Keksie

I love the diversity of wildlife you see.

It looks like a lot of people are enjoying some wonderful travels. The highlight of today was Homosassa State Park. They are a tier two rehab facility for manatees besides having a lot of native Florida ambassador animals plus a hippopotamus. I got to see them feeding the 5 manatees that are currently staying there.

On the gulf side it is good news with many mothers and babies coming in to the Springs. Here Kings Bay has a regrass program to plant and restore the grasses the manatees need to eat. On the east coast the news is not as good. The Indian River where the manatees go does not have enough grasses for them. They have a feeding program but they need a restoration program.

I don't have time to read all the posts I have missed. We have a sunset cruise soon. Wanted to share a picture of two of the hundreds of manatees we saw today. I am super happy.

I agree. I am of the opinion a lot of it started with "everyone gets a trophy" so that no one gets their feelings hurt over losing. A cell phone is a "right" even at a very young age. Expensive clothes and toys are a "must have." This has contributed to a generation that doesn't have the ability to weather any storms in their lives. Seeing the interns come to the refuge does give me some hope for the young generation. Many of them are driven, work hard and have goals. Then there are the "others" who are on their phones, don't want to do any hard or icky work, get caught vaping in the nursery, and smell like weed. Sigh.

Congratulations

We like Universal in Florida. Their express pass works well and you don't have to wait for a specific time. In the fall the Halloween Horror Night with an express pass is a lot of fun.

Thinking about it. It would be out of Tampa since we can drive. It would be on the Grandeur which is a smaller ship. Just have to be sure about the protocols first.

Asking for a friend. Cruising out of Tampa or Ft Lauderdale on a 7 night to islands in the Caribbean has anyone been required at any point to wear a mask, take a covid test, or had to prove their vaccination status lately? Also, on the smaller ships how much effort does one have to put in to book shows and dining?

I know a few people who have gotten either the Wegovy or Ozempic. They all seem happy with the results and have various success with weight loss. I am thinking about asking about it next time I talk to my Dr.

We have a KitchenAid. I am surprised that it is what I chose but I like how it loads. It has 3 racks and I think I could get all the dishes in my cabinet in it at one time if I tried. The silverware basket is narrow and on one side. It is quiet. It does take a long time to run a cycle but that is partially because I have the heated dry selected. It does have an option for an express wash. I run it mostly overnight so I don't need it to be fast. We have had it for awhile now and I still like it.

Our house had a Bosch dishwasher when we bought it. The first appliance we replaced because while it was quiet it was a pain to load. Way too much space was taken up with the silverware basket.

We bought our house in September 2019 and right away found a contractor to do the work in the kitchen and bathroom. Nothing major just new counters, backsplash etc. in the kitchen, cabinets in the laundry room and a new shower in the master. It worked out great for us since the supply chain had not been sunk yet. Remodels were considered essential so the work could continue and I had no place to really go so I was home all day. The work was done in record time since so many of their clients postponed work and they could concentrate on us.

Except you can't know for certain you don't have covid because the tests don't always show positive for a few days. Therefore you could be making other people sick and not know it.

@grapau27 I am so sorry for Sarah, hopefully they can help her feel better quickly. Long day for you and Pauline too. Take care all of you.

My husband made the best coffee when the power went out during Sally. We have a gas stove so he just boiled the grounds in a pot with water and poured it through a coffee filter. It was so good I almost wish the power would go out again. Now we have a generator so even if the power goes out I won't get cooked coffee again. On a serious note, please stay safe.

I used The Tile Mural Store.

It was not my picture. I looked online for tile murals. There were all kinds of designs to pick from. You also picked the overall size and the number of tiles which decided the size of each tile. It came with installation instructions that I gave to my tile guy. Then he helped me pick the other tiles and border. I think there was an option to use your own photo. We had just moved and I wanted something beachy.

This is our backsplash. When we bought the house there was just some metal behind the cooktop. S

It isn't the thought of catching covid that has us not booking. It has been and still is the protocols which would ruin the vacation for us. With a land vacation if a protocol we don't want is suddenly put in place we can just go someplace else. On a ship we would be stuck.

Just more reasons to keep taking any other types of vacations where you don't need to prove vaccination status, take a test or wear a mask. Just as much fun without all the stress.

@dani negreanu Have a wonderful anniversary and a Happy Birthday to your husband. A special day for sure.

Not ready to book anything yet. We still don't trust that our cruise wouldn't have a last minute protocol change that would ruin the cruise for us. Add to that the reports of cutbacks and having to try to get a good check in time to secure the dining and entertainment reservations we would want just makes a cruise less desirable to book right now.

That sounds like it may have had a problem. A lot of pelicans are used to people and fishermen will toss them scraps when they clean the fish. However, a healthy pelican will not behave in the way you describe.

i am glad it flew away. For some reason we have had a pelican in distress surge at the refuge. Mostly entanglements and swallowed hooks. A few with botulism too. They each need 40 medium fish or 6 large fish a day so it has been a struggle getting enough fish for them. During the last couple of months we would have 7-8 pelicans in our care. I think we are finally down to just 1.