The Daily for Thursday 04/14/2022

[irishjim]

2 hours ago, StLouisCruisers said:

Good morning friends!  It's about the same temp here as Stone Mountain, 63F but all my weather apps say it's sunny here and it's not!   Very cloudy!  We were supposed to be raining here all day but it dispersed and headed somewhere else I guess.  The landscaping company decided if it was supposed to rain they would bring out the huge mowers and mow our street's lawns today.  They love to do that during or after a rain storm.  But at least we don't have to cut it. 

 

We exercised on the treadmill today in anticipation of rain, ate breakfast and have no plans to go anywhere today.  So thanks for the Daily today Rich and more thanks to Roy for the Care and Celebration lists.  Many prayers said for the Ukrainian people and all who help them defeat their oppressors, our CC friends and family on the Care list, and my relatives in need of them.  Prayers for those in the path of tornadoes, thunderstorms, and blizzards.  My thoughts are with you @RowsbySue on this sobering day.  I'm sure you will be handed a folded American flag at the internment, and that is when I can never hold my tears any longer, when the flag is presented to the loved ones.  We appreciate your DH's years of service to his country.  Cheers to all on the celebration list!  Enjoy your happy events. 

 

There are no  ex spouses in our household thank goodness.  DD has one but thankfully her children with him are over 18 and she doesn't have much contact with him anymore.  Her new spouse is a gem!  As for dolphins, love them.  I always think of the dolphin show at the Atlanta Aquarium that we went to with some of the GC because it was outstanding.  I always wonder if DGD Morgan decided to study marine biology after that visit.  She just completed her Divemaster credentials, and this summer will work at the aquarium in Tampa and at a dive shop down there.  It will be summer break from USF Tampa after completing her sophomore year.  I hope for some moments of laughter today, and have already enjoyed some while reading @cat shepardAnn's memes.  The tasty Italian vegetable soup looks delicious.  A non meat variety would work well with Good Friday meals.  Thanks @dfishDebbie! 

 

@JAM37Julia, it's good to hear the throat is better and you may have a handle on the allergies.  As a matter of fact yesterday the doctor agreed to run a blood test to see what my environmental allergies are which should be very interesting.  I didn't have allergies growing up but we can grow into them I've heard.  Can't wait to hear back on that test.  @marshhawknice to hear your tests were "normal", and hope you continue to proceed okay even with the tumor on the adrenal gland.  As for your DH's doctor, he is a very wise man.  Doctors sometimes have to learn how to handle their patients in other ways than medically.  Good luck to your DH and I hope he can take his meds properly and start to feel less pain. 

 

Naha, Japan was first posted on March 21, 2021, over a year ago!  Here's my report from back then.

 

At first when I read the Port of the Day I thought, no I haven't been there yet.  Then as I looked further into it, we were there in 2010 on Diamond Princess on our Asia cruise.  That is where our ship docked and we got off to look around a bit.  I'm happy to see some photos posted here of the many attractions others have enjoyed.  

 

These same dancers greet all the ships I'm sure.

 

Costumes up close.

 

Everyone's favorite shopping street.

 

 

I can't imagine picking this jar of snakes to take home as a souvenir.  Look at those fangs!

 

The covered pedestrian street.

 

 

 

Heading back to the ship.

 

 

Beautiful  pictures thank  you.

                                                    Jim.

[Cruising-along]

Good morning all!

Another overcast morning in the PNW, aiming for a high of 50 F today with a few showers this afternoon.  

No ex-spouses in our family, I like dolphins, and our family laughs often and loudly!  

 

It isn't often that I'm tempted by soup, but the 3rd recipe today has grabbed me.  I just need to buy a few of the ingredients but will make it soon.  Will pass on the drink and wine today, have never been to Japan.

 

I'm almost done working on the large counted cross-stitch I started over a year ago.  It's a lovely evening scene in a town somewhere in Italy.   I may be able to finish that today.

 

@RowsbySue thinking of you today as your DH is interred.  Thank you for sharing some of your memories.  He sounds like he was a wonderful man.

