Royal Caribbean Cruisers -- How Are Things Where You Are? (was "Routine" ​ 😁 ​day in lockdown... how was yours?)

[Sunshine3601]

@Coralchow is everything where you are?  i hope you are okay and didnt have damage from the bomb cyclone the other day.

[Luckynana]

Just now, Sunshine3601 said:

@Coralchow is everything where you are?  i hope you are okay and didnt have damage from the bomb cyclone the other day.

+1

[DaniDanielle]

Joan Gumb was a legend!

[Coralc]

Thanks for asking. We're having great fun here. (Not) IT"S WET. Localized flooding, mudslides and trees down. We've been fine, and actually sat in the backyard with a neighbor for a couple of hours this afternoon. But the forecast looks like more miserable and dangerous. There has been local damage, but the house races haven't started yet. We are in the hills, and not close to creeks, so as long as we can keep power and the sump pump running, it should be okay. I only have small, well pruned trees in my yard. I am keeping an eye on a neighbor's uphill pine tree. 

 

Edited January 9, 2023 by Coralc

[brillohead]

11 hours ago, BonTexasNY said:

Thank you and @Sunshine3601Debbie, for the great Cocoa Cay advice.  I think Jack and I will gravitate to Chill Island.  We prefer to sit in the shade and I doubt one umbrella will do it.  Are there trees we can sit under?  I'm hoping bathrooms won't be too far.  I love Paradise Beach in Cozumel because of the many palm trees that provide natural shade without having to move every time the sun shifts.

The umbrellas provide pretty good coverage, because they have them fairly low to the ground.  (Watch your head when you stand up!)  

[aussielozzie18]

21 hours ago, sgmn said:

There's a Van Gogh immersive experience on in London till the end of Feb. I was thinking of booking it. Wonder if it's the same as the one you went on

https://vangoghexpo.com/london/?utm_source=google&utm_medium=mybusiness&utm_campaign=96397_lon

Ours is called Van Gogh Alive.  It’s mainly projecting his artworks and diary entries across the walls of a large exhibition space.  The immersive experience looks to be more “immersive” ie you can do VR and create art etc. Actually it sounds very similar to the Frida Kahlo experience I did.  
If you decide to go, I am sure you will enjoy.

Hope your Pilates class went well.

[aussielozzie18]

10 hours ago, dani negreanu said:

@aussielozzie18

 

Your beautiful pictures yesterday reminded me of my fav video of our eldest son, which captured so well his love for animals and laid back character...

 

When he was still a flight attendant, he took the opportunity to visit one of his best friends, who initially had a grant to study at Monash University, and then choose to remain in Melbourne.

 

 

 

 

Such a lovely video.  Thanks for sharing it.

[aussielozzie18]

4 hours ago, singinalot said:

apparently I haven’t been on here since before the new year? idk. cc is telling me i haven’t looked at this thread since before the new year and that I’m 30 pages behind. 😬 I’ve got a lot of reading to do. 

 

While I catch up, here’s a photo of Nate, Sam, and I on Christmas Eve because I also can’t remember if I posted this here 🤷‍♀️ 

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year.  Lovely photo of you both.  Love the jacket.  Even Sam  is posing nicely.

Edited January 9, 2023 by aussielozzie18

[grapau27]

5 hours ago, singinalot said:

apparently I haven’t been on here since before the new year? idk. cc is telling me i haven’t looked at this thread since before the new year and that I’m 30 pages behind. 😬 I’ve got a lot of reading to do. 

 

While I catch up, here’s a photo of Nate, Sam, and I on Christmas Eve because I also can’t remember if I posted this here 🤷‍♀️ 

Lovely photo.

[Sunshine3601]

9 hours ago, Coralc said:

Thanks for asking. We're having great fun here. (Not) IT"S WET. Localized flooding, mudslides and trees down. We've been fine, and actually sat in the backyard with a neighbor for a couple of hours this afternoon. But the forecast looks like more miserable and dangerous. There has been local damage, but the house races haven't started yet. We are in the hills, and not close to creeks, so as long as we can keep power and the sump pump running, it should be okay. I only have small, well pruned trees in my yard. I am keeping an eye on a neighbor's uphill pine tree. 

