Cruising-along

Good morning all! Another beautiful sunny morning in the PNW, heading to a comfortable 75F. It's always a good idea to have a sticker letting firefighters know there's a pet in the house in the unfortunate case of a fire. Living close to the Canadian border, I have respected Canada all my life. We seem to always have a box of items waiting to be given away, but I need to add to it! Will pass on the meal and drink, but the wine sounds good (I seem to say that a lot) 😂 Kangaroo Island is on our Grand Australia itinerary for 2024, I look forward to any photos. Yesterday I got those Boxwood shrubs all dug out, now to plan what to put in their place. 😉 DH has a colonoscopy this morning, so a lot of my morning will be spent transporting him back and forth. Then hopefully a quiet afternoon of gardening and visiting with neighbors. Have a great day everyone!

That's what we said! Dam. He will be sending out an email to his clients tomorrow.

That's the same Jim --- he will be missed by many. 😞

It's been a day of highs and lows. Just found out that our excellent PCC is leaving HAL 😞 He's been with them for decades and is the best we've ever had. We're kind of in shock right now. The good news is that our skylight is being replaced today, for less than half the cost of the first estimate. He couldn't tell either what happened, he said sometimes even larger birds will pick up and drop small rocks....

I know!!! Thank goodness it's double pane and didn't come through. Maybe when they take it off they'll find something.

Aw, what a nice thing to say, Sandi. Your photos are great, mine are no better and are just taken with my iPhone -- but thank you!

Good morning all! It has taken me an hour to catch up on all the posts, and it's only 8:00 here on the west coast. So here we are, on page 3! Happy Bastille Day! I also am of French descent and proud of it 🙂 Will pass on the other days, plus the meal (not a fan of coconut or ginger) and drink. The wine does sound good. Humorous quote, if not taken too seriously. We've been to Athens many times and stayed pre and post cruise. I'll just post some photos from our last time there, which was just last year. We always enjoy our time there! Yesterday I spent hours deadheading roses and making progress on getting rid of those Boxwood that seem to have gotten Boxwood Blight after being there at least 25 years. I'm not too upset, there will be more room for flowers! Here's a photo of our damaged skylight. It was taken by the roofer who gave us the first estimate. As he said, "something had to have hit it very, very hard". No bird could have done this. Still hoping we'll find out what did this. After having done the tours around Athens and outlying areas on previous visits, our last time there we just did the HOHO and walked around. Street wares Ruins in the middle of the city Excitement of the day, we came upon this large protest. We found out later it was students protesting. This was taken from the bus. Kotzia Square HOHO buses in the parking lot next to our ship. Dionysos Theater Caryatid Porch Acropolis Waterfront Academy of Athens Oops, almost forgot --- Debbie @dfishBon Voyage!!! @HAL Sailersuch good news about Curt! @ger_77what a wonderful job you did on that bag -- it looks great! @Quartzsite Cruiser"My Life in Ruins" is indeed a cute movie. They seem to play it on every cruise in the Med.

Nope, I'm pretty average in that area! 😅

Sandi @StLouisCruisersmy condolences to all the family, I'm so sorry for your loss.

Wow, that's fascinating. Wish I knew why some of us have this "quality" lol!

I have the same problem and haven't worn a watch in decades because of it. Someone suggested wearing a timepiece on a chain around my neck, even that doesn't work.

Good morning all! It will be another pleasant, warm day here today (70's F). Interesting collection of days...I'll pass on the meal and drink, but would love to try the Chenin Blanc/Viognier blend. It sounds perfect to me. We've been to Monte Carlo once, we walked around a bit and DIY to Nice and Eze. My photos would be too much like those already posted, so won't look for them now. It was a really nice day! I especially loved Eze. Today will be spent recuperating and getting the house put back together after the grandsons' overnight visit. 😉 I also need to do something about my Boxwood that may have Boxwood Blight -- I've had it probably at least 25 years with no problems, but now leaves are turning white/tan. 😞 At least it's small so not hard to remove. After getting a first estimate of $1000+ to replace that skylight, the second estimate was much more reasonable. Their minimum labor cost is $200 compared to the $600 of the first company. So it looks like that skylight will be replaced soon. This photo is for Gerry @ger_77who reminded me about the bubbles. 🙂 The kids played ALL afternoon with my neighbor's granddaughter -- bubbles, squirt guns, water balloons, running through the sprinkler, and snacks and cookies. Fun was had by all!

We also got this - - for our next 3 cruises. Every bit helps!

