Quartzsite Cruiser

@rafinmd Roy, wishing you a wonderful birthday, and many more to follow. Lenda

Annie, glad you found something DH wants to do in Barcelona. That could be an interesting visit. One year, we started to drive friom Cherbourg to Le Mans, but realised halfway there, it was too far for a day trip, especially since we had a later start than planned. Lenda

Good afternoon from a warm and sunny central Texas. It is 93F, and I'm enjoying the cool indoors after getting the yard mowed and the flowerbeds weeded. I also trimmed the iris and got all the dead stuff, including some of last fall's oak leaves out of one flower beds. It wasn't too hot outside, and before I finished there was a nice breeze. @ottahand7 Nancy, third time is the charm. HAPPY BIRTHDAY, JOHN! Terry, I'm very happy your DB is there helping and doing a lot of the cooking. It's good the two of you could entertain Tana last night. I hope she is feeling better and has her appetite back. Elizabeth, that is just weird about parts missing from your HVAC unit. I wonder if it came without parts missing, or if some service person removed bad parts and then somehow "forgot" to replace them. I hope they get it sorted out, and your unit is fixed soon without much hassle. Annie, it looks like the kitties are settling into the indoor space. I'm sorry DH is not looking forward to going to Barcelona. Susan, I hope all the wildlife stays in their area, and leaves the condos alone. @Himself Welcome home, Father. Lenda

We had a very nice day when the Prinsendam visited Torshavn on August 21, 2017. Since it was our first visit, we decided to not rent a car, but walked into town. Once there, we took a local bus out into the countryside; then, once back in town, we switched to another bus going in the opposite direction. After the bus rides, we walked around the nice town, and back to the ship. These first pictures were taken as the ship was approaching the dock. On our walk into town, we took the high road which gave us a good view of part of the town. There are a lot of turf roof buildings in the old town, Tinganes. Looking down at the harbor from the high road. Part of the countryside from the bus On the second bus, we got off in a different part of Torshavn and walked around before catching another bus back to town. This is the local bus. The neighborhood we walked in to an interesting church Vesturkirkjan, aka The West Church. This Lutheran church was built in 1975, and the interesting tower is 42 meters or almost 138 feet tall. A lovely stream running through the area The main part of Torshavn The government house which IIRC also housed the library where many of us stopped to use the internet. Torshavn is on Streynoy Island, and is the capital of the Faroe Islands, which are an autonomous territory of Denmark. We walked by the small boat harbor on our way back to the Prinsendam. Finally, our home away from home Lenda

Good morning from a beautiful, clear central Texas. It is 74F at 7am with a predicted high of 95F. Since the dew point is 74F the humidity is 99%, but there is no condensation on the windows. Today is mowing day, and I also need to do some work on the flowerbeds. I hope to get out earlier than usual to beat the worst of the heat. However, then there is a problem of wet grass because of the dew. At least, we will have a 5 to 8 mph wind which will help. After the yard work, I'll probably be inside the rest of the day. Three interesting days. Radiant peace sounds nice no matter which day it's celebrated. Positive Media Day is good, and our local news channels and even the evening national news try to have one "good news" story. I think no matter whether or not we honor Stupid Guy Thing Day, there will always be some one doing a stupid guy thing. I like the Euripides quote. We'll pass on the meal, but I too wonder if eggplant is becoming the new butternut squash on The Daily. Love Potion #9 might not be bad except for the pomegranate juice. I'll pass on the wine. We were in Torshavn on August 21, 2017, on Prinsendam. My pictures will follow this post. A great day in England when Charles I established the Royal Greenwich Observatory in 1675. We enjoyed our visit to the observatory in 2009 during a week stopover in London on the way home from Cape Town. 1963 saw the beginning of a great music career when Stevie Wonder released his first single. @StLouisCruisers Sandi, that is good news your tummy is feeling better. Now, you will be able to enjoy your Pinnacle Grill dinner. @richwmn Rich have you considered Starlink for your internet service? It's pricey, but very good, and it can be turned off when you are cruising. Our internet service in Quartzsite was so slow, we switched to Starlink out there, and never regretted it. We can also use it in the motorhome. @kazu Jacqui, that is good news the infection has cleared up. I hope the nurse can get the last of the growth removed on your next visit. I also hope all your car a/c needs is more coolant, which is usually our problem when the a/c won't cool the car. It does not take to long to recharge the a/c. Your clematis are pretty, and I love the colors. @cat shepard Ann, the croc tan meme is great, and gave me a good laugh. My feet have white lines from my Birkenstocks. Lenda

