Silversea Water Cooler: Welcome! Part Four

Hi Mysty....... I know that song............

Mysty, I don't know that song but the lyrics are those of a mother being hopeful for the chid's future... I wish we were all that hopeful within the realities smothering us now...

Hi Cam .....I did not take the lyrics literally. :) I prefer to think of them as the universe offering soothing words of comfort and hope for a brighter tomorrow for all!

Lois.....I remember dancing to that song when it was first released. :)

Very good interpretation, Mysty, and I wish it were so.

Grandkids coming today for an overnighter... They think Lala should not sleep alone as Abu is on work related travel. Of course, Lala places no curfew on the tablets! The joys of grand-parenting.

If God loved us, as some claim, then he would have created Hobnobs with less than 92 calories.

Actually, he or she would have created all food with NO calories. :) And would have ensured that we would survive on NO calories. BTW...what are Hobnobs?

Congrats to GB athlete Lizzy Yarnold. First from GB to win two gold medals (repeat) in the winter games. Ever!

"GREAT BRITAIN’S*LIZZY YARNOLD*BROKE THE TRACK RECORD IN THE FINAL HEAT AT THE ALPENSIA SLIDING CENTRE AT*PYEONGCHANG 2018*ON SATURDAY 17 FEBRUARY, AND IN DOING SO WON A SECOND CONSECUTIVE WOMEN’S* SKELETON*GOLD.

Yarnold became the first British athlete to defend an Olympic Winter Games title, as well as the most decorated British winter Olympian, with her victory. Her time of 51.46 seconds in the fourth heat broke the track record by two tenths of a second and was enough to apply substantial pressure on Austria’s Janine Flock. The 28-year-old Flock had led by just two-hundredths of a second after the third heat and was last to race, but eventually finished fourth.'

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BTW...what are Hobnobs?

They’re an oat cookie. (The brits call them ‘biscuits’ though.) Best ones have one side coated in dark chocolate. We can get them here on the west coast.

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G'Day!

Love the 'Hobnobbing' which can of course mean something totally different to biscuits....😉 But are our biscuits better than cookies....have found the US biscuits with gravy quite bland...almost akin to our plain scones...whatever the calories!

A northern lights trip would be wonderful....if guaranteed! Have however seen the curvature of the earth from the Concorde cabin which was pretty spectacular.

Happy Weekend 😊

Good morning..........I have not watched much of the Olympics but I did see Lizzy win her medal yesterday:)

Congratulations to Lizzy and to the UK.

Good Afternoon All .....

Today is good day ... I felt our safari to Singapore next January was a touch too short so I added a few days and we are almost three weeks there now.

Our regular preferred suite is confirmed and they promise to have it ready and waiting with tables and chairs in our little garden. Our favourite 2K and 3K are booked on the 380 which is better than the previous booking which was the 777 ie the Sydney flight. I suspect it is a sign of getting older when you enjoy familiarity of having things as they have been. Our new Merc company has confirmed the pickup and delivery. We fired Chris the Merc for being too irritating and mouthy and argumentative and unreliable.

So the hawker and food centres of Singapore beckons for anyone who feels like stopping by during January 2019. Just book yourself into the IC Singapore ensuring you have Club Access so we can have a Cooler happy hour each evening on a few tables that I will reserve. This trip is only suitable for idlers.

Today was (depending on who you believe) Afghan or Persian or Iranian (!) koobideh or even perhaps somewhere else kebabs with rice, salad and pitta.

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Jeff, Singapore in January 2019 sounds very nice. But we will likely be in Patagonia because that is the month of Chris's big birthday (yes, she is finally turning 30...) and she's said that Patagonia is her preferred destination. Since I got to choose Australia for my big birthday it's only fair that I let her choose her destination. And it does look amazing.

On the other hand we will be in London at some point in September of this year. We'll be on the Wind, disembarking at Tower Bridge. So perhaps an abbreviated Cooler Happy Hour then.

