The Fleet Report and Daily for Saturday August 27th, 2022

[VMax1700]

Good evening from Hotel New York, Rotterdam.  Former home of Holland America Line.  As Roy @rafinmd didn't post an alternative menu today, permit me to post one that is displayed in Hotel New York.....Breakfast on s.s. Maasdam on Friday October 10th 1958, in 'Tourist Class'!

 

[Crazy For Cats]

Good Afternoon Everyone, thanks for the daily fleet report.  Yesterday we had a large storm come through giving us lots of rain.  Thanks to the storm we can give the ac a break for a few days.  The temperature and humidity are very comfortable.  Ran errands this morning.  Today’s meal suggestion sounds good but we will have steak since it was on sale today.  I hope everyone has a good rest of the day.

[Sea Viewer]

17 minutes ago, VMax1700 said:

As Roy @rafinmd didn't post an alternative menu today, permit me to post one that is displayed in Hotel New York.....Breakfast on s.s. Maasdam on Friday October 10th 1958, in 'Tourist Class'!

 

Pilchards in tomato sauce on toast was living the good life when I was growing up!!

[aliaschief]

Goodnight from the MS Rotterdam!

 

[jodi58]

Thanks for the Daily!
 

It’s a beautiful day today,  however the wasps are horrible this year🙁.  I was stung today for the first time in my life🙁.   I’m have a high tolerance for pain but yikes, this hurts.  Icing it and Benadryl for now I guess.

 

Wishing all a wonderful day.

 

Jo

,

 

[grapau27]

3 minutes ago, jodi58 said:

Thanks for the Daily!
 

It’s a beautiful day today,  however the wasps are horrible this year🙁.  I was stung today for the first time in my life🙁.   I’m have a high tolerance for pain but yikes, this hurts.  Icing it and Benadryl for now I guess.

 

Wishing all a wonderful day.

 

Jo

,

 

Sorry to hear you have been stung Jo.

Vinegar will ease wasp stings.

Graham.

[jodi58]

Thanks Graham,  I’ll have to try that.

[grapau27]

7 hours ago, StLouisCruisers said:

Good morning friends!  71F and so humid this morning.  99%!!  The windows were covered in dew.  So we stayed inside to exercise.  Today is do the laundry day, and the usual picking up the house type housework.  First I have to check out the Daily though.  Thank you Rich @richwmnfor presenting it today.  I like the speak kind words day.  I always try to do that.  Playing music on the porch is different!  Like others said, not too loudly please.  I salute the Pony Express and am grateful to have a postal service even when they fail to deliver sometimes.  You have to take the bad with the good.  A very interesting quote from Miss Hepburn.  Love pasta so will try the penne.  And wouldn't mind a good Pinot Grigio.  

 

Thank you Roy for your Care and Celebration lists.  Prayers were said before I popped out of bed to get on the treadmill.  I hope you all can feel them!🙏  Cheers to all on the Celebration list, especially those on or leaving for a cruise.  Have a wonderful time!🥂  Ironically the neighbors next door have been on a road trip to Pennsylvania the past week going to a reunion and visiting old friends there.  They will be home this weekend.  Yesterday they drove to Knoxville and visited Linda after her surgery.  They said she was a little out of it but they told her our entire neighborhood is praying for her and she should get well soon so she can come home.  Then they left her a card saying the same thing just in case.  We have some really great neighbors here!

 

Today's port of Mykonos, Greece is quite a popular one.  We had it posted here on Oct. 4, 2021.  It is on page 35 of Rich's posting activity, and here is a direct link to those who want to retrieve their photos.

 

We've only visited Mykonos once in 2012 on Crown Princess.  I remember seeing Petros the Pelican, mascot of Mykonos.  I think he wishes he could get away from all the tourists sometimes.

 

Folks, could you please get out of my face?

 

The "windmills" of Mykonos.

 

 

The back alleys

 

 

 

The good...

 

And not so good.

 

And one of my favorite photos from our day there.

 

Have a great weekend!

 

Nice photos Sandi.

That door 6 foot off the ground with no where to go was strange.

Graham.

[VMax1700]

13 minutes ago, aliaschief said:

Goodnight from the MS Rotterdam!

 

 

We are waiting for you!

 

[XBGuy]

5 hours ago, 0106 said:

 

 

Also, you must use the highest quality of canned tomatoes,  just tomatoes,  nothing else added. San Marzano (make sure they are authentic) are excellent but I frequently use these Jersey tomatoes.

