MJSailors

Graham-You have a lovely place to relax. I do understand about family divisions. I can’t understand when they happen and, I admit to being envious (a little bit) of families that have strong bonds, being happy with each other. When DH’s father passed in 2007, my mother-in-law and sister-in-law made it clear to us that they wanted to sever familial ties with us. MIL severed ties with her brother and sister many years before she did the same to us. So, she had the pattern of having hardness of heart. My DH has a forgiving nature, so he has forgiven his mother ( who passed in 2009) and his sister. However,sometimes I have difficulty with their actions as I know they hurt my husband. Thankfully, we have lifelong friends who are family and we go on with our days. I think that you and Pauline have found consolation with the relationship with Sara, and she finds comfort from the love and support you give her. While I realize no one has a perfect life, it seems that you and Pauline have a good life filled with love. I can say the same for DH and myself. Take care MJ🙋🏻‍♀️

Graham-Good to see you enjoying some sun in that beautiful garden! The grass and trees/shrubs look very lush. Do you employ landscapers or tend the garden yourselves? My DH and I used to care for our front and rear yards for many years and enjoyed the work. About six years ago though,we thought it was time for us to hire gardening help. We have been in our home for thirty-nine years. We were a bit older than you and Pauline when we moved into the house though! MJ🙋🏻‍♀️ I am adding two views of our front yard with flowers in bloom. Waiting to see what they will look like this year. The Spring has been a bit chilly, so the blooms may be a bit delayed.

Enjoy the pizza and your vacation! MJ

We will be on the Summit in June. Dinner will be in Blu. Planning to pack dress pants and long sleeved dress shirts for hubby. He would never wear cargo pants to dinner-trousers are more his style. Thanks to all who posted giving us a good idea for clothes for him. MJ

Graham-Pauline sets a lovely table.Very glad that you could enjoy Coronation day with your niece. Hoping the King and Queen are having a good night’s rest. They needed quite a bit of stamina to go through the Coronation and events leading up to it. I was watching the Royal Guards and the other military branches when they gave the Royal Salute and then giving the three cheers with their hats. Such precision! They must have practiced for days! George-You and your wife must be pleased with the kitchen redo. I agree that the floor needed to be changed to coordinate with the new color scheme of white and grey. Six weeks is not a very long time for such a project, but I understand how it could have seemed very long for you both. Enjoy many happy meals in the new kitchen. John-Your cute gardener is taking good care of the plants for you! Hoping you enjoy those relaxing sea days. We are getting ready to watch the Kentucky Derby. No monetary bets, but my DH and I have made our winner choices. A friend in Tennessee has also made her choice, so three different horses to watch. My choice is Cyclone Mischief-a beautiful horse! I read about the recent horse deaths at Churchill Downs. Wondering about the cause and if there is some kind of mystery involved. Wishing all a good night 😴! MJ🙋🏻‍♀️

@George C As we say in our house-the most useful tool is the telephone to call a mechanic! MJ🙋🏻‍♀️

@BonTexasNY I hope you enjoyed a very happy birthday! @Ozark_Kid Enjoying your photos of your Hawaiian adventures! Hoping you and your DW continue to have a great vacation! To all who post here, wishing you good days. MJ🙋🏻‍♀️

What Lucky Nana posted! MJ🙋🏻‍♀️

I feel badly that you had to hear those remarks from the individuals sitting near you at lunch. I always think how does someone benefit by making negative remarks about others who are trying to go about their business in a quiet way? Do their remarks make them feel superior in some way? Why cause hurt for someone? Thinking such an experience through, I conclude that the person(s) making the remarks is (are)the one(s)with a problem and , with such an outlook, I am blessed that I am not like them. I did experience someone making a remark, not quite as offensive as you experienced , but something that still caught my attention when my DH and I were having a snack in the buffet on a cruise ship. Being mindful of eating something from my hands that may have been a bit germy even though I had washed them in the restroom prior to entering the buffet, I decided to eat a soft cookie with a fork so as not to touch the cookie. A man sitting at a nearby table said to his lady companion”I guess there is a new way to eat cookies!”. He was looking in my direction when he said this. I did not reply, but I should have said to him , “Why are you concerned how I eat this cookie?”. Instead, I was quiet and also a bit embarrassed. In retrospect, he should have been embarrassed! Hoping that you can put aside this instance and continue to enjoy your journey on the Anthem. MJ🙋🏻‍♀️

