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

[grapau27]

Good afternoon.

I did a few sales calls today and now having a relaxing time drinking coffee and looking out to sea.

[dani negreanu]

@Momof3gurlz Deb,

 

When you alight at San Zaccaria stop, you'll see right in front of you a "hole in the wall" --

 

 

Go through it --

 

 

and you'll emerge in a nice square.

 

Continue until the end and turn left (we're talking a few meters....)

 

 

On the corner, on your right -- Hotel Fontana 😎

 

 

Rinse and repeat whenever you need the vaporetto 😉

 

[cruisingpeople]

12 hours ago, George C said:

This was one of the loudest storms I have ever heard. Winds up to 80 miles a hour. I find it annoying that every local station played nothing but weather news from 4 pm to at least 8 . 

 

Do you have to deal with the same type of clowns that we have here in the northeast ?  During a normal weather forecast, they stand there with their jackets and ties all nice and straight and talk like human beings.

Then, when the "Huge" weather event happens, (up here that would be rain as far as these guys are concerned), the jackets come off, the tie gets loosened and the shirt sleeves get rolled up. Now you have 2 of them hovering over the monitor with their telestrater showing you that it's raining heavily on Edwards Street and then they move about 8 blocks to the north and show you its raining on Isabelle Terrace. Then they move 12 blocks to the West-South-West and tell you it's raining on Churchill Drive.

Well "DUH", it kind of stands to reason that since it's raining throughout the entire state, (according to the radar), that it's going to be wet all over the place. Some times I think that the original problem started with their ties being to tight and cutting off the oxygen to their brains and this was the end result.

 

OK... Rant over.... Dismounting from soapbox.

[Sea Dog]

5 hours ago, brillohead said:

DNA update:

I contacted my suspected half-brother on Wednesday afternoon.  He was floored.  I found out that one of his uncles was in this area at the time of my conception, so there's a possibility we're cousins instead of half-siblings.  (His other uncle isn't a possibility for my birthfather, because I got a DNA match of "cousin" with that uncle's daughter -- if it was him, we'd have matched as half-siblings instead.)  I ordered him a DNA kit, it should arrive on Monday, so hopefully within 3-4 weeks we'll know for sure.  

I actually kinda hope he's my cousin instead of brother, because his uncle is still alive and would happily accept me as his daughter, whereas my suspected brother's father passed away in 2016. The way my suspected brother put it, however long it takes to drive from Alabama to my house is how long it would take for me to get a knock on my front door if we find out it's his uncle who is my father.  

Either way, I have an aunt who lives about ten miles away from me, and a bunch of cousins and second cousins.  My paternal grandfather was one of at least 8 kids, and he had at least 10 kids with three wives.  My paternal grandmother was one of 12 kids, and she had at least 5 kids with two husbands.  So I have roughly eleventy bazillion cousins, second cousins, third cousins, etc. 

With such huge families on both my grandfather's and my grandmother's sides, it makes a lot more sense why out of the 70K matches off my DNA, 48K are from my paternal DNA and only 19K are from my maternal DNA!

And no matter which of the brothers is my father, it appears that I'm going to be welcomed into the family by pretty much everyone.  I've already been told that I'm coming to the family reunion in June!  LOL  My suspected brother has told me that he wants to get to know me, whether I'm his sister or his cousin.  ❤️

 

All in all, this is about the best outcome I could have hoped for. So many adoptees (or even just people who find out from DNA that they have a different blood family.... lots of people are discovering through DNA tests that their father wasn't really their father) get the cold shoulder when they try to make contact with their relatives.  Even in my own case, my aunts (my birthmother's sisters) have been more welcoming and accepting of me than the woman who carried me.  

So it will be about a month until we know for sure which is my father, but everyone says that they can tell by my pictures that I'm definitely one of the family.  After five decades of not belonging and not being wanted (my adoptive family put the "fun" in "dysfunctional"), it sure does put a warm fuzzy feeling in my heart to "belong" somewhere.  

 

<<< We now return you to your previously scheduled programming, already in progress. Further updates as events warrant. >>> 

What great news Debbie. I hope everything turns out the way you wish. Keep us updated and good luck.

