The Daily for Sunday November 21, 2021

[lazey1]

10 hours ago, rafinmd said:

I'd like to get on a ship and say Hello to the world again.  I've been to Istanbul but it was by train.  I'm posting the entire Care Rotation today since it hasn't been posted for a while.  Please let me know of any errors or omissions.  
Roy

 

Definitely not an error or omission Roy; I hope you can get on a ship and say Hello to the world again soon.

Kakalena is in full outpatient hospice care and getting much stronger pain meds than before.  Today she is celebrating the fact that the cancer has not spread to her brain by boarding the Konigsdam this afternoon for a 7 day Mexico cruise. I spoke with her moments ago and she is exhausted by the travel to get to the ship but is very, very happy to be on a Blue Hulled Beauty for pampering. 

In 1986 we, my parents, hubby and I did a land tour of the Holy Lands. When we were leaving we were stuck on the Tarmak in Istanbul for almost 5 hours, not allowed off the plane and looking out the windows we could see people with guns pointed at our plane. We were not given any explanation at any time. When we got home our son told us that the plane on the runway beside us had been hijacked and several people were killed. Needless to say DS was terrified.

I am loving seeing the photos of the sites we missed.

My favorite wine is featured today. On every recent cruise I have bought a wine package and 3 of 4 bottles I choose will be the Caliterra Chardonnay.

I admire all of you who have adopted childred and/or were adopted yourselved. It takes a special kind of person to do that.

Jane

 

 

[ger_77]

32 minutes ago, lazey1 said:

Kakalena is in full outpatient hospice care and getting much stronger pain meds than before.  Today she is celebrating the fact that the cancer has not spread to her brain by boarding the Konigsdam this afternoon for a 7 day Mexico cruise. I spoke with her moments ago and she is exhausted by the travel to get to the ship but is very, very happy to be on a Blue Hulled Beauty for pampering. 

 

I was so excited for her, knowing this cruise is something she needs so badly.  I hope she has a wonderful time.  Thanks for updating the CC folks on her progress.

 

Smooth Sailing! 🙂🙂🙂

Gerry

[Vict0riann]

Good afternoon, all, we finally managed to get our 30 litres (8 gallons) of gas this morning.  We are being rationed, and there are long lineups at the gas stations, reminiscent of the gas shortages in the 70's - in case anyone else remembers that!  Now we will have to be careful where we go and what we do for a while.  

 

We also went to Istanbul, on the Zuiderdam in 2008, and we bought a small carpet to remind us.  My photos are like the others.  We also have the port listed on a cruise we have booked for 2023.  I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

[StLouisCruisers]

1 hour ago, lazey1 said:

Definitely not an error or omission Roy; I hope you can get on a ship and say Hello to the world again soon.

Kakalena is in full outpatient hospice care and getting much stronger pain meds than before.  Today she is celebrating the fact that the cancer has not spread to her brain by boarding the Konigsdam this afternoon for a 7 day Mexico cruise. I spoke with her moments ago and she is exhausted by the travel to get to the ship but is very, very happy to be on a Blue Hulled Beauty for pampering. 

In 1986 we, my parents, hubby and I did a land tour of the Holy Lands. When we were leaving we were stuck on the Tarmak in Istanbul for almost 5 hours, not allowed off the plane and looking out the windows we could see people with guns pointed at our plane. We were not given any explanation at any time. When we got home our son told us that the plane on the runway beside us had been hijacked and several people were killed. Needless to say DS was terrified.

I am loving seeing the photos of the sites we missed.

My favorite wine is featured today. On every recent cruise I have bought a wine package and 3 of 4 bottles I choose will be the Caliterra Chardonnay.

I admire all of you who have adopted childred and/or were adopted yourselved. It takes a special kind of person to do that.

Jane

 

 

 

It warms my heart to hear your friend Kakalena decided to take a cruise to celebrate her good news.  I would hope I would do the same thing if I were her.

[StLouisCruisers]

2 hours ago, ger_77 said:

 

Good news:  Hubby had his Covid booster shot this morning, exactly 180 days from the date of his 2nd dose.  I can get mine in 9 days . . . woo hoo !!!!!

