RMLincoln

It is sunny this morning in north NJ, but temps are dropping. No snow until Tuesday when we will try to get to a doctor appt for DH to see an allergist recommended by his new eye doctor. I’m already nervous about it. I’m really hoping it won’t endanger us. I got most of the few Christmas items that were out put away yesterday. Not the little tree, not ready yet! We used to cut our own Christmas trees near our mountain home, so they were very fresh and lasted months! I loved keeping the tree up into the last of winter, early spring!! Didn’t do paperwork so that’s still on the ToDo list for today but we did make some progress on me getting a handle on the new set of monthly and quarterly bills, when and how everything gets paid. That was important and I now have a list! Glad for niece’s recent C-section! Not all that long ago she’d most likely have died trying to deliver. Sending out blessings to all in need of hope, strength, healing, guidance and rest. Extra blessings for those in the extreme cold! Cheers for all celebrating! Bon Voyage to @sailingdutchy and smooth travels to all away! Prayers for our country, your country and for more peace in the world! If you’re watching football, May your teams win! Thank you all for being here! Maureen

We’ve split ourselves up on reservations to get better pricing because of our Star status, and for each of us to use our stock benefits. Then onboard we go to front desk to have the room keys changed and get the accounts to match the new room keys. Our TA or HAL PCC has usually assisted us in making these split reservations. Once I did a split reservation online for a Carnival cruise with the adult grandkids and it worked ok. There can be difficulties with getting insurance so using a PCC has helped.

Thank you for sharing these. I have friends on her now, it’s fun to “see them”! m—

It is 55F here! The highest it’ll be for the foreseeable future. It rained most of the night and that wet front is moving up to Jacqui. I slept through it, tired out from yesterday’s successful adventure to motor vehicle. Glad we were able to do it all! Next week Tuesday DH has an appt with an allergist but the forecast is for snow that morning. I’m nervous about it but he isn’t. I think they do well around here with keeping the roads cleared but the routing there is very busy and has a couple of quick lane changes to hit the exits at a confusing knot of secondary highway junctions that I haven’t learned yet. I’ll have to preview the google directions. I should get the Christmas lights off the porch railing this morning while it’s warm! The rest of the day should be filing papers- we’ll see how far I get. This afternoon we’ll watch the football game we can see for free, not paying Peacock to watch the Kansas City- Miami game. I reallly like peach Melba, usually it has a raspberry sauce which makes it special. Black beans are good. And whiskey highball is my go-to drink! Not very often but I like it with ginger ale. We stopped in Nuka Hiva on Tales of the South Pacific. All the islands are dreams comes true for this tourist! Thanks for the pictures Sandi! For now, it feels like we’ve put dreams on hold while we deal with reality. I’m hoping we can get through the hurdles at hand and back to looking ahead but every day is good, and in its own way, a dream come true! Thanks all for being here, sharing life - past, present and tomorrow. Blessings to all in need of warmth, healing … glad Gerri and DH are in from the cold ok! Such deep cold, as they and Brenda have, is just downright scary. Eva, ABC islands always sound good to me! 😉 I do not miss our snow blower! It was great when it worked. It broke a couple of times and we had to get it up on the little hill next to the cul de sac to roll it onto the tailgate of the pickup, which DH backed sideways into the hillside, get it strapped down in the snowy, icy, slippery bed of the truck, drive it 90 minutes into the shop for repair, pay expedited shipping for parts, then reverse it all to get it back. No, I don’t miss it at all. Paul, I hope your illness passes quickly. Getting sick on vacation is troublesome. Extra blessings to you! And to all grieving, lonely or worried. Hugs to all. Breathing is essential, mindful deep breaths help us inside and out. Cheers to those celebrating! Smooth travels to all away! (I’m just happy to be home!) Happy Saturday! May your teams win, and the world find a path towards peace! Maureen

