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

[Keksie]

1 hour ago, firefly333 said:

You guys are really on a roll this morning.  Good joke on your knees sea dog. I love the Taylor swift chicken name. What a cute idea. 

 

Living here is like being on a cruise with things to do to choose from. The bridge players want to still play bridge July 4 at the vets center. My condo is having a july 4th cook out for $5 and bring a dessert or side. They are providing all beef hot dogs or sloppy joes.  I dont eat hot dogs unless burnt on a grill but ok with sloppy joes. Ladies at aerobics said it would be a good chance to meet other tenants here. It's a very large place. 3 towers.  I'm tower 3 and all are 8 stories. So even in the summer there are still plenty of residents. I'm torn between which to do. My bridge partner wants to play and I hate to say no, but might do the july 4th get together.

 

Today is water aerobics 9 to 10 but by the time I get back here and out of my bathing suit to get to bridge by 1130 ish my hair is still wet and I feel rushed. It does feel a lot like being on a cruise.

 

Food is still the shock, how much higher publix is than kroger was at home. Coffee and produce, a bag of salad. The difference is huge. They do a lot of buy 1 get 1 free and still higher than on sale at kroger.  Margarine 5.99. So still $3 at half price. I'm used to about 2.69. Publix whipped butter 2 for $6 on sale, only 8 oz. And coffee at publix. They have lost their minds. When I used to live in boca there was a fresh produce stand. I havent found anything like that yet though I saw laura went to one over in her area, middle of florida. So too far to drive regularly. I'd noticed John stopping to shop in his posts on his way driving back to top of the world, now I know why.

 

Still working on sunrise shots. I gotta remember not to turn on the living room light before I take pictures, the light reflects. Still lots of clouds but little rain right here. 

 

What we noticed even back in 2019 when we moved here was that food and insurance were a lot more then in Texas.  However property tax and utilities were a lot less so all in all we came out ahead.

[grapau27]

Good afternoon.

It is 70°F and sunny so we went out for lunch.

 

[lenquixote66]

Today is the birthday of my oldest granddaughter.She is 20.

 

We will be celebrating next week as she has been at her college all week helping with welcoming incoming students.

[h20skibum]

I haven’t posted any photos of our SofF4 lately, but we have been busy.  Then, our CA grandson had a fever for a couple days, so we took it easy.  It is good that it is back to normal this morning.  
 

Prior to that, we kept busy with. 

Some golf, with instructions from the pro. 
 

 

She is learning 

 

Plus some hiking 

 

 

with wild life spotted

 

 

 

And always lots of games during bad weather. 
 

 

The kids are getting excited for the cruise, and they are looking forward to hiding and finding ducks.  (Yeah, we will end up being those people)

 

These light up ducks arrived in the mail, so I wonder how many will actually make it to the cruise?  Granddaughter wants one of each color. 
 

We already made tags to attach. 

 

[firefly333]

2 hours ago, Keksie said:

What we noticed even back in 2019 when we moved here was that food and insurance were a lot more then in Texas.  However property tax and utilities were a lot less so all in all we came out ahead.

Well I'm not sure for me true, but this year bought march 7 so it was not occupied jan 1st so cant homestead. Seems I cant get over age 65 either. My other condo you cant get the over 65 exemption  unless you are a resident. I was getting a decent rate on utilities where I lived before though it was a lot less sf. So far I havent seen the savings you did. And to rent out 1 condo thru a property manager I have to pay for a business license each year. And with hoa on that one going from 475 to 680, and seems like they keep raising property taxes. Next year as a florida resident maybe on the other condo i will be allowed to claim over 65 on property utaxes, but I'm getting nailed to be honest. I'm just hoping no more assessments. HOA here went from 612 to 741 a month. For the sf I think it was more reasonable than anything I saw on the beach. One of the reasons I choose this place. Hoa under 1k and over 2000 sf. And still a nice water view. I still think was a good choice for me. I'm enjoying more sf.

 

But savings no, not seeing them. But I havent yet seen the property taxes for the dallas/richardson house i gave to my sister but I'm paying expenses. Without my dad on the title might be a big surprise. 

 

But im really enjoying it here. Tomorrow night is poker night so the guys arent forgotten.

 

How could I resister Dave's killer bread with extra fiber and protein? Lots of new brands I'm enjoying to explore.

 

 

[MJSailors]

My DH and I recently spent four days in Vermont visiting friends who moved there from LI.

They live in Dorset,six miles from Manchester. It is a lovely area-quite peaceful.

We stayed at the Dorset inn, very charming. We visited the Vermont Country store for some retail therapy.

It was a pilgrimage of sorts for me as I have bought items from their catalogue-very interesting store with all kinds of goods and gadgets.

Our travel days were about seven hours and that is taking into account a ferry from LI to Connecticut, with a few stops at Mickey D’s.

It was worth the trip to spend time with our dear friends though.

Wishing all here on Dani’s thread a pleasant Thursday!