Lenny-Hoping your eye does not present any more difficulties and that the appointment on the 15th gives you information as to what happened to your sight . Enjoy your granddaughter’s visit! MJ🙋🏻‍♀️

@George C The score of that game was very disheartening, for sure. It looked like there was beautiful weather and good seats were a plus. It is still early in the season. Yankees have a number of players on the DL. Things may be on the upswing when players return. MJ🙋🏻‍♀️

@George C Enjoy the game! DH and I will be watching it in our family room. Wave to the camera and we will wave back!😉 MJ🙋🏻‍♀️

Marietta Congratulations on celebrating your anniversary. If you didn’t win in AC that’s okay. You are lucky in love!❤️❤️ John-Glad that you had a good flight. Enjoy your vacation!😎🌴🏖️ MJ🙋🏻‍♀️

Reading the different posts about health insurance coverage and issues involved, I am very grateful to a friend and former teaching colleague who was our union president during a very difficult contract negotiation. Under this contract, which is the one I retired with, faculty members are covered for life with health insurance equal to or better than the Blue Cross Blue Shield policy that was in effect with the contract that was in place at the time of retirement. My hubby is covered if he survives me.He can maintain the coverage by paying the premiums instead of the school district paying the premiums. We are fully covered for medical issues as well as prescriptions and eye glasses. If we were to pay out of pocket for such coverage it would be well over $10,000 a year. My friends and colleagues are thankful for such coverage and consider it deferred compensation for our service to the school district. When I began teaching in 1976, my yearly salary was $9,000. A bit below friends’ salaries working in corporate Knowing that there would be a future pension and medical coverage made up for the differences in salaries. Also, I chose a profession that I truly loved and enjoyed everyday at my job that lasted for thirty-six years. It troubles me to think that NYC retirees are not given generous health coverage in their retirement. Makes me wonder where the unions are in trying to protect their employees and retirees. .MJ🙋🏻‍♀️

@jagsfan I think the beach you went to was at a place called Sunken Meadows . The water was the Long Island Sound.The water is chilly in the Summer and the beach is covered in rocks. Wherever we live, the Sound is about 15 minutes away from our house. We prefer our community beach which is the Peconic Bay and is 5 minutes away. The photo shows a community Christmas tree at the beach. People are encouraged to decorate it with natural things found on the beach-driftwood, shells etc. This tradition was started in December of 2020 to give people hope during the pandemic. MJ🙋🏻‍♀️

Wayne-Lovely family photos and an interesting cruise recap. I have a few thoughts about the disappointing horseback riding/beach excursion. You may know about this, but Trip Advisor has reviews of the various tours/ excursions available at your selected destination. Before booking, it may be a good idea to try to get feedback about the tours/excursions that you may be considering. My DH andI have been taking cruise vacations since 1987. Now,as 70 somethings, we are no longer interested in the port excursions, but opt for obtaining a day pass at a lovely resort. This way, we are guaranteed a beach, pool and lunch surrounded by pretty grounds and a relaxing atmosphere. Once we are docked, we get a cab to the resort and relax for the day. For the return, the valet/doorman arranges for a cab to the ship. Easy peasy ! If you want to do something more than a relaxing pool/beach day, I am thinking that booking a tour/excursion from such a resort would be something you could do to insure that you and your family will have an enjoyable time . MJ🙋🏻‍♀️

@George C I graduated Queens College in 1974! When did your brother attend QC? Small world! MJ🙋🏻‍♀️