 

Glad to hear you are okay.  Here's hoping you stay OK and neighbors tree stays put.🙏

[bobmacliberty]

13 hours ago, h20skibum said:

They did their part for the Steeler’s chances for a playoff spot.  Too bad the Jets didn’t hold up their end on the deal and beat the Dolphins.   What an ugly game that was.

 

At least the Steelers finished strong.

 

16 straight non-losing seasons for Tomlin.  Impressive.

 

13 hours ago, Sea Dog said:

 

I watched the game and Josh played incredible especially with Diggs. That guy is amazing. I really think the emotion they are riding on will not only carry them into the super bowl but win it too. And I am saying this as a Chiefs fan.

 

I hope you're right, but sooner or later they'll need to play better.  Getting by the Dolphins, Bengals and the Chiefs in a row will be tough.

 

11 hours ago, Jimbo said:

NFC Philadelphia Eagles    ---- Tied with AFC Kansas City Chiefs with 14 Wins 3 Loses  Best   Records in the NFL in 2022  🙂 

 

 

I'm rooting for a Bills-Eagles Super Bowl.

[h20skibum]

Yes, we are back to walking outside, in the cold, after returning from our trip to Florida.  Saw this guy yesterday.  

 

Also working at removing a few of those extra pounds that came to visit over the holidays.  So far, that has been a success. 

 

[h20skibum]

10 hours ago, Coralc said:

Thanks for asking. We're having great fun here. (Not) IT"S WET. Localized flooding, mudslides and trees down. We've been fine, and actually sat in the backyard with a neighbor for a couple of hours this afternoon. But the forecast looks like more miserable and dangerous. There has been local damage, but the house races haven't started yet. We are in the hills, and not close to creeks, so as long as we can keep power and the sump pump running, it should be okay. I only have small, well pruned trees in my yard. I am keeping an eye on a neighbor's uphill pine tree. 

 

Our son has been experiencing some of that same weather.  They too are up the hill and away from the streams, but their house backs up against some pretty steep hillsides.

 

So far, they have just had high winds and lots of rain and no power loss.  They are hoping they don’t see any problems from these next few days of storms.

 

[h20skibum]

I am looking for a little info from our friends here, on tires.  On both of our SUVs, I have been running Michelin Latitude Tours, and they have given me good mileage, ride, and performance in the snow.  However, Michelin discontinued these and replaced them with Tour HPs, which do not appear to be as good.

 

So now I am researching new tires for our Highlander. I have looked at a couple from Goodyear that rate high.  I have been looking at Goodyear Assurance Comfortdrive and the Goodyear CC2.  Both appear to rate pretty high.  The only thing that concerns me is the CC2 has a directional tread, so rotations could only be front to back on the same side of the vehicle.

 

Anyone have any experience with either of these?  If so, how are they for ride quality, quietness, and performance in snow?  Or, has anyone used other tires that they would recommend.

[dani negreanu]

7 hours ago, aussielozzie18 said:

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year.  Lovely photo of you both.  Love the jacket.  Even Sam  is posing nicely.

 

6 hours ago, grapau27 said:

Lovely photo.

 

+ 3, Crystal @singinalot

 

If I may ask, how do you like your new job, how is Sam's fence business doing, how do you like being "Floridians"?

 

You're the 3rd couple who moved to "Florida" since I've started this thread.... ( @bobmacliberty, @helen haywood ) 🌹, but the only ones still working.

[George C]

2 hours ago, bobmacliberty said:

 

16 straight non-losing seasons for Tomlin.  Impressive.

 

 

I hope you're right, but sooner or later they'll need to play better.  Getting by the Dolphins, Bengals and the Chiefs in a row will be tough.

 

 

I'm rooting for a Bills-Eagles Super Bowl.

I was very glad Eagles won and cowboys lost but want a repeat of Bills Giants super bowl with a different end , Eagles are more likely.

[Sea Dog]

12 hours ago, singinalot said:

apparently I haven’t been on here since before the new year? idk. cc is telling me i haven’t looked at this thread since before the new year and that I’m 30 pages behind. 😬 I’ve got a lot of reading to do. 

 

While I catch up, here’s a photo of Nate, Sam, and I on Christmas Eve because I also can’t remember if I posted this here 🤷‍♀️ 

 

Great picture of you guys! I hope you had a great holiday season and I am looking forward to hearing of your new adventures in 2023.