 

@HeartgroveJack prayers for your dear sister as she enters hospice and that she wears those golden slippers in July.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[bennybear]

5 hours ago, Rowsby said:

My husband is being interred today at Willamette National Cemetery with Air Force Honors...

 

We have so many great memories....I wanted to share a few....

 

We always laughed about how he had requested remote Alaska after his Air Police training...and instead was sent to Bermuda for two years....and how some poor guy probably requested Bermuda....and ended up in remote Alaska...!!

 

He was a Trust Territory Deputy Sheriff on Kwajalein...and talked about his first helicopter ride there....how he and the pilot got in...and then....his door fell off...:)

 

When he retired his badge after 33 years with the State of Oregon....we moved to a cabin in Camp Sherman....how he loved those years.....feeding the deer and birds and squirrels......and was a volunteer where he met and knew everyone who lived there....

 

He loved our family....3 sons and their families....

 

We were married 50 years.....we often wondered if we'd make that milestone...and we did...!!!

 

The last several years were full of travel....always planning for one more trip....!!

 

And this was one of them....sitting in San Diego...waiting to board the Oosterdam....

 

 

 

 

 

Thanks to your DH for his service.  I am SO sorry for your loss!  Hoping these wonderful memories will help comfort you!  

[bennybear]

Good morning and thanks all!  That soup looks good!  I will gladly celebrate dolphins.  Have a great day, I continue my three day saga rebooking, sigh!  
 

[dfish]

@Heartgrove I am sorry to read your sister has entered hospice, but I am also happy for her.  She is facing the most difficult part of life and has chosen peace and grace.  Hospice affords people dignity, comfort, and peace at a time when the only alternative is tubes and wires.   Bless her and may she wear those golden slippers.  And spend many comfortable and peaceful days with those she loves best.

 

@marshhawk I am glad your tests have come back negative.  Your adrenal tumor falls into that majority.   The vast majority of them are benign and nonfunctioning.  

[Sharon in AZ]

Good morning everyone and Happy Thursday!  I’ve been trying to decide if I should call Flight Ease again today or not. Thinking not after my 3 1/2 hour hold on Tuesday with no resolution because of the itinerary change.  But we have a flight that changed planes and now our seats are apart. Craig is not happy because he won’t sleep on a plane unless I’m next to him so I can alert him when he snores. I think I’ll wait until tomorrow. 
 

I have a question for my Daily friends for those with CCL stock. How long after submitting my documentation should the on board credit show up?  This is my first time doing this.  And a big shout out for halfacts for having the info I needed to submit it. 
 

Sue @Rowsby — thank you for sharing memories of your DH today and thinking of you. The picture of him sitting on the balcony at the hotel waiting to see the ship was so nice. 
 

Thanks to everyone for sharing and posting pictures and funnies. I saw this yesterday. 
 

 

Have a great day everyone!

[Horizon chaser 1957]

Good morning, all! DH and I have already had several moments of laughter today. 
I have one ex spouse. I was wife number 2 of 4. ( consecutive, not simultaneous). He is still happily married to wife number 4. He lives in Saskatchewan and she lives in Colorado. She moved to Canada when they got married, but moved back to Colorado within a year supposedly because they have more affordable health care there.🤔 Except for 2020, they see each other at Christmas and for two weeks in the summer. That formula seems to work for them. 
It is still cold and windy here. Given what the provinces east of us are getting, I really can’t complain though. After posting the pics of Bali yesterday, my Facebook feed came up with pictures of Bali from four years ago. It seems longer. What a great trip that was!

@Rowsby my heart is with you on this difficult day. 

Happy Thursday, and wishing those of you facing the late winter storms were safely aboard a BHB instead!

Edited April 14, 2022 by Horizon chaser 1957

[Heartgrove]

23 minutes ago, dfish said:

@Heartgrove I am sorry to read your sister has entered hospice, but I am also happy for her.  She is facing the most difficult part of life and has chosen peace and grace.  Hospice affords people dignity, comfort, and peace at a time when the only alternative is tubes and wires.   Bless her and may she wear those golden slippers.  And spend many comfortable and peaceful days with those she loves best.