 

 

 

Jersey tomatoes?  I had never heard of the Jersey Tomato, and am similarly unfamiliar with the Sclafani brand.  However, as many have said, Google is my friend.  I now know what a Jersey Tomato is and I now know that I can order Sclafani tomato products from Amazon.  Very cool.

 

Mrs. XBGuy loves to cultivate various edibles in the back yard--especially, tomatoes.  Last year we were pretty excited about a San Marzano that she planted.  We eagerly watched it leaf out, flower, and grow fruit.  We were pretty excited when we decided that the first one was sufficiently red.  We rinsed it off and cut it in half so that we could both have a sample.

 

Whoa!  Talk about disappointing.  What is wrong here?

 

I don't know how we discovered this, but we found that our home-grown San Marzano Tomatoes are meant for roasting.  When we roasted them on the grill, they were absolutely sensational on our hamburgers.

 

This year among the various other things she had a plant of these yellow plum tomatoes.  Now, those were awesome right off the vine--like eating big berries.  We have also enjoyed some green cherry tomatoes.  You can tell they are ripe when they soften.

 

[rafinmd]

I do not have an August 27 sunrise so this is from August 24 (2010), again on VIA's Canadian on the way to one of Cruise West's final cruise.  That morning the Canadian was approaching Edmonton.

 

 

Roy

[rafinmd]

59 minutes ago, VMax1700 said:

Good evening from Hotel New York, Rotterdam.  Former home of Holland America Line.  As Roy @rafinmd didn't post an alternative menu today, permit me to post one that is displayed in Hotel New York.....Breakfast on s.s. Maasdam on Friday October 10th 1958, in 'Tourist Class'!

 

Love it!.  Choices are better today but I saw a lot of things I would enjoy.

 

I have never been on a BHB between mid August and late September so for now the alternate menu selection is getting a rest.

 

Roy

 

[kochleffel]

The worst aspect of the dental emergency was not being able to eat lunch until late afternoon, when it would have been too close to dinner. Food in Copenhagen is too good to miss a meal voluntarily. And not being able to eat Danish bread at breakfast this morning, because it demands chewing.

[puppycanducruise]

1 hour ago, VMax1700 said:

Good evening from Hotel New York, Rotterdam.  Former home of Holland America Line.  As Roy @rafinmd didn't post an alternative menu today, permit me to post one that is displayed in Hotel New York.....Breakfast on s.s. Maasdam on Friday October 10th 1958, in 'Tourist Class'!

 

We have a cruise on the Zuiderdam leaving from Rotterdam next spring.  Should we stay at the Hotel New York before the cruise?

[0106]

@XBGuyThe best tomatoes are local. I’d love to taste some of your local tomatoes, even though they are not authentic San Marzona tomatoes

 

San Marzano tomatoes are like champagne ; grown by the EU, which specifies the precise cultivar, processing method and region in which the tomatoes can be grown. These tomatoes have a huge reputation and boast a Protected Designation of Origin status (DOP, or sometimes written as PDO - Denominazione d'Origine Protetta) which specifies the precise cultivar, processing method and region in which the tomatoes can be grown. Many say that these specifications do indeed make San Marzano the best tomatoes you can buy.

In order to qualify as a San Marzano DOP, the tomato must be grown within a designated area around Naples. The DOP also refers to tinned, preserved tomatoes – not the fresh ones. The particularly fertile volcanic soil at the foot of Mt. Vesuvius is said to give the tomato plants even more flavour and nutrients.

 

[XBGuy]

36 minutes ago, 0106 said:

@XBGuyThe best tomatoes are local. I’d love to taste some of your local tomatoes, even though they are not authentic San Marzona tomatoes

 

San Marzano tomatoes are like champagne ; grown by the EU, which specifies the precise cultivar, processing method and region in which the tomatoes can be grown. These tomatoes have a huge reputation and boast a Protected Designation of Origin status (DOP, or sometimes written as PDO - Denominazione d'Origine Protetta) which specifies the precise cultivar, processing method and region in which the tomatoes can be grown. Many say that these specifications do indeed make San Marzano the best tomatoes you can buy.

In order to qualify as a San Marzano DOP, the tomato must be grown within a designated area around Naples. The DOP also refers to tinned, preserved tomatoes – not the fresh ones. The particularly fertile volcanic soil at the foot of Mt. Vesuvius is said to give the tomato plants even more flavour and nutrients.

 

 

I did not know that, but it seemed so obvious once I read your post.  Thanks.

