The Daily for Saturday 02/19/2022

[grapau27]

Good afternoon.

It is 42°F and cloudy here in NE England.

Thank you for today's daily Rich and Roy for the various lists.

I have sold some amazing chocolate peppermint creams in my time which were delicious.

Unusual quote.

Nice food but I will give the food a miss.

Never been to today's port so looking forward to seeing photos.

Prayers 🙏 for all they will help.

I hope everyone has a lovely weekend.

Graham.

 

Edited February 19, 2022 by grapau27

[aliaschief]

Good morning. A big thank you and salute to our women vets and especially to Colonel DW!
 

The prime rib was perfect and delicious but the half baked potato was the highlight of the dinner. First potato this year!

 

Getting ready to take the clan for breakfast and this French Creole restaurant has freshly cooked beignets! Lead me not into temptation……….

Cool morning in low thirties but is starting to warm.

 

We have been to today’s port of call so will take a look in the albums.

 

Thanks to all.

 

[StLouisCruisers]

Good morning friends!  A cold 30F when we awoke so we drove to the gym, did our machine work and some treadmill time.  Sunny now and warming up to about 57F.  Great selection of days to celebrate.  Chocolate mint is my favorite ice cream and gelato flavor.  A huge salute to our women in the military.  👏  I love whales and hate to see them harmed.  I used to watch the Whale Wars program, and while in Hobart purchased a "Sea Shepherd" black woolen cap with the white skull and the "crossed trident and crook" symbol embroidered on it.  This past week I wore it while walking early in the morning with DH.  I noticed a man walking the other direction towards us and saw him eyeing my hat.  Hope I didn't scare him!  Notice the whale and what looks like a dolphin on the skull and trident.

 

Today's quote is funny.  I remember Groucho from when I was a kid.  The egg sandwiches looked good.  Thanks for the photos and recipes Debbie @dfish

 

Also thanks to Rich for the Daily, and thanks to Roy who is still posting the lists even while on his cruise.  Prayers for all our friends and family listed. Prayers for Jose, Jacqui, Marley, Tana, Sam and Carol, @marshhawk,  @irishjimand relatives having lost two family members, and all others in need.  Special thoughts to my friend @Seasick SailorJoy and her dear Allen.  Cheers to those on the Celebration list.  Bon Voyage to Denise @DeeniEncinitas  as she embarks on her cruise today.  

 

Yesterday was the memorial service for DSIL's Mom in Cincinnati.  She passed away in January in Florida as you recall.  From photos taken at the church of flowers and framed photos of her, it looked quite nice.  I'm sure everyone in the family is missing her presence so prayers for all of them.

 

We stopped in Raiatea on our 2017 Maasdam South Pacific cruise and it was a sunny day.  I'll hunt down a few photos for you all.  Have a super weekend everybody, and watch out for Mother Nature's fury.

 

 

[msmayor]

Good morning Daily friends - thank you for the lists today!

 

Chocolate Mint Day, you say?  I hope there are some Girl Scouts at the grocery store then, because I'm on my last box of Thin Mint cookies.  This time of year, we try to keep a box in the freezer most days - they are so delicious when frozen!

 

I did have an english muffin today for breakfast, but mine had peanut butter smeared on it.  Husband is the one who loves them with eggs and other breakfast meats.  

 

@rafinmd I hope the worst of the weather is behind you now and you enjoy sunshine and calm seas.  Will be thinking of you today as you go ashore.

 

@kazu those photos of the flooding are incredible - mother nature is certainly powerful.

 

@mamaofami Glad to hear that you were able to get an appointment for Sam.  Must be a relief to at least know his situation is not unusual.

 

1 hour ago, ger_77 said:

 

 

 

 

 

@ger_77 I am going to try and find that one!  Love it!!

 

Hope you all have a great Saturday!!

 

[aliaschief]

Some pictures taken in French Polynesia.

 

[lcand1923]

When I see Chocolate Mint, I don’t think of ice cream.  I think of Thin Mint Cookies and Girl Scouts or Peppermint Bark and Christmas.  I was surprised this year to see so many varieties of Peppermint Bark flavored “stuff” for sale.  I bought and tried them all.

 

Chocolate and Mint is almost as good a combination as Chocolate and Peanut Butter!

 

Stay Safe, Everyone!!

[StLouisCruisers]

On April 12, 2017 the Maasdam stopped in Uturoa, Raiatea, French Polynesia.  This is what it looked like from the top deck of the ship that morning.

 

This cheery group played and sang for us as we departed the ship.

 

We went to that little cafe right next to the ship for something to drink and to try their wife but unfortunately it was not working very well. 

 

 

It looked like you get do some type of excursion by taking a boat ride from here.

 

Across the street was this tent with a crowd gathered so we went to see what was going on.  

 

More music and dancing!

