AncientWanderer

Greetings everyone from Japan. I hope all are doing well. Glad to see that @kazuJacqui was able to make her trip, and even has enough oomph to do a “live from.” 😊 The Westerdam is delivering the goods here in Japan. We’ve had great excursions, quite good food, and wonderful service. And blessed with sunny skies. And…perfect timing for the cherry blossoms. Happy campers. Here are a few photos. Shirakawago from Kanazawa port stop Hirosaki from Aomori port stop And a pretty darn lavish Asian dinner in the Lido Wishing everyone a best possible day. Many thanks to the Daily team and all contributors. ❤️

Our condolences, Bruno, for this sad and tough time. I hope you feel better soon. Not easy…

Greetings friends. I’ll tip my hat to McDonalds, as the very first one was in our neck of the woods and nice to see big things come from small places. 🍔 🍟 @Quartzsite CruiserLenda, I hope Steve has a positive doctor visit. You’ve been through a lot. We are go, go, going in Japan. @JazzyV, we are indeed onboard until Seattle. And that less hectic schedule for the transpacific will be most welcome, HAL is doing a nice job on the Westerdam. Lots of regional touches, like fun wasabi bar mix, nicer sushi offerings, special Asian dishes on the menu. No opportunity for speakers as it’s just constant port stops. Definitely the most strenuous cruise I’ve experienced. We are booked for the Morimoto dinner and I’ll take photos and report on that. We haven’t seen much feedback on it yet. Take care all. Wishing everyone a pleasant day, although I don’t know what day it is anywhere! ❤️

Greetings friends. We really love Cozumel. Usually rent a car and have at it. We have good Cozumel memories. Now, we are in Yokohama preparing to board Westerdam. It’s so funny…all the research and reading live threads…nobody prepared us for just how charming Yokohama itself is. We expected a blah industrial port town. Instead, we had a delightful day in a vibrant city, full of parks like this… Right now I’m so jet lagged I barely know my own name, and my dogs are tired from LOTS of walking. But will post from time to time as we carry on. Things have started off really well on this trip. Walked our legs off and are enamored with Japan. Hope to share good stuff with our Dailyites in the coming days. @bennybear, I think you nailed it. Good vibes here. Sending best wishes to all. Have a great day! ❤️

Happy Birthday @StLouisCruisersSandi! Everyone in the country sure as heck was celebrating today. 😊 I'm sorry to hear Linda had a disappointing day. Hopefully her evening will be nice. Enjoy the rest of your day, too!! 🎂 🎈 🎊

Oh do call them, Jane, and don't hesitate. My dad was in congestive heart failure for many years. He was extremely proactive about getting help if something seemed "off." In fact it used to annoy my mom because she had health problems of her own and thought he was too fussy. But you really can't be too fussy. There are lots of tools to keep the ticker going, but they have to know you need them. Sorry if I'm too vehement on this point, but we lived through it. My dad was amazing. Best wishes to you, Jane. Maxine

Roy, I seem to recall that @Horizon chaser 1957has a daughter in Taiwan. Perhaps we'll hear from her. I hope everything is okay for her as well.

@smitty34877 Terry, very sad news from your home today. Tana and your whole family are in our thoughts and prayers. Maxine

Debbie, that stinks that Sue gets migraines so often. Yes to the BHB cure! I may have posted about this book before, but it really helps to understand the migraine process and how triggers work. It helped a lot for me to keep things under control. Try to ignore the crazy book cover. It's really a good book. Might help Sue. https://www.amazon.com/Heal-Your-Headache-David-Buchholz/dp/0761125663/ref=sr_1_1?crid=Z5UOVJGWVQ5D&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.vk_7kffMH63rg9t3bvrlrL78cBTQhLDyiLqOKBg1m3K4oFAlpKqScUbuMawioYeRcnwEzwogUClagUW2B53TXwY9MKNbmCV7_bg9d4sLHA8mj5ut-MffP70Z51lc_iZtDMYsvYkyHpOzCE9qV-pKQRUgzUmjghAMbGNXQeg-qPJYfPwJZ8RdhQq2gsgLPJO2-Ky2MqCWlgVaNRuY9mN4L27rsqhABka0B7oLwRUNFlY.vav3Y8U46Ca4XtAlqmR0UFimD0NxZ561NLpbQdm_zOo&dib_tag=se&keywords=heal+your+headache&qid=1712095067&sprefix=heal+your+headache%2Caps%2C157&sr=8-1 It sounds like you identified your big headache trigger, Annie. 👍 Luckily my triggers are things like chocolate and red wine -- not DH! lol Good that the oral surgeon has a plan you're comfortable with. Hooray for that!

