Sharon in AZ

I realized that I forgot to wish @marshhawk & @cunnorl Happy Birthday yesterday. I hope your special day was great! Thank you Elizabeth. And I’m sorry about your cruise. I hope you are better so you can take your next one. Yes that’s right. I only use my thighs because it’s hard to see the yellow sliding down so I can count to 5. I hope Allen does well on it!

Good afternoon and Happy Wednesday. Great collection of days today. I’ll happily celebrate SB wine. Thanks to all the explanations too, very informative. I prefer NZ SB also but California and French are second. Chile would be my least favorite. Nebbiolo is really good, especially if you are in Italy. I like mimosas and prefer the amount of sparkling wine to be more than the amount of OJ. I bought some small bottles of LaMarca at Target on sale so have that on hand. I hate to say it but I’ve gotten tired of salmon. Craig eats so much of it so I just make a few pieces for him to enjoy when he wants. My DM made salmon cakes a lot when I was young. Speaking of DM….. she’s not any better. I took her to her doctor on Monday and he started her on antibiotics and ordered a second chest X-ray which ended up being clear. She has a follow up appointment tomorrow. I’m not sure what else can be done. She is very weak. Joy @Seasick Sailor, I’m so glad that the Dupixent had arrived. I don’t pay anything for mine, it’s one of those programs that help with the outrageous cost of prescriptions. I recommend alternating the area of injection to reduce injection site reactions. Vanessa @JazzyV, I’m so happy to read that your surgery went well and you are sleeping good. I hope you can manage the stairs tonight for bed. Have a great day everyone!

DH Craig did the Whale Watching tour through HAL on Kona and said that it stayed near the ship area and they didn't see much. We had dining companions who did the Whale Watching tour in Maui and saw so much. Next time we will pick that instead.

Good morning and Happy Sunday from sunny Tucson. It looks like a lovely day. I went to an all day kindergarten in Kansas City and especially remember nap time. I think that was the beginning of my love of naps. I like cashews and chocolate but not a big fan of chocolate covered nuts. Funny that hemp day is right after 420 day. Yes on the wine, no on the drink. I never made the beef with broccoli stir fry yesterday so am making it today. It’s similar to the last recipe and also a Ree Drummond recipe. I have been to Trinidad but not Tobago. It was 2001 on the Zaandam with DM. That was a fantastic cruise. Bon Voyage Jacqui @kazu and Colin & Ellen @VMax1700!! Happy Anniversary Brenda @bennybear! Happy Birthday Tony @sailingdutchy! Have a great day everyone!

Good morning and Happy Saturday. It’s going to be warm again today. The meal suggestion sounds good and I like the idea of the shaved Brussel sprouts that Debbie @dfish posted. I’ve made scallops with pasta before with shrimp. It’s yummy. Today I’m making a batch of no knead bread for the DGD and making her a grilled cheese sandwich from the bread. One of her favorites. Not sure what we are having but probably beef and broccoli stir fry. I used to know a few Chinese words, my good high school friend is Chinese. Her mother made the best Lo Mein. The family owned several restaurants, one in Tucson and one in San Francisco. I ate at both but they are long gone. Joy @Seasick Sailor, I hope the Dupixent approval comes in soon. Mine took a month. I’ve been on it since January and so far so good but I do have a few breakouts. The dermatologist said that Dupixent isn’t 100% effective but it helps to control the severity. So far I haven’t had any side effects. The company is really good at refills too. Let me know if you have any questions. Pennie @Nickelpenny, so great that you are on the Oosterdam TA November 2026. We have a great group! Have a great day everyone!

Bon Voyage!! ⛴⛴⛴

Good afternoon! It’s been warm the last few days. Yesterday was spent in the ER with DM. She’s been sick for a week with a bad cold and hasn’t been drinking enough fluids or eating so is weak and faint. Her BP was low upon standing so the caregiver thought it was best to have her checked out. After tests and fluids she was better and I took her home. Today she says she feels weak but better. I think she just needs a few more days and will be feeling better. I love couscous so today’s meal suggestion sounds great. Also, I agree with those who prefer more garlic and onions! Have a great day!

