luvteaching

@kazu and Deb - have a safe trip home! I'll look forward to reading your wrap-up of the cruise. 
 

Karen

Good morning from a grey overcast Pacific Northwest. That's ok - the rain is supposed to hold off until tomorrow and by mid-week we're in the mid to upper 70's. I'm taking that as a hint to get out the Spring/Summer clothes and change over the closet. I need to start packing DD DH's clothes and get them ready to donate. Just haven't done it yet for no good reason other than procrastination. Wednesday, the 8th, would have been his 84th birthday and last year our great-granddaughter was born on his birthday so I'll concentrate on that. 

Yesterday was the pool and errands as well as getting a few things done around here. I have a month until my first of 4 Alaska cruises. This one is by myself on Majestic Princess. I want to get my dining booked and then I can relax. Today will be a stop at a friend's Open House (she's a realtor and we get a visit in) and calling my Mom who will be thrilled the Vancouver Canucks won last night. I'm still working on getting my desk cleaned off and other lovely fun things. 

Have a good Saturday and enjoy the weekend!
 

Karen

@YVRteacher Have you read the Sue Henry Alaska mystery series? It's a set I really enjoyed. I love how you are showing bookstores! Where were the ones in Juneau? I know there's one by Hanger on the Wharf but hadn't found any others. 

Thank you!
 

Karen

@ger_77 Yay!!! What wonderful news. I tend to cry easily so I tell people I was born with my bladder behind my eyes. Maurice had a great comeback. 

Karen

Good afternoon, 

As @Cruising-along mentioned we're having a lovely day here with sun and nice temperatures. Tomorrow is to be a repeat and somewhat warmer and then back to rain. 

Yesterday was busy with 2 water aerobics classes in the morning and then I met a friend at Panera for lunch. We taught together and it was nice to catch up. 

Today has been laundry and getting some walking in. My goal is my craft room/office/mess and I promised myself I wouldn't start a new jigsaw puzzle until I got it more organized. Notice I said "more" and not "totally". I'm also gearing up for graduation. I have up to 24 former students graduating this year so need to track them down and double-check on their status. I'll be on the Majestic Princess on graduation day. I send all my former students I can connect with a card and a $5.00 Starbucks gift card. Next year will be my last class. We were a small rural school and I have kids graduating this year, and next, who I taught their parents and siblings as well. 

No to the drink and meal, maybe on the wine on a BHB. Have a lovely rest of the day! 

Karen

It's unusual to see HAL at the Franklin dock - they're usually at the first 2. I'll be waving from a HAL ship on July 9 and Sept. 9th. On both cruises I'm taking friends who have never been to Alaska or on a cruise ship before. This could be interesting! 

Karen

@rafinmd. Regarding the map. I'm on Safari and have it on "satellite view". I can zoom in and out just fine and it refreshes. 

Karen

PS: I'm also on a MAC. 

Good afternoon, 

It's a cloudy/sunny/windy day - typical for the Pacific Northwest! I'm finally home. Today was two water aerobics classes and then I did the banking since tomorrow is payday and I'm within minutes of the bank. That saves a trip to town tomorrow which takes about 25 minutes. 

I got home and my wonderful DS had been here. My new office chair was put together, he'd filled the hummingbird feeders and brought in a package that came in the mail. I missed seeing him and having a visit but it's ok. He's gone back to school this quarter (first time) and told me today he has 1035 in his Communication Class! As an adult ADHD with a tendency to not be focused and organized he's learning time management and how to make things work. Yay!!! 

Now to put the new chair in place and I want to get some cleaning done in my craft room - particularly my desk as I know there's an Amazon gift card on there somewhere!
 

Karen

Just checked the webcam and it's a nice day in Juneau with clouds and sun. Let's hope it holds for the travelers. 

Good morning, 

It's a soggy start to the day and the weather forecast calls for more rain. That's ok - nowhere to go today and I can get things done here. I have a craft room and desk that really need some attention and I can find lots of cleaning to take care of. 