Greetings friends. Back from an early neurologist appointment, The hunt for the perfect migraine med continues. Very doubtful there is one. Ferrets? No thanks. But a PB&J is always good; purple drinks are pretty, and management of our produce is very important. @cat shepard, I hope your jury duty experience is a good one. @doobieb, stay safe. Scary storm warning! @dfish, hope your eye feels better. @smitty34877, I hope you find some time to rest after a rough night. @aliaschief, your photos are a treat. And HAL can use some friendly "peer pressure" from the competitors. @summer slope, your friends Mike and Sue are in our prayers as Mike struggles with pneumonia. @StLouisCruisers, your needlework is gorgeous. Such an intricate design! Beautiful! @Nickelpenny, I hope you find some relief for your knees. @marshhawk, wishing you a good visit with the oral surgeon, @RMLincoln, excellent news about DH's eyes. What a load off! @bennybear, the chocolates are beautiful. And so unusual! @Quartzsite Cruiser, stay safe on the road! It's very nice out today in San Diego. We again have DD's pommie along with our own, so lots of dog walks today. Wishing everyone the best possible Tuesday. ❤️

Rabbit, Rabbit, White Rabbit. Good morning everyone. Hoping for no Tom Foolery and don’t want to be an April Fool. Easter was good here. We had DD’s family and DMIL over and the leg of lamb turned out really well, roasted in my favorite kitchen appliance, the Showtime Rotisserie. DH and I shared a cheese board at a restaurant on Friday night. We both agreed it was the best one we’ve had. Thinking it over, we decided that was because nothing was too salty and the mustard was excellent. Here’s a photo… @quilty964 Karen, I’ve been baking sourdough bread for about a year now. My DDIL gave me starter and got me going on it. Your friends are right — it’s very easy and very forgiving. To get it taller, be sure to include some higher gluten bread flour, but DH and I like it flatter, too. I experiment with lots of flours and we never buy bread anymore. Here’s what’s left of our Easter bread — one with rye and one plain. @ger_77, I’m so sorry your friend Ollie lost her dear husband. What a good friend you are, helping her through such an awful time. You sure had an emotional day, God bless you. Thanks for all the wonderful photos today. Tokyo looks beautiful. I hope the new month starts well for everyone. Thoughts and prayers are with the Care List. Three cheers for those celebrating. Maxine

You're brave. I was thinking the same thing, but thought I'd be voted off the island if I said it. A Face Time doesn't have to be any different than chatting with the person across the table. And that shouldn't be loud either. I can imagine somebody traveling solo and wanting company for dinner -- so they Face Time. Or wishing a friend or loved one was dining with them -- so they Face Time. It's all about the volume. Which in the OP's case probably was too loud or it wouldn't have prompted a thread.

Thanks for the heads up, Lenda. We'll be watching for it. We've had a couple of really good sightings before from our house. It's pretty darn thrilling to see in the night sky. It's clear today, so looking forward to it!

Good morning Dailyites. @JazzyVVanessa, thank you very much for putting Coco on the care list. She can be taken off now. We had a nice Face Time with her this morning. Her spirits are good and spots are fading. @RMLincoln Maureen, we had a mountain home in Idaho with a hot tub situated similarly to yours. Gosh how we loved sipping wine, looking at light over our little lake, watching birds, chipmunks, an occasional fox. Oh, how we do miss that hot tub. It was nice to read about yours. @ger_77 Gerry, you and Maurice are in our prayers that the board makes the right decision. @summer slope Dixie, I hope your pain settles down. Take it easy! @kazuJacqui, I'm sorry to hear about all the stress as your cruise date is approaching. Sure do hope you find someone kind to keep Ivan. As we bond with our pets, it's really hard to cause them distress. Hopefully things will fall into place in a good way. @dfish Debbie, seeing Radish Salad with Carrots as the meal suggestion immediately made me think of my mother. She used to mix finely chopped radishes, carrots, a bit of green onion, and a dab of mayo into cottage cheese. That with toast was often a lunch. I still like it. What a charming lady Audrey Hepburn was. Nice to see a quote from her. We've been to a couple of places in Croatia, but not Zadar. I've been kind of homebound because we have contractors here redoing a deck. They are supposed to be done today. Fingers crossed. Rain has held them up. Thinking of all of you on this Holy Thursday. Thank you for this special sharing place. Maxine

Gosh that sounds painful. Ouch! Thank goodness all the tests were negative -- you could have been very seriously injured! Wishing you comfort and rapid healing.

