The Fleet Report and Daily for Tuesday January 24th, 2023

[rafinmd]

Today's sunrise is the first onboard from my 2020 Crystal Serenity partial world cruise.  January 24 was our second sea day out of Los Angeles.  We thought at the time we were headed to Nuka Hiva but that evening we knew we were getting there via Cabo San Lucas for an emergency passenger medical evacuation.

 

 

Roy

[marshhawk]

Good Tuesday Morning Dailyites!  Did we get snow last night?  All the houses' roofs  are covered in white, so are the mail boxes. and cars...I think it's frost.  Very heavy frost.  The computer says it's 29 and sunny.  

 

We ended up for girls breakfast yesterday, with only two girls and DH.  It was nice, but quiet.  We talked about Terry's up coming cruise.  They are renting a boat, and crossing Scotland on a river.  I will need to do some research on her trip.  It sounds fun, hey are doing this with their best friends and both. of the hubbys have captain's licenses.

 

The hospital called early yesterday morning,  DH's eye surgery is scheduled for February 7th.  Mid day.

 

When my friend Shari passed away, her sister came down from NY  several times to clean out her condo.  She had called me when she was clearing out phone numbers from Shari's phone, and asked me what I wanted from Shari's place.  All I could think of was a huge fan, paper fan that my mother had had, and since Shari loved all things Japanese, I gave her the fan when she bought the condo.  When I asked for that, her sister got all ticked with me, that I would ask for something I had given Shari, back.  And told me that.

I asked about the piano, to buy, and she said Terry had already shown interest in it, and left it at that. 

 

Yesterday she called and said she was at Shari's and that if I wanted the fan, I could come get it.  Since I was working, and DH is between campaigns right now, he went over to get the fan.. When he went over he called after he left and said he got the fan, but that the piano was still there.  And the sister said that the price was negotiable.  I called the sister, asked if 150.00 was Ok, she said yes, and DH bought a piano.  I thought it was a standard upright, but it is electric, can be taken apart and DH thinks it will fit in the back of the jeep. I hope, because our friend who has a truck, has sort of disappeared.

 

Maybe I should say that I have disappeared.  Seems i work all the time.  If im not on the phones, I am walking the dog. Or at a doctors appointment,  or cooking.  I need a cruise, and get anxious between pay checks  that I wont have the necessary money to do the cruises I have already planned. 

 

 

 

 

Edited January 24, 2023 by marshhawk

[aliaschief]

Good morning! Another late start morning. Cold symptoms may be a little milder this morning. Thanks for my Susan’s birthday wishes. We did nothing to celebrate as we are saving the fun for Cancun. Did get Face Time with kids and grandchildren which is always a delight!

Our weather forecast is calling for possible severe weather in the next 24 hours so we’ll keep alert.

Not much planned today other than hanging around nursing my cold.

Thanks for the reports and laughs.

 

[dfish]

Good morning, everyone!

 

Today is going to be errand day here as we are expecting snow tomorrow.  The best they can give us as an estimate is 1-4 inches.   One would be enough for me.  But, best to be prepared.  I had a beer can collection in college.  Haven't had a beer in  years, so none here now.  There is one lone bottle of St. Pauli Girl Non Alcoholic waiting to be turned in for refund.  Maybe today.  

 

Today's meal would be a good one for a day like tomorrow.  For the carnivores among us, just add ground beef.  Or ground turkey.  Chili mac is a combination of Mac and Cheese and Chili.  Sounds good to me except for the mac part (carbs). Here's a quick and easy version to get started.    https://www.budgetbytes.com/cheesy-vegetarian-chili-mac/

 

 

There is a slow cooker variation available for the next recipe.  Sounds good to me. Turn it on and let it go!   https://kristineskitchenblog.com/one-pot-vegetarian-chili-mac/

 

 

This might be a good thing for this coming weekend's football games.  It just screams touchdown, doesn't it?   https://www.twopeasandtheirpod.com/one-pot-vegetarian-chili-mac-and-cheese/

 

 

This last recipe makes the Chili Mac true vegan.   You can also make it Gluten Free, Soy Free, and Oil Free.  But, hopefully not Flavor Free.  https://rainbowplantlife.com/one-pot-vegan-chili-mac/

 

 

That's it for today.  So, make up a big pot, wrap up in your favorite quilt, and turn on the Hallmark channel for some great chick flics.  What a great way to hunker down during a storm.  The only other thing  you need is a good glass of cardboardeaux.  

 

Warm thoughts for all who need them and cheers to those who are celebrating.

