The Daily for Thursday Apr 22, 2021

[superoma]

24 minutes ago, kochleffel said:

Good for you! I'm now more than a month out from my second, so I guess it's time to get the first Shingrix inoculation, which I had postponed. I like to tell people that I got the covid vaccinations in a K-Mart (vacant building rented by a hospital system).

 

Earth Day or Arbor Day, a week from tomorrow in the U.S., would be a reasonable time to plant trees here, but we are having snow for the second consecutive day, about which I am thoroughly disgusted. I used to belong to the National Arbor Day Foundation, but dropped membership when I couldn't get them to stop sending me tree saplings. At the time I lived on an average city lot that already had 27 mature trees.

I love you screen name! Do you like to cook? Or just stir the pot lol! Willkommen!

[rafinmd]

26 minutes ago, kochleffel said:

Good for you! I'm now more than a month out from my second, so I guess it's time to get the first Shingrix inoculation, which I had postponed. I like to tell people that I got the covid vaccinations in a K-Mart (vacant building rented by a hospital system).

 

Earth Day or Arbor Day, a week from tomorrow in the U.S., would be a reasonable time to plant trees here, but we are having snow for the second consecutive day, about which I am thoroughly disgusted. I used to belong to the National Arbor Day Foundation, but dropped membership when I couldn't get them to stop sending me tree saplings. At the time I lived on an average city lot that already had 27 mature trees.

Welcome to the Daily.

 

Roy

[bobpatj]

We visited Portland, ME, on the Splendour OTS, in September, 2000.  It was our first port after boarding in Boston.  We just took a walk around town in the rain.  My album has few pictures.  I noticed one of the four shore excursions was a bus trip to LL Bean!

[Quartzsite Cruiser]

I saw a sure sign of spring today.  When I was outside, I saw cardinal fly across the yard and land in a cedar tree.  He sure looked pretty against the dark green tree.  Wish I had my camera with me.

 

Lenda

[kochleffel]

51 minutes ago, superoma said:

I love you screen name! Do you like to cook? Or just stir the pot lol! Willkommen!

 

I do like to cook, but the screen name refers to stirring up trouble.

 

[HAL4NOW]

We lived in Limerick, ME, for a few years back in the early '80's. We worked at a group home for delinquent boys and took many trips into Portland, but not usually the nice parts of town. What excursions does Portland, ME, have to offer? It seems like the best excursions would be out of town or in surrounding towns. Maine is beautiful, but to me, Portland is just another city to be avoided.

[rafinmd]

After the other photos posted from Portland I'll add just two more, only one related to the port.  My tour was to Kennebunkport.  It included a bit of a boat tour and our guide pointed out Walker Point, summer home of Bush 41:

 

 

My other photo is a plaque from the Veendam.  I had not yet sailed with him but I could see from the plaque how much respect Captain Mercer's shipmates from a former life had for him:

 

 

I did also visit the flagship LL Bean store in Freeport on a prior land trip and it is truly a destination of interest.

 

Roy

[Crazy For Cats]

1 hour ago, dfish said:

Are you talking about Roy or Sue and me?   If Sue and me, quit cancelling Norway!

Of course you and Sue.  We still want to give Norway a try.  

[HAL4NOW]

5 minutes ago, rafinmd said:

I did also visit the flagship LL Bean store in Freeport on a prior land trip and it is truly a destination of interest.

 

Roy

LL Bean was about the only store within a few hundred miles that was opened 24 hours a day back in the 1980's. My DW and I decided to go visit the store in the middle of the night once when we were feeling restless. We got talking to one of the store clerks and he shared a story about a guy that shoplifted a canoe. He just put the canoe on his shoulders and boldly walked out of the store. All of the clerks assumed someone else had assisted him with the sale until they realized they had been robbed. The next week, this same canoe-shoplifter guy got caught when he came back for the paddles.

[Sharon in AZ]

6 hours ago, fatcat04 said:

Sorry I have been absent. It is for a very sad reason. I had been tending our ailing kitty of 17 years, my darling tuxie boy Houdini. Sadly, he passed peacefully this weekend and to say I am heartbroken is not enough.

Oh dear, I am so sorry for your loss.  He certainly was a handsome man!

[durangoscots]

6 hours ago, fatcat04 said:

Thank you Rich and a GOOD but nippy bright spring morning to all the Dailyites. 

 

Sorry I have been absent. It is for a very sad reason. I had been tending our ailing kitty of 17 years, my darling tuxie boy Houdini. Sadly, he passed peacefully this weekend and to say I am heartbroken is not enough. He was such a light in our life. So special that no one who came to our house did not know and love him. He never really grew up, always having some kitten in his soul. He was also the best "mommy" cat ever. When I did kitten foster, he was the one that washed the kittens and played with them, tolerated their little teeth and swished his tail just so they would chase it. Houdini was my sweet darling boy. It's amazing what a huge hole they leave when they are gone. I figured so many of you have fur babies, you all would understand. 

