The Daily for Saturday July 31, 2021

[grapau27]

32 minutes ago, puppycanducruise said:

@grapau27 lovely looking doggie Graham.

Thanks Melanie.

He was our Sarah's dog.

[grapau27]

31 minutes ago, StLouisCruisers said:

And @grapau27a lovely looking hotel dining room.  Hope you enjoyed that lunch!

Thank you the lunch was lovely.

We usually sit outside at the Bellsfield hotel but there was a big wedding outside today.

We walked down by the lake afterwards.

 

[StLouisCruisers]

@Quartzsite Cruiserthanks for the photos of Loreto.  It looks like a very nice place to visit. 

[puppycanducruise]

@mamaofamiHope you have a wonderful dinner out.  You deserve it.

[Mr. Boston]

Good morning everyone, it’s going to be a beautiful summer day here in Boston.  Thanks for the daily report Rich.  Mutts are just wonderful, no pretense just love. Can take avocados or leave them. Remember the avocado kitchen appliances way back when?  I used to enjoy cotton candy at fairs when I was a kid.  The quote today is one to live by although I do feel like being lazy today.  The meal sounds nice but at another time.  Haven’t been to Mexico at all but hope to in the future.  Prayers for everyone on our prayer list today.  Happiness cheer for everyone celebrating a happy event today. 🙏🎉

[kazu]

29 minutes ago, aliaschief said:

I hate packing but this is an exception. Plus DW has the final say and I usually have to bring many items back to the closet! “You don’t need ten shirts.”

 

LOL - that sounds familiar 😉. I wish DH was as co-operative as you 😂 

[Seasick Sailor]

Good morning Rich. Thank you for your faithful posting. Thank you Roy and all who add to our great Daily. 

 

Jacqui I keep your BFF husband in prayer. Hoping he has a complete recovery. Bruno thinking of your family. Prayers for all on our list.

 

Like avocado. Love mutts. Meh on cotton candy.

 

 

 

 

Have a great weekend. Prayers,  cheers, blessings. 

 

[kazu]

11 minutes ago, puppycanducruise said:

@mamaofamiHope you have a wonderful dinner out.  You deserve it.

Ditto

[jimgev]

Good Morning. Love avocados, avocado smoothies, avocado ice cream, you name it. Our little dog is not pure blooded but is pure joy.

 

Edited July 31, 2021 by jimgev

[cunnorl]

Good Morning Everyone from a very warm and sunny day at the beach

      There is a surfing championship going on here today and all the food trucks and vendors are set up in the park next door. I can smell the cotton candy already! Going to be a very busy day here. We will watch from a distance.

    Never been to todays port. Someday!

    @Crazy For Cats Have a wonderful cruise. So excited for you!

       @aliaschief Happy Packing.  Not my favorite chore but I would be very happy to be doing it now!

    The Carnival Mardi Gras is sailing today from Port Canaveral for her first cruise. Huge ship. Not for me, I really prefer a small ship.  So hoping for a safe and uneventful trip for all aboard.

 

Stay safe and enjoy today

 

 

[ger_77]

Good morning, thanks for the Daily!  I like mutts - they don't take themselves too seriously, they just love everything.  Neither DH or I like avocados, which is fine by me, as I don't have to use them - more for everyone else.  I haven't had cotton candy since I was a child - our DS bought a cotton candy machine where you toss in a couple of hard candies and they're spun into the magical stuff.  

 

Speaking of childhood, I spoke with an friend the other day and we were talking about our summers as children when everything was so carefree.  We'd get up in the morning, put on our pop tops, pedal pushers and flip flops, and be off for the day.  Days were hot and sunny (just as they are now), and we'd usually end up at somebody's house, running through the sprinklers.  Now we're worried about wildfires, droughts, storms, and rising prices - speaking of which, I had some serious sticker shock when I saw our water bill this month!  Trying to keep our lawn looking decent in this hot weather is certainly putting a dent in the budget.

 

@kazu I'm happy to hear your BFF's DH has graduated to a regular room!

@dfish that ham looks delicious, but I love the copper coloured cutlery.

@aliaschiefI love packing for the reason you're packing!

@mamaofamiI'm sure Sam will enjoy getting out tonight - enjoy your dinner.

