RMLincoln

So far it’s all happening. We arrived safely by car! Yay us! NY kids got flight to Boston then a nonstop to FLL, are on it now. NC kids on their nonstop now, we’ll leave the rental house to go fetch them. ID daughter taking red eye via San Francisco! To arrive 8:20am. Life is good, celebrating that lifts us all! But sometimes one day at a time is enough! Hoping your data gathering leads to a healing path! m—

Made it to Friday! So blessed to have this caring place to share all the parts of life! Blessings to Annie and Chuck and Neko. 💔 And their vet. Blessings for all the doctor appointments and tests going on! Bring in the healing! cheers for all those celebrating! They help us remember that Life is Good! Comfort and hope for Ukraine. And all those suffering disasters. And all in the storm! Hunker down if you can. And walk with extra care! Smooth travels for all away. We all need a break to refuel ourselves. Today is all our gathering family’s flights’ day. The early ones were canceled out of NY/White Plains. No plane. They just got rebooked through Boston to arrive FLL this evening. Hoping it all works. This is why we’re driving, too much uncertainty in flying. Two more sets of family flights to still happen. Thanks for all your caring prayers, feeling them for sure! I applied to Iceland for grad school back in the 70s. Wanted to study the geology there. But too expensive for foreigners who couldn’t get scholarships the first year. Finally got to visit using Icelandair’s no-extra-cost layover plan on our way to a Hurtigruten cruise. Fabulous place to visit. Bon Voyage to our cruisers! Hugs to each of you. Many thanks for all the caring support here! onward…. Maureen

@JazzyV condolences on your sad news. @Cruzin Terri good luck! @rafinmd Thanks Roy 🤞 Daughter won’t get in till Saturday morning! She’s an RN, works nights (6 13 hr **** a week! RBs in very short supply! She needs a vacation. But very willing to pick up extra shifts). The red eye flight suits her. Others leaving 6am and 6pm tomorrow! We’re out the door! Blessings everyone! M

I slept 8 hrs last night! WhooHoo! Was really tired, and the Benadryl helped! Annie, @marshhawk hoping you and Neko (darn yesterday’s auto correct!) can have a more comfortable day. 😓 Was in Hobart on 10 days of car trip around Tasmania. Drove up Mount Wellington. Really enjoyed Tasmania, interesting history and a lot of beauty, mountains, forests, beaches, glaciers! Reports from my old community in the northern NM mountains are that the storm blew through but not as much wind damage as feared. 👍 Blessings to all in need of healing, comfort or hope, especially our Dailyites, those suffering from disasters in NZ, Turkey, Syria, Ukrainian, Ohio and the storm track. I sure felt your blessings with me yesterday! Many thanks! Congrats to all those celebrating. life is good! 🎉 Smooth travels to all away, and happy cruising to those on ships. It’s hard to have a bad day on a cruise ship! Bon Voyage Katherine! Can’t make your bubble come up 🤦🏼‍♀️ I love the port of Baltimore, so easy! Wish HAL ported there…. Graham, @grapau27more blessings to Sarah and friends. Grief is a long road. m—

Checking in before bed…. Drive most of the way today, DH really struggling with his itchy eyes and face. I-95 was pretty amicable today. Left in drizzle at 36, arrived 4pm with sun and 84! Near NC/SC state line, glad it wasn’t longer. In December be did 600 miles the first day but DH was doing better then and we were trying to get beyond Ft Lauderdale to visit my sister in the Keys. Tomorrow’s target is Jacksonville- should be easy enough. @dfish you used to be able to rent a small dorm frig for $2/day. Did it fir granddaughter who was allergic to almost everything, brought special foods for her. Of course there’s not much room, just under the desk. Annie, @marshhawk Nemo sounds precious! Where there’s love there’s courage 💔 Roy @rafinmd Hoping the data gathering is a success that results in a path toward healing! Melissa, thanks for sharing your story! Blessings to all in need of healing, comfort or hope…. and SLEEP (I woke at 3:15, brain exploding details, but made it through the day ok, thanks for all your positive energy! I’m trying to stay awake to help DHs last eye drops tonight…. By then the Benadryl will kick in!) Cheers to all celebrating! Smooth travels for all away. And protection for all through the storms, and all the rescuers and victims of disasters. Hope to check in again before we shove off! Everybody stay well and safe! M—

