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My DF is usually my "mule" to haul all our wine on the ship. We usually bring a bottle a day. A little different on our upcoming cruise but I will try to fit 10 in my roll aboard. Many is this group appreciate a good glass or bottle of wine. Cheers! Nancy

Happy Friday!! I visited DB yesterday and he was finally sitting up in a wheelchair rather laying in bed. That is progress. We had a good conversation about many things. Then his OT lady came in and wrote 11:45 on his white board. That was 45 minutes away so I left so he could rest and be all ready for OT. PT was on the board for 2:45. I hope this can continue. Thanks for the Daily and Fleet Reports! My Christmas cards were mailed out on Tuesday. My post office was out of Christmas stamps but they had pretty spring flowers in snow so they worked. Some people must be writing Christmas cards still. Lost was found here two days ago. For our long cruise there are more Gala and a "Formal" night per month. I pulled out some NYE clothes I haven't worn in years, tried them on and got them ready to pack for luggage pickup. I found the jacket that went with the skirt but I couldn't find the skirt when I did a final check for the bag. I closed it anyway. Yesterday when I went to pull a can of hairspray out of my second suitcase I dug under that and there was my skirt! Yay! Genocide used to just be practiced in Africa and parts of Asia but sadly we are seeing the mass murder and execution in Ukraine as Russia rains its' terror on those people. Germany is trying to define Russia's actions as genocide so that war trials can be prosecuted. Sadly hate and religious intolerance is hard to prevent. Prayers for all on our care list. @USN59-79 I hope that your trip to the orthopedist allows you to have a boot and use crutches. I broke mine about 10 years ago when a full load of mulch in my wheelbarrow flipped and I didn't let go. My whole spring was ruined. I was walking minus crutches in 3 weeks. I hope you heal quickly. @summer slopeDixie I am happy to read you still test negative and your DH is feeling better today. The cocktail is a pass. The meatball recipes all look wonderful. We are having leftover lasagna that I made for my garden club's potluck last nigh. Easy peasy. Today's wine is probably a wee bit sweet for me. I am looking forward to today's photos from Samoa. Have a nice day!! Chicken dinner on our balcony on the Old Rotterdam in 2019.

Happy Thursday! I am off to see DB shortly. The Care list has picked up. So many things happening. Prayers for the families of the lost firefighters in Schuykill PA. @seagarsmokerand @lazey1I hope that you both can get over your Covid quickly. @aliaschief It is good that they finally diagnosed pneumonia so you can begin to get proper treatment. Hope they are loading on the antibiotics! @HAL SailerI am so sorry to hear about the complications for your DSIL. @Cruzin Terri I am so sorry for you for the loss of your DF. Sincere sympathy. Thanks for the Daily and Fleet Reports @richwmn. For Christians Immaculate Conception is a core part of our beliefs. I love Brownies and I used to be a blue collar worker while I worked my way through college. I graduated college with a lot of life experience. Quote is OK. @dfishThanks for the yummy tomato soup and crostini recipes. Will pass on the tea thanks for doing these for us every day @summer slopeeven while on a cruise. Chardonnay sounds oaky based on the butter descriptor. DF and I have been to Willemstead twice and are returning there in 2024. The first time was on the old Rotterdam in December 2019. We had a new crew that joined the ship after dry dock. We went home from that cruise and were sick for three months. Five weeks into our illness China finally owned up to the plague they unleashed on the world. Then our first post Covid cruise we went there on the Nieuw Statendam last February. We had beautiful weather each time and got off the ship and walked around. A lovely island. Prayers for all on our care list, thanks for doing this for us each day @rafinmd. Prayers for the people of Ukraine and celebrating Zelenskyy for his Time magazine award. Prayers for Paul Weiland who remains left behind in Russia after the release of Brittny Greiner.

The owners and staff appeared very nice at this pace but I understand they don't like lingerers and ask people to not linger over dessert and coffee. It makes sense. It is usually busy and a small building. Maybe the Down Wind will have new ownership or management.

Thank you for the great idea for tray!

