The Fleet Report and Daily for Monday September 25th, 2023

[aliaschief]

Good morning. We have been to Port Chalmers and are scheduled to revisit on the world cruise. This visit we wanted to do the train but for some reason they are not running on the day we visit. Yesterday we cooked a Shawarma on the grill. Traditionally lamb but we had stacks of boneless skinless chicken breast on a spit plate. Interesting. I  got up too early but the trash needed to be put out. Due to bear we no longer put it out the night before. He took a dump on my yard this week and I noticed when I stepped in it!

As you well know it’s wash day. Currently 66 degrees and will rise in high eighties. Thanks for the Fleet and Care report and special post. Always nice to hear from everyone.

Graham shame on you sending Pauline out selling chocolates why you eat blabs of bacon gaping at the ocean.😁

Have a great week everyone. Bruce

 

[dfish]

Good morning, everyone!

 

We had a beautiful day out in the gardens yesterday.  We spent several hours there and then went over to the Canopy Walk.  

For the Garden Club:

 

 

The recipe for the Jerk Tofu Grain Bowl is behind a paywall on Delish.com.  As soon as I click on it a big banner comes up telling me that this recipe is for members only.  I guess my last cookie from a free recipe hasn't expired yet.  This first recipe comes close.  https://www.emilieeats.com/jerk-tofu-vegetable-and-rice-bowl/

 

 

This one uses spiced coconut rice and red beans to change things up a bit.  https://www.connoisseurusveg.com/jamaican-jerk-tofu-bowls/

 

 

I have no idea what is for dinner here tonight.  We are going to the Tridge this morning and then touring the Alden Dow House this afternoon.  Wishing you all a wonderful day.

 

[Haljo1935]

Food Servers have a hard job & do important work. I'll pass on the meal & drinks. Not been to NZ.

Pretty morning in Portland ME, tad windy.

Weather at home still in 90s.

Prayers and positive thoughts for all of you, your family members and those important to you.

Safe travels to those away from home.

[ottahand7]

Good morning everyone.    

 

@ocean sounds Bon Voyage!  🛳️🍾

 

@lindaler  Bon Voyage!   I hope you have much more fun than Grand South America.  Your itinerary looks wonderful.  

 

Thanks for the daily reports @richwmn.  Thanks for our Daily Care and Celebrations reports @JazzyV.   Prayers for the entire family of baby Murphy, @smitty34877 and your family at this sad time.   Prayers for everyone on our Care list and the people of Ukraine.  

We were happy that there was little rain during the game but sad for the lackadaisical play by the Ravens relying too much on Justin Tucker to bail out their offense.  We made up for the loss with a crab cake dinner at Papa's.  Today is a day with a long visit over coffee with my friend that introduced me to HA.  Then lunch with friends from my Master Gardener Days.  Then we head to the big jewelry shop to pick up all our watches that had battery changes.  They are the best and only $15 a watch.  Then the seafood store for MD crab meat and large Gulf shrimp.   Finally dinner with long time friends at an Italian restaurant.   I will be absent tomorrow as we start our drive home, I don't know if we will stretch it out or go in one day. 

@StLouisCruisersthank you for the lovely photos of Dunedin.  We drove down a street in Olinda, Brazil that was claimed to be the steepest, Mercy Street.  It appeared a little steeper than the one in Dunedin.    

Have a lovely day everyone.  Nancy

In lieu of Tofu, crab cakes. 

 

 

[rafinmd]

Bon Voyage @ocean sounds..  Welcome aboard @Duck Creek.

 

I've been to Dunedin/Port Chalmers twice, both times on Crystal, and both times I've met up with @erewhon.  In 2018 it was the Crystal Symphony enroute from Sydney to Miami.  I walked around Port Chalmers a little bit before the meeting.  One thing I enjoyed was the interior of Trinity Church.

 

 

Once we met they became my guests on the Symphony, having lunch in the Trident Grill, Crystal's equivalent of Dive-In.  DW does not like having her photo published but here are me and DH at the table as we waited for delivery of our sandwiches:

 

 

After lunch they took me into Dunedin and one of the highlights then was the train station that @StLouisCruisers has shown us.