Thank you all for the good wishes! I’m always stressed until we get started. Just finished my last supper, that is, lady one I have to make for a couple of weeks! Maybe THAT’s why I cruise. Made the mistake of weighing this morning! If I’d have waited I could blamed it all on the trip! The married granddaughter and her husband are anxious to see St Thomas on this cruise because they went there soon after they got married and spent 3 months working feeding disaster cleanup crews following Irma. My own sister’s house was heavily damaged by Irma in the Florida Keys, but repairable. It took over a year. It’s so hard to get the work done when everybody needs help. Sending out blessings to all the storm and earthquake victims and workers. And to my old area in the NM mountains who are hunkering down prepping for a severe storm expecting very high winds, blizzard, falling trees and power outages. I pray they all come through without injury! (Glad we’re in Maryland! Tough as it was to make the change, it was time for us! ). Signing off for now but might be able to check in briefly before we board! Will miss you all💕 And no I didn’t request a wave, might try to en route, thanks for suggesting! m—

Today is finish packing day, and arrange food for our road trip. Shrove Tuesday (aka Mardi Gras but I didn’t know that until later in life…) was never a big celebration other than a good day for pancakes. I enjoyed HALs ferry to St John more than the ride around the island. Pretty place but the tour wasn’t stellar. @erewhon glad to see the number of missing coming down for your country! May it continue to improve. Appreciate your good wishes for us! Looking like good weather at all our family’s airports Friday, but if there are planes available is another issue due to expected mid-country storms brewing. Just have to continue hoping for the best, airports and our 3days trekking down I-95! Blessings to all in need of healing, comfort or hope, near and far! Cheers to all celebrating milestones and accomplishments. Life is good! I posted by memories of Gene Young elsewhere. He did a beautiful service for Remembrance Day / Veterans Day / Armistice Day on our Tales of the South Pacific cruise. Condolences to his loved ones. I won’t have internet onboard though some family should with their HIA, but most likely I will be offline for a couple of weeks. Grateful for each of you and this uplifting place we can share. For sailaway we’ll be out on 2 balconies, Rotterdam’s port side forward, deck 5. I’ll wave a bandana to show my appreciation for all of you! (When I can I’ll check for screenshots to share with the family !). Hopefully there’ll be 8 of us on 2 connected balconies if we can get the partition opened before departure! (The other two rooms are OVs, one is a single.). Everybody keep healing, stay well and safe! ❤️ Maureen

Gene was CD on our Tales of the South Pacific cruise several years ago. He was excellent at his job but what I remember most was the very moving and personalized Remembrance / Veterans Day service he organized. Flowers, poppy pins, microphones in places were attendees could remember their loved ones aloud, many sharing how they served and where. It was a beautiful service. Gene descended from Samoans IIRC on his mother’s side, and Pago Pago was one of our ports, which was a bit more special through his connection. The museum there has a picture of a grandfather of his who was a US Admiral in charge of American Samoa at one time. Blessings to all his family and friends. M—

