Quartzsite Cruiser

Historically, December is our coldest month in Quartzsite, but January and February can be cold too. However, compared to Michigan,it is probably balmy. That is why we cruise in winter from Q. Lenda

Sharon, I'm glad you and Craig are there for your DGD. Susan, I bet your glad to get your place to yourself and the dogs after the last few days. Lenda

Good afternoon. We got home about an hour ago. Everything went well, and the traffic was not bad except about the last mile or two before we turned off I-35E, but that area is always a problem. Too many major highways entering and exiting I-35E in that area. The trip home was even easier. DH and I appreciate all the good wishes for safe travel and a good appointment. The shunt adjustment is simple. The nurse practioner places a device over the shunt valve which reads the current setting. Then she places another device over the valve which has a magnet that is used to do the adjustment. (And, no, I can't adjust it with just any old magnet.) At first, she was hesitant to do the adjustment since she felt most of the current symptoms were the result of a possible concussion when DH tripped and fell, hitting his head on the tile floor at the end of April. However, she did the adjustment as it might help with some of the symptoms. We also learned that concussions can take a while to get over. We'll see how things go over the next week or so. We have a follow up CT Scan and appointment in mid-July. We also learned to make the follow up appointment while we were there, and we still have to wait a little longer than than a month. Now, it's back to our normal, dull routine. Denise, I'm glad you are home safely. I'm also glad your presentation and the conference were a success. Katherine, I hope by now, you are on your ship and enjoying a cool drink. Have fun. Terry, I'm glad everyone is well enough to be at the table tonight. Annie, that is good news about Scottie. I hope he is able to make a full recovery. I also hope the job situation works our well for you. Sandi, I'm glad The Relatives are keeping a low profile. Gerry, I can believe the jack rabbit was huge. We have really big ones in the desert around Quartzsite. I thought I had a picture of one, but I couldn't find it. Eva, welcome to the messy bakers, kitchen klutz group. You are in good company. Pennie, I looked at the picture of the gear shift, and then did a double take. Vanesa, I'm glad your routine blood work looked good. I'm glad you could get in a round of golf today. Tony, thanks for the pictures of Dravuni Island. Carolyn, I never cared for chop suey either. I think we had chow mien instead, but I prefer lo mien. I am glad Amber is doing well, and is getting the therapy she needs at home. Lenda

A quick early good morning from central Texas before I start getting ready to head to Dallas. As I expected, I woke up too early and couldn't get back to sleep. According to the weather app, it's clear and 71F with a predicted high of 93F. I don't remember the last time I had chop suey. For the past few years, I've been looking into my family history. Flag Day is another good day to celebrate. An interesting quote from Angie Dickinson. The meal sounds good if the avacado isn't too ripe. Mai Tais are good, and the best place to have one is at the beach bar at the Royal Hawaiian Hotel watching the sun set behind Diamondhead. I'll pass on the wine. We have not been to Dravuni Island. Wow on the 29 inning baseball game in 1966. Roy, best wishes for today’s tests. Sandi, I hope you get rid of that cough soon. Lenda

Sandi, thanks for the good wishes. I just wish we weren't going during rush hour. Dallas traffic can be a zoo. Lenda

Terri, I'm glad everything went well, and you made it to Jacksonville without any incidents. The bonus is your luggage made it too. Safe travels home today. Lenda

Debbie, as I uspected, Messy Painters Guild, Messy Bakers and Kitchen Klutzs are related, the last two particularly. Sounds like you got a goid report over all today. Terri, glad things are finally working out. Lenda

Good afternoon. DH has an appointment tomorrow morning at UTSW for another shunt adjustment. It is at 9 am, so we have to leave no later than 7am. I may not be around until after we get back from Dallas. We just hope the traffic isn't too bad tomorrow. I'm also doing another happy dance this afternoon. My passport card arrived in the mail today. All that is left is the old passport which should be here soon. @Lady Hudson Katherine, an early Bon Voyage. I hope you have a wonderful time on your cruise. @StLouisCruisers Sandi, just wanted to let you know, we haven't been to tomorrow's port, so you don't need to waste time looking for my pictures. You and your BD are angels to take Shirl's calls and to try to help her adjust while keeping her DB in the loop. I hope she will adjust to her new home soon. Tony, thanks for the pictures of Ghent. We might have to give the town another try, and hope it's not raining or on a Sunday. Oh no, about your neurologist leaving the practice. It would have been nice if you had learned sooner, and been given information about the new doctor. Brenda, it is always hard to give the granddog back. I'm sorry the two workers were seriously injured. I hope they will be all right. More good memes, John. Lenda

Great news. Safe travels, and I hope all goes smoothly all the way home. Lenda

Terri, I'm sorry the plane is delayed again. I hope this is the last change. I'm sure when you booked the trip, it was a good idea. It was circumstances beyond your control that caused al the problems. Sadly, you and your DH were the victims of too many SNFUs. Lenda

