Sheal

@dani negreanuBelated anniversary wishes from me!  Countdown is on now to the Golden Anniversary!

@DaniDanielleGood luck with your test.  I'm feeling pretty positive that you will be negative!

@Sunshine3601I'm so sorry that you might be ending the vacation.  We did a few where I had to do payroll while away and it was pretty stressful.  The internet connection at the time was so frustratingly slow and I only had to get that one task down.  I can't imagine what you both, especially your husband, is going through.

7 hours ago, Ocean Boy said:

Mine is set for Thursday. I'm doing my best to avoid sick patients this week!

OB, can I ask which test you are taking?  PCR or antigen?  I wanted to do the antigen but I'm not sure if the ones CVS offers (website just says rapid antigen) qualify.  Walgreens offers the BinaxNOW but the closest location is in York, ME. 

2 hours ago, jagsfan said:

Our last cruise…2019! Unbelievable!

Anyway, our Roll Call decided to have name tags made. 
I had a trophy place make mine. They look like business name tags. 
mine says Jagsfan, Dick’s says Jagsfan’s DH. 
I saved them to wear on Harmony in 2020…then 2021, and now, hopefully, 2022. Our Roll Call was dead last time I checked, but if I wear my name tag a couple of times, I may hook a CCer who recognizes the name. 

Any respectable CCer would recognize your name in a heartbeat!

Thanks so much for taking the time to give us your perspective.  We plan to board in three weeks.  I'm not thrilled about the mask policy but from what you and another passenger reported it doesn't sound intolerable to us.  Our itinerary is pretty beat, substituting a short morning in Nassau for SJU but what really is annoying is that they cut our visit to Tortola so short it will be impossible to do the Baths (on on own) with the limited time working around the ferry.  I'll squeeze in some beach time anyway!

7 hours ago, Ozark_Kid said:

I remember pics like this posted but don't remember why.  I would of tried to get a better pic but the lady kept blowing here whistle at me!

 

Greg,  thanks for the idea.

 

 

 

 

I'm sad, I woke up a couple nights ago and remembered I wanted to order the vault.  Sold out!  There were complaints about shipping being slow but I would still take my chance it it became available.

@Arzeena Thanks for the suggestions.  I was going to look into the logistics of getting to Cane or Brewers today.  We did the Baths on our own years ago and had a fantastic time.  Oh, well. 

I'm going to check out Celebrity's excursions, I prefer to do things on my own and avoid the crowds but this could be a good port day to stick with them.  I looked at the roll call last night and 4 people said they had cancelled and re-booked as they were not comfortable with the ways things are right now.  Maybe I won't have to worry about crowds by then, it will be a private ship at that rate.

So, my cruise next month just had a change to the schedule.  I expected that since SJU is off for now and the cruise was being sold last week as Bahamas, Tortola and St. Maarten.  I just got the notice and Celebrity went from 8-6 in Tortola to 11:30-6.  Thanks to the shortened day I would have just enough time to take the ferrry to the Baths then turn around, get on the ferry and head back to the ship.  I'm pretty disappointed, especially the Nassau stop is 7-2PM.  Geeze, just skip Nassau!

Any suggestions?  I was really looking forward to a great beach day.

3 minutes ago, George C said:

Don’t understand some of the current rccl rules, will not cruise them until this mess is over . 

I have the Symphony coming up in April.  I sure how things have calmed down by then. 

40 minutes ago, ReneeFLL said:

Are you saying the ship only has canned water and not bottled? I don’t like canned either. 🙁

I think Celebrity went to canned water a couple of years ago as an environmentally friendly approach.  At the time I think some questioned if it was a way to "support" a particular company rather than the environment.🤨  Recycle plastic or metal?  Not sure what is involved and is more environmentally friendly.

39 minutes ago, NHProud said:

What a thoughtful post ! I carry a ziplock bag in my purse to store my mask when not in use . You may want to ask for a table in an area where no one has been seated in the last 30 minutes because those little buggers float around in the air before they settle down on a surface .   

 

We are staying home .  I live in Southern California , near the ocean , where it was 80° yesterday.   The main attractions seem to be eating and drinking and I can do that here.  

Much nicer than the frigid temps we had this morning.  I see we made it above freezing already!

1 hour ago, helen haywood said:

At a bar or the buffet you walk in with your mask on.  We keep ours on until the all double masked employee takes our order.  Then we remove the masks and leave them off the entire time we are there.  If in the buffet we put it back on when you go get something else.  Everyone I’ve seen has been adhering to the mask protocol.

My husband said he thought that this was probably how they handled it. 

1 hour ago, helen haywood said:

As to covid cases, there have been absolutely none announced.

That is good news.  I hope things remain that way for the rest of your cruise.

One other question.  DH always enjoyed sitting at the bar and people watching at the pool area.  What is that experience like these days?  Are their any seats at the bars?  I have only been on 2 Celebrity ships and I remember the mast bar (similar to RC's sky bar) being there but I am not familiar withe the deck layout of the Edge.  Th

Thanks for your input and enjoy your day!

