Once the fog lifted, we boarded our plane for Moscow.  Even flying internally in Russia, you go through very strong security checks, which make the TSA checks seem easy.  Our plane in Moscow.

 

Driving from the airport.  Our bus was allowed to use the VIP lane.

 

Just a few of the royal jewels and Febrege eggs in the Armoury.

 

The Armoury and the grounds inside the Kremlin walls.

 

The Patriarch''s Palace and the Church of the Twelve Apostles

 

I believe this is Lubyanka and the entrance you do not want to enter.  We used an entrance at the side of the building.  Our guide in the museum was a former KGB officer, and was now in the new alphabet organization.  Our tpur guide would translate our questions and his answers, but we learned he knew English when he started answering a question before the guide could translate it.  

 

We weren't supposed to take pictures inside, but we got a few ones.  The woman in the picture is our guide who was wonderful.

 

We also stopped at Red Square and the GUM department store, where we had free time.  Red Square was closed as they ere setting up for some big event.  Lenin's tomb is on the right.  Red Square is smaller than it appears on tv.

 

The entrance to Red Square opposite St. Basil's.

 

St Basil's

 

The GUM building and stores inside.

 

We thoroughly enjoyed our day in Moscow, and inspite of a late start, nothing was cut from our tour.   Our lunch was in a hotel near Red Square and was very good.  A few days after we were there, the hotel was bombed.   We did not get back to the Rotterdam until almost midnight.  

 

Looking back at the day, and the condition of the plane on the inside, we can't help wondering "What were we thinking?"  I just hope they spent more or engine and plane maintenance than they did on the passenger area.  Now, the tour takes the train to Moscow.

 

Lenda

 

Edited October 27, 2021 by Quartzsite Cruiser

[StLouisCruisers]

34 minutes ago, rafinmd said:

 

@StLouisCruisers is your DH replacing me on the temporary crown society?

 

Roy

 

No, he will be getting an implant but it will take place in a couple of months.  I'll let you know when he sees work start with the oral surgeon.🦷

[HAL Sailer]

Great news! DGD tested negative late yesterday and again today. If she continues to have no symptoms and tests negative tomorrow, she will be allowed to return to school for on-site (but isolated) learning. If she continues negative, she will be allowed to resume riding the bus, being fully in class, and participating in after-school activities starting Monday. Daily testing will be required for ten days.

 

Thanks again for your care and prayer.

 

-Melisa

 

 

[atexsix]

Good morning,

 

Well we're in between storms today with heavy rain set to return late this evening and continue through Thursday, then we're supposed to dry out for a few days.  It's amazing we've had so much stormy weather when normally the season doesn't start until next month.

 

@dfish hope you are okay, no post today, nothing on the care list either.  @grapau27 Happy birthday and many more!  Thoughts and prayers to all.  And thanks to the contributors.

 

I enjoy black cats, there's an element of mystery to them, plus I feel like they've gotten a bad rap through the centuries and so I go out of my way to be their friend.  

 

No news on future cruising, although we're thinking about skipping 2022 and holding out for 2023, mainly because of the lack of long itineraries and inflation really eating into our leisure budget.  We were considering several local day or overnight trips but gas prices are awful, but we'll do 1 or 2 for sure.  

 

Taking DD to an early dinner or late lunch this afternoon; the first in almost two years, unless you count our travel.  

 

Have a great day everybody!

 

 

 

[StLouisCruisers]

@cruising_alongModerna full "third" doses are reserved for those who are immunocompromised or cancer patients, etc.  You may have a health issue that required the full dose.  Now they say if we don't have those problems the over 65's get the half dose.  We got it accomplished and got the proper half dose.  If she would have explained it in the microgram and milliliters numbers it wouldn't have been so confusing!  Hopefully we'll feel no after effects.

 

I'm sorry to hear about your fall on the slick tile.  Falling right on your hip could have had devastating results!  Once I was running across a wood floor with socks on and fell, banging my shin on a corner wall I guess.  It rapidly developed a huge swollen "egg" on my shin.  Plenty of ice took it down, but I'm glad that fall was 20 years ago!!

[Quartzsite Cruiser]

2 minutes ago, HAL Sailer said:

Great news! DGD tested negative late yesterday and again today. If she continues to have no symptoms and tests negative tomorrow, she will be allowed to return to school for on-site (but isolated) learning. If she continues negative, she will be allowed to resume riding the bus, being fully in class, and participating in after-school activities starting Monday. Daily testing will be required for ten days.