Good morning everyone. Thank you, @JazzyVVanessa for putting our Coco on the care list. There was quite a scramble last night to find her antibiotic. I'd read there is a shortage of the common childhood antibiotics. They did find some in the county last night, so hopefully she is on her way to healing. Also, Vanessa, it was darling seeing your photo yesterday with Dr. Spock! We visited Falmouth in the spring of 2013 on a Princess transatlantic. We took a tour out into the countryside and what I remember most is the River Fowey and seeing a house there that is said to be the inspiration for Toad Hall in Wind in the Willows. We were blessed with gorgeous sunny weather and the day was a very special one. I don't scribble, do like whiskey, and admire and support the Red Cross. They do amazing work. It's fun to see a tropical drink today as summer is coming. @dfish, I used to make a "Blender Hollandaise Sauce" that was pretty good. Haven't thought about that in years. Gosh that buffet looks amazing, Bruce. What a cruise you are having! That's a crack-up about the chocolate, Terry. Reminds me to head on over to See's. DD will be disappointed if the bunny doesn't deliver a chocolate egg. I clean like a whirling dervish when DH is gone, too. Glad I'm not the only one! Speaking of DH, his cardiologist ordered another echocardiogram to measure his heart aneurysm. The doctor says lots of people have them and often they don't get bigger. I think it's scary, though. It's close to the size where surgery is indicated. Sometimes I wish they'd just go in and fix it right away. It is invasive surgery, though. So we just follow doctor's orders. It's a nice sunny day here in San Diego. Many thanks to our Daily team and all contributors. Our care list will be in thoughts and prayers. Wishing everyone a safe and happy day.

Thanks @ger_77. We were posting at the same time.

DD took little DGD Coco to the doctor. It's not chicken pox; it's scarlet fever. She was recently treated for strep throat and is still testing positive for it, so now it's into scarlet fever. They put her on a different antibiotic. I haven't heard of anyone having scarlet fever for years. It's upsetting.

Good morning and thanks for our Fleet Report and Daily. It's hard to even post today with the sad news of the Maryland Bridge and as @smitty34877Terry mentioned, the death of the young police officer in New York. Very sad days lately. @kazu Jacqui, good day for your pictures of Maverick. Some heart-warming is most welcome. I hope your PT was helpful yesterday. At home here it's a mixed bag. On one hand, HAL did an excellent and timely job of moving six major Japan excursions over to new dates on our itinerary. I'm sure it was a mad scramble to get the tours set up and to move over everyone who had booked excursions -- many of us a very long time ago. Great job, HAL. On the other hand...DGD has spots all over that look like chicken pox, yet she's fully vaccinated. We're waiting to hear what the doctor has to say. Sure look like chicken pox to me. And DH has his cardiology appointment this morning. They are tracking the size of a heart aneurysm. It's always a worry. @Seasick SailorJoy, I'm sorry your DH didn't get a better report. Plenty to pray about these days, but plenty to be thankful for, too. I hope everyone here has a pleasant and peaceful day. Maxine

Good morning friends. Happy birthday, @seagarsmoker. Bon Voyage to @lazey1 and @GTVCRUISER. There's a storm gathering here in San Diego. I hope they sail right on away from it into fair weather and fine seas. Sad day yesterday and more sad news today from @Seasick Sailor. Sure does remind how fragile life is and to cherish every day. Eleanor Roosevelt was an amazing woman, wasn't she? Her quote rings true. All the food and drink sounds good today -- even the chips & dip starter. Haven't been to Madagascar. Many thanks to the Daily team and all contributors. @JazzyVVanessa, I'm glad your doctor has a plan for you and will be praying hard that your situation improves. Have a great Saturday everyone!

Graham, people all around the whole world will be praying for your beautiful Princess of Wales.

I just returned from the hair salon and see the awful news here. Omg...what a sad day. The crew members! I can't even...

Then there's the issue of health. How soon they forget. So many people onboard in tight quarters should there be another outbreak of something. Aren't I a ray of sunshine?! lol

Greetings friends. I've been busy this morning working on cruise details. Triple staterooms all changed to doubles! 🤷‍♀️ DD dropped off Tails again, her Pomeranian, for us to care for while they are on a short vacation. Our Pocket does get jealous. They maneuver who gets to sit closest to me on the sofa, and Pocket has figured out how to move both beds so he can be a greedy boy and lay across both at the same time. The collection of days is interesting. Absolutely Incredible Kid Day is the one I like best. Kids around and a good pot roast. Yes, please. I'm sorry so many here are experiencing challenging health problems. Wish there were better answers, easier fixes. Many thanks to our Fleet Report and Daily team. Wishing everyone a pleasant Thursday. Maxine