 

In 2020 Dunedin was our final port of call in New Zealand (come to think of it perhaps my last Crystal port of call ever since Hobart was cancelled due to storms, and I disembarked in Sydney just before all hell broke loose.  This time I was taken to a brunch at a place near their residence called Luna, overlooking the harbor:

 

 

I enjoyed a very nice brunch:

 

 

 

 

After brunch we did a bit of shopping.  I had broken a shoe lace having difficulty finding them in New Zealand.  I was taken promptly the right display for the perfect pair of laces that I am still using.

 

On the way back we stopped at Signal Hill where there was a monument to New Zealand's Centennial

and a terrific view:

 

Roy

Edited September 25, 2023 by rafinmd

[RMLincoln]

Monday. Made it!  
DH worked 3 days on gathering, printing, redacting acct numbers, scanning and making PDF files of all our financial statements plus more history that the retirement community needs. He emailed 18 files last night!  
And miracles do happen….  the trust lawyer sent us her draft yesterday. She’s coming this afternoon. It’s not perfect but now we are confident we’ll have a new much simplified trust in place soon and can send the draft to the retirement community for approval. They need all this because once we’re approved they commit to caring for us for life even if we exhaust our funds.  DH has run many modeling analyses to give us confidence that we can afford this decision so we are moving ahead!  It’s expensive but not as bad as many places we looked at. And much more active, vibrant. I shied away from the place much closer to the grandkids that I called Shady Rest!  I am trusting it’ll all be good!  “When we pray for guidance and seek out the experts, then we can trust that the path that unfolds will be good!” That’s where I’m at!  
 

@StLouisCruisers Sandi, love the Dunedin pix. Loved being there. We did similar tour but included out to the Albatross rookery.  That was from the ship that got us to NZ from Sydney. Then we drove almost everywhere in NZ for 25 days. Went back to Dunedin and the rookery on Christmas Day 2013!  NZ is magnificent and has the most compassionate people in the world IMHO. 
 

@Cruzin TerriTerri, I’m so excited for your Italy trip!  In Venice we do music!  There are Vivaldi concerts nightly in small venues, ticket hawkers on the streets. Of course there’s everything else there too. In Florence my favorite place is the Hard Rock Museum of magnificent inlaid rock artwork of tables, plaques, floors you name it. They are so 3D looking its mind boggling. Some name like Dura Petra. I’ll look it up!  Lorenzo Di Medici sponsored the art of inlay. 
 

I too was a food service worker in college. 🫡. Couldn’t do it now, it’s hard work!  
 

Blessings to @Cruzin TerriTerri and DH for their appts. And all in need of healing, comfort (Terry and family), hope or guidance. All the Care list. 
Cheers to all celebrating, reminding us how Good Life Is. 
Safe and fun travels to all away!  So many lucky cruisers!  Now and coming fast! Wonderful lists @JazzyVVanessa, many thanks.
So happy for you Roy that you’ll be able to keep you plan. I’ve loved following so many of your adventures!  
 

@ottahand7 sorry the game ended the way it did Nancy and the weather was yucky but good for you to make it happen. 

@Vict0riannGood luck to your friends planning an NCL cruise. I’m sure it’ll be grand. Glad my comments help a bit. I have to say we were very impressed with their service!  

Later, gotta go look stuff up!  m—
 

[0106]

@ottahand7 Have to admit that I turned off the Ravens and watched the Orioles.  3 is now our magic number to win the AL East!  Take October!⚾️🏟️

24 minutes ago, ottahand7 said:

We made up for the loss with a crab cake dinner at Papa's.

For those of you who have never had a MD crabcake, they can be order from Pappas.  They are Oprah’s  favorite.