 

Thanks again for your care and prayer.

 

-Melisa

 

 

 

Melisa, that is really great news.  Sending good thoughts for continued negative tests.

 

27 minutes ago, Cruising-along said:

We're feeling hopeful that something may finally be done about the trees behind us in the protected land.  Someone will be coming out to look at them, not sure yet when but the work order has been put in.  We had more wind last night and it's always a worry for us and our neighbors.

 

Yesterday I fell (!!) in the house, I had come in from outside, my sandals were wet I guess, and my feet went right out from under me.  That tile in the entry is hard!  I'm hurting all over today, but nothing broken surprisingly.  I came down on my left hip. 

 

 

 

Sorry you fell and hurt your hip, but thankful that nothing is broken. 

 

Sounds like progress that someone is going to look at the trees behind your house.  Hopefully, they will be able to do something to protect your place and others.

 

Lenda

[StLouisCruisers]

Great photos of Moscow @Quartzsite CruiserLenda!  I doubt we will ever visit Moscow so it was good to see some of your photos.  👍

[StLouisCruisers]

8 minutes ago, HAL Sailer said:

Great news! DGD tested negative late yesterday and again today. If she continues to have no symptoms and tests negative tomorrow, she will be allowed to return to school for on-site (but isolated) learning. If she continues negative, she will be allowed to resume riding the bus, being fully in class, and participating in after-school activities starting Monday. Daily testing will be required for ten days.

 

Thanks again for your care and prayer.

 

-Melisa

 

 

 

Melisa, all good news today!  Hopefully that continues.  What state do they live in?  I see you are in Michigan.

[HAL Sailer]

Some have commented about our DGD's maternal great-grandmother coming to the rescue earlier this week. Yes, as the Chorus Line lyrics say, she is One Singular Sensation!

 

At age 93, she plays league tennis three times a week, volunteers at her community food bank, serves 'food insecure' meals at her church, still downhill skis in the winter, kayaks in the summer, and drives solo to the western USA to join in her son's river rafting outfitters overnight adventures.

 

She's amazing! And a role model to many!

 

-Melisa

[57redbird]

2 minutes ago, HAL Sailer said:

Some have commented about our DGD's maternal great-grandmother coming to the rescue earlier this week. Yes, as the Chorus Line lyrics say, she is One Singular Sensation!

 

At age 93, she plays league tennis three times a week, volunteers at her community food bank, serves 'food insecure' meals at her church, still downhill skis in the winter, kayaks in the summer, and drives solo to the western USA to join in her son's river rafting outfitters overnight adventures.

 

She's amazing! And a role model to many!

 

-Melisa

Good for her!!!  Wish I had her spunk!

[HAL Sailer]

10 minutes ago, StLouisCruisers said:

Melisa, all good news today!  Hopefully that continues.  What state do they live in?  I see you are in Michigan.

 

DGD is also in Michigan about four hours drive south of us.

-Melisa

[cat shepard]

30 minutes ago, HAL Sailer said:

Great news! DGD tested negative late yesterday and again today. If she continues to have no symptoms and tests negative tomorrow, she will be allowed to return to school for on-site (but isolated) learning. If she continues negative, she will be allowed to resume riding the bus, being fully in class, and participating in after-school activities starting Monday. Daily testing will be required for ten days.

 

Thanks again for your care and prayer.

 

-Melisa

 

 

 

Wonderful news Melisa!

[HAL4NOW]

7 hours ago, grapau27 said:

Our Football team Sunderland are nicknamed the Black Cats.

By 'football' I assume you mean the game where you use your feet and not the American version of football where only a couple of the players use their feet.

Did you ever bring your black cat to Sunderland games for good luck?

[Quartzsite Cruiser]

29 minutes ago, StLouisCruisers said:

Great photos of Moscow @Quartzsite CruiserLenda!  I doubt we will ever visit Moscow so it was good to see some of your photos.  👍

 

Thank you, Sandi.  We never thought we'd get to go to Russia, much less Moscow.  If you're ever in St. Petersburg on a cruise and a tour to Moscow is offered, my advice would be to take it, especially now, that it will probably be by train.

 

21 minutes ago, HAL Sailer said:

Some have commented about our DGD's maternal great-grandmother coming to the rescue earlier this week. Yes, as the Chorus Line lyrics say, she is One Singular Sensation!