 

@marshhawk I am glad your tests have come back negative.  Your adrenal tumor falls into that majority.   The vast majority of them are benign and nonfunctioning.  

 

Debbie, Thank you for those soothing words. I really appreciate it.

 

- Jack

[ottahand7]

@Heartgrove Deepest sympathies again on the loss of your husband.   He will lay in rest with honors.  

@marshhawkPrayers for you and your DH.  You have an awful lot to handle right now.  Pet those cats.  That always helped give me a little peace when my girls were alive.   

 

Interesting group of days.  My ex hubby is now really good friends with my family and they do a lot together.  DF doesn't want anything to do with him.  We had a dolphin escort as we left St. Lucia last month.   The soup looks absolutely luscious.  The drink looks really tasty too.  Last night I was at a decent bar and asked them to make the Rye Paradise from a month ago.  It was very tasty but pretty boozy too so only one.    It is interesting the wine of the day is a Shiraz that is available on HA ships.  I wonder how good it is.   @StLouisCruisersthanks for the photos from Japan.  

 

Tomorrow I will probably have food porn.  We have a Duckhorn wine dinner at the local casino.  They have the most innovative food.   Cold and windy today.  It always seems to blow when it is the monthly recycling pick up day.   

 

Prayers for all on Roy's care list and for the people of Ukraine.   🙏

[Horizon chaser 1957]

In honour of dolphin day, here is a photo of swimming with pink dolphins in the Rio Negro in the Amazon. We were there on the Princendam’s last Amazon cruise with HAL. The dolphins are wild in the river, and come in for fish treats and to gawk at the tourists - or not. It depends on how they feel. They are NOT trained and you do NOT pet / ride them! There was a thunderstorm over the rainforest behind us while we were there. It was magical! As we got ready to go in, someone told a joke about pe**s fish, and only four of us in the whole group would go into the river. After the dolphins came, one woman on the platform exclaimed indignantly ‘The people in the water are having all the fun!’. Um, yes, that often happens in swimming with dolphins. I think she expected them to perform tricks for an audience and wasn’t clear on the concept of wildlife.

 

 
 
My toes just barely touched the sandy river bottom here. I think this dolphin is the one that kept bumping the back of my legs to make me bounce off the bottom. I’m not sure if it was curious, or just thought it was funny.

Edited April 14, 2022 by Horizon chaser 1957

[JazzyV]

Good afternoon. Thanks for the Daily.

No ex-spouse here. I hope we all have a moment of laughter every day. I like dolphins; they're playful.

Good quote.

I like the meal and wine. Pass on the drink.

I've not been to Japan. Thanks for the pictures @StLouisCruisers

Nice to see Zaandam; she was my ship for the SA/Antarctica cruise in 2018/2019.

 

It's been raining off and on, and very windy. Also much cooler today than yesterday. No big plans here, just putter around the house.

 

@Rowsby Prayers for you and your family. A salute to your DH's service. Thank you for sharing memories, and I hope they bring you much comfort.

@Lady Hudson I'm glad you're able to make the trip on Saturday to visit your SIL.

@JAM37 I'm glad to hear you're feeling better today.

@smitty34877 I hope Tana and the family are doing ok. Continued prayers.

@marshhawk Good news on your tests being normal; they may just do follow-up imaging down the road. Prayers that DH gets some relief with the meds.

@kazu Prayers for Jose and you.

 

Prayers for the Care List and Ukraine and its people. Cheers for the Celebration List.

Stay safe everyone.

[Vict0riann]

Good morning, Dailyites, and @Rowsby, I'll be thinking of you today.  You have some great memories.  Love the Bermuda/Alaska story!   And @Heartgrove,  I'm sorry about your sister, hope hospice can keep her comfortable.

