NextOne

Departure toots? Oh yes - I see the Apex moving. But now there are more toots!

Checking in! I've missed the last few because of the earlier sailaway times. Glad I'll be here for this one! Happy New Year, everyone!

Rabbit, Rabbit, White Rabbit! Happy New Year to all! I made it to midnight, snapped my fingers, then went to bed. SO much excitement!😀 Off to church this morning, then driving to the mountains for our delayed Christmas dinner with family, now that their ice has melted, temporarily. Then home in time so that DS can watch the Ravens play tonight. Go Baltimore!!

My goodness - last week we were in the depths of winter, and today it feels like Spring! I was able to work in the yard without a jacket, taking care of the cleanup I couldn't do earlier because various health issues & the cold.What a lovely way to end this year and start the next. It looks like the warmth will continue for a few more days. I'll take it! I didn't want the year to end without expressing my gratitude to all the lovely folks here on the Daily. Rich, thank you for your dedication & giving us something to look forward to every day. Roy, thank you for your concerns & celebration lists and also for your willingness to substitute for others. Thanks to the food & beverage department -- maybe in 2023 I'll actually make one of the recipes I've printed out!😀 Lastly, thanks to all for making this such a supportive and lovely place to visit. It helped me get through this year, for sure! So, goodbye to 2022 and wishing everyone a safe & happy 2023, filled with cruising!

Christmas Day this year was very different from past years. My DSIL had invited DS and me to their house in the mountains for dinner, but the ice up there was too bad. So I ran to the grocery store, picked up a rotisserie chicken & other fixings, and had a nice, warm dinner at home. We watched both "Top Gun" movies while we ate & had a fine time. I was still tired from the 8 hours at church the night before, so it was all good. Not the celebration we expected, but a memorable one nonetheless! Today we 'll visit friends and celebrate Boxing Day with pizza. Tomorrow the diet restarts..... Happy Holidays to everyone!

Merry Christmas to all that celebrate. Wishing everyone peace and joy! Services last night were beautiful & I got the good news from our sr. pastor that I made it onto the list for his England/Scotland tour next October! Usually I have a cruise scheduled by the time he announces his itinerary for the following year. A nice Christmas present! Our plan to visit family for dinner today was cancelled because they are iced in. We'll go next weekend after the ice melts -- still within the 12 days of Christmas! Prayers for all, and love to all the Daily-ites!

Happy Christmas Eve! The wind has gotten a bit better since yesterday -- just gusts now instead of the unrelenting blow! Almost all of my outside Christmas decorations , plus one shutter, blew down yesterday. I was going to put them all back up today, but think I'll wait another day. Not anxious to work outside in 10 degrees, so I salute the power company workers that worked all day and into the night to bring back electricity to our area. We were lucky -- only out for about 4 hours. Good excuse to go out somewhere warm for lunch! Our church has five Christmas Eve services today -- 2pm, 4pm, 6pm, 8 pm, and 10pm. Our choir sings in all but the 6pm, which is a contemporary service - that's our dinner time. I'm skipping the 2pm service so I can stay awake for the 10pm one -- that's my favorite one. It's quieter, includes communion, & is the most meaningful one to me. I'll go home afterwards, settle down with some "seasonally adjusted" eggnog, and remember past Christmases with family members that have passed on. Then up early tomorrow morning to head to the mountains & celebrate with the rest of the family. Good times! Happy Holidays!

Thank you, Kathi! Have a great time!

Checking in!

Checking in! It's been a while since I've made a sailaway -- hoping for good toots!

Happy Friday, all! The tree goes up this weekend!

Good afternoon, Daily-ites, from cold, soggy Maryland. We had ice on the trees this morning, but the roads were just wet, so the Meals on Wheels went on as scheduled. Now I'm back home, huddled in front of the fireplace and have no intention of stirring! My cats don't take kindly to herding - they'd rather trip you up, instead! Love tea, and I have been known to re-gift on occasion. My first visit to Saint John was this past October. My friends & I wandered around the city, toured a lovely church & had lunch in a great restaurant where I finally got to taste poutine. Loved it! The waitress was sweet & brought us a complimentary portion so we could try it. Yes, we tipped her well! My favorite memory, though, was the gentleman who serenaded the ship on the bagpipes while we were waiting to depart. He had his own sound system & played traditional and contemporary music. Who would have thought that "Unchained Melody" would sound so good on the bagpipes!