 

 

I certainly do understand. Someone said the hardest part of owning a pet is saying "Goodbye" and I have to agree. So sorry.

[Sharon in AZ]

3 hours ago, Dismomx5 said:

DH just made KD for lunch, so the planned pasta for dinner won't be happening.

 

Sorry, I had no idea what this meant and had to look it up, after several tries (it brought up kidney disease first!) I finally think it refers to Kraft Dinner, right?  Meaning their macaroni and cheese, right?

[durangoscots]

Late today due to an early doctor's appointment of no real consequence and then, when I got home, I just felt like doing nothing. Have been through Portland but it was many years ago when I was a child on the way to summer camp. Love Maine, did not care for  the camp. As a matter of fact that experience turned me off camps- but not traveling. I got driven both ways to and from Maryland with many an interesting stop in between.

 

Thank you all for your kind words about the loss of my Scottie. It is going to take some doing to get use to not having one .... it has been about 45 years - one or more scots without a break. Not sure a Shih Tzu is going to cut it, but at my age I think one dog may be a good idea. We will see. Certainly will make dog walks in the winter much easier.

 

Our temps are below normal. Trees are beginning to blossom. Fingers crossed that there are no hard freezes.

 

Susan

[Sharon in AZ]

Good afternoon everyone and Happy Thursday!!

 

First, thank you to everyone for their kind get well wishes!!  It really means a lot.  Thankfully, I do feel a bit better today so I know this will soon pass.

 

Thank you for the Daily Rich!  And thank you for keeping the lists Roy!

 

Happy Earth Day!  I was only a Girl Scout for a short time and don't remember our leader, but hats off to those who do lead, it has to be tough to corral a bunch of kids.  As for jelly beans....  I sort of like them, on occasion.  I'll never forget DGD getting the board game Jelly Belly Bean Boozled one year for Christmas.  She made us play it, you spin and whatever it lands on you have to taste a "stinky" jelly bean, YUCK, rotten eggs anyone? dirty socks anyone?  After one stinky jelly bean, no more! 

 

I'm a fan of Beef Stroganoff, and will have to put it on my to make list.  Tonight is going to be Wings with taco seasoning baked in the oven, they get nice and crispy because it's a dry seasoning.  I've been trying to come up with easy meals lately because I've been trying to rest more.

 

We haven't been to Portland, ME.....  yet, it's on our itinerary for October 2022.  We've been to Bar Harbor, which is lovely, which I really would prefer, but it will be interesting and I do appreciate all the pictures today.

 

Have a great day everyone!

 

 

[USN59-79]

1 hour ago, rafinmd said:

After the other photos posted from Portland I'll add just two more, only one related to the port.  My tour was to Kennebunkport.  It included a bit of a boat tour and our guide pointed out Walker Point, summer home of Bush 41:

 

 

My other photo is a plaque from the Veendam.  I had not yet sailed with him but I could see from the plaque how much respect Captain Mercer's shipmates from a former life had for him:

 

 

I did also visit the flagship LL Bean store in Freeport on a prior land trip and it is truly a destination of interest.

 

Roy

An interesting plaque presented to Capt. Jonathan Mercer.  The USS Curtiss was an American seaplane tender built during WW2 and sailing until the 1950s.  My first ship was her sister ship, USS Pine Island (AV-12) that I served on in the Far East from 1959-1960.  However, it couldn't have been presented by his shipmates, as Captain Mercer was an English merchant sailor before joining Holland America.  We happily sailed with him many times on the Amsterdam.  It would be interesting to know why the former crewmen of the Curtiss presented the plaque.

[dfish]

1 hour ago, Crazy For Cats said:

Of course you and Sue.  We still want to give Norway a try.  

I think we will be cancelling the September Norway and rebooking for next summer.  I'm looking at June and trying to decide between the Best of Norway and Midnight Sun.  I like the fjord towns of Best of Norway a lot.   

[dfish]

Ok, finally found my Portland pictures.  They were well hidden.  This was from August 2013 and the cruise was Historic Coasts.  It was a round trip out of Boston and ports were Bar Harbor, Portland, Sydney, Halifax and St. John NB, Canada.  The pictures were all taken from our hike on the Eastern Promenade.  We took it from the pier around the eastern end and up the stairs to Washington St.  and back to Commercial Street for lobster.  

 

 

[superoma]

1 hour ago, kochleffel said:

 

I do like to cook, but the screen name refers to stirring up trouble.

 

Love that!

