Vict0riann

DD in Gander called yesterday. She has Covid, for the second time. She thought it was a cold, but tested as she was supposed to go in to work, and wanted to be sure she was okay, as she has a trainee she needs to sit quite close to…

Good afternoon, Dailyites! We ran errands this morning, made a donation at ReStore, and had lunch at Timmie's. They have a new crispy chicken sandwich which I like. Plus half an apple fritter. Our Dork was a turtle, a red-eared slider, I think I have told you about before, who is now living at the National Zoo in Washington, DC, at least, I hope he is. I wonder about the salmon dish - I always cook it in the oven like that but it usually only takes about 20 minutes or less. I had planned the next time to paint it with mayo, I saw that on a "Beat Bobby Flay" episode. Sounds interesting. We are still fridge-less, haven't heard when the new mother board is expected in, so I go out early and get two bags of ice every day to keep the refrigerator part cool. I picked up a day-old pack of Chinese goodies which we will have this evening, warmed up in the microwave, Haha! My memory is that Tony organized that tour in Salaverry, but I'm willing to take the credit. I remember mainly the heat. I risked all with a fishy lunch. It was delicious. The place is a desert. Tony posted the mural - this is iwhat it might have looked like A few flowers from my garden - my Shasta daisy is very yellow this year.

I haven't seen a bed pulled out, but I think, if you look at NS stateroom 5143 on Halfacts, it is more or less what the vista suite looks like, and the "sofa" is more of a love seat, so I imagine it will be a pull out bed.

Good morning, Dailyites. Happy birthdays to Allen and Keith. I guess I have been through the Cockburn Channel, if it is the one in Sir PMP's post. I am going to wake Pat up any minute now, so I need to get on with it! I like getting up before him, to have a few minutes to myself and my CC friends! I am getting tired of having no fridge in the kitchen. All the frozen foods are crushed in the freezer in the garage, I have no idea where anything is, and ice is melting all over the place in the fridge portion of the appliance in the kitchen. I go to the grocery store every morning to buy ice. At least the milk has not gone sour. Jacqui, I hope everything goes as it should today, and you can find it in yourself to be pleased with the outcome. I do think it's a good idea to make the changes while you still can. Belated birthday wishes for Ivan.

Good afternoon, Dailyites and thanks to all for the Daily News! Annie, I'm so sorry your DH is having such a hard time of it. I hope the surgery tomorrow will help, or at least he will have additional care in the hospital. Jacqui, you are amazing getting so much done; I'm glad you get help from friends, and I hope the surgery and move go smoothly. Birthday wishes to Father David. And I am happy that the edibles seem to be helping Tana. Today has not been a great success so far. I didn't sleep well, Pat woke me at 8:30, and said to get up quickly as I must be at the hospital by 10. Sheesh - I thought my appointment was Friday. I have been a "subject" in the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging for about 20 years, and nothing much has been done through and since Covid - just the occasional phone call. This time I was to have all the tests, and I was in a panic, I showered, drank coffee and raced out of the house. Of course there was road work, and I hadn't been to the Gorge hospital since BC, and there was a new building and signage, as it has changed from "hospital" to "medical centre" and I drove right past it, way down the road, I couldn't turn around for miles because of the construction! I made it back just in time, rang the doorbell of the CLSA - no one was there. I finally twigged, my appointment IS Friday, and today is Thursday.... To make amends, Pat took me out to lunch. At least that was my "dry run" and I'll know how to get there tomorrow. If the road in front is not all dug up! When I opened the fridge door to get the milk, a torrent of water poured out - all the ice had melted and filled the garbage bag I had it in, and had not tied tightly... Cleanup required. Then when I went to the shopping centre to buy more ice, the entry was completely closed off, more construction. I had to find my way around the back, with everyone else who was doing the same thing. At least, cherries were on sale! Although I'm trying not to buy anything until we have a working refrigerator, I had to buy some. The cooler with two bags of ice seems to be keeping most of the stuff frozen and as we eat out of boxes, space becomes available in the freezer in the garage. There is a big bag of peas which has defrosted, but I figure I can write "Do not Eat" on it and refreeze it to use if I need it when I have radiation, every cloud has a silver lining... So that's my day. It is warm - 24 celsius - 78 Fahrenheit -not too bad. The car gets hot if parked in the sun and I am always on the lookout for animals in cars. The reservoir is down to 86%.

