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Bon Voyage dear friends!

Good morning, thanks for the Fleet Report and Daily! About the only hiking I'm going to be doing today will be up and down stairs as I do laundry. We've hosted several international students over the years and have made new friends in many countries because of it. I'd love some fresh baklava, but often it's a couple of days old and the butter congeals if it isn't served hot. I completely disagree with today's quote. It's still dark and -3C (26F), but it's supposed to go up to +8(46F), so I think we'll head out to the back yard and try to clean up the remainder of the leaves that have come off the trees for the compost bin. In the fall it seems like the leaf drop is never ending, along with the pine cones that the neighbourhood squirrels keep snipping off - little litterbugs! @seagarsmokerI'm sorry to hear about your job situation; what a rotten time of year for layoffs. Hopefully you'll be able to find other employment, but if not, is it time for early retirement? @RMLincolnI hope you had a good night's sleep in the guest suite and wish you the best as you and your helpers unpack in your new home. @arzz Bon Voyage! @marshhawkas others have mentioned, I do hope you get to have a few minutes with DH's doctor today so you can get some help, too. @Quartzsite Cruiser safe travels to you and DH as you make your way back to Arizona! Not a lot happening today for us, although it's our DS and DDIL's 13th wedding anniversary, so we'll be doing a video call with them this evening. It's hard to believe they've been married that long already! I'm sure I'd like the drink of the day, although we did have a lot of rum last night with our friends. I'll pass on the wine, and will also pass on the menu suggestion. I guess if someone served it to me, I'd eat it, but I wouldn't make an effort to recreate the recipe at home unless it was really good. It's Friday night, pizza night at our house, so I'll send DH out to see what appeals to him and we'll enjoy it at the kitchen table tonight. And wine. Prayers for everyone who is in need, especially the innocents in the midst of wars. Cheers to all with celebrations. Smooth Sailing! ☺️☺️☺️ Gerry

Good morning, thanks for the Fleet Report and Daily! Nobody around us plays the clarinet, but it can certainly add to a piece of music. I agree with others, every day should be tolerance day. Does anyone actually use the additional buttons that come with some sweaters/shirts, etc? I had a ton of them in their little plastic bags that finally went into recycling a couple of years ago. Today's quote is interesting - Robert Fulghum was a warm and fuzzy kind of guy. It's clear and cold out this morning; I can see Venus shining brilliantly in the sky, but we've got a temperature of -9C (15F), so anyone who has to walk a dog had better be sure to bundle up. Grateful that we have a cat who doesn't need walking. It was funny yesterday at the grocery store - about 1:55 in the afternoon there was the semi-annual emergency alert test and everyone's cell phones were going off with a terrible noise. There were a few shrieks from some folks, while others just grumbled about it being a big annoyance. It's good to know it works if needed! I must tell you - I've seen the website for @kazu's DDDH's bursary and she did a beautiful job of it. It's a wonderful way to keep Jose's memory alive while helping people in the nursing profession. I am going to lobby for her to post the link here, as I'm sure you'll all agree with me once you've seen it. Not much happening here today - time to get my nails done, and DH and his son are heading out to the acreage to check things out. We are heading over to the friends we'll be cruising with, as this past weekend they were at a function and won a ham, so have invited us for dinner. It's looking like we'll be having a lovely ham dinner with great conversation at their kitchen table tonight. And wine. Prayers for everyone who is in need, in pain, and in sorrow. Cheers to all with celebrations. Smooth Sailing! ☺️☺️☺️ Gerry

