The Fleet Report and Daily for Friday, January 12th, 2024

[superoma]

Reporting back on the soup. The second recipe with the carrots and apples is a keeper. I just purreed it and you can’t tell what the component parts are! This will be a welcome meal on our first real winter day. Snow is sticking around and is quite wet and heavy. If we do get wind it won’t blow around and that is a good thing.

 

now, in the messy cook department, I have to confess my apron did me no good today. I managed to hit the on button of my immersion blender as I was pulling it out of the slow cooker and yes, I have soup everywhere. At least I was in a corner of the kitchen so it was contained on one wall and the stove. Some days you just can’t win.

[aliaschief]

We had a wonderful excursion today in Panama City. We visited the 1550 archeological ruins of the original city and its museum. Then we went to La Fonda Restaurant were we went to cooking school and helped creat our own lunch of fried bread, plantains, fish and sweet plantains. Local beer a lager was offered. The skyscrapers and skyline are tall and dramatic. The Panama Canal is only 5 per cent of their economy. It is a major financial hub.

Time to get ready for White Night. I have no clue why certain photos are not printing.

 

Edited January 12 by aliaschief

[Quartzsite Cruiser]

55 minutes ago, dfish said:

I guess you paved the way for me as I had no problem turning my Ohio license into a Michigan one and registering the car.  

 

Snow has begun.  It was pretty weak at first but has now picked up quite a bit.  While the temp is 34F, the wind makes it feel a lot colder.  It is brutal out there.

 

Debbie, I'm glad you and Sue are staying in this weekend.

 

21 minutes ago, superoma said:

Reporting back on the soup. The second recipe with the carrots and apples is a keeper. I just purreed it and you can’t tell what the component parts are! This will be a welcome meal on our first real winter day. Snow is sticking around and is quite wet and heavy. If we do get wind it won’t blow around and that is a good thing.

 

now, in the messy cook department, I have to confess my apron did me no good today. I managed to hit the on button of my immersion blender as I was pulling it out of the slow cooker and yes, I have soup everywhere. At least I was in a corner of the kitchen so it was contained on one wall and the stove. Some days you just can’t win.

 

Eva, you're not the only one that has happened to.  Our older DD was using the immersion blender to puree some black beans, and somehow, got the blender too high in the pan.  We had beans all over the stove, microwave and wall above the microwave.

 

8 minutes ago, aliaschief said:

We had a wonderful excursion today in Panama City. We visited the 1550 archeological ruins of the original city and its museum. Then we went to La Fonda Restaurant were we went to cooking school and helped creat our own lunch of fried bread, plantains, fish and sweet plantains. Local beer a lager was offered. The skyscrapers and skyline are tall and dramatic. The Panama Canal is only 5 per cent of their economy. It is a major financial hub.

Time to get ready for White Night. I have no clue why certain photos are not printing.

 

 

 

Bruce, thanks for the pictures of Panama City.  We we toured it in 2009, we decided it looked better from the water.  We couldn't believe the hovels between the tall buildings.

 

The saga of the mail is over, and there were a couple of things in it that were important and the rest was junk.

 

Lenda

[StLouisCruisers]

Well, it looks like most of the rain is past us and we might have only a few sprinkles left for later, and that will be it.  So much for the huge storm.  DH says we got 2/10ths of an inch.  No tornadoes, hail or big winds.  Temps will drop to around freezing tonight so the rain gauge is already inside  (thank goodness...maybe I won't have to wake up to the chirps of the security system as he turns it off and back on overnight).  😜

 

Edited to add.  Yesterday while out running errands we passed a place where they board horses.  In the winter months when it gets cold the horses have horse blankets on them.  All of them.  Cold means under 50!

 

Speaking of mail, my twin read her informed delivery email and says the Christmas card I mailed her Dec. 4 was going to be delivered today!!  Mine plus an old friend from El Paso's Christmas card.  Sounds like her carrier misplaced some of her mail either during sorting or in the delivery truck.  Good old postal service.  😉  They are still in Houston visiting DBIL's very sick sister and flying home tomorrow sometime.