Wow Vanessa! Amazing pictures of both the eclipse and Denali. Thank you. Thank you, I’ll check them out.

Good evening everyone. I was under the weather yesterday so watched the eclipse on TV. I didn’t care for most of the coverage but did enjoy the Science channel coverage. It was only for 30 minutes and no one talked during the actual eclipse. It was broadcast from Baylor in Waco and spectacular. Some scientists talked at the beginning but that was all. I didn’t go outside but it did get dim. Thank you for the recipes Debbie @dfish, I made something similar for Christmas and made them ahead which made it so much easier. I love sundried tomatoes too! When we board our dog Blue he is always tired and sleeps for two days. And they feed him earlier than I do too. It takes a while but I finally get him back on my schedule. I just do it about 15 minutes later each day. Paul, I’m enjoying your Beauty of Nature experiences. Thank you for the lovely pictures. Also, if I remember you organized a dinner in Barcelona last year for your roll call. What restaurant did you go to? Happy Birthday! What a beautiful cake your son made! Wow, just wow. I’ve made a German Chocolate cake but it never looks like that. Lovely pictures of a lovely couple! Bruce, I love taking pictures of markets also. Yours are wonderful and thank you for sharing. Happy Anniversary! What a beautiful couple you are on your wedding day 47 years ago!

Happy Birthday @Norseh2o! I saw that you were in Tucson and saw the SpaceX launch! I hope you enjoyed your special day!

Happy Anniversary to @erewhon and @Overhead Fred! 🥂🍾🎊

Happy Birthday Sandi @StLouisCruisers!! 🎈🎈🎈

Good morning and Happy Sunday! We watched the rocket launch last night. Amazing! This first picture is 6 minutes after takeoff. This is a short video, make sure to watch it once Craig zooms in: IMG_5347.MOV I find it amazing that we can see it so well almost 700 miles away. The trajectory was toward Cabo San Lucas. I wonder if those on the Volendam saw it.

Terry I’m so glad you and your household enjoyed the Boursin potatoes. It’s the only way we make them now. Wow Debbie, that sounds amazing. Now if I can only get Craig to like spaghetti squash. Lenda thank you for the info about the bluebonnets. I’ll let you know if I find them. I’m getting excited about Waco!

Good morning and Happy Saturday. Like Pennie @Nickelpenny said it was very windy yesterday. I have a rolling shutter on the upstairs window and it rattled all afternoon which is unusual because it is very stable. I never really ate Twinkies because my Dad didn’t let us have dessert or sweets or sodas. When I was a teenager my parents divorced and I started eating Swiss rolls and hiding them so no one else could have them. I still don’t eat many sweets. I remember my father had a darkroom and developed his own film, mostly of teeth since he was a dentist, but he also developed his own pictures. I can still smell the scent of the chemicals if I close my eyes. Today we are having grilled smoked hamburgers. We haven’t had them in a long time so I’m looking forward to lunch. I might even make French fries. Yesterday I made chicken mushroom crepes with an impromptu recipe. I found 6 crepes vacuumed sealed and had the other ingredients so it came together quickly. I forgot about the SpaceX launch last night but I see one on the schedule for tonight so maybe it was postponed. I need to set an alarm. 😉 Lenda @Quartzsite Cruiser, your pictures of the bluebells are beautiful. Will they last until early May? I hope so, I’d love to see them. They are so different than AZ wildflowers. Have a great day everyone!

Debbie (some won’t understand) but your eye looks good, like it’s healing. Trust me I’ve seen so much worse. Keep up the compresses. Are you also using eye drops? If not you should. Well, actually, there is first from Dallas to Waco because I checked, but not worth it. It’s like taking first from Tucson to Phoenix, you go up then go down. We were in first once after an overseas flight and the seats are all the same but I did get a free glass of wine.