[RMLincoln]

@Cruzin Terri It’s Pietra Duro. Look it up on google Wikipedia. You’ll see all about it. Mind boggling, all flat rock inlay work, looks like paintings and sculpture. Here’s two examples, not so easy to see but in person it’s so impressive. Small museum, an hour is plenty. It wasn’t far to find it. Just sharing a happy memory… so much to see in Florence but this place won’t be crowded!  🌹
 

Edited September 25, 2023 by RMLincoln

[lindaler]

Good morning everyone. It is slightly cooler today.  I have my doors open and it is still below 80.  I thought I had remembered everything but then this morning I remembered about lanyards for the room card. I bought a package for the SA cruise and only used two out of the 10. So my project for today is to remember where I put the package of lanyards. At my age that may be an all day job. I am sure I put them somewhere logical and safe but finding that place will be a challenge. 

[Nickelpenny]

Good Monday morning to all and thanks for the daily and fleet reports AND the pictures!!  Never really read comic books, salute to those who are deaf OR hard of hearing.  Food Service workers rock!  Of course, I was one before I became a nurse.  Worked at Jack in the Box, Burger King, Pizza Hut, Denny's, and managed a yogurt shop.  Started as crew and ended as ass't manager.  Boy, do they work hard and abuse food service workers get are unreal!!

 

Great quote, no time for the meal but I think I would like it.  After the explanation of the drink, I will take one, and a sip of the wine.  Never been to NZ.  Yes to Sandra Day O'Connor!!  She was an AZ State Senator though she was born in TX.  Her parents owned a ranch in SE AZ.

 

Subbing for a friend today again (PE to elementary students.  😬)  Almost all packed and ready to go.  I can tell the weather is getting colder - ok, AZ colder - because the cold water in the shower now needs me to turn on the hot water so I can take a shower.  

 

Thoughts for those on the care list and shout out to those on the huge list cruising!!

 

Have a great day everyone!

[travelingbums]

Thank you everyone for sharing.

Have a great Monday.

[cunnorl]

 Good Morning from a very cloudy day at the beach

      Havent posted in a few days but have read the posts. It has been busy here with "just life". All is well.

    We were in Dundedin jus before Christmas last year. It was cold and raining. However we bundled up and off we went. Great town. We took the ships shuttle into town and just explored on our own. Many excursions were cancelled due to the weather.  Wonderful welcoming people. I bought a nice pair of gloves for myself and DD. Havent needed them since. I needed a few supplies for DD and a veery nice shopkeeper called a new store which was not open yet and they let me in ! 

  Will post pictures after water aerobics.

 

Charlene

[Seasick Sailor]

Good morning Dailyites. 

 

Bon Voyage to our departing Dailyites. Safe travels for those heading home or to ships. Prayers for our friends and family in need.

 

Whew, we had one heck of a storm last night. Lenda all the rain came through our area. Several towns had tennis ball hail, baseball hail, and luckily we had quarter size hail. The girls met at our pool for a 7 pm cocktail and swim when we were kicked out by admin due to thunder. So we walked to my house and played cards and had drinks when the wind and hail started. The hail was hitting our front glass door so hard it was scary. It was over by 9 and I drove the girls home on Elvis. 

 

One of my closest friends is an interpreter for the deaf.

 

I worked as a waitress and I enjoyed it. It got me out of the house with 4 boys wrestling and watching sports all the time.

 

 

Today we have our covid shots and out for lunch. The weather will still be in the 90's for the foreseeable future. I think the nasty black crickets are slowly leaving. Texas sure has a variety of bugs! Friday I was watering our plants and got 7 fire ant bites. They are in the blister stage now and sure looks nasty and hurts like the Dickens. 

 

 

Have a great week. Blessings to each and every one!

[ger_77]

Good morning, thanks for the Fleet Report and Daily!  I have great respect for all food service workers - their jobs aren't easy, and aren't always appreciated.  It's appropriate that we have World Deaf Day after having Sign Language Day.  I haven't read a comic book in ages, but have you looked at the prices of them lately?  Yikes!  

 

A lovely looking morning already, although I've noticed the sun is getting up later every morning.  We're sitting at a +9 (48) and are expecting a great day of sunshine and very light breezes, hoping to top out at 25 (77) which is quite respectable for this time of year.  Yesterday I spent some time digging plants out of pots and putting them into the compost bin - some of which were looking incredibly raggy.  DH spent the time downstairs in the spare rooms going through bags, boxes, etc., to make room for the plants that will over-winter indoors.  Oh lordy, who knew we had so much stuff?  It's amazing how large Rubbermaid tubs can hide things.  As a result, later this morning the back of our Ford Escape will be filled with bags and boxes filled with everything from bubble machines to clothing and shoes that we'll be dropping off at Salvation Army for them to distribute or sell.  It was hard saying goodbye to the little step-stools and the travel booster seat we had for our grandsons, but they've outgrown them, so there's no point in keeping them any longer.  Might as well let someone else get use from them.