We are both working this weekend. For me, it's my second weekend in a row but it was either that, or work the following weekend. If I did that, Chris would have still had to work this weekend, so we'd have been stuck working three weekends in a row. So luckily I was able to switch and work this weekend instead.

The kebabs look amazing and I wish I could cook those. But Chris does not like lamb very much so it's not worth taking the chance. I eat lamb when we are out to dinner and she can have something else. She often likes it when I let her have some of mine, but she has bad memories of poorly-prepared mutton at home and she is convinced that she won't like it.

Yesterday we had some snowfall in the late evening and overnight. It made for a beautiful morning as the sun poked through the clouds and lit up a white wonderland.

We went in to work early and luckily it wasn't too bad. We had time to go out for a walk this afternoon, and as we were coming home we saw a flock of wild turkeys walk off of our lawn and cross the street. They left many tracks in our driveway.

Last night I fired up the grill before the snow flew and made an old recipe that we hadn't had in quite some time. Pork chops marinated in brandy, molasses, and mustard, then grilled along with slices of sweet potato. I roasted beets to accompany.

It was all served with a "dressing" that was made from the same ingredients as the marinade, plus some green onions and citrus (lime and orange) juices and oil, all whisked to the right consistency. Tasty.

Off to watch more Olympics coverage. Thankful for the DVR! It makes the events go by much faster.

Oh shucks, JP, we'll be in London in October, so will miss your Cooler happy hour with Jeff in September. You all will have fun, I'm sure.

We, of course, had snow as well...it was lovely this morning. The kids left early with their parents to a Coin Collectors Convention as the boy is into coin collecting. Anyway, we had a fun slumber party and watched the iMoji Movie, which was actually quite entertaining. Relaxing with a Sentido de Boro tempranillo wine this evening.....

Hi folks, not sure if any of you saw some of the students from Parkland on the news shows this morning............now these

young adults make me very proud:) and maybe, just maybe some positive change will come.................

Lois....the young adults and all the others who have voiced their sincere concern over the current situation seem to be voices screaming into the void. The NRA is a very powerful lobby funding many campaigns. Nothing will change just because there are many voices crying in anguish. Unfortunately! The current administration is not motivated to change anything. That is where change needs to start and they are not listening.

Lois....the young adults and all the others who have voiced their sincere concern over the current situation seem to be voices screaming into the void. The NRA is a very powerful lobby funding many campaigns. Nothing will change just because there are many voices crying in anguish. Unfortunately! The current administration is not motivated to change anything. That is where change needs to start and they are not listening.

Hi Mysty..........I know......but remember, the young people will be old enough to vote in 2020....(well, some of them)...........

and it if takes 2 more years and that brings the change..........hoping for sooner but we know our mid terms are later this year

as well.............

I agree with your assessment about the NRA.........but hoping SOMETHING can change................I know this Congress and this White House have done nothing and the mass shootings continue:mad:

Good Evening all ....

JP - those plates look lovely - a lovely thought and our hopes were raised for a Cooler meet up and perhaps a night up in London for us but if I'm correct you are on the Stockholm to London cruise? If so that arrives on my birthday ie September 17th and Wind arrives just as I think I mentioned a while back, we are getting on BA to go to Vienna for our birthdays as I'm 36 hours older than wifey. We will however raise an extremely early morning glass to you both as we wind our way to a few days of drink and pork of various types. Enjoy London.

Don't give up on koobideh as it is also made with beef and chicken and blends. I normally make Adana or Beyti kebabs and this was koobideh and I'd read one authentic version that mixed lamb and beef and that is what I did ie a third beef two-thirds lamb mixed with grated and de-watered onion, fresh mint, sumac, onion and garlic salt , ground black pepper and some chilli and some egg to bind. To be honest I added a little too much chilli and I'm missing it out completely next time. I would make it with beef and substitute oregano or marjoram or thyme for the mint.

