Quartzsite Cruiser

We were in Rarotonga on Tahitian Princess in 2004. We took the bus around the island. These pictures are from our bus ride. We spent some time on the far side of the island at a beach. Back in town, we walked around and made a big purchase of a Styrofoam cooler for our cabin, which our wonderful steward keep filled. Lenda

@Norseh2o Katherine and Bob, I hope your anniversary is wonderful today, and is followed by many more happy years. Lenda

Good morning from a cloudy central Texas. It is 70F with 98% humidity and a dew point of 68F. There is an 8mph wind. Looking at the hourly forecast, the sun will make an appearance about 11am, and we'll have a high of 89F this afternoon. It looks like summer is approaching since we'll be in the upper 80s to lower 90s the next two weeks. The main item on the agenda today is mowing the grass, which I hope to do a bit earlier today before it gets too hot. This afternoon we'll watch the Preakness. HIV vaccine awareness is a good day to honor, and I hope they develop a good vaccine to prevent HIV soon. Someone can have my Reeses since I do not like peanut butter. We are not big museum people, but there are some good museums that we've visited. Joan Rivers had a funny, dry sense of humor. I like asparagus, but will pass on the meal, along with the drink. I would like to try the wine. We were in Rarotonga in 2004, and we enjoyed our day there. Grauman's Chinese Theater (now Mann's) has been a Hollywood landmark since it opened in 1927. @grapau27 Graham, what a beautiful poppy. Thank you for the information about HIV Vaccine Awareness Day. @MISTER 67 Welcome home. @Niagarawine Welcome home. @kazu Jacqui, I hope no news from the doctor is good news. I also hope your foot is better when you drive to see the vascular surgeon. @dfish Debbie, I hope you figure out how to get the furniture put together. We've had the same problem on some or our outdoor furniture. It's aggravating. Lenda

Nancy, there is a way to delete a quoted post that you did not mean to quote. It's easy to do on the computer and a little more difficult on my tablet. On the computer, just move the cursor where it just above the upper left hand corner of the post. A box with four arrows will appear. With the cursor on the box, use the delete button. On my tablet, I highlight the box with my finger and use the delete button on the tablet's built in keyboard. Sometimes, if the cursor is not quite in the right place, it will take a try or two to delete the post. I hope this helps. Lenda

Pennie, I'm glad you were well enough to go home yesterday. I hope your recovery is quick and smooth from this point on. DH found the shower chair useful after his back surgeries. It is now a catch all in the closet. Lenda

It's turned into a nice, sunny morning, and it's now 74F. There is a north wind, so it should not be too hot outside. I'll be going out in a bit to do what I'd planned to do yesterday, and maybe see what other things I can take care of today. Carolyn, I'm glad you like the memes. I try not to post ones that have been posted before. A couple of times, I forgot to change them, and posted some two days in a row. When I post them or when someone posts one I haven't used, I transfer them to a separate file to try to keep from reusing them. Karen, enjoy your afternoon with the family. Karen, it's sweet of you to send cards to your former students when they graduate. I think the lack of a thank you is a sign of the times. Our DDs were taught to send thank you notes, but I don't know how well the lesson took. I'm glad you got good news at the vet today. Thanks for letting us know there was not much damage from the storm yesterday, Elizabeth. I hope your "pond" in the backyard dries up this time. Lenda

Graham, I know it was not an easy decision to sell your golf clubs. I hope the new owners get as much pleasure from them as you did. Oh no, Gerry. I hope your DH is much better soon, and that this does not affect the surgery. Thanks for checking in. I'm glad there was not much damage. Lenda

