Quartzsite Cruiser

Good morning from central Texas. It is supposed to be in the upper 90sF until Monday, and then, three eays of triple digits before retuning to the 90s. Now, if we can just get some rain. Dallas got heavy rain yesterday, and it looked like we were going to get some too. Instead, we got the clouds and wind. The rain turned out to be just a few a very drops, what we called just spitting. While I like tigers better, lions are also magnificent animals. In 2008 on Prinsendam, we visited Sochi where we took an excursion to the site of the upcoming winter Olympics. At a stop at a viewpoint, a local had his hawk, bear cub, and lion cub, all on leashes, for us to pet. I was surprised at how course the lion cub's fur was. Most of the time, the cub just ignored us. We like smores, and will make them over the firepit in Quartzsite. DH prefers the traditional smores, but I litke ones DD and DSIL bring with a different type of graham cracker, thinner dark chocolate and Mexican marshmallows. I am being lazy early today. I like the Tolstoy quote and I think if everyone worked on themselves, we could change the world for the better. The meal looks good, but we'll pass on the drink and the wine. We've been to9 Buenos Aires twice, and I'll look for pictures. @cat shepard Ann, I hope your flight doesn't change too many more times. Love the meme. @cunnorl I hope you can get your filight changed and that your PCC was just out of pocket. @Seasick Sailor Joy, I'm glad the grass fire was put out quickly, and I hope the neighbor took down her glass wind chime. It is very dry here, and we just hope some idiot does not throw a cigarette out the car window on the road behind our house. @ger_77 Gerry, we also have a Fiskars pole trimmer in Quartzsite, and it works well on smaller limbs. We have an electric pope chainsaw for bigger limbs. For the very large branches, we call Carlos. 😀 @StLouisCruisers Sandi, thanks for taking time to look up your pictures. Lenda

We have had verandas on decks 4, 5 and 8. All were good, but in the future I'd try to avoid deck 4. They are partially obstructed views because of the lifeboats. To see the view, you need to stand and look over the lifeboats, and is very difficult to take a picture without the top of a lifeboat in it.

In Texas, best peaches are Fredericksburg peaches. They are sweet and juicy. It has been interesting seeing what books are being read by Dailyites. I've read many of the series mention beginning with Nancy Drew and Cherry Ames in elementary school up through Janet Evanovich and Joanne Fluke. I've also made note of other authors who I have added to my wish list. I am also saddened by the news about the 31 year old crewman who went overboard from the Koningsdam yesterday. This afternoon, the Coast Guard suspended their search. Both the Koningsdam and the Eurodam joined the seach until the Coast Guard released them early this morning. We met so many wonderful crew on our recent Koningsdam cruises, and I can't imagine how they are feeling. Counseling is being offered to any crew or passengers who need it. Lenda

Good afternoon. Not a lot going on around here except, the parts needed to hook the water lines up to the new faucet in the motorhome came in today. I just finished getting the new faucet hooked up. The best part was there were no leaks when DH turned the water on and ran some in the sink. Keeping my fingers crossed 🤞 it remains leak free after we driver the motorhome over some rough roads, @Heartgrove Jack, I'm sorry Sam is having more problems with the hip dysplasia. I hope the pain medication will help. I know you will give him the best quality of life for as long as possible. I'm glad you brother is holding his own, and I hope your DSIL can get more help to take care of him. @Sharon in AZ Sharon, I'm glad Arizona is getting much needed rain. From pictures posted on a Quartzsite FB page, they are also getting rain. There are pictures of a lot water flowing down the main wash that runs through town. I think I'll take the rest of the afternoon off and read some of the book I started the other day. I am reading Ken Follett's latest novel Never, which is set in current times. It is more than 800 pages, so it will take a while to finish it. Lenda

Good morning from central Texas. I need to turn on the sprinkler in the front yard to give my drought tolerant plants some water. Otherwise the only green in the yerd is the weeds which refuse to die and seem immune to weed killer. I'm an avid reader so books are always celebrated here. I have an ereader for cruises and it is used sometimes in land too. We can learn a lot from Indigenous people, especially how to care fot the environment. I never learned the polka, but older DD played in a polka band. I like today’s quote. I might try the meal, but probably won't make it. The wine sounds nice, but I'll skip the drink. We have been to five countries in western Africa, but not Angola. @smitty34877 Terry, I'm glad all are feeling better. Sending positive thoughts that Tana's breathing improves. Lenda

@JazzyV Vanessa, thanks thanks for sad news about David McCullough. He was a good writer. @marshhawk Ann, good for you. Can't wait to see the pictures. Lenda

I found this on FB and thought I'd post it in honor of International Cat Day. Lenda