Good morning, thanks for the Fleet Report and Daily! We're fortunate that our city recycles a lot - paper, plastic, glass, as well as compost (kitchen waste) in a separate bin. Next year we'll downgrade to a smaller garbage bin, as it is rarely half full and will cost about 50% less each month on our utility bill. I have a couple of Bundt pans, but really only use one on Christmas morning to make cinnamon pull-aparts. I remember my mom making pistachio Bundt cake - yum! I cleaned out the fridge last week and already I see there are a few containers that need to be moved on their way out. It's never ending in there, just like laundry! It's windy, dark, and -4C out there right now - I don't think we're going to get much above freezing today, but that's to be expected for this time of year. When I look at my FB memories, on this day in 2017 we had a tremendous amount of snow, so I'm grateful for small mercies. Welcome back to our Daily family from your cruises - hopefully you all had a great time on your itineraries. @RMLincoln safe travels today as you make your way to Maryland. I hope your sleep tonight is better than last night's; I dislike a hard bed, but a super soft one can be really hard on your back, too. @NextOne so glad you got a good medical report . . . cheers to the wine! Looking at the port of the day got me to wondering where the earthquake/volcanic activity is happening in Iceland right now - it's about 6 hours south of Isafjordur. Scary times for the people of Grindavik where the entire town has been evacuated. Not a lot on the agenda today, but DH will have coffee with his band this afternoon. I think I'll take that alone time to go through my closet and pack away the summer tops, etc., replacing them with long sleeves and sweaters from the upper shelves. It's like cleaning out a room, first you have to make a mess to make it tidy again. I'd like the drink of the day, please, and yes to the wine. Our DDIL makes a great miso soup, so I'm looking forward to seeing the recipes @dfish has for us. I don't feel like cooking today, so I went down to the freezer and brought up a container of chili that we'll heat up and will enjoy with some crusty bread and a side salad at the kitchen table tonight. And wine. Prayers for everyone who is in need, in grief, in pain, and in wars. Cheers to all with celebrations. Smooth Sailing! ☺️☺️☺️ Gerry

Good morning, thanks for the Fleet Report and Daily! Girls should be celebrated just as much as boys; all children, really, as they are our future. I love all kinds of pickles - dill, sweet, bread & butter. As a child, I loved eating the cauliflower from the sweet pickle jar. Today's quote reminds me of a Roger Whittaker song that starts with: "When they begin the overture, they start to end the show." Kind of pessimistic, I know, but it's a pretty song. It's cool, dark and windy out there this morning, although I'm not complaining about the temperature which is at 0 (32F); looking back at my FB memories, I see that on this day in 2017 we were covered in snow and it was -27C (-16F). We're tough though, so I'm sure DH and I went out for coffee or something. Thinking about a lot of our Daily family today - @RMLincoln as you get through your pack up and move, @marshhawk hoping you get some good drugs to help you onto the road of recovery, @smitty34877 dealing with the burden of grief and trying to assist Tana and keep your family going. My heart goes out to each of you today. Well I took my car over to a tech shop yesterday, expecting to have to take up a paper route to pay for the repairs of my remote starter, but to my surprise, the fellow said it was just a couple of loose wires that shorted and the module needed reprogramming, and I left after paying only $30. He did warn me though, he'd seen many Mitsubishi's come to his shop with starters like mine that were installed at the dealer and they were a mess - mine was no different. If it happens again, he will likely have to remove it and re-install it and that's going to be about 10 times what I paid today. Fingers crossed it won't. Yesterday I had a message from a young friend who is teaching at a school in an economically depressed area of the city, asking if we had any extra Christmas wrapping paper, as they were hoping to set up a gift store for students to go and choose something for their caregivers. I asked if they needed donations for the store to which she said yes, so I sprang into action. I ended up going through our gift boxes in the spare room closet and was able to get an assortment of items from candles to lotions to jewelry(purchased on cruises and never worn) that will hopefully bring good cheer to some who might not otherwise get something. I hope she brings her strong husband along because the Rubbermaid tub is full and heavy! I'd like to try the drink of the day, am sure I'd enjoy the wine, and think today's menu suggestion would make a great Christmas morning breakfast/brunch item. I've got a couple of hamburger patties thawing that will make their way into the George Foreman and we'll be enjoying them with air fried French fries and crudites at the kitchen table tonight. And wine. Prayers for everyone who is in need, cheers to all with celebrations. Smooth Sailing! ☺️☺️☺️ Gerry