Good morning and Happy Thursday from a sunny Tucson. Yesterday was absolutely beautiful and today should be even more so. The snow on the Catalinas is beautiful. Even the Rincons have snow but that won’t last. We had errands yesterday and a busy afternoon so I didn’t make it to the FR&D. We have leftovers most often in the evenings since we eat our main meal at lunchtime. However, I’m not very creative. If I make something that has a lot of servings, like a casserole, I’ll freeze half. Right now I have a tuna noodle casserole in the freezer. Yesterday we had chicken tacos with marinated chicken from TJ’s and I froze half of the chicken for another meal. I also made a bourbon cake, yum. Not sure what today’s meal will be yet. We do have leftover meatloaf and mashed potatoes. Since Craig is going out to look at vehicles (yuck) I think that’s what we’ll have. We have needed a new vehicle for 5 years and have put it off. Now it’s getting urgent so…….. I would love to try today’s wine and drink. I like the Dutch 150 on the BHB’s which is similar to the the French 75. Very refreshing. I also would like to try the Pinot Blanc that was on Bruce’s @aliaschief Chef’s menu. I don’t think I’ve ever tasted one. Debbie @dfish, I hope your eye gets better soon. Did they tell you to do warm wet compresses? It really helps. Just don’t put it in the microwave, just use hot tap water. (Plastic surgeons advice again). She actually is an eye plastic surgeon. Oh and her DH owns a Jeep which he loves. Joy @Seasick Sailor, give Allen a hug for me. I hope things get better soon. Lenda @Quartzsite Cruiser, I’m glad you all made it home safely. Well, I did something crazy the other day. I upgraded my flight to Dallas and back to first. Not the flight to Waco (too short). I felt like spoiling myself and since I had saved some $$ on the flight anyway I thought it would be nice. I’ll be leaving May 2nd for 6 days and probably won’t be able to post much. We have a busy itinerary. Have a great day everyone!

For 4 potatoes he uses half a container of Boursin. We always have some in the freezer and we’ve found that it’s about $2 cheaper at Trader Joe’s. He also uses a food mill for the potatoes, it makes them fluffy and no lumps.

Ssshhhhh…. The secret is Boursin and lots of butter.

Good afternoon and Happy Tuesday. I had a dermatology appointment this morning and read most of the posts there and then the rest at home. Pennie @Nickelpenny, I’m glad you didn’t stay up for the launch. It was just too overcast to see anything so you didn’t miss a thing. I hope you are feeling better today. Bruce @aliaschief, what!?! I would be really sad if you didn’t post about your travels and cruises. I would have the meal suggestion for a family get together, like a brunch for a holiday. Today we are having TJ’s meatloaf with Craig’s famous mashed potatoes. I’m making asparagus as a side. It’s been so plentiful at the grocery store thanks to the produce manager. Have a great day everyone!

Also Lenda @Quartzsite Cruiser! If you want to view online here is the link. https://www.spacelaunchschedule.com/launch/falcon-9-block-5-starlink-group-7-18/

For those in the the Southwest the SpaceX launch from Vandenburg is a go for 7:30pm PT. Pennie @Nickelpenny I hope you read this.

Gerry @ger_77, I’m so sorry to read about Gord passing yesterday. How difficult that must have been for you to experience and stay strong at the same time. Your support for Ollie is amazing. We should all strive to become a better person like you.

Thank you Graham. You always have such kind words to say. She is starting to show her age at 94 but it’s things someone 10 years younger would do so I need to remember that and be thankful for everything she is. Hope that made sense.

Good morning and Happy Monday from a rainy Tucson. Yesterday’s Easter lunch was okay. Pennie @Nickelpenny, I would have rather had yours. The shrimp cocktail is always good. The vegetable puff pastry and Duchess potatoes were the best on the plate. My DM on the left with her 97 year old friend. I’ll take a charcuterie board any day. And actually they are centuries old. The Greeks and Romans started it in ancient times as a way to preserve meats. Then in France in the 15th century charcuterie became more refined. Here’s more info from Wikipedia. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charcuterie_board Cheese and other ingredients were added later. I would love to try today’s wine. Maybe when I’m in Spain in 2025. Have a great day everyone!!