 

At age 93, she plays league tennis three times a week, volunteers at her community food bank, serves 'food insecure' meals at her church, still downhill skis in the winter, kayaks in the summer, and drives solo to the western USA to join in her son's river rafting outfitters overnight adventures.

 

She's amazing! And a role model to many!

 

-Melisa

 

She sounds amazing.  I don't even do a lot of those things at 74.

 

Lenda

[Quartzsite Cruiser]

Day two of our 2003 visit to St. Petersburg on the Rotterdam was another busy day.  We took the tour to Peterhof, with a shrot tour of St. Peersburg after lunch.

 

Peterhof

 

A few pictures insde

 

A tile stove to heat the room

 

Two Fabarge eggs

 

The throne room

 

The fountains, which are fed by gravity from a resovoir above the palace.

 

 

We took a hydrofoil back to St. Petersburg.  Once inside, it was just another boat.

 

Our entertainment at lunch.  We saw the first part, and then asked the guide if we could walk around outside, and surprisingly, she said yes.  So here is the street where we walked.

 

From the bus on our drive to our last stop

 

Our last stop was St. Isaac's Cathedral named for the patron saint of Peter the Great.  In 1917, it was turned into a museum.  In 2017, the governor of St. Petersburg offered to return it to the church, but due to protests by citizens, that has not happened.

 

A statue outside St. Isaacs.  I don't know who's statue it is.

 

Lenda

 

[GeorgeCharlie]

We visited St. Petersburg in June 2019 for two days while on a Baltic cruise on board the Zuiderdam – our last cruise before Covid!😡

 

We took a small group tour through ALLA Tours, which covered some of the regular highlights. The main attractions of St. Petersburg are its museums and churches. As I recall we visited Catherine Palace, Peterhof summer estate, Hermitage Museum, Church on the Blood (currently functions as a secular museum, and Saint Isaac Cathedral, which also primarily functions as a museum with occasional church services.

Overall, we found St Petersburg to be a very beautiful place to visit. Unfortunately, neither of us are much for museums and, although the museums have many spectacular things to see, after spending many hours shuffling from room to room in heavy crowds, the experience soon became mind numbing. We much prefer a brief overview and then moving on to other sights.

Putting booties on to protect the floors.

 

The crowds inside were made that much worse due to each tour group having to wait their turn to get your tour guide presentation of the major attractions. 

 

A tour guide talking about the history of a particular picture.
 

 

While other groups waited their turn.

 

 

You must be reasonably fit as there are many stairs you have to use as these building a massive in size and each floor has very high ceilings. Our group had a couple of people who had to wait in the entrance way for an hour or two as the rest of us did the tour.

 

 

Some general pictures of some of the items we saw and not in any particular order.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The major museums (Hermitage and Catherine Palace) were places where taking a organized tour that provided direct entry was of great value. Really felt sorry for the people who had to wait for hours outside in the 35 C (95 F) hot and humid weather in hope of getting in. Our guide said most would never make it in!

 

 

Our 2-day tour also included lunch both days.

 

 

 

 

 

Also included was a bus tour of the downtown area, along with boat ride, which provided a very interesting city tour from the water angle.

 

 

 

Of course, each day ended up with a visit to a souvenir store.

 

 

On the evening of the first day, we took the optional Russian Folkloric Show.

 

 

We also got to ride their famous Metro (subway). They have some of the longest escalators in the world, which can take up to 3-4 minutes to ride.

 

 

[dfish]

Good afternoon, everyone!

 

First of all, a huge thank you to Jacqui @kazu for posting the meal of the day for me.  I was driving down the street at 6:15 am and wouldn't have had time to post from Columbus even if I had taken my tablet along.  I had a number of booklets from an economic study that was done that I had to heft along and that was more than enough.  

 

@grapau27  Happy Birthday!

 

 

@Cruising-along Please be careful.  That is how I broke my hip and that interferes with cruising.  You don't want that!

@Seasick Sailor I will be thinking of Allen and his next MOHs surgery.  I sure hope that bathroom gets finished soon.

@marshhawk Welcome to the Daily and prayers for you husband on his surgery.

@HAL Sailer That is wonderful news about your DGD!  

@atexsix I am fine, just travel for work today.

