Quartzsite Cruiser

Rich, the people you cited deserve credit for starting and keeping the Fleet Report going. However, you deserve full credit for The Daily and keeping the thread going and growing during the shutdown. It would have been easy to just stop the Fleet Report when the fleet was not sailing. Instead, you not only kept going, but created a safe place for a special group of terrific people to meet during a very trying time. It gave us a place to safely interact with others. Thank you for that. Susan, I'm sorry you caught a bug, but I'm glad you are feeling better. Thanks for checking in, snd great news you and your Yorkie are safe. Lenda

I agree. When I was looking up Ilulissat yesterday, It said January and February were the high tourist months. It's too cold for me then. Lenda

Sharon, I'm glad your DM feels like going to the dining room to pick up her meals. I hope her strength returns as she recovers. Roy, thanks for your pictures. The ice looks a lot bigger from the perspective of a Zodiac. I think we had about as much ice when we were there in August 2003, but at least, we could tender into the port. Lenda

The rain has stopped and the road and driveway are dry, but it is still cloudy and windy. It has warmed up to 69F, and is not too uncomfortable outside. The Chocolate Snickerdoodles are cooling now. We did a taste test of each pan and they are good. The cinnamon gives them a less sweet taste. Plus they are easy to make. Brenda, thanks for the pictures of Kobe. When DH retired a few of us met in Las Vegas for a retirement weekend. The official retirement dinner was at Le Cirque, and one person ordered the Kobe beef. It was a very small piece of meat, and he gave us a taste. It was very good, but I wouldn't have paid the $100 supplement. We saw one of those fancy toilets when older DD spent two nights in Tokyo at the end of the first segment of the 2002 APEC cruise on Volendam. We went with her to her hotel before exploring the city. DH played with some of the buttons, including the one that heated the seat. He never could get it to turn off, and DD never told us if it was still on when she returned that night. Paul, I'm sorry your canceled your Utah trip. I hope you will be able to reschedule it. That area of Utah has some spectacular scenery. Lenda

I knew we got a lot of rain this morning during our 1 1/2 hour storm, but I was shocked when I looked at the weather station. It say's we received 2.33 inches of rain. Eyeballing the old fashioned rain gauge from the porch, it looks like it was close to 2.5 inches. It's still sprinkling lightly and too wet to get to the rain gauge. Gerry, I'm glad you are getting much needed rain, and I hope it's not accompanied by high winds, etc. I'm sorry Wayne is still having health issues. I hope he is feeling better soon. Annie, I hope the appointments tomorrow and Wednesday go well for Chuck. That is good news the Lightning won, and are still in the playoffs. Miracles do happen. Lenda

Good morning from a very soggy central Texas. Thunder, lightning and heavy rain woke me up a little before 6am. The worst of the storm lasted until about 7:30. Looking at the radar, we'll get more rain for about another hour or so. It is currently 64F down from 68F at 6am. Our high is predicted to be 78F. Yesterday afternoon, I made the dough for the Chocolate Snickerdoodles Karen @luvteaching shared with us. I'll bake the cookies this morning. We will honor all three days, but I think the hardest to deal with is Brave Hearts Day for the families of children battling cancer. Childhood cancer seems much worse than cancer in adults, but it's a nasty disease anytime. Superheroes and Occupational Safety and Health day are just as important. The Lou Holtz quote is true, but the percentages could be different for different people. We'll skip the meal and the drink. I'd like taste the wine, but not at that price. We have not been to Kobe, although we were closed when we were in Osaka and Kyoto. The first night flight by Claude Graham-White was very daring just seven years after the Wright Brothers first flight. @Cruzin Terri Terri, I hope today is a calm, relaxing day. @grapau27 Again, thanks for the information on the days today, Graham. @dfish Debbie, I'm glad the weekend is going well for you. @rafinmd Roy, thank you for the interesting time line of the evolution of the Fleet Report to The Daily and then the Fleet Report and Daily. Thank you. @ottahand7 Nancy, I hope your plant sale goes well and that you have a lot of buyers. Beautiful tulips, which we can't grow here. @Seasick Sailor Joy, that was some storm this morning. @cruising sister Lorraine, I hope you stay safe from all the storms that keep popping up. @smitty34877 Terry, I'm sorry you hurt your shoulder and have a RA flare. I'm glad the aide could come last night. Are you going to an urgent care to see about your shoulder? Lenda

I doubt they really believe us. It brought to mind a vacation we took when we lived in Corpus Christi in the early 70s. We spent a couple of days in Marfa before going to Big Bend. One day, we decided that since we were so close to Carlsbad Caverns, only 200 miles, we would go there for the day. Of course, we were much younger. We did get some weird Texas rain this evening. It rained very hard for all of 10 to 15 seconds, and that was it for the day. Right now, we just have a strong south wind. Gerry, Kevin is such an adorable cutie. He reminds me of our two orange cats, Sandy and Sargent, whomcrossedmthe rainbow bridge many, many years ago. Lenda

