The Daily for Tuesday Feb 16, 2021

[Marmot@Sea]

Good Morning.

 

Count us as another family celebrating Shrove Tuesday with pancakes and sausage for dinner.

 

Val

[mamaofami]

4 hours ago, rafinmd said:

Was that a requirement.  In Maryland the language about health insurance is in the signup but greyed out and no questions are asked about Insurance.  I got my first jab without ever being asked about insurance.  I think the signup was hastily adapted from an existing application and there are some vestiges of un-needed information.

 

Roy

There seem to be different rules for different sites in NJ. Pharmacies want the insurance info because I believe they can collect from Medicare. State sites don’t ask. I can tell you that DH is a definite grouch over all this frustration trying to get an appointment.

[Horizon chaser 1957]

Good morning, all! I am all in for Fat Tuesday, and the quote sounds like the writer learned from experience - either his or someone else’s. We are having pizza today. It will be regular pizza, but the bubble pizza recipe sounds intriguing. I agree on swapping out the tomato soup for pizza sauce, and a few other tweaks. Sangria is always a favourite, and the wine sounds good. 
Best wishes to all those in the path of the winter storm and risking losing power. Not a good situation! We had a few hours of light snow yesterday. Then an official snowfall warning was issued, and the snow promptly turned to rain and stayed that way. DH looked at the forecast this morning and announced that it is forecast to rain for the rest of our lives. Sums it up nicely.

A year ago today the Amsterdam brought us to Rapa Nui, better known as Easter Island. The water was rough, and tendering uncertain, but a go in the end. We were told that we were the first cruise ship able to send people ashore so far that year. I wonder if we were the last. The Diamond Princess was marooned in Japan as passengers sickened in increasing numbers, and ships were being turned away from ports all over.

We were able to go ashore and visit this amazing bucket list place that I’d dreamed about since childhood. Boarding the tender was not for the faint of heart, though!

The tenders being deployed at dawn, waiting the go/ no go decision.

 

Safely ashore - the shore, the ship, and the surf between.

 

If you were here, you took this picture.

 

A great line of restored Mo’ai, restored yet again after a tsunami scattered the figures.

 

Mo’ai that had been lost  in the sand. This saved them from weathering and vandalism. Fine details such as hands on the hips and carvings on the back were perfectly preserved.

 

The great quarry where roughly 400 Mo’ai remain in assorted stages of completion. Some are detached and have fallen or sunk into the hillside. Others are partially carved from the rock but still attached along the back.

 

A honey pineapple, peeled and with the top trimmed as a handle.

 

it is said there are as many wild horses as people on the island. They are everywhere!

 

Site of the ancient annual Bird man competition. Competitors climbed down the cliff we were at the top of, swam out to the farthest of the two islets, and climbed the rocky islet searching for the nest of a particular sea bird that nests only there. Then they secured an egg, swam back, and scaled the cliff back to the starting point - carrying the egg. The first one to successfully return with an unbroken egg of the correct type was declared champion. Can you imagine making it back exhausted but alive ahead of anyone else and triumphantly handing in the wrong kind of egg?😳

 

The long cleared valley is the local airport. The runway is huge. Given the remote location in the Pacific, the US government made a deal. In exchange for permission to build and maintain an airstrip big enough and sturdy enough for a space shuttle to land in an emergency, the community could use it on an everyday basis for passenger and commercial flights. It looks completely out of place in such a remote and rustic setting!

 

And back home, after a perilous crossing from tender to platform!

 

Finally, Happy Tuesday, Fat or otherwise!

 

Edited February 16, 2021 by Horizon chaser 1957

[Sharon in AZ]

1 hour ago, dfish said:

I was not asked for insurance information when I registered for the vaccine.  When I arrived they asked for my red, white, and blue Medicare card.   I get my insurance through the teachers' retirement system and they go through Aetna.   I was told to put the RWB card away and never use it because if I did, I would be kicked out of the system's Aetna plan and would be on my own.   I told this to the girl at the pharmacy and she insisted they needed the RWB card to charge Medicare Part B.  I explained that they could charge Medicare Part B with the Aetna information, but she wouldn't take it.  I asked why they were charging for it since it was Moderna, paid for with taxpayer money, so I had already paid for it.  She said they really didn't charge, but needed the Medicare Part B information.  No claim has come through on my insurance, so who knows what they are doing.  I'm not sure they do.