First, the deep cold coming to so many is really something to take seriously. Please, Take no risks! Be prepared for the unexpected, even at home! We had a good day heading out to the NJ Motor Vehicle Commission, as I learned it’s called here! I think it all went as well as it did because of all your positive thoughts! Thank you! It was tiring but successful. We had a very pleasant drive west across some pretty countryside, all new to us so a nice adventure. We had appointments which made entry easier. We went to this farther-away office because they could process all our needs in one place - driver’s licenses, new title and registration, plates. The licenses took a loooong time but our passports and additional ID support docs were adequate and accepted fir REAL ID. We now have paper Interim licenses until the real ones come in the mail. They suggested we take pictures of our old licenses with our phones! They kept our Maryland licenses. Very strange. Next was a title change. First we had to show proof of NJ residency to get NJ title. Not so easy but we brought copies of our Retirement Community agreement which was thick but it worked. We don’t have a deed, aren’t legal owners so it’s complicated. I’m glad I flagged the pages with our address, names and signatures- of course 3 different pages. We used credit card bills showing new address also, all good! Then to transfer the Maryland title. “Rut-Roh!!” Our car was originally titled in New Mexico to our trust…. easy enough in NM, and in Maryland, not so easy in New Jersey! Rather than apply to Trenton for a Corporate Entity number which can take several weeks, we “sold” our car (as trustees) to ourselves as people! Signed over the Maryland title with odometer reading, and filled out application for NJ title- almost easy! Needed lots of data- VIN number, weights, etc, but we had it all. Took 15 minutes. With the new title, getting new plates was also easy! The whole visit took about 2.5 hours which wasn’t too bad considering all that we had to do. We had an exceptional person helping us through each stage and the many forms! We walked out with everything completed, plus directions to the nearby Safety Inspection station. That was very easy too because the car is a 2020, no inspection needed for first 5 years! Got a sticker good for a year! Put the new plates on the parking lot and we’re basically legal! New registration and insurance cards in effect! Licenses coming in the mail. Plus we are registered to vote, and we are once again organ donors (if these old parts could be of use). If we need photo IDs we’ll use our US Passport cards. They have come in handy more often than I’d have thought! Good we got them last time we had to renew passports. I’m so glad, once again, that we’re doing all this while we still can, and able to do it together! Moving is physically, mentally and emotionally taxing! There are many more tasks yet to accomplish but One day at a time is Everything! Today was good! Maureen

@ger_77 OMG Gerri! Are you sure you want to be out? That is dangerous weather. Prayers you stay safe! Prayers for Terri and Jim dealing with a new outlook. I’m working on not borrowing trouble, just one foot in front of the other! Not always easy… Prayers for Roy’s treatment, those in pain or other struggles. And prayers for @seagarsmoker’s job hunt! Thank you all for being here. Blessings for all in need of healing, comfort or hope! Peace in our hearts and lives and families, and the too many war zones. Smooth travels to all away, enjoy those cruise days! Thanks for sharing! Celebrating those with milestones! You remind us Life is Good🌈 Off for an adventure to a DMV an hr west of us that does all the tasks we need! Which is everything. Hopefully we have all the documents we will need to prove our ID, our NJ residency and our ownership of the vehicle🤞. Glad we have some sun and a balmy 32! Maureen

Terri, I had to read up tge test of today’s posts looking for your report. It’s such heartbreak to get distressing prognoses for our loved ones. But there is a horizon out there! You will work on changing your thinking. Enjoying here and now more! There WILL be more fun in your future with Jim! Doctors can help but love is the most amazing medicine! You have it in abundance. Give yourself a warm hug, and Jim too, like today’s celebration! 💓 Maureen

🙏 for Terri and Jim! Glad you got home ok. Understandable that you gave out yesterday, the whole trip caught up to you. 🎈🎂 Happy birthday Ren 🎉! He’s already accomplished so much! Thanks for sharing him with us Sandi. Happy to hear @seagarsmoker is getting interviews! Should be sunny here today and good for a few days in Northern NJ. Tomorrow we drive west to the DMV. Next doctor appt is Tuesday, could be snowing but it’s early still so we’ll watch. I haven’t driven on these roads in snow so I’m very nervous about being unfamiliar with how traffic does. The direction we need to go for that appt is through areas flooding now. We need to learn some alternate routes. Yesterday we got haircuts, a success! And found our way using some back roads to a shopping center with a WalMart. We’re really not in need of buying stuff at this stage- have too much already. For general supplies we have a Target and a Home Depot just across the main road, so those are handier but it was good to explore a bit. I’m disappointed the WMs around here don’t have the Superstore grocery departments but we only need breakfast foods and some light lunch snacks anymore, dinners are provided and quite good! Vanessa, hoping your sleep continues to improve. Blessings to all in need of healing, comfort or hope. Safety to all enduring storms. Smooth travels to all away. Congratulations to all celebrating milestones, Life is Good 🌈. Thanks all for being here and sharing - burdens shared are halved; joys shared are doubled! Thanks for the travel pic, I doubt we’ll get to the Far East. I’m hoping later this year we’ll be able to find a cruise but that’s a ways off, lots to do first getting through these eye surgeries. We were blessed to be able to get 6 cruises in 2022 and 2023 - 3 with family and 3 for just the two of us! It’s good to remember that! Be grateful for something today! Maureen