During the almost 55 years we've been married, we have been owned by many cats. We learned early on humans don't own cats. We are there to provide for them, but we still enjoyed all our cats. All the pictures of our cats are pre-digital. These two pictures of Tiburon, older DD's cat, who was mostly or wholly Maine coon, during a hot Texas summer. I'm not sure how it started, but DH and DD decided Tiburon was too hot with all that fur and gave him a trim with DH's hair trimmer. By the time they were finished, DSIL was also enlisted to help hold the cat down. I'm surprised no one got scratched. I was smart enough to stand back and photograph the proceedings. Afterwards, he did seem cooler. The beginning. I'm not sure I want to know what he was thinking. Almost finished By the time they had Tiburon trimmed, there were clumps of cat hair all over the yard. That is Nikki in the bottom of the picture. I'm not sure she was offering sympathy or gloating that she had naturally short fur. I couldn't get a good after picture because as soon as they let him loose, he was out of there. 🤣 Lenda

Good morning from central Texas and the same weather report. When I ran my errands earlier this morning, it was still pleasant and I did not need the a/c on in the car. Even though neither we nor the DDs have cats now, we'll celebrate international cat day. I am enjoying all the cat pictures. I'll wait for the summer Olympics closing ceremonies in two years to celebrate. We also donated a lot of zucchini to neighbors in Pennsylvania when we had a garden. When we lived in North Carolina the original owners of the house planted a peach tree. When the neighbors saw us coming with a paper grocery sack, they'd lock the doors and close the curtains to keep from receiving more peaches. 🤣 The quote to day is true, but there are times when the world handed out wishes.. The stir fry looks good, but I'll save it for another day. We still have a lot of chicken left from yesterday's lunch, but I think it will be crab cakes tonight. We'll pass on the drink, but the wine sounds interesting. We have not been to Semarang, Java. Maybe some day. @marshhawk Ann, I'm sorry your DH's mouth pain is back. I hope it goes away soon. @MISTER 67 Glad you are enjoying your cruise. @StLouisCruisers Sandi, safe travels to Michigan today. @ger_77 Gerry, Sochi's summer look would still be too much this summer in Texas. She looks beautiful. @durangoscots Susan, I'm sorry the roof is leaking again at the shelter. We have a metal roof on the house, and it's been leaking for several years. We've had many different people work on it, and the last time, they replaced many of the screws. We agreed to have all the screws replaced if it continued to leak, but we can't get our schedule to mesh with their schedule. It seems to leak only when we have a hard rain from the north. @Tbay I'm sorry you have Covid now too. I hope everyone is better soon. Lenda

We have done several TAs going both ways, and have enjoyed all of them. About 20 years ago, on a eastbound few TAs, HAL moved the clock forward at 2pm. Most passengers seemed to like the idea since they did not lose an hour of sleep, but there were some who complained they lost an hour of the daily activities. @DCThunder I imagine on the westbound TA, the clocks will be changed at 2 am to give everyone an extra hour of sleep. I've never seen the clocks changed during the day on westbound TA and trans Pacific cruises. We like TAs for the sea days and a chance to relax before or after a busy port intensive cruise.

You beat me to the answer while I was reading the Daily. I like the original movie with Ricki Lake. Lenda

When we were on the Koningsdam in March and April, early seating was 5:15, but the doors opened for open seating at 5pm. I walked by the lower MDR doors about 4:45 one day, and people were lined up going up the stairs waiting for the door to open. With so many waiting, they opened the doors early.

Good afternoon. DD and DSIL left about 45 minutes ago after a nice afternoon visit. DSIL was nice enough to replace the kitchen sink faucet in the motorhome. We need a part to join the supply line to the faucet since the motorhome lines are a different size. The local hardware store did not have the correct part, so once the part arrives, I'll finish hooking up the lines. After lunch, we watched some of the home movies of the DDs growing up. DH had transferred to memory chips earlier this year. Boy did they bring back a lot of good memories. Thank you everyone for your pi tures of the various lighthouses. It is always interesting to see the different designs. I've also enjoyed all the pictures feom Ponto Delgada. I'm afraid if I tried to name everyone, I'd forget some. Lenda

In 2004, again on Noordam III, we rented a car and toured the country side. To honor lighthouses, this is the ruin of what appears to be an old lighthouse. Some scenes from our day in the country. Town from a scenic view point. Another small town An old volcano crater Blue and Green lakes Sete Cidades and the church Noodram at anchor Our final visit was in 2019 on Veendam. By then, the new dock had been built with cafes along the waterfront. Veendam at the new dock Lenda

