The Fleet Report and Daily for Saturday February 24th, 2024

[0106]

2 minutes ago, Denise T said:

Working on planning my vegetable garden. Want to get to a garden center as they will be opening in March. My plan is to get the garden going early.

Second day in a row there has been talk of spring gardening.

Please think about the pollinators before you clean out your gardens.  In northern states mid-late April should be the earliest you consider cutting back perennials and clearing garden debris. Keep in mind that some bees don't emerge until late May, so the longer you can tolerate your “messy” garden the better.

I get my spring gardening fix by planting window boxes of lettuce, spinach and peas in mid March.  My DH will bring them in the kitchen over night if there is a chance of frost.  

[ger_77]

Good morning, thanks for the Fleet Report and Daily!   I like tortilla chips, plain or with salsa, and especially when served as a plate of nachos.  I've never had an interest in trading cards, and haven't seen a single episode of Twin Peaks, although it was very popular at the time. 

 

I wish you could have seen the moon shadows in our back yard when I got up this morning - the outlines of the trees on the snow were so crisp and clear; it was magnificent!  I've always been a morning person and feel bad for people who miss such an interesting part of the day.

 

Shortly after lunch yesterday we were just lounging around - DH on the computer and me watching TV and knitting when the doorbell rang.  Our friends (the fellow with post-polio syndrome) dropped by and asked if we would accept some teary visitors.  They had just come from the veterinarian's office where they picked up the ashes of their sweet kitty, Garfield, and didn't feel like going home.  I put the coffee on, ran downstairs and grabbed a peach pie from the freezer, threw it in the oven and we visited with them for a few hours.  I think they were in much better spirits when they left.  I feel good knowing others are so comfortable around us that they feel free to just drop in without having to wait for an invitation.

 

@Cruise SuzyBon Voyage - I hope you have a wonderful cruise!

@Mr. Bostona belated Happy Birthday to your DH; I hope he had a great day of celebration with you!

 

No plans for today, just cleaning up around the house and watching sail-away this afternoon.  I'd like to try the drink of the day, will let others enjoy today's wine, and do like beef & barley soup, although I've never made it.  DH had a request for dinner tonight - something we haven't had in a while.  He wants hot dogs, so I'll make them in the air fryer and instead of heavy hot dog buns, we'll wrap the in small tortilla shells.  I'll serve them along with a coleslaw and that will be our dinner at the kitchen table tonight.  And wine.

 

Prayers for everyone who is in need, especially the people of Ukraine who have been in the midst of war for 2 years now.  Cheers to all with celebrations.

 

Smooth Sailing!  ☺️☺️☺️

Gerry

Edited February 24 by ger_77

[rafinmd]

Thank you Rich, Jacqui, Vanessa, Debbie, Laura, and Dixie for your contributions today.  I am thinking @Cruzin Terri and @seagarsmoker may have a mini-celebration today with primaries and a reduction of political ads for a while.  I will pass on today's days but celebrate the Gregoriian Calendar.  Bon Voyage @Cruise Suzy.  Welcome  back @cat shepard (hopefully home soon), @ottahand7 (have a great road trip), and @MISTER 67.

 

I definitely like the quote.

 

The meal sounds nice.  My alternative is Chilled Sour Cherry Soup, Spaghetti Americiana, and Rhubarb Crisp as served on MS Koningsdam February 24, 2017:

 

Men's breakfast in about a half hour (on Zoom) and then time at the fire house this afternoon.

 

Roy

[rafinmd]

14 minutes ago, Kakiwynn said:

Half Moon Cay was cancelled for the Rotterdam today. Winds are too strong to tender. 

Welcome to the Fleet Report and Daily, neighbor.

 

Roy

[1ANGELCAT]

Good cloudy morning It’s only going up to about 40 today with strong winds.

I was in Zihjuantinejo way back in 1983 on the old Nieuw Amsterdam. The only thing I remember was a visit to a beach with armed guards stationed at the end and being told not to go past the rocks. 
It’s off to Lancaster County today for Bird in Hand Fire Company annual chicken pot pie dinner. @Lady Hudsonits not that far from you. It’s worth the trip. The pot pie is delicious and the pepper cabbage that goes with it is really tasty.