 

 

 

Edited January 12 by StLouisCruisers

[VMax1700]

Good evening from Cork.

Today was grey and cloudy but not as cold as previous days.  It is DS's last day here before he returns to Vancouver tomorrow.  We went for a meal this evening. There was 7 of us including 1 ginger (our son in law) but no one kissed him😁

I had fish cakes so I am posting food porn as I am trying to get to grips with a new tablet.

 

 

OK it has rotated 90 ° clockwise. Will have to work that out.

 

Hope everyone has a great day.

[Haljo1935]

[dfish]

58 minutes ago, superoma said:

Reporting back on the soup. The second recipe with the carrots and apples is a keeper. I just purreed it and you can’t tell what the component parts are! This will be a welcome meal on our first real winter day. Snow is sticking around and is quite wet and heavy. If we do get wind it won’t blow around and that is a good thing.

 

now, in the messy cook department, I have to confess my apron did me no good today. I managed to hit the on button of my immersion blender as I was pulling it out of the slow cooker and yes, I have soup everywhere. At least I was in a corner of the kitchen so it was contained on one wall and the stove. Some days you just can’t win.

 

First, I am glad you liked the soup!  If I didn't know there were carrots and they were all pureed into the soup, I would be ok.  

 

You are a true member of the Messy Cook/Baker/Painter guild.

 

11 minutes ago, VMax1700 said:

Good evening from Cork.

Today was grey and cloudy but not as cold as previous days.  It is DS's last day here before he returns to Vancouver tomorrow.  We went for a meal this evening. There was 7 of us including 1 ginger (our son in law) but no one kissed him😁

I had fish cakes so I am posting food porn as I am trying to get to grips with a new tablet.

 

 

OK it has rotated 90 ° clockwise. Will have to work that out.

 

Hope everyone has a great day.

 

Dinner looks really good  I'm glad you had a great visit with your DS.

 

3 minutes ago, Haljo1935 said:

You got it!   

 

Snow is heavy now.  Radar shows this is an all night affair.

[kazu]

1 hour ago, 57redbird said:

Haven't seen any posts from the Seattle area today ---- we are COLD!  Small amount of snow last evening/overnight but now at 1:45 pm it's 19 ----- bluebird sky but windy.  Not supposed to warm up for a while & snow's threatened for Thursday.  Hubby's playing hummingbird feeder bingo -- bring one in, put a thawed out one out....

 

Humming bird bingo - Love it 🙂. 😂. Don’t love you’re weather of course but it’s a great expression.!

[bennybear]

Thanks for all the warm wishes!  @kazu I don’t recall it ever this cold.  Minus forty is the worst I’ve seen.   This minus 50 is insane. I do remember my parents cars dash cracked.  Also steering wheels can snap off.

 

There is only one place worth venturing out to. 

Edited January 12 by bennybear

[arzz]

@kazu I am particularly amused by the Alaska airlines meme that you posted this morning where the plane was wrapped in duct tape. 
 

In the fall of 1974 DH and I moved before I was able to schedule my oral exams that completed the requirements for my M.S. degree. I had to fly from our new home in the Chicago suburbs back to Manhattan, Kansas to take the exam. I was flying into Manhattan in the morning when the bulk of the passenger traffic was flying from Manhattan to Kansas City on Frontier Airlines which, at the time, flew prop planes that held about 15 or 20 passengers. The only flight available for me to go into Manhattan that morning was on a small commuter airline that flew small Cessnas. 
 

I arrived in Kansas City on the “big jet” (a 707) and proceeded to the commuter gate to check in at the commuter airline counter. The gate agent ogled me up and down as I stood there in my mini skirt (remember it was 1974).  He then informed me that I was almost two hours early for my flight and asked if I would like to go now. Somehow I agreed. 