Good morning, Dailyites! Wow, a busy day for all today - and even for me, I have to go and buy ice. Why? Because the fridge died yesterday. It seemed fine when I got up and I went to the grocery store and bought quite a lot, came home, and it was dead. Panic. The freezer was full, DD's fridge downstairs was pretty full, I had to start squeezing stuff wherever I could. Pat called for a serviceman and he came at noon, said we needed a new "mother board" - I don't know when it will arrive., In the meantime, we have cleaned out the fridge freezer, there is a soggy bag of ice keeping a few things cool in the fridge part, and there is a cooler with ice trying to keep some of the frozen food frozen. I did throw away some older things, and probably will have to discard more in the next few days, if t doesn't get revived quickly. Evidently the nextdoor neighbours have been visited by the appliance gremlin too, as they had a new fridge delivered yesterday. I am aching too, I made three batches of jam the day before yesterday, and a large batch of jelly yesterday. I think my jam-making days have come to an end! My father was the poet in our family, he would have had fun writing Clerihews. I will try to think one up, in his honour. George Clifford Large - Spent most of his life on a barge But when he retired he went To Victoria and lived in a tent (All a lie, of course, but I couldn't find anything else that rhymed with Large_) We went to Sihanoukville in 2014 on our Asia cruise on Violendam, which DD Cathy, organized for us. I'll put Pat's notes here and a few pictures. "We (A, P and C only) took a ship's tour - Town & Village Exploration (Sihanoukville, Cambodia). We left on time at 8.30 am and our first stop was at a privately-owned 5 ha. Pepper Farm. Besides pepper trees there were a number of different fruit trees growing on the farm, e.g., durian, mango, rambutan, rose apple, tamarind and papaya. After leaving the pepper farm we had a pit stop at a new gas station. We then visited a market - mainly food stuffs. While there, our guide bought some durian and we each sampled the fruit. When we boarded the bus again he produced some more durian for sampling. The smell stank the bus up for a couple of hours. We drove into Kampot, the capital town of Kampot Province, and walked along the river front. We then retraced part of our journey and stopped for lunch at a seafood restaurant. It was quite good. We then stopped at a fishing village for photos. Our next stop was at a complex of pagodas and a Buddhist school." On the road and at the pe[p[er farm Market - I don't seem to have a picture of the durian we tasted... Kampot and I think some of Sihanoukville, my pictures and DD's and Pst's all got mixed up, time-wise. Even an Irish pub Lunch was a huge assortment, I only have one picture! (But I survived to tell the tale.) At the pagoda school PS I haven't had a date yet when I will start radiation. I will let you know, I see the surgeon next week.

Must post quickly, as it is nearly time to leave for church. I am always amazed at how many posts there are on the Fleet Report that I have to read in the morning, thank you everyone for all the news. I had lovely walks with my father. He was a "trained" window shopper, and wherever we went he would take me to see what was available! No money changed hands, but it was always interesting. Especially in Switzerland, although I did get my first watch there, after a lot of looking. Now that we are drinking boxed wines, we are alternating between sauvignon blanc and pinot grigio, and I would love the shrimp, but I have got things ready to make potato salad today, and we'll have that with some of the BBQ chicken I got at Costco the other day. Today is supposed to be the hottest day of our "heat dome", so I thought I would not cook. A Coruna was on a cruise we had booked last year, but cancelled. Maybe next time! I mentioned the other day that I paid for our next cruise using the new system on HAL - well the next day Pat got an email from the bank asking if the charge was legit - as no credit card had been used. It took us a while to figure that one out - but we decided that it meant no credit card had been inserted or swiped on a device. I'll say a prayer for all my Daily friends! Hugs, Ann

Good morning, Dailyites! Roy, what is there to do in Wrangell? We are scheduled to be there next year on NA. We will have one of my California cousins with us, and a friend, who have never cruised, so I think I am in charge of organizing activities. I don't think I want zucchini pancakes either. I'm up early today, and must get cracking. I have to sort out, bag and freeze stuff bought at Costco yesterday. I just dumped everything in the fridge and forgot about it. What a drag! Then we're going for coffee at the mall, and I need to buy canning stuff at Canadian Tire, and then stop at the farm market to see if they have raspberries for jam. I don't "can" any more, but I do like making jam, and marmalade. I can stir jam and say my prayers for you all at the same time!

Me, too!

I actually called my PCC’s extension, but was moved to the regular PCC number ( maybe in the Philippines?) as they said my PCC was “on leave”. The lady was helpful and answered my questions , I wanted to check we still had CO, as that had not shown up on the latest invoice, and also added the Standard protection program for us. Then she said she would transfer my call to their new automated payment site. I had to put in my credit card info using the number pad on the phone, and then I was transferred back to the original lady, who completed the transaction. It went smoothly.