@HAL Sailer Thanks for stopping in to update us. You are right where you are supposed to be! One day at a time is Everything! Hoping you have a good day today. Maureen

Made it through the storm with power on, so far so good, flooding issues expected in the area today near rivers. Glad we don’t have to go out till Friday unless DH wants to try for a haircut but that’s very close by so shouldn’t be a problem. I think I need to change my profile to show our new location is NJ but not on the phone… need to start up a computer! Made some more very slow progress on changes of address yesterday- Social Security and Medicare were easy online but went 3 rounds with retiree insurances getting transferred back and forth. It seems so much harder than just in 2021. Also did AAA! I don’t want to be without them! Will pick up the list again today. Great days in history! I prefer dark chocolate but any chocolate will do! SO relieved to hear you are in one piece @kazu! Was wondering if you were having issues. Soft tissue and tendons will take some slow babying to heal! @rafinmd thank you for explaining your treatment. So sorry you need this but they sure can do amazing things these days! DH’s numbers have been creeping up every 6 months, we may be heading down the same path in time but our first needs are to stabilize his eyes- 2 weeks to next surgery. @Cruzin Terri Safe travels and manageable pain. You’ll be home today! @JazzyV many thanks to you for all you do for us! Gentle hugs to you! Blessings to all in need of healing, comfort or hope! Peace to those suffering without it! Cheers if you are celebrating, and happy times if you are traveling! Thank you all for being here! Enjoy something today, one day at a time is Enough because it is Everything! Maureen

We lived in Albuquerque or near there most of our adult lives. I think DH was at the first Balloon Fiesta in maybe 1971. Balloon Fiesta became a cornerstone of the economy and eventually settled into the first full week of October including and especially the first two weekends. I moved to Albuquerque in 1983 in my late twenties with first husband and two stepsons after our jobs in Colorado evaporated. Our first Balloon Fiesta was at the old field but still had about 700 balloons go up throughout a morning Mass Ascension. Dawn in October is chilly, usually 30s so a thermos of hot chocolate was always required. Also backpacks to put the gloves, scarfs and extra layers into as they got peeled off with the sun coming up over the east mountains. Breakfast burritos were a requirement. Spectators wander among the balloons being inflated on the field and are sometimes asked to hold a rope as they cold-inflate the balloons laid out on the grass (then it was dirt) with big portable fans. As the balloons are allowed to go up in waves the sky fills with color! Albuquerque’s topography with mountains to the east gives a unique morning wind set-up called “the box”. The cooler air coming down the mountain slope crosses the river valley and gets warmed on the west side of the river with the sun starting to warm the land; the warm air rises. This helps the pilots steer by having winds ascending and descending in relatively close proximity. The wind across the river lets pilots dip the basket into the surface of the water for a river kiss. Mass Ascensions are on the weekends (now maybe during the week also); during the week they have races and balloon events of different sorts including a Key Grab where pilots try to maneuver close enough to a tall pole with keys to a new pickup truck! Locals with pickup trucks are enlisted to assist balloon pilots as ground chase crews to find the balloon upon landing away from the field and help pilots gather in the balloon envelope, basket and propane tank stand burners. DH and I got to fly with a mountain-neighbor’s son while my visiting brother and sister in law aided the chase crew. We were camped out next to the field for 3 days mid-week and got to enjoy the lesser events, a treat compared to the traffic jams of the weekends. Upon landing, your first balloon flight is commemorated with a christening of champagne over your head and a toast of thanks for a safe landing. Our landing was quick and rough, avoiding hitting a rooftop so we could drop into an urban park. The basket fell over sideways dumping us onto each other but not dumping us out. It didn’t leave me wanting another flight. But the flight itself was magnificent and magical. Here are a few pix I have on my phone from a recent year that I captured off the TV coverage. Special shapes are a very big deal and get their own mid-week ascension, plus an evening tethered balloon glow. Very pretty. They say the Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta is the most photographed event in the world. Not sure it can compete with the Olympics but it used to be sponsored by Kodak! Enjoy!