Yesterday I ran to town (about a 20 minute drive on back roads with little traffic) and put a card in the mail and then got rid of all the expired meds at the drug take-back day. What a relief to have that taken care of. DD DH had so many meds he was on and I had quite a stockpile of them as well as old over-the-counter ones that it was rather cleansing to have them all out of the cupboard and out of the house. Now I'll get that cupboard wiped out and maybe do some rearranging. 

DS just informed me that he'll be over tomorrow instead of today, which is fine. I have a few "son do" jobs that he claims I can no longer do on my own. I'll gladly give up the lawn mowing (although it will be too wet for him to do it tomorrow) but I can do a few other things. I have a new office chair that I would like him to put together for me but I may try and do it myself today. 

Have a lovely and relaxing Sunday, 

Karen

Good morning, 

It's a grey breezy and soon to be wet day here in the Pacific Northwest. A good weekend to get things done here at home. 

I had problems yesterday getting on CC but not this morning so fingers crossed it keeps working. 

Today I'm heading out to get rid of medications. I have 5 grocery bags of DD DH's old meds and over-the-counter expired medications. I'm going to our local City Hall where they have a drug take-back day from 10;00 - 2:00. After clearing out the cupboards and going through everything I have more cupboard space! Since nature abhors a vacuum I'm sure it will fill up in the near future. 

Karen

@marshhawk. Me too! I was on Safari and am on a Mac. I switched to Chrome and it's working. 

Karen

Good evening, 

I had to switch browsers to get on CC this evening. Weird. All I get is a white screen on Safari.

@Quartzsite Cruiser Here's the chocolate snickerdoodle recipe. I get about 2 dozen cookies off of this one but they aren't that big. 

Oven at 350 for 9 minutes

3/4 c sugar

1/4 cup margarine (or butter)

1/2 tsp vanilla

1 egg

1 1/8 cup flour

1/2 tsp cream of tartar

1/4 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/4 cup cocoa. 

I put it all in the Kitchenaid mixer and let the mixer do it's magic. Then I refrigerate the dough for at least 4 hours and even to the next day. 

I use a scoop to get the cookies on the cookie sheet. I make them into balls and dip then into a cinnamon sugar mixture and then bake. They come out a bit puffy with a cracked top. 

Karen

Good morning, 

@kazu so glad you are having a good trip and I really enjoyed seeing all the photos and reading about your trip to Boston. 

I've been debating about the filet with lobster dumplings for my next Pinnacle Grill dinner in July. Tell me more please! 

Have a wonderful trip!
 

Karen

Good morning, 

It's a rather dreary day here but rain isn't in the forecast. Never fear it's back with a vengeance tomorrow. 

Happy Birthday @dfish! Safe travels and enjoy your day. 

Today is some errands in town and I'm going to try a new water aerobics class. I'm taking a hiatus from PT so this will add a 3rd day of pool time which my body will enjoy. I also have to stop and top off the gas tank and get a few groceries. Nothing too exciting. I got the chocolate snickerdoodles made yesterday and that was the highlight of my day. 

Happy Friday!

Karen

Good morning @YVRteacher! 

I taught a 5th/6th split for a few years then mainly 6th grade. In my district 6th grade is the last year of elementary. I love that age group - a special combination of still being kids but wanting to be older. My classroom was filled with books - more than our little library had! When I started my school was 4 classrooms with a 1/2 split, 2/3 split, 4/5 split and 5/6 split. Over time we added two new classrooms so no splits and we had a kindergarten and then we added 4 more. When I started we had less than 100 kids and when I retired it was closer to 150. My drive was 8 minutes with 3 stop signs on the way over and 1 on the way home. 

Love Parnassus books!!! Go in each time I'm there. There's also a nice local bookstore in Juneau in the same building as the Hanger Restaurant. It used to be up by the Ben Franklin and I would go in every trip even if I only got postcards. Same in Sitka. I really enjoy the local shops. 

Karen

@YVRteacher - so looking forward to another trip report from you and DD. I'm a retired teacher and a Canadian citizen/permanent US resident. If you need a book fix - try Parnasus books in Ketchikan. It's a favorite local book store! 

Have a wonderful cruise and enjoy your last few months of school. 

