HAL Sailer

@aliaschief What a lovely cabin! And, what a wise idea to do a trial run before committing to that cabin for 155 days. The desk + chest of drawers combination looks especially useful for your planned long voyage. Your reports make me more convinced to take a closer look at Azamara when I (or if we) return to the sea. I look forward to hearing and seeing more. Thanks, -Melisa

@Quartzsite Cruiser and all, My DSIL has been very private about her personal arrangements, so we do not know. At Christmas, and despite his memory challenges, my DH did try to chat with her about 'her wishes' and DSIL deferred saying her sons knew. They may and she likely expected better of them, but their dislike for one another is coloring their thinking. My DH has tried to urge each to put their mother ahead of their feud. But DH is no longer capable of 'taking on' his nephews in strong enough terms to refocus them on their mother. I am so glad my parents had Advanced Directives and that my brother and I never considered not following their well-known wishes. Their directives were their last gift to us; our following their wishes was our last gift to them. It is my fervent wish that DH's nephews will similarly honor their mother. -Melisa

DH and I continue our vigil for his sister (my DSIL). Unfortunately, her grown sons are now locked in a battle over appropriate next steps with one weighing intervention and the other believing that fervent prayer will return his mother home healed. With her malignancy spreading and her heart failing, my DH wishes his sister release. -Melisa

DSIL but many thanks @rafinmd for continuing my DH's sister on the care list as we keep vigil... -Melisa

It can't be that far to the grocery store tomorrow. Stock up. They keep well in the fridge for several days - if they last that long! ⬆️ The bolding is proof positive my daddy's advice that I should never ever pursue a career as a Stand Up Comic was spot on. -M.

Okay, @dfish, that's hardly fair. Yesterday, I was craving. Now, I'm salivating!!! (It's 130+/- miles from my place to yours. Gee, if I drive fast...) But, seriously, YUM! And, thanks for sharing your recipe, technique, and photographic evidence. -Melisa

🎉Happy New Year, Dailyites!🎉 @Cat in my lap💒 Enjoy celebrating your anniversary!💒 @dfish Yesterday you said, "We're having my famous chicken wings (famous in the family - slow cooked for 4-5 hours and basted with barbecue sauce often)." I've been craving those wings ever since! Would you be willing to share your recipe and time tested technique? -Melisa P.S., a note to all: We still await 'the expected call' about DSIL. Thank you for your prayer, care, and words of comfort during these tough hours... -M.

@lazey1 An idea: Could it be a battery that has failed? Our thermostat screen first flashes WEAK BATTERY for awhile and then goes completely blank when the battery gives out. -Melisa

@grapau27 Looks lovely and ever so romantic, too. Happy New Year to you and Pauline. Enjoy! -Melisa

🙏 for you and your medical team.

@ClippyJoe What a lovely sentiment. You have so beautifully summed up what so many of us feel. Thank you! -Melisa

Prayers for you and your family on the passing of your DH's aunt, your cousin, and your son's DW's grandmother. So much for your family to absorb in one day. May the loss your family feels now soon be filled with memories of the lives each loved one led. -M.

To all of The Dailyites -- As this year comes to an end, thank you each for the love and care you share on this thread. Thank you also for the enjoyment you spread through your pictures and tales of adventures both current and past. And, an extra thanks to those that have a special role in The Fleet Report and Daily. My wish is that 2023 brings you each all you've ever hoped for and grants you blessings you've never dreamed. 🎉Happy New Year! Happy 2023!🎉 -Melisa

@rafinmd and all, My DH just got off phone. His sister (my DSIL) who has been fighting metastatic melanoma along with heart and blood clot complications has been taken to the hospital by ambulance. Her son said, "She has severe pain throughout her body and her heart was beating way too fast. She isn't doing well." I asked my DH if he wanted to leave for there now and he said, "No. We had a nice visit at Christmas." Having seen her struggles over the past weeks, my prayer is that my 90 year old DSIL knows that it is okay to let go. I sense she does as, yesterday, she sent a long (for her) email thanking us again for our visit this past week. -Melisa