Northern NJ is gray and wet feeling this morning. Weather app says flurries but I don’t see any. Then maybe snow then a lot of rain and then maybe flooding. DH might try for a haircut today but my thought is to wait for a few days. We had a brutal set of calls with our pension folks trying to change our address and switch our withholding from Maryland to New Jersey. The website and the second phone call led us down a path of federal tax forms I couldn’t follow and shouldn’t need. The first phone call seemed successful for DH but she couldn’t help me on the same call, I had to call in on my own call. Tried that and got a very different type of process. We went two rounds with her and gave up. Called back and got someone who thankfully seemed to know how to do what we needed without going through federal tax forms but it took several holds and repeats. In a few days it might or might not show up on their website…. To me it all seemed unnecessarily exhausting. Then we made our first foray to a local Costco. It was successful in that we didn’t get lost, no accidents and now we’re stocked up on what we needed- vitamins, TP, breakfast foods and some basics - $300! At least it’s done. We managed to use carts to get it all up to the apartment but I had to vacuum up the snowmelt salt we brought in. My grocery cart is now on the balcony and needs a good wet-brushing which will wait till a warmer moment. Prayers for Terri and Jim for a smooth trip! And for Vanessa and Roy and Jake and all of you here, everyone in need of healing, comfort or hope! Cheers for Michigan and all those celebrating! Happy travels for all away! Special thanks to our cruisers keeping us close! Maureen I’ll come back with some ballon pix..

Congratulations to the Michigan Wolverines! And to U W on a great year.

@Crazy For Cats My condolences to you and Juan and the fur babies who will also miss Amelia! @ottahand7 we’re watching the game, hoping U-Dub can make it a game worthy of a Championship contest. If not, I may not stay up ! @Cruzin Terri Blessings you can get a good sleep and the weather is ok in the morning for your drive! Hope the whole trip goes Amazing! m—

Prayers said, blessings sent out. Thinking of Roy starting treatments and his busy day. Hoping for a good report for Annie. Safety for all who are out in tough weather conditions, and improvement for all feeling under the weather. Time to get moving on our growing list of address changes! I need to get some things crossed off! Maybe get some decorations put away today but not ready to put away the nativity and little fiber optic tree yet - the magi just arrived from the East! Haircuts are on our calendar - first need to find a place. Also need to find our way to a Costco. All if the roads are clear. Big rains coming Tuesday late with flooding expected Wednesday so it’d be good to make progress today. Our takeout dinners last night, because of the snowstorm, were underwhelming so I’m looking forward to a nice dinner in the dining room tonight! Early dinner tonight because tonight is the college football championship game - Michigan vs U of Washington, both undefeated. Should be an exciting game. We’ll root for “UDub” lots of DH’s Seattle family went there including both his parents- class of ‘26! Hugs for those dealing with loss. Cheers for all celebrating. And smooth travels to all away- thanks for sharing your experiences. And thanks to all for being her! Blessings for our country and yours! And all suffering in wars. Be grateful for something today! Maureen

Oiy! Extra careful on those steps!

Forgot to mention mentoring…. I still call almost weekly to talk with the teenaged girls who were joining our fire dept while we were getting ready to move away. It was 2020 and COVID kept us from having monthly meetings. I started helping the girls understand the basic structure and processes of the fire department. We’ve continued our talks all through the older girl’s First Responder EMS certification training and beyond. It’s my chance to keep my initiatives progressing into the next generation, and to discuss their questions about their recent calls with guidance from my 19 yrs experiences. They are a great uplift to me sharing their enthusiasm! I cherish the connection. m—

It’s still snowing here! Started yesterday about 3pm. My weather app says we got 9” and are expecting another 2”. That’s more snow than I’ve seen since we left our New Mexico mountain home in 2021! Diesnt look like much from out 7th floor balcony, I’m so glad we can just stay in! Even if the power goes out I know we’ll be fine. Sandi, I have so enjoyed your travels! Thanks so much for sharing them. And heartfelt thanks to all the others here, your presence, your supportive messages, tge beauty shared from all around the world is a great uplift! Thanks Graham for bring Fr David’s messages to us. And sweet thoughts for your mom and dad who brought you to us! Sending out blessings to you all! Hope, comfort, healing, safety! Congratulations to all celebrating, helping us remember Life is Good🌈. Smooth travels to all away, near and far! Thanks for checking in and keeping us in your hearts! Maureen

+ me!