Happy Presidents’ Day, mostly for George Washington’s Birthday which is the 22nd, truly Father of the US who held it together as it was being born. Looks like a nice day and week coming to Maryland. Today is laundry day and packing the gazillion little things, tomorrow is packing all the rest of it! Wednesday we begin the long drive to Ft Lauderdale but breaking it into 3 days should make it pretty easy. Looks like good weather for all the family’s airports for our gathering Friday. Thanks all for the good wishes. UPDATE: Son received his passport, Yay! Not sure when exactly but we finally got word from his wife yesterday. Whew! @grapau27 Condolences to Sarah on losing a close friend. Not everybody who dies is old. It’s impressive how he turned his illness into a gift for so many. What courage and heart! @luvteaching Karen, Sounds like you and DH are making great progress, one day at a time. Hoping he can be released before your Medicare days run out! 🙏 Roy, we feel you’re on a good trend getting stronger! 🙏 for that trend to continue. @ottahand7Nancy, hoping your house is undamaged. Enjoy the rest of your cruise. Thank for tge many pictures, great memories! @StLouisCruisers Glad you’re home safe. Thanks for sharing your cruise with us. @kazu Jacqui you are inspiring looking beyond the ice and snow to planting bulbs! And one-armed! Blessings on your claims and your elbow. @erewhonWe are really jolted to hear of the staggering losses in NZ. 🙏 for the families and for the rescuers. Keep us posted as your news unfolds. Here it gets buried by so much other devastating news in the world. We loved our time in NZ, and being with such warm and caring people! Thanks to all the contributors here, making this uplifting, safe place happen. Blessings to all in need of healing, comfort or hope near to us and around the world. 🎉Cheers to all celebrating milestones and good happenings in their lives! We need to remember that Life is Good. Thanks for adding us to the care rotation for DHs eye situation. It’s very troubling but I try to be grateful always, it helps ground me. I’m helping him with his new preservative-free eye drops three times a day- they come in individual dose ampules which don’t clip into the old dropper bottle alignment appliance, so it’s harder for him to administer himself as he can’t really see that close in, although reading and distance are still good 🙏. We’re hoping the surgery late March (and other eye later on?) will eventually help get him off the meds that are causing the itchy facial dermatitis. That would be a miracle! One day at a time… today is a good day to happy! Maureen

Thank you @JazzyV Vanessa and @Quartzsite Cruiser Lenda for your encouragement and prayers. And to all here for the uplift! Thanks @rafinmd Roy for word that @erewhon posted. Guess I missed sailaway! Decided to vacuum, trying to get things cleaned up a bit before we leave… love checking into clean hotels and the great room stewards on the ships… dislike coming home to the grungies! Maureen.

Saturday arrived with sun, yay! And chilly temps with wind… still February but not bad in Maryland! Thanks to all for this uplifting place in this messy world! Thank you @JazzyV for remembering our upcoming family cruise! Son’s passport tracking still says Out for Delivery…. they fly out Friday 6pm, still hoping it all works, but they did get the Cancel for Any Reason protection plan. sigh. I’m at the Yikes phase- 4 days before we leave, lots of lists, not much packed! Only 4 more suppers to cook! Nancy, @ottahand7 beautiful sail-in day! Was there in Rio only once, amazing sights but way too congested for me! Still battling a balance of dealing with DH’s sensitivity to his glaucoma meds. Itchy eyes and face continue even with getting 2 of 3 prescriptions in preservative- free versions. Have tried every kind of topical allowed (not allowed steroids). One cream from New Zealand helped some (Manuka honey cream); went through 2 jars, 3rd jar was different texture but same label, doesn’t help. Surgery scheduled March 28 to implant drainage stent to keep pressure lower without meds. Then maybe other eye later? Hoping we can stay well through travels so this surgery can happen. But grateful for every day! Had an elderly friend and neighbor in our mountain community who was adamant that she wanted to die up there. I would say, It’s not the dying that’s the problem, it’s the living…. As her nearest EMS responders, we “ran” on her many times. She’s 90 now, living in town where she can get the support she needs. Blessings for all in need of healing, comfort or hope. So many! And to all those traveling. Bon Voyage to the cruisers heading out today! And congrats to those celebrating! Maureen