[Luckynana]

11 hours ago, BonTexasNY said:

 

Nothing was damaged due to the storm and our electric is on poles.  I read the cost to bury lines underground would be prohibitive.  We never lost power for which I'm happy.

I just got on and saw that you had horrific storms last night.  Good to hear that all is good, Bonnie!

[voyager70]

5 minutes ago, cruisingpeople said:

 

Do you have to deal with the same type of clowns that we have here in the northeast ?  During a normal weather forecast, they stand there with their jackets and ties all nice and straight and talk like human beings.

Then, when the "Huge" weather event happens, (up here that would be rain as far as these guys are concerned), the jackets come off, the tie gets loosened and the shirt sleeves get rolled up. Now you have 2 of them hovering over the monitor with their telestrater showing you that it's raining heavily on Edwards Street and then they move about 8 blocks to the north and show you its raining on Isabelle Terrace. Then they move 12 blocks to the West-South-West and tell you it's raining on Churchill Drive.

Well "DUH", it kind of stands to reason that since it's raining throughout the entire state, (according to the radar), that it's going to be wet all over the place. Some times I think that the original problem started with their ties being to tight and cutting off the oxygen to their brains and this was the end result.

 

OK... Rant over.... Dismounting from soapbox.

I agree. TV weather people have gotten totally over the top in recent years. I long for the days when they just reported the weather without trying to win an award for best dramatic performance.

[mets07]

11 hours ago, Bailey &amp; Sophie said:

Now I'm reading Before She Disappeared by Lisa Gardner. Just started but I think it will be a good one.

@Bailey & SophieI read that and most of her other books. They are very good.

[George C]

1 hour ago, BonTexasNY said:

I am so happy that your DNA journey has brought you to your family who are welcoming you no matter what the final outcome will be.  Well done.

Some are not necessarily happy with results, my wife father had two brothers and they both had a child while very young in one case we rethink father didn’t even know . In the other case the father did know and a couple of his sons were extremely upset , the one went to his father’s funeral, happy to say he was adopted and had a very successful career , I am sure we will see him and his wife again we tried to talk them into joining us for a cruise he is happily retired and living in Florida. I had no surprises in my family dna.

[Luckynana]

36 minutes ago, dani negreanu said:

@Momof3gurlz Deb,

 

When you alight at San Zaccaria stop, you'll see right in front of you a "hole in the wall" --

 

 

Go through it --

 

 

and you'll emerge in a nice square.

 

Continue until the end and turn left (we're talking a few meters....)

 

 

On the corner, on your right -- Hotel Fontana 😎

 

 

Rinse and repeat whenever you need the vaporetto 😉

 

Wow, Dani!  You are amazing!  Jim said this would be worth saving...and he's right.  Done!  (I think)..I'll have to check my "bookmark" on my Chromebook

[Luckynana]

@brilloheadThat is one great discovery in your dna search, Debbie!  It sounds like you have quite a huge and welcoming family to look forward to meeting.  I am so happy for you!!!!!!!💕

[lenquixote66]

We received a Flood Alert Notice this morning .Our part of LI is expected to have heavy precipitation between 7 :00 this evening and 11:00 tomorrow morning .

We have water bodies on all 4 sides of us..

[joeyancho]

7 hours ago, brillohead said:

DNA update:

 

I contacted my suspected half-brother on Wednesday afternoon. He was floored. I found out that one of his uncles was in this area at the time of my conception, so there's a possibility we're cousins instead of half-siblings. (His other uncle isn't a possibility for my birthfather, because I got a DNA match of "cousin" with that uncle's daughter -- if it was him, we'd have matched as half-siblings instead.) I ordered him a DNA kit, it should arrive on Monday, so hopefully within 3-4 weeks we'll know for sure.  

 

I actually kinda hope he's my cousin instead of brother, because his uncle is still alive and would happily accept me as his daughter, whereas my suspected brother's father passed away in 2016. The way my suspected brother put it, however long it takes to drive from Alabama to my house is how long it would take for me to get a knock on my front door if we find out it's his uncle who is my father.  

 

Either way, I have an aunt who lives about ten miles away from me, and a bunch of cousins and second cousins. My paternal grandfather was one of at least 8 kids, and he had at least 10 kids with three wives. My paternal grandmother was one of 12 kids, and she had at least 5 kids with two husbands. So I have roughly eleventy bazillion cousins, second cousins, third cousins, etc. 