@Crazy For Cats Bon Voyage!!!

 

Although I like today's menu suggestion, I'd pick Roy's, as I could eat turkey every day of the year.  For tonight though, our great neighbour brought over a tray of mild Italian sausages from their weekly trip to Costco, so DH will be grilling those on the bbq.  Along with fresh-from-the-bakery hot dog buns and some coleslaw, that's what will be on our dinner table tonight.  And wine.

Prayers for everyone who needs them and even for those who don't think they do.  Extra prayers for everyone who is seeing an upsurge in the Delta variant.  Raising the glasses together to celebrate all on the happy list.  Be safe, stay well, wash your hands, wear your masks, and hydrate!

 

Smooth Sailing!  🙂🙂🙂

Gerry

 

[KirkNC]

Happy Saturday!

[smitty34877]

@ger_77,I share your childhood  memories  of summer days. I grew up near a large city but we still had so much unstructured  time. It was magical!

 

I  must include  our Fred in the dog photos 

 

 

[lindaler]

I got up early and will be brave today. I will go to the farmers market in town. I will catch up when I return. 

[StLouisCruisers]

Does anyone remember playing outside all day and coming home when the street lights came on?  A much simpler time.

 

DH was outside and got the news our next door neighbor has Covid.  He's had it for about 3 days.  His DW's 91 year old father lives with them, so he has been staying on the lower level of their home instead of upstairs with them.  They are vaccinated but I guess he got a break-through case.  😷

[AncientWanderer]

Good morning!

Maybe I missed it, but surprised nobody has mentioned the cotton candy that used to be served with dessert in Canaletto.  That was very quirky.  I don't think a single soul ever ate it  🙃

[AncientWanderer]

@kazu, I'm so happy to hear that your friend's husband is on the mend.  Your step must be a lot lighter today.  I'll continue to keep him in my prayers.  No setbacks allowed!

[cat shepard]

2 hours ago, StLouisCruisers said:

Next Saturday is a special event for our family.  Our eldest grandson graduated from the University of Cincinnati School of Business in May of 2020 during some of the worst days of the pandemic.  There was no commencement for his University held at all.  On Aug. 7 they are making it up to the class of 2020 and holding commencement ceremonies at an arena on campus.  Our grandson will walk across the stage and receive his official diploma so DH and I are planning a trip to Ohio to be in attendance, with pride.  We will be leaving here Thursday the 5th, stay several days in Ohio, then visit our son in Michigan for several days.  Then we head home to Georgia on Thursday the 12th.  Road trip!!  A side note - DGS's younger sister is also a student at University of Cincinnati School of Business and is taking summer classes so she can finish up her degree this December so fingers crossed we can attend another commencement there in about 4 1/2 months!  Ahhhh, these kids grow up so fast, don't they?  👨‍🎓👩‍🎓

Sandi

 

How wonderful! A great event to celebrate!  

[Crazy For Cats]

1 hour ago, aliaschief said:

I hate packing but this is an exception. Plus DW has the final say and I usually have to bring many items back to the closet! “You don’t need ten shirts.”

That’s exactly what I say to DH.  Along with you don’t need four pairs of shoes.

[Himself]

Rich:  Thanks for the fleet report.  I love honey glazed ham.   Slept a little late today so I am behind on everything.  Have a great day. 

[AncientWanderer]

For National Avocado Day, here are some avocados from our orchard…Nabal, Hass and Fuerte.   I think that orchard is what stands between me and my ideal weight.  The Nabals are my favorite — they’re really creamy, but don’t ship as well as others, so you don’t see them often.

 

 

 

[cat shepard]

The Icelandic saga continues…..

 

The morning dawned raw and windy. Then the rain started. François said this is the real summer weather of Iceland. That lovely weather we had been enjoying was a fluke. I made it to the main building in time to walk through the “glacier room” that also contained mineral samples and some cool antiques. Sadly my phone was already stowed on the minibus, so no pics. Our breakfast buffet was chock full of great offerings. Very good coffee. They even offered scrambled eggs and bacon. The eggs were delicious, real eggs. I skipped the bacon. But they had that delicious, moist brown bread - and I had two pieces of that. I had my priorities. 😎

 

Today would be filled with two optional tours. I had signed up for both, but François told me not to even think about the glacier hike. He had that look in his eye, so I did not even question him.  But our first stop was the Jokulsarlon Glacier Lagoon boat tour. The company offers the tour in zodiacs or amphibious vessels, we loved our amphibious tour so much, I can only imagine how amazing the zodiac tour would be.  