Good afternoon. I had a nice visit with my DB this morning. He had nothing written on his white board in his room for PT and OT so hopefully they come in today to work with him. He has been bedridden for so many days that they needed to catheterize him. Hopefully this will be one and done and things start flowing again. His room was beautifully decorated by his DIL and his grandkids. We had a nice lunch at a restaurant we have never been to. It is called the Fly In and it is at the little private airport in the next town over. It was great. God burgers and sandwiches. My project this afternoon is trying how to program the new cable locks that I bought for my zipper suitcases. We have to lock our suitcases for Luggage Forward. I haven't had any luck with their instructions yet. Probably should have bought the ones with the little keys instead...... Have a nice afternoon!

Thanks for the photos @kplady! @cat shepardyour cat meme reminded me so much of my Korat girl Tiny who had those luminous green eyes.

Good morning and Happy Hump Day! Thanks for the Daily and Fleet reports. Pearl Harbor Day is always a day to remember and think of all the changes that the attack on PH caused to change the face of the war and created the US as a superpower. I will have some joy today as the noun. Another thought provoking quote by White. We had a bit of discussion in the last few weeks about a Tortilla casserole called King Ranch Casserole. That is my all time favorite and it is so easy now that rotisserie chicken is available everywhere. Will pass on the Minty cocktail but the Petit Sirah sounds good. @StLouisCruisersand @Cat in my lap thanks for the beautiful photos from Labrador. Prayers for all on our care report and the people of Ukraine. DB remained in the hospital until yesterday afternoon so I didn't see him. I understand that he was not getting PT so probably has backslid a lot. I look forward to seeing him later this morning. Nancy

Those bugs sound like black flies. We are pestered by them at our cabin every year. Like @dfishwe wear our netting when they are bad an pray for windy days when they are around. BTW how are the bugs in the Amazon? We were thinking bringing our netting but mosquitoes are held off better by sprays than black flies.

@Cat in my lap Happy Birthday!!

Good morning. Our weather here is gray but dry. The massive snow piles along our road are slowly disappearing. I will go see DB if he has been moved back to his rehab this morning. Thanks for the Daily and Fleet Reports! Our little town where our cabin is is Amasa, MI and like many of the small towns up there it was a mining town. The mines closed for good in the late 40s and the town that used to have a high school has wasted away to a all purpose gas station/trading post, our Post Office, a Senior Center and two taverns. I am ambivalent about Disney. We had too many meetings for work with evening entertainment at the park. It really isn't the same at night and most times it was in low season in January. Brrr. Great thought provoking quote by Fulghum. I love short ribs and every one of those look like winners. Strawberry Margaritas are pretty and probably would be great when well made on a BHB. The wine looks great too, we just had an Oregon chardonnay last night with our pork chops. Sandi thank you for the gorgeous photos of Stavenger. Definitely a place to put on a wish list. Today I am writing all of my Christmas cards. I wrote up a short update on Word since my right hand has so much arthritis damage getting the cards done legibly would be a problem. The envelopes will be bad enough. Finally I am going to close my second suitcase which will be picked up on 12/14. It has toothpaste in it and nothing edible or toiletries that can be ingested like toothpaste, cough drops or vitamins are allowed. Prayers for all on our care list and for the people of Ukraine. Have a wonderful Tuesday. Nancy

Well for some reason my post from this morning did not go through. Thankfully it was still there when I was getting caught up this afternoon. DB is still in the hospital but is now on oral antibiotics and is getting PT. The only reason he isn't back at the rehab is "paperwork". @Quartzsite CruiserI think you went through that last month. He looked and sounded good. I am sure three pints of blood surely pepped him up and his color is better. I am so glad I wore a mask for almost all of our greens sale. Only one other from our group wore a mask and she is a physician. I took it off when I was in the back of the room wreath selling area and when I ate lunch for about 10 minutes with 2 other ladies. We got a message about leftover items and how to purchase them and way at the bottom of the email was "On another note....." someone whose name I didn't recognize has cold like symptoms and a positive Covid test. I was more worried about flu but so happy I opted for caution. @JazzyVI am sorry about your hot water heater. We had that happen last summer at the cabin and we were without hot water for almost 6 days. Our range got a workout heating water. No one wants to drive 45 minutes from the main road on bad roads to do someone's HWH. @smitty34877I am so happy to hear that Tana is responding the antibiotics. Nancy