 

He then closed the airline desk at the gate - asked me to follow him and led me through a staff door behind the gate down to the field where a small four passenger Cessna was waiting. He helped me into the co-pilot's seat, closed the door and circled the plane a few times. As he went around the plane he found something on the outside fuselage that he grabbed and jiggled. It rattled back while four letter epithets emerged from his mouth.
 

He then briefly disappeared into the terminal building and emerged with a roll of duct tape which he liberally applied to the fuselage to secure the unseen plane part, got into the plane, and started taxiing to the runway.  Only after take off did he glance at me again and ask “why do you look so scared?”

 

I only dimly remember my oral exams - they were intimidating but not as much as that flight in.
 

For those who are curious, the way home was also counter to rush hour traffic and the bigger planes but I flew in a larger Cessna back to Kansas City that I actually shared with other passengers.  And I did, somehow, pass my orals. 
 

 

[Quartzsite Cruiser]

43 minutes ago, dfish said:

 

First, I am glad you liked the soup!  If I didn't know there were carrots and they were all pureed into the soup, I would be ok.  

 

You are a true member of the Messy Cook/Baker/Painter guild.

 

 

 I second that.

 

Lenda

[Vict0riann]

I remember when they used to check the outsides of the plane for leaks- they would find them by the nicotine stains.  See, smoking was good for something.  
 

we are also playing hummingbird bingo.  This last time I took one out, “our” little male landed on it before I could get it hung.  Even with the hand warmers attached the one in the shade is freezing within an hour, the other, in a sunny spot, is taking a little longer to freeze(that’s the one the girls sit on, the male hogs the other). 

[kochleffel]

I enjoyed St. Maarten but I don’t really see the point. As far as I can tell, iguanas (photo posted earlier) are the only natural resource, and as there is very little demand for them, the economy is entirely dependent on tourism, much of it at the extreme luxury end.  I have heard that St Maarten has the cheapest duty-free liquor.

 

 I had booked a tour with no beach stop but ended up having one anyway. I spent it drinking; my fellow drinkers were all from the P&O Arvia, docked next to us, and were worked up from a tiff with one of the servers (and possibly with having to pay in either euros or dollars, not pounds). The other cruise ships in port were the Norwegian Viva and the Jewel of the Seas.

 

And I don’t know what to think about a place where the airport is an essential stop, although I did like seeing the private jets taking off. The attraction was supposed to be the commercial jets that were landing, of which the largest was an Air France A330.

[kochleffel]

Someone at the neighboring table has ordered the butternut squash curry.

[kazu]

1 hour ago, arzz said:

@kazu I am particularly amused by the Alaska airlines meme that you posted this morning where the plane was wrapped in duct tape. 
 

In the fall of 1974 DH and I moved before I was able to schedule my oral exams that completed the requirements for my M.S. degree. I had to fly from our new home in the Chicago suburbs back to Manhattan, Kansas to take the exam. I was flying into Manhattan in the morning when the bulk of the passenger traffic was flying from Manhattan to Kansas City on Frontier Airlines which, at the time, flew prop planes that held about 15 or 20 passengers. The only flight available for me to go into Manhattan that morning was on a small commuter airline that flew small Cessnas. 
 

I arrived in Kansas City on the “big jet” (a 707) and proceeded to the commuter gate to check in at the commuter airline counter. The gate agent ogled me up and down as I stood there in my mini skirt (remember it was 1974).  He then informed me that I was almost two hours early for my flight and asked if I would like to go now. Somehow I agreed. 

 

He then closed the airline desk at the gate - asked me to follow him and led me through a staff door behind the gate down to the field where a small four passenger Cessna was waiting. He helped me into the co-pilot's seat, closed the door and circled the plane a few times. As he went around the plane he found something on the outside fuselage that he grabbed and jiggled. It rattled back while four letter epithets emerged from his mouth.
 

He then briefly disappeared into the terminal building and emerged with a roll of duct tape which he liberally applied to the fuselage to secure the unseen plane part, got into the plane, and started taxiing to the runway.  Only after take off did he glance at me again and ask “why do you look so scared?”