 

Busy morning so far.  We decided to add Club Orange to our cruise in July on NS.  I really liked the limited numbers in that dining room and felt quite safe there.  We also get a cabin upgrade - we went from a VH to an almost midships V on this one, with an extended verandah.  At US$15 a day each, I think we will appreciate it - and the orange keycards assure priority tendering, whereas 5 stars don't always do that!  Lots of tendering in Iceland and Greenland.  Now we wait for a bit to find our what the testing/vaccination requirements are going to be in Europe in June...  I know we should get a 4th shot some time before we travel.  Roy, @rafinmd, did you have a reaction to yours? (BTW, I like your new avatar!)

 

Pat had Italian vegetable soup yesterday, and I'm not a soup fan, so we will have something else today.  Don't know what.  DD said she is going to buy a roasted chicken, so maybe that and a salad.  Still waiting for someone to bring a menu to the table...   

[Cruise Suzy]

44 minutes ago, Sharon in AZ said:

I have a question for my Daily friends for those with CCL stock. How long after submitting my documentation should the on board credit show up?  This is my first time doing this.  And a big shout out for halfacts for having the info I needed to submit it. 

 

You won't see it unless you get a new confirmation printed - like when you make a payment or ask your TA to do it. Then one passenger will have more OBC than the other. At least that's the only place I've been able to view it. We have received a confirming e-mail within a day or so that showed approval for all the cruises we had applied for.

[aliaschief]

@Sharon in AZ. We usually receive our OBC for owning Carnival Corporation Stock within 48 hours of submitting.

 

Of course these are hardly usual times at Hal Hdqs. So could be a little longer.

 

Bruce

[bennybear]

@Horizon chaser 1957 nice pink dolphins.   We too have seen them in the wild,  the only way IMO.   They are so playful,  DS played catch with one with some leaves.   So magical,  DH counted eleven swimming below him one swim.

@Heartgrove sending good thoughts for peace and strength for you and your family.  
@Sharon in AZ I feel your pain, it’s exhausting.  I understand that these are crazy times for all involved but just wish communication was simpler and more straightforward.  After six hours I don’t know if I care any longer about a replacement cruise.    Luckily found a way to deal with the airline online to cancel.  
@Vict0riannsounds like a good move for you!  Our shot reactions were relatively mild.  

Edited April 14, 2022 by bennybear

[durangoscots]

Good Afternoon. Last night was cold, and it will probably freeze again for the next couple of nights but then warming in the forecast. I can but hope our fruit trees survived. 

 

I love dolphins and I also love soup so a couple of winners for me today. Have not been to the destination of day. I do need to see more of Japan. And as for ex-spouses.... I try to think of mine as little as possible. I was #3 and last I heard he was on #5 or maybe it is #6. He did have some good points and I liked his family and they liked me - but I have not heard from them in many years.

 

When I got to the shelter yesterday there were people swarming all over the roof. I certainly hope they got the roof sealed properly. The leak was right over our mechanical room and our internet was down for awhile. The contractor is meeting with me tomorrow to go over status of everything. They did replace the ceiling tiles that were damaged (quite a few were on the floor and water logged) and we had people in to check the status of the equipment in the leaking area.... fortunately all seems good. Now we wait for the next rain although I believe they are going to water test the roof today or tomorrow.

 

@Rowsby.... thinking of you today. Not an easy day to get through. 

Take care all.

 

Susan

[Gail & Marty sailing away]

Thanks for the info.

[Tbay]

7 hours ago, Rowsby said:

We have so many great memories....I wanted to share a few....

Keep sharing, and keep him close in your heart.

[1ANGELCAT]

Zaandam is overnighting. Schedule showing 4pm tomorrow departure.

[Quartzsite Cruiser]

Another late good afternoon.  I have been reading the Daily off and on as I was cleaning the house and the motorhome.

 

Carlos finished the tree and clean up this morning.  I was very impressed with the clean up as there are only a few scattered limbs to pick up.  I'm debating whether or not to do just a bit more trimming of some stragglers.  Overall, I am happy with the way the tree looks, and it is a major change.  I have been taking before, during and after pictures, and I'll post them, but it probably won't be until tomorrow.  I still have a few more things to tackle this afternoon as our temperatures will continue rising  the next few days.