[Cruzin Terri]

Good afternoon everyone. Happy Earth Day from sunny buy chilly Bluffton, SC.

The meal sounds delicious but tonight’s fare is leftovers.  

I AM SO TIRED OF COOKING!!!!!  When I finally get on a ship, I don’t think I am going to move.  I just want them to take care of me.  I don’t think I’ll even leave the ship in any port.

Nothing too new to report.  Just keep doing stuff around the house that sorely needs to be done.  

Kazu, glad you are getting your jab. 

As an aside, I was on Facebook yesterday and watched the video on “HAVE IT ALL, which means you get $100 off a shore excursion, signature beverage package, 1 specialty restaurant dinner and WiFi. It can be added to existing cruises.  

So today I called my TA to see how this would affect my cruise fare.  I currently am booked on a Christmas Cruise on the Eurodam.  We have the Casino rate and it includes the Signature Bev. Package and a specialty dinner.  

My TA called HAL to see what the fare would be if we changed to HAVE IT ALL.  Are you ready for this?  The fare would increase by $4000.  I would lose the Casino Rate (not combinable) to gain free WiFi and $100 each for shore excursions.  Guess we’ll keep what we have.

Just a heads up to everyone before you make a change.

Hope everyone has a great evening.  Stay safe and God Bless.

Terri

[cat shepard]

3 hours ago, kochleffel said:

Good for you! I'm now more than a month out from my second, so I guess it's time to get the first Shingrix inoculation, which I had postponed. I like to tell people that I got the covid vaccinations in a K-Mart (vacant building rented by a hospital system).

 

Earth Day or Arbor Day, a week from tomorrow in the U.S., would be a reasonable time to plant trees here, but we are having snow for the second consecutive day, about which I am thoroughly disgusted. I used to belong to the National Arbor Day Foundation, but dropped membership when I couldn't get them to stop sending me tree saplings. At the time I lived on an average city lot that already had 27 mature trees.

Hello & welcome!

[garlictown]

👍Good Memories from Maine and especially Freeport (LLBean's flagship store). 🚗Loved driving all over Maine and taking the CAT from Bar Harbor to Yarmouth, N.S. and then around to New Brunswick. 🙂 Beautiful provinces!  

 

[kazu]

1 hour ago, Sharon in AZ said:

 

Sorry, I had no idea what this meant and had to look it up, after several tries (it brought up kidney disease first!) I finally think it refers to Kraft Dinner, right?  Meaning their macaroni and cheese, right?

 

Yes, KD is Kraft Dinner.  

[kazu]

51 minutes ago, Cruzin Terri said:

The fare would increase by $4000.  I would lose the Casino Rate (not combinable) to gain free WiFi and $100 each for shore excursions.  Guess we’ll keep what we have.

 

WOW!

 

I’d keep what I have too.  Not much math calculation for that!  I’m surprised you lose your casino rate.  I forget the name of our promo but the difference was so small, I kept the perks for now, at least.  HSC, SBP, specialty dining & wifi (for suites - but any verandah on the Volendam is a “suite”) and I received my casino discount.  Wonder if they have just removed the eligibility for well selling cruises?

I went to look at our cruise as a couple of cabins have opened up now in our category and if I were booking now, there would be no casino discount.  The ship is close to sold out from what I can see.  That might be the reason?  Not sure.

[JazzyV]

Good evening. Thanks for the Daily.

I'm late today as I've spent all day at doctor's appointments. Rheumatology this morning - they are managing the immunosuppressives for my eyes. Then Ophthalmology for my eyes. Now I have to see a Neuro-Ophthalmologist.

I appreciate Earth Day, as well as Girl Scout Leaders and Jelly Beans (on occasion).

I like the meal (and Roy's) and drinks.

I haven't been to Maine either by land or sea.

 

It was cold here today with freeze warnings for all the gardeners. But by Tuesday, 82!

 

@cunnorl Early Happy Birthday!

@kazu Congrats on getting scheduled.

@Horizon chaser 1957 Congrats on your shot!

@fatcat04 So sorry for the loss of Houdini.

 

Hopefully no big typos. My eyes are still dilated and it's kinda hard to see.

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

Stay safe everyone and wear your mask.

[Vict0riann]

I'm late, too, but really have no excuse.  So sorry, @fatcat04 about your little Houdini.  And happy, too about @kazu and @Horizon chaser 1957about your shots.   Little by little, we'll get there!  Haven't been to Portland,  I'm kind of discouraged today about our August cruise, pretty sure we will be cancelling next week.  Now evidently in BC there are (at least) 36 cases of the new  variant which is causing such a problem  in India, and Canada is banning flights from India and Pakistan for 30.  Seems to me to be closing the barn door after the horse has fled!  

 

Hope for good news tomorrow...