[cruising sister]

Here is my attempt at copying a joke. I just spent 4 days caring for grandkids and found this funny. 

[Himself]

Thank you for the fleet update.

[marshhawk]

Sorry, I just found these and couldnt stop myself-

 

What do you call a typo on a tombstone? A grave mistake.

 

I told my doctor that I broke my arm in two places. He told me to stop going to those places.

 

A bear walks into a bar and says, “Give me a whiskey and…(pause)…… cola.” “Why the big pause?” asks the bartender. The bear shrugged. “I’m not sure; I was born with them.”

[dfish]

@Cruising-along  Carolyn, have a happy, happy day.

 

 

 

[1ANGELCAT]

Good sunny morning. Tomorrow is snow , ice then rain. 
Blessings and prayers to all on our lists.

 

[RMLincoln]

Good morning all. Love this group!  So much to admire! Compassion, edification, nostalgia, humor, food and drink, hopes dreams and challenges. Collectively you’ve got life covered!  Thank you for welcoming me!  
 

love the snow cartoons, passing them to friends back in my New Mexico mountains. There, the rule of thumb was that we needed a 10 foot winter to avoid an intense fire season, so a foot a week for ten weeks. When we’d get to100 inches I’d stop “holding my breath” and at 120 inches I’d breathe a sigh of relief. I don’t miss it. Maryland winter is kind… 
 

Jacqui, you are an inspiration!  And managing very well, give yourself a big hug!  (compliment… 😉) 
 

And hugs and comforts to Carolyn and all of Patricia’s family. 
 

Chili Mac works for me, not DH. Not happening here…. Can’t drink red wine anymore. Too many beer cans need to be collected from the roadsides!  IMO. 

 

Today is groceries day, tomorrow eye appointment for DH, then a treat to go hear Chamber Music at Kennedy Center in DC- one of the reasons we chose to move to this area, Maryland side of DC.   (And why we’ll miss Lincoln Center Stage on HAL, love the quartets.) More another day about our eye challenges with DH… grateful for  making progress!  Surgery scheduled for late March. Miracles getting that scheduled last week!  
 

Blessings to all, in needs and celebrations.   m— 
 

 

[grapau27]

1 hour ago, rafinmd said:

Happy Tuesday.  I'll pass on the beer cans as I don't care for beer.  We seem to celebrate Compliment Day every day and enjoy good belly laughs.  I love the Thoreau quote.  I was scheduled for Norfolk Island on Crystal Serenity in 2018 but were unable to tender.  I think the Captain warned us well in advance that it was a difficult place for tendering.  I'd like the Mac but would pass on the chili.  My alternative is Grilled Turkey Breast with Honey-Onion Compote, and Peach Crisp as served on MS Prinsendam January 24, 2019:

 

Today’s care list:

RIP Patricia 1/23/23
California shooting victims
Kazu in cast until about 2/8
Grahaam’s Sarah waiting on needed injection but doing better
From the rotation:
Ominous scan for Marshhawk
HAL Sailer DBIL in final days and family squabbles
Rowsby in need of shoulder replacement
Status of St. Louis Sal (7/1) and JAM37 (7/7)

 

Celebrations and Shoutouts:

Welcome RMLincoln
cruszn single in Hawaii until 1/31
Last treatment for Cruising-Along DH
Seasick Sailor and ger_77 (Rotterdam  to 1/25), Heartgrove (Carnival Legend to 1/29), DeniEncinetas, and sailingdutchty   (Koningsdam  to 1/31),  lindaler and ottahand7(Volendam  to 3/18), and Cat in My Lap, Gail&Marty,richwmn and HorizonChaser1957 (Zuiderdam  to 5/12) at sea

Roy

Thank you for today's lists Roy @rafinmdand Sarah's inclusion.

Her appointment is on Thursday.

Graham.

[grapau27]

@Cruising-along.

Happy birthday Carolyn.

[Red Haired Lady]

I am an occassional lurker and former reader.  Always interesting to see what the port of the day is.  Like @rafinmd my cruise ship, the Maasdam, was not able to tender to Norfolk Island.  This was in Jan 2020. We were told that the island was provided with special tenders by the Australian government that are safer to use in rough seas.  The tender came out to the ship but the captain decided it was not safe.  Sadly we were not allowed to go, but we did circle the island to take pictures.  I have booked a cruise for Oct 2023 on the Noordam that goes there, so maybe I will see it then.  

 

 

Tender returning to shore after captain deemed the seas were too rough for safety.

 

 

Edited January 24, 2023 by Red Haired Lady

[smitty34877]

@Cruising-along, Carolyn, A very Happy Birthday  to my fellow Aquarian!