 

On March 21, 2021, I shared some of our pictures of Naha, and I'll repost them here.  @StLouisCruisers, Sandi, thank you for mentioning the date as that saved a lot of time looking for my post.

 

We've been to Okinawa twice, (both times on Princess)., but I did not remember the port's name.  A little history, Okinawa is part of the Ryukyu Islands, which originally were part of China, until annexed by Japan in 1609.  It is the fifth largest island.  Naha is the capital.

 

A few pictures of the area.  The middle one was taken from the monorail station near the castle.

 

A couple of pictures of the tunnels used by the Japanese during WWII.

 

A couple of pictures of Shurijo Castle.  It is easy to see the Chinese influence.

 

This just a small portion of the indoor market that covers almost a full block.

 

And finally, our send off as the ship sailed.  We enjoyed this performance on both visits.

 

 

Lenda

 

 

[Sharon in AZ]

Many thanks to @Cruise Suzy and @aliaschief for the CCL on board credit info.  I'll have to get a new copy of our confirmation to double check as it's getting down to the wire.

 

@bennybear -- I can't imagine the details you are having to sift through cancelling everything.  Yikes.  At least while I was on hold for 3 1/2 hours for FE to answer I read some CC live from reports.  I've decided to wait until next week to call again.

 

Lenda @Quartzsite Cruiser -- I loved your first picture, "Charlie's Tacos"!!  Since 1956! 

Can't wait to see your before and after pictures of the tree.  We had a huge mesquite in our front yard and had it totally removed when we redid our landscaping in 1999.  What a mess.

 

@Horizon chaser 1957 -- loved the pink dolphin pictures!

 

[rafinmd]

3 hours ago, Vict0riann said:

 Roy, @rafinmd, did you have a reaction to yours? (BTW, I like your new avatar!)

I feel a little generally off but nothing serious.  The biggest thing is the arm hurts if I raise it over my head.

 

Roy

[USN59-79]

I enjoyed the pictures of Naha.  We walked those same streets just a couple of years ago.  There is a monorail station in the center of the city and we took it, hoping it would take us to other parts of the island.  Unfortunately, it just goes around the city of Naha and to the airport.  I spent a lot of time on Okinawa in 1959 and 1960 on my first ship, USS Pine Island, a seaplane tender.  We docked on the other end of the island, at White Beach.  Much different then than now.  Once I went swimming at White Beach and got severely stung by jellyfish.  Barely made it back to the ship and spent a couple of days in sick bay recovering.  Was told they have a neurotoxic poison similar to a cobra.

There were three villages we would frequent.  I remember Tairagawa and Hishkea, but not the name of the third one.  We called them Village One, Village Two and Village 3.  Not a lot to do there but drink beer and fight with the Marines stationed there.  "Good old days".

[Quartzsite Cruiser]

Fortunately, there are no ex-spouses here, but a few other relatives have exes.  A moment of laughter is important, and the world needs more such moments.  I love watching dolphins and would love to swim with them, but I won't.  I don't think it is fair or natural to keep them penned up so humans and swim with them.  

 

I like today's quote.  

 

The meal sounds good, but we'll pass on the drink and the wine.  Our neighbors brought us some  Italian soup that was his father's recipe, and it was very good.  I'll share the recipe at the end of this post to give every one another choice as this one uses Italian sausage links.  @dfish  Debbie's recipes look good too, and any of them could be combined with the others.

 

@cat shepard  I loved the memes today.

@Lady Hudson    Katherine, have a safe trip to visit your SIL, and good that you will have company on the drive to help with the driving.  Safe travels.

@JAM37  Julia, I'm glad that you are feeling better and that the allergy medicine and the warm salt water helped. 

@marshhawk  Ann, that is good news that your tests came back normal.  Maybe the frank talk from  your DH's doctor opened his eyes to the need to follow doctor's orders,  Good news that Fawn is back and wanted petting.