+1 -Melisa

Back home. Safely. Thankfully. Sunday's 4.5 hour drive downstate can only be described as hellish. It took 50% longer than usual on snow packed, icy state highways and interstates none of which had even one clear lane to reach my DH's son's. I should have turned back. That would have been wisest. But, I kept thinking that my DH's sister (DSIL) likely won't be with us much longer and who knows what or whom my dear DH will remember by next Christmas. So, I kept white knuckling it. We arrived late to DH's son's but had a nice Christmas afternoon and evening with him and his wife's extended family including five kids ages 3-13. Such unbounded energy! After a restful night, we left Monday for a much easier 2 hr drive to my DSIL's. My DH and his sister had a sweet visit. They reminisced a lot about farm life, the one room school they attended, and growing up. My DH didn't remember much but he eagerly looked at pictures DSIL had ready to share and she sweetly answered, "I didn't know that" to his confused stories. Yesterday, was our 4 hr drive home. It felt much longer despite decent roads as my hands and shoulders (and probably my mind, too) were remembering the horrid Sunday drive. But, I'm glad I managed the trip. It was an important visit. DSIL is clearly weaker, less mobile, and has less 'fight' than at our last visit. The tears shared as we left told more than any of us wanted to say aloud... But, I'm going nowhere near the car today! Today, I've self-prescribed resting, reading -- and catching up with The Daily -- as my most strenuous activities. Dinner will be something found in the freezer. Until caught up, I send my 🙏 and my 🎉 to those on the lists. And, to you all I wish a great end to 2022 and a wonderful start to the approaching new year. -Melisa

Merry Christmas and Happy Hanukkah! We are now into day three of bad weather with today's blizzard more intense. Yesterday, we could see from our third floor windows across the river to the large Methodist church but not see as far as our usual West Grand Traverse Bay of Lake Michigan view. This morning, at times, even the church is obliterated by blowing snow. The street snowplows and 'bobcat' sidewalk plows woke me at 2am. That's part of the joy of city living and, as much as I hate being awakened, I do love watching their synchronized dance of snow removal. Today, I was shocked at how much snow they were plowing -- easily over a foot. We haven't been outside and from the third floor we have no depth perception. We are hoping things improve so we can make our already postponed trip to DH's son tomorrow and then on to his sister's (DSIL) Monday. The presents are wrapped, the pulled pork prepared, the luggage is packed, the SUV's gas tank is full -- now we just need the weather to cooperate with our drive. Wherever you are, whatever you are doing, and with whomever -- my DH and I wish you a wonderful holiday filled with joy and fun and peace, -Melisa Yesterday morning:

+1 (or two or three or wherever I am in "Thanks, Roy!" lineup).

@Quartzsite Cruiser Thanks for reminding me of a great holiday memory (and giving me a needed giggle, too). At the holidays, my DM and her sister would bring all their electric heating pads to whichever home was hosting dinner. When the first round of food came out of the oven, they would wrap up those finished dishes in the heating pads to keep the food hot till the rest of dinner was ready. My holiday dinner table memories include fine linens, bone china, and heating pads (with a whiff of menthol and camphor on the side). -Melisa

Agreed! On Day 8 of your B2B, just as you have completely settled into the rhythm of your cruise, a lot of new people will join the ship starting their Day 1. And, even if experienced cruisers, their Day 1 will be as hectic as yours was a week ago. Then it will take a few days for them to settle in and for the rhythm you had been enjoying to return. We much prefer a 10-day, an 11-day, or a straight 14-day cruise over two 7-day cruises B2B.

Ouch! Ouch! Ouch! Hope it is only bruised and heals quickly. -M.

+2

When my DH's youngest son married a Boston lass, I came to the conclusion from riding with her that successfully driving in Boston requires two things: 1) a foot ready to stomp on the accelerator, and 2) a hand ready to blast the horn!

Good afternoon, all, and wishes to all for good holidays! 'Winter Storm Elliott' is changing all of our Christmas plans. With blizzard conditions predicted for most of Michigan starting Thursday and ending sometime Saturday, we will not head to my DH's son nor to his sister's (my DSIL) on Dec 23, as planned. Instead, the two of us will hunker down in NWMI and not head downstate to my stepson's till late Christmas Day. They will have had their big dinner Dec 24, so I'll spend part of 'Elliott' prepping pulled pork + side dishes to take there for a casual Dec 25 dinner. We'll stay over and then head to DSIL's on Dec 26 where I will fix the dinner for her that I had planned for Dec 23. I think we will return home Dec 27. (And, if you've got that all sorted out, you're a step ahead of me...) In the long run, we will see my DH's MI son + family and, most importantly, spend time with DH's very ill sister. And, after all, what's a specific date but just a number on the calendar? So, I'm off to revise my holiday meals grocery list... With the joy in my heart that comes from my DH's family understanding my unwillingness to drive during 'Elliott' and their willingness to let us to rearrange. And, with the added glee that comes from the USPS reporting that the box I mailed way too late may make it to my DH's Boston son's in time for me not to end up on the bad step-grandma list. Have great holidays, all! -Melisa

@grapau27 (I didn't get back to CC late last night so this is a bit belated.) My condolences to Pauline's friend. What a tragedy and what an awful year it has been for her family. Please give your beloved Pauline an extra hug as she's surely experiencing this loss along side her dear friend. -Melisa