Good afternoon Daily-ites. I went for my follow-up visit with the eye surgeon this morning & he's pleased with the progress on both eyes. I'm thrilled, things are so much sharper! He discontinued one of the eye drops, reduced the number of the drops of another & kept the third to a once a day, so I'm happy! I try to conserve energy by keeping the thermostat at 70 degrees when the heat is on. My son wanders around in a t-shirt & shorts , and complains about the cold. I tell him to put on more clothes! I'm waiting to see whether we get the dreaded "wintry mix" tomorrow. I'm supposed to drive for Meals on Wheels, but they won't go out when school is cancelled or delayed for more than a couple of hours. I don't like driving on ice, so I'd rather not go....so do I sleep with my pajamas inside-out tonight, like the kids that hope for a snow day??

A cute couple then and now!! Congratulations!

Greetings Daily-ites! As always, thank you to all those who make this such a warm & welcoming spot, particularly Rich & Roy! Bon voyage to those who are lucky to be heading off to cruises! Jacqui @kazu I hope your travels go smoothly tomorrow. And Happy Anniversary to @Sharon in AZ Sharon & Craig! For the very first time, I had to cancel a cruise -- a B2B on NCL's Pride of America. Oh well. I filed the paperwork over the weekend, so we'll see how long the process takes & how much they agree to refund. The cruise was for next Feb., so cancellation came after final payment. The cardiologist was kind enough to fill out the required physician's statement, so I hope that will be sufficient, I had my second cataract surgery last week, and both eyes are remarkably improved! Of course, the drops will continue for a few months, but I can deal with that! I met with the PA at the cardiology practice last week & he upped the dosage of the AFib med to slow the heart rate, Still too fast for his liking. Hope this works! They are still waiting for the results of the "heart structure committee" review of the echocardiogram to determine the next steps. I learned something new -- what I call "a leaky heart valve" is more formally called "mitral regurgitation." Sounds much more impressive! The best thing to happen over the weekend was that all the boxes with late DH's model train collection was moved to a storage unit, so I have my living room back! The Christmas tree goes up next weekend! I was starting to think I was going to have to settle for a tree-shaped pile of boxes with a star on top!!

Rabbit, Rabbit, White Rabbit! I'm sorry I haven't been online for a while -- life hit me sideways in November, with health issues, family concerns, and the need to buy a new car when my old one died unexpectedly (first time I had to do that on my own)! But I didn't want to whine & I'll be back soon with a better attitude! In the meantime, thanks to all that keep this thread going and keeping it a warm, comforting & friendly spot! Edi

Good toots! I counted 14. Thank you, Capt. O'Driscoll!

Looks like she's moving!

Thanks for the reminder, Kathi!

Greetings from MD on this soggy Veterans Day. To all that have served, thank you for your service! Thank you for the Daily, Rich, and safe travels, Roy. So glad I did early voting last week because...my pre-op visit on Tuesday for the cataract surgery took an unexpected turn! Everything was fine, and it seemed that the doctor was about to sign off on the paperwork, when they did the EKG. Oops, after 3 runs, the dr said "I want you to go to the hospital RIGHT NOW!" Turns out I have AFib, and my heart rate was extremely high. Not good. So I spent most of the day in the ER as they ran tests and waited for a bed to become available in the cardiac unit. The Echocardiogram revealed that I have a leaky heart valve, and the drs all agree that I was lucky that they found it early, before a clot caused a stroke or heart attack. Phew! Thank you, Lord!! I was released Wednesday afternoon & now am taking Elequis & a med to slow down the heart rate. I feel fine, and felt ok through the whole experience! The eye surgeon has no problem working on someone taking blood thinners, so I guess I'm good for the 22nd!

Good morning! I did early voting last week, so will just watch the results tonight. Never been to Bonaire, but have been to islands A& C. My bronchitis has cleared, just in time for my pre-op exam this morning to prepare for my upcoming cataract surgeries. Prayers for all on Roy's care list and congrats to all who are celebrating. Praying that the hurricane turns away from FL - they deserve a break!

Signing off, until tomorrow. Thanks, Kathi!

A proper toot-fest!

Kudos to Captain O'Driscoll in sneaking the NS past the Behemouth of the Seas!!

Hopefully arriving in time to catch the departure!