Thank you, but I'll pass on the pineapple on the stateroom door. Lenda

Thanks, I needed that. Lenda

Thanks for the pictures from Bodo, John. Carolyn, I'm sure you are correct. I'd love to sail with you and your DH, and also with Gerry and Maurice. This is what happens when you're trying to do two things at once. I definitely don't want to start mate swapping on The Daily. 😁 I wish there was a "foot in mouth" meme. Lenda

Jacqui, thanks for the meme. Sadly, we don't have a dog right now. When Nikki died, we didn't think it would be fair to a dog since we were traveling so much, and I wasn't ready for another dog. I wish we had gotten one in 2020, but like many, we thought we'd be traveling a lot once the worst of the pandemic was ended. Then life got in the way, and right now, I don't think I have the time or energy to train another dog. The picture is my screen saver on the computer. I hope we can cruise with Carolyn and Maurice someday. Lenda

This morning I'm glad the weather forecast was off a bit, since we still have mostly sunny skies with a few tall, fluffy white clouds. It is about 85F now, so it is not too bad out yet. I've been watching cement trucks drive by the house all morning. They are pouring a slab for a new house about three lots down from us, and I've lost count of how many loads of cement they've used. It has to be at least 10 to 12 loads, and it could be even more. We took a ride to see what was happening, and they have quite a set-up. The house will take up most of the lot, and with structures on both sides of the lot, the cement trucks had to park partially in the street. There was another bigger truck parked in the small space in front of the slab that had a tall crane with a hose to get the concrete to the correct places. There was a hopper on the back where the concrete was dumped. They also had 10 to 15 workers to smooth the concrete once it was poured. I learned that today being the longest day of the year, is National Dachshund Day to honor the longest dogs. I still miss our two dachshunds, Brandy and Nikki, who are now playing on the other side of the Rainbow Bridge. Gerry, add me to the list of those who giggled at the word picture you painted about the tick removal. Maureen, thanks for the update on the NM fires. We saw some of the footage of the fire damage and the flooding from the rain. Elizabeth, I'm sorry you had to put your arm in such a painful position for the scan. We've been getting windows for 8 to noon, noon to 6 and even 8 to 5 for service people this year. Karen, I'm glad everyone enjoyed the day yesterday. One of my BFFs and I thought of the other's mother as a second mother. You are very lucky to still have your mother, and one who is still alert and going strong. Pennie, I love the Litha Blessing. It is good for anyone and any religion. Debbie, I also wonder about meeting Maurice now. Paul, thanks for the great autocorrect meme. Lenda

Good morning from a mostly sunny central Texas. It is 76F and feels like 76F with 96% humidity and a dew point of 75F. Our predicted high is 91F with clouds building beginning in about an hour, but no rain in the forecast. There's not much on the agenda unless we take DH's phone to Waco to have the screen saver replaced. At least, the girl in the shop told DH it sounded like the screen saver. Three good days, but I do not do yoga. Litha day is interesting, and the best way for me to make music is to turn on the radio. Five years of piano lessons did not work. An interesting quote by Mahatma Gandhi, and one I'll need to think about a bit more. We'll pass on the meal and the drink. I would like to try the wine. I had not heard about Bodo, Norway, before. I checked it out on Google Maps, and it is very far north in Norway. A good day in 1788 when the U. S. Constitution was ratified by NH. Delaware was the first state to ratify the Constitution, thus the states nickname "The First State". @MISTER 67 We watched part of the game last night, and it was interesting. I wish most baseball stadiums were smaller and more intimate like Richwood Field. @ottahand7 Nancy safe travels and a fun time celebrating John's birthday. Please wish him (again) a VERY HAPPY BIRTHDAY from us. I hope it doesn't rain too much or too hard. @Lady Hudson Welcome home, Katherine. @LambKnuckles Lambie, I hope your wonderful memories of your time with Howard make today a good day. Thanks for the interesting story of Howard's persistence. @aliaschief Good luck on the eye exam, Bruce. @kazu Jacqui, I hope the foot nurse has some answers and a plan to help the foot heal and become pain free. Your peonies are beautiful. @smitty34877 Terry, I'm sorry Tana had a long night and still has the fever. I hope she feels better soon. @marshhawk Annie, I'm glad your DH has a date for his next leg surgery. Good news that the kittens had a good night in the house, and the senior cats are not causing them problems. How is the eye this morning? @bdrcole Thank you for the pictures of Bodo. I would enjoy walking around that lovely town. Lenda