MJ🙋🏻‍♀️

[ATG]

20 minutes ago, firefly333 said:

Well I'm not sure for me true, but this year bought march 7 so it was not occupied jan 1st so cant homestead. Seems I cant get over age 65 either. My other condo you cant get the over 65 exemption  unless you are a resident. I was getting a decent rate on utilities where I lived before though it was a lot less sf. So far I havent seen the savings you did. And to rent out 1 condo thru a property manager I have to pay for a business license each year. And with hoa on that one going from 475 to 680, and seems like they keep raising property taxes. Next year as a florida resident maybe on the other condo i will be allowed to claim over 65 on property utaxes, but I'm getting nailed to be honest. I'm just hoping no more assessments. HOA here went from 612 to 741 a month. For the sf I think it was more reasonable than anything I saw on the beach. One of the reasons I choose this place. Hoa under 1k and over 2000 sf. And still a nice water view. I still think was a good choice for me. I'm enjoying more sf.

 

But savings no, not seeing them. But I havent yet seen the property taxes for the dallas/richardson house i gave to my sister but I'm paying expenses. Without my dad on the title might be a big surprise. 

 

But im really enjoying it here. Tomorrow night is poker night so the guys arent forgotten.

 

How could I resister Dave's killer bread with extra fiber and protein? Lots of new brands I'm enjoying to explore.

 

 

I love Publix, ours has a great selection of fruits and vegetables. If you register with them you can see the sneak peek of the Wednesday ad on Tuesday. I look at that and plan my meals to use as many bogo items as possible. Ours also does a 5% senior discount on Wednesday. I don’t mind admitting my age if it saves me money! It’s more expensive than the local Food Lion store, but much nicer.

[NHProud]

31 minutes ago, firefly333 said:

Well I'm not sure for me true, but this year bought march 7 so it was not occupied jan 1st so cant homestead. Seems I cant get over age 65 either. My other condo you cant get the over 65 exemption  unless you are a resident. I was getting a decent rate on utilities where I lived before though it was a lot less sf. So far I havent seen the savings you did. And to rent out 1 condo thru a property manager I have to pay for a business license each year. And with hoa on that one going from 475 to 680, and seems like they keep raising property taxes. Next year as a florida resident maybe on the other condo i will be allowed to claim over 65 on property utaxes, but I'm getting nailed to be honest. I'm just hoping no more assessments. HOA here went from 612 to 741 a month. For the sf I think it was more reasonable than anything I saw on the beach. One of the reasons I choose this place. Hoa under 1k and over 2000 sf. And still a nice water view. I still think was a good choice for me. I'm enjoying more sf.

 

But savings no, not seeing them. But I havent yet seen the property taxes for the dallas/richardson house i gave to my sister but I'm paying expenses. Without my dad on the title might be a big surprise. 

 

But im really enjoying it here. Tomorrow night is poker night so the guys arent forgotten.

 

How could I resister Dave's killer bread with extra fiber and protein? Lots of new brands I'm enjoying to explore.

 

 

There’s an article in today’s Wall Street Journal on Carnival cruise line .  “ Carnival’s Ship is Coming In “ on page B12 .  It’s about shares of Carnival . 
 

Always enjoy reading your posts. 

[DaniDanielle]

Lenny, Happy Birthday wishes for your granddaughter 🎂

[grapau27]

2 hours ago, lenquixote66 said:

Today is the birthday of my oldest granddaughter.She is 20.

 

We will be celebrating next week as she has been at her college all week helping with welcoming incoming students.

Happy 20th birthday today to your dear oldest granddaughter Lenny.

 

Edited Thursday at 04:53 PM by grapau27

[OnTheJourney]

On 5/23/2024 at 8:46 PM, SteelCityCruiser10 said:

deck box full of mint.

As in...the same stuff you make mint tea from? I had it in a flower bed years ago but it runs like crazy. Roots go out basically horizontally! It crowded everything else out, so then I tried putting it in a huge plastic pot and burying the pot in the ground. It didn't grow well in there, so after that I pretty much gave up on it, but now you're inspiring me to try again! Maybe in a container again. What might  have happened is that I dug a huge chunk of it from the bed and put it all in the same pot. Maybe too many roots all in one place all crammed together. I should start from scratch with small plants and see what happens. Love drinking the tea.

[OnTheJourney]

1 hour ago, MJSailors said:

We stayed at the Dorset inn, very charming

Love the whole New England area. Thanks for sharing...

[MJSailors]

@On The Balcony

@OnTheJourney Thank you. Wished it was a shorter trip for us though.

I tried to edit the first CCname.

MJ🙋🏻‍♀️

Edited Thursday at 05:13 PM by MJSailors

[helen haywood]

@h20skibum Hey, idly wondering what you did for Summer of Fun #1.  I tried to go back to 2020 in this thread…oddly enough one page ends on May 29 and the next page picks up in late July!  So there appear to be some missing pages…. But perhaps you weren’t posting then.  Just wondered what you guys did in summer lockdown.

[h20skibum]

1 hour ago, helen haywood said:

@h20skibum Hey, idly wondering what you did for Summer of Fun #1.  I tried to go back to 2020 in this thread…oddly enough one page ends on May 29 and the next page picks up in late July!  So there appear to be some missing pages…. But perhaps you weren’t posting then.  Just wondered what you guys did in summer lockdown.