Good morning, thanks for the Fleet Report and Daily! I will definitely hug my DH today. I've never had a pupusa, but they sound quite delicious. In high school we always had a Sadie Hawkins dance on the last Saturday in February, and of course, the girls could ask the boys to dance. I disagree with today's quote - if you have intelligence, you can survive. We haven't been to today's port, but what a difficult way to spell Leery! LOL Still dark out there, with sunrise not happening till 8:23, so I don't know what the weather's really going to be like. Right now we've got clouds, but yesterday's forecast was for "brilliant sunshine" . . . only time will tell. We have to take my car in to get the remote start looked at; hopefully it will only need to be reprogrammed, and not replaced. It's funny, because I can use the button on my Mitsubishi key to unlock the doors, yet the remote start fob won't do it - and I just had a new battery installed in the fob. @RMLincolnthinking of you today as the movers come to pack up your precious belongings. I'm sure it's going to feel strange camping out in your own home for a couple of days. It really got me to thinking what we'd need if we were in that situation. @Norseh2oBon Voyage! @marshhawkI'm so sorry to hear you ended up ill on your trip; I do hope you'll be able to shake whatever it is you had/have! @Quartzsite CruiserI'm excited for you getting your new motorhome today! Thanks everyone for the suggestions for hotels in FLL - we talked it over with our friends and I let them decide which one they wanted. We're like Gumby, totally flexible. They'd done some work on the computer and found the Marriott FLL Airport had club rooms that weren't going to require a kidney to pay for them, so I made the reservations for us last night. I'm sure I'd like the drink of the day, but chuckled when I saw "Garnish with a lightly slapped mint sprig." Pretty sure I'd like the wine, and would like to try today's menu suggestion in a restaurant - no point in making it if DH won't eat it. Yesterday DH mentioned we hadn't had omelettes for dinner in a while, so we'll be having Denver omelettes and toast at the kitchen table tonight. And wine. Prayers for everyone who is in need, in ill health, in pain, and in grief. Extra prayers for the innocents in the midst of war. Cheers to all with celebrations. Smooth Sailing! ☺️☺️☺️ Gerry

Sorry to hear about the cold water and bed issues - that's not good. And about the gas-bag a couple of loungers down; a simple "Do You Mind?" would be my response!

Darn, I was hoping for an on-time departure because I can only be here for about 15 minutes before we have to leave the house. @rafinmdsmooth sailing to you - I'll wave to you in my mind.

Bon Voyage @rafinmd; unfortunately I won't be able to watch sail-away today, so I hope someone else can capture a screen shot of you!

Good morning, thanks for the Fleet Report and Daily! I enjoy a French Dip sandwich once in a while, although I haven't ordered one in ages. Pneumonia is a debilitating condition that would be great if it could be eradicated. Both DH and I have our shots for it. Happy Hour gets it's own day? Who knew! Bless the computer scientists who developed the WWW; it has enabled us to stay in touch with family and friends around the world. Today's quote is weird to me. 7:50AM and it's still dark, but it isn't freezing, we're at 0 right now. Ever the optimist, we should reach a high of +6 (42F), which for November 12th is quite acceptable. I noticed yesterday morning the cars on the street had a thick layer of frost on them - DH was glad he put his in the garage. Welcome home @marshhawk and @Lady Hudson; I hope you both enjoyed your cruises. @rafinmd Bon Voyage! @Crazy For Catswishing you a Happy Birthday with many healthy returns of the day! @StLouisCruisers Happy Birthday to your DS. @RMLincolnI'm excited for your move - it's a big one, but you sound like you've got everything under control. Good luck to you! Not a lot happening for us today, except that this afternoon we're heading over to our friends (the ones we'll be cruising with in February) to discuss hotels in Ft Lauderdale. Right now we've got one booked, but aren't happy having to pay a king's ransom ($500+ CAD a night) for a clean, safe place to lay our heads and keep our luggage while we go out shopping, dining, etc., so we're looking at alternatives. Ideally we'd like to be in the Port Everglades area or near the FLL airport and can take Uber or taxis to the places we want to get to. Any suggestions from my Daily family on places you might have stayed that fill these requirements? I'd like the drink of the day (minus the salt), would like the wine, and would also enjoy the soup of the day. It's looking like I won't be in charge of dinner tonight as our friends are making a big pot of chili and home made buns that we'll enjoy at their kitchen table tonight. And wine. Prayers for everyone who is in need, especially the innocents involved in wars. Cheers for all with celebrations today. Smooth Sailing! ☺️☺️☺️ Gerry