@luvteaching Karen, the cookie dough is chilling until tomorrow. I've never had a cookie dough that was so easy mix. Terri, our condolences to Jim and you on the passing of his childhood friend. Also, our condolences to the sons and his friends. Lenda

Sharon, the biggest potential problem would be at DFW. If there's a lot of lightning and wind, they would likely close the airport until the storm cell passed. It's better to err on the side of caution. At least, the flight to Waco isn't long. I hope the weather cooperates for you. Lenda

Graham, it seems there is no rhyme or reason in these matters. It's up to the gremlins whim. Thank you, Graham. Lenda

Good morning for another 5 minutes from a very windy central Texas. Not much happening, just a few chores. Not an exciting day. Sharon, unfortunately for you both Dallas and Waco show scattered thunderstorms from Thursday through the following Thursday. Most times, it does not rain continuously, and often not in the entire area covered by the forecast. Spring is our rainy season, and this year it seems pretty rainy. Here are links to the forecasts for Waco and Dallas on Thursday from The Weather Channel. Waco: https://weather.com/weather/tenday/l/c6103771c4fb2e80470f2870659b4326fe5ef610dd9a30e5bd56f7d8826d42a2 Dallas: https://weather.com/weather/tenday/l/c6103771c4fb2e80470f2870659b4326fe5ef610dd9a30e5bd56f7d8826d42a2 Brenda, thanks for the great photos of the owl. I saw Pete's @The Inside Cabin video and was amazed at how many blankets were made. This a wonderful project, and you both are wonderful to coordinate it on the WC. Sadly, I flunked knitting. Ann, thanks for the Greenland pictures. We've flown over that area before. Ilulissat is in the far north on the west side of Greenland, and I don't think planes fly that far north unless they are doing the great circle route, which might have been used to get to your part of Canada. I also don't think many ships go to Ilulissat, but it's well worth a visit. Vanessa, I'm so happy your not in pain and are getting a good night's sleep now. When DH had his back surgeries, the incisions were held together with a special bandage that incorporated small polymer zip ties. When he showered, we had to use a waterproof covering over the incisions until they were fully closed. Carolyn, that is definitely good news about Amber. I hope she can regain full use of her felt side, and can keep her BP down. @luvteaching Karen, thanks for the Chocolate Snickerdoodle recipe. I've downloaded into Word. I will probably try it tomorrow or next week. Lena

WOO-HOO! Chrome is back! I think I'll still hedge my bets, and keep CC open on Edge for a while longer. It is nice to be back on a familiar platform though. We had an interesting thing happen last night. We went out for our normal evening golf cart ride, and found we could not get it into reverse. We pushed it out of the port, and looked at the engine. DH found that a link to shift from forward to reverse was broken. Once it was out far enough to turn around, we went for our ride. The golf cart is now parked where we can use it. The cart is at least 31 years old, and is developing a few problems. The gas tank has a leak, and we can only fill it part way. The horn and lights haven't worked in about 15+ years. That's not a big problem since we don't need the horn in our little community, and we don't ride after dark either. Otherwise, it runs well, got a new battery last summer, and new seat covers a few years ago. Joy, Oliver is very lucky to have been adopted by you and Allen. I agree, you can't trust the times on the weather app. It usually rains before or after the predicted time. Then again, it just doesn't rain that day. Maureen, thank you for your nice words. I don't feel inspiring. We just plod along day by day and celebrate any improvements. Terry, I know what you mean about the funk. I'm always in a funk with a lot of tears, after the DDs and their guys leave. It helps if I keep busy or we go somewhere for a few hours. The house is just too quiet after they leave. Lenda

We visited Ilulissat on August 21, 2003, on Rotterdam VI as part of the 33-day roundtrip from NYC. We went as far north in Greenland as Ilulissat and as far east as St. Petersburg. We enjoyed our day in port, but unlike Sandi's @StLouisCruisers visit, there was not a boardwalk to view the glacier. We had to walk across the fields and some very rocky areas to reach the area of the icebergs. Walking on the rocks was challenging, but stepping from the rocks back onto the wet grassy area was where most people fell. I don't think anyone was badly injured, but there were some sore people. Many of my pictures will be similar to Sandi's. It is a small town of 4,670 people located 250km north of the Arctic Circle and a UNESCO World Heritage site. It is known as the "City of Icebergs" or in Danish, Jakobshavn, and is the third largest city in Greenland. It is one of the most visited sites in Greenland. Our first view of town A brave man Town and the boat harbor Some of the area walking from town to see the icebergs. On the way back, we passed a sled dog kennel, with the dogs enjoying a sunny summer day. The cemetery And now for the main attraction, a few of the many icebergs we saw. It looks like the glacier in the background of a couple of the pictures. It is possible the iceberg that Titanic hit came from this area. There are three small boats in front of this iceberg. Lenda