@Crazy For Cats, wish I could ship you some.

Blessings and prayers to all on our lists.

[superoma]

Well, after a couple of above freezing days with sunshine, warm enough to wash the car in the driveway, we have a few snowflakes dancing outside and are below freezing. But only for a couple of days and then we will warm up again.

 

gardening club note: dh planted leek seeds yesterday in trays. They will live in our sunroom near the gas fireplace for several weeks but will likely be planted in the garden by end of April. I should ask him for a tray of leaf lettuce. It could do well in the sunroom. We are worried about the garlic. It never got much snow cover over winter and although it was covered in leaf mulch it looks like it is growing. 
 

I checked my hellebores yesterday and they have a few blossoms again and some new leaf growth. I hope these couple of cold days don’t knock them down again, the early buds in January froze and never bloomed. 
 

house cleaning today, my 3 British shows tonight, (death in paradise, father brown, midsomer murders) and my next Peter Lovesey book featuring detective Peter Diamond. Have a good weekend everyone. 

[puppycanducruise]

@Kakiwynn  Welcome to the Daily!

[Lady Hudson]

14 minutes ago, 1ANGELCAT said:

Good cloudy morning It’s only going up to about 40 today with strong winds.

I was in Zihjuantinejo way back in 1983 on the old Nieuw Amsterdam. The only thing I remember was a visit to a beach with armed guards stationed at the end and being told not to go past the rocks. 
It’s off to Lancaster County today for Bird in Hand Fire Company annual chicken pot pie dinner. @Lady Hudsonits not that far from you. It’s worth the trip. The pot pie is delicious and the pepper cabbage that goes with it is really tasty.

@Crazy For Cats, wish I could ship you some.

Blessings and prayers to all on our lists.

Sounds delicious.  But today is final packing for trip tomorrow and making sure I have all things ready for DH Bill and our daughter.  Have a great dinner.  Lancaster is a great place to visit.

[StLouisCruisers]

1 hour ago, grapau27 said:

Nice photos Sandi.

You two are both photogenic too.

 

How nice of you to say!  Remember that was 18 1/2 years ago.  I wish we looked exactly the same now as we did then.  But time marches on!👵

[puppycanducruise]

6 minutes ago, superoma said:

 

house cleaning today, my 3 British shows tonight, (death in paradise, father brown, midsomer murders) and my next Peter Lovesey book featuring detective Peter Diamond. Have a good weekend everyone. 

Sorry to tell you, but if you watch those on PBS, they won't be on, it's pledge time and the regular programming is disrupted.   We got BritBox so we could watch those shows anytime.

[Sir PMP]

Beautiful little port of Zihuatanejo, Mexico:

[RMLincoln]

It’s still rather gray here in north Jersey, getting to high 30s today, but no rain or snow!  Maybe some sun later?  

We do make our own happiness!  Or unhappiness. Doesn’t mean there aren’t rough patches to get through, hopefully with a little help from our friends!  
 

@JazzyV you are not on our Care List!  And I think you should be. 
 

Again no word yesterday from niece on DSIL. I expect we’ll connect this weekend. 
 

DH is on a lower frequency of the steroid drops, tapering down, so the pressure in that eye is very low - the steroids kept it up a bit to where it was still measurable on our home device. Low is good but too low isn’t. It’s such a zigzag but it all seems to be working. We are feeling more confident, and so grateful!  The itching is much less, getting by on just 1-2 Benadryl per day while he’s still using the meds in the other eye (scheduled for surgery April 23). 🤞
 

@StLouisCruisers thank you for the port pix, we called it Z-town!  We were there so long ago on Oostersam that I really don’t remember it much. I do remember the old Regal Princess which was our 2nd cruise, 2004; we went from San Diego through PC to Ft Lauderdale.  The casino was top front, viewing forward, and people were 6 deep trying to see the locks through the few windows. DH and I found a great spot outside at a corner railing in some shade and spent many hours there taking it all in. It was a perfect spot where we could see forward and a bit to the side. Good memories!  
 