 

@ocean sounds Bon Voyage; enjoy your cruise!

 

I'm going to give the drink of the day a pass, would like to try the wine, and if I was to make the menu suggestion, would include beef or chicken instead of the tofu.  We bought some really good bacon the other day, so DH has asked if we can have toasted bacon/tomato sandwiches for dinner tonight.  How easy is that?  Looks like we'll be enjoying sandwiches and crudites on the deck tonight.  And wine.

 

Prayers for everyone who is in need, cheers to all with celebrations.

 

Smooth Sailing!  ☺️☺️☺️

Gerry

[marshhawk]

Good Monday Morning Dailyites!  We worked on the tree yesterday, for two hours, I cut, DH bagged.  We are out of bags. And we ran out of energy.  I took a shower and noticed my left arm looked sunburned.  But how can that be? I wore long sleeves.  It's a reaction to the pneumonia jab I got on Friday.

On the agenda today, grocery shopping, the cats are out of food.  I work from 1 to 11, but at the rate we are  moving today it might be 2-11  (with breaks). 

 

 

 

[marshhawk]

Ee gads I just lost my post...

so a redo..

My ex inlaws were deaf.  I quickly learned how to spell, and they appreciated my spelling more than sign words because apparently there are accents, in sign language.  They both came from large of families, they were both the youngest of 13 kids , the eldest in each family were deaf, from scarlet fever, and the youngest were born deaf. My ex inlaws were wonderful people, their son, not so much, and by the time we divorced, even they didn't like him anymore.

 

I do like the quote today, but my favorite is the one that @0106posted.

The other is one that I wrote in my very first song in 1969, Yesterday never promised tomorrow.

 

I dont eat tofu, it's made from soy, and that is one of my food allergies.  DH likes it though.

[quilty964]

Good morning and happy Monday!  It's a great day in Wisconsin for sports fans...the Brewers are in the Playoffs, the Badgers won, and the Packers had a great win yesterday.  DH watched football all day long! 

 

I think I'll pass on the food today, but I've bookmarked several of the recipes from the last few days.  Never visited the port, but the photos look interesting.  Food service workers are very much appreciated.  I don't read comic books, but my Reading Buddy kiddos like them.  Diary of a Wimpy Kid seems to be a popular series.  I'm more of a beer rather than wine person.  We went to a Fund Raiser beer tasting event for a local kids baseball league on Saturday.  Some I liked, and some, not so much!  Hearing loss is hard...sign language and hearing aids are very important.  

 

Prayers for all who need them, and cheers to the rest!   To everyone cruising...Enjoy!  It's a few months for our annual winter cruise.  Have a great day!  

[ocean sounds]

Good morning from lovely Vancouver.  
 

Thanks for the Bon Voyage wishes, and thanks for the Daily and all contributions. So excited to be boarding the Royal Princess this afternoon.   The days in history are both important. I’m enjoying all of the Port photos 

I’ll leave you with pictures from my hotel room yesterday. I didn’t realize I was so close to the cruise terminal 

 

 

 

[durangoscots]

2 hours ago, aliaschief said:

Good morning. We have been to Port Chalmers and are scheduled to revisit on the world cruise. This visit we wanted to do the train but for some reason they are not running on the day we visit. Yesterday we cooked a Shawarma on the grill. Traditionally lamb but we had stacks of boneless skinless chicken breast on a spit plate. Interesting. I  got up too early but the trash needed to be put out. Due to bear we no longer put it out the night before. He took a dump on my yard this week and I noticed when I stepped in it!

As you well know it’s wash day. Currently 66 degrees and will rise in high eighties. Thanks for the Fleet and Care report and special post. Always nice to hear from everyone.