Good morning from a cloudy and windy central Texas. It is currently 73F with a predicted high of 79F. We are under a wind advisory this afternoon with winds of 20mph and maybe above. The rain will also return this afternoon, and last through tomorrow afternoon. Yesterday the total rain on the weather station gauge was 1.86 and the old fashioned one looks like 2 inches. It's still too wet and muddy to get to it to get a good reading. Right now, I'm using Edge on my computer. When I tried Chrome, I got a message that CC could not be accessed. It said CC was unable to handle the request. I hope they get the problem fixed soon. Hopefully, one day we'll be on a BHB for Kings Day. It's been years since I've seen a Devil Dog cake, and I learned something today, that US Marines are known as Devil Dogs. When we had our mini dachshunds, they were pampered. Our DDs learned to save from our example. I like the Helen Keller quote, which is true. We'll probably pass on the meal. The drink might be good, and I'd like to try the wine, but not at that price. We were in Ilulissat on Rotterdam VI in 2003. My pictures, many like Sandi's @StLouisCruisers will follow. The composition of Fur Elise by Beethoven in 1810 was a gift to the world. @StLouisCruisers Sandi, I just looked up the weather in Frisco. At 9am, it will be cloudy and 74F with winds of 16mph. The winds will increase to 20mph by 11am. It will probably be humid too. @Haljo1935 Elizabeth, I hope you get your car repaired today. @grapau27 Graham, thank you for telling us about today's days. Thanks for the video of the hang glider. @aliaschief Bruce, thanks for taking us along on your cruise. It looks like you will have a "private yacht" for just you, Sue and 143 of your friends for the next few weeks. @MISTER 67 Glad your team placed third. That sounded like a brutal tournament to end the season. @RMLincoln Maureen, I'm glad your DH is doing well. and that you got a good night's sleep. Lenda

I've not had any problems, but I'm on my Android tablet using Chrome. We also use Chrome on the computer, and I'll be on it in a little while. Karen, thanks for the recipe. I'll try it soon. Lenda

That's good news about you DM. Thanks for sharing the recipe. Lenda

That is really good news. Here it takes about a week before we're mailed the results. The tech who does the mammograms usually calls within 24 hours if they need to do more checking, so we really know sooner. Elizabeth, I looks like the worst of the rain is past us. It also came in bands, some with extremely heavy rain. The weather station rain gauge says 1.81 inches of rain. I think the worst is heading north east and going south of most of the metroplex. Stay safe. Lenda

Good afternoon from a gloomy and wet central Texas. It started raining about two hours ago, but it started pouring about ten minutes ago. Our county is under a tornado warning, and there was a tornado near West not long ago. Right now, besides thunder and lightning, we are getting marble size hail. The cars, motorhome and golf cart are all under cover, but it is loud on our metal roof. Looking at the radar the worst of the storm will be through here later this afternoon. And most of the really bad weather is east of I-35 and heading toward the DFW metroplex with most of it going toward the east. Just since I started typing our rain amount has gone from 0.11 to 0.36 inches. The weather app says we have an 11mph wind, but our neighbor's flag is hanging limp. There is standing water in a large portion of our yard, and we have a "river" running through our port. Maybe, it'll clean the dirt off the concrete. I hope @Haljo1935 Elizabeth and any other Dailyites in the path of this storm are safe, and stay safe. Safe travels to York, ME, this weekend. I hope someone at the open house falls in love with your condo and makes a very good offer. Vanessa, I'm glad you got seven hours sleep last night. I bet that shower will really feel good. I hope you have a waterproof patch to cover the bandage on your incision. This is for your BFF for taking such good care of you. Karen, I like snickerdoodles, but I've never heard of chocolate snickerdoodles. Could you share the recipe with us? Sharon, I'm glad your DM is doing better, and I hope she recovers fully soon. I like the sounds of your salmon power bowls. Carolyn, thank you for the pictures from Hobart. Sandi, I hope they can get the match in tomorrow morning. That is supposed to be our windy day. The rain has slowed down for now, but I think we'll get more later. The rain gauge on the weather station now reads 0.61. Lenda