 

We live just a few miles from California Polytechnic State University.  Cal Poly opened as an Agricultural School and still has a strong Agriculture department--here on the eastern fringe of the Los Angeles megalopolis.  Mrs. XBGuy, who, by the way, is a graduate of the Collins College of Hospitality Management at Cal Poly, buys plants at the Cal Poly Farm Store.  In addition to multiple tomatoes, this year, she planted a few pepper--both sweet ones and hot ones. The red spicy ones are a tad hotter than, say, a Fresno Chili.  So, if we are judicious with amount that we add to a recipe, we can control the heat.  We added some to chopped Swiss Chard that we sauted, last night, and it turned out darned good.  Then, there are these yellow ones which are best described as thermonuclear.  I really don't know if we are going to use them for anything.  However, we are going to keep the seeds from a couple of them.  We have a friend in North Caroline who, I am pretty sure, has an asbestos mouth,  We see him once or twice in the winter.  We plan to give him the seeds and wish him luck.

[VMax1700]

1 hour ago, puppycanducruise said:

We have a cruise on the Zuiderdam leaving from Rotterdam next spring.  Should we stay at the Hotel New York before the cruise?

I thought that I had posted a reply, but it seems to have gone missing.

I will answer your question tomorrow after we check out and go to the cruise terminal as one of the reasons we booked the hotel, was the proximity to the terminal.

I have posted more details of the hotel on my 'Almost Live from' thread and will report our final thoughts on the hotel on that thread.

 

Edited August 27, 2022 by VMax1700

[Sharon in AZ]

Hi my friends!  I’ve been busy doing “stuff”. We decided at the last minute to go to our favorite cabin in the mountains and have been busy planning. Lots of work go into our stay there because we have to take everything, I mean everything, we need. So, you essentially have to take your entire pantry, plus all your food, plus all your stuff. It’s sort of like glamping but inside. I love it, but I hate camping, so this is perfect for me. So, today I made some things to take and we are working on our menu so we don’t take too much. 
 

I hope everyone has a great day!!

[bennybear]

3 hours ago, jodi58 said:

Thanks for the Daily!
 

It’s a beautiful day today,  however the wasps are horrible this year🙁.  I was stung today for the first time in my life🙁.   I’m have a high tolerance for pain but yikes, this hurts.  Icing it and Benadryl for now I guess.

 

Wishing all a wonderful day.

 

Jo

,

 

I got stung last week, the pharmacist recommended cortisone cream and antihistamine.  The cortisone really helped the pain.   Good luck 

[rafinmd]

A little bit about the memorial service today.  It will involve stories of 3 couples:

 

Morris and Edie

Ralph and Marlene

David and CJ

 

The first 2 couples are very long time (since about 1970) members of my church.  David is Morris and Edie's son and he literally grew up in my church.

 

David decided a career in the ministry and met CJ.  They spent several years as missionaries in the Caribbean and Ireland and as part of their fund raising activity they were "sponsored" by a number of churches, including ours,  and visited annually giving reports so we got to know CJ as well as David.

 

They eventually became pastors in South Florida.  The other 2 couples as they aged moved to a retirement complex about a half hour south of here probably 10-15 years ago.  Sadly, Edie died in 2013.

 

I was on the Prinsendam Amazon Explorer in 2013, 11/26 to 12/22.  I had cars at both ends of the trip and visited David's church pre-cruise.  I let him know that I would likely be visiting CJ's church at the end of the voyage.

 

I was a little late to CJ's service but as I arrived she was just starting to share a story.  She mentioned that "my father in law" (Morris was still grieving and spent Christmas with his son) took a long walk early that morning.  The police called him and   thought he might be lost and confused.  When he got back he gave David and CJ a very detailed report (things like I passed the Waffle House and there were 6 people inside).  A bit slow perhaps but hardly confused.

 

Ralph died 7 in 2014.  A friendship between Marlene and Morris blossomed and they had a commitment ceremony in 2015.  They continued to be active in my church as long as they were physically able, and Morris even continued to come in monthly to help count the offering right up until the shutdown for the pandemic.  Marlene contracted cancer about 6 months ago and left us last Friday.  She would have turned 91 yesterday.

 

It was a lovely service today at the retirement center chapel with my pastor, the center chaplain, David and CJ all helping out.

 

Sadly, Morris is now in a wheelchair so I am very concerned for his future.

 

Roy

Edited August 27, 2022 by rafinmd

[sailingdutchy]

4 hours ago, puppycanducruise said:

We have a cruise on the Zuiderdam leaving from Rotterdam next spring.  Should we stay at the Hotel New York before the cruise?