Brenda, that is a big one, Enjoy. Lenda

OUCH! Annie, what a mess. Seriously, if the eye is painful, red or anything but normal, please have it checked. Lenda

Terri, just take it easy and rest until you feel better. Lenda

She could have been on Wind Song in 1996, but I don't even remember if the CD was a man or a woman. I think I know how she and Tim Roberts feel since every time we say a HAL ship is our favorite, they sell it. Lenda

We only did one Wind Star cruise on Wind Song for seven days in French Polynesia, and I don't remember the CD's name. Jan Stearman does not sound familiar. We also had more days with Captain Gunderson as he was the captain on our 2008 and 2011 Prinsendam cruises. Tim Roberts was captain in 2016 from when we boarded until on July 20 until he left the ship in Ijmuiden on September 6, IIRC. The word was he was going on vacation, but we later learned he was transferring to Seabourn. I remember he stood on the pier with the port agent and watched the Prinsendam sail until she was out to sea. Lenda

I spent part of the morning looking at my pictures from our four visits to Oslo. I don't think any of them are true duplicates. The first three are Oslo from either the ship or looking across the bay from the three museums. A few from our tour of the Flam, the open deck. Some of the pictures are darker because of the lighting. A lounge The engine The wheel The rudder and propeller The Fram Museum building Some of the houses near the museums The Stortinget which houses the Norwegian Parliament Grand Hotel Oslo The National Theater Nobel Peace Center Two interior pictures of the Opera House. We also walked on the roof. Lenda

Good afternoon. It has been a more relaxing day after several hectic days. I checked and we received just over 1/10 inch of rain. The grass is still green, but the two flowerbeds are very dry, so I broke down and turned the front sprinkler on for six minutes which is about what the flower beds need. With all our rain this spring my marigolds are growing very big. At last, I've found something I can plant, ignore and it will still grow. Thanks for the pictures and information about Captain Tim Roberts. I was the one who mentioned s talking to him about the Wind Song. Along with Halle Thon Gunderson, he was one of my two favorite captains when we were on Prinsendam. Thanks for the pictures from the museums. We also toured all three, and my favorite was the Flam. Susan, I hope you get the predicted rain this afternoon. Karen, I hope you and your friend are having a good time seeing your DM, and planning your cruise on your drive. Our trash service comes once a week, and we generally have two or three bags. We have the 96 gallon trash can, and there are times we fill it completely. They will also take up to six 30 gallon bags left beside the trash can. Everything has to be bagged, but they will make exceptions for boxes and bigger items. What I like about this service is we get an email when they won't be able to do the pick up that day. Carolyn, when DH was in the Army in 1969 in Dover, NJ, we thought about driving up to Woodstock just to see what was going on. However, the 75 GIs at Picatinny Arsenal were banned from going to Woodstock. Thanks for the pictures, Tony. Love the fish birthday cake. I was sorry to read that Donald Sutherland has died. He was a very good actor, and we enjoyed him in many movies including M*A*S*H, The Dirty Dozen and Kelly's Heroes to name a few. Thanks for the laughs and one groan today, John. Lenda

We have been lucky enough to visit Oslo four times, with three of those times being on the Prinsendam in 2011 (North Cape and Murmansk cruise), 2016 and 2017. The first time there was on the Marco Polo in 2005 on a North Cape cruise. Of course, we visited all the major highlights, but the last time, we took the tram out to a part of town that is off the beaten path. It was interesting to see areas without the tourists (except us) and how the locals lived. I tried to find some pictures that showed some places other than the main tourist places, but included some well known sites. The first two are the Radhuset where the Nobel Peace prize is awarded, and the part of hall where the ceremony is held. This one is a view of the Vigeland park from the top. The next two are from the Viking Ship Museum and the Fram Museum. The Fram was the ship that Roald Amundsen sailed to Antarctica on his exploration to the South Pole. In the same area as these museums are the Kon Tiki Museum and the Norsk Maritimt Museum, which was very interesting. These next to are for those who like to stroll through food markets and flower markets. They were set up in a open area in front of the Oslo Cathedral. We were lucky enough to be able to "crash" a tour of the auditorium in the Opera House, but the pictures are not as good as I'd like because of the lighting. Of course we also walked on the roof. I'll leave you with an overview of Oslo, from across the bay at the museum area. The highlight of the picture is the blue hulled beauty that brought us to this fabulous city. Lenda