[Quartzsite Cruiser]

Good morning from a windy, very dark and wet central Texas.  Right now it is 43F, and we've received more than 3/4 inch of rain.  The rain is still coming down fairly hard.

 

In years past, I liked to drink beer (until it stopped liking me) and would drink it in cans since they could be recycled.  Last spring, one of the wonderful bar servers in Billboard on Board gave me two birds made out of cans.  I know one was a non-alcoholic drink, but I'm not sure about the other can.  This is a picture of the two cans, which some how made it home without getting bent out of shape.

 

 

When I was taking pictures of Billboard on Board, I got a candid picture of Dexter, on the left, and Warren, with his back to the camera.  Dexter is the talented one who gave me the birds, which look a little like turkeys.  Both took such good care of us, even to the point of Warren searching every bar for the last bottle of a particular gin for DH.  I'm pretty sure Warren hid the bottle because they always had that gin the rest of the time we were on board.  

 

Compliments are very nice to give and receive and go a long way to make someone's day.  To all the Dailyites, thank you for making this place such a great place to visit every day.  Your support when DH was having so many problems made the difficult time a little easier.  You also created a safe refuge during the worse of the pandemic.  I think we could all use a good belly laugh every day.

 

Henry David Thoreau's quote is true, but at times difficult to attain.

 

We'll pass on the meal since DH does not care for macaroni.  The drink sounds interesting, and I'd love to try the wine.

 

Unfortunately, we have not been to Norfolk Island, Australia.

 

@kazu  Jacqui, thanks for the pictures of the deer.  I do not envy you the snow, and I'll gladly stick with our rain.

@lcand1923  I agree beer cans have evolved over my lifetime.  I remember my father having to use a church key to open been cans when I was little.

@marshhawk  Annie, I'm glad your DH has a date for his eye surgery.  Congratulations on finally being able to get the fan and on buying the piano.

@RMLincoln  Enjoy the Chamber music concert tomorrow.  I hope your DH's eye surgery in March goes well.

@grapau27  Graham, I'm glad Sarah has her appointment on Thursday for the injections.  Sending positive thoughts your way that the injections work and ease her pain..

@Red Haired Lady  Welcome back to the Fleet/Daily.  I hope your won't be a stranger, and thank you for your pictures of Norfolk Island.

 

@Cruising-along  Carolyn,  🌹 🎂 A VERY HAPPY BIRTHDAY!  🥂 🍾

 

Lenda

 

[cunnorl]

Good Morning from a bright and sunny  but coolish day at the beach

        Norfolk Island was one of our many cancelled/changed ports on our recent Noordam cruise. It was disappointing. 

      @Cruising-along Carolyn- A very Happy Birthday to you. May you enjoy many more.

        @grapau27 Glad to hear that Sarah`s appointment is this week. Hopefully it will give her relief.

        Quiet day here which is nice. 

 

Stay safe and enjoy today

    Charlene

[ssawjo]

3 hours ago, cat shepard said:

 

 

 

*********

Plaisir de Merle Cabernet Sauvignon, South Africa

My “go to” sites did not provide any info on this wine, but consumers seem to really enjoy it. The most recently released vintage - 2018, will be the easiest to find. Several online distributors with prices starting at $16.35.

Distributor notes 

 

 

Cat Shepard,

I really enjoy wine from this particular South Africa vineyard.  However, I have not been able to source any in the US.  Do you have or know of any distributors that have this wine or any of their whites?  You can email me at ssawjo at cox dot net if you prefer.  

 

Thanks much,

 

Bill O

[Cruising-along]

Good morning all!
My day has started out in the best way, DD,  DSIL and the grandsons Face Timed with me from Thailand to say happy birthday!  I wasn't expecting that, now I'll be smiling all day. 🙂  I had just rolled out of bed and looked atrocious, and it was 11pm there so the boys were barely awake.

 

They're having an amazing time over there, I'm sure the boys will never forget this trip.  Yesterday they got to feed and bathe elephants, they're learning about new foods and customs, and doing a lot of swimming.

 

Today is DH's last bladder cancer treatment (hurray!!!) so we won't be going anywhere but I'm fine with that.  Looking forward to a quiet day at home, maybe some cruise planning.  We got some take-out last night that will be enough for tonight too, so I won't be cooking.

 

I've gotten all my lab results now and am generally happy with everything except one area.  Will wait and see what my doctor says, but I'm wondering if the reason is when I was so sick last month for several weeks.  That makes sense to me, and nothing else has changed in my lifestyle.  Diabetic, cholesterol and the rest were all good.