1 hour ago, Sunshine3601 said:

that's funny.   that is on my to do list tomorrow when we dock there too.    We both dislike these canned waters.     Who would have figured that my new shopping for an island will be bottled water.    

Way cheaper shopping trip than a visit to the jewelry stores!  Unless you shop at a convenience store like the one in Amsterdam.  DH and daughter wanted some bottled water.  You should have seen my face when they told me it was 18E for a six pack.  I couldn't believe they bought it.  My husband was like what are we supposed to do?  Um, stop in an A & H in the morning?  They were on every other block it seemed.

@helen haywoodSince Celebrity instituted the indoors mask policy what is it like in the bars?  Do you have to wear it constantly, only taking it down to take a sip (like the airlines policy right now), or are they a bit more lenient? 

Are they announcing covid cases on a daily basis?  That might be about it for now.

I had a few more comments but they went poof.  I know for sure I wanted to tell Crystal that your dress looks beautiful!

17 hours ago, John&LaLa said:

 

Yep

I usually bring ziploc bags for the cookies but this would work out even better.  Adding takeout container to the packing list.  Just hope we get to go next month!

7 hours ago, Ozark_Kid said:

Even though I wasn't hungry,  I made it through Jamie's.   Thought I would let you know so there was no worries. 

So my second tough time happened this morning.   Usually I sleep later but I woke up and couldn't get back to sleep.  A result was this.....

 

I made it back to the room.  If I can't take a nap I will try to recover by the pool later.

 

OB will be proud of you getting up to see that.

@derorimThat is a great story.  I'm so glad your former DIL got her cat back.  I would imagine she didn't sleep until she had him back. 

I think my dog has very little hearing and I know if I lose sight of him I might not see him again since he would not be able to hear me calling him.  I used to joke that he was ignoring me but now I am convinced.  Lately he has become quite the explorer in our woods so no chance of being left unsupervised.

9 hours ago, DaniDanielle said:

We love doing trivia also.  Every now and then you get the “pros”that ruin the fun.

I would make all of you amateurs look like pros!

7 hours ago, ownedbypets said:

We are the ones in our neighborhood that all the strays find. I've lost count as to how many I've had spayed/neutered and released. All kittens have  found homes. About a year ago we found a 2 that had been poisoned and there was one that I was convinced had been a pet. We had been feeding him for at least 5 years so my daughter took him. He still doesn't like to be picked up but loves to cuddle and when you pet him he grabs on to your arm with both paws. 

I had a cat like that.  He seemed fine and then suddenly he would have his claws in your arms. 

@helen haywoodI hope you can find time to keep us updated on the Edge.  I am supposed to be on the 2/6 cruise.  I have my fingers crossed that things settle down by then.  I was looking forward to not wearing a mask.  I did organize my "evening" outfits this week.  I was pretty distressed to find out that I "shrunk" my capris.  That is the only reason they could possibly be too snug.  I hope I get the ok from my doctor to start using my rower.  I figure if I do two hours a day I might be able to squeeze back into the capris.

@George C  I’m interested in hearing more about your feral cat.  How often does it come inside?  Do have to worry about fleas?  
 

The reason I ask is we had very young (about 5 weeks old) kittens appear suddenly in late October many years ago.  My neighbor had caught one a couple days earlier and took it to the pound.  Before he could get to the door someone pretty much took it off his hands.  Probably saved the $100 adoption fee.  He told me he had seen a couple more circling my house.  With the snow that night I assumed the worst but the next day my husband came home and spotted them on the front step.  As soon as they saw him they scurried off the step and squeezed in a crack between the concrete stairs and house.  For the next two hours I was trying to bait them but they were so leery and fast.  I finally caught one, it was so desperate for food it had become so engrossed in the meal it didn’t see me.  It was a nervous wreck.  I brought it inside and put it in a Rubbermaid bin while DH tracked the other one as it worked its way around the foundation.  Finally  caught it.  About the same time DH came home from college with four friends.  I showed them the kittens and they took turns passing them around.  Imagine my surprise when someone asked “what is this in it’s head”?  I took one look and about died.  It had fleas, like covered in them.  Ugg, I scooped it up and started giving it a bath in the kitchen sink.  Once I got that one done I worked on the second one.  In the meantime more fleas appeared on the first one.  I think I gave them each 3 baths.  It was during that time that I realized how infested they were, the water was rust colored on the white one.  I got to the point where I thought things were ok and they spent the night in the bin.  Next day I brought them to work to see if my MIL wanted them as her second cat had just passed.  Nope, my BIL scooped them up and took them home.  To this day he talks about what great cats they are with incredible hunting skills.  Much to the dismay of my SIL.lol
 

@DaniDanielleHappy Birthday Marietta!  I see that Graham already sent you the required goodies.