Good afternoon, Dailyites, and many thanks to all who post! Jacqui, I hope all goes well with your move, and everything happens exactly at the right time for you. I'm happy Ivan can go with you, make sure he has the right sofa! Terry, we all think you are amazing and definitely a superwoman. Continued prayers for you and Tana. Also for Chuck, Annie, hope he's alright. I must say, this morning I just wanted to sleep and sleep and sleep. Some days are like that... Today has been expensive, I had to pay off a cruise today (did it with the new system) and then to top it off, we went to Costco. Sheesh! I'm not in to waffles, but I like fried chicken. I will be taking wings to Happy Hour this evening. Our DD lives in Gander so we have been to Newfoundland a few times, usually including a visit to St. John's, and just once on a cruise - NS on the Viking Passage. Victoria and St. John's are the beginning and the end of the TransCanada - or the end and the beginning, depending on how you look at it. And our sign (we are still pre-kilometrage)! In NL the rocks get dressed.. One of DD's colleagues was on the hill watching as the NS sailed, he sent her this picture of us. You can see how tight it is.

Good morning, Dailyites, and Happy Fourth of July to all our American neighbours! 🇺🇸 Looks like it's going to be a good day today! I might get out a steak for Pat to barbecue this evening. I have just been warming up stuff from the freezer for the past week, so today will be real cooking... I think I am back to normal, I removed all the bandaging this morning, and everything looks good. Now i want to get on with the radiation and get it over with. We have been warned we are in for a heat wave here on the island. Might even get up to 30. The heat pump is doing well. There was a recall on our brand, but evidently not our type. We visited Gibraltar in 2014, on our Atlantic Adventurer cruise on Maasdam, a great cruise, I wish they would repeat it. I organized a private tour for Gibraltar and we ended up with three vans full. Our guide insisted I should hold a friendly macaque and she was lovely, she felt like a Persian cat - I had thought her fur would be spiky. Pat enjoyed all the guns, of course, I think we went just a bout everywhere but we didn't drive across the airport runway, I think the other vans did. A lot of my photos are like the others already posted. Approaching the rock Me and my friend The WW2 tunnels were amazing From the top of the rock The road we didn't take Some guns..

Good morning, Dailyites - or Good Afternoon, if you are east of us! Jacqui, @kazu, I hope all goes well with surgery, and you are much improved, and pdq. Gotta get you in shape to travel! I approve of all the days today, and of Mother Teresa's saying. We saw her once in Calcutta, at a church service, I'm not sure if she thought we were the parents of one of her novices, but she gave us a big smile. I seem to be posting at the same time as Tony, I see, so I'm sure we have all the same pictures of Rhodes, I can at least get in a few lunch pictures from a different tour. At lunch, we had a beautiful fish. And I can't remember if I showed you this latest picture of our granddog, Oskar.

Here the garlic rule is - pull in August, plant in September, but I will be checking earlier, too. But we are always way behind Ontario.

Good morning, Dailyites! Oh, Annie, @marshhawk, what a time you are having! Stay strong, we're rooting for you. I hope you can find someone to help with your DH. and I think we can all say your boss is a nitpicker! He's lucky to have you, I think you sound like an amazing (and very interesting) person. I love your stories. When we lived in Nairobi in the '70's, we used to rent a house in Mombasa for a couple of weeks when the children were on holidays. We've never been there on a cruise, but there was certainly a lot of shipping around. Every house had a bucket of solvent at the door so you could clean off your feet from all the oil on the beach. Black blobs everywhere in the sand. I wonder if it is still like that. Painting of a street scene in Mombasa, done by my art teacher in Nairobi.

Sorry to hear this. Hope it has been caught early. They do wonderful things these days. I am feeling so well after my lumpectomy, I'm glad that is what I opted fort, although I'm not really looking forward to radiation. Fortunately, the surgeon didn't have to take any lymph nodes, and now, four days later, I was out gardening this morning. Gotta keep up with those weeds! Happy Canada Day!

PS We got a reminder that final payment is coming up for our next cruise - and Club Orange was not listed on the itinerary. I'm a bit concerned about that, as someone else on CC mentioned they had lost their CO, so I'll be checking that out with our PCC.

Good morning, Dailyites, tomorrow is Canada Day, so the newspapers this weekend all seem to have extra puzzles to do, which will keep us busy. I love avocados, and lobster in any form, so today's my day! The drink sounds pretty good, I'd try it. We haven't been to South Korea, and I'm afraid the developing world is not calling to me these days. I was tired and grouchy yesterday, I think I had maybe overdone it the day after the surgery, but I slept well last night and feel good today. Off to church soon, I think I will wear a mask again, then breakfast at the golf club - I'll take the mask off for that. This is early for the first hurricane of the season, hope it is not a taste of things to come! It is a bit overcast here but no rain yet. I'll say prayers this morning for those ailing on CC, especially Tana and Jacqui! Lobster roll in Halifax and the real thing in Newfoundland!