M, I reckon that there is a route to improve the gun situation in the US but it would require slow progress ....... slowlee slowlee catchee monkee ..... you start with a binding referendum on the issue of no more sales of automatic weapons which I think would have a majority of support ... and that would be just stage one ..... ;)

J...I firmly believe there is a route to improve the gun situation in the US. What I am not convinced of is the actual desire to make that first step to the slow progress. Many have voiced concern, there is much suffering, much pain and nothing changes. How many more situations like the latest need to happen before the first baby step is taken? There was a powerful poem circulating on FB that said it all for me.

M,

The reason why I suggested an extremely slow route is because I think that the chances of progress is extremely remote, but at least an effort should be made. American kids deserve that effort. The way to do that imho is to do it extremely slowly and in the way that the hard line that may be taken by the NRA supporters is marginilsed over time to be made to be seen as selfish undemocratic extremists. The fact is that one of their main arguments is that the US is safer with gun ownership because gun owners can shoot idiots with guns. But this doesn't seem to me to happen as it seems to me that most of the crims are shot by armed police.

A way of starting the marginilisation process is to pick on the lower easiest fruit first which I take to be a referendum on whether the future sale of fully or semi automatic weapons be stopped on a simple majority of those that vote. I think that might be won. The NRA lobby would object but basically it only takes the inevitable next multiple killing by an idiot with an automatic weapon - and even terribly another school shooting which now regularly seems to happen - for the concensus to swing sharply in favour. The argument would be that they can still own weapons but not quick fire automatic or semi-automatics. A positive referndum decision to curtail the sale of semi and fully automatics will cause some civil unrest but it will then further marginilse the NRA lobby because they will be see as acting selfishly and undemocratically and risking childrens' lives.

You then wait for an extended period for acceptance to spread and then perhaps a further binding referendum on making ownership of exisitng automatic and semi automatic firearms with a deadline to surrender them. Stage two is of course difficult, but yet again a few more multiple school deaths at the hands of psycopaths will I suggest further harden middle American resolve. And then a decade or so later stage three ........

Of course people will say "this won't work" or "nothing will work" but no one knows. I am not saying this would certainly work, but I think it might be the best path I can think of to offer a small chance of gradual acceptance and improvement. And if it failed at least there would be a clear lobby and group to blame when history continually repeats itself.

That's a reasonable approach J! I support your suggestion! Should we head to Washington? :) Seriously this could actually make a difference!

G'Day!

 

Love the 'Hobnobbing' which can of course mean something totally different to biscuits....😉 But are our biscuits better than cookies....have found the US biscuits with gravy quite bland...almost akin to our plain scones...whatever the calories!

 

A northern lights trip would be wonderful....if guaranteed! Have however seen the curvature of the earth from the Concorde cabin which was pretty spectacular.

 

Happy Weekend 😊[/quote

The Concorde was incredible. There was no door to the cockpit, and the captain let us come in and take pictures. That would not happen these days!

Good Morning ....

freshly made smoked haddock and endive chowder with Russian rye sourdough and a glass or two of boîte de blanc ....

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Hearty and healthy Jeff.

A meal of sustenance...

Agree no teenager and in fact no adult should have the capability of purchasing an automatic weapon meant for military use.

These are weapons meant for waging war not for sport.

I won't get into the topic of war.

Greetings Coolers! Sunny and warmish here. It is only February so all bets are off!

Soup looks delish J!

Spins....there are no words!

As for why all bets are off on the weather....today's funny.....

Have a great day all!

We are settled into our daughters house in the country and autumn appears to have come early. We need the heaters on in the mornings (12C- feels like 7C)!!

We had an email (with pictures) from the new owners of our house and we had missed a cupboard with cups and bowls. We will pick them up next time we pass.

As this was our 23rd move we felt we were good at moving, but after 15 years in the house and being much older it was stressful.

Now to unpack in a few months when the house is finished and I’m sure we will need to do another "cull" of stuff!