 

@puppycanducruise Another possibility in Rotterdam before or after your cruise is to book a cabin on Hotel ship "SS Rotterdam " ( V) it is also very close by and with a lot of history ! 

Edited August 28, 2022 by sailingdutchy

[superoma]

1 hour ago, rafinmd said:

A little bit about the memorial service today.  It will involve stories of 3 couples:

 

Morris and Edie

Ralph and Marlene

David and CJ

 

The first 2 couples are very long time (since about 1970) members of my church.  David is Morris and Edie's son and he literally grew up in my church.

 

David decided a career in the ministry and met CJ.  They spent several years as missionaries in the Caribbean and Ireland and as part of their fund raising activity they were "sponsored" by a number of churches, including ours,  and visited annually giving reports so we got to know CJ as well as David.

 

They eventually became pastors in South Florida.  The other 2 couples as they aged moved to a retirement complex about a half hour south of here probably 10-15 years ago.  Sadly, Edie died in 2013.

 

I was on the Prinsendam Amazon Explorer in 2013, 11/26 to 12/22.  I had cars at both ends of the trip and visited David's church pre-cruise.  I let him know that I would likely be visiting CJ's church at the end of the voyage.

 

I was a little late to CJ's service but as I arrived she was just starting to share a story.  She mentioned that "my father in law" (Morris was still grieving and spent Christmas with his son) took a long walk early that morning.  The police called him and   thought he might be lost and confused.  When he got back he gave David and CJ a very detailed report (things like I passed the Waffle House and there were 6 people inside).  A bit slow perhaps but hardly confused.

 

Ralph died 7 in 2014.  A friendship between Marlene and Morris blossomed and they had a commitment ceremony in 2015.  They continued to be active in my church as long as they were physically able, and Morris even continued to come in monthly to help count the offering right up until the shutdown for the pandemic.  Marlene contracted cancer about 6 months ago and left us last Friday.  She would have turned 91 yesterday.

 

It was a lovely service today at the retirement center chapel with my pastor, the center chaplain, David and CJ all helping out.

 

Sadly, Morris is now in a wheelchair so I am very concerned for his future.

 

Roy

What a touching story! Thanks for sharing.

[marshhawk]

[grapau27]

8 hours ago, rafinmd said:

A little bit about the memorial service today.  It will involve stories of 3 couples:

 

Morris and Edie

Ralph and Marlene

David and CJ

 

The first 2 couples are very long time (since about 1970) members of my church.  David is Morris and Edie's son and he literally grew up in my church.

 

David decided a career in the ministry and met CJ.  They spent several years as missionaries in the Caribbean and Ireland and as part of their fund raising activity they were "sponsored" by a number of churches, including ours,  and visited annually giving reports so we got to know CJ as well as David.

 

They eventually became pastors in South Florida.  The other 2 couples as they aged moved to a retirement complex about a half hour south of here probably 10-15 years ago.  Sadly, Edie died in 2013.

 

I was on the Prinsendam Amazon Explorer in 2013, 11/26 to 12/22.  I had cars at both ends of the trip and visited David's church pre-cruise.  I let him know that I would likely be visiting CJ's church at the end of the voyage.

 

I was a little late to CJ's service but as I arrived she was just starting to share a story.  She mentioned that "my father in law" (Morris was still grieving and spent Christmas with his son) took a long walk early that morning.  The police called him and   thought he might be lost and confused.  When he got back he gave David and CJ a very detailed report (things like I passed the Waffle House and there were 6 people inside).  A bit slow perhaps but hardly confused.

 

Ralph died 7 in 2014.  A friendship between Marlene and Morris blossomed and they had a commitment ceremony in 2015.  They continued to be active in my church as long as they were physically able, and Morris even continued to come in monthly to help count the offering right up until the shutdown for the pandemic.  Marlene contracted cancer about 6 months ago and left us last Friday.  She would have turned 91 yesterday.

 

It was a lovely service today at the retirement center chapel with my pastor, the center chaplain, David and CJ all helping out.

 

Sadly, Morris is now in a wheelchair so I am very concerned for his future.

 

Roy

Thank you for sharing the stories of the 3 couples from your memorial service today Roy.

Graham.

[puppycanducruise]

10 hours ago, sailingdutchy said:

 

@puppycanducruise Another possibility in Rotterdam before or after your cruise is to book a cabin on Hotel ship "SS Rotterdam " ( V) it is also very close by and with a lot of history ! 

Thanks for the suggestion.  We haven't decided where to stay but will decide and make a reservation soon.