Good morning from sunny, breezy central Texas. During June and July, I was dreading August because it is usually our hottest month. I looked at the ten day forecast last night, and while it will still be hot, our highs for most of the days will be in the upper 90sF. The triple digit days will be in the low 100s. There is a new "normal" for our weather, and I have to remember the forecasts are still a guesstimate. Friendship day is good, and I treasure my to BFFs from my very young days and my friends on the Fleet/Daily. I agree we should forgive, but sometimes it is difficult, and almost impossible to forget some things. We have enjoyed seeing lighthouses all over the world. The ones on PEI and the Oregon coast come to mind, along with the Tower of Hercules in A Coruna Spain. I like today's quote, and also @rafinmd Roy's suggestion to @RedneckBob. We have salmon fairly regularly, but I do not like cooked spinach unless it is wilted as part of a pasta dish. I do like raw spinach in a salad. We'll pass on the drink, but I would like to try the wine. We have been to Ponta Delgada four times, three of which were on BHBs. @smitty34877 Terry, I'm glad to see the executive chef feels well enough to resume her duties. I'm also gild your are letting the teenager continue the dog walking duties for a while longer as you regain your strength. @cunnorl Charlene, I'm sorry your former neighbor has lost her spark. It was nice of you to visit and do her nails and hair. @ger_77 Gerry, I wished we'd known about the lighthouse on the prairie when we drove through Saskatoon in 2017 on our way to Alaska. @StLouisCruisers Sandi, it sounds like you are having fun and keeping busy. Thanks for the pictures of Ponta Delgada. @HAL Sailer Melisa, that is an interesting story about your DH's sons accepting you. I can relate as it took me too many years to accept my stepmother even though I was grown and married when they married. We had a wonderful relation ship after that. @mamaofami Carol, sending positive thoughts for the safety of your family still in Israel. Our first time in Ponta Delgada was on October 4, 2001, on Golden Princess' maiden crossing. That day we walked around town. Absit 90 ,minutes after we sallied, DH was on the balcony and noticed we'd turned around. A few minutes later, the captain announced we were turning back because a couple had suddenly left the ship with the luggage 30 minutes before we sailed. The ship was returning until they could determine what was happening. We made it back to Ponta Delgada in 45 minutes, and dinner was very quiet that night. We hung out off the port for a while, then sailed toward the USA. We later learned they knew the couple was disembarking and used their departure as a cover story. A member of the Cruise Staff as a joke had called in a bomb threat. He spent the rest of the cruise confined to his cabin. Remember this was less than a month after 9/11. Our pictures from our first stop. Igreja de Sao Sebastiao Portas da Cidade Igreja ds Sao Jose In 2019, I took these pictures inside the church. We were back in 2002 on Noordam III, and we walked around town. The harbor with Noordam docked at the far end. Lenda

Thank you for the update. I think rainy, dismal weather is more the norm there. We experienced the worst rain the day we were in Kirkwall. It was coming down horizontally and our pants from the knees down were soaked by the time we were back on the Prinsendam. Hope your weather improves for the rest of your stay. Lenda

While I'm not a coffee drinker, I know many Dailyites can't start the day without a cup of coffee. After looking on FB today, I now know where your morning coffee comes from. 🤣 ☕ Lenda

Woo Hoo! That is great news. Lenda

Well, bummer. DD mentioned a hair appointment today, but somehow we thought it was a different time, and they were coming today. We just talked to her, and the appointment is this afternoon, so they will be here tomorrow not today. At least, the salad and pie are ready, and the chicken will definitely be thawed by the time I start cooking it. Now, I just need to come up with something for supper today. Lenda

In 2016 on our last Baltic cruise on Prinsendam, we were in Warnemunde on August 1. Since we had been to Berlin, we decided to rent a car and visit some of the towns to the west. The weather that day was a mixed bag of sun, heavy clouds and rain. Most of the rain was while we were on the autobahn. That day we visited Lubeck, Schwerin, Wismir, Bad Doberan, and Rostock. Our first stop was Lubeck, the furthest west we drove. It is an old walled city known for its gothic style red brick buildings. In Medieval times it was the capital of the Hanseatic League. Only the city gate remains of the wall, and it has a decided list as one side is sinking. The back side of the city gate The first building you see after passing the city gate. It might have been the building above, but somewhere nearby, we were at a high point and these are pictures of Lubeck and the Trave River. This picture was probably taken in Wismir. Schwerin Castle We could not find a parking place, so we did not tour the castle. The area cross from the bridge to the castle. I believe these were taken in Bad Doberan, and we just made it back to the car before it stated raining again. On the way back to the ship, we drove around Rostock, but did not find anything interesting to stop to see. We also drove around Warnemunde, and this is the church. Lenda