SOF1 would have been 2021. 2 was in 22, 3 was in 23, and this year was 4. 
 

We didn’t have our CA grandson here during lockdown.  We did spend a lot of time on our boat with the other two grandkids that summer

[firefly333]

4 hours ago, ATG said:

I love Publix, ours has a great selection of fruits and vegetables. If you register with them you can see the sneak peek of the Wednesday ad on Tuesday. I look at that and plan my meals to use as many bogo items as possible. Ours also does a 5% senior discount on Wednesday. I don’t mind admitting my age if it saves me money! It’s more expensive than the local Food Lion store, but much nicer.

I'll ask if they do a senior discount. I only bought a few things this morning, salad, watermelon, etc. I clicked the beach publix is my store but the other is close. I noticed several items looked to be cheaper at my store,  I'd already noticed deli sliced ham. Watermelon saved 4.20 a LB 2 for 1 on the beach but 3.99 at my sore. A couple other items too I think. A lot of juice in the watermelon but sure tastes good today. 

 

It is a nicer store. I have a walmart and aldi close but prefer publix. Indian river orange juice was sold out at 12.89 or something and wasnt a big bottle. Indian river oranges clearly people will pay more. I think they marked up all their products and then do lots of 2 for 1. Lavazz or some similar named brand of coffee 2 for 1 but it's still over $10 and cant be that good? Some lady was putting a bunch of some sea weed snack in her basket .. a lot. She said her daughter just loves them and puts it in rice. Seaweed. Ok. She bought 6 or 8 at least. I'm glad I'm not shopping for a big family though. The beach publix for sure has higher prices. Gouge those tourists.

 

I was surprised to try and find the closest post office. Googled and had directions and drove past it to a dead end. Ok it must be here, I'm blind. It was in the back corner of a drug store. You know it's a small town when there isnt a stand alone post office. I think there was also a sign for bagels, must also have been in the drug store lol. I ent the garage clicker to the new buyer where i moved from. I wasnt giving up my key and climer after twice he didnt close and asked for a extension. Wasnt giving up access until i was sure. 

Edited Thursday at 08:00 PM by firefly333

[Keksie]

4 hours ago, ATG said:

I love Publix, ours has a great selection of fruits and vegetables. If you register with them you can see the sneak peek of the Wednesday ad on Tuesday. I look at that and plan my meals to use as many bogo items as possible. Ours also does a 5% senior discount on Wednesday. I don’t mind admitting my age if it saves me money! It’s more expensive than the local Food Lion store, but much nicer.

I got spoiled when we lived in Texas with HEB stores.  So much fresh produce, a great bakery, lots of choices on everything and super low prices.  Here I shop for most things at Winn Dixie (cheaper) and fill in with special items at Publix (not cheap).  Even Publix can't compare produce wise to HEB so I am just not as inspired to cook here. LOL

[h20skibum]

4 hours ago, grapau27 said:

Happy 20th birthday today to your dear oldest granddaughter Lenny.

 

+1 @lenquixote66 Happy birthday to your granddaughter 

[helen haywood]

Minnie is contemplating journaling.

 

 

[helen haywood]

I remember the first time I had a Caprese salad.  I was in Sorrento.  I realized I’d never really had a tomato!  Grocery store tomatoes were all I’d ever had.  Mozzarella cheese in Atlanta in the 1970’s wasn’t the real deal either.  It was exquisitely simple but absolutely delicious.  I could in fact be a vegetarian if I had access to really fresh vegetables!

 

Until then, bread and cheese sound good to me!!

[Tree_skier]

25 minutes ago, helen haywood said:

I remember the first time I had a Caprese salad.  I was in Sorrento.  I realized I’d never really had a tomato!  Grocery store tomatoes were all I’d ever had.  Mozzarella cheese in Atlanta in the 1970’s wasn’t the real deal either.  It was exquisitely simple but absolutely delicious.  I could in fact be a vegetarian if I had access to really fresh vegetables!

 

Until then, bread and cheese sound good to me!!

I had the same experience with Oranges.  I loved oranges but until I had picked a perfectly ripe orange from a tree in California and ate it right there on the side of the road I didn't know how good they could be.

[helen haywood]

And pineapples in Hawaii vs canned…and, oh my, fresh asparagus vs canned!!!

[derorim]

1 hour ago, helen haywood said:

Minnie is contemplating journaling.

 

She says, "These are my PRIVATE thoughts!  Touch them and you will die!"

[derorim]

1 minute ago, helen haywood said:

And pineapples in Hawaii vs canned…and, oh my, fresh asparagus vs canned!!!

 

A horseback ride through a pineapple farm in Hawaii is where I learned pineapples grow on the ground, not in trees!

[Luckynana]

9 hours ago, lenquixote66 said:

Today is the birthday of my oldest granddaughter.She is 20.

 

We will be celebrating next week as she has been at her college all week helping with welcoming incoming students.

Happy 20th Birthday to your granddaughter, Lenny!🎈