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Good morning, thanks for the Fleet Report and Daily! I like the combination of chocolate and mint, well, chocolate and anything, really. The battle of Iwo Jima was horrific with loss of life on both sides. I wonder if any females were involved in the naming of today's honouring the women veterans? Interesting. We've got grey skies, but moderate temperatures today, only -19C and no wind, so it should be nice when I go out to blow off the skiff of snow that came down overnight. It won't take long, so that will give me more time to research a new desktop computer. Ours is on it's last legs - this morning it literally took 15 minutes to come on once I pressed the switch. Then, I'd begun my post and it froze. I checked, and I can't update to Windows 11, so that's another sign that it's time to pass this one on to someone who can take it, refurbish it, and give it to a school in need. On another note - yesterday while watching sail-away, I had a package of corn nuts (which I haven't had in I don't remember how long), and was munching on them while enjoying seeing the ships. Suddenly I realized there must have been a stone or something in the mix, so I quickly spat it out into a tissue. Unfortunately, it was part of one of my molars. The good thing is that I don't have any sensitivity, but it still means that I'm likely looking at being turned regal once more with another crown. LOL I'll be on the phone first thing tomorrow morning when the dental office opens to get an appointment to have it repaired. @grapau27I'm sorry to hear about Sarah's friend passing away; please pass along my condolences to her and her friend's family. @kazuI do hope once the insurance company receives all the documentation, that they process your claim quickly - you don't need any more hassles in your life! Quick thinking to get your driveway guy to bring up your begonias . . . well done! @ottahand7I hope your house is safe, and that your missing clothes are soon located! Special thoughts going out to President Carter with prayers for an easy and peaceful transition. He did so much for so many for so long. I know I'd like today's menu suggestion, but in light of the fact that I'm sticking with soft foods, I'll tuck the recipes away for another day. DH said he'd like something light for dinner, so I've got another salmon fillet and oven fries that I'll cook up for him and I'll have the remainder of the borscht from yesterday at the kitchen table tonight. And wine. Prayers for all who are in need, especially those with natural and man-made disasters. Cheers to all with celebrations. Smooth Sailing! 🙂🙂🙂 Gerry

Thanks everyone, short and sweet for me, but see you next time!

We have toots!

Departure toots!

Pokey Pilot

Growls from the Wall of Windows

Late to the party, but I'm here!

Just a quick check-in to say the flea market was fun, lots of junk there, but also a few treasures. I did find a lady who makes earrings (she purchases all the supplies herself), then sells them at flea markets and donates all of the sales to the Diabetes Society. What a generous thing to do, so I bought 3 pair. @Seasick Sailorwhat great photos - get all the cuddles you can before you leave! I want you to know I don't drink wine for the health benefits, I do it to help the wildlife . . .

Good morning, thanks for the Fleet Report and Daily! We always have a good supply of batteries on hand, just like we do with IKEA tea lights. Did someone say National Drink Wine Day? Woo Hoo!!! I've never seen whales in the wild, only in aquariums. We had a good day yesterday - picked up our friend around noon and headed out on the highway. The drive began with grey, cloudy skies, but the closer we got to our destination, the brighter it became. By the time we arrived, we were bathed in bright sunshine, which made the task at hand much easier on everyone. The memorial for the young woman was quite different, it was described as a "come and go". We thought it would be a lot of people standing around, coffee in hand, cookies or sandwiches on trays, etc. Instead, we walked into the room and there she was for viewing, and chairs were set up in rows just as if it was a regular funeral. People came, gave their condolences to the family, sat for a while, and left. Most unusual. I think Covid has relieved many families of the huge expense of regular funerals; something that has been a long time in coming. Today there's a flea market across town that we'll be going to - sponsored by the Lions Club. I have almost a dozen pair of glasses that DH and I have had over the years, and will be bringing them to drop off for use in other parts of the world. Who knows what treasures we might find among the tables while we're there? Bon Voyage @Seasick Sailor and @57redbird! I'm pretty sure I'd like today's menu suggestion, but have a package of coleslaw mix that is waiting to be made into a pot of borscht today. It's looking like we'll be enjoying borscht and crusty buns at the kitchen table tonight. Prayers for everyone who is in need, especially for the earthquake victims, the people of Ukraine, and the flooding in New Zealand. Cheers to all with celebrations. Smooth Sailing! 🙂🙂🙂 Gerry