 

I only dimly remember my oral exams - they were intimidating but not as much as that flight in.
 

For those who are curious, the way home was also counter to rush hour traffic and the bigger planes but I flew in a larger Cessna back to Kansas City that I actually shared with other passengers.  And I did, somehow, pass my orals. 
 

 

 

OMG arzz,

 

and you are bringing back memories.  For ever so long the way to get out of here was prop planes.  Years ago we had another airline here CP (Hope I have that right).  their pilots were phenomenal - they could land on a frozen lake in bad weather if they had to (and they did).

 

One of my flights echoed yours when I saw them apply duct tape.  But, back then the planes were made better ( like our appliances) and heck duct tape can block a bit of air or so the stewardess told me (that’s what they were called back then).  

 

Apparently duct tape really was the fix all.  😂 

 

 

 

1 hour ago, kochleffel said:

And I don’t know what to think about a place where the airport is an essential stop, although I did like seeing the private jets taking off. The attraction was supposed to be the commercial jets that were landing, of which the largest was an Air France A330.

 

 I said the same thing when our guide told me our tour included the airline strip in Gibraltar.  How wrong I was.  that is a MUST.  You basically stop when the red light comes on and the plane takes off on the same road you are stopped on and flies over you very closely.  It was amazing.  It was timed so took only 10 minutes but wow!

[marshhawk]

@VMax1700Food porn looks good in any direction, especially when it's coming towards me.

 

I did kiss my gingers today, Bobagingee and Furnando.

 

Furnando

 

 

and Bobagingee

 

[Cruzin Terri]

Well, we are back on line.  We had no WiFi all day.  

Not really sure what happened, except that a line was cut and they could not find where. Then they had to repair the cut.

So here I am.

It was a very tiring day.  

I think it was the culmination of a very tiring and stressful week.  

We had to be up early because the contractor was sending someone to do some touch up painting.  Talk about just being on time.  We got up at 8 am and the doorbell rang at 8:09.  Just finished putting on my clothes.  Perfect timing.

Would you believe that there are three places on the bedroom floor that need to be repaired.  I adamantly told the contractor that I did not want the same floor guy back.  Send someone else.  

Don’t know when, but it needs to be fixed.

 

Other from that, Jim and i had a quiet day.  I tried to process a lot of things.  I am not sure yet what will happen and how everything will work out, but we will figure it out.

 

Thank you all again for your prayers and support. i appreciate all your kind words.

God Bless and Good Night.

Terri

[1ANGELCAT]

Good rainy evening. High winds are forecast and heavy rain is expected.

i ve been to Sitka 3 or 4 times. The first time was in 1997 on the old Nieuw Amsterdam. I was the top mariner onboard and was invited to the bridge in Glacier Bay. Somewhere i have a photo.

My last bit was in2019 onEurodam . I recommend AlaskaPure Sea salt store. The blueberry is to die for. They do ship

Have a good evening.

[dfish]

3 hours ago, kochleffel said:

Someone at the neighboring table has ordered the butternut squash curry.

You are the official butternut squash patrol officer.  Keep us informed!

 

This storm is turning out to be far less than advertised.  Our 10 inches might end up being 2.  Unless we get dumped on, there won't be enough for Sue to run The Beast.  The shovel it will be.

[1ANGELCAT]

16 minutes ago, dfish said:

You are the official butternut squash patrol officer.  Keep us informed!

 

This storm is turning out to be far less than advertised.  Our 10 inches might end up being 2.  Unless we get dumped on, there won't be enough for Sue to run The Beast.  The shovel it will be.

Use the beasts. Be carefrul if you shovel, no accidents before the cruise. I’

 

 

 

 

Edited January 13 by 1ANGELCAT

[RMLincoln]

First, the deep cold coming to so many is really something to take seriously. Please, Take no risks!  Be prepared for the unexpected, even at home!  
 