Good morning, Dailyites! I'm not crazy about lightning, either! When we lived in Virginia, near the top of a hill ("Tallwood Terrace") a tree across the road was struck by lightning and it stripped all the branches down one side - we had an even taller tree than the one that was struck, right outside our bedroom window, so we had it cut down. Here, we very seldom get thunder and lightning storms, in the last 30 years maybe 10 times, if that. I had a good night, very comfortable, and I just took some Tylenol this morning, I imagine all the hospital drugs have worn off by now. Pat has an ECG and bloodwork this morning, and then hopefully next week the cardiologist will tell us what is in his future - he is definitely slowing down and much more tired and quickly breathless. DD sent me a couple of funnies.

I'm home, had a lovely 2-hour nap and I'm cooking a Dr. Oetker pizza with mushrooms, to which I have added bacon and artichokes. I'm hungry - very little discomfort and I'm very pleased it's all over. Thanks and you can take me off the list, Vanessa! And thank you to everyone sending out good vibes for me.

Good morning, Dailyites! Oh, wow, thanks for all the good wishes. I’m ready to go to the operating room , but there’s probably an hour to wait still. Surgical daycare is a busy spot - lots of coming and going. Jacqui, I’m sure you are very worried about your foot. I do hope the surgeon can help, and quickly. We need you healthy and happy! we have been to Aarhus, and I might even have some pictures on my phone, but they would look like the ones already posted, I remember we had a nice day there.

We've been through the Panama Canal three times, I think. In 2015, they were working on the new locks. The machinery and dredging were amazing!

Good morning Dailyites! Yes, @Live4cruises, my surgery is tomorrow. Today is prep! Wash sheets, etc., and I will get my hair cut in a little while. My lovely DD aunts always had a hairdo, wore their best makeup and outfits to see the doctor, and when we quizzed them on it, they said "We want to look worth saving!" So, in their honour, I will have a hairdo today, so I look worth saving tomorrow. Pennie, what a terrible thing to have happen. I can't believe you did it yourself with a spray of water, maybe stitches dissolved before they were supposed to? Happy birthday, Carol. 🎂🥂 I do approve of bar codes, but I wonder if QR codes will now get a day of their own. They seem to be the latest thing. I like the Harry Potter books. My mother wrote a memoire of our time in the prison camp, I wish I had asked her more questions about it. We haven't been to Oman, and I think I will cook half a salmon tonight, so there will be leftovers. We had pork chops a few days ago.

Good morning, Dailyites! Every morning, with my second cup of coffee, I read the Daily News and then I line up my port pictures (if I have any) make my list of birthdays, anniversaries, patients, . And by the time I've done all that the day has begun and I never get back to it. Then, the next day, I discard all yesterday's photos and start over! Anyway, I'm here, thinking of you all. Hope Roy had a happy birthday, and that those ailing are improving. Terry, I think of you and Tana and your families so often. And Terri has had one catastrophe after another. Things are going smoothly here. The guests have gone. I have one picture to post of our visit to Butchart's, it was a beautiful day. We decided the tea at the Empress is better than the tea at Butchart's, but it was very nice (and half the price of the Empress). I had my bloodwork and ECG yesterday, doctor's appointment today, haircut on Wednesday (must look worth saving!), and the op is Thursday. I should be home the same day. So quite minor, really. I made a carrot cake yesterday (thank you, Melanie) and froze a couple of meals and DD and DH will look after the rest. Don't I wish this were my garden!

Good morning, Dailyites, I have had time to do a quick read of the threads, but no time to post. The visitors have gone to the flower shop and then to the cemetery to visit Janet's parents, so we are alone for the time being. It has been a busy few days, they are leaving tomorrow for Orcas for a week and then home to California. But I am thinking of you all, prayers for Tana that things improve, also for Jacqui. Lambie, I loved the romantic story about Howard, but 52 is much too soon to go. And Gerry, I laughed too, You paint pictures! When Pat was working in Sri Lanka on water supply the group had to follow a stream to locate a water source; when they got back to the hotel, everyone else was bloody from their waists down - leeches had attached themselves to them, but couldn't pass their belts. The hotel staff were horrified. Pat was the only one who wasn't bloody; I had sprayed all around his pant cuffs, as he is allergic to mosquito bites, and that had deterred the leeches. We are going out to Butchart's this afternoon for tea, and then I figured we wouldn't want to eat much tonight so it will be cold BBQ chicken and a salad. Following Tony's example, I have picked a lot of lettuce, washed it and now, hopefully, it is crisping up in the fridge.