Good morning, thanks for the Fleet Report and Daily! We often practice random acts of kindness, a huge shout out to caregivers, and where would we be without science? A busy day ahead for us. Years ago when a friend of ours was 16 years old, she had a baby and gave her up for adoption. They reconnected about 10 years ago (the adoptive parents had passed away by then), and have become quite close. The daughter developed brain cancer 3 years ago, and sadly, died this week. We told our friend (who married late in life and never had any other children) that we would like to come to the memorial service (about 1.5 hours from here) to support her and her husband, even though we didn't know the girl. Late last night our friend called saying her husband is down with the flu, and can she get a ride with us? Well, the 3 of us will be heading out of town in a couple of hours to attend the memorial together. @kazuI hope the ice holds off so you can get your business done safely! @marshhawksorry to hear you're under the weather; take the time to get well, please! I had a surprise yesterday - got a notice in the mail there was a delivery at the post office that required a signature, so off I went. It was my new passport; delivered only 7 days after we dropped our renewal applications off at the passport office. When I looked at the issue date, it was dated 2 days after we handed in the paperwork! Hard to believe now that everyone has passed through the peak season of travel that they can be done in such a short period of time! Strangely enough, DH doesn't have his yet, but maybe it will come today. I'm not a fan of veggie sandwiches, although when DH is in one of his "I just can't eat meat" phases, he will order a veggie sub. To me it isn't a real sub if it doesn't have meat in it. LOL I'm pretty sure we're just going to pick up some pizza on the way home from the memorial service late this afternoon and will enjoy it at the kitchen table tonight. And wine. Prayers for all our people with needs, especially those suffering through natural and man-made disasters. We'll raise our glasses to cheer all with celebrations happening. Smooth Sailing! 🙂🙂🙂 Gerry

Good morning, thanks for the Fleet Report and Daily! I don't know any real grouches, although I've run into some on cruises. I think cut the cord day means to go wireless - so I'll use my earbuds instead of the wired headset. LOL Where would we be without the wonderful innovations made in technology? We love Barcelona and have been there several times - this last time we were lucky enough to find a new favourite hotel for our next visit. I'd love to try today's wine, but that won't be happening unless we win the lottery! Well the temperatures dropped overnight and we're sitting at -26C (-15F), but that's all part of winter. Yesterday we had a skiff of snow, which meant the roads were slick with ice from the previous day's melt, resulting in lots of fender benders throughout the city. Thankfully we avoided being caught in any of them. DH and his son are heading out to the countryside today - his son wants to check on his acreage (there have been so many break-ins), and look at the chip in the trail cameras he's posted for security. They'll be sure to bring along heavy duty winter gear with tall boots, toques, big parkas and thick mitts as well. While they're gone I'll stay home and enjoy the fireplace where I'll continue to knit blankets for kiddles going into foster care. I finished my 4th last night and still have a couple of afghans to unravel for the yarn, so that will keep me busy for a good part of the day. I'm sure I'd like today's menu suggestion, but I have some veggies that need to be used up, so we'll be enjoying veggie omelets with a fried ham steak at the kitchen table tonight. And wine. Prayers for everyone who needs them - and there are so many! We'll cheer to all who have celebrations in their lives. Smooth Sailing! 🙂🙂🙂 Gerry

Good morning, thanks for the Fleet Report and Daily! I haven't had gum drops in ages, perhaps I should put them on the next shopping list. I'm very aware of singles in our life, and thought of all of them yesterday when it was a day devoted mainly to couples. Three cheers for Susan B Anthony! I had an awful time trying to get on CC this morning - I kept getting a message saying "Update In Progress" and "Try Again Later". Anyone else have this issue? It's strange how awful I felt knowing I couldn't get in touch with everyone! @Lady Hudsonyour DH sounds like a real sweetheart; what a thoughtful thing for him to do. @Seasick Sailorsafe travels to you & Allan; enjoy every little cuddle you can with Ethan! @kazuI did see that episode of The Good Doctor; I didn't realize the actress was from Canada! I'd heard the phrase 65 roses a number of years ago during a CF campaign. Well my DH was a sweetheart yesterday as well, coming up with the most appropriate card for me. It wasn't just one of the run of the mill Valentine red heart and lace type cards, it spoke to what we've enjoyed doing so much since we retired - travel the world. Here's the front of it and in case you can't see because of the glare (hey, I'm a traveler, not a photographer), it says "and the adventure continues". Not much excitement here, except that our city is f-i-n-a-l-l-y going to be allowing compostable bags for kitchen waste to go into the green recycling bins. That means I'm heading out to the dollar store to stock up on bags, because the city is mandating green bins (and a little pail for the kitchen) for every household to reduce the load on the landfill beginning in March. Prior to this, they said they didn't have the proper equipment to break down the bags - apparently they do now. I'd love to try today's drink of the day; I love a strawberry margarita, and can just imagine how yummy a cherry one would be. If someone offered me a glass of today's wine, I would gladly accept that as well. I might try today's menu suggestion, but not today - we've got a ton of leftovers in the fridge that need to be eaten. It's looking like we'll be having boneless ribs, porcupine balls, salmon, hasselback potatoes and a salad for dinner at kitchen table tonight. And wine. Prayers for everyone who is in need - especially the folks in New Zealand dealing with horrific flooding, the people in Turkey and Syria dealing with the aftermath of the earthquakes, the strong people of Ukraine, and of course our Daily family with health issues. Cheers to all with celebrations today. Smooth Sailing! 🙂🙂🙂 Gerry