 

@StLouisCruisers I laughed because somewhere in the bajillions of photos on the computer is one of our 4 feet on the same carpet as yours!  

 

 

 

Congrats on DH getting his booster shot, plus the fact you are ecstatic at the thought of receiving yours!  💉

 

I would say that is a very fine quality carpet to last all these years with so much traffic on it.  And the four feet on the carpet like ours was, is hilarious!😁

[Crazy For Cats]

Hello Again, when watching sail away I looked at the port schedule.  Noordam is expected to sail into Port Everglades tomorrow at 6:30.

[Mr. Boston]

2 hours ago, Quartzsite Cruiser said:

Good afternoon from sunny San Diego.  For those of us staying on for the next cruise (79), immigration inspection was easy.  We met in the World Stage at 10, and waited for the inspectors.  When they arrived, they approached each of us where we sat, and using facial recognition cleared us.  We were out of the showroom before 11am.

 

It looked like disembarkation was a little slow, but passengers were boarding before noon. 

 

The Covid testing yesterday was easy.  When we went to the designated room no other passengers were there. We were given a number sticker that matched the number on the test vial,and was by our name on the list.  We then walked to the tester, who tickled our noses.  We waited in the cabin for 15 minutes with no one calling.  The printed results were in the cabin after dinner.  We failed again. 👍

 

The first week went by quickly, and we had a good time.  When Koningsdam was first launched, we said we'd never go on her as she was too big, since we like the smaller ships.  However, I do like the ship.  I'm not sure how it would be full of passengers.  There will be about the same number on this week, which is another casino cruise.  They have taken some of them slot machines out of the Ocean Bar.  Supposedly, the two cruises after this one will have even fewer passengers.  

 

Right now, we are not completely sure in what order we will visit the three ports this cruise.  The Navagator has one itinerary while the information on the tv shows the same itinerary as last week.  I guess we'll find out Tuesday when we reach our first port.  😃  We did get notices on to segments of itinerary changes before we left home, but I really didn't pay that much attention since we were going to be on a BHB.  🚢

 

This week, I have said hello to a lot of the world.  Adoption is an important way for parents and children to become families.  👨‍👩‍👧‍👦  Hats off to all the adopters and adoptees on the DaiIy. 

 

When we get home, I'll be busy making gingerbread cookies.

 

The quote by Eleanor Roosevelt is good.

 

We were in Istanbul in 2008 on our Black Sea cruise on Prinsendam.  We did a tour that included all the highlights.  We did skip the rug demonstration, and walked to the Grand Bazaar, which we enjoyed since we were there before it got crowded.  The tour did not stop there, but we made it to the meeting place before the bus left for the next stop.

 

Thank you everyone on who posted pictures 📸 of Istanbul.  We were supposed to visit there in 2016 on Prinsendam, but the itinerary was changed be cause of the attempted coup.

 

@rafinmd  Roy, it's good you feeling well enough to resume posting the lists.

 

@kazu and @StLouisCruisers  Jacqui and Sandi, when posting pictures that are of the same place, I don't leave a space between them to keep the post shorter.  If I switch sights, I'll add a space between the pictures.  I also try to comment on the pictures.

 

 

 I'm glad you made it home safely, especially given all the challenges caused by the horrific storms.

 

 

Glad you're home safely.  Had fun meeting you in Cabo.

 

 

Sandi, that has happened to me a few times on the computer and the tablet.  Sometimes, it doesn't freeze, but just vanishes.  😱

 

 

 Vanessa, glad you are doing better today.

 

 

HURRAY,  on getting your booster shots.

 

Lenda

Thank you. The pharmacy at the grocery store was hopping with folks getting their boosters.  Not feeling too  poorly and hopefully the pot of chicken soup that I’ve made will keep it that way. 

Edited November 22, 2021 by Mr. Boston

[1ANGELCAT]

Good evening all, I hope everyone had a great day. It’ was a cloudy and cool all afternoon and supposed to be rainy tonight.

      I had a friend drop off an early Birthday present (tomorrow) of a box of Tiramisu,I will pretend I’m in Canaletto when I’m enjoying it.

