The Fleet Report and Daily for Thursday July 4th, 2024

[Cruising-along]

Good morning all and Happy 4th of July!

We'll be celebrating BBQ day by doing chicken on the BBQ tonight, and maybe I'll have a hot dog for lunch.  Neither of us is fond of most Country Music so will pass on that.  Also will pass on the meal, drink and red wine.  We've been to Gibraltar several times, we love going up to see the ape shenanigans.

 

No plans for today other than staying home and trying to keep the grand-kitties calm.  The fireworks started yesterday -- so far they're doing ok but today will be much, much worse.  I did the "desensitizing" yesterday with low volume recordings of fireworks while I played with them with their favorite toy.  It went well, now will be the real test.  Will have a couple sound machines going and classical music (yes, I spoil our pets) 😉  

 

We've begun our long stretch of sunny, hot days, up to 90 for several days soon.  So watering everything is on the agenda.

 

Sandi @StLouisCruisers sending hugs on the anniversary of your DF's passing.  

Annie @marshhawk sending hugs to you too as you remember the passing of your fiance and grandfather.

Terry @smitty34877 always prayers and thoughts for Tana, you, and the family.

 

The Astilbe and Lilies are just getting going here, I love the pops of color all over the garden.

 

 

 

 

 

And Gibraltar -- just a few, my photos are like others already posted.

Some of my favorite photos of the Macaques.  Loved seeing the babies.

 

 

 

 

 

[Vict0riann]

Good morning, Dailyites, and Happy Fourth of July to all our American neighbours!  🇺🇸  Looks like it's going to be a good day today!  I might get out a steak for Pat to barbecue this evening.  I have just been warming up stuff from the freezer for the past week, so today will be real cooking...  I think I am back to normal, I removed all the bandaging this morning, and everything looks good.  Now  i want to get on with the radiation and get it over with.

 

We have been warned we are in for a heat wave here on the island.  Might even get up to 30.  The heat pump is doing well.  There was a recall on our brand, but evidently not our type.

 

We visited Gibraltar in 2014, on our Atlantic Adventurer cruise on Maasdam, a great cruise, I  wish they would repeat it.   I organized a private tour for Gibraltar and we ended up with three vans full.  Our guide insisted I should hold a friendly macaque and she was lovely, she felt like a Persian cat - I had thought her fur would be spiky.   Pat enjoyed all the guns, of course, I think we went just a bout everywhere but we didn't drive across the airport runway, I think the other vans did.  A lot of my photos are like the others already posted.

 

Approaching the rock

 

 

Me and my friend

 

 

The WW2 tunnels were amazing

 

 

 

From the top of the rock

 

 

The road we didn't take

 

 

Some guns..

 

 

 

 

 

[durangoscots]

Good morning to everyone. Warm and Sunny for our 4th. High will be in the mid-80's. It is wonderfully cool at night. I am staying in today.... don't want to fight the crowds at the various doings around town. Will fix a hamburger and have salads. I am all set. Just need to walk the dogs. So far, no fireworks.... hope that continues except for the city sponsored ones tonight about 9:00pm or a bit later. Picnics and street dances are also scheduled.

 

Have not been to Gibraltar.... maybe in the future.

 

Hope health and weather treat everyone well today.

 

Susan

[aliaschief]

2 hours ago, rafinmd said:

Today's sunrise is from my 2022 QM2 cruise.  On July 4 we visited Boston:

 

 

Roy

You caught a nice one. Thanks.

[Himself]

Thanks for the report as we celebrate 248th anniversary of the Declaration of Independance from England. Happy 4th of July.

[RedneckBob]

4 hours ago, aliaschief said:

Got your attention rather quickly!😎

Touché! (Pardon my southern French accent).

[Sharon in AZ]

2 hours ago, Quartzsite Cruiser said:

Sharon, we have one of those smart thermostats, and have a couple of programs.  We can override a program if necessary.  The good thing about the thermostat is the wifi connection that lets us access it when we're not home.  Now, when we're on our way home from Arizona or any place, we can change the settings and not have to get a neighbor to go change them for us.

Unfortunately we can’t change ours remotely. I’m sure we could upgrade it sometime though because it sure would be convenient. 
 

This morning I finally figured out how to change it to a permanent override from the schedule. For us it’s just easier to use it that way since we are home all the time. 

[grapau27]

2 hours ago, JazzyV said:

Good afternoon. Thanks for the Fleet Report/Daily @richwmn and to all contributors.

