BonTexasNY

@Sunshine3601Debbie and @Luckynana Maryann, thank you for your Rosh Hashana New Year greetings. @Ozark_Kid John, what beautiful smiling faces and Happy Birthday to sweet Kenzie! I'm sitting in my living room basking in the amazing, wonderful aroma of sopapilla cheesecake baking in the oven. So easy using store bought Pillsbury crescent roll sheets.

Dani, wonderful news! Thank you, Dave and Marietta.

@FromSea2ShiningSea Helen, as always, your pictures are stunning! Hope Merv the Nerv is in hiding. @ReneeFLL Renee, I hope you keep improving.

Maryann, from me too!

Have a marvelous, sun filled, smooth sails cruise! Hoping all air travel is on time.

@FromSea2ShiningSea Helen, as always, your pictures are stunning! @Tree_skier You have a great dilemma. I never took a 4 day cruise but given the options, I would stick with HAL. RCI would be my first choice but it seems it isn't an option. Too bad you aren't near Galveston, lots of 4 and 5 night Voyager class cruises.

Oh no, @ReneeFLL Renee, let me add my get well wishes. Hope you feel better soon so that you can enjoy the rest of your cruise! @lenquixote66 Lenny, the best birthday wishes to Toby.

Greg, never lose that wonderful sense of anticipation!

Dani, have smooth sails and a wonderful cruise. Best wishes to your cousin for a successful prognosis.

Congratulations! I bet your toast and dance will be wonderful, always so sentimental.

Wait a minute. The cruise is over???? Glad all had a good time.

@Sea Dog Greg, sorry that the injection hasn't been very beneficial to your knee. I'm sure you'll have a lovely cruise next month in spite of it. @DaniDanielle Marietta, Valentina is a very pretty young lady! I hope all of her birthday wishes come true. @sgmn Sue what beautiful cakes. Congratulations on your family's celebrations. I too hope all is well with @singinalot Crystal and Nate's home in Florida. @brillohead Debi, so sorry for your loss. I hope all are having a peaceful Labor Day.

@Keksie from me too!

Sue, congrats and keep doing your thing!

@Sunshine3601Debbie, I am so very sorry to read about your and Eric's loss. Thank you for sharing Mike's story with us. So hard losing a friend, no matter the circumstances. It sounds like you and Eric shared many happy times with Mike. Hold those memories close to your heart. I thought I clicked your post, not Arzeena's. I think CC has a mind of its own.

@singinalot Crystal, let me add my prayers for all to be well with Nate, your house and all who are impacted. Stay safe in my old hometown!

My sister and brother in law just got back from their 11 night Med. cruise on Beyond. They were in a 2 bathroom suite that comes with butler service. They were a bit overwhelmed but got into the butler life easy. It was brutally hot and with only 2 sea days they decided to make one port stop a "sea day". They loved everything about Beyond from the entertainment, decor, to the food in the suite dining room, but they usually are easy to please. I'm looking forward to seeing their pictures. They cruised with good friends of over 60 years. Ken, you did good!

Glad you made it to the airport on time. Will you be highlighting any adventures in NYC? Most importantly, I hope Idalia stays away from your home in FL.

Crazy pricing. Our Adventure 5 night cruise in March was approx. $500 less for our PR cabin compared to what Voyager's (same class) rate is for the same time period in 2024. Yes, work was outsourced to India and at one point there was a computer glitch which necessitated mandatory 10 hour daily shifts for approx. 2 1/2 months, including 1/2 days on Saturdays. PLUS there was an evening staff that came in when we ended our day shift. Work was being knocked out from 7am to approx. 11pm daily. The only time I saw light of day those 2 1/2 months was weekends. My time and a half paychecks were nice benefits. Was your office in Plano on Corporate Drive across the road from JC Penney? That's where I worked. Such a beautiful location and only 8 minutes from my house. I love this story: My key got stuck in the lock on my desk. I had to call facilities which was located in India. I gave all the info and a short time later, the maintenance guy came to fix it. His office was a few feet from mine. 🤣

I'm not surprised at all. Way to go, Sue!

I'm so happy to see Simone Biles, still the GOAT, win her record breaking 8th U.S. National Championship. She's back on top! Continuing mortgage chat: I started working for Countrywide for a few short months until Bank of America took over. I was at a luncheon once and when one of my tablemates found out I worked for them, he lashed onto me as if I were personally responsible for the mortgage debacle. He was personally insulting to me and although Countrywide might have been to blame, I wasn't. I ignored him, turned the other way and started to chat with another tablemate totally cutting him off. To be clear, I didn't work in the mortgage department. It got very uncomfortable, and I was glad when the luncheon was finally over. His wife was a good friend of mine at the time and her face was red the whole time during his rant. She kept looking down at her plate probably hoping she (or he) would disappear.

Chicken casserole for Nate!

That too! So sorry for your family's loss. What a sweet kitty! Refuah Shlema to your cousin, a swift full recovery. Hopefully, you'll be able to have some enjoyable moments on your cruise even though it won't be as you planned. I understand totally the feeling of having grandkids far from you that were once close by. I'm sure they are settled in and enjoying new adventures. I know you're anticipating your visit with them soon.

Harlan Coben is one of my favorite authors as well. Off to brunch with friends soon. We'll finally end the consecutive 100+ degree days. Today will be 96! We love driving to Galveston, approx. 6 hours with a stop at Buc-ees. Very relaxing and love the anticipation of finally getting there, closer and closer. We've driven quite a few times to NJ to visit the kids, at times quite scenic. We drove to Miami in March for Bella 01 and did not enjoy that trip. Not scenic at all. Furthest we will now drive will be to Galveston which will be in April for our first b2b.

Thanks, Renee! Mystic Seaport was always a favorite day trip when we lived in NY. Happy Birthday Sharon! Beautiful flowers and yummy German Chocolate cake make it extra special.