To those leaving this week, we need you to stay healthy.  It is the only way to prevent any future cancellations.  My advice, and note that I am not a doctor, is to drink plenty of of those umbrella beverages. 

@ArzeenaEnjoy the sunshine.  It certainly beats our 20 degrees we will be experiencing tonight.

1 hour ago, Arzeena said:

Mark, I am enjoying your pictures. Someone  called Mojomanny is doing a thread. We have sailed with him on the Serenade or Jewel repos a couple of times out of Boston. 

@ Arzeena

When did you do the Jewel repo's?  We did 3 of them, my husband thinks it was consective years but he could be wrong.  One was definately in 2005, or so says my "Sparkling Jewels" pin I received at our meet and mingle party back then. 

@h20skibumThanks for taking us along with you. 

@Sea DogAre you weighing the pups each week?  We did that with our lab 4 years ago, it was amazing how quickly she grew.  They look twice as big in that video as they did last week.

With respect to coyotes, I have a whistle that is supposed to scare them.  Only problem is that it would scare the dogs too, I would imagine.  Fortunately I have never had to use it.

21 hours ago, Coralc said:

Your Possums are so much cuter than ours. 

I was thinking the same exact thing.

8 hours ago, Sunshine3601 said:

Btw, I like your home gym.  Eric has been looking at buying a rowing machine.  He was rower during high school and college days at Penn and was highly involved until a few years ago when he had health issues.

I just got one for Christmas from my DH.  Sad part is that I have tendonitis in my elbow and since I decided to try cortisone shots I am going to just look at it for a while longer to give it time to heal.  I had tendonitis years ago from gardening and even though I took 3 months off (couldn't rake with snow on the ground) it came back the day I picked up a rake.  It has been 3 months that I have tried to lay low but it kept getting worse.  Sad thing is that I could really use the exercise with a cruise coming up soon.

23 hours ago, Ozark_Kid said:

I know this might sound cheesey but I baked up a pesto pizza with pepperoni. 

Delicious is more like it!

On 1/4/2022 at 2:41 PM, BonTexasNY said:

 

I do remember that the year my daughter was in kindergarten there were so many school closings that schools had to remain open during Spring break to be open the required 120 days to receive state aid.  One snowstorm dumped 18 inches where I lived.  I googled the 1947 blizzard; 26 inches fell!

 

I posted this once before.  The blizzard of 1993:

We still talk about the blizzard of '78.  Take the mess in Virginia and add 6 days to remove the cars from the highway.  Or so I read.  I was a 13 year old loving it.

5 hours ago, nelblu said:

Supposedly, with the constant air circulating, planes are some of the safest places.

 Southwest went with a different approach 3 weeks ago when I flew for the first time.  I spent over 2 hours (boarding then delay taking off, staying onboard for next leg, another delay taking off) on one of their planes that had a malfunction resulting in no air while on the ground.  During the second delay the attendant noted it was 85 degrees. They must think that you can kill germs with the hot, dry air.  

4 hours ago, Arzeena said:

We will be toasting with Bailey's Belgium Chocolate Cream.

Super yummy!

5 hours ago, jagsfan said:

My doctor wanted to send me for X-rays on my replacement knee because it looks so bad. I talked him out of it, 
mostly because I’ve had more medical everything in the last 7 weeks than I can take. 
I would be able to tell if it was damaged. And it isn’t. Just looks like a distorted watermelon!

So I’m fine. I didn’t say pain free, but not needing medical intervention, and by this time next week I’ll be fine. 
On the other hand, my wall needs help!

Would a picture look out of place? 

Mimi,  sending lots of well wishes for a better new year!  Maybe you should stay out of the kitchen tomorrow and order in some egg foo young and lots of good fortune cookies.

I have a cruise early February.  I have the toiletries spread all over the bed so I need to get back to organizing what stays and what goes.  I am going to look at my clothing spreadsheet from the last time we cruised.  Everything is probably out of style by now, we skipped our cruise in 2019 to go to the Netherlands.  Normally I would have everything planned out starting this weekend but it is really hard to get excited knowing that once again, for the third time, my plans could go up in smoke. 

28 minutes ago, Arzeena said:

Lenny asked for New years eve stories......so here is mine. Short and sweet...(literally!)

My daugter was born on New years eve.

My daughter was due to arrive on New Year's eve, everyone told me how lucky I would be to get that little tax deduction.  She showed up when she was good and ready, 9 days later.  She will be 30 soon, can't believe how quickly time flew by!

Graham,

Wishing  you a speedy recovery!

Sorry to hear of so many plans going off the tracks.  My daughters friend was trying to track down a test today.  She was supposed to be hosting dinner tonight and started feeling Lousy last night.  We will leave her cookie tray on her front step tonight.

Greg, incredible video of your son but I’m not surprised being the Emmy award winner that you are.

Merry Christmas everyone!