 

 

Everyone was having a good time

 

After listening for a while we went into the adjoining building where the marketplace was.

 

 

 

As we left the building we noticed our ship master, Captain van Dreumel had arrived for a Welcome to Raiatea ceremony.  He was dressed appropriately for this island tradition.

 

Where the dancing had gone on before, now everyone was seated and paying attention to the proceedings.

 

It looked like the Captain received a plaque.

 

After the ceremony we walked a few blocks around town just taking it all in.

 

It's always fun to check out a grocery store!

 

 

 

Shopping "kiosks" near the ship

 

 

 

Lovely fabrics were for sale here.

 

Nearing mid day it was getting too darn hot so we decided to board the ship.  No wifi was found that morning, sad to say.  But even worse, we saw an ambulance near the gangway taking a sick passenger away.  This is not something you would like to experience so far away from home.

 

I do hope they weren't too ill and made it back to the ship before we sailed.  

 

Next day would be Bora Bora and a wonderful time spent with Patrick at his motu.

 

[MISTER 67]

My favorite Chocolate Mints.

[GTVCRUISER]

Happy Saturday 🙂 

[Navybikermom]

Good morning! Love the days - as a female vet I am quite often overlooked. People will see us exit my car and shake my husband’s hand and say thank you for your service. I have a large “Afghanistan vet” patch on my motorcycle vest and people will still go up to my husband and thank him. He never served. 🙄

 

The Cran Tropical Tini sounds like the name of the drink I invented - Cran-Tropical juice mixed with champagne 🥰. 
 

Did anyone notice the update on HAL’s webpage describing their mask policy? As of March 1, masks will recommended but not required. However they might be required for certain venues or situations. As someone who has difficulty breathing for any length of time with one on, I am quite happy with this change! They also mentioned an update coming soon with the testing requirements. 🥳

[DeeniEncinitas]

1 hour ago, StLouisCruisers said:

Good morning friends!  A cold 30F when we awoke so we drove to the gym, did our machine work and some treadmill time.  Sunny now and warming up to about 57F.  Great selection of days to celebrate.  Chocolate mint is my favorite ice cream and gelato flavor.  A huge salute to our women in the military.  👏  I love whales and hate to see them harmed.  I used to watch the Whale Wars program, and while in Hobart purchased a "Sea Shepherd" black woolen cap with the white skull and the "crossed trident and crook" symbol embroidered on it.  This past week I wore it while walking early in the morning with DH.  I noticed a man walking the other direction towards us and saw him eyeing my hat.  Hope I didn't scare him!  Notice the whale and what looks like a dolphin on the skull and trident.

 

Today's quote is funny.  I remember Groucho from when I was a kid.  The egg sandwiches looked good.  Thanks for the photos and recipes Debbie @dfish

 

Also thanks to Rich for the Daily, and thanks to Roy who is still posting the lists even while on his cruise.  Prayers for all our friends and family listed. Prayers for Jose, Jacqui, Marley, Tana, Sam and Carol, @marshhawk,  @irishjimand relatives having lost two family members, and all others in need.  Special thoughts to my friend @Seasick SailorJoy and her dear Allen.  Cheers to those on the Celebration list.  Bon Voyage to Denise @DeeniEncinitas  as she embarks on her cruise today.  

 

Yesterday was the memorial service for DSIL's Mom in Cincinnati.  She passed away in January in Florida as you recall.  From photos taken at the church of flowers and framed photos of her, it looked quite nice.  I'm sure everyone in the family is missing her presence so prayers for all of them.

 

We stopped in Raiatea on our 2017 Maasdam South Pacific cruise and it was a sunny day.  I'll hunt down a few photos for you all.  Have a super weekend everybody, and watch out for Mother Nature's fury.

 

 

Sandi🚢🌺🌺🌺🌺🌺

Thank you! Just waiting for my Covid results!! Oceania was real stream lined! Good system!

Finally after 2 years were going!

I promise to be back after cruises!

Denise🥰

[Quartzsite Cruiser]

Good morning from sunny Quartzsite.  This time of year, we have cool to chilly nights and warm days.  Couldn't ask for better weather, but I would not mind a couple of rainy days as we really, really need the rain.  This time of year, we get families on spring break who come to run around in the desert on their atvs and utvs, and as dry as it is, they really stir up the dust.

 

Any day with chocolate in it will gladly be celebrated.  I like Thin Mint cookies and other forms of chocolate mint.  After chocolate ice cream, mint chocolate chip is my favorite.  Glad to see women vets being recognized, especially our friend who was in the Canadian Army and a HAL officer, and our own @Navybikermom.  We love watching the whales in Alaska and Hawaii, and we hope some are still around Cabo San Lucas when we get there on March 8.