Good morning from a mostly cloudy central Texas. It is 77F and feels like 77F. I knew it was humid when I opened the blinds this morning and found the outside of the window covered in condensation. The weather app says it's 96% humidity with a dew point of 75F, and an 8mph wind. However, our neighbor's flag is barely moving. Our high today will be 90F. As far as summer, today may be the beginning of summer on the calendar, but we've had summer weather for most of the month and part of May. It rained last night, and was still raining when I went to bed. Three interesting days with Flitch of Bacon Day being an interesting custom Nystagmus is a medical condition that we should be aware of. I am not a surfer, but it was fun watching the international surfers on Hawaii's North Shore. The Bob Marley quote is good, and we should all look within at times. I like lamb chops, and have them on BHBs since DH does not care for lamb. I've only had lamb loin chops once, on Princess, and they were so over done, I didn't get them again. We'll pass on the drink, but the wine sounds nice, but a bit pricey. We have been to Oslo several times on Marco Polo and Prinsendam. We never saw Jimi Hendrix in concert, but I remember the news coverage of the Newport '69 concert. @ottahand7 Nancy, please wish John a VERY HAPPY BIRTHDAY for us. Enjoy your mini getaway. @1ANGELCAT I'm glad TT returned this morning. @smitty34877 Terri, I'm glad your DB is coming to help for a few days. I'm sorry Tana has a headache and fever, but am more concerned about the lack of interest in food. I hope she improves, and the hospice nurse can help her. I hope you can get some rest while your DB is there. @StLouisCruisers Sandi, I hope you feel better soon. That was a generous compensation for missing the three ports. @dfish Debbie, I was not a lamb eater until I had some in a dish on a cruise. Since then, I try to get lamb chops, but not loin chops, when I'm cruising. Enjoy your lunch with former classmates. @kazu Jacqui, I'm glad you are getting help with your garden. @grapau27 Graham, thanks for all the explanations today. I can't help thinking your dining venues are moving about on the ocean, but I know we won't find out for several more days. @Haljo1935 Elizabeth, I hope the scan determines that all the stones are gone. I hope the PT continues to help you. @ger_77 Gerry, my guess is that your DH's test yesterday did not show anything alarming. When I ask the technician about such a test once, knowing he couldn't tell me any details, he said "if things were bad, you wouldn't be leaving the office." I am happy your DH is able to go with his son and friends today, and think that is a good sign he is doing a lot better now. @marshhawk Annie, I remember the movie. While I haven't surfed, we've snorkeled with black tip reef sharks. The sharks and humans mainly ignored each other. Lenda

We finally have rain, just about four ormfive hours later than pRedicted. Right now, it is a slow gentle rain, and hopefully, most of it will soak into the ground. Elizabeth, losing a loved one, no matter how, never stops hurting, we just learn better ways to deal with the loss. Hugs. Annie, I'm glad the kittens are foing well. Good luck with sleep, and cat herding. Maureen, thanks for the information. It's good to know our friends aren't in any danger. Lenda

Good afternoon from a very cloudy central Texas. It is cooler today with a cooler breeze, but it is still humid. It is 84F which is a nice change from 94F, but I think we'll be back in the 90s tomorrow or the next day. As is typical this time of year, our forecast has changed, and we should be getting rain in just a few minutes and lasting for a couple of hours. The worst of the weather from tropical storm Alberto will still keep to the south and west of us. It looks like the sprinklers can stay turned off for a while longer. Growing up in west Texas in the 50s and 60s, we did not have air conditioning. At night, we used an attic fan to keep the house comfortable. Our house was built in 1923, and had big windows in all the rooms which provided good air flow. Sometime in the 50s, my parents added evaporative coolers (aka swamp coolers) and with the low humidity the house stayed pleasant. I remember sometime before fall for 1957, we went over to a neighbor's house after they installed window units. We couldn't wait to leave, because the house was too cold for us. Even here in north central Texas it wasn't humid in the summers when we moved here in 1999. We started getting humidity here about 2015. When DH and I lived in Camden, SC, we installed an attic fan in our house, but I'm not sure if it would work there now. Terry, I hope the teenager and girlfriend enjoy their summer jobs. Maureen, the pictures of the fires are horrifying. We are keeping an eye on them since a neighbor is spending the summer at a rv resort in Mayhill, south of Ruidoso. By car they are 56 miles away, but as the crow flies, it looks to be closer. Gerry, I hope your DH's follow-up echo-cardiogram went well today, and shows an improvement in his heart function. Terri, I'm glad you tested negative. I hope you start feeling better soon. Roy, thanks for your pictures from Dutch Harbor. We enjoyed our two nights on Tustumena. Rich, thanks for the explanation of BSD. I knew it was a computer language, but that was about all I knew. I'm more familiar with Basic, Fortran, and Unix. Carolyn, I'm glad you are feeling better. I hope you make it into Dutch Harbor. It is an interesting place to see. Susan, we also have mountain lions or cougars in the hills around Quartzsite. Some neighbors several summers ago, posted pictures of one lying on the fence. Thank you, Terry. His videos have come in handy when my pictures are pre-digital. Your story, Paul, made me laugh. You'd think custom agents would have more than one pen. Thank you, Graham. So far, no rain. Lenda