Graham shame on you sending Pauline out selling chocolates why you eat blabs of bacon gaping at the ocean.😁

Have a great week everyone. Bruce

 

@aliaschiefI can identify with the bear issues. I don't have to worry much about the garbage since our dumpster has a "bear bar" on it.... which means I have trouble putting trash in. But I get to "pooper scooper" bear leavings out of the yard most mornings in the Fall. I think they had a party the other night. As long as I don't meet them face to face, I am good.

[RMLincoln]

15 minutes ago, ocean sounds said:

Good morning from lovely Vancouver.  
 

Thanks for the Bon Voyage wishes, and thanks for the Daily and all contributions. So excited to be boarding the Royal Princess this afternoon.   The days in history are both important. I’m enjoying all of the Port photos 

I’ll leave you with pictures from my hotel room yesterday. I didn’t realize I was so close to the cruise terminal 

 

 

 

Bon Voyage and Aloha!  

[puppycanducruise]

@ocean sounds Have a great cruise!

[kazu]

@ocean sounds Bon Voyage !  

Have a great cruise and a WONDERFUL time !!!!

 

 

 

3 hours ago, Cruzin Terri said:

My polymyalgia seems under better control. The pain is gone and it seems that one skipped day on the predisone did not cause any major problems.  So far so good.  Will message the doctor today to see if I can start to lower the dosage to a more acceptable level.

 

That is good news 👍. Best wishes for your DH’s appointment today.

 

[JazzyV]

Good morning. Thanks for the Fleet Report/Daily.

I'll salute food service workers who work so hard. My only experience was working in a small restaurant on the boardwalk at the Jersey shore, summers after my junior and senior years in high school. I'll salute the dear community; there's a nearby school for the deaf, which helps with integration into society. I used to collect Star Trek comic books. Interesting quote. I'll pass on the meal (tofu) and drink and take the wine. I have been to Dunedin on my first ever HAL cruise on the Statendam. Important days in history.

 

We're stuck with highs on only about 65F here, and occasional showers all week. I had another bad night. Not only my leg pain, but the right side of my back felt like the sacroiliitis I had 9 years ago. I did take a larger dose of ibuprofen this morning. I'm waiting to hear back from the Rheumatology office.

 

@grapau27 I hope you feel ok today after your flu shot. I understand your not being able to share your travels beforehand. When we were staying with a friend in Germany, we had to remember to shut the windows, as if there was a burglary and windows had been open, insurance would not have paid.

@StLouisCruisers I'm sure DS will be tired today after that long trip back home. Thanks for the Dunedin photos. Safe travels tomorrow.

@Cruzin Terri I hope DH's appointment goes well, and that you find some furnishings you like for the house. I'm glad you're feeling better. I know you want to, but don't be too hasty in decreasing your prednisone as that could trigger a re-flare (my unasked for 2-cents).

@smitty34877 Continued prayers for you and the family. Take-out sounds like a good idea.

@dfish Pretty flower and scenery.

@ottahand7 Enjoy your day, and safe travels home tomorrow. Sorry the Ravens lost, but they are archrivals to my Steelers, lol. 

@rafinmd Thanks for the NZ photos, especially with @erewhon.

@RMLincoln It sounds like things are moving along smoothly for you. 

@ocean sounds Bon Voyage!

 

Prayers for the Care List and Cheers for those Celebrating.

 

 

[JazzyV]

Some photos from Dunedin in 2006 on the Statendam.

Approaching Dunedin

 

Port of Otago and docking

 

 

St. Paul's Cathedral in the Octagon

 

The Municipal Chambers

 

Robert Burns Statue

 

Dunedin Railway Station

 

Courthouse

 

Dunedin First Church

 

Cadbury World

 

 

 

 

[JazzyV]

Part 2

Speight Brewery, Dunedin

 

 

Taste testing

 

Pipers coming to give us a sendoff

 

 

Wood chips on the dock

 

Port Chalmers Flagstaff Point

 

Scenery as we leave

 

Flowers in bloom

 

Otago Peninsula, Dunedin

Head Gun fortifications

 

Royal Albatross Centre