I’ve apparently developed what I think is a lumbar pinched nerve, huh! Early signs.  I will be thinking my way through what I’ve learned about dealing with these kinds of issues from neck disk problems twenty years ago, hoping I can get back on track!  🤦🏼‍♀️ I really don’t need this now!  

Bon Voyage 🛳️ and welcome home; smooth sailing to all our cruisers. Thanks for sharing with us.  @ottahand7 Nancy and John: Don’t get lost in the Villages!  Safe travels!  
 

Blessings to all in need, our country, your country and for all the sadness in the world. Enjoy something today!  Thanks all for being here!  
Maureen 
 

 

[kochleffel]

20 minutes ago, puppycanducruise said:

Sorry to tell you, but if you watch those on PBS, they won't be on, it's pledge time and the regular programming is disrupted.   We got BritBox so we could watch those shows anytime.

 

Yup. Here, they're having a Carole King-James Taylor special, followed by the Bee Gees. I don't understand this at all: it would attract people who don't ordinarily watch the station and thus have no reason to pledge, while alienating those who do watch.

[puppycanducruise]

1 minute ago, kochleffel said:

 

Yup. Here, they're having a Carole King-James Taylor special, followed by the Bee Gees. I don't understand this at all: it would attract people who don't ordinarily watch the station and thus have no reason to pledge, while alienating those who do watch.

It's quite annoying.  I remember when they used to have theme nights to get pledges.  One night would be Brit coms (Are you Being Served and the like) another night would be cooking shows, another night mysteries.  Then they knew who would pay for their favourite shows.  That makes more sense than running decades old musical specials where some of the musicians are now deceased.

[superoma]

 

49 minutes ago, puppycanducruise said:

Sorry to tell you, but if you watch those on PBS, they won't be on, it's pledge time and the regular programming is disrupted.   We got BritBox so we could watch those shows anytime.

Ah nuts, I hate when that happens. I need to look at getting britbox!

Edited February 24 by superoma

[puppycanducruise]

1 minute ago, superoma said:

 

Ah nuts, I hate when that happens. I need to look at getting britbox!

We like BritBox, lots of British mysteries  (The Bay, Shetland)   And other shows like Qi, Monte Don gardening shows, and classic britcoms like Vicar of Dibley.  We also like Roku - we've started watching Brokenwood Mysteries, it's from New Zealand. 

[kochleffel]

I look for tortilla chips that are less salty. Trading cards is the genre that includes baseball cards, a big thing in the 1950s and 1960s. Twin Peak Day made me think of the Peak District in England, but actually refers to a TV show that I've never watched.

 

The soup would be OK with me, and I'd try the drink, maybe only once. For a sweet Riesling from the Finger Lakes, I'll suggest Chateau LaFayette Reneau from the east shore of Seneca Lake.

 

Garden club: I have planted lettuce seeds outdoors as early as the first of April, but they took a very long time to germinate and now I would wait until later that month. I was thinking about doing some pruning now, but it's rather cold and when I got up a few flakes of s-n-o-w were falling.

 

My other plans are confused. I signed up for a Zoom program that is tomorrow at 20:00 CET (Germany), which is 2:00 p.m. here, in other words, right in the middle of everything else. I also don't know whether the program is in German or English, but I understand German and since the program is supposed to be pan-European they may use English as the Einheitssprache.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[tupper10]

Thank you for the daily.  I am glad to hear many who post here are feeling a bit better.

 

Vanessa I hope the procedure gives you much need relief.  Maureen so glad your husband is doing better but a big no on the pinched nerve.  I hope you can find some relief for it soon.  

 

I don't have much on the agenda today. I am still a bit tired post Covid but feeling better each day.  I have to head over to my mother's (finally) and do much needed paper work with her for taxes etc.  

