AncientWanderer

I missed this post, Brenda -- was surprised to see you on the care list, so I looked back. Extra prayers are with you and holding your hand in spirit, my friend. Hold a good thought. Maxine

@Overhead Fred, I second that about the New Zealand transpacific. Ours was from San Diego. After weighing options on flight times, we decided to buck up and make the long flight home from Auckland. Air New Zealand premium economy was excellent. The Hilton in Auckland is so close you can just drag your suitcase next door. We rented a car and enjoyed several days in New Zealand. Easy driving through beautiful countryside. This was one of our favorite cruises. It was varied, interesting, and offered lovely scenes.

Good morning. All of the items highlighted for today are appealing. Especially goofing off. The honey toddy is exactly how we make them when under the weather. The photos of Alicante make me want to immediately book a long Med and Spanish Farewell cruise. We love the Spanish ports. Extra prayers today for @marshhawk, @Vict0riannand Pat, @dfish, and @kazu. Wondering how @Seasick Sailoris doing. @cruising sistersending you hugs on DS’s birthday. @mamaofami, don’t be frightened. My mom had several cataracts removed and it was very quick recovery. All procedures are scary, though. I know. @rafinmd, it’s delightful seeing the meal alternatives again. So glad that you’re feeling up to posting them. Lots going on here with our Dailyites. Thinking of all of you today. ♥️

I think that's a great idea for a ship activity and the kids would enjoy putting their new skills into practice onboard. It could be good fun for them.

Good morning/afternoon, Everyone. Slow start today as I, too, slept poorly. We celebrated DGS's baptism yesterday, and all the rich food and drink midday probably got the best of me. At seven months, he was too big to fit in our christening gown. (He was 9 lbs at birth.) So he wore a size 4 white lace Jessica McClintock dress that had been DD's. He was a good boy! @kochleffelPaul, I join others in offering condolences on your loss of sweet Junior Cat Sasha. Beautiful kitty. I know @mamaofamiand @dfish are getting ready for their surgeries. They will be in our thoughts this week. Thank you, Daily Team. Wishing all a good Monday and week ahead.

Vanessa, DH has had a lot of trouble with low back pain since he started statins. That's why I really gave it my best effort. I found there are still plenty of good things to eat that don't have much saturated fat or trans fats. Wishing you success! Maxine

The Lido line always confuses me. I look for the condiments placed at the end and assume the line starts at the other end, so you can add your condiments once you have your food. That usually works. Usually.

Good morning everyone. Awkward Moments Day? I have plenty of those. The Goddess of Fertility has her place. Good quote, food and drink. We’ve been to Corinto a number of times — went to Leon once. It’s a tough port stop imo. We have the deepest respect for those who make the supreme sacrifice. We had a nice dinner with DD’s family last night for St. Patrick’s Day. Good food and Irish band. The past week was full of health maintenance tests — now completed. If anyone out there is working on cholesterol, it was very encouraging to find that after really working on diet for several months, nothing was flagged this time. My doctor kept saying it’s hereditary and I need statins. I knew better — that my diet was crummy. So even with the holidays and a cruise during that time period, got it done! It’s going to be about 78 degrees here in San Diego today. First warm day in quite awhile. Thanks everyone for all the contributions to the Daily. Wishing everyone a great Saturday!

Sandi, thanks for sharing about Ren's name. We sure love our baby Renny. For years I've kept a little flashlight by my bed because I'm up so often during the night and don't want to disturb DH...and now also little dog Pocket. My kids tease me that the neighbors are going to call the police when they see through the windows the flashlight moving around. They might be right, but so far so good. I love my little flashlight.

@bennybear, I was not online yesterday. Wishing you a belated Happy Birthday. Your flowers are beautiful!

@StLouisCruisersSandi, I keep forgetting to ask...is "Ren" a nickname? Our DD's new baby is called Renny. His real name is Henri.

That's exciting, Sandi, that Ren has this opportunity. Congratulations to him and to all your family. They also worked hard for him to have this opportunity. Lots of practices and traveling! Go Ren! I hope your nose is no worse for the wear -- and you're not in too much pain. That sounds like a hard hit.

Yup. That's the drill.

It does. But they take so darn long to get procedure orders and authorizations these days that it feels like a win when it happens. Sad, right?