Good morning from a partly cloudy central Texas. It is 63F with a predicted high of 81F. There is a 4mph breeze, and the humidity is 97% with a dew point of 62F. The humidity will drop as the day warms up. We were lucky yesterday to just get rain, lots of rain, but no damaging winds or hail here. By the time the rain ended, we received just over an inch of rain. I hope Joy @Seasick Sailor, Lambie @LambKnuckles, and Elizabeth @Haljo1935did not have any damage either. Houston was not so lucky with four people being killed due to the weather. The wind was so strong windows in tall buildings were blown. Houston was built on a swamp, so there was the usual flooding, too. The history of the graduation tassels is interesting, and thank you, Graham @grapau27 for sharing the information about the tassels. Someone can have my walnuts, since they interfere with my thyroid medicine. Pinot Griglio is all right when I can't find my Riesling. The Sylvia Plath quote fits me perfectly. I probably won't be able to read all the books I have and all the books on my Kindle. Maybe I could if I did nothing else. The blueberry almond tart looks interesting, and I like the look of the second one. I also have a very good lemon blueberry pound cake recipe, which is good in the summer. We'll pass on the drink, but the wine sounds nice and the price is great. We have not been to Surabaya. An interesting day in early Florida history. @smitty34877 Terry, I'm glad your DS and grandson will be there this weekend to help you. I hope your granddaughter's team wins this weekend. I'm sorry it was such a long week. HUGS to you, Tana, the teenager, and the rest of the family. @dfish Debbie, instructions with no words is a pet peeve of mine, along with those where the print is too small to read the words. Good luck putting everything together. @cunnorl Charlene, staying home this weekend sounds like a good idea with all that is going on in your area. @puppycanducruise HAPPY VICTORIA DAY weekend, Melanie. I hope the weather cooperates. We got an email at 7:03 this morning that we had an appointment at 8 to have the windshield replaced in their shop, but please be there ten minutes early. The shop is at least an hour drive away, plus we were not up or dressed, and would need to move cars around. At 7:09 they called and said the new windshield was cracked and they needed to reschedule the appointment. At that time, we had not seen the email. Again, I asked for a 10am or even better an 11 am appointment. Lenda

John, our condolences on Stiv crossing the rainbow bridge. He was a very handsome cat. It's never easy losing our fur babies. Lenda

Today has been a good day to stay inside. It's rained almost continuously, and very hard at times. Both rain gauges are reading 1 inch, and water is standing in the yard in many places. We've also had lightning, thunder and winds. Our temperature has dropped to 67F. Driving back from Fort Worth the other day, we commented on how green everything is. However, by July and August, most everything will be brown. It's nice not to have to water, but I know other areas need the rain more than we do. This weeks edition of our weekly newspaper showed that the water level in our lake was 541 feet. Normal is 533 feet, which means most the state park and most of the Corps of Engineers parks are closed or have areas closed. Most of the boat ramps are closed, and in some parks the day use areas and part of the campgrounds are closed, while some of the parks are completely closed. This is what happens when we get a lot of rain, since our lake is a flood control lake. Lenda

Susan, safe travels to Farmington, and enjoy the dog show. I also laughed about the dogs bouncing into their kennel. We were lucky that our DDs would keep our dogs when we traveled, and the dogs were very happy. When our older DD and DSIL had to travel, they boarded their dog and our dog at their vets. The dogs were in the same kennel, and were very pampered. Lenda

Before I could get out in the port to move some big boxes around, the rain came shortly after 10am. Right now, we are in a lull between areas of heavy rain. Both rain gauges seem to agree we received more than 1/2 inch, and it was really coming down along with a strong north wind. I could see the rain hitting the port way under the roof. I just looked and the grass seed I put down in some bare spots was still there, and did not wash away. Roy, I'm sorry you hurt your hand, but glad you got the bleeding under control. Elizabeth, I hope the eye procedure goes well, and I hope you do not have much trouble getting there and home with all this rain. Gerry, please be careful on the ladder. I hope your DH will be holding the ladder while you are on it. Vanessa, I'm glad you are taking today easy, after the busy last few days. It's good news your leg is not hurting, and there is very little numbness. Carolyn, please wish your grandson a 🎈 VERY HAPPY 11TH BIRTHDAY 🎈 for us. Karen, that is good news you are walking better and that the leg feels better. I guess you won't be able to stop people from commenting, but you could just smile and say "thank you, but what I am doing is working as I'm walking better and the leg feels better". Lenda

Once we left the DMZ, we headed to Inchon for a Korean barbecue lunch. After lunch, we stopped at a market in Inchon where we had free time to wander around. The restaurant where we had a very good meal. The market and the area around the market. The first picture is a grocery store near the market. Some of the food and goods offered in the market. The area behind the market The street in front of the market Another area of Inchon from the bus Lenda