 

Have a great day everyone!

 

 

 

 

[cat shepard]

15 minutes ago, ssawjo said:

Cat Shepard,

I really enjoy wine from this particular South Africa vineyard.  However, I have not been able to source any in the US.  Do you have or know of any distributors that have this wine or any of their whites?  You can email me at ssawjo at cox dot net if you prefer.  

 

Thanks much,

 

Bill O

 

Bill

Normally I will give everyone a clue, when a wine is only available from the country of origin, but I totally was distracted by my failure to find any reviews from critics, so I forgot to mention that.
 

Here is a link to distributors that might ship to you. I cannot even begin to guess what shipping costs would be. If you have a good relationship with your local wine shoe, they might be willing to help. Good luck. 
 

Ann

 

https://www.wine-searcher.com/find/plaisir+de+merle+cab+sauv+paarl+coastal+western+cape+south+africa/2018

[cat shepard]

14 minutes ago, Cruising-along said:

Good morning all!
My day has started out in the best way, DD,  DSIL and the grandsons Face Timed with me from Thailand to say happy birthday!  I wasn't expecting that, now I'll be smiling all day. 🙂  I had just rolled out of bed and looked atrocious, and it was 11pm there so the boys were barely awake.

 

They're having an amazing time over there, I'm sure the boys will never forget this trip.  Yesterday they got to feed and bathe elephants, they're learning about new foods and customs, and doing a lot of swimming.

 

Today is DH's last bladder cancer treatment (hurray!!!) so we won't be going anywhere but I'm fine with that.  Looking forward to a quiet day at home, maybe some cruise planning.  We got some take-out last night that will be enough for tonight too, so I won't be cooking.

 

I've gotten all my lab results now and am generally happy with everything except one area.  Will wait and see what my doctor says, but I'm wondering if the reason is when I was so sick last month for several weeks.  That makes sense to me, and nothing else has changed in my lifestyle.  Diabetic, cholesterol and the rest were all good.

 

Have a great day everyone!

 

 

 

 

 

Happy Birthday Carolyn!  May your new year be filled with love, laughter and great health!

 

 

 

 

Edited January 24, 2023 by cat shepard

[kazu]

19 minutes ago, Cruising-along said:

My day has started out in the best way, DD,  DSIL and the grandsons Face Timed with me from Thailand to say happy birthday!  

 

How wonderful!

 

Happy Birthday!

 

 

19 minutes ago, Cruising-along said:

Today is DH's last bladder cancer treatment (hurray!!!) so we won't be going anywhere but I'm fine with that.

 

Great news!

 

19 minutes ago, Cruising-along said:

I've gotten all my lab results now and am generally happy with everything except one area.  Will wait and see what my doctor says, but I'm wondering if the reason is when I was so sick last month for several weeks. 

 

 

Hopefully , it’s something that’s fixable easily 🤞 

 

[puppycanducruise]

@Cruising-alongHappy Birthday! 🎂

[rafinmd]

Happy Birthday Carolyn.  I'll take it as a blessing that Patricia died yesterday and not on your birthday, and also happy that DH has finished his treatments and pray that your test results will be easily resolved.  What a roller coaster week it's been for you.

 

Roy

[Vict0riann]

Good morning, Dailyites.   My compliments to all!  Happy birthday to @Cruising-along.   We tested ourselves this morning, and we're both negative, so we're allowed to go to the doctor to get zapped.  I am SO looking forward to it, as the bumps on my lower back are  itchy and sting, and keep me awake.    I am still coughing, although I think the "cold" is pretty well over, so I'm not sure if it's the cold, my blood pressure meds, or reflux!  Oh, well, time will tell.  

 

We haven't been to Norfolk Island, but we have Australian friends who go there often for a holiday.  They love it.  Chili, and mac and cheese are two things we don't eat.  I'm not sure why, probably because they are not Irish.  

 

I do have a beer can biplane, made for us many years ago by a bartender, Michael, on a dam ship.  

 

 

 

 

[RedneckBob]

My last belly buster of the day.

 

The Misses and me were shopping in St. Thomas off of the N. Statendam last year. A couple of days passed when the Misses told me she could not find her credit card that she used to purchase a boatload of items in St Thomas. I immediately went to Guest Services to make a call to the credit card company to cancel/stop use of the card. When I reached the credit card company they informed me that the card had been used after we left St Thomas. I asked how much had been charged by whoever took the card. Once I heard what had been charged I told the credit card company not to cancel the card. Whoever took the card was spending less than my wife. 😀

(something a sexist might say)