Good morning from another hot day in central Texas. Everything is about ready for DD and DSIL's visit. The red, white and blue salad and lemonade pie are made, and the chicken I'll roast for dinner is thawing. I even blew all the debris that blows in when we have south winds out of the port . Hiroshima and Nagasaki are worth remembering. We have visited Hiroshima twice and were moved by the memorials and their peace museum. I like blues in moderation, but I'm really a rock n roll girl. Farmworkers deserve their own day as they do so much so we can eat fresh food. The Rick Riordan quote is interesting. He is mainly known for writing children's books, but he wrote a series of books for adults featuring a detective from San Antonio, which I enjoyed. We'll pass on the meal and the drink. The wine sounds nice, but pricey. We were in Warnemunde in 2016 on Prinsendam, and at the end of a Marco Polo cruise in 2005. After the cruise, we took the train to Berlin as part of the cruise package and spent two nights there. @MISTER 67 and @rafinmd Roy, I like the new avatars. @smitty34877 Terry, that is good news that Tana is now negative and has improved. Take it easy until your stamina returns. @1ANGELCAT That fire and loss of lives is terrible, and I feel for the fireman who lost family. @bennybear Thanks for the pictures of Hiroshima. @kb4683 HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU DH! These are my pictures from Berlin taken on August 28 and 29, 2005. At the end of the Marcel Polo cruise, the passengers boarded a private train to a station in what was east Berlin. We were traveling with friends, and the four of us managed to get one of the private rooms for the trip. Once we were in Berlin, there was a bus tour of Berlin and a riverboat tour on the River Spree. The next day, three of us took a bus to the Brandenburg Gate. Our friend left us there, and we continued to the Holocaust Memorial, and a self tour of the city. We saw this part of the wall in the former East Berlin. This section was in west Berlin, IIRC. The next three pictures were taken from the bus at various points on our tour, so the quality is not great. Checkpoint Charlie. The bus stopped there for a photo op, and we returned the next day to visit the museum shown in the picture right behind the picture of the US GI. It was a very interesting museum and there were a lot of displays about escapes from East Berlin. These pictures are from our second day in Berlin. The Brandenburg Gate and a plaque in the line that marks the location of the Berlin Wall. The line runs along any part of the wall where the actual wall was torn down. The Holocaust Memorial One of the big intersections in Berlin and the rooftop garden area of a department store's buffet. The shell of this bombed out church was left as a reminder of the war, and the very modern new church beside it. We took a tram out to the 1936 Olympic Stadium. It was closed, so we could not go inside. Looking from one of the museums on an island in the River Spree between East and West Berlin. We visited the museum and saw Nefertiti. For being several millenniums old, she is in good shape. They also have many other Egyptian artifacts. The River Spree Lenda

UT Southwestern uses a screening process with the NP, and it would have been the end of September before we could see a doctor. We'd hoped by going this route, he could get the MRI sooner and then see a doctor sooner.. We just found out the MRI is a week from Monday with the next visit with the NP on the 23rd. This will give them time to get the MRI and review it. This should have been caught last fall when DH saw the neurologist at Baylor, Scott and White in Temple, but he did not think a cat scan was needed. The neurosurgeon in Waco who referred DH to UT Southwestern told us that in his opinion, the shunt and back surgery would help DH, but he was not expecting him to get 100 percent results, after so long. We wouldn't be as far along as we are if our PCP's PA hadn't orfered the cat scan tge doctors failed to order. Lenda

Good afternoon. We survived the drive to Dallas and back on I-35E. It was certainly a lot busier today than on Tuesday. The nurse practioner was pretty through with her questions and exam. After looking at the CT scan from last month and doing some tests, she ordered and MRI. Fortunately, we can have it done closer to home at the same place that did the CT scan. Even though our PCP thought DH's symptoms all matched those of NPH, she wasn't so sure. However, DH did some research on line while I was in W-M on the way home. It turns out, the medical sites have what she was seeing as symptoms. I guess we'll see what they find on the MRI which will give a more detailed view of the brain. DH has a follow up with the nurse practioner on August 23, a Tuesday. For now, we are still in the wait and see mode. @Tbay 🎂 HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU AND YOUR DGD! 🎈 Sorry your DH has tested positive and I hope he feels better soon. Also, hope your DGS feels better soon too. @JazzyV 😱 Yikes, Vanessa that the Covid levels in your area are now high. Glad you are masking and taking precautions. Everyone at the clinic, including the people at the valet parking, were masked, and all patients were required to mask. @cruzn single Mary Kay, I'm sorry your lung problems have progressed and become pulmonary fibrosis, but it is good it has not changed in the past year. Stay healthy and active. @StLouisCruisers Sandi, I'm glad you arrived safely at your DD;s. I agree that drivers are getting crazier and crazier. @NextOne It's good you tried again. Persistence can pay off. Whatever, you and your DS decided, enjoy the planning and the cruise. Lenda

Terry, that's good news that almost all of you tested negative. I wish Tana was in the negative group and hope she feels better soon. @cunnorl 🥂 🍾 HAPPY 44TH ANNIVERSARY! 🌹 ♥️ Lenda

Ann, my guess is your very smart, agile creature is a racoon. Lenda