We were in Inchon, South Korea, on October 16, 2018, as part of the Coral Princess circle the northern Pacific cruise. We opted for a tour to the DMZ and Tunnel #3, with lunch and a stop in Inchon in the afternoon. I will divide my pictures into two posts, and we'll start with our stop in the DMZ. We had to show our passports to the UN guards when we entered and exited the DMZ. The first stop was the bridge that goes into North Korea. It is the bridge the crew from the Pueblo walked across after they were released by North Korea. There were several monuments, but as you can see, they are all in Korean. The bridge Some of the area, including an old locomotive and the railroad bridge. Our next stop was the complex that housed Tunnel #3, that the North Koreans dug to infiltrate SK. There are four Tunnels of Aggression, and #3 was discovered in 1978 before it was completed. The tour was supposed to take a little train down into the tunnel, but our guide said we had to walk to the tunnel. It was a very steep incline to reach the tunnel level, We walked part way into the tunnel which has a very low ceiling. We were glad they gave us hardhats because we kept hitting the very rough, rocky ceiling. The climb back up to the visitor center was hard, and we were glad they had benches where we could sit and rest as we climbed. I thought I'd taken pictures in the tunnel, but I can't find them. This is a sculpture at the visitor center. We also stopped at a place were we could look into North Korea. North Korea Our final stop in the DMZ was the Dorasan Railroad station, the last station in South Korea. To be continued. Lenda

Good morning from a mainly cloudy central Texas. It is 71F with a predicted high of 75F about 11am. The predicted severe thunderstorms will arrive about 1pm, if the forecast holds, and they will last until about 8pm. When the rain begins we'll drop back into the upper 60s. If I want to get anything done outside, I better get it done this morning. Three good days to honor today. I hope someday people will learn to live in peace. Another good George Carlin quote. We'll skip the meal and the drink. I would love to try the wine. We were in Inchon on Coral Princess in 2018, along with Ray @USN59-79 and his wife. Unfortunately, we did not meet on the cruise. The 1920 canonization of Joan of Arc was a good day for her. @dfish Debbie, I hope the soreness wears off soon. Could you share a picture of the deck and new furniture when it's finished? @aliaschief Bruce, thanks for the pictures of the progressive dinner. It looks like the crew out did them selves, and they were having a good time too. I loved some of the costumes the crew were wearing. @RMLincoln Maureen, it looks like you are settling into your new home nicely, and finding things to do in your new area. I also hope your DH's eye continues to drain and the pressure settles in the normal range. I'm glad your DGD passed the kidney stone. I hope she is feeling good for their trip. Lenda

@aliaschief and @DWAliaschief Brice and Sue, I hope your 32nd anniversary is wonderful. Lenda

Carolyn, thanks for the pictures from Athens. Debbie, I agree that it's time to take your money and find a friendlier gym. I think the current place needs to rethink their personnel because of the attitude you've encountered the last two days. The windshield did not get replaced. They sent the tech out with a windshield that had to be glued on, but the car uses a gasket. The tech said his boss said just glue it. Now, we have to wait for them to see if they can get all the needed parts before they can schedule us to come in for the service. For some reason, we are dealing with an repair facility near Ft. Worth instead of the one in Waco which is much closer and we would encounter less traffic. I am less than thrilled to say the least. End of rant. At least, the clothes and sheets are clean, folded and put away. Now, I'm taking my book outside to relax. Lenda

It's nice when the vet really cares for their patients and their humans. Pretty flowers. We've been to Greece in the spring, summer and fall. I would recommend spring of fall. The time we were there in July, it was so hot, they had to close the Acropolis in the after. Summer is also the most crowded time to visit. Paul, Oranjestad is an easy walkable town. However, to get the flavor of the island, you should get out of town. We've always rented cars, which you can pick up just outside the gate on the pier. You probably could hire a taxi to show you the island. Pennie, try not to get behind the pain. I hope raising the head of the bed goes well, and that you can get to walk. Lenda