Happy 4th Of July! A bbq would be nice, but I have no grill. Country music is ok. I wouldn't mind a hotdog, but don't have any and I'm not going to the store. Funny quote. I've had an occasional good black bean burger, but prefer beef. Pass on the drink and maybe for the wine (a little pricey). I have been to Gibraltar on a land trip. A good day in history, Independence Day!

 

It's cloudy and warm here today. Somebody was setting off fireworks at 12:30AM this morning, but thankfully it didn't last long. I had taken 50mg of Benadry as premedication for my eye/RA shot last night, and slept almost 7 hours. I don't have any plans for today. Relax, clean up the kitchen, and later watch the Argentina vs Ecuador football match this evening. 

 

@StLouisCruisers Hugs to you and your twin on this sad anniversary, the passing of your DDad. Thanks for the Gibraltar photos. Nice ones of you and DH.

@seagarsmoker Thanks for stopping into the Daily today.

@ottahand7 Nice photos.

@cat shepard Good to hear that your DSis is doing well. I hope she can get in the pool. Yum, key lime pie is my favorite.

@smitty34877 Hugs and prayers for you, Tana and the family. Dealing with a chronic illness can be so draining. 

@GTVCRUISER Nice.

@dfish Enjoy the bbq at DN Kourtney's and meeting Addie.

@kazu I hope you can get treated soon, and not spend many more days with the pain.

@grapau27 Thanks for the photos from Gibraltar.

@marshhawk Hugs on your day of remembrance yesterday. So exciting that you have 4 days off, as much as you work! I read that article about BBQ sauce, and had never heard of that brand; I looked on my grocery store's app and they have it. I'll have to try it.

@Quartzsite Cruiser Great photos from Gibraltar.

@quilty964 Good luck with the sourdough.

@Cruzin Terri I'm sorry to hear there's no improvement in your arm pain. I'm glad your AC is now working. Good to see your Gibraltar photos and those of you and Jim.

@Nickelpenny That sounds like an interesting study you're in. Wow, that's a lot of cooking, especially just for you.

@Sharon in AZ Interesting about the thermostat. Right now I have smart thermostats. One I use in program and the other manual. I asked the HVAC guy who came out about replacing the radiator, to give me a price on wifi enabled thermostats. That way I wouldn't have to go up to the 3rd floor to adjust one of them. I haven't heard from him; I'll call next week.

 

Prayers for the Care List and Cheers for those Celebrating. 

 

A few Gibraltar pictures.

 

Europa Point Trinity Lighthouse

 

The Mosque of The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques

 

 

Caves in Gibralter

 

Cathedral Cave

 

Gibralter Barbary Macaques

 

 

Gibralter Cable Car

 

 

Down in the town, where I bought a piece of Lladro

 

Nice photos Vanessa.

[CrabbyPatti]

Happy 4th of July!!

 

Hope everyone has an enjoyable day.  I will be BBQ'ing some ribs later this evening.  Pasta salad chilling and I have strawberries and blue berries to round things out!

 

Last night we had excitement at our place, a speeding Jeep (our street is 25mph) hit a power pole that is adjacent to our pasture/field fence, knocked pole down, knocked fence down and sent 2 young ladies to the hospital!  Lots of blue lights keeping road closed until mess was cleaned up.  Our fence is still down, but we no longer keep critters out there, fence is more to keep folks from cutting across the place, so will tend to it another day!  Wondering if alcohol payed a factor?

 

Take care everyone!

 

Denise

[Haljo1935]

20 minutes ago, CrabbyPatti said:

Happy 4th of July!!

 

Hope everyone has an enjoyable day.  I will be BBQ'ing some ribs later this evening.  Pasta salad chilling and I have strawberries and blue berries to round things out!

 

Last night we had excitement at our place, a speeding Jeep (our street is 25mph) hit a power pole that is adjacent to our pasture/field fence, knocked pole down, knocked fence down and sent 2 young ladies to the hospital!  Lots of blue lights keeping road closed until mess was cleaned up.  Our fence is still down, but we no longer keep critters out there, fence is more to keep folks from cutting across the place, so will tend to it another day!  Wondering if alcohol payed a factor?

 

Take care everyone!

 

Denise

Yikes! Hope the 2 in the hospital are OK and good it wasn't worse.🤕

I can do w/o that kind of excitement and light show.🫣

 

Now, the ribs, pasta salad & berries🍓🫐 I can support 😋 yummy!!

[Quartzsite Cruiser]

Good afternoon from a hot central Texas.  It is 98F and feels like 106F.  After a busy morning, I'm enjoying relaxing in the cool house.  The ribs are in the smoker, and in a little less than an hour, I'll wrap them in foil for the last two hours of cooking.  The baked beans are ready to go into the oven, and the cake is decorated.  This year, I decided to skip an elaborate design and go simple.