Debbie, that's great that you're getting the adrenal mass taken care of. I bet that will be a big relief. We're also talking about going to the falls -- not sure about the Yellow Fever shot requirement. Last time down there, we needed one. A "splurge" excursion we did was a flight to Torres del Paine National Park out of Punta Arenas. It was a great day that really got you out in Patagonia. We saw all the local animals and had a very nice scenic lunch. Very glad we did that one. Maxine

Good morning, Everyone. DH and I survived weekend babysitting of toddler and baby grandchildren, so now I'll start the week off easier with a "diet" to prepare myself for a "procedure" tomorrow. Told ya March was a crazy month! I have mink ear muffs. It happened like this. Saks Fifth Avenue had a sale table with a bunch of rabbit ear muffs on the table. One pair of mink ones were mixed in with the lot, so I bought them at rabbit prices. They are very warm. But I can't hear a thing while wearing them. Like others, I rarely wear any jewelry. We're all so casual now. Most of it was acquired in the "Dallas" and "Falcon's Crest" days of the 80s. Long time ago. Smart & Sexy? Nah...notsomuch. The food and drink all sound good. We have been to Dunedin on our cruise from San Diego to Auckland -- one of our favorites. @StLouisCruisersSandi and others posted many wonderful photos of the places we visited in Dunedin. Sometimes I wish you could hit both "like" and "thanks" for posts. I know how much effort goes into posting so many photos. @grapau27Graham, I join in wishing Pauline a lovely birthday. The birthday photo is beautiful. 🌹 🌷 🌹 @0106, we have been to South America, without Antarctica. Our trip was west to east (departing from San Diego) and it was a fabulous trip in all respects. Conventional wisdom is to book port side for that direction, but we were starboard and loved the sunsets and also seemed to have the best views at every port stop. @cat shepard, I used Nasocort for the first time this year for terrible allergies. It's one of those steroid sprays. It gave quick relief and seemed to stop the cycle. I only used it for about a week. @aliaschief, you outdid yourself with the jokes today. Good ones! @kazuJacqui, I'm sorry to hear things aren't more comfortable. As Scarlet said, "Tomorrow is another day." @RMLincoln, prayers that your Covid is over quickly and you can resume your activities. @dfishI hope the endocrinologist gets a good plan going for you. Tell him who's the boss! @smitty34877, that's great that the aide is pleasant to have around. It makes so much difference! Thanks to our Daily Team. Wishing everyone a good Monday and nice week ahead!

Norman Rockwell’s Family Tree for Genealogy Day

Good morning. DD and DSIL are on their way home, so our weekend of babysitting seven-month-old DGS and four-year-old DGD is almost over. ‘Nuff said. Wishing a very Happy Birthday to @Quartzsite CruiserLenda! 🎉🎂🎈 @Overhead Fred, happy birthday wishes to your Mitzi! 🎈🎈🎈🎈🎈 I hope everyone has a lovely day!

Woo hoo! 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻 Just checked in quickly — we’re babysitting. Good news!

Thanks so much for the quick reply. I would probably choose to stay onboard as well. The trip you've been on has looked wonderful. Thanks for sharing all the photos and stories.

Nancy, DH and I aren't able to get the yellow fever shot either, so I'm curious about how that works. My understanding is you can get a doctor's waiver and board the ship, but then is it your choice to stay onboard in certain ports or are you not allowed to leave the ship? Or does each country decide what they will accept? Anyone else who has experience with this, please do chime in as well. There are a lot of itineraries we have been avoiding because of the YF shot. We're thinking of getting the waiver.

Good morning, All. You guys are awesome. I have a tiny red English phone booth in my little house village in the living room. So there it is! DH calls me by my middle name a lot. But he also calls me Ann and anything else that comes to mind. I’m always getting apologies from people: “Oh, I’m so sorry if I’ve been calling you the wrong name. I heard your husband call you Betty.” 🤷‍♀️ I’m not familiar with the Za’atar fish and chips or the drink. Will wait to hear more about that. Can’t drink red wine and haven’t been to Tonga. Some day. March is kind of a wild month here — LOTS of babysitting and many routine maintenance doc appointments. It will be nice to have all of it done. Thanks, Sandi, for taking the reins here. It’s very kind of you. The efforts of all are greatly appreciated. Happy Friday!

Oh, I hope you guys go!! We've heard so many good things about experiencing Antarctica and wanted to go this year -- but it just wasn't a good time to do it this year -- too many new grand babies. We had some future cruise deposits and after putting those in, we added $600 to make a total of $1,000 for deposit, for a verandah. I never really understand how those work, but our PCC gets it together for us and that's how it ended up.

We booked it too, Debbie! The early booking offer is a good one! I got even more excited when seeing you and Sue will be onboard. I'll never forget sharing our first post-covid journey with you guys. That was a very special cruise. 😊