The Fleet Report and Daily for Thursday, January 4th, 2024

[cunnorl]

Good Morning from a very cloudy and cool day at the beach

      We enjoy trivia except for Pop culture. I wonder if that includes Pop Music. The meal suggestion looks good.

     @grapau27 Graham , thanks for the description of our days. Very informative. 

      Had a few extra people show up yesterday to take down all the library decorations. Went well and done for another year. 

      So many of our group off on wonderful cruises!  So exciting. I have to wait until July for the VOV. Worth waiting for I think.

     Scheduled to play golf this afternoon. Looks iffy at present. Hopefully....

 

Stay safe and enjoy today

     Charlene

[travelingbums]

Thank you everyone for sharing.

Have a wonderful day.

[travelnap]

1 hour ago, RedneckBob said:

Well, Chief told me to comment on this drink and I responded,  no way, so after considerable thought, I decided to respond, which may get me kicked off the CC!

Just tell me, can I drink Wild Sex with Slow Screw Against the Wall or Sex on the Beach. 

RNB, you can only drink those three together if your name is Harvey Wallbanger.

[Mtn2Sea]

We spent a day in Loreto, Mexico, last month after tendering ashore from the Volendam.  The day’s excursion took us to San Javier, a very small community, where in 1699, the Jesuits founded a mission.  The hour long drive took us through a desert environment and to an elevation of 1400 feet.  The church building is one of the best preserved missions in this area of Mexico.  On the way back to the ship, we visited the much newer mission in Loreto.  The tender ride back to the ship was quite wild due to the rough seas.  The next day’s port was cancelled due to the weather.

 

 

 

Mission in San Javier.

 

 

 

 

 

Countryside on the way to San Javier. 

The church in Loreto.

 

 

The walk back to the ship.

 

[RedneckBob]

3 minutes ago, travelnap said:

RNB, you can only drink those three together if your name is Harvey Wallbanger.

🏆🏆🏆🏆

[marshhawk]

Good Thursday Morning Dailyites!  Yesterday was a good day for DH, we got the results from his last PET scan and it seems the Keytruda is working!  The cancer has shrunk a bit, and he was informed that since this seems to be working, he will be on it for a long time.  Now to get rid of the pain in his mouth, so that he wants to face a day, instead of sleeping through it.

 

What hours I have had not being at the docs has been spent working, and unwinding after 9 at night.

I got a text from the CA boss that I was "becoming the top CTG rep!"  Which is good, because I really do want to be on his next campaign, the Hollywood Bowl.  That would carry me through from February to May, and then hopefully I can pick up a Symphony campaign somewhere in the country.

 

Bubbles is still on the porch.  I have been treating him with hydrogen peroxide, and antibiotic cream, he is eating (special treats) .  However my neighbor thinks that the porch door is the way into the house, and I heard someone knocking last night, and then I heard a woman say whoo who and by the time I got off the phone with the patron, and ran out there was no one there.  I think she opened the door, and got a whiff of the porch, and ran off.

 

Well he is eating, but his right eye is still shut.

 

Speaking of right eye, the PA who spoke to DH yesterday said that she thinks the eye doc that did DH's surgery went overboard, and that we should go back and complain  Well, we could, but she moved to Utah a week after the surgery.  She also got mad when she heard he had been using my oxygen.  Told him to get his own.  Not to share prescriptions. 

 

That's all the news that fit to print, time to get ready to walk the neighbors dog.

[St Pete Cruiser]

Good morning everyone from the Zaandam in Ft Lauderdale, pier 26.

We had a medical disembark at Nassau last night on our return from Half Moon Cay. That caused us to arrive about 3 hours late. Trouble for the early flights, so they gave everyone wifi. We are taking Amtrak to Tampa at 12 noon, so we are sitting in the Crow's Nest allowing those in a hurry off first.

Zaandam still pleases and we leave both happy and sadly as I'm not sure if and when we will return. 

[StLouisCruisers]

I saw the Zaandam coming into Port Everglades this morning.  Hope the ailing crew member they left in the Bahamas is back on the road to good health soon.  And that not too many people miss their flights today because of the delay.

 

1 hour ago, grapau27 said:

Sandi @StLouisCruisers.

Happy birthday to Jen and your DGD Ashley.

 

Thanks so much Graham!  Jen is the niece who had the fall down the stairs with head trauma about 2 years ago.  Years prior to that she had a skydiving accident.  Permanent damage of course.  She has some brain damage that causes her to act out by saying or doing hurtful things. It's a shame.