I also hope @erewhon checks in and that they are ok. They live on South Island and I think the more deadly issues are on North Island but will feel better knowing. Blessings to all in need of healing, comfort or hope. And patience and miracles for anyone struggling through the medical “system”! Sigh. Smooth travels for all away! Rainy and very gray today in Maryland… beats snow and ice! Heard at zoom yoga today of another friend who fell- tore her rotator cuff. We all need to be careful! I guess we’re on the cord… condo supplies it. Had satellite at mountain home in NM, cable I thought was a step up, works even in bad weather, no snow-blowing a path to get to the dishes to clear the snow! I don’t miss that. Barcelona is such a great place to visit. Been three times. Last time there we had found a repositioning cruise westbound to take us home from a trip that was finishing up in England that was cheaper out of Barcelona than cruising out of Southampton, including the flight. NCL Jade, 16 nights Barcelona to Houston. We were there while Catalonia was trying to secede; many balconies displayed “SI” banners, often next to the flag of Spain on the next balcony. We were relieved the port stayed open! No word yet on son’s passport but getting the tracking number was encouraging. Staying hopeful…. m—

Karen, that is so traumatic to experience close-up! It’s a lot to absorb. Happy to hear of your DH’s progress! I’m sure he is very grateful to you through it all! Hang in, one day at a time! Blessings to all in need of healing, comfort or hope! So many… Glimmer of hope on son’s passport: yesterday he got a tracking number! DH and I leave a week from today, driving to Ft Lauderdale. Ship leaves that Saturday, hopefully with our family of 8 aboard - the others are all flying in. Valentine’s Day story: DH and I often exchange multiple cards, a couple of funny ones and a serious, reflective one. Yesterday we found that we each got each other the same serious card! Very grateful for every day together! I’m proud to still have a Susan B Anthony dollar coin. They never took off in the US and didn’t become common. I briefly attended MSU. My heart goes out to all suffering there. As well as elsewhere… so many! Thank you all for this uplifting thread! Time to get some things done before my weekly mentoring call with teens from my NM Fire department. They had 17” of snow, and a 20-car pileup of people trying to get to work before being plowed. Fire department friends said No injuries! But what a mess. A tough environment that I’m glad we don’t have to struggle through anymore. Maryland climate is kind! 60s today. Chamber music concert tonight. Life is good! Be safe… know where you’re putting your feet (I say that for me too!). M—

+ A lotta 💖 shared here! Each one of you, give yourself a hug! Blessings for all in need of healing, comfort or hope. Congrats to all celebrating! Maureen

Congrats to the Chiefs for a nail -biter win. We ate our way through the whole game! Didn’t care for the half-time show, and haven’t in years. We are not the demographic they are projecting to. I do not want to ever change my name again. I can appreciate the women who keep their name throughout their lives. Never been to LeHavre. Hope to see Paris again! Would love to get to Normandy, had family there who survived there, went on to Battle of the Bulge and survived that too! Thanks for all the great pictures posted! I do not care for HAL’s Rustic Lasagna! It’s available most nights on the MDR menu. The only cheese is the layer on top, practically burned. Where’s the ricotta! Not even a bechamel sauce in the middle, which is traditional in some regions. For me it is a poor fall-back choice, too disappointing. Blessings to those seeing pulmonologists soon, and orthopedics and ophthalmologists and others. May the reports be accurate and encouraging…. and to all in need of healing, comfort or hope! Congrats to those celebrating milestones and accomplishment, and the good feeling of new work coming in! 🎉 Smooth travels to all away. Nancy @ottahand7 glad you survived! Protection for the rescuers, and all who need life’s basics: shelter, sanitation, water and food. We count our abundant blessings! Hazy sunshine, breezy and cool here in Maryland today after a dreary, rainy day yesterday, warmer tomorrow. Sunrise is approaching 7am now! Winter is waning! Kayaking weather won’t be too far off! Today is a good day to be happy! M—