 

Today’s weather tested all of the outdoor apparel we had packed for this trip. I could not totally zip my rain pants over my long underwear & the cast, but the snaps at the bottom secured the leg enough that the cast stayed dry! And my smart wool socks kept my feet toasty, even after they were soaked!  We climbed aboard our vessel and spent a magical 45 minutes floating through the lagoon amidst the giant icebergs. Our guide taught us that the denser the blue of the iceberg, the more recently it had flipped over. 

 

She had her trusty helper collect a couple of ice samples for her. We had spotted him earlier and we called him our life guard, since he was following us so closely. She showed us the two ice samples. And let us hold one of them. This is Kat, whose love of everything Viking started us on this amazing adventure!

 

 She split the other one into cubes that we all tried. Pure ice water. While we were enjoying them, she used her hammer to carve a heart out of the other one. 

We spied a few seals amongst the icebergs, but they disappeared too quickly for us to capture a picture of them.  This tour is the one that 11 out of 13 of us loved the most of our entire tour. And we loved the entire tour!  It was otherworldly. One felt as if we were the only vessel out there - except for our life guard, of course. The massiveness of the icebergs. The deep blue color of those that had just flipped. None of us gave the weather another thought. That is how special this tour was. 

 

We all stopped for a hot drink on the way back to the minibus, after tipping our guide. We were chattering like a group of school kids telling François how much we enjoyed the tour. And we could not wait to get out of our rain apparel.

 

We headed West towards Vik where we would spend the night. But first we stopped to pick up lunch and snacks. We were getting good at juggling food & water bottle refills.  We had  a couple hours before arriving at Skaftafell National Park. Our road hugged the rugged coastline for most of our journey. By the time we reached the park, two others had decided to join me in sitting out the glacier hike. But François said if we didn’t mind getting wet again, he would take us to the viewing platform, where we could see the glacier and maybe even watch our group go up. 

Of course we wanted to do that. The group doing the climb were given helmets, crampons, and ice piks. Their guide also checked out their shoes to make sure they were appropriate for scaling a glacier. Literally. 

 

We followed the group up to the viewing platform through off and on downpours. The glacier was massive. And you could see that the group was going to need that gear - especially coming down the glacier. In the pouring rain.  We passed moss growing on the lava rocks. Before the rain it was brown and dead looking. After the rain it was alive with color and tiny yellow flowers. 

We watched until the group started going up the glacier, and then we headed back to the minibus. I sent everyone on ahead of me, because it was pouring again & the going was so treacherous at times, I was going to be VERY, VERY CAREFUL! I loved getting back on our minibus. 

 

When our group came back only one person said she absolutely loved it! Four people said they felt very shaky and were happy to be back. And the rest used words like “intense” to describe the experience. All of them agreed the descent on ice in the pouring rain is what brought out the emotions. Several generously shared their pictures with me. 

Once everyone was settled, François headed us towards Hotel Dyrholaey in Vik. Our accommodations for the night.  The hotel was a group of buildings joined together, so that one could walk from the newest addition - where our rooms were, to the dining room at the opposite end without setting foot outside. The rooms and lighting were lovely.

And their bar was so unique. 

 

We had time for a shower and change before supper. And what a delightful supper. I had halibut, but cod, salmon and pork were also options. We enjoyed a lively Cote du Rhone with dinner, even though it did not really match our entrees. We were too hungry and tired to care. 

 

Another night of sleeping like the dead.  

 

More to follow…  But tomorrow was the last day of our official tour - how could that be?

 

Edited July 31, 2021 by cat shepard

[kazu]

@cat shepardall I can say is WOW!!!

[superoma]

Just now, kazu said:

@cat shepardall I can say is WOW!!!

I have to second that wow!

[smitty34877]

15 minutes ago, kazu said:

@cat shepardall I can say is WOW!!!

ditto wow!