Got both of them! Lenda

It is still sunny, but as usual for this part of Texas in the spring and summer, big, fluffy clouds are building. However, there is no rain in the forecast. My errands are finished, and the one I dreaded the most was the easiest. Since we do not have home mail delivery in Quartzsite, all property owners are entitled to a free PO box. Each year, you have to fill out a census form to keep the box. In the past, we just had to verify the information, but now, we have to prove we own property each year. This means taking something showing you own property into the PO, but since our month for the census is in June, we have to go to the Whitney PO. This is the first year the clerk handled it without a lot of hassle. There is an axe throwing place in our county seat across from the courthouse. It is in an old bank building. We have no plans to check it out. Terry, I'm glad the three girls are feeling better, but sorry the guys now have the bug. I hope it is short lived for them too. Fred, thanks for the pictures of your lovely peonies, and the story behind them. Annie, I'm sorry your appointments were set back a month. I hope the Home Depot people get there today. Thank you, Graham. Roy, I hope all goes smoothly tomorrow and that it is not too stressful. Roy, I'm glad the ship was able to get the last bus of passengers back on board. We had the Noordam III move from Monaco to Ville France due to weather when we were out independently. They arranged shuttle busses to get the passengers from Monaco to the ship. Gerry, I hope you get some answers about the pacemaker setting. BTW, I can't help wondering if the Kitchen Klutzes are also the Messy Painters. Charlene, I hope you continue to avoid flooding with all that rain. It's just my opinion, but we found Bruges much more interesting than Ghent. It would be difficult to see both in one day and to do them justice. Karen, I know your last "first" will not be an easy day. You could wait until that morning to see what you feel like doing. I hope all your good memories will make that day easier. Ann, I'm glad Pat made it home safely yesterday. Your peonies are lovely, too. Lenda

These are pictures from our two times in Bruges. In 2004, in addition to walking around Bruges, we also took a boat ride on the canals. Bruges was quite a bit more crowded on June 2004, than it was in September 2016. These pictures are a combination of both visits. A couple of pictures of Zeebrugge on the way to the train station. In 2016, we took the train from Blankenberge. This picture was taken from the train station looking toward the church were the shuttle dropped us. In 2016 on our walk from the train station to the walled part of Bruges, we found a smaller gate that lead us through a part of Bruges we'd not seen in 2004. An open area on the way to the main plaza. The main plaza was not wall to wall tourists. We took a ho-ho tour that year, and saw some of town outside the walls including this windmill. Different views of Bruges from a canal boat. We came across this area on the way back to the train station. Lenda

In 2011 on the Prinsendam, we took a tour to Ghent. I'm glad we got to see the town, but it is not as picturesque as Bruges. We were there on a Sunday, and there were not many shops open, so we had more free time to wander around the older part of town than we needed. The tour included a boat ride on the canal that goes from Ghent to the Scheldt River. These are a few of the pictures from the boat ride. An old warehouse turned into what looks like a beer garden. The area around the main square and the church. I don't think the weather helped with our impression of Ghent. Lenda

Since @richwmn Rich mentioned Brussels in today's destination, I'll include some pictures from our 2008 visit there. This time we were on the Prinsendam and docked in Antwerp. After an hour tour that morning of Antwerp on the Ho-Ho that did not have any stops, we took a tour to Brussels. It was a good thing it was a ship's tour since we were late getting back to the ship. The weather in Brussels went from bad to worse, with a heavy downpour as we were leaving town. Our bus driver got lost, and we got to see more of the town that planned. These first pictures are from the Brussels Expo site which was the place of the 1958 Expo. The third one is the Atomium. I'm not sure what this building is, but it looks important. We had a walking tour of part of downtown Brussels. Brussel's famous statue. It is very small and almost hidden, and could easily overlooked. As you can see, it really started raining once we were back in the bus and supposedly heading to Antwerp. Lenda

Good morning from a sunny ☀️ central Texas. It is 74F with 100% humidity with a dew point of 73F. However, there is no condensation on the window this morning. Our predicted high will be 94F. Last night, for the first time in many, many days, I saw the moon. Today will be busy with errands this morning and laundry. I plan to get the first load in the washer going before I run my errands. I'll skip the axe throwing for everyone's safety. I hope Doe B's fans celebrate the day. I can be a klutz in the kitchen; actually, just about anywhere. An interesting quote from Plato. We'll skip the meal, drink and wine. We have been in Zeebrugge three times, going to Bruges twice and Ghent once. We were there once on Noordam III, and twice on the Prinsendam. We have also been to Brussels once when Prinsendam docked in Antwerp. It is interesting the world's oldest treaty, signed in 1373 is still in existence. @rafinmd Roy, thank you for providing the maps. Rich @richwmn I hope you get your internet back soon. @MISTER 67 I hope you don't experience any flooding. @Cruzin Terri Terri, I hope you can make it to Miami and on to Jacksonville today. Safe travels. @aliaschief Bruce, enjoy the realities of being back in the real world. 😉 @cat shepard Ann, I hope your area gets some rain, but not the downpours the southern part of the state is getting. @dfish Debbie, enjoy your visit with Sue's former SILs, and try to stay cool. Lend