 

We just enjoyed a lovely visit with DGD Ashley and her fiancé over Christmas.  She was a millennium baby due on Dec. 31, 1999 but arrived 4 days into 2000.👶

 

 

 

42 minutes ago, grapau27 said:

Awesome photos Sandi.

 

So glad you liked them Graham.  You can view them in the warmth of your living room and not have to shiver at all! ❄️ Good luck getting all the decorations put away.  I haven't done that yet.  I really had better get back to my stitching on the Christmas stocking.  I think I'll take a photo every day after I work on it to show my progress and encourage me.  DH says I should write down how many hours I work each day but I am interrupted so much it wouldn't be accurate.  🕰️

[kochleffel]

Why would anyone put a sock in a toaster?

 

The meal might be OK but I probably wouldn't make it. No on the cocktail. The Finger Lakes are the Riesling capital of North America, so I'll suggest Red Newt's "The Knoll" collection of six Riesling vintages, one of which was listed among the top 100 wines for 2023. I haven't been to Loreto.

 

I've reorganized my plans for today because of snow, but it is stopping.

 

 

[Quartzsite Cruiser]

Good morning from a sunny with no wind Quartzsite.  It is 37F with a predicted high of 59F with winds reaching 13mph this afternoon. Yesterday's rain was a good rain for the desert.  DH's weather station said we got 0.09 inches and my old fashioned rain gauge said 0.12 inches. It is nice to not have anything that needs to be done today besides taking more donations to Carol's Closet and the thrift store.  Maybe, I'll be able to catch up on some banking chores and a few other computer related chores.

 

I enjoyed pop music until the disco era.  Since then some pop music was good, but most not, IMHO.  Tom Thumb was a great entertainer.  I like trivia since there is a host of random, useless information in my head.  DH is not a real fan of trivia, but when he played, he was a big help with science and astronomy questions.

 

A weird quote today that I hope doesn't give anyone any ideas.

 

We'll pass on the meal and the Wild Sex.  I might try the Riesling, but I prefer one that is between sweet and dry.

 

We were in Loreto in 2016 on Ruby Princess, and I'll repost my pictures next.

 

Two interesting days in history.  The Colt revolver was a game changer in the gun industry.  The NYSE has been in it's permanent building a long time.

 

@Lady Hudson  Katherine, I hope the doctors appointment goes well and there are no surprises.

@dfish  Debbie, I was surprised the pain clinic wanted another MRI.  We found that they only needed a new one, and that was for surgery, when the latest MRI was more than a year old.  I don't know about other insurance, but original Medicare requires PT plus wearing a back brace for a month and neither helping before surgery is approved.  

@0106  Tina, thank you for filling in for Debbie while she was recuperating.

@aliaschief  Enjoy tonight's festivities, Bruce.  I laughed at the RV meme.  We've seen some RV's jacked up pretty high, but the meme takes the cake.

@grapau27  Graham, thank you for enlightening us about the days we're celebrating.

@seagarsmoker  I'm glad you are feeing better and hope you are back to normal by this weekend.  Thanks for the observations about your trip.

@VMax1700  I hope the visit with the GP goes well, and the call to come in is not for a serious reason.  Enjoy our DGD's performance tonight.

@ger_77  Gerry, I'm glad you don't need shoulder surgery now.  The steroid shots helped DH.

@marshhawk  Annie, that is good news about the Keytruda working and the tumors shrinking.  I hope something can be done about the mouth pain.

@St Pete Cruiser  Welcome home.  I hope the person medically evacuated from the ship is doing will and will be fully recovered soon.

 

 

Lenda

 

Edited January 4 by Quartzsite Cruiser

[puppycanducruise]

@dfish Glad you are feeling better.  @0106 Thanks for filling in. 

You both do a great job with the recipes.  Thank you.

[Quartzsite Cruiser]

We were in Loreto on the Ruby Princess in 2016.  It is in the Sea of Cortez on the east coast of Baja California north of La Paz.  Cruise ships usually only do one or two cruises in that area each year.  We took a tour to San Javier, a small town up in the mountains; then, we walked through Loreto on the way back to the pier.  I would like to go back and spend more time in Loreto.

 

The sun rising on Loreto as we approached the anchorage.

 

The main street and church in San Javier

 

Behind the church was an area with ancient trees with twisted trunks.

 

A local resident

 

The little cafe where we had an early, good lunch

 

On the way back to Loreto, we stopped at a view point with a wayside chapel.

 

Back in Loreto, our guide took us to the local church.

 

Loreto on the walk back to the pier and the tenders.