Happy Super Bowl Sunday! Whether you root for a team or the commercials, or just enjoy a day of friends, family and food, it’s a great escape of the woes of the world for most of us. Blessings to all in pain, in need of healing, comfort or hope; Protections for all the rescuers; smooth travels for those away from home…. And cheers for all celebrating moving forward through challenges to milestones! Love all the pictures! Some bring grand memories, like Cape Horn (doubt I’ll be there again) and some bring new dreams to light, like Ireland! My grandmother was from Cashel, I never knew her. DH says we’ll get there! Mostly I’m just so grateful we’re here, wherever we are! Had group phone call with the family, working on details for gathering in less than 2 weeks for Rotterdam cruise…. still hoping the passport arrives! But the universe will not end if it doesn’t and all will be well. I recently gave away my penny collection, including its 1909 VDB! I began it in 3rd grade! Passed it and all my other coins along to family after we moved. Feels good to move things forward. Happy birthday to President Lincoln! Thank you! We’ve been up to Gettysburg a couple of times since we moved east. Very impressive and oh so sad. Our nation still suffers but we have made progress. My Irish grandmother was a Kennedy, and now my name is Lincoln! Both presidents murdered. Humbling. Snacks for game time are chips and homemade salsa, guacamole, chile con queso, cheese and crackers. House pizza and salad for main course. Plus, as Gerry @ger_77 would say, “And wine.” Love champagne, we always had a bottle in the frig, just in case! I would like to taste an expensive one sometime just to see it’s so much better 🤣. Having been on many 911 calls for car accidents, I can say that impaired driving is a common cause, but so are medical events. People can temporarily “black out” from many causes. Great to hear no injuries! Always scary! Blessings to all, no matter the weather or the situation, Today is a good day to be happy! Stay safe, stay well! M—

If you have OBC at the end of the cruise, consider applying it to crew gratuities. Guest Relations does it.

Bon Voyage Sandi. Many thanks too!

Checking in. Came to wave goodbye to Sandi….

Thanks for the stunning sunrise pix. And good views of Cape Horn! Beautiful. Today is laundry and cleaning day, and prepping for a friend coming tomorrow for Super Bowl. Tooth is calming down after Wednesday’s new crown. Will try granola again. Tomorrow is group call with family to get some plans for airport pick-ups to the rental house in Ft Lauderdale the day before 8 of us begin our family Rotterdam cruise. We’ll drive 3 days, they will all fly in. 2 weeks! Still hoping DS’s passport arrives! Blessings for all in need of healing, comfort or hope “here” and afar. Cheers for all celebrating. Life is good! Happy for you Nancy getting back into your cabin. Hoping the air is not unhealthy for you. Bon Voyage Sandi! Smooth travels to all away from home. Yesterday was lovely in Maryland, did last grocery shopping before we leave. Today is cooler and mostly cloudy but not bad for February! We’ll take it. May we all be well! Maureen

Dressy night menus will likely have shrimp cocktail or escargot, a better beef cut, lamb chops, a better fish offering. Maybe a fancier dessert. They tend to be on the first full sea day and a sea day toward the end of the cruise but not night of embarkation nor the last night. Photographers will be out in full force taking portrait type pix of folks while they are dressed up. They will have stations with backdrop screens and lighting. No charge for getting your picture taken, then go see them in the photo shop a decide if you’d like to purchase them, prices vary, sometimes there are combo packages. Maybe $25 for a full size print. Photographers might come around the dining room offering to take your pictures. Enjoy Alaska! That was our first cruise, hooked us! m—

We’re boarding Feb 25. Wondering if they’ve shown the new Too Gun Maverick movie. We saw it on Eurodam in December in Main Stage theater. Would love to see it again. Thought maybe they’d have it at the pool but I haven’t seen it listed. Thanks for posting all the Dailys. Have a great last segment!

We’re with you Kathi, every step of the way. Thank you for the update! Maureen

Stunning picture. Great memories. Smooth sailing for our WCers.