Good morning from a cloudy and windy, 12mph, central Texas. It is 72F and heading to 78F this afternoon. According to the weather app, it will begin raining soon, and rain on and off the rest of the day. The wind is supposed to pick up to 19mph, and tomorrow the winds will be 20+mph with more rain. There is a possibility we could have severe thunderstorms. I keep reminding myself this is our rainy season, and we don't have to turn on the sprinkler. Not sure what we'll be doing today. Three good days to celebrate or at least in the case of Chernobyl to remember and hope we won't have anymore disasters like that. I have several Australian friends who I would love to hug. I always love Mel Brooks comments and movies. My two favorites are "Blazing Saddles" and "The History of the World, Part 1". I would enjoy the salmon but without the power bowl. HAL used to have a teriyaki salmon salad that was very good. If I was going to drink today's drink, I would try the first recipe. We'll pass on the wine. We have not been to Hobart or any other port in Tasmania. Shipping containers and container ships have changed how we move goods from one place to another. Several years ago, there was a lecturer on Prinsendam who's topic was "The Box That Changed The World. It was about shipping containers and was very interesting. @grapau27 Thank you, Graham, for elaborating on the days today. @aliaschief Bruce, thank you for the pictures of your ship. We sailed on two of her sister ships when they were part of the Princess fleet. Nice small ships. @MISTER 67 I'm sorry the Lightning did not win last night. @JazzyV Vanessa, I'm glad you moved yourself to the celebration list. @Cruzin Terri Terri, that is good news that things are calmer now. @smitty34877 Terry, safe travels to your NH family. I hope you are well rested, and that whatever happens will be easier to handle now. @1ANGELCAT I hope your mammogram shows everything is normal. @rafinmd Roy, that was good news your PSA are dropping. @0106 Tina, thanks for presenting our selection of recipes while Debbie @dfish is traveling. @kochleffel Paul, thank you for researching and presenting our drink recipes. @summer slope Welcome home, Dixie and George. @ottahand7 Nancy, I hope the good memories of your DH help ease the pain on this sad anniversary. Lenda

@dfish Debbie, I hope you have a wonderful birthday, and many more happy birthdays in your future. Safe travels today. Lenda

Debbie, safe travels tomorrow. I hope you miss the worst of the traffic. Enjoy your weekend visiting with friends. Lenda

Maureen, even when it is expected, the passing of a loved one is never easy. Our condolences to you, your DB and niece and the rest of the family. Glad you made it home safely, and great that two days after surgery your DH was able to help with the driving. Lenda

Lenda

Again, I survived W-M. The store was not very crowded, and there was very little traffic on the way back home. Did see an interesting maneuver as I was driving through our little town. The road is four lane with a turning lane and wide shoulders, so it's pretty wide. There was a semi stopped on the side of the road, when all of a sudden there was a small break in traffic, and he preceded to make a U-turn. I was going slow enough, but the car in the next lane had to hit the brakes. I guess he was successful since I didn't hear any crashing sounds or horns as I turned into the grocery store. Vanessa, I'm sorry you did not sleep as well in your bed. Hopefully, you will be able to get a good night's sleep in your recliner until the incision is not painful. I'm so happy the surgery worked, and you are pain and tingling free. Please tell you BFF we all appreciate the good care he is giving you. Edi, thanks for the nice picture of you and your sister. Pennie, "All of Us" is the study DH is in. At one appointment in November 2019, I asked about joining, and was told I could the next time we were there, which would have been April 2020. I never had the opportunity to enroll. We normally book our HAL cruises with our PCC. We have on occasion booked directly on-line or just called the regular number. We also used a big box agency once, and since it was a special cruise, we had someone to contact who answered our questions. We've had one great PCC and a couple of good ones. It helps if you know which cruise you want, and if flying which flights. Carolyn, I know what you mean about the price of a haircut on a ship. I get just a haircut since my hair is very short. For a time, I could talk them into giving me a man's cut at the man's cut price, but that is getting harder and harder to do. The ship's price for a ladies cut is 3 or 3+ times what I pay on land. I'm glad Amber is alert and her personality seems unchanged. I'm sorry she still cannot move her left side, and I hope the doctors can figure out what is going on and that she has a full recovery. Great pictures of Santorini. Thanks for the story about the Pacific Dining Car. I wish more wineries would use screw tops. Terri, I'm glad you could talk to the nurse and are more comfortable about the medicine. I'm also glad you are feeling better about everything. Terri, I have read that dementia patients do better in familiar surroundings, and that might explain why an upcoming trip made Jim anxious. Lenda

In 2019, the Veendam took us to Santorini for our second visit. We opted to take a ship's tour that included the Minoan ruins, Oia and Thira. Akrotiri was Cycladic cultural settlement related to the Minoan culture. The village was destroyed by the volcano in the 16th century BCE. The village, named for the nearby modern village of Akrotiri, is well preserved and is still being excavated. The first excavations were in 1867. A couple of stops on the way to Akrotiri. The first was a roadside chapel, the second the view from the road, and finally ruins of an old windmill. Pictures of some of the ruins, which fortunately are under a cover to protect them and us from the sun. It is hard to tell, but the site is huge. Oia near where the bus dropped us off. The church and views from Oia We had quite a bit of free time in Oia, and after wandering through most of the upper part of Oia, we found a nice place to sit and enjoy gelato. This view. I think, is Oia from the Veendam. Lenda