 

Lenda

[Crazy For Cats]

Good Morning, thanks for today’s daily fleet report.  This morning we had some flurries, a prelude to this weekend’s storm? It’s been a busy work morning and I was able to schedule a minor project at 6 am.  Time for a break.  Today’s meal suggestion sounds really good to me especially if someone else is cooking.  
I hope everyone has a good day today.

[NextOne]

Well, the new year is starting off with good news/bad news from the HVAC technician. The good news -- The furnace is 17 years old and "should make it through the winter "as long as we don't have sustained temps in the low 20s. Hmmm. The bad news, obviously, is that I'm probably going to have to replace the system before next winter.  $$$$$! I'll have to seriously decide whether I should cancel my Rotterdam cruise in June.... Decisions, decisions!

I had planned to take down the Christmas decorations outside on Saturday (Epiphany), but the weatherman says this afternoon will be blustery, so I want to get the ornaments off the front tree before they blow off. Plus it looks like snow/rain on Saturday -- not a good day for working outdoors! So I'm going to bundle up now & get the job done.

Have a good day, friends!

[Mr. Boston]

Good morning everyone.  Thanks for the daily report, recipes and lists.  I’m a little late as I’m getting a cold and I took Nyquil last evening before I went to bed.  Seems like I’m vaccinated against everything but that!  Nice collection of days to celebrate, since I have not followed pop music for years I’ll celebrate Tom Thumb Day.  The meal suggestion sounds delicious but I’ll pass on the drink. The quote seems a little silly to be an actual quote. I haven’t been to today’s port.  Prayers for all on today’s prayer list.  Cheers to everyone celebrating happy events!  

[richwmn]

Good morning from Volendam, somewhere at sea.

 

For those thinking about longer cruises it looks like the rules are changing a bit.

 

 

Friends on the World Cruise have been told that their accounts would be settled every 30 days as well.

Edited January 4 by richwmn

[JazzyV]

Good morning. Thanks for the Fleet Report/Daily @kazu and @richwmn.

3 good days. The quote is nonsensical. I like the meal and drink. Pass on the wine. I haven't been to Loreto. 

 

It's 32F and cloudy. There was snow on the rooftops and grass this AM, but roads are fine. Yesterday the Rheumatologist was very sympathic toward my plight, but it's really out of her area of expertise. She did find a couple of small rheumatoid nodules on the inner aspect of my fingers. I got about 4 hours of sleep, having taken Benadry for my RA injection last evening. 

 

@Denise T Congrats on working toward your doctorate.

@dfish Welcome back to the Daily meal, and thanks to TIna @0106 for helping out. I like the first recipe, as I'm a big fan of Skinnytaste recipes. 

@StLouisCruisers Thanks for the continued travelogue. Too bad that day you and DH couldn't get on the zodiac. Happy Birthday to Jen and Ashley!

@aliaschief Have a great cruise!

@seagarsmoker I'm glad you're finally feeling better. 

@VMax1700 I hope all is ok with your DW.

@ger_77 Good to hear you don't need surgery. I've had shoulder surgery and it's not fun. 

@Mtn2Sea Great photos.

@marshhawk Great news that the Keytruda is working for DH!

@St Pete Cruiser Welcome home!

@Quartzsite Cruiser Lovely photos from Loreto.

@NextOne Sorry about the furnace news. 

@richwmn Thanks for the info.

 

Prayers for the Care List and a Toast to those Celebrating.

[luvteaching]

Good morning, 

We're having a soggy start to the day. No plans at the moment other than tea with a neighbor which is an almost daily occurrence. It's raining pretty good at the moment so staying home and getting things done around the house is a good plan. I'm hosting DD DH's side of the family for Christmas on Jan. 28th so need to get "save the date" notes out to them so that's at the top of the to-do list. There's always dusting, cleaning, and needlework to do - or I can work on a jigsaw puzzle! 

Karen

[57redbird]

@dfishPrior to my recent spine surgery I needed an MRI within a year, lumbar spine xrays, PT & epidural steroid injections for Medicare to approve it.

[Heartgrove]

Thank you Jacqui, thank you Debbie, thank you Vanessa, thank you Ann, and thank you Dixie for all your work. Thank you @0106 Tina for substituting and keeping the delicious recipes forthcoming.  And thank you everyone for being here!

 

My first posting on the Daily for this year. I just decided to take a break for the holidays but time to get back in the routine! Starting with: Up early this morning for lab work as I have my semi-annual appointment with my doctor on Monday.

 

Even with the new prognosis on Sam's health, our plans for the April cruise on the Rotterdam will now happen as originally planned. Our dogsitter was already booked with someone else those days but our vet last year did not expect him to still be around. It is DSIL 75th birthday so we planned it to celebrate with a HAL cruise. With the good news about Sam, I had then planned on just staying home with him. But Sue's and DSIL's one brother has agreed to visit from Ohio plus care for Sam while the three of us go on the cruise.