 

I love all the British mystery shows on PBS- you can watch them on passport  PBS if you donate to PBS.  I used to do that but finally gave in and got Britbox so I could watch Shetland, Vera, etc.  I am now watching the old Inspector Morse shows. I find that there is nothing on regular tv anymore and I don't enjoy many of the 'new' shows in Netflix. Amazon has now gone to all commercials unless we give them more of our $$ which we refuse to do - so we don't watch it anymore.  If our HOA didn't have automatic cable as part of our dues I think we would be done with cable TV- 100 channels of nothing to watch.  

 

The weather is still quite cool at night for South Florida but I love it. I am dreading the summer heat and the prediction is for a horrible hurricane season.  Many of our neighbors have full house generators, we decided against one - and are using what we would have spent to just be away from Fl as much as we can in the summer.  

 

Happy Saturday to all.  

 

 

[smitty34877]

Good morning. I remember the lady with the logs from “Twin Peaks “ but not much more. The recipe looks good, thank you Debbie @dfish! I have not been to the port and only partially agree with the quote.

It is sunny and forty degrees today. It felt really good earlier to be walking in the sun without being cold doing it. My dog buddies were so happy to be out exploring the melting snow. 
@RMLincoln, I was glad to read that your DH is slowly improving and things are going well. Sorry to hear about your pain symptoms. My brother recently moved to Connecticut from Albuquerque and told me irately that “ everything is more painful here”. I have always chalked it up to the weather and living at sea level. He misses the mountains but wanted to be closer to family.

@ottahand7, I really enjoyed reading about your cruise adventures and loved the moonlight wake picture. Thank you!

@puppycanducruise, I find Britbox very entertaining also and loved “Brokeback Mysteries”. I have been watching old David Tennant series and enjoying them too.

@JazzyV, I hope you get consistent pain relief very soon.

 

We are rather stressed here on the weekends especially as we care for Tana and our teenager. We are all so tired that it has been a little tense as we muddle through. Yesterday I took the car out and drove nowhere exciting just to be alone for a bit. Dinner last night was a relief as we all tried to find something comical  to lighten the mood. Sorry, I often feel it is better not to say much about all of this as it is such a strain. DH had a gift for finding something ridiculous to laugh at and  we all miss that skill. 
 

[Quartzsite Cruiser]

Good morning from Quartzsite.  We have another cloudy day, and it looks like the clouds will hang around into Monday.  It is currently 51F and headed to a high this afternoon of 54F.

 

I like tortilla chips.  I remember the trading cards that came with a piece of bubble gum, but I never traded cards.  I did not watch Twin Peaks.

 

The quote by the Dalai Lama XIV is very true, but it can be hard to put into practice at times.

 

We'll pass on the meal, drink and wine.  Although Riesling is my go to white wine, I do not like sweet Rieslings.

 

We were in Zihuantanejo/Ixtapa on March 5, 2014.  It was the last port on Veendam's Panama Canal round trip.  I'll post my pictures in a few minutes.

 

The Gregorian Calendar solved some problems with the Julian Calendar.

 

@Nickelpenny  Pennie, I hope you enjoy Devils Island today.

@cat shepard  Welcome home, Ann.

@MISTER 67  Welcome home.

@ottahand7  Welcome back, Nancy and John.  Save travels home the next few days.

@Cruise Suzy  BON VOYAGE! 🛳️ I hope you have a wonderful cruise.

@StLouisCruisers  Sandi, thanks for the great pictures.  We also liked the old Regal Princess, and I'm glad she is still sailing.

@Cruzin Terri  Terri, I hope you get a good report from your PCP and that the wound on your leg is not a big problem.

@Kakiwynn  Welcome to the Fleet Report/Daily.  I hope you drop in often.

@ger_77  Gerry, I'm glad you were able to give your friends some comfort on a sad day.  The moon shadows in the desert are also wonderful.

@RMLincoln  Maureen, I'm glad your DH is doing so well after the surgery.  I hope you get rid of the pinched nerve pain.

@tupper10  I'm glad you are feeling better.  Take care and don't overdo until you are completely over Covid.

@smitty34877  Terri, I understand how you feel about sharing too much, but I found great comfort from the support of this amazing group of people.  Please remember we're all here for you even if we can't lend a helping hand.