@St. Louis Sal I admire you greatly for your participation in those drug trials.  Anyone who does helps all of us as we are all touched in some way.   

[grapau27]

4 hours ago, TiogaCruiser said:

Good Morning All,

Happy Birthday Graham. 
@Seasick Sailor Hoping your DH’s MOHS goes well and they get margins on the first pass.

@St. Louis Sal Congratulations on your last LP. Hopefully the drug will be helpful. 
 

His Nibs is calling (actually yodeling like only a geared up Golden can) so we have to go for our walk.

 

Have a great day everyone!

Thank you for your birthday wishes to me.

Graham.

[StLouisCruisers]

We took the Alla tours in St. Petersburg, too.  Many different modes of transportation.  Lenda mentioned the hydrofoil boat ride.  I found a picture of one taken on our tour. 

[grapau27]

3 hours ago, cunnorl said:

Good Morning Everyone from a bright and sunny day at the beach

     Love a good storyteller. Have not been to todays port, was on our scheduled Baltic Trip in 2020 but  was cancelled. Would love to see the pictures.

   @grapau27 Graham- A very Happy Birthday to you. May you enjoy many more.

      @St. Louis Sal  What a wonderful thing to do participating in a clinical trial. I really hope and pray that you also benefit from it.

 

  Thanks for the reminder about the booster. I will schedule ours today. My Doctor wanted me to wait 8 months from the 2nd shot which is now.

 

Stay safe and enjoy today  ( especially the Birthday Boy!)

    

 

Thank you for your very kind words cunnorl.

Good luck getting your booster jab booked today.

Graham.

[grapau27]

4 hours ago, puppycanducruise said:

@grapau27Wonderful looking lunch.  You both  look great too.❤️

Thank you for your nice comments Melanie.

Graham.

[grapau27]

4 hours ago, cruzn single said:

Interesting set of days!  We had a feral black cat who visited us regularly while we lived in the country in Florida.  Such a sweetie!  Naturally I will celebrate lung health day, as mine is so damaged and hope that others don't suffer similarly!!  A good story is always enjoyed!

 

@grapau27best wishes for a wonderful birthday.  Your lunch looks great!  

@Seasick Sailorsending good thoughts for your DH's MOHS surgery.  Hope that it is only one cutting!  Both times I have had it, I was able to leave after the first go-round!

 

Well, I had my booster dose on Monday, and yesterday morning I though I had come through it just fine.  As the day wore on, I developed a fever, chills, and all over achy feeling (similar to the flu).  This is certainly more than I had with the first two doses of Moderna.  I feel somewhat better this morning, but am taking it easy.  Hope no one else has a similar reaction!  First dose I was sleepy, and second dose was no reaction at all!  Guess my immune system fought the booster dose.

 

St. Petersburg will be on the itinerary when I do the Baltics cruise In October on the Rotterdam just prior to the TA!  Am looking forward to those cruises.  I definitely want a better impression of Russia than I got in 2011 on the Volendam when we visited Valdivostock and Petrapalosk!

 

Have a great day everyone!

Thank you cruzn single.

I hope you quickly feel a lot better after your booster jab.

Graham.

 

[Quartzsite Cruiser]

In 2016 while on the Prinsendam, we spent two days in St. Petersburg.  This time we opted for three short tourss with a chance to rest between tours.  It was mid-July and very hot.

 

The first morning, we took the half day tour to Catherine's Palace.  We had to wait in line a while, but not too long.  I had wanted to see the Amber Room, where we were not allowed take pictures.  I knew it was a recreation of the room, and I was underwhelmed to say the least.  It was not what I expected.

 

The entrance gate to Catherine's Palace

 

A couple of pictures inside

 

When Catherine grew older and heavier, she had trouble walking, especially using stairs.  She had a ramp built that was big enough for her carriage to drive up to her second floor apartments.

 

A summer house

 

The roof of her chapel

 

We had a shopping stop at a tourist store along this canal

 

That evening, we had a tour of the Hermitabe and museum.  This was an after hours tour, and only part of the palace and museum were open to us.  Our guide, once we were in the museum, wanted to talk about almost every picture in every room.  I don't know how long we would have been there if not for the cleaning ladies, who made it know they wanted us out so they could finish and go home. 😀👋

 

These are a few pictures of the palace.  It was nice to have it mainly to our selves and maybe one other group.

 

Lenda

 

Edited October 27, 2021 by Quartzsite Cruiser