 

With all that it also requires that we need to re-evaluate our Fall trip to Italy as the inevitable decision about Sam will now happen later. The Summer heat is hard on Northern breeds and Sam had a rough Summer last year. Originally we were going to spend time traveling around on land besides a cruise to Greece and Turkey as well as a Transatlantic. Now we plan on just going for less than a month late October ending with the MSC Transatlantic early November. 

 

Stay Safe, and prayers for those in need.

- Jack

[Gail & Marty sailing away]

Thanks for the info.

[grapau27]

4 hours ago, StLouisCruisers said:

I saw the Zaandam coming into Port Everglades this morning.  Hope the ailing crew member they left in the Bahamas is back on the road to good health soon.  And that not too many people miss their flights today because of the delay.

 

 

Thanks so much Graham!  Jen is the niece who had the fall down the stairs with head trauma about 2 years ago.  Years prior to that she had a skydiving accident.  Permanent damage of course.  She has some brain damage that causes her to act out by saying or doing hurtful things. It's a shame.

 

We just enjoyed a lovely visit with DGD Ashley and her fiancé over Christmas.  She was a millennium baby due on Dec. 31, 1999 but arrived 4 days into 2000.👶

 

 

 

 

So glad you liked them Graham.  You can view them in the warmth of your living room and not have to shiver at all! ❄️ Good luck getting all the decorations put away.  I haven't done that yet.  I really had better get back to my stitching on the Christmas stocking.  I think I'll take a photo every day after I work on it to show my progress and encourage me.  DH says I should write down how many hours I work each day but I am interrupted so much it wouldn't be accurate.  🕰️

I'm sorry to hear about your niece Jen's falls Sandi.

A good friend of Pauline's husband died falling down stairs and a childhood friend of hers also died falling down stairs.

When I was a child I fell down stairs and fractured my wrist.

 

[dfish]

3 hours ago, NextOne said:

Well, the new year is starting off with good news/bad news from the HVAC technician. The good news -- The furnace is 17 years old and "should make it through the winter "as long as we don't have sustained temps in the low 20s. Hmmm. The bad news, obviously, is that I'm probably going to have to replace the system before next winter.  $$$$$! I'll have to seriously decide whether I should cancel my Rotterdam cruise in June.... Decisions, decisions!

I had planned to take down the Christmas decorations outside on Saturday (Epiphany), but the weatherman says this afternoon will be blustery, so I want to get the ornaments off the front tree before they blow off. Plus it looks like snow/rain on Saturday -- not a good day for working outdoors! So I'm going to bundle up now & get the job done.

Have a good day, friends!

 

Oh, I feel your pain!  My greatest fear is having to replace something we can't live without before I get my nest egg built up again.  I hope you don't have to cancel your cruise.

 

3 hours ago, JazzyV said:

 

 

 

@dfish Welcome back to the Daily meal, and thanks to TIna @0106 for helping out. I like the first recipe, as I'm a big fan of Skinnytaste recipes. 

 

 

I like Skinnytaste as well.  Great ideas on how to trim some of the recipes to maintain flavor but eliminate excess calories and carbs.

 

2 hours ago, 57redbird said:

@dfishPrior to my recent spine surgery I needed an MRI within a year, lumbar spine xrays, PT & epidural steroid injections for Medicare to approve it.

 

I'm not looking at surgery as an alternative.  I would like the nerve ablation for the stenosis.  She wants the MRI to diagnose the stenosis, but I already have a diagnosis of spinal stenosis.   I have to do the PT for the nerve ablation because it has been more than 2 years since I had nerve ablation.  I did not need an MRI for that in the past.  We may do the epidural injections.  We'll see.

[rafinmd]

I have a sunset today rather than a sunrise.  It's from my 2019 Prinsendam Grand South America cruise and on January 4 the sun went down while we were still in Fort Lauderdale waiting to sail,

 

 

Roy

[rafinmd]

Back to the Daily very late today  after a long session with the n memories of Tom Thumb.  I've done Trivia on ships many times but not recently.  I also haven't followed Pop Charts for many years.

 

No idea why anyone would even think of putting a sock in a toaster.

 

I'll celebrate the Stock Market but am ambivalent about the Colt considering how much carnage guns have caused in the US.

 

I haven't been to Loreto.

 

Not convinced about the meal but maybe.  My alternative is Sauteed Pork Chop and Key Lime Pie as served on MS Prinsendam January 4. 2019.

 

Roy