I have a few more pictures from our stops in Athens and Piraeus. The Church of the Holy Trinity in Piraeus between the cruise terminal and the train station. In 2016 while on the Prinsendam, we took a tour to the Corinth Canal which included a boat ride through the canal. The first picture is taken from the bridge over the canal. On the tv show the Amazing Race, the contestants had to bungee jump from the bridge. In the second picture, the small ship was stuck for a while and our boat circled the bay until the ship was moving again. On our first visit to Athens in 2002, when we were much younger, and fitter, we climbed to the top of the Acropolis. I know there are similar pictures, but no visit to Athens should leave out pictures of the Acropolis. The ancient theater that has been modernized. The ruins of another ancient theater Those seats do not look very comfortable. I hope the performances didn't drag on too long. 😀 If anyone has not seen the movie "My Life in Ruins", you might like the movie. It is set in many places like Delphi, the Acropolis, etc. It’s a cute movie with a good cast and makes for a fun evening. Lenda

We have been to Athens at least four times, not counting the two times we flew home from there. In 2019 while on the Veendam, we took the Ho-Ho from Piraeus into Athens. The first group of pictures were taken from the bus as we drove through Piraeus. The next pictures are from the bus in Athens. It was one of the hottest days of the year, and they closed the Acropolis in the afternoon due to the heat. A pedestrian shopping street A couple more pictures of Athens In 2017 on the Prinsendam, we took a taxi to the Acropolis, but due to the lines just waiting to get a ticket, we decided not to visit the top. We'd been there in 2003 on the old Regal Princess. Instead, we walked down the hill to the ancient agora and then to the modern agora. This was a street between the Acropolis and the agora. A small chapel along the way The ancient agora The modern agora area near the train station. An old church at the train station in Athens. Lenda

A later good morning than usual from mostly sunny central Texas. I've been up a while, but had to get some things done early since we are waiting for the tech to arrive and replace a windshield in one of the cars. He's supposed to text us when he's on his way, and the time frame is 8am to 5pm. I knew if I didn't get up early and get ready, he'd be here at 8am. Now we are just waiting. It is 70F and heading to 88F this afternoon. The clouds will be moving in this afternoon, and rain tomorrow, so I'll enjoy the good weather today along with doing laundry. The tech just called and said he thinks he'll be here about "noonish". He'll text or call when he is finished with the customer before us. I'm not sure how this happened, but this was posted before I finished. I hope I can finish before it times out. I'll celebrate families and honor kangaroo care and MPS awareness. I like the Anne Morrow Lindberg quote. The meal sounds good, but we'll pass on the drink and the wine. We have been to Athens several times, and I repost my pictures when I finish this. The day in history was a good beginning for women's rights in the US. @marshhawk Annie, I'm glad your DH has an appointment with the doctor who didn't have openings until January. I hope this doctor can help him. I'm sorry your friend's cancer has advanced and that his time is growing very short. I hope he can be kept comfortable during his remaining days. @cat shepard Ann, I'm glad you and Bindi remained safe last night. I'm also happy that you sister is doing better, is more active and doing things for herself. @mamaofami Carol, it was good to hear from you. I hope your dental implants are finished and glad the eye issue is resolved. @kazu Jacqui, I'm sorry your foot is still so painful. I hope you can get some relief soon. Lenda

Ann, I hope your DD has safe and uneventful flights. Good for you , Debbie. It sounds like they didn't think about what is best for those who take the classes. I hope you prevail. Lenda

On no, Vanessa. I'm glad the scan showed no problem. I'm glad you gave BFF a talking to, and I hope the glass of wine was a really BIG glass of wine. Lenda

@marshhawk HUGS to both of you. Words fail me, but know that you are in our thoughts and are hoping for the best for both of you. @dfish Debbie, I can't believe the response from the director of aquatics, so callous. I hope you can find another solution. Lenda

Annie, that is heart breaking that the surgery was not successful -- again. I wish there was more any of us could do but send you HUGS! Anni, I think it is unconscionable that the doctor did not talk to you. I hope something can be done about the leg, and that something can be done to help with the weight loss. Karen, that is good news from your PT therapist. I'm glad someone had good news today. Lenda