Sounds like she doesn’t understand Medicare replacement plans, which is your Aetna. Once you have that you only show that card. Keep your regular Medicare card in a safe place but you don’t use it. Appears a lot of people don’t know what they are doing. 

[durangoscots]

When I went for my vax no one asked for anything....no identification, no insurance, nothing. Interesting how states and sites within states vary. When I signed up they took my name and birthdate and that was it.

 

Susan

[arzz]

I feel very lucky - last Tuesday I awoke at 5:30 am, turned on the news and heard that many local Walgreens Pharmacies in Illinois would be receiving shipments of vaccine. I popped out of bed, went on line and secured appointments for first and second doses for myself and DH within 10 minutes of home. Had the first dose last Saturday - Moderna - left with very sore arm.  Also some general aches that magically disappeared a little over 24 hours after the jab. The sore arm is now much better too.

 

Walgreens did ask for our Medicare cards - no charges to us.  Second doses scheduled for March 13 and 14. 
 

We were lucky not only for getting convenient appointments but for a bit of a lull in our continuing snow on Saturday when we went for the vaccine.  Since we received 9 inches at the beginning of the month we have had temperatures that have not only not even been near freezing, but have often hovered in the single digits Fahrenheit, and lower.   We have had at least some snow almost every day. Saturday, during the day, the flurries were light. Yesterday and last night the sky fell on us again with somewhere around 16 inches additional snow. Much of it “lake effect”. 
 

This morning as the sidewalks are cleared, they travel through caverns of snow. We are warm, we have power, and a promise of temps above freezing on Sunday. 
 

Really miss cruising at this moment. 
 

Prayers and wishes for health and warmth for everyone right now. Especially Roy.

[Sharon in AZ]

36 minutes ago, USN59-79 said:

 

Here is a sunrise from our hotel in Phnom Penh, Cambodia a year ago.  Hope it comes out OK as the last picture I posted from my cell phone came out inverted.

Great picture!  And it’s right side up. I find that if I resize the picture it posts sideways or upside down so now I just keep it as Actual Size. 

[Lcubed]

1 hour ago, dfish said:

I was not asked for insurance information when I registered for the vaccine.  When I arrived they asked for my red, white, and blue Medicare card.   I get my insurance through the teachers' retirement system and they go through Aetna.   I was told to put the RWB card away and never use it because if I did, I would be kicked out of the system's Aetna plan and would be on my own.   I told this to the girl at the pharmacy and she insisted they needed the RWB card to charge Medicare Part B.  I explained that they could charge Medicare Part B with the Aetna information, but she wouldn't take it.  I asked why they were charging for it since it was Moderna, paid for with taxpayer money, so I had already paid for it.  She said they really didn't charge, but needed the Medicare Part B information.  No claim has come through on my insurance, so who knows what they are doing.  I'm not sure they do.

On the Medicare.gov site it does say you need to bring and show your R/W/B Medicare card when you go for the covid vaccine even if you have Medicare Advantage.  I didn't really understand why.

[JazzyV]

Good afternoon. Thanks for the Daily.

Happy Fat Tuesday/Shrove Tuesday! We need innovators. 

I like Sangria. Not sure what's for dinner, maybe pancakes.

 

We had freezing rain for about 4 hours last night, but then the temp went up, so it wasn't as bad as it could have been. No power loss thankfully. Temps now on the way down again. We've had snow every day this month except one! I have a friend in San Antonio who has freezing temps, snow and no power ☹️.

 

I got an email from my health system saying I could register for a vaccine as I was in the >75 category; except I'm not! They added 10 years to my age!

 

@rafinmd You and your family remain in my prayers.