Good morning, thanks for the Fleet Report and Daily! I posted this on FB today: We remember, with thanks, those who fought for the freedoms we have today. Thinking of all the veterans of wars, past and recent, and those who didn't make it back to their loved ones. We will be watching the Remembrance Day ceremony from Ottawa on the television as we do every year. Our city hosts one of the largest November 11th indoor events in the country, and it's always a full house, so we pay our tribute on the tv. I'm happy for Angola gaining independence, appreciate those who create the most intricate pieces of art with origami, and a big shout out to education. Not sure about Albert E's quote though. It's a clear, sunny morning out there today, and we're expecting a "high" of +5 (41F), so we will see how it is this afternoon and "might" put up the Christmas lights. We won't be be turning them on until December 1, but at least they'll be ready. Not a lot going on for us today, but yesterday when our friends came over for coffee, they brought a couple of flannel shirts that needed mending. The shirts are from LL Bean, which wear like iron, but our friend has a skin problem and is always scratching one spot, which has basically worn through the fabric. I'm sure it'll be a crude patch job, but I'll see what I can do to give him a few more wearings of his favourite shirts. I'm going to pass on the drink and the wine, and we haven't had mac & cheese for a very long time, so I think I might make mine from a box (cheater, I know!), as a side dish for a small beef roast and vegetables that we'll have at the kitchen table tonight. And wine. Prayers for all who are in pain, in grief, in wars, and in need of care. Cheers to all with celebrations. Smooth Sailing! ☺️☺️☺️ Gerry

Good morning, thanks for the Fleet Report and Daily! It's appropriate that we think of the veterans who returned battered and beaten from the wars, many whose scars are internal on Forget Me Not Day. I may have been good at many things, but accounting was not one of them; I often had to ask a clerk to help me with that. I'd love a vanilla cupcake if it had chocolate icing on it! Pitch black out there it is, with sunrise not happening until 8:18 this morning. We don't have to go out until after 9 for DH's 3 month bloodwork, so it'll be bright by then, as I can see we have clear skies. Yesterday's Device Clinic appointment went SO well - DH's pacemaker was reviewed and both he and it are doing "exceptionally well". I don't think it gets better than that, so we were totally happy walking out of there. Eventually he'll have to have a valve replacement when the angina gets unmanageable, but that doesn't look to be any time soon, thankfully. This morning it's DH's appointment and then we'll head out and get some groceries. There are lots of leaves still on the back lawn, so I think today will be the day we'll pick them up and put them in the compost bin for next week's pick-up. This afternoon friends are coming over for coffee, so I'll pick up some sweet treats (maybe cupcakes?) that we can enjoy while they're here. Happy Birthday to @kplady's DH, and @Copper10-8!! I'm going to take a pass on the drink and the wine, and will reserve judgement on the menu suggestion until I see the recipes @dfish has for us. It's Friday night pizza night at our house, so we'll check the online menus to see what appeals to us that we can enjoy at the kitchen table tonight. And wine. Prayers for everyone who is in need all over the world. Cheers to all with celebrations happening today. Smooth Sailing! ☺️☺️☺️ Gerry

Too late to edit my post, so will make an additional one - today is also World Adoption Day. As an adoptee, I'm happy to celebrate this one. I know some of our Daily family are close to the adoption process as well.