 

As a reader, I like the Groucho Marx quote.  The meal sounds good, but like @dfish  Debbie, I prefer  biscuits.  That is what we usually get when we do a drive-thru breakfast.  As for English muffins, I prefer them toasted with butter and jelly, preferably strawberry.  We'll pass on the drink, but the wine sounds nice.

 

We have been to Raiatea a few times, but only twice in the digital age.  I'll look for some pictures, but mine are pretty much like @StLouisCruiser Sandi's.  Thank you for posting them.

 

@ottahand7  Lovely picture with the rainbow.

@puppycanducruise  Stay safe in the storm, and I hope the power stays on.

@kazu  The pictures of the flooding are sad.  Please be careful on the roads today.  I loved the clean house meme, and it could resemble mine.

@smitty34877 Terry, glad Tana made it home safely where she will get loving care and be able to see her son and dog.  Just wish the rehab could have helped her more.

@mamaofami  Carol, I'm glad Sam has an appointment to get the screws removed.  Sending good thoughts that the weather is good when the time comes.

@Cruzin Terri  Glad you're home safely and had a pain free night's sleep in your own bed.

@Cat in my lap  Have a nice get away, and I don't blame you for wanting to miss the road mess during the grand prix.

@Navybikermom  I also saw the changes in the mask requirement after March 1.   Honestly, we were hoping they would not change them until we got off the ship on March 27.  We'll probably still wear our masks around the ship and in port.  I wonder what the to be announced testing requirements will entail.

@DeeniEncinitas  Welcome back.  We missed you.  Bon Voyage and enjoy your cruise.

 

Lenda

[garlictown]

😊Happy Weekend! Thank you for The Daily, Rich @richwmnand to Roy @rafinmd for keeping the Care and Celebration Lists while he is enjoying a cruise!🚢

We were on the Oceania Marina visiting various islands in French Polynesia a few years back.....remembering being in the water a lot, LOL! 🙃🏊‍♀️

🙏Prayers to all in need.🙏

☕Katie

[durangoscots]

Good morning. I am early this morning since Bandit got me up early to tell me that I forgot to feed him yesterday. Actually, after the vet visit he slept heavily the remainder of the afternoon, evening and most of the night. Poor little guy.... he had some teeth removed, a growth over his eye removed, and an ultra sound (normal). And of course with all of this we did a blood check which was also good. Don't think he will be quite so jaunty next time we have to go to the vet.... but he seems back to normal this morning. My bank account however is suffering.

 

Glad to hear Tana is home and settled in.

 

All these pictures of food are making me hungry.... I think I am going to have to put a little more thought into my own meals. Wish I was where someone else could do the prep and the clean up.... like maybe a cruise.... what a concept!!!

 

Susan

[Quartzsite Cruiser]

Hope these brighten everyone's day.

 

I think after the winter storms, many might be seeing something like this.

 

For the music lovers

 

For those still experiencing winter

 

Could this be why some of us can't always get a good night's sleep?

 

Lenda

 

[NextOne]

Happy Saturday! I don't really care for chocolate mint, our women vets deserve much more recognition  than they receive, and I love whales!

To that note, this morning on CBS Saturday Morning, there was a good piece on an environmentalist that's working to save the orca population in the Pacific NW. Very informative!

We were in Raiatea in 2019 and our pictures were pretty much the same as the ones already posted. But I will share a shot by one of our CC group members of our lovely BHB in Bora Bora. Wish I was there right now!!

Edi

[bennybear]

Good morning and thanks all. Raiatea was on our 2020 list, le sigh! Thanks for the pictures @aliaschief and @StLouisCruisers! 
@smitty34877glad to hear Tana is home! 
@kazu crazy weather
We love whales, we’ve been out with the Pacific whale Foundation in Maui and usually see them most winters, just not lately.     It’s so much fun to see the baby whales, called pickles learning to breach, sometimes dozens of times in a row!  Or a dolphin and pickle playing.  

[lindaler]

Good morning all. Thanks Rich and all who regularly post information I really should know or at least love to read about. I agree a breakfast sandwich and coffee, made by someone else tastes a million times better. The chocolate chip ice cream is in the freezer outside to not tempt me as I try to get in shape for my Alaska cruise with my sister; and my new treadmill gets daily visits. It helps override the excuse that it’s too cold out. My river has taken on the color of coffee and cream due to the snow melt. We need the moisture so won’t let the color be too discouraging. Prayer and cheers for my Dailyite family. 

[Vict0riann]

Good morning, Dailyites, and thanks for all the news.  So happy Tana is home and I hope that over time she will improve!  I read in the paper today that people who have had Covid tend to have bad dreams.  Very strange.  I have had nightmares about getting Covid, but I don't think I ever had it...  I did eventually get yesterday's Daily read and was sorry to hear some sad news.