@mamaofami I had to fill out insurance info when I registered for the county site. I know the vaccine was free but I think they might bill the administration of it to insurance, if you had it (if not, no charge). I did have to show ID. I was told to bring the vaccine card for the 2nd one on March 9.

@Horizon chaser 1957Great pics. Easter Island is on my bucket list.

 

Prayers for the care list and cheers for the celebration list.

Stay safe, stay warm, social distance and wear your masks.

 

 

 

[Sharon in AZ]

Good morning everyone!  Thank you for the Daily Rich. Happy Fat Tuesday. We don’t celebrate Mardi Gras or Lent but it is fun to participate with certain traditions. The Shrove Tuesday pancakes remind me of the pancake flipping race held in Kansas. https://www.kshs.org/kansapedia/liberal-pancake-race/18238

Even Kate got some pancakes flipping:https://www.google.com/amp/s/people.com/royals/kate-middleton-pancake-flipping-early-royal-engagement-pancake-day/%3famp=true

I saw this drink in my Food Network Magazine made for Fat Tuesday:

Called the King Cake Bevvy. https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/king-cake-bevvy-9591423  If I had the ingredients I’d make it for tonight. 
 

Thank you for your lists Roy. I like the sound of your alternate meal suggestion. I’m going to add lamb chops to my grocery list. 
 

I’m in the mood for chowder tonight so we will either have clam chowder (already prepared courtesy of Trader Joe’s) or salmon chowder. I found an easy recipe so it just depends on how lazy I am later. 🤣

 

I’ll leave you with last nights scallops:  

 

 

Have a great day everyone!

 

 

[bennybear]

Good morning and thanks all!   All this talk of vaccines is making me jealous!  
love the Easter island photos, so on my list,  but may have to fly there as I know the chance of tendering is iffy.

SO grateful that our two weeks of more than twenty below is finally ending!  Kept busy doing a puzzle,  the only thing worse than missing a piece is two extra ones! 

 

[Sharon in AZ]

I forgot to mention that I saw my mother yesterday and she looks wonderful. I dropped off some supplies for her. I’m not allowed inside and can’t go to her apartment so we always do the exchange outside. Yesterday was the first day that she could venture out of her apartment because she was waiting on her most recent covid test, which was negative. The retirement residence required one after she came home from the hospital. And this afternoon she has an appointment to get her stitches removed. DH said again that she will outlive both of us!

 

This was her last birthday celebration, no one believes that she is 91. 

[superoma]

5 minutes ago, Sharon in AZ said:

I forgot to mention that I saw my mother yesterday and she looks wonderful. I dropped off some supplies for her. I’m not allowed inside and can’t go to her apartment so we always do the exchange outside. Yesterday was the first day that she could venture out of her apartment because she was waiting on her most recent covid test, which was negative. The retirement residence required one after she came home from the hospital. And this afternoon she has an appointment to get her stitches removed. DH said again that she will outlive both of us!

 

This was her last birthday celebration, no one believes that she is 91. 

How wonderful!

[XBGuy]

6 hours ago, richwmn said:

 

Wine of the day - Michele Chiarlo 2017 Cipressi (Nizza) Piedmont

 

 

5 hours ago, cat shepard said:

 

 

*******

This Italian red has excellent ratings for all released vintages. And a very reasonable price. One online distributor offers it for $13.99 - with a $50 minimum order. Enjoy the descriptions. Ahhh, that “whiff of graphite”!

Winemaker Notes

#35 Wine Enthusiast Top 100 of 2020

Intense ruby red. The nose is surprising for its clarity and elegance, red fruit, mature cherry, raspberry and the sweet notes of tobacco. Complex, structured and impresses for its fresh softness and roundness; pleasing savory finish. Ideal pairings include cured meats, filled pastas, red meat.

WE94 Wine Enthusiast: Vinous aromas of just-pressed grapes, fragrant blue flower and mature blueberry form the inviting nose along with whiffs of graphite and underbrush. Chewy and delicious, the smooth concentrated palate doles out succulent black cherry, crushed blackberry, star anise and a hint of game alongside velvety tannins. Drink through 2025. 