 

 

3 hours ago, ger_77 said:

Good morning, thanks for the Fleet Report and Daily!  Happy Independence Day to all my American friends!  Of course it would be barbecue day as well, how appropriate.  While I'm not a fan of current country music, I do appreciate the old classics.  Hot dogs and burgers on the barbecue day seem to be a theme, and so delicious, both of them.

 

We're back from Calgary - a good time with the in-laws, using google translate for most conversations, as Mama-san doesn't speak any English, and Papa-san has a little of the language.  What we couldn't do on our phones, our lovely daughter-in-law translated for us.  And of course, we enjoyed spending even a short time with our two grandsons.  Coming home yesterday, DH wanted to take a different route, so off we went, not looking at a map or phone, just heading out on the highway, turning when we figured we should and continuing on.  Oh my!  What should normally take us around 6 hours took nearly 9.  We went north, then east, then south, then west, then north again, ... you get the picture.  Finally found a town that had a little restaurant where we had lunch and asked for directions to Saskatoon.  Seems nobody ever asked that there before!  LOL  I finally relented and took out my phone and Miss Googly guided us back home.

 

@kazuI'm sorry to hear you're in so much pain, but glad there's hope on the horizon for you with stents.  Our friend had them placed last year and said his life has changed dramatically.

@Seasick Sailorprayers for your DS as she battles her way through this horrible disease.

 

This morning we were supposed to have window washers here at 9:30, but it's almost an hour past that and nobody's shown up.  I placed a phone call, but didn't get happy results . . . will see if anyone arrives even before noon.  I have to get my hair cut in half an hour and I told DH if they show up when I'm away, they can't even think of touching the deck windows until I return - even if that means waiting for me - as they made such a mess of them last year.  Thankfully I'm only 5 houses away for my appointment, which shouldn't take long.  

 

I'm going to pass on the drink of the day, would like the wine even if it is a little pricey, and prefer meat in my burgers.  I didn't have anything really planned, and last night the daughter of our older friends from out of town called to say they would be coming to the city for a medical appointment, and they want to take us out to dinner.  Her parents told her of the great meals they had at a nice Greek restaurant, so we're meeting them there for dinner tonight.  Not sure what we'll be ordering, but we know there will be lively conversation and good food in front of us.  And wine.

 

Prayers for everyone who is in need, in pain, in grief, in turmoil, and in the paths of destructive storms and fires.  Extra prayers for those who are remembering losses at this time of year.  Cheers to all with celebrations.

 

Smooth Sailing!  ☺️☺️☺️

Gerry

 

Gerry, I'm glad you are back home safely after a nice visit with your family and DDIL's parents.  It sounds like your had an adventure coming home.

 

3 hours ago, Cruising-along said:

Good morning all and Happy 4th of July!

We'll be celebrating BBQ day by doing chicken on the BBQ tonight, and maybe I'll have a hot dog for lunch.  Neither of us is fond of most Country Music so will pass on that.  Also will pass on the meal, drink and red wine.  We've been to Gibraltar several times, we love going up to see the ape shenanigans.

 

No plans for today other than staying home and trying to keep the grand-kitties calm.  The fireworks started yesterday -- so far they're doing ok but today will be much, much worse.  I did the "desensitizing" yesterday with low volume recordings of fireworks while I played with them with their favorite toy.  It went well, now will be the real test.  Will have a couple sound machines going and classical music (yes, I spoil our pets) 😉  

 

We've begun our long stretch of sunny, hot days, up to 90 for several days soon.  So watering everything is on the agenda.

 

Sandi @StLouisCruisers sending hugs on the anniversary of your DF's passing.  

Annie @marshhawk sending hugs to you too as you remember the passing of your fiance and grandfather.

Terry @smitty34877 always prayers and thoughts for Tana, you, and the family.

 

The Astilbe and Lilies are just getting going here, I love the pops of color all over the garden.

 

 

 

 

 

And Gibraltar -- just a few, my photos are like others already posted.

Some of my favorite photos of the Macaques.  Loved seeing the babies.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Carolyn, I hope the kitties will stay calm tonight.  So far we have not heard any fireworks, but I bet that changes tonight.  The flowers are lovely.

 

3 hours ago, Vict0riann said:

Good morning, Dailyites, and Happy Fourth of July to all our American neighbours!  🇺🇸  Looks like it's going to be a good day today!  I might get out a steak for Pat to barbecue this evening.  I have just been warming up stuff from the freezer for the past week, so today will be real cooking...  I think I am back to normal, I removed all the bandaging this morning, and everything looks good.  Now  i want to get on with the radiation and get it over with.