Vaneesa, that is good news than BFF is healing well, and is out of the splint and has a walking boot. Beautiful flowers, Carolyn. Thank you. Terri, I hope you make your flight tomorrow, but your safety comes first. I'm glad the hotel can accommodate you 8f the flight doesn't go. I'm glad the cat was found. Her son has his hands full. Lenda

I'm sorry Shirl is having such a rough time. Dementia is such a horrible disease. Debbie, I'm glad you have an appointment, but I wish it is sooner. At least, it's in time for you to be recovered and ready to hike on your cruise. Susan, it sounds like the projects are being done quickly. I'm glad the dogs are handling things calmly. Terry, I'm sorry you and Tana's sister are also fighting the stomach bug. I hope tomorrow is a better day for all. Jake, I'm glad the cyber even has been completed and things are calmer at work. Congratulations on the Bermuda cruise. Roy, I'm sorry they have changed the time and the location 0f the entrance. I hope everything goes smoothly from this point on. Bruce, that was fast service. Lenda

Ray, that is what I remember hearing, too. Lenda

This morning we've gone from heavy overcast to sunny to cloudy to sunny and now partly sunny. At least, the humidity is lower now. Yes, it's spring in Texas. I did find a few chores to occupy me for a bit this morning. The freezer is a bit straighter, and I know what I have in there now. I also took advantage of the sun and tackled a very dreaded chore, weeding our two flower beds. There were not many weeds, but what was in one bed is an ongoing challenge. The clover has invaded that bed, and it's almost impossible to get it all, so it continues to be a work in progress. Joy, Allen is in my thoughts, and I hope you can help him gain weight. Gerry, I hope the cardiac rehab appointment goes well. I loved the wine meme. Pennie, I hope the dentist can find a way to save the tooth. After two years of trying to save one, the bone had receded to the point two teeth had to be pulled. Instead of a bridge, I opted for implants with bone grafts. That should help rebuild the bone, and the dentist said they should last 10 to 20 years. Now, I just have to last that long to get my money's worth out of the implants. 😁 Susan, it may be unsettling now, but I bet you'll be happy when all the projects are completed. How are the dogs handling all the work and mess? Ray, it's nice to prove negative people like the Chaplain wrong. I hope you and Sara have many more happy years together. Stunning sunset, Roy. Lenda

Good morning from another cloudy day in central Texas. I really don't have to look at the weather app to see that it is humid since the outside of the window is covered in condensation. It is 74F which is also the dew point. Our predicted high is 84F, and there is no rain in the forecast for today or tomorrow. In fact, no rain is forecast until next Thursday, and we have several sunny days in the forecast with highs in the low to mid 90s. There is not much on the agenda today, but I'm sure I'll find something to occupy my time. Of the three interesting days, I'll celebrate Loving Day, and let Brazil celebrate Cachaça. Someone can have my falafel. We'll pass on the meal, the drink and the wine. The meal might be good with beef other than ground beef. We have not been to Santo Domingo, but to a beach day in the Dominican Republic on cruises in the late 1990s. I don't even remember the which cruise line or the name of the beach. An interesting day in 1931 when Al Capone was indicted, @MISTER 67 Thanks for the interesting story about Al Capone. @ottahand7 Nancy, I'm glad you got the ground work laid to get an injection if need. I just hope you won't need it this summer. @smitty34877 Terry, I hope Tana is feeling better today, and that no one else got the stomach bug. @Cruzin Terri Terri, I hope you feel better tomorrow, and that your travel day goes more smoothly than the trip to Barbados. Safe travels tomorrow. @mamaofami Carol, it sounds like a busy and interesting summer for your family. @dfish Debbie, I hope you get the approval for the nerve ablation and an appointment for it soon. @aliaschief Bruce, it looks like you have a busy travel schedule to look forward to. Lenda

@catmando Chuck, I hope you have a wonderful birthday, and enjoyed your birthday breakfast. Lenda

Annie, thank you for letting us know how your day went. Overall, it sounds like you had a good report from the dietician. Watching stress levels is never easy. I hope the dietician isn't done with you. I'm sorry your two friends cannot be there for you, but you have your Daily family. Our doors are always open to you. Sending positive thoughts for DH's brother that he has a full recovery. I hope Momma Norma isn't too upset when she figures out she was not told about her son sooner. Lenda

Elizabeth, I'm sorry you couldn't have the procedure today. Ann, I'm glad you have a date for your lumpectomy. I'm glad Pat enjoyed his visit with his family. Safe travels to him tomorrow. That is quick. Congratulations on passing the five year mark. Paul, I'm glad you are feeling better now. Lenda

Terri, thank you for the update. I'm sorry you have a cold and a stomach bug. I hope you feel better soon. Safe travels home on Thursday. Lenda