dfish

That is a thoughtful decision, Roy. Maybe if someone went with you - separate cabins. It is a thought, but your niece/nephew are very lucky to have you as their uncle.

Wonderful news! Time to celebrate! Maybe we should spring for today's wine? @StLouisCruisers Thank you for the well wishes for DB. @Vict0riann I'm sorry Pat needs surgery, but perhaps this is what he needs to feel really well.

That sounds really good and I'd like to try that! Thanks! I'm sorry to hear that your DH has an issue that requires surgery, but the good news is that there is a remedy. I know it was so disappointing to have to cancel the cruise and while the condition isn't deemed an emergency yet, you sure don't want it to become one while on board a ship. The next cruise will be even better than the one you had to cancel. YES, YES, YES!!!!! I hope the offer comes very soon and is everything you want it to be! Thank you both! He'll be very confused when I tell him Lenda and Vanessa wished him a happy birthday! Time to get cooking!

Good morning, everyone! It is a chilly start to the day here in mid-Michigan. It is currently 12F with a projected high of 16F. After tonight we will gradually start to warm up. Weather is still looking good for our flight to San Diego. Tonight we're celebrating DB Bill's birthday and retirement. He doesn't know it, but DS Mary Jo and DBIL Mitch are joining us tonight for Farkel. I am making Bill's favorite, beef stroganoff. We'll have salad, biscuits, and Mom's tender tiny peas. And chocolate cake for dessert. No wine as this group doesn't drink. Sometimes popcorn is dinner. We had popcorn the other night for dinner as we just weren't hungry enough for much else. The potion I care most about at this time of day is coffee. Keep it coming! @seagarsmoker Fingers and toes are still crossed for you! @RMLincoln I am sorry to hear of the death of your friend. My dad had an aortic aneurysm. It was touch and go with him for a while, but to all the doctors' surprise, he pulled through. Today's meal sounds good to me. As long as I didn't tell anyone what was in it, I could get away with it. But if they knew, they'd start complaining about it being too spicy. So, many times I don't tell them what I put in things. They like it just fine. https://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/pork-and-green-chile-stew This one has more of a broth/gravy to it as a stew normally would. https://www.delish.com/cooking/recipe-ideas/a39562420/green-chili-pork-stew-recipe/ Lastly, we have this rendition from Ree Drummond. https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ree-drummond/green-chili-pork-stew-6565478 Wishing you all a wonderful day!

Ha ha! I'll buy the Chocolate Chicken.

I am much the same way. I prefer a non-sweet white wine. I do like a spicy Gewurtraminer, but they are hard to find. But, with the drink package I am willing to give it a try.

That is great, Dixie! We'll have to plan our lab sessions when we get together the first night.

It is good to hear from you! I hope you stop in more often! I think this is going to take several sessions to try all our drinks. I hope someone is keeping a list. Fingers crossed here and I can get a couple toes on each foot crossed. You'll have to join Lenda and me. After all, we are doing research!

@Quartzsite Cruiser We should try that drink on the Koningsdam! I think it sounds refreshing as well and would be great after a day touring volcanoes. @marshhawk Annie, you have your hands full. Wishing you luck!

Good morning, everyone! It is much warmer this morning in mid-Michigan at 12F with a projected high of 22. I'll take it! I keep watching the weather for the day we fly out and it seems to be holding as favorable. So far it is 36F and cloudy for the day we fly. @seagarsmoker Wishing you tons of luck with the interview! Sometimes the 3rd is a formality. Let's hope so. @kazu I am so glad you hired someone to do the driveway. I'm glad that Vanessa, @JazzyV, also hired someone to do the back walk to the garage. I'm not sure any of us should be doing snow removal at our ages and time of life. @ger_77 I am so sorry to hear about your friend who entered palliative care. What a difficult decision. I hope he can be kept comfortable. @DeniseT Great job on the blood sugar! Congratulations! With all the talk recently and @ottahand7 Nancy's ordeal with RSV, I scheduled my vaccine for this morning. That is not something I want to deal with on our cruise! Then I am coming home to dust and vacuum. We had garlic mashed potatoes recently except they were in the slow cooker and not roasted. Well, the garlic may have been. The garlic gets roasted in these potatoes. The first recipe uses red potatoes and doesn't peel them. That is the trend these days. https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/patrick-and-gina-neely/roasted-garlic-mashed-potatoes-recipe-1910773 This next one includes some sage and thyme. https://www.halfbakedharvest.com/make-ahead-roasted-garlic-mashed-potatoes/ But, mashed potatoes need something to go with, so how about some honey garlic pork roast? If your going to do garlic, may as well do it up right! https://iamhomesteader.com/honey-garlic-pork-loin/ Wishing you all a wonderful day!

@Quartzsite Cruiser I am sorry to hear of the loss of your classmates. Even though you weren't in touch, they were important to you at some point in life. We have a birthday/retirement party Friday night for DB Bill and we're hosting the neighborhood winter/holiday party on Sunday. After that I can get the suitcase out and figure out what I am bringing.