 

With such huge families on both my grandfather's and my grandmother's sides, it makes a lot more sense why out of the 70K matches off my DNA, 48K are from my paternal DNA and only 19K are from my maternal DNA!

 

And no matter which of the brothers is my father, it appears that I'm going to be welcomed into the family by pretty much everyone. I've already been told that I'm coming to the family reunion in June! LOL My suspected brother has told me that he wants to get to know me, whether I'm his sister or his cousin. ❤️

 

 

 

All in all, this is about the best outcome I could have hoped for. So many adoptees (or even just people who find out from DNA that they have a different blood family.... lots of people are discovering through DNA tests that their father wasn't really their father) get the cold shoulder when they try to make contact with their relatives. Even in my own case, my aunts (my birthmother's sisters) have been more welcoming and accepting of me than the woman who carried me.  

 

So it will be about a month until we know for sure which is my father, but everyone says that they can tell by my pictures that I'm definitely one of the family. After five decades of not belonging and not being wanted (my adoptive family put the "fun" in "dysfunctional"), it sure to "belong" somewhere.  

 

 

 

 

<<< We now return you to your previously scheduled programming, already in progress. Further updates as events warrant. >>> 

 

 

Well you certainly have a large Christmas card list

[Momof3gurlz]

2 hours ago, dani negreanu said:

@Momof3gurlz Deb,

 

When you alight at San Zaccaria stop, you'll see right in front of you a "hole in the wall" --

 

 

Go through it --

 

 

and you'll emerge in a nice square.

 

Continue until the end and turn left (we're talking a few meters....)

 

 

On the corner, on your right -- Hotel Fontana 😎

 

 

Rinse and repeat whenever you need the vaporetto 😉

 

 

1 hour ago, Luckynana said:

Wow, Dani!  You are amazing!  Jim said this would be worth saving...and he's right.  Done!  (I think)..I'll have to check my "bookmark" on my Chromebook

Dani thank you so much for this!  As Maryann said, you are amazing.  I’m now trying to learn how to bookmark as I know there will be so much more information I want to save.  Until now, I’ve taken screenshots of posts I want to keep but that doesn’t always work with long ones because there are multiple shots I then have to piece together. 
@Sunshine3601 wish you were joining to Bella cruise too.

@FromSea2ShiningSea what a beautiful wedding weekend, thank you for sharing the photos. 
@brillohead Im happy your search turned out so well! 

[Momof3gurlz]

Well we’re on the road headed to our first stop in Pennsylvania.  Bella Cruise, here we come!  

[dani negreanu]

Just now, Momof3gurlz said:

Bella Cruise, here we come!

 

Have a safe trip, with the cherry at the end 😘 

 

Helen (aka fromseatoshining sea) has my whatsapp number, take it from her, just in case 😉

[Lionesss]

1 hour ago, Momof3gurlz said:

Well we’re on the road headed to our first stop in Pennsylvania.  Bella Cruise, here we come!  

 

Safe travels.

 

Looking forward to meeting you.

 

Prayers for safe jounrey.

[cruisingpeople]

1 hour ago, Momof3gurlz said:

Well we’re on the road headed to our first stop in Pennsylvania.  Bella Cruise, here we come!  

 

Have a safe trip. See you next weekend.

[Lionesss]

So, when we built our house in 1993, we were so thrilled we saved for 3 years  and got exactly what we wanted.

 

Now to the current situation.

 

We want a concrete patio, and concrete walkways, driveway and concrete pad to the man cave.

 

Back in 1995 we added on a deck.

That was built so strong, that you could drive a tank on it.

Support beams, tons of them, and it lasted 28 years.

It needs to go by by, old, looks trashy.

 

The current situation.

So, as the old deck was torn down, and all those support beams removed and prepped the area for the future patio, the contractor informed us that he had damaged one panel of siding, and he will replace at his cost.

When he had the parts, he removed the panel and here underneath was an area 5 feet by 10 feet with no underneath insulation, and/or anything you prep the area with before the siding goes up.  

So our original builders pulled a fast one.