Karen

Good morning - almost afternoon, 

It's a soggy day here and that's the forecast for the next several days. It's ok for me today as I need a day to stay home and hopefully get things done. 

This morning I have a load of laundry going and have chocolate snickerdoodle cookie dough chilling in the fridge. I'll get them made up in a few hours. I've talked to my DBIL to check how he's doing after the death of his DW earlier this month. So far he's doing ok. I shared some information I had about a drug take-back day this Saturday. I have so many meds from my DD DH that I've been waiting for one of these days to get rid of them! Later I'll go through the cabinets one more time to make sure I have everything. They take both prescription and over-the-counter ones. 

Other than that nothing too exciting in this section of the Pacific Northwest. 

Karen

Good afternoon, 

As @Cruising-along mentioned our nice weather has turned to grey clouds and rain and that's all we have in the forecast for the next several days. Oh well. 

Yesterday was a lovely day. I went to the Widows Support Group lunch at a very nice restaurant in Anacortes. I had one of the nicest caesar salads I've ever had. We had a room set aside for our group with a lovely view of the water. 

Today was the pool this morning and two water aerobics classes. Now it's trying to get a few things done around the house such as organizing my desk and cleaning up the kitchen. I did talk to my 97 1/2 year old Mom and she's doing well so that's good. 

I'd enjoy the salmon, maybe on the wine, and yes to the mimosa. 

Karen

Good morning, 

It's our last sunny day for a while as @Cruising-along mentioned. I'll be outside for walks and I'm heading to lunch today. 

@marshhawk and @cunnorl Happy Birthday! 

Yesterday the pool did wonders for my stiff and sore hip flexor muscle. By mid-afternoon I could walk so much better. Today is lunch in Anacortes at a shoreside seafood place called Secret Cove. Anacortes is about a 40 minute drive from me and I don't head there often. I'm picking up a friend and we'll carpool. It's a lunch for our Widows Support Group. I'm looking forward to it and maybe doing a bit of a drive afterwards if my friend is up to it. 

Karen

Good morning, 

We're having a sunny day today but starting out at 30F so chilly. 

@JazzyV Best wishes for a successful surgery today! I'm thinking of you. 

Today is the pool, a quick stop at the grocery store then working here at home. There's always something. 

I like coleslaw and get a bag of angel hair cabbage at the grocery store to make salads. It has a nice crunch and stays fresh. My favorite cole slaw is the one from White Spot - especially when it's served with the toasted shrimp sandwich! Yum!!

Karen

The two are somewhat different. In Juneau Mendenhall is a major draw. You don't get as close as you once did due to the glacier receding but you can walk the Nugget Falls train and get fairly close to the glacier relatively speaking. There is also a very nice visitors center. 

In Glacier Bay I believe the National Park Service Rangers will be on-board to narrate and have a table of things to purchase as well as the stamp for your National Park passport. You do get somewhat close to the glaciers (and Pea soup is served on the decks). Last year I did the small boat tour at Hubbard and it was worth every penny I spent. If you want to get closer then, if that's offered, it might be worth it to you. We got quite a bit closer to the glacier than the ship did. 

Karen

Good afternoon, 

It's been a rather slower Sunday which is good. The sun keeps trying to come out after the rain yesterday but the clouds are getting in the way and it's a bit on the breezy side. My leg with the stuck hip muscle is giving me fits today so finally took something and that's helping. The pool tomorrow will really help it. 

@JazzyV Thinking of you and hoping all goes well for you tomorrow. 

I'd love the chocolate covered cashews as long as it's dark chocolate. We have a place I order from that is based out of Cashmere, Washington and they have the best chocolate covered nuts and do both milk and dark chocolate. 

Today has gotten off to a slow start but the neighbor came for tea and I have a load of laundry going. After waving at @kazu and @richwmn on the sailaway then I need to get a few things done around the house. Dinner is easy - the salmon dinner I picked up yesterday from the Kiwanis fundraiser. 

Karen

Checking in and ready to wave as well!

Have a wonderful cruise @kazu and friend! I have friends going with me on 3 cruises and we'll see how that all works out. Have a wonderful time!!

Karen