luvteaching

Good morning, It's our last sunny day for a while as @Cruising-along mentioned. I'll be outside for walks and I'm heading to lunch today. @marshhawk and @cunnorl Happy Birthday! Yesterday the pool did wonders for my stiff and sore hip flexor muscle. By mid-afternoon I could walk so much better. Today is lunch in Anacortes at a shoreside seafood place called Secret Cove. Anacortes is about a 40 minute drive from me and I don't head there often. I'm picking up a friend and we'll carpool. It's a lunch for our Widows Support Group. I'm looking forward to it and maybe doing a bit of a drive afterwards if my friend is up to it. Karen

Good morning, We're having a sunny day today but starting out at 30F so chilly. @JazzyV Best wishes for a successful surgery today! I'm thinking of you. Today is the pool, a quick stop at the grocery store then working here at home. There's always something. I like coleslaw and get a bag of angel hair cabbage at the grocery store to make salads. It has a nice crunch and stays fresh. My favorite cole slaw is the one from White Spot - especially when it's served with the toasted shrimp sandwich! Yum!! Karen

The two are somewhat different. In Juneau Mendenhall is a major draw. You don't get as close as you once did due to the glacier receding but you can walk the Nugget Falls train and get fairly close to the glacier relatively speaking. There is also a very nice visitors center. In Glacier Bay I believe the National Park Service Rangers will be on-board to narrate and have a table of things to purchase as well as the stamp for your National Park passport. You do get somewhat close to the glaciers (and Pea soup is served on the decks). Last year I did the small boat tour at Hubbard and it was worth every penny I spent. If you want to get closer then, if that's offered, it might be worth it to you. We got quite a bit closer to the glacier than the ship did. Karen

Good afternoon, It's been a rather slower Sunday which is good. The sun keeps trying to come out after the rain yesterday but the clouds are getting in the way and it's a bit on the breezy side. My leg with the stuck hip muscle is giving me fits today so finally took something and that's helping. The pool tomorrow will really help it. @JazzyV Thinking of you and hoping all goes well for you tomorrow. I'd love the chocolate covered cashews as long as it's dark chocolate. We have a place I order from that is based out of Cashmere, Washington and they have the best chocolate covered nuts and do both milk and dark chocolate. Today has gotten off to a slow start but the neighbor came for tea and I have a load of laundry going. After waving at @kazu and @richwmn on the sailaway then I need to get a few things done around the house. Dinner is easy - the salmon dinner I picked up yesterday from the Kiwanis fundraiser. Karen

Checking in and ready to wave as well!

Have a wonderful cruise @kazu and friend! I have friends going with me on 3 cruises and we'll see how that all works out. Have a wonderful time!! Karen

Good morning from the Pacific Northwest, It started out with temps below 30F but the sun is out and it's a pretty morning. High is supposed to be mid to high 60's but rain is forecast for late afternoon. Today is a more leisurely day. I'll pop into town and stop at Costco then go up to the Kiwanis Salmon BBQ and get meals to-go for myself and my GF. It's a nice meal - salmon, cole slaw, baked potato, garlic bread, beverage and ice cream bar. It's done Fri-Sun for the month of April which is our local Tulip Festival. I can do backroads and hopefully avoid the crowds. With the sun out it's bound to be a traffic nightmare in the valley where the fields are. It's also the street fair in Mount Vernon so lots going on. @kazu So glad you made it to FLL and have a wonderful visit with @POA1 and @Huskerchick. Be part of that "bubble of awesomeness" as you deserve it! Karen

Good afternoon Everyone, Thank you for all your kind thoughts today on laying DSIL to rest. The service was well done and very well-attended. There were probably 75-100 people there. The platters the other DSIL and I got from Safeway were wonderful! They were ready for pickup early so DSIL picked them up and I met her at the church. The neatest idea was having hummus and dips in hollowed out red and yellow peppers. Anyway huge Kudos to our local Safeway and I'll be writing a thank you to them. The service was about 30 minutes long then the reception was right there. The burial was at 2:00 and about 25 of us made the trek to the graveside. The weather was perfect with total blue skies, lots of sun and a nice breeze. Thanks for all the good wishes. @kazu Have a wonderful trip! You're right - it was "a day" as I had teary moments but I'm a tough old broad and worked through it! Karen

Good morning, We have another beautiful day today and temps in the high 60's although it was 28F on the front porch when I got up a couple of hours ago. Today is the service for DSIL. The funeral is at 11, reception at 12 and then burial at 2:00 so a full day. For my DBIL's sake I hope it all goes well. I have party platters to pick up at Safeway at 10:00 before heading to the church so have to be out in about an hour. Have a Good Friday! Karen

Good morning again! I just paid off my 4th - and last for 2024 - Alaska cruise this morning! My credit card has been getting a workout but that's fine. Now I have 4 Alaska cruises out of Seattle - June is Majestic Princess and so far I'm solo on that one; July is Westerdam and I have a friend who is a first time cruiser and first timer to Alaska going with me; August is Discovery Princess and another friend who is a first time cruiser and first timer to Alaska is going; and finally the Eurodam in September and one set of friends has a cabin down the hall, we're all trying Club Orange, and I may have a friend going in my cabin with me who will be a first time cruiser. It should be an interesting summer! Now off to do laundry and get the parking taken care of for the September cruise. Karen

Good morning, As @Cruising-along mentioned we have another beautiful day to enjoy with temps in the mid-60's. I can handle that. It's so nice to look out and see the sun shining. @kazu I'm tickled to hear that your cruise is a "go" and that Ivan did well yesterday. Have a wonderful time! Today is actually a stay-at-home day which is needed. Yesterday was two water aerobics classes and then stops at 2 grocery stores. At both I saw former students and chatted. I have two former students who are doing something I consider amazing. The older of the two donated a kidney to the younger one on Tuesday and the kidney is functioning great! Tomorrow is DSIL's service, reception and graveside and the weather is supposed to be good so am glad for that. The weekend shows rain at least on Sunday. Nothing surprising about that in this area. Have a great Thursday! Karen

@POA1. Thanks for the recommendation of the Finlay Donovan series. I loved the first one and have the second coming from Amazon! Karen

On HAL the cabins are usually available on boarding and the key card is in the slot outside the cabin. My usual routine is to head to the cabin, drop off the carry-on luggage, grab the key card and then head to the Lido for a salad and a very small taste of bread pudding! Karen

Good morning, Our day is supposed to be on the cool side but the sun is out so that's a good thing. I thought it would be a stay-at-home day but now have to run into Costco to price sandwich trays, etc. for my DSIL's funeral reception on Friday. My other SIL did some looking in her area but we want to see if we can have it delivered and what the local place will have. I can handle that after tea with a neighbor and some other work around the house. Yesterday was the pool and two water aerobics classes, a couple of errands (finally got the nose pads on my glasses fixed) and then puttering around the house. It's Tulip Festival time in our valley so the weekends are super busy and that will be the case this coming weekend with a street fair, Kiwanis Salmon BBQ and highs near 70. Have a good day! I'm counting down the days until my first of four Alaska cruises this summer. The first is on Majestic Princess June 2nd (47 days) then the Westerdam in early July, Discovery Princess early August and Eurodam early September. Have a good day! Karen

Hi @atexsix Bruno, I hope you are getting things done and allowing time for yourself. It can be overwhelming I know. If you feel it would be appropriate I'd love to have a link to DD's obituary. That's only if you are comfortable with it. He was such a nice man and I enjoyed chatting with him at the Lincoln Center Stage. You were a great caregiver, from what I experienced, and caregiving isn't easy. Take care! Karen