We had a good day heading out to the NJ Motor Vehicle Commission, as I learned it’s called here!  I think it all went as well as it did because of all your positive thoughts!  Thank you!  It was tiring but successful.

 

We had a very pleasant drive west across some pretty countryside, all new to us so a nice adventure.  We had appointments which made entry easier. We went to this farther-away office because they could process all our needs in one place - driver’s licenses, new title and registration, plates.
 

The licenses took a loooong time but our passports and additional ID support docs were adequate and accepted fir REAL ID. We now have paper Interim licenses until the real ones come in the mail. They suggested we take pictures of our old licenses with our phones!  They kept our Maryland licenses. Very strange. 
 

Next was a title change. First we had to show proof of NJ residency to get NJ title. Not so easy but we brought copies of our Retirement Community agreement which was thick but it worked. We don’t have a deed, aren’t legal owners so it’s complicated.  I’m glad I flagged the pages with our address, names and signatures- of course 3 different pages. We used credit card bills showing new address also, all good!  

Then to transfer the Maryland title.  “Rut-Roh!!” Our car was originally titled in New Mexico to our trust….  easy enough in NM, and in Maryland, not so easy in New Jersey!  Rather than apply to Trenton for a Corporate Entity number which can take several weeks, we “sold” our car (as trustees) to ourselves as people!  Signed over the Maryland title with odometer reading, and filled out application for NJ title- almost easy! Needed lots of data- VIN number, weights, etc, but we had it all. Took 15 minutes. With the new title, getting new plates was also easy!  The whole visit took about 2.5 hours which wasn’t too bad considering all that we had to do. We had an exceptional person helping us through each stage and the many forms!  
 

We walked out with everything completed, plus directions to the nearby Safety Inspection station. That was very easy too because the car is a 2020, no inspection needed for first 5 years!  Got a sticker good for a year!  Put the new plates on the parking lot and we’re basically legal!  New registration and insurance cards in effect!  Licenses coming in the mail. Plus we are registered to vote, and we are once again organ donors (if these old parts could be of use). 
 

If we need photo IDs we’ll use our US Passport cards.  They have come in handy more often than I’d have thought!  Good we got them last time we had to renew passports. 
 

I’m so glad, once again, that we’re doing all this while we still can, and able to do it together!  Moving is physically, mentally and emotionally taxing!  There are many more tasks yet to accomplish but One day at a time is Everything!  Today was good!  
Maureen 
 

 

[SusieKIslandGirl]

I know it's not cold compared to Frozen Tundra cold, but when Seattle hits 19 it's cold. Spent the day in Seattle taking my 92-year-old DS to a hearing exam and then stops at Costco and JoAnn Fabrics. I had taken blankets with me so she could stay a bit warmer when I ran in to Costco. Glad we had them-waiting in the ferry line and then on the boat was chilly. But we made it-coming home the sun was blindingly bright. Just a bit of snow last night which didn't last.

@RMLincolnMaureen, I'm tired just reading about all you accomplished. Good work!

[kazu]

6 hours ago, dfish said:

You are the official butternut squash patrol officer.  Keep us informed!

 

This storm is turning out to be far less than advertised.  Our 10 inches might end up being 2.  Unless we get dumped on, there won't be enough for Sue to run The Beast.  The shovel it will be.

 

Good news that the storm wasn’t as bad as the weatherman called for.  Careful shovelling, please.

[dfish]

3 hours ago, kazu said:

 

Good news that the storm wasn’t as bad as the weatherman called for.  Careful shovelling, please.

 

9 hours ago, 1ANGELCAT said:

Use the beasts. Be carefrul if you shovel, no accidents before the cruise. I’

 

We got additional snow during the night and I think The Beast will get to go to work this morning.  Lot's of power outages around us, so we are very thankful we have power this morning.  If we need to shovel, Sue has to do it as I am still restricted from it.

[Cruzin Terri]

Just checking in.

That is all I can do today.

Prayers for everyone and hope you are all okay.

Love to all.

Terrri