 

Chocolate mints - when we have a dinner party I usually  get a box of Junior Mints now,  instead of the After Eights.  I remember one of the first reviews I ever read on CC described the chocolate chip mint ice cream on a dam ship as being "eating tooth paste", so I have never tried it.  

 

I looked at our itinerary of our South Pacific cruise and it said "tour with Jacqui" and yet my pictures just show a lot of rain, and then I read Jacqui's post and remembered!  I had been asked by one of my philatelic friends to buy stamps and send postcards, so we walked to the Post Office in the rain instead.  Through the market, and we passed a church and a lot of mynah birds.  That was April 19, 2016.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Suslor]

4 hours ago, dfish said:

Thanks @dfish . The ingredients for this are actually sitting on my counter right now 🤪. I usually make it after we’ve had KFC for dinner so we can eat up their biscuits. 

 

If that is not a big enough variety, you can try some of the recipes from this page:  https://www.yummly.com/recipes/english-muffin-breakfast-sandwich

 

Or, if you're like me and prefer the biscuits to the muffins, here is a biscuit sandwich recipe:   https://damndelicious.net/2019/08/31/make-ahead-breakfast-biscuit-sandwiches/

 

 

 

Edited February 19, 2022 by Suslor

[Cruising-along]

Good morning all!

I'm really late today, it was another one of "those nights", worse than usual.  I was awake from 2am-6am.  And absolutely no reason for it, just tossing and turning.

 

Good collection of days.  Like many here, I'll take chocolate in any form, and chocolate mint ice cream is one of my favorites. But @Vict0riannit's true, the chocolate mint ice cream on a BHB does taste like toothpaste 😞  It was a real disappointment!

 

I'll pass on the meal, wine and drink today.  Stuffed peppers will be on our table tonight.

 

@smitty34877Terry I'm so happy Tana is home!

@StLouisCruisersSandi please forgive me -- I know we aren't supposed to mention typos but this one was almost too hard to resist -- early in your photos you said you all planned to go to a cafe next to the ship and "try their wife" (I know you meant wine).  I loved your photos, thank you for posting them!  I'm surprised that the port won't be on the Grand Australia.  

 

 

 

 

 

[kplady]

Good afternoon from a cloudy and chilly New York....

 

Love the days today (Chocolate Mint is only acceptable to me as Girl Scout Cookies, not a fan of ice cream with that flavor).  Whale day made me go through my photos and find one from our 2017 Amsterdam (14 day) cruise to Alaska.  We did a whale watch tour, and happened to see a bubble net feeding!  The crew on the boat were all so excited, it was the first of the season for them also!

Prayers for all needing them (Jacqui, Jose, Tana, @irishjimand those I can't remember, but keep in my prayers every day.  Cheers for those cruising - we have 165 days until our cruise, which we're really looking forward to.

 

Stay well, be happy!

Laura

 

 

[mamaofami]

Just finished reading that the 4 cruise lines that went to Cuba when President Obama lifted sanctions are in trouble with the US government because they hired Cuban tourist agencies to supply their passengers with excursions. So, since we went  to Cuba on Royal Caribbean ( horrible old ship) and took our own private tours, I’m wondering if we’ll be in American or Cuban jails. At the port, we had to fill out all this information and reply why we were going. Tourism was a no no so we did one of the other choices. We were told to save those papers and I just shredded them last month. The cruise lines might owe tons of money. Article is on the net and in Florida papers today.

[StLouisCruisers]

2 minutes ago, Cruising-along said:

Good morning all!

I'm really late today, it was another one of "those nights", worse than usual.  I was awake from 2am-6am.  And absolutely no reason for it, just tossing and turning.

 

Good collection of days.  Like many here, I'll take chocolate in any form, and chocolate mint ice cream is one of my favorites. But @Vict0riannit's true, the chocolate mint ice cream on a BHB does taste like toothpaste 😞  It was a real disappointment!

 

I'll pass on the meal, wine and drink today.  Stuffed peppers will be on our table tonight.

 

@smitty34877Terry I'm so happy Tana is home!

@StLouisCruisersSandi please forgive me -- I know we aren't supposed to mention typos but this one was almost too hard to resist -- early in your photos you said you all planned to go to a cafe next to the ship and "try their wife" (I know you meant wine).  I loved your photos, thank you for posting them!  I'm surprised that the port won't be on the Grand Australia.  

 

OMG, that typo is one of the funniest ones we've seen.  That sure slipped by my eyeballs when reading it back!  😂

[Overhead Fred]

When I make English muffin/egg breakfast sandwiches, which I do with some regularity, I call them Fred McMuffins 😁

 

I used metal rings for the eggs which worked OK, but the egg tended to stick and they were hard to clean. I just got some silicone rings which work great! They release easily from the egg/cheese/meat and are very easy to clean. I think I'll make some tomorrow....

 

But today we are making apple pies!