Blessings and prayers to all on our lists ❤️

[ger_77]

8 hours ago, Live4cruises said:

We’ve been doing some traveling - a week in North Carolina with DSon & DDIL, celebrating my big # 65.  

You almost got away with us missing your birthday; you sneaky one!  Happy 65th Birthday to you, and many more returns of the day!!

 

Smooth Sailing!  🙂🙂🙂

Gerry

[StLouisCruisers]

Happy Birthday wishes to @Live4cruisesand @1ANGELCAT!!

[Crazy For Cats]

11 minutes ago, 1ANGELCAT said:

Good evening all, I hope everyone had a great day. It’ was a cloudy and cool all afternoon and supposed to be rainy tonight.

      I had a friend drop off an early Birthday present (tomorrow) of a box of Tiramisu,I will pretend I’m in Canaletto when I’m enjoying it.

Blessings and prayers to all on our lists ❤️

Happy Birthday!

[cat shepard]

Gremlins have struck again. But using my phone to share the results of the 14 year old’s project. I can’t get the second one to post correctly, but it is exactly the same - just in a different location. 

 

. 

[StLouisCruisers]

Great news!  DGS Ren and his team won every game and are champions (their age range).  They are on their flight home from Bethesday to Michigan right now.  What a fun weekend for the family!  Yay Tigers!

[erewhon]

Hello, thanks for all the Daily reports, humour, recipes and photos, have not been to Istanbul, so appreciated seeing all the  photos.

@JAM37 congratulations on your Anniversary.

@Horizon chaser 1957 good to learn that you are safely home, your Gingerbread houses look fantastic.

@Live4cruisesand @1ANGELCATHappy Birthday.

@lazey1thanks for letting us know that Kakalina is cruising on the Koningsdam, hope she will have a wonderful time. Does she have a travelling companion?

It's a grey day with some rain, was able to go for my walk between sprinkles, temperature 13 C.

Stay safe, take care everyone.

 

[bennybear]

Thanks Jacqui and Sandi!  I do like how it looks with spaces but find it a pain to separate. If I download several I don’t seem to be able to move them around,  so I will have to work on that.  
 

Many years ago when after I had just had our son, there was a young girl giving up her young son for adoption and she was in tears most of the night.  The lovely thing is many years later I think I ran into the boy and his adoptive mom,  as our children shared a birthday and I was so glad to see how loving this family was.  Truly can be a blessing, as it has been in our family with a cousin.  So blessings to all! 

[ger_77]

17 minutes ago, erewhon said:

 

@Live4cruisesand @1ANGELCAT

@lazey1thanks for letting us know that Kakalina is cruising on the Koningsdam, hope she will have a wonderful time. Does she have a travelling companion?

 

 

Yes she does, she’s travelling with her brother in law.  He’s been helping out at her house for a little while.

 

Smooth Sailing! 🙂🙂🙂
Gerry

[lynanken]

Good evening all. I have not posted in awhile but read every day. Both my children are adopted. Lots happening here, got our booster shots on Friday, celebrated our Anniversary yesterday, and are packing for our cruise. We get our antigen tests next Monday and fly out next Tuesday to embark the Rotterdam on Dec.1   Really looking forward to being on a BHB again. 

[rafinmd]

7 minutes ago, lynanken said:

Good evening all. I have not posted in awhile but read every day. Both my children are adopted. Lots happening here, got our booster shots on Friday, celebrated our Anniversary yesterday, and are packing for our cruise. We get our antigen tests next Monday and fly out next Tuesday to embark the Rotterdam on Dec.1   Really looking forward to being on a BHB again. 

Welcome back and enjoy the cruise.

 

Roy

[Sharon in AZ]

7 minutes ago, lynanken said:

Good evening all. I have not posted in awhile but read every day. Both my children are adopted. Lots happening here, got our booster shots on Friday, celebrated our Anniversary yesterday, and are packing for our cruise. We get our antigen tests next Monday and fly out next Tuesday to embark the Rotterdam on Dec.1   Really looking forward to being on a BHB again. 

Enjoy your cruise!  Bon Voyage!  ⛴

[Tbay]

My big brother is adopted, and when my sister and I picked on him, he would tell us  "Mom and Dad picked me. They had to keep you."  Haven’t seen him in 3 years, and are excited he is coming to visit at Christmas.  