 

 

 

 

 

Lenda

 

[Haljo1935]

I enjoy tortilla chips and today's a good day to have some. DH large trading card collection was stolen years ago, but we can still recognize their day. Not sure what Twin Peaks Day is - am I supposed to celebrate a show I didn't watch or remember this horrible shootout:

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/waco-biker-shooting-prosecutors-drop-all-charges-deadly-shootout-n990341

There is a video clip from inside the restaurant; I wasn't able to copy it by itself, but you can watch it without reading the whole article. It was another deadly tragedy for that town. The link below has a different video clip - warning it might be graphic:

https://www.cnn.com/videos/us/2015/10/30/waco-biker-shooting-lavandera-pkg-erin.cnn

 

I agree with the quote; having lost a brother to suicide, I am painfully aware that is not attainable for some. Pass on the meal & drink, would try the wine, not been to the port. I use the Gregorian Calendar every day & appreciate the consistency it provides.

 

Currently 59° headed to sunny 79° - 86° tomorrow and 93° on Monday. Holey moley! Going out to pick up Rx before they get put back and grab a gallon of tea; I should make it myself, but Kroger's is really good and it's decaf, plus it's in a jug that easy to keep in the fridge and I get 4x gas points. 😊

 

Prayers and positive thoughts for all. 🙏

 

Edited February 24 by Haljo1935
Typo

[superoma]

33 minutes ago, tupper10 said:

Thank you for the daily.  I am glad to hear many who post here are feeling a bit better.

 

Vanessa I hope the procedure gives you much need relief.  Maureen so glad your husband is doing better but a big no on the pinched nerve.  I hope you can find some relief for it soon.  

 

I don't have much on the agenda today. I am still a bit tired post Covid but feeling better each day.  I have to head over to my mother's (finally) and do much needed paper work with her for taxes etc.  

 

I love all the British mystery shows on PBS- you can watch them on passport  PBS if you donate to PBS.  I used to do that but finally gave in and got Britbox so I could watch Shetland, Vera, etc.  I am now watching the old Inspector Morse shows. I find that there is nothing on regular tv anymore and I don't enjoy many of the 'new' shows in Netflix. Amazon has now gone to all commercials unless we give them more of our $$ which we refuse to do - so we don't watch it anymore.  If our HOA didn't have automatic cable as part of our dues I think we would be done with cable TV- 100 channels of nothing to watch.  

 

The weather is still quite cool at night for South Florida but I love it. I am dreading the summer heat and the prediction is for a horrible hurricane season.  Many of our neighbors have full house generators, we decided against one - and are using what we would have spent to just be away from Fl as much as we can in the summer.  

 

Happy Saturday to all.  

 

 

I would gladly donate to pbs just for passport but unfortunately we can’t use it in Canada, maybe with a vpn

[rafinmd]

Today's sunrise is from my 2017 Caribbean cruise on MS Koningsdam.  On February 25 Koningsdam visited Bonaire:

 

 

Roy

[Quartzsite Cruiser]

On March 5, 2014, we had a lovely day in Zihuantanejo/Ixtapa when the Veendam anchored off shore in the bay.  It was a good day to celebrate DH's birthday, too.

 

Mexico is one of the few places we don't rent cars.  That day we walked around Zihuantanejo, and then took a taxi to Ixtapa.  If you haven't been there, it is like the old town of Mazatlán and the Golden Zone.  We were glad we saw Ixtapa, but much preferred the older Zihuantanejo.  Ixtapa was too modern, and resorty for us.

 

The beginning of the street near the tender pier.

 

The open air fish market

 

One of the lovely beaches in town

 

Local shopping

 

We walked around Ixtapa, then walked through a resort to their beach.  We tried to buy cokes at the beach bar, but since we didn't have a room, we couldn't get one.

 

 

The beach and hotel

 

 

Interesting rock formations off shore

 

Once back in Zihuantanejo, we stopped at the bar on the second level of this building.  By that time, we might have gotten a couple of beers.

 

The view from the bar of the plaza leading to the tender pier

 

Looking back at the beach and town while waiting to board the tender.

 

 

Lenda

 

[Overhead Fred]

@Cruise Suzy