Happy Monday! Well the Ravens and the Vikings both squeaked out wins although with very different scores. We have our National Championship playoff teams. We will be onboard the Volendam and I am pretty sure they will be carrying the games. We will have to make a brief appearance in the MDR for dinner and head back for game 2. My 2 favorite teams are playing each other first. This is probably not the NYE my DF imagined when we booked this cruise but it is what it is. Thanks for the Daily and Fleet Reports Rich! I used to do a lot of volunteer work as a Master Gardener but I emailed the Coordinator I am pulling the plug on my membership. The MSU Extension has new rules for reporting hours and they are too onerous for people like me that do one off projects like lectures. I will just step up activities with my local GC and the Michigan Garden Clubs. I live in blue jeans. Great quote by Einstein. We are having the Cook's Country recipe Pork Chops with Prunes. I need to get a bottle of brandy and more chicken stock today so I can do it right. Pass on the salad martini. Today's wine is a favorite of ours. We bought a case of it at the end of September and we only have a bottle left. It sold out quickly. I look forward to the port photos. @rafinmdThanks for the cares and celebrations. Prayers for Tana as she battles pneumonia. @Quartzsite Cruiser I am glad that Steve is doing so well at home. Prayers for all on our list and for the people of Ukraine. @Crazy For Cats Happy birthday to pretty kitty Ashlee. My brother remains in the hospital because they couldn't make a decision about whether to release him or not. I will be heading there shortly. There is good news that he can go on oral antibiotics so his pic line will probably be finished when he leaves the hospital hopefully today. We had a pretty sunrise this morning. Have a nice day! Nancy

We were able to pick up several desired items at the Walmart which was right across from where we docked. We bought the high strength Retin-A with no RX. When we got off the ship at the pier that was right across from Walmart there were vendors wet up in pop up tents and there was one vendor selling common prescription medicines. Prednisone, stomach medications, ***** etc. This was several years ago so I don't know if this continues.

A quiet day here with a day of competing football games. I will be in the living room for the Ravens and DF will be in the bedroom easy chair for the Vikings. I was up until midnight watching Michigan winning the Big 10 Championship. Sadly another favorite team TCU lost in overtime. They made a mistake the Ravens commonly go for a TD on a goal line stand rather than taking the 3 points with a FG. I hope they remain in the Top 4 for the playoffs on December 31. No visit to DB today. He is rather in limbo, no decision yet whether to release him. I don't want to show up at either place to find him not there. I used this time to clean the house. Thanks for the Daily and Fleet Reports! I love to watch shows with Cheetahs on National Geographic Wild and BBC and I hope someday to see them in person besides a zoo. I love cookies but no baking of them today. A liked the quote by Brigham Young. Debbie those patty melts all look wonderful except the one with the mushroom. I may order one the next time I am in a tavern. The wine looks great but I really don't care for apple flavored cocktails. Thanks for today's photos of Tasmania. We have never been that far. Prayers for all on our care list and for the people of Ukraine. @rafinmdI hope the meds continue to allow improvement and I feel for you with your computer woes. I have Windows 11 and somehow my touchpad cursor got turned off. It is dragging finger on the screen or a wireless mouse. Have a wonderful Sunday! Nancy

@MISTER 67 Bon voyage! 🍾

@RedneckBobBon Voyage!! 🍾

Good afternoon everyone. I got done with my stint at the Greens Sale selling wreath and roping a little early because it seems volunteers show up in droves for the end of the sale for when unsold arrangements are marked down. I saw one I liked when I first arrived but later in the sale it was gone. I did buy a giant custom made silver bow which I will use for my outdoor decor next year. It was very windy all night and earlier today. I was very happy with our new venue at a Senior Center there was space for us to be inside. @richwmnthank you for the daily and fleet reports. Everyone thank you for sharing the photos of Iceland. It is a beautiful place and I look forward to visiting there in the future. The last tortilla pie that was heated looked very yummy especially if made with corn tortillas. I will pass on a cocktail with candy in it but the Riesling looks like a good wine with seafood. @rafinmdthank you for the Cares and Celebrations and thank you for adding my brother back in. They are keeping him at least through the day in the hospital but they are having him do PT while there. Hopefully they can get his red blood cells at a normal level and he can return to his rehab. Have a nice weekend! Nancy

DB is in good spirits and they were slowly infusing his first bag of blood. If that is uneventful they will give him another. I will miss seeing him tomorrow because my shifts at our annual Greens Sale. Thank you to @HAL4NOW for the pictures of Inca Civilization and Pachamac. That is one of our tours in Lima. @Quartzsite CruiserThanks for the photos of Miraflores. It looks like a great area at the end of the shuttle from the port. We are getting excited!