@Sharon in AZ  Glad you found you had your OBC.  On our last cruise, which we booked after we booked the first three, we did not get any payment confirmation showing OBC.  DH called our PCC who checked and confirmed we had the CCL stock OBC, plus some other credits.  The tree that Carlos worked on is a mesquite and in the 21 years we've owned the lot it had really grown.  I guess the growth was helped by being on the edge of the leach field for the septic tank.  It does seem to be a "happy" tree.

@Horizon chaser 1957  Loved the pictures of you swimming with the pink dolphins in the wild.  We saw them on our Amazon River cruise, but did not have a chance to swim with them.

@smitty34877  I hope everyone, especially Tana, is feeling better and is more rested.

@durangoscots  Susan, I'm glad the contractor covered the damage from the leaking roof, and that it is now repaired. Hope the fix worked.

@USN59-79  We enjoyed riding the monorail in Naha since we could see other parts of town.  The last stop was at the castle.

 

Here is our neighbor's soup recipe.  It is a family tradition for them to have it at Christmas, but it would be good anytime.

 

J. HATHAWAY’S ITALIAN SAUSAGE SOUP

 

6-8 sweet Italian sausage links

1 T butter or margarine

1 lg onion, sliced vertically into crescents

6 c water

1 T beef bouillon granules or 3 cubes

28 oz. can crushed tomatoes or 3 ½ cups fresh tomatoes, crushed

¼ green pepper diced

¼ t oregano

¼ t basil

1/8 t pepper

2 sm zucchini, cubed or sliced

2 oz. linguine, broken into 2 inch pieces

2 T grated Parmesan cheese

 

Fully cook sausage, pierce skin and drain on paper towels.  When cooled, cut into ½ inch rounds and set aside.

 

Melt butter or margarine and sauté onion until slightly soft.  Add water, bouillon granules or cubes, tomatoes, green pepper, oregano, basil and pepper.  Bring to a full boil; then add sausage, zucchini, linguine and Parmesan cheese. Cover and continue to cook until soup is simmering, stirring occasionally to prevent pasta from sticking. 

 

Makes 6 main dish servings.

 

Lenda

Edited April 14, 2022 by Quartzsite Cruiser

[bennybear]

39 minutes ago, USN59-79 said:

I enjoyed the pictures of Naha.  We walked those same streets just a couple of years ago.  There is a monorail station in the center of the city and we took it, hoping it would take us to other parts of the island.  Unfortunately, it just goes around the city of Naha and to the airport.  I spent a lot of time on Okinawa in 1959 and 1960 on my first ship, USS Pine Island, a seaplane tender.  We docked on the other end of the island, at White Beach.  Much different then than now.  Once I went swimming at White Beach and got severely stung by jellyfish.  Barely made it back to the ship and spent a couple of days in sick bay recovering.  Was told they have a neurotoxic poison similar to a cobra.

There were three villages we would frequent.  I remember Tairagawa and Hishkea, but not the name of the third one.  We called them Village One, Village Two and Village 3.  Not a lot to do there but drink beer and fight with the Marines stationed there.  "Good old days".

Yikes!  Scary, got stung once in St Lucia, no fun, but the spice rum worked topically, not so well for DH who tried internal application.

1 hour ago, Sharon in AZ said:

Many thanks to @Cruise Suzy and @aliaschief for the CCL on board credit info.  I'll have to get a new copy of our confirmation to double check as it's getting down to the wire.

 

@bennybear -- I can't imagine the details you are having to sift through cancelling everything.  Yikes.  At least while I was on hold for 3 1/2 hours for FE to answer I read some CC live from reports.  I've decided to wait until next week to call again.

 

Lenda @Quartzsite Cruiser -- I loved your first picture, "Charlie's Tacos"!!  Since 1956! 

Can't wait to see your before and after pictures of the tree.  We had a huge mesquite in our front yard and had it totally removed when we redid our landscaping in 1999.  What a mess.

 

@Horizon chaser 1957 -- loved the pink dolphin pictures!

 

Well I have good news, rebooked lifted and shifted although the email had a four letter work typo🤷‍♀️😂😜.    Hope it actually works out,  that’s the concern now,  all the efforts and so many cancellations.  Oh well, forever hopeful.