Good morning, thanks for the Fleet Report and Daily! We have a great art museum in our city that has some fabulous works installed. One of our city's philanthropists decided it was unfair that people couldn't afford to go in on a regular basis, so contributed such a substantial amount that for the next 25 years there will be no admission charge - wasn't that a wonderful gift? Hoping for freedom for all. Yay for "billions and billions", Carl Sagan - if only he could have seen what the James Webb telescope has shown us! We had a dusting of snow overnight, just enough to see on the lawn; both the driveway and street are clear. The weather people keep toying with us - yesterday they told us that Sunday we could expect a high of +9(48F), and as I look at the forecast this morning, it's down to +6. Hopefully there won't be any wind, as I'd really like to get the Christmas lights strung along the front of the house. This morning we have to head over to the Device Clinic at the hospital so DH can have his pacemaker follow-up. The incision has healed well, he's feeling good and has good colour again, so hopefully they'll just give him an A+ and we'll be on our way. @HeartgroveBon Voyage; enjoy your cruise!! @JazzyVwishing you pain-free days! I do like sweet drinks, but am not sure about this one - the addition of cake mix makes it a little slurpy. I'll pass on the wine, and will skip over the menu suggestion, but will make a small batch of porcupines (a respite from the turkey), mashed potatoes and green beans that we'll enjoy at the kitchen table tonight. And wine. Prayers for everyone who is in need, in wars, and grieving. Cheers to all with celebrations. Smooth Sailing! ☺️☺️☺️ Gerry

No toots!!

Glad the luggage made it! We'll wave at you!

Here she comes!

Checking in!

Good morning, @leerathje I'm just wondering how far back you set your clock? Today's the 8th. LOL I hope to be here for sail-away.

Good morning, thanks for the Fleet Report and Daily! I admire pianists and often wish I could play. At some time or other, most of us depend on radiology to determine what's wrong with us. We enjoy cappuccino on BHB's while sitting in the Crow's Nest. It looks like I'm one of the few who have been to today's port. We took the ship's excursion to the Blue Eye nature preserve - the park was beautiful, spectacular in fact . . . look it up on the internet, the pictures are not enhanced. The water was the bluest I've ever seen, even bluer than Half Moon Cay. Because Albania is an economically depressed country, they don't have recycling or trash programs, so you see garbage all over the place, lining the roads and streets. It's too bad, because it could be such a nice location if it was cleaned up. We had a skiff of snow overnight - a skiff is when there's enough to leave a layer on the lawns and cars, but melts off quickly from the streets. Not sure what the roads are like, as we also had rain yesterday. We're going out for breakfast with neighbours who moved from our block, so we'll see if we slip-slide our way to the restaurant or not. We'll likely be fine, as most of the working folk will have warmed up the streets ahead of us. Not much happening here today - DH has coffee with his band, so I'm staying home and working on blankets. At yesterday's breakfast with colleagues, one cleaned out her stash of yarn and brought 2 large black garbage bags along for me to take home. Like I needed more. LOL Anyway, there was a great variety of weights of yarn in those bags, and I found some that will make a wonderful snuggly blanket for a young person that I'm working on already. In Canada it's National Indigenous Veterans Day, so we are remembering those who fought and lost their lives in the wars. My birth mother had 2 sisters and 2 brothers who were in the Canadian military; the 2 men saw active duty and fortunately returned home. OMG, my security camera just went off and already the young couple we hired to remove the snow are out there, clearing off the driveway! Good to see them to eager to earn their money! I'm going to pass on the drink and the wine, and look forward to the recipe today - it might make a nice treat when having company in for the evening. For us, we'll struggle through with our turkey leftovers at the kitchen table tonight. And wine. Prayers for all who are in need, in wars, and in grief. Cheers to everyone with celebrations today. Smooth Sailing! ☺️☺️☺️ Gerry