WS92 Wine Spectator: Rich and ripe, featuring a mouthful of black cherry, blackberry, pomegranate and spice flavors. Dense, yet remains balanced, with bright acidity and firm tannins for support. Shows terrific purity and length.

 

People who are aware of my wine preferences know that I am a California wine bigot.  That being said, Michele Chiarlo is a fine maker whose wines are very attractively priced as you can see from @cat shepard's, as usual, very informative report.

 

It looks like my credit card is going to take a hit today.  I see that in my inbox there are notifications of allocation releases from two of my favorite wineries.  On the plus side, this is excellent pandemic fatigue therapy.  😜

 

I'll add my experience to the discussion of the need for insurance information when scheduling a vaccination appointment.  We used the California web site, myturn.ca.gov, and were frustrated by the questions asking about insurance and group number.  Then, I noticed that those questions were marked "Optional."  I am happy to ignore requests that are optional.  There were no questions about insurance when we went to the vaccination center.

[bobpatj]

Love the pictures of Easter Island, a place I’ve always wanted to visit.  Thank you for sharing them.

[Overhead Fred]

I had to take Mitzi to the doctor's this AM for a routine checkup that had been postponed due to virus constraints. Luckily, I glanced at the Daily thread before we left. Otherwise, I would have forgotten that is is Fat Tuesday and the "last" chance to get a King Cake. 

 

There is a good bakery near the clinic so I dropped Mitzi off and went foraging. I managed to get their last King Cake! It was the French version, or "Galatte des Rois". It is puff pastry filled with almond paste. Maybe "Marzipan Pie" is a good description -

 

It is way different than the sweet yeast bread version we usually get -

Which is more like a breakfast roll (a really, really sweet breakfast roll) while the French one is more like a dessert. 

 

Paczki are another popular Fat Tuesday tradition -

We had these last year for Fat Tuesday when I waited too long to be able to get a King Cake. They are basically a type of deep fried filled donut (but the dough is probably richer).

 

[Seasick Sailor]

2nd day no water. Were supposed to go next door for a Fat Tuesday party tonight. Our walkway and driveway are sheer ice, too dangerous for Allen to try to walk. (He uses a walker for those who didn't know) so I'm going to meet our neighbor at our backyard and he's passing me the gumbo, crab cakes and kings cake over our fence. 

Our weather is going to be nasty tonight. People are lined out in the cold to get into our HEB market. It's crazy!

[Cruising-along]

Good morning all! (for a few more minutes here anyway!)

It's been a busy morning, working with our PCC to book some cruises for '22 and '23.  With HAL's systems down this morning it's been challenging, but it looks like it's been handled now. I think not being able to cruise for what will be close to 2 years has spurred us on to work on that bucket list. 🙂  

 

I'll pass on the dinner, but regular pizza sounds pretty good for tonight.  I'll try to do a favor for my own personal grouch today. 😉 

 

Our snow is quickly melting away, lots of rain (lots!!) and mid 40's F today.  We only had to show our drivers' licenses when we got our vaccines.  

 

I love the photos you've all shared!  Easter Island is another spot I'd love to visit.

@cruzn singleglad to hear your side effects have passed.  I had heard that usually they show up the next day after receiving the shot (if they're going to).

@Sharon in AZyour Mother looks great!!  My Dad also looked much younger than his years.  He lived to be almost 102 and looked like he was about 80.  Even doctors double checked his records, they couldn't believe his age.

@bennybearyou're making good progress on that puzzle!  Here is the one I'm working on, it's the world.  

[Quartzsite Cruiser]

Good afternoon.  It’s been a busy day, and I know I’ll forget something I wanted to comment on.  I’ve been reading posts whenever I get a spare minute.  
 

Really like the poem.  I sounds like something Ogden Nash could have written.

 

 Will skip the meal suggestions.  Tonight we’re having white beans with some of the New Year ham I took out of the freezer, coleslaw and cornbread.  Of course, there will be wine.