We are on the Grand SA too. I hope to meet you at our Meet & Greet if you have signed up. Nancy

Good Friday morning. A brief report for me today because my DB has been admitted to the hospital for at least a couple of days due to bleeding and low RBC count. I will go pick up some meds at the pharmacy, a trip to the bird feed store visit DB in the hospital and then another trip back to Costco. Their bird suet is 20 packs for the price of 10 at Tractor Supply. I am going to give my neighbor across the street bird feed and suet to help my overfed birds through the winter. Looking forward to the photos of Callao/Lima. We are going to be there January 13-15. We will do a couple of HA tours, a dinner at Casa Aliaga and Inca civilization and Pachamac. Have a great Friday. Nancy

US Flu map from last week. If you don't get it at home you may get it staying at the ports. Mask up if you are in crowds. I have no idea how effective our flu vaccine is this year. Looking at this I would say not too effective to prevent illness but perhaps preventing severe illness.

Good Thursday morning and the first of December! Thanks for the Daily and Fleet Reports. No Christmas lights for us because we don't want to have to take them down prior to Christmas or face them at the end of March. My dear neighbor in MD would leave her tree up well into March. World AIDS day is a day of remembrance and also to recognize the advances that have been made in treatment but not a cure. The company I worked for developed the first drug approved to treat AIDS and continued to develop a lot of the combination treatments that have made AIDS a chronic disease for many. Sadly those treatments haven't reached a lot of the world. So happy Romania can celebrate their independence! @dfishThe third meatloaf recipe looks like a winner. @summer slopethanks for the cocktail but I think I will have my cukes in a salad instead. @cat shepardthanks for the wine information, I had to look up where it is grown and it is an area near Sacramento. A new one for me. @smitty34877Prayers for Tana since she has pneumonia and also for you for having your hip complications. @ger_77thanks for the happy memories of the snack Nuts & Bolts. In the US it has been hijacked to Chex Mix missing the "nuts" that were Cheerios. The bolts were rod pretzels. So much better when homemade and the house smelled so good when it was in the oven. Thanks for the Daily care and celebration lists Roy. Prayers for all on the list and for the people of Ukraine. Today I will stay home, DB has a surgeon's appointment. I need to pay my January taxes, shut up my shipping suitcase that has been on the bed for weeks and start my Christmas cards. A big sign of relief I found my address book under my taxes clipboard. That makes writing my Christmas cards a lot easier. No need to text everyone for their addresses. Have a great day!! Nancy

@Lady HudsonBon Voyage! 🍾

@Ichiban NekkoI am so sorry to hear of your husband's pneumonia. I sure hope he can get a bed soon. You must be so exhausted. @smitty34877Prayers for Tana. @Cruising-along I hope that you feel better soon and hoping it is a reaction to your flu shot. @Vict0riannThank you for the photos of Alter Do Chao! @StLouisCruisersI am glad you are going to the Boi Bumba show. You probably remember when one of the Dailyites posted a rousing video of the show when Parintins was the port of the day. That is one of the first shore excursions we booked for our cruise. He recommended getting there early and getting a front row seat. Please share some pictures. My visit with DB was great today. He looks a lot better and so happy to see that he only has a small bend in his knee that they have the brace on. When he spent the night at the hospital they did not put the Pic in his chest they just reinserted it in his right arm. I was so happy to see my dear nephew when I arrived. I don't think I have seen him since Christmas last year. After he left I had a nice visit with DB and shortly thereafter my younger DS showed up. Lots of company and encouragement for DB today. Costco was a mess, I will not go back there until we return from our cruise.