Hoping your first treatment goes smoothly Monday Roy. I recall that DH had a rough time the first day of his series of rad treatments because he didn’t have all the directions he needed! That took extra time, which is the only reason I mention it. Seems you have a very full agenda for the day, but I would think you should feel fine for the first day…. later in the series it might catch up to you. Will be sending out extra blessings! m—

@Norseh2o So good that your family was together. A mom is so foundational, harder to let them go the longer they are with us. Blessings for Safe travels for you and yours! Please keep extra focused, take no risks, you’re not at your best! Give yourself a gentle hug from all of us! m—

Getting ready here for the snow storm. For us that just means staying in and adjusting our meal timing to the earlier hours they have so the high school aged servers won’t have to be out on the roads during the storm. So today’s meal of the day will be mid-day, tomorrow will be pick-up in the afternoon only. Works for me! We’re glad to be staying in. It’s our first snowstorm here. We’ll see what really comes, and if the power holds. They’re talking 5-8 inches of heavy snow. Have been getting things done! Yesterday was chock full - trip to new car insurance place for paperwork for our appt next week for NJ DMV for licenses and plates. Have about an hour’s drive west to an office that does both! Then we did initial visits with our new primary care physician. That was great! On campus, so handy. Followed by a stop at the pharmacy also on campus! DH has succeeded in getting both his eye drops prescriptions here- one got transferred from Maryland (very slow) but the other he was able to get a new script ordered directly to this pharmacy. Next steps for me are getting appointments for the screenings I canceled before we moved. Some specialists come into the campus medical suites so I will call next week to see how that will work out for gyn and dermatology. Imaging for mammo and colonoscopy will be off campus. I’ll try for the medical complex that our transportation dept visits almost daily for future needs but for now we’ll drive. The list of address changes keeps growing, and there’s a growing list of taxes to change too - estimated state taxes. I’m SO glad we moved while we’re able to do all that is involved! Thanks Sandi for sharing your photos. We were in Milford Sound twice in Dec 2013. First aboard Celebrity Eclipse, then after we disembarked in Aukland we rented a camper van and toured for 25 days. We spent a few days camped in Milford next to the lodge (sold out which is why we did the camper van). Our kayak trip in the Sound was canceled due to a bad storm but we got to see the place running with waterfalls. Stunning! We did have a day of a small boat tour which was magnificent- looks much different from the water than from the upper decks of a cruise ship! Yes, they tuck the bow under a waterfall as shown in one of Sandi’s pictures. Tomorrow I’ll share about mentoring, if we have power🤞. Squash is squash, and pizza is pizza. Not mixing them. I moved my Magi figures into the nativity… they’ve been off to the East! I used to move them daily around the edges of the room coming in from the East! Blessings to all in need, all celebrating and all traveling! Thanks for being here! Maureen

Bon Voyage to all our cruisers! Blessings for all in need of healing, comfort or hope! It was a busy day here but got some important things moving along. m—

@mamaofami I’m happy you and Sam had a good celebration with the kids! I hope you have many more happy days! May it drown out the tough ones! DH and I had a lovely walk down memory lane tonight. We lit our wedding candle and took out our wedding ceremony write- up to remind us how meaningful it was. We wrote our vows and designed our vows into our rings…. DH’s ring is pretty battered after building the house but that’s all part of the journey! We’re together! And tomorrow will be a new day to think about what we want to be when we grow up! 😉 Blessings to all in need, and smooth travels to all away. Safe home for @Nickelpenny! Maureen

THANK YOU ALL for the very special wishes! Our day is starting out late- stayed up way too late with the exciting football games. Both DH,s parents graduated from U WA or UDub as they call it. Tisay veins with confusion on wiring $$$ that the condo sale netted into our current community to pay off a partial promissory note. Soon we’ll get around to anniversary cards. We usually have a special dinner with our wedding candle, vows, and champagne. Plus dessert! Not sure how today will unfold but it’s a grand day to be together! So grateful… and DH is on the phone with the wiring people…. so glad he can do these things for us! I’m working on fearlessness for the New Year! All Gratitude Attitude, no room for worry, just thanks! All your good wishes and support is SO appreciated, truly Amazing! Maureen Loving the cruiser reports! Stay safe! Enjoy it all! Later….