 

We have been warned we are in for a heat wave here on the island.  Might even get up to 30.  The heat pump is doing well.  There was a recall on our brand, but evidently not our type.

 

We visited Gibraltar in 2014, on our Atlantic Adventurer cruise on Maasdam, a great cruise, I  wish they would repeat it.   I organized a private tour for Gibraltar and we ended up with three vans full.  Our guide insisted I should hold a friendly macaque and she was lovely, she felt like a Persian cat - I had thought her fur would be spiky.   Pat enjoyed all the guns, of course, I think we went just a bout everywhere but we didn't drive across the airport runway, I think the other vans did.  A lot of my photos are like the others already posted.

 

Approaching the rock

 

 

Me and my friend

 

 

The WW2 tunnels were amazing

 

 

 

From the top of the rock

 

 

The road we didn't take

 

 

Some guns..

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ann, I'm glad you are feeling good now.  Thanks for sharing your pictures of Gibraltar.

 

1 hour ago, CrabbyPatti said:

Happy 4th of July!!

 

Hope everyone has an enjoyable day.  I will be BBQ'ing some ribs later this evening.  Pasta salad chilling and I have strawberries and blue berries to round things out!

 

Last night we had excitement at our place, a speeding Jeep (our street is 25mph) hit a power pole that is adjacent to our pasture/field fence, knocked pole down, knocked fence down and sent 2 young ladies to the hospital!  Lots of blue lights keeping road closed until mess was cleaned up.  Our fence is still down, but we no longer keep critters out there, fence is more to keep folks from cutting across the place, so will tend to it another day!  Wondering if alcohol payed a factor?

 

Take care everyone!

 

Denise

 

Denise, I hope the two young ladies were not badly hurt and will be all right.  That kind of excitement we can all do without.

 

 

Lenda

Edited Thursday at 08:29 PM by Quartzsite Cruiser

[erewhon]

Good morning, Thanks for the HAL Fleet locations, and the  opportunity for dailyites to update their news.

Happy Independence Day to all USA cruise critic members.

Will read all the posts later.

[Cruising-along]

34 minutes ago, Quartzsite Cruiser said:

Carolyn, I hope the kitties will stay calm tonight.  So far we have not heard any fireworks, but I bet that changes tonight.  The flowers are lovely.

Thank you Lenda! So far they seem to be doing ok, tonight will be the test.  The booms are getting a little louder every hour.  Hope I won't be up with them all night.  

What time is dinner?  Yum!  Your dinner sounds wonderful, and the cake is beautiful!!  

[Quartzsite Cruiser]

6 minutes ago, Cruising-along said:

Thank you Lenda! So far they seem to be doing ok, tonight will be the test.  The booms are getting a little louder every hour.  Hope I won't be up with them all night.  

What time is dinner?  Yum!  Your dinner sounds wonderful, and the cake is beautiful!!  

 

Thanks, Carolyn.  Dinner is about 6pm.  I just wrapped the ribs, and they have another two hours before they will be tender, hopefully falling off the bone tender.

 

Lenda

 

[Sharon in AZ]

43 minutes ago, Quartzsite Cruiser said:

This year, I decided to skip an elaborate design and go simple.

 

I don’t call this simple Lenda!!  It’s very pretty and I wish I could have a slice!

[cruising sister]

Good afternoon and Happy 4th,

The birthday party went well and the cleanup is done. There were 16 people for the festivities and my friend was thrilled. Today I am taking it easy. We have had so much rain and flooding some of the firework displays have been rescheduled. The weather looks dry for tonight but forecasts had it raining. It is probably better to have postponed those where people would have to sit in the grass as we had a doozy of a storm overnight. 
 

I hope everyone has a safe day. Prayers for our care list and others suffering around the world. 

[Quartzsite Cruiser]

35 minutes ago, Sharon in AZ said:

I don’t call this simple Lenda!!  It’s very pretty and I wish I could have a slice!

 

Thank you, Sharon.  I stuck with two tips that could do straight lines, small scallops and stars.  Those are easy, and really about all I can do without too many goofs.

 

Lenda

[Haljo1935]

1 hour ago, Quartzsite Cruiser said:

...The ribs are in the smoker, and in a little less than an hour, I'll wrap them in foil for the last two hours of cooking.  The baked beans are ready to go into the oven, and the cake is decorated.  This year, I decided to skip an elaborate design and go simple.

 

Lunch sounds awesome and your "simple" cake is beautiful!!