@George C Of course, I am familiar with Woodhaven and Myrtle. I have fond memories of the carousel in Forest Park. @lenquixote66 Ridgewood and Glendale are so close-there are many neighborhoods that kind of run into each other in the boroughs. Long lasting friendships are precious. I have three close HS friends -we have known each other for 57 years! @BonTexasNY My Mom and I often shopped in Alexander’s followed by lunch at Howard Johnson’s on Queens Blvd. Yes, I inherited the shopping gene from my Mom! MJ🙋🏻‍♀️

@Luckynana I graduated from CK in 1970. When did your friend graduate? When I went there, the school was divided into the girls’ section and the boys’ section. Each had there own wing of the school, sharing a mid-building lobby,gym, and auditorium. The cafeteria was shared, but there was an invisible line in the middle separating the girls and boys, strictly patrolled by teachers on lunch duty.The school became coed a few years after I graduated. So, I didn’t know too many of the boys except those on the basketball team. For some reason, I dated a few boys from Malloy HS. My friends and I went to dances there Yes,it is a small world. For example,my DH had cataract surgery last Thurs. He had a follow up visit Fri. We were chatting with some other patients in the waiting room. One of the gentleman went to the same grammar school where I had my first teaching job. He graduated in 1962, I began teaching there in 1976. MJ🙋🏻‍♀️

@George C Wishing you a good trip back to NYC soon! I grew up in Forest Hills, but my Dad grew up in Glendale and his best friend and wife lived in Glendale off of Myrtle Ave a few blocks west of St Pancras. My Mom would often go shopping in Ridgewood. I recall Lobel’s, Urdang’s,Woolworths and Lerner Shops. We shopped the “Avenue” long before malls developed in Nassau County. MJ🙋🏻‍♀️

@cruiselvr04 Yikes! I would want to move too! MJ🙋🏻‍♀️

Have to say-I was a bit unnerved to see the photos of snakes posted here. I am deathly afraid of them, even photos give me a negative reaction. It doesn’t matter if they are harmful or not, I just do not like them! I know they have a place in nature, taking care of pests in the garden etc, but they give me the creeps! Just sayin’. Not sure if other posters feel this way. I am thinking that maybe posting a disclosure before posting a photo could be helpful for those with such a phobia.🙄 MJ🙋🏻‍♀️

@BonTexasNY As others have posted- The NY girl never leaves NY in her heart! As for me,I say “You can take the girl out of Queens, but you can’t take the Queens out of the girl! We have lived in the East end of Long Island for 40 years. I lived in a borough of NYC for thirty years, still call Queens home ! Ray Romano (Everybody Loves Raymond) has directed and is starring in a movie-It Happened in Queens. It is in movie houses now. Hoping it will be on Prime or On Demand for our cable company. I really want to see it! Scenes were filmed in my Alma mater-Christ the King HS in Middle Village ,NY. I have seen the trailers and recognize the front lobby of the school and the gym where I spent many hours cheering on our basketball team. , the Royals- as a member of the Pep Squad- backup to the cheerleading squad to get the crowd into cheering for the game. Good times and good memories! MJ🙋🏻‍♀️

@derorim Re: house renovations. In our house, the phrase is…. While we’re at it! MJ🙋🏻‍♀️

@Ozark_Kid I found this in the reply section and I am not sure if it was ever sent, so I hit submit again. Still wishing you hope,peace and good days. @George C Kitchen Reno’s are not for the faint of heart! We have done two plus a family room, laundry and bathroom addition with screened porch and deck. It takes time, patience and $$$$! Hang in there! @grapau27 Graham-very good idea to have appropriate exercises to do for your hip situation. It may help in your future recovery to strengthen the muscles. supporting your hips etc. A golfing friend of mine had both hips done at the same time which was very successful for her. She followed all the Dr’s directives and that helped her tremendously. Wishing you a good outcome. MJ🙋🏻‍♀️