 

@Horizon chaser 1957Enjoyed the pictures of Rapa Nui, which is on the bucket list.  Maybe someday!

 

@Sharon in AZ  So glad you got to see you mother and that she is doing so well.  Hope I look that good at 91.

 

Our DDs in Austin are doing all right.  The oldest has been without power since 1:30 am yesterday.  They have a propane heater and a small generator, so with those and a gas stove, they can ride it out.  The other DD has not lost power and texted this morning she doesn’t expect to.  Austin is not doing rolling blackouts.  Instead, about 40% of the city does not have power, so the areas with hospitals and other essential places won’t have to fight the rolling blackouts.

 

We talked to our neighbor in Texas and they are doing fine, and having rolling blackouts.  Fortunately, we replaced our ac and heater less than two years ago.  It has a fancy thermostat we can check with our iPads.  So far, it is handling the blackouts and keeping the house at 46F which is the setting when we’re in Arizona.  We also turned off the water, drained the lines and opened the cabinet doors, so the house should be just fine.

 

When DH registered for our first vaccine shots with the AZ health department, they asked several health related questions and for our Medicare numbers.  At the site, they only wanted to see our ids and the appointment conformation.

 

Lenda

 

 

 

 

[rafinmd]

1 hour ago, Seasick Sailor said:

2nd day no water. Were supposed to go next door for a Fat Tuesday party tonight. Our walkway and driveway are sheer ice, too dangerous for Allen to try to walk. (He uses a walker for those who didn't know) so I'm going to meet our neighbor at our backyard and he's passing me the gumbo, crab cakes and kings cake over our fence. 

Our weather is going to be nasty tonight. People are lined out in the cold to get into our HEB market. It's crazy!

Just to be sure, you do have power?  Correct, or possibly a generator.  Lack of water is a pain but hopefully you at least have something to drink.

 

Roy

[cat shepard]

2 hours ago, Sharon in AZ said:

I forgot to mention that I saw my mother yesterday and she looks wonderful. I dropped off some supplies for her. I’m not allowed inside and can’t go to her apartment so we always do the exchange outside. Yesterday was the first day that she could venture out of her apartment because she was waiting on her most recent covid test, which was negative. The retirement residence required one after she came home from the hospital. And this afternoon she has an appointment to get her stitches removed. DH said again that she will outlive both of us!

 

This was her last birthday celebration, no one believes that she is 91. 

She is gorgeous, Sharon. And does NOT look 91. She does have a feisty look in her eyes though. 

[cat shepard]

1 hour ago, Seasick Sailor said:

2nd day no water. Were supposed to go next door for a Fat Tuesday party tonight. Our walkway and driveway are sheer ice, too dangerous for Allen to try to walk. (He uses a walker for those who didn't know) so I'm going to meet our neighbor at our backyard and he's passing me the gumbo, crab cakes and kings cake over our fence. 

Our weather is going to be nasty tonight. People are lined out in the cold to get into our HEB market. It's crazy!

Geesh Joy, be safe. Do you have power?

[PoolSlider]

The pics of Rapa Nui are stunning. What an amazing sight to see.

 

Re Covid vaccine charges; depending on insurance, if you receive a charge, the charge will most likely  be for the administration of the vaccine, not the vaccine itself. Different insurance providers are saying different things but the most likely fee will only be for the administration. 

Edited February 16, 2021 by PoolSlider

[rafinmd]

Today's fire department email included a call for personnel to act as vaccinators.  I think now all who ride the ambulances regularly (paramedics through EMT-I) can just sign up while those at the lowest level of medical training (EMT-B) can to a short online course to qualify.  I hope this indicates there is optimism of more vaccines becoming available.

 

Way back in 1976 when we had the Swine Flu I participated in the vaccination effort as a "Jet injector technician" and gave out shots at a local elementary school.

 

Roy

[Sea Viewer]

We are currently in the middle of a thunderstorm in South Florida. Just got this shot of a rainbow 🌈 from my balcony. Beats snow, but unusual weather for this time of year.