He did find a large home of carpenter ants.And a large hole that led into our family room, underneath the base floor.

So back to the store

 

Ant killer spray and whatever else.

Insulation

The prep stuff 

And more siding.

 

So unless you watch your builder, document with pictures, you never know how they save money.

 

Oh we have pictures of every aspect of this construction..............or should I say destruction.

 

Oh Bella cruise...........................I need you..................take me away................

 

Be safe

 

[HBE4]

I probably should know that but what are the dates of the Bella cruise?  I know pre-production work has started on an epic LIVE thread & I'll be on the look out for it but please mention it here  once it's up and running. It's one thread I want to make sure I'm keep up to date with as I'm sure it'll be big and fast moving! 

[HBE4]

8 hours ago, brillohead said:

Either way, I have an aunt who lives about ten miles away from me, and a bunch of cousins and second cousins.  My paternal grandfather was one of at least 8 kids, and he had at least 10 kids with three wives.  My paternal grandmother was one of 12 kids, and she had at least 5 kids with two husbands.  So I have roughly eleventy bazillion cousins, second cousins, third cousins, etc. 

With such huge families on both my grandfather's and my grandmother's sides, it makes a lot more sense why out of the 70K matches off my DNA, 48K are from my paternal DNA and only 19K are from my maternal DNA!

 

That is awesome news and I'm sincerely happy for you, especially that they will welcome you into the family.

 

But there is not going to be a test on the above info, is there? 😉😊

[cruisingpeople]

9 minutes ago, HBE4 said:

I probably should know that but what are the dates of the Bella cruise?  I know pre-production work has started on an epic LIVE thread & I'll be on the look out for it but please mention it here  once it's up and running. It's one thread I want to make sure I'm keep up to date with as I'm sure it'll be big and fast moving! 

 

The sailing dates are 3/12/23 - 3/19/23. Some of us are arriving early on 3/11 and I believe there are a couple of people coming in on 3/10.

[HBE4]

3 hours ago, cruisingpeople said:

 

Do you have to deal with the same type of clowns that we have here in the northeast ?  During a normal weather forecast, they stand there with their jackets and ties all nice and straight and talk like human beings.

Then, when the "Huge" weather event happens, (up here that would be rain as far as these guys are concerned), the jackets come off, the tie gets loosened and the shirt sleeves get rolled up. Now you have 2 of them hovering over the monitor with their telestrater showing you that it's raining heavily on Edwards Street and then they move about 8 blocks to the north and show you its raining on Isabelle Terrace. Then they move 12 blocks to the West-South-West and tell you it's raining on Churchill Drive.

Well "DUH", it kind of stands to reason that since it's raining throughout the entire state, (according to the radar), that it's going to be wet all over the place. Some times I think that the original problem started with their ties being to tight and cutting off the oxygen to their brains and this was the end result.

 

OK... Rant over.... Dismounting from soapbox.

 

Does NY's WCBS reach your area? If so, you must be talking about Lonnie Quinn. He tries to look like he spent the last 18-24 hours in the office, never leaving his desk,  pouring over a mountain of data trying to get the exact forecast.  It's been a running joke for years. Some will even say the higher the sleeves are rolled up, the more snow we are getting. 😄

 

All links are safe

 

https://www.cbsnews.com/newyork/news/lonnies-rolling-his-sleeves-up-for-the-winter-storm/ 

 

https://twitter.com/thefrankisola/status/690992542171729920 

 

https://www.reddit.com/r/longisland/comments/sf3hxf/lonnies_sleeves_are_rolled_up_looks_like_its/

 

 

[cruisingpeople]

It's WFSB out of Hartford. They must take some kind of "Special Class" to help them be as annoying as possible.

[Sea Dog]

1 hour ago, Momof3gurlz said:

Well we’re on the road headed to our first stop in Pennsylvania.  Bella Cruise, here we come!  

Safe travels wished for you. Hope to see you around the hotel on Saturday. We should arrive sometime after 2:30pm.

[jmh2006]

1 hour ago, Momof3gurlz said:

Well we’re on the road headed to our first stop in Pennsylvania.  Bella Cruise, here we come!  

Hooray!  I can't wait to say the same a week from tomorrow!