I'm taking a quick break from house cleaning since DH was nice enough to go through his video of Dutch Harbor and transfer some of screen shots from the video. In 2000 we were on the old Regal Princess from Vancouver to Osaka. One of the stops was Dutch Harbor. We took the shuttle, a school bus, into Unalaska and walked around. It wasn't raining, but the wind off the ocean was very cold. The hotel where we bought a couple of long sleeved t-shirts which we still have. The view from the shuttle. Since the shuttle crossed part of the runway at the airport, the buses had to stop when a plane was taking off or landing. Holy Ascension of Our Lord Russian Orthodox Cathedral and graveyard Gerry @ger_77 and Maurice could get pizza on Friday night in Unalaska. This might be the main street in town. The local watering hole, where I bet you could find some of the Bering Sea fishermen when they are in port. Lenda

Good morning from central Texas. It is 72F with a 5mph breeze from the NE, 98% humidity and a dew point of 72F. Our predicted high is 85F with winds increasing to 12mph this afternoon. It looks like tropical storm Alberto will stay mainly in the southern part of the state. I was counting on getting some rain from the storm today and tomorrow, but it looks like it will miss us. We may have to turn on the sprinklers since we haven't had any rain for a week. Today is house cleaning day, and after the long day in Waco, it doesn't seem so bad this week. Happy Juneteenth! Juneteenth was always celebrated in the black communities in Texas before it was recognized as a legal holiday. I always like Garfield and his attitude. Sexual violence should be eliminated. I'm not sure about the third day. Today's quote is not one I like. Sometimes life is a struggle, but it shouldn't always be a struggle. We'll pass on the meal and the drink. The wine sounds nice, but not the price. We visited Dutch Harbor in 2000 on the old Regal Princess, and all my pictures are pre-digital and in albums. Unalaska is an interesting town to walk around, but it was cold and windy that day. Today marks the anniversary of the founding of London's police force, which was an important day in 1829, @StLouisCruisers Sandi, I'm glad your cold is better. and I hope your tummy feels better soon. @SusieKIslandGirl Please wish Loren a VERY HAPPY 76TH BIRTHDAY for us. @Heartgrove Sorry about the plumbing problems, Jack. @kazu Jacqui, the "never" meme about dogs also applies to children. 😁 In 2002 on the APEC cruise on Volendam, the Coast Guard sent a message to the ship to pull into US waters at Dutch Harbor. They sent a tug out to the ship to bring a passenger into port. We learned the next day that it was not a medical emergency as we thought, but they were capturing a Los Angeles pedophile priest who was fleeing the country on the Volendam. We would not have known the facts if the ship had been more diligent editing The Times Digest. There was a short article about the incident in the digest. Captain Peter Harris confessed and told the story in his noon briefing. These are a few pictures of Dutch Harbor in the distance. I believe the man on the ladder wearing black is the priest. Part of the fishing fleet Lenda

Good evening. It was a long day, and I've finally caught up with The Daily. We also got some sad news today. Our neighbors in Quartzsite who we've known for 24 years are selling their property. He developed some serious health issues this winter. They need to be closer to good medical ccare than what is availableinQ. They are the last of the neighbors who were there when we bought our lot. Tina, in 2016 I think we did go through TSA screening after leaving customs and rechecking out bags. Vanessa, I hope you didn't lost power. Thanks for the information about Willie Mays, one of the greats. RIP Lenda