 

@ger_77laughed at your description of dinner. Hope tonight's was better.

 

Fun evening here as DGS picked up his new puppy, an 8 week old 'red' border collie.  All the other grandkids came to meet Penny.

 

We were also in Istanbul in October  2014. Not on a cruise, but on a 2 week land tour of Turkey.  We were in Istanbul 3 times. We had a wonderful time visiting all the major tourist sites. Spent one day doing the 'Circle Istanbul Tour', eating our way around the city. Typical breakfast, with the strong coffee, giant potatoes the size of a football, stuffed with different fillings, fish sandwiches at the Galata Bridge, tea at someone's home, gosleme at a flea market,  baklava, and, after a Turkish bath, dinner in a small restaurant.  And Reki.  Lots of Reki. It was a wonderful day with 8 others from around the world.  

 

Thanks to everyone  who  posted the wonderful pictures. Great memories.

 

 

[erewhon]

5 hours ago, ger_77 said:

Yes she does, she’s travelling with her brother in law.  He’s been helping out at her house for a little while.

 

Smooth Sailing! 🙂🙂🙂
Gerry

 

@ger_77Thank you for your reply.

[grapau27]

9 hours ago, lazey1 said:

Definitely not an error or omission Roy; I hope you can get on a ship and say Hello to the world again soon.

Kakalena is in full outpatient hospice care and getting much stronger pain meds than before.  Today she is celebrating the fact that the cancer has not spread to her brain by boarding the Konigsdam this afternoon for a 7 day Mexico cruise. I spoke with her moments ago and she is exhausted by the travel to get to the ship but is very, very happy to be on a Blue Hulled Beauty for pampering. 

In 1986 we, my parents, hubby and I did a land tour of the Holy Lands. When we were leaving we were stuck on the Tarmak in Istanbul for almost 5 hours, not allowed off the plane and looking out the windows we could see people with guns pointed at our plane. We were not given any explanation at any time. When we got home our son told us that the plane on the runway beside us had been hijacked and several people were killed. Needless to say DS was terrified.

I am loving seeing the photos of the sites we missed.

My favorite wine is featured today. On every recent cruise I have bought a wine package and 3 of 4 bottles I choose will be the Caliterra Chardonnay.

I admire all of you who have adopted childred and/or were adopted yourselved. It takes a special kind of person to do that.

Jane

 

 

Delighted to hear Kakalenas cancer has not spread to her brain and is boarding konigsdam today Jane.

Prayers 🙏 she has an absolutely fantastic cruise.

Sending her our very best wishes.

Graham.

Edited November 22, 2021 by grapau27

[erewhon]

5 hours ago, lynanken said:

Good evening all. I have not posted in awhile but read every day. Both my children are adopted. Lots happening here, got our booster shots on Friday, celebrated our Anniversary yesterday, and are packing for our cruise. We get our antigen tests next Monday and fly out next Tuesday to embark the Rotterdam on Dec.1   Really looking forward to being on a BHB again. 

 

@lynanken Congratulations on your Anniversary.

Have a fablous cruise. 

 

[JAM37]

Thank you all for the anniversary wishes. It was a nice day and as some of you pointed out the most important thing is that we were together. We did make more progress on the house including the beginning of one of the two glass block walls in the shower. We will finish that wall this morning along with a few other things. I will be going into town to drop off a car load of donations, get a haircut and do the shopping for the long weekend.

 

The adoption stories have made me smile and cry at the same time. I believe all involved, birth parents, adopters and adoptees, are very blessed and special people.

 

@StLouisCruisersSandi, it may have been an older camera, but your pictures are beautiful as always. Thank you for the captions/descriptions.

 

Thank you to all who posted pictures. We have been told not to miss Turkey in our travels so it is definitely on our list.

[puppycanducruise]

@Live4cruises @1ANGELCAT  Happy Birthday!  🎂

 

@lynankenHappy Anniversary!🥂  Bon Voyage!

 

@lazey1Thanks for the info about Kakelena, hope she enjoys her cruise.