[helen haywood]

As @dani negreanu mentioned, we did just move to Florida.  I’d really wanted to move for some time, but DH did not…and you have to choose your battles.  I honestly don’t know what gave me the strength to push through and actually get him to go along with my desire.  I remember he looked so miserable the day we made an offer on the new home….but in his Christmas card to me he said it was absolutely the right decision and he was very happy we made the move.  

Over the past difficult year I’ve prayed often for strength and guidance and each time my prayers were answered.  One time when I was very miserable and caught up an endless loop of bad thoughts the answer I heard was “cats and present.”  Not what I thought I’d hear!  But I took it to mean I should focus on the things that brought me joy…and to stay in the present…not obsess over the past or worry about the future.

 

On to more temporal matters, DH just discovered that the new build next door does not have a water meter and is tied into ours!!!  Seems this occurred some time ago when our house was the building company’s office/model and the house next door was just a lot.  So he’s already spoken to an employee of the building company who said he’d take care of it…but he’s going to try to escalate today and get it in writing that we will be reimbursed for water the other house’s irrigation system is using.  So moving to Florida isn’t all just lying on the beach!!

[BonTexasNY]

We're looking for a cruise out of Galveston in 2024. non holiday, non summer.  Lots of options.  Good rates on Harmony but the lower rates always indicate guarantee inside non-refundable deposit.  Our criteria is refundable and NOT a guarantee cabin.  We'll do the choosing thank you very much. Still early so we shall see. 

 

Lots of Carnival which I refuse to cruise ever since they botched up a cruise and had Jack and I sitting alone at a table for 4, not allowing us to join our table of 10 friends.  We all booked at the same time, using the same TA who sent me Carnival's written confirmation that we were all linked for dining. We all talked until we were blue in the face but it did no good.  We even suggested 2 tables of 6 each but were told it wasn't possible.  BTW, initially, Jack and I were booked in a different dining room than our friends.  Carnival Triumph had two different dining rooms.  Yes, THAT ship but thankfully years before the poop cruise.

 

Luckily, they moved us to our friends dining room and since nobody was assigned to our table of 4, each night, 2 different friends sat with us. They did not allow Jack and I to sit at the "big table" but allowed our friends to sit at our table.   We made lemonade out of lemons so it turned out to be sort of doable.

 

I wish I kept the letter I wrote to Carnival headquarters. It was a masterpiece.  For my trouble, I received a voucher for some beauty items in the SPA to be used on a future cruise.  Seriously?  I just wanted to be "heard".

 

OK, rant over.  Sorry!

[DaniDanielle]

Crystal, beautiful photo😁

[Biker19]

41 minutes ago, BonTexasNY said:

I wish I kept the letter I wrote to Carnival headquarters. It was a masterpiece.

You should have kept it - you may need for RCI as well.

[Lionesss]

@singinalot

 

Beautiful picture.

I was only gone for a weekend and had many many pages to catch up on.

 

 

 

Football Playoffs..............................False hope.

 

Being married to a Dolphin die hard every year over and over we go through the excitement phase of what could be another Super Bowl win.....................................not.

 

By them making the playoffs we are now working our Sunday events around the game.

 

Well, honestly, it should be over with after this weekend.

 

Love my husband, 

Kinda like the Dolphins (Came with Marriage)

Gonna love Sunday after the game

 

Take care

 

Too those who have talented winning teams in the playoffs.........Best of luck, and hope your team wins.

 

Ready for Spring

Soon

 

 

[TravelGirlinDallas]

Speaking of football, Brian is beside himself over tonight's college football championship game. His alma mater TCU probably won't win, but it's pretty amazing that they made it to this point at all. I'll be cheering along even though I went to Baylor. 😄

[dani negreanu]

1 hour ago, singinalot said:

This tile sample is in my top 2 so far. 

 

I like it very much. Wondering which is #1 😉

[bobmacliberty]

48 minutes ago, TravelGirlinDallas said:

Speaking of football, Brian is beside himself over tonight's college football championship game. His alma mater TCU probably won't win, but it's pretty amazing that they made it to this point at all. I'll be cheering along even though I went to Baylor. 😄

 

I think 90% of the country (including me) will be rooting for TCU.  But my guess is that 90% of the country will be disappointed.  Then again, I thought the same thing about the Michigan game.  Who knows?