So far we haven't found anything (checked the carpet under the skylight, and the roofers who gave first estimate yesterday saw nothing on the roof). The skylight is on the second story, so not easy for us to inspect. I'm going with the meteorite theory unless we find something to prove otherwise. 😅

I'm so sorry to hear this Roy. My deepest condolences.

Good morning all! Will try to squeeze in a post, while most of the rest of the household is still sleeping. Just the oldest DGS and I are awake. Cow appreciation day struck me funny, as yesterday I played "Invasion of the Cow Snatchers" with one of the DGSs while DH played Battleship with the other. It was a fun game and takes clever planning! I remember Etch a Sketch, DD had one and now her sons do too. Today will be a playdate with our neighbor's granddaughter, then we'll take the boys home again. Yesterday we got the first estimate to replace that shattered skylight and I'm feeling sad and angry at the same time. $600 just for labor, not counting the cost of the skylight, so around $1000. Our deductible is that much....the roofer said it looked like something hit it "very, very hard". I think Ray may have been right about it could have been someone shooting up with a gun.....which makes me very mad. Nothing else makes sense. 😞

My sister and BIL took one of his tours and loved it (they were younger then). No way I could do it. The limitations of luggage alone give me pause. 😉 We're also independent travelers and prefer DIY wherever possible.

Thanks for the reminder! The boys have lots of bubble making supplies, I'll make sure they bring some from home. When I was there on Friday they were using the squirt guns to hit the bubbles LOL.

I'm interested in hearing answers too. It comes with our Grand Australia booking. It's through HAL, not a travel agent.

Good morning all! We're having lovely weather here, low-high 70's F and sunshine. As we say here, summer comes after the 4th of July. 😉 Rushing again this morning, another busy 2 days in store. We'll be with the DGSs all afternoon, take them to their Taekwondo class, and then home to our house for the night. Tomorrow my neighbor's granddaughter will come over to play with them (lots of water balloons, squirt guns, cookies and milk). I plan to rest and do absolutely nothing on Wednesday! DH will try to reach some window companies this morning before we leave. That shattered skylight makes me so nervous. Hope we can get someone out here quickly. Have a great day everyone, prayers for all on the care list and cheers for those on the celebrations list!

Yes and thank you! I can understand how you feel, we all have different comfort levels. I have found his books to cover an immense amount of information, and each section of a city is covered (hotels, restaurants, and sites to see). With price ranges which I find very helpful. We rarely stay at the hotels he recommends, just because I use Trip Advisor more for that. And as for restaurants, we aren't foodies so we're more likely to just look around when we're hungry, we don't want to take a lot of time searching for a particular restaurant or cafe. But I do understand that he isn't for everyone, and I appreciate your taking the time to explain. 🙂

Thanks, I think I know what you mean. At one time I would have called him snobbish about cruisers too. Then I think he saw the $$ in attracting that group of travelers, and he started doing cruise port books. I find his books very helpful, with ideas and tips for a range of interests.

Now you have me curious LOL! I have never thought of him that way -- probably the opposite actually... We've gone many times to his lectures and travel center, he's always been friendly and accessible. 🙂

Good morning all! I adore kittens. We raised our last cat with a bottle from the age of 10 days (she was abandoned). She lived to be 17, so I guess we did something right. 🙂 Will pass on the Pina Colada (not a fan of coconut) but there are definitely enough teddy bears in our house for a picnic (or two or three). Agree with the quote, pass on the wine and have never been to this port in Norway (thank you Sandi @StLouisCruisersfor the great photos). The drink sounds good but will pass on the meal. Not a fan of olives, pepperoni or salami. Debbie @dfishI'm excited for you!! Will you be posting occasionally? Laura @Horizon chaser 1957what a lovely gesture and beautiful scarf! Jack @HeartgroveI'm happy to hear that your brother is now home. Jacqui @kazuI hope today will be better! Today will be a day of errands and shopping. The wine rack is getting low for one thing. 😉😄

That is another possibility -- we have a lot of pesky crows here. I'm actually hoping it wasn't that, only because we have so many crows around here, it could happen again! 😱 I'm hoping that whoever replaces it will have a good idea of what could have happened. I'm also thinking since we have to replace it, we'll also get a retractable shade installed. That skylight is where most of our sun shines through and heats up the upstairs. So if anyone has advice about those shades, please let me know. 🙂 On another note, a week or two ago I posted about a squirrel who got into our garage -- it must have left quickly, because we've found no damage to anything (or the cars) and no smell thank goodness!!