Happy Birthday to your DH @Suslor. @Seasick SailorI agree, time to find a new one. Glad you're feeling a bit better, though. I saw this after I posted and thought many of you would get a chuckle out of it:

Good morning, thanks for the Fleet Report and Daily! I like the idea of giving books; they last much longer than most gifts. While I haven't been on a ferris wheel in ages, I do love going up and around in them. We signed our organ donor cards years ago when they first came attached to our driver's licenses. Love the quote today. Happy Valentine's Day to all my friends here at the FR&D! Whether you're alone or with somebody, treat yourself special today because you are loved. We had a lovely pre-Valentine's dinner with our friends last night. The food was delicious - I had the lamb chops (5 of them, of which 2 came home), DH had the Chicago style ribs (half of them came home as well), while our friends enjoyed seafood Alfredo and steak. It was a great time for the 4 of us to go over the cruise we'd just come off, and to talk about possibilities for another in the future. We agreed that we'd book a cruise this week if only we didn't have to fly to the port city. Flying really takes the fun out of travel - it used to be fun and exciting to fly, but not any more. @smitty34877I'm sorry Tana didn't get better news; hopefully her situation will improve soon! @rafinmdgood luck at the pulmonologist today. @Seasick Sailorlooking back at yesterday's Daily, you posted briefly that you'd been to the clinic - can you share the results? @marshhawksorry you got fired from one campaign, but happy you got full hours on the other. And woo hoo that DH gets his own computer!! Not a lot happening here today, although I think DH wants to get some shopping done. He needs baskets to organize some things in the garage, so it'll be dollar store shopping today. Because we went out for dinner last night, I planned our Valentine's dinner at home - salmon, air fried asparagus, hasselback potatoes and Caeser salad at the kitchen table tonight. And wine. Prayers for all who have needs, with extra for the gun violence that happened last night at MSU. We'll cheer loudly for everyone with celebrations today. Smooth Sailing! 🙂🙂🙂 Gerry

Good morning, thanks for the Fleet Report and Daily! I think I'll clean out our computer by throwing it in the washing machine. It keeps freezing up on us, requiring restarts, etc. Frustrating, but I guess that's technology; buy a new one every few years to keep current. I don't think I'll get a different name; I've had enough over my lifetime already. My idea of being a good wingman is being the designated driver on a night out. I like today's quote - and strangely enough, can identify with it quite readily! We had a nice dinner last evening at DH's daughter's - breaded pork chops and ravioli with home made marinara sauce. I contributed a Caesar salad and dessert to the meal. As I may have mentioned, she's a great cook, and last night did not disappoint. Re: the SuperBowl - the guys went downstairs and watched the game, while the girls curled up in the living room and watched a couple of movies. We did take a break to watch the half time show - not my taste, but I wasn't paying for it, so . . . Can someone please tell me what the heck is going on in our skies ?!? Seriously, this is getting ridiculous! Not much happening for us today, just laundry and general housekeeping tasks. DH wanted us to go out for Valentine's dinner this year, but we both agree it's just a zoo in restaurants on special days, so instead, we're going out tonight. Our friends who sailed with us on our Caribbean cruise will be joining us as well, which will be nice, as we haven't had the chance to get together since we got home. I'm not sure what will be on the menu tonight, but I'm sure it will be delicious, especially since someone else is preparing it. And wine. Prayers for all who are in need, especially for the victims of the war in Ukraine and the earthquakes in Turkey and Syria. Cheers to all who have celebrations. Smooth Sailing! 🙂🙂🙂 Gerry

Thanks everyone, I'm about to pack up my Caesar salad and head out to DH's daughter's for dinner. See you next time!

Yay, we have toots!!

Let's hope we get to hear her as she passes.

Dang camera keeps buffering on my computer.

A toot!

Departure toots

I wonder if someone complained again, so everyone just passes by silently?

Folks waving, but they're not zooming in. Never mind! LOL

Nieuw Amsterdam set for 15:45

Checking in.