Good morning, thanks for the Fleet Report and Daily! I'm pretty sure we're all well aware of cancer, as I don't know of a single family that hasn't been affected by this terrible disease. I can hug one of our DGS's big teddy bears downstairs, and I know my night cream contains retinol - not that it's helping, but I try. It rained again overnight, although we're sitting at +2 (35), so at least it isn't freezing. We're expecting to hit a high temp of +3 - woo hoo. LOL I'm heading out to meet my retired colleagues for breakfast this morning, which is always a lot of fun. Apparently there might be a dozen of us today, which will make for some lively conversations. A terrible thing happened at a small city not far from us - a woman and her 2 little girls decided to walk on the ice on a nearby lake and they fell through. 2 men saw what happened and went in to save them; the mother and 1 little girl were okay, but sadly both men and the second little girl perished. We're just in shock, as we've barely had enough cold weather to put just a thin sheet of ice on any waterways. When we used to go ice fishing, our friend always made sure there was at least a foot of ice before we went on it, otherwise we stayed home in front of the fireplace. @RMLincoln I'm glad to hear your packing is going well - but yuck about the sciatica!! @StLouisCruisers thanks for the photo of sweet little Elliott Rose - what a doll! I'm going to take a pass on the drink, would love the wine, and will tuck the menu suggestion away for another day. The friends we'll be cruising with have asked to meet them for dinner tonight, so it looks like we'll be enjoying Greek food at a restaurant this evening. And wine. Prayers for everyone who is in need, suffering, grieving, and in the throes of war. Cheers to all with celebrations. Smooth Sailing! ☺️☺️☺️ Gerry

I'm happy to be following along with you again - thanks for taking us! Safe travels to you!

That's interesting - it might be a way of keeping people from pilfering things from the room. Their onboard account would likely be charged those amounts if they were discovered to be missing upon their departure.

Good morning, thanks for the Fleet Report and Daily! Our family has never been big basketball watchers - maybe if one of them decided to play, it would have changed things. Honestly, I'd love to learn to code - imagine what it would do to my brain at this age! There's always something new to learn, so maybe coding isn't it for me right now. A friend of ours retired a year ago and decided to take up the saxaphone, which is a lovely instrument, but his wife has learned the value of industrial earplugs. Re: Komodo Island - I've already told DH that if we ever get to that part of the world to not expect me to leave the ship - I abhor reptiles, and don't want to even get close to one like that. As it as, when we were in Bangkok on a little boat tour (we could trail our hands into the water, that's how small the boat was), I saw a huge monitor lizard (I initially thought it was a dog on a dock) that looked our way, and slipped into the water. I was sure that it was coming for me, and nearly freaked out. We had freezing rain again last night - its' a good thing DH decided to put his vehicle in the garage, otherwise he'd be chipping off ice when we want to go out later this morning. We were advised there was a "weather system" moving through the province, but weren't sure what it would actually bring - as long as it wasn't a major wet snow, we would have been quite happy. Being retired, we can wait until the roads have been travelled and not worry about slipping and sliding on the way to work. Yesterday was nice - our Ukrainian friends came over for dinner, and brought with them a wonderful dessert. It was two bread-like rolled cakes; one had apples and cinnamon inside and the other had blueberry jam. It put my store-bought peach pies to shame, let me tell you! They'd never had a traditional Thanksgiving dinner before, so enjoyed all the dishes - Anton loved the stuffing, so I sent a container of it home with them. After they left, I said to DH: "6 hours of prep, 2 hours at the table, 1 1/2 hours of clean up, but that's what you do for family and close friends." After we cleaned up, I poured myself a glass of wine and went to bed, not waking up until 2 hours past my normal time - I was tired! @StLouisCruisersI'm so sorry to hear that Mark lost his battle with cancer. Stupid, stupid, stupid cancer is all I can say. @Quartzsite CruiserI'm delighted that you decided to get a new motorhome - I went online to see what it looks like . . . it's a beauty!! @rafinmd safe driving today! Not a lot happening for us today, just putting away all the tools and appliances I used for yesterday's meal and doing a bit of clean-up. I like peanut butter and bananas together, but not sure how the drink would go - perhaps if someone made it for me, but I won't be buying the ingredients to make one. I'd like the wine, and would order the menu suggestion in a restaurant. For us it's leftovers - turkey, gravy, you get the picture - that will be enjoyed at the kitchen table tonight. And wine. Prayers for everyone who is in need, especially those in war torn countries. Cheers for all with celebrations. Smooth Sailing! ☺️☺️☺️ Gerry