[Crazy For Cats]

Despite the rain today's parade went on. I think the weather kept some of the crowds away. The children enjoyed gathering up the candy that was tossed.  

 

 

Our friends from Quebec attended as usual. 

[luvteaching]

Happy July 4th: 

 

Pretty quiet and a very nice day here so far. In some ways I'm surprised as we usually have fireworks going off early in the day. I'll take the peace and quiet! 

 

DM is doing good.  They have unhooked her from the catheter and taken the line out of her monitoring unit.   She has gotten up and walked to the chair and ate both her breakfast and lunch while sitting in the chair.  They are just waiting for her to pee on her own - that’s the only thing they need to make sure happens now.  She will be on medication for three months to stop blood clotting.  They anticipate her being released tomorrow morning. 

 

She'll go to my sister's place tomorrow and spend the night. Both sisters (they are twins) will be there for a pizza and wine sleepover and then take her to her place on Saturday so I'll hear from her when she gets home. My sisters are rather standoffish, decided years ago they didn't like my DD DH, and ignore us. The pandemic didn't help when the border was closed. Oh well - their loss in many ways. 

 

Dinner tonight is going to be a hot dog (or 2) done in the air fryer. They come out quite nice that way. 

 

Karen

[USN59-79]

It is a beautiful, almost perfect day today in the PNW.  Temperature in the low 80s, blue skies and a breeze to cool us down.  I decided that my 48 year old American flag had reached the end of its useful life and bought a new and much larger one from Costco.  Also needed to compete with a neighbor who prefers to fly a huge flag with the name of a former president on it.  I feel better honoring our country than a person.

Stayed home today and will barbecue some large t-bones in the next hour.

We had some good news this week.  Sara was concerned that she might need some heart surgery this Summer.  Spent an hour with an ultrasound person and then saw her cardiologist for two hours.  Bottom line:  No heart problem.  She will take a treadmill test next week, but the odds are great that it will confirm that she is OK.

Ray

[Haljo1935]

35 minutes ago, luvteaching said:

...DM is doing good.  They have unhooked her from the catheter and taken the line out of her monitoring unit.   She has gotten up and walked to the chair and ate both her breakfast and lunch while sitting in the chair.  They are just waiting for her to pee on her own - that’s the only thing they need to make sure happens now.  She will be on medication for three months to stop blood clotting.  They anticipate her being released tomorrow morning. 

 

She'll go to my sister's place tomorrow and spend the night. Both sisters (they are twins) will be there for a pizza and wine sleepover and then take her to her place on Saturday so I'll hear from her when she gets home....

That's great news on your DM. Didn't you say she's 98? Apologies if I have her mixed up w/someone else.

Hopefully she pees soon and has a quick, uneventful recovery.

 

18 minutes ago, USN59-79 said:

...I decided that my 48 year old American flag had reached the end of its useful life and bought a new and much larger one from Costco.  Also needed to compete with a neighbor who prefers to fly a huge flag with the name of a former president on it.  I feel better honoring our country than a person.

...We had some good news this week.  Sara was concerned that she might need some heart surgery this Summer.  Spent an hour with an ultrasound person and then saw her cardiologist for two hours.  Bottom line:  No heart problem.  She will take a treadmill test next week, but the odds are great that it will confirm that she is OK.

I recall you mentioning you were looking for a new flag - specifically one made in the USA.🇺🇸 We have not yet replaced ours that had reached the end of it's service, well before 48 years. We'll check Costco.

That's great news on Sara!! Sending you positive thoughts the treadmill test goes well.

[luvteaching]

@Haljo1935 DM will be 98 in early August. She very much has her faculties about her and it will be interesting to talk to her on Saturday when she gets home to get her take on this whole thing. 

 

So far we're having a very quiet day. No fireworks yet - there were a couple last night and that's it. I'm prepared for more later this evening. The local speedway will have an "extravaganza" on Saturday evening as well. Meanwhile I'll stay home and relax. 

Karen

[1ANGELCAT]

Good rainy for now evening. I hope the rain will keep all the idiots from setting off all their illegal fireworks. The cats will be grateful. We just lost the satellite.
 Everyone stay safe .

Edited Friday at 12:10 AM by 1ANGELCAT

[dfish]

Good evening, everyone!

 

We had a fun day today.  Breakfast was nice with the family.  There were 13 of us there including baby Addie.  Addie was very good the whole time and just took in her surroundings while we ate.  

 

For today's cookout I made French Potato Salad.  I think @kochleffel Paul mentioned this and I was curious and looked it up.  I used Ina Garten's recipe.  https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/french-potato-salad-recipe-1914223

 

 

And here is Addie!