Good morning, everyone! It is a frigid 9F here in mid-Michigan with an anticipated high of 18. I guess I shouldn't complain as I do like the seasons. I think I'd like it better if it were Spring, Summer, Fall, More Fall. The cold this week is making me look forward to our Hawaii cruise even more. We got our check in time in San Diego as 10:20. I don't know if that is good or if it means we get to stand in line longer. @marshhawk, Annie, I will be keeping Chuck @catmando close in my thoughts today. Sending positive vibes to you both. Sue and I are scheduled to give blood today. Usually we do double red donations, but there is a snafu in their scheduling software and they couldn't schedule us for that. So, we're doing regular whole blood and hoping they can schedule us for a double red donation next time. I t hink we're hard to schedule because we come together and they only have two machines available for the double red donations. After that we are going to lunch and then to visit our friend Ellamary. Last stop is the grocery store to pick up what I need to make DB Bill's birthday cake and dinner on Friday. That should keep us busy and out of trouble for a while. Today we have a whole meal! I have made Beef and Guinness often. It is my usual St. Patrick's Day fare along with a warm loaf of soda bread. But, I've never tried the Stout and Chicken before. It is worth a try. And, it would certainly be good on a cold winter day like today! https://www.eatingwell.com/recipe/250404/slow-cooker-stout-chicken-stew/ Carrot lovers should rejoice with this recipe. The recipe doesn't call for them, but I usually put some of those little red potatoes in my Beef and Guinness. Then you have something to mash down and soak up the gravy with. This next recipe uses potatoes, parsnips, and corn along with all those carrots. https://www.justapinch.com/recipes/main-course/chicken/irish-chicken-stew.html I thought this was interesting with the pear added in. https://www.garlicandzest.com/irish-stout-braised-chicken-thighs/ Wishing you all a wonderful day!

Thanks, Sharon! I think I am going to let it be. I like having the same waiter because once you get them trained, all goes so smoothly. We were able to have a reserved table in the Open Seating each night at 7:15 last summer. It was great! Perfect! That service was the biggest reason I got my Apple watch. I haven't tested that feature out yet, but I have it if I need it. You might want to consider getting the ability to make calls from the phone so you can call if you're not going to make an appointment. I have several friends who live alone and we always sent a quick text each morning so we knew everyone was alright. Oh, poor Steve. Healing thoughts to him!

Thanks, Joy! 7:30 we can do. I didn't want it any later.

Good morning, everyone! Another cold one today. It is currently 9F with a high of 12F today. I did make up a big batch of chili and cornbread yesterday and it was really good. We have enough for tonight as well. I think that will be our hot and spicy. We're going mall walking today and then I am working on last minute details for our cruise. Does anyone know what time late fixed dining is? Sue and I have that and I'm trying to decide if I want to keep it or not. @ottahand7 I am glad you are feeling better! I hope the recovery continues without a hitch! @Seasick Sailor Welcome home! Today's meal is a great side dish. After I broke my hip I decided I needed to strengthen my bones and one of the recommendations was to eat more greens. So, I did. It isn't particularly spicy or hot unless you make it that way and you certainly can. But, this is simple sauteed Swiss chard. This first recipe is simple and sounds good with the addition of balsamic vinegar at the end. https://www.healthyseasonalrecipes.com/simple-sauteed-swiss-chard/ Swiss chard makes a good alternate to spinach and kale. This one is nice and lemony and garlicky. https://www.loveandlemons.com/swiss-chard/ The last recipe is just like the one above except it adds bacon to the mix. Swiss chard is just screaming for some bacon to go along with it! https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/147026/pan-fried-swiss-chard/ Wishing you all a wonderful day!

Thank you! This is very helpful!

I do think the idea of ordering one and a bunch of straws is a good one. Good plan! I was going to suggest bringing the recipe! We might end up with @RedneckBob's fried chicken in the glass! Great idea!

We can probably arrange that. Lenda, we have to live dangerously now and then. Remember the quote! Besides, we're doing research for the Daily!

Sure can! Replace the Canadian whiskey with Southern Comfort.

Glad you are feeling a bit better. I'm also glad it isn't the flu or Covid. Hopefully, this will be short lived.

Good morning, everyone! It is a very cold start to the day with a temperature of 1F. I can't complain as it isn't as cold as @ger_77 Gerry has it. But, I think the fireplace will be on today! Nothing on the agenda for today except to keep warm. Maybe go to Lowe's and get a new doorknob for Sue's bedroom door. She says she has no idea how it got locked, but I do. She has a lock fetish and feels the need to lock everything. She has locked herself out of the house a couple of times. Fortunately, I was home and able to let her back in. @Sharon in AZ, @summer slope, and @Quartzsite Cruiser, I think we should all try the drink while we are onboard our BHB. I'm game! Today's meal is perfect for today! I may brave the cold and go get chili fixings for us! This first one is different in that it doesn't use ground beef. Also, it has no beans. I know some people do not like beans in their chili. And, it has beer in it. https://tuttorossotomatoes.com/recipes/detail/hearty-beef-chili This next recipe is a more classic chili recipe. https://www.browneyedbaker.com/all-american-beef-chili/ The last recipe contains bacon! I bet that adds a great flavor to the chili. https://suebeehomemaker.com/hearty-beef-chili/ Time for more coffee! Wishing you all a wonderful day!

I did read a book and a half. I usually don't turn on the TV until evening when I want to relax and engage in mindless entertainment. Problem is all my books are on my Kindle and I couldn't download them without internet. My biggest problem is that I missed two Zoom meetings. I was supposed to lead one of them. Yesterday we had the movie marathon because we like to do that every once in a while. It was the perfect day for it as we weren't going out due to the storm. We had a fire on and watched our movies. Had popcorn for dinner. It turned out to be a good day.

So sorry that you are not feeling well. That is not what you want on a cruise. I hope you recover quickly!