RMLincoln

@ocean sounds we loved our cove balcony on Carnival Magic. So close to the water! We watched bunches of flying fish, always had shade and even protection from light rain showers. Wish HAL had them! m—

My dad would only pick up a penny if it was heads up! I like scotch and I like sweet vermouth but not together. I’ll take the vermouth with rye or bourbon as a Manhattan! Or the scotch on ice please. @0106 the quote makes much more sense knowing it’s from The Fountainhead. Thanks for the expansion, your additions are always welcome and enlightening. @dfish best of luck tomorrow. 🙏 for Amazing! @superoma One day at a time Eva. Or try for 10 minutes if the day is just too much! Give yourself a warm hug! @Vict0riann hoping the antibiotics are helping Pat. @Lady Hudson good luck with DH today! @Denise T happy countdown! @kazu I think of you every time I turn over during the night! I don’t know how you’ve managed all these months. Keep healing! @kochleffel sorry to hear you are ill. DH used to get terrible sinusitis. A steam vaporized with a funnel to fit the face has been a big help, especially with a drop or two of essential oils. Hoping you’ll be through it soon. @Cruzin Terri I’m impressed with the miraculous finding of a dryer! 👏 🥂to all celebrating and cruising. Blessings to all in need of healing, comfort or hope. I need to get my act together prepping for DGD and her DH coming this weekend! Working on my grocery list and told them they could each pick a dessert; the choices are key lime pie, chocolate mousse pie, tiramisu and tres leches cake. DGS loves my tiramisu but I want DGD to get a choice too! We’ll celebrate their June anniversary while they’re here, again! Celebrated it all together in the family cruise on Rotterdam in March! The desserts are all pretty easy enough but I think only two will fit in the fridge! I miss having an extra fridge! Will try to get to the pool today for hip exercises. Not my usual day but the week is getting busy. DHs itching has improved but with the new tonometer we can tell the pressures are not as low as his glaucoma specialist wants them. He’ll see her next week. 2 months to go until surgery. 🤞 Thanks for your support. Maureen

The World Stage will have rehearsals during some afternoons. You will hear and possibly feel the music for up to a couple of hours. If you are out and about in the afternoons you won’t be bothered, but if you like to grab a nap, then I think that the noise would be intrusive.

@Cruzin Terri that’s amazing news about the dryer! Unreal! Maybe it was a miracle? Loving everyone’s pictures of Gerainger. Our Hertigruten cruise didn’t stop there, I think it was too late in the season. 🙏 for Eva and family, the Cares list and all in need, and cheers to all the celebrations. m—

Saying hi Kate as it is. First, I slept quite late ! No complaints but that compressed the time we had before going out to a cello concert. The couple who took one set of our Kennedy Center symphony tickets when we had COVID in March after our Rotterdam cruise to us to a lovely chamber music concert at the Mexican Consul. It was delightful with 8 cellos, in a gorgeous venue, and best was that they drove. Once home we decided to go to our terrace restaurant for supper! Yay! Good decision. I received video clips if yesterday’s memorial celebration of a member of our fire department, both the Last Call and the Striking the Four Fives…. of course tears followed but it was nicely done! Right now I’m off to call the friend who recorded them! Good Sleep all! Especially Gerri’s DDS after their Japan flight, yikes! Welcome home Annie, Chuck and Fr David! Looking forward to the stories! m—

Yesterday @ottahand7 wrote: We are about an hour and a half SW of Marquette near Crystal Falls/Amasa. It is on Porter Lake. We have about a 45 minute drive on dirt and logging roads to get there from Amasa. It is indeed beautiful and mostly unspoiled. Nancy, @ottahand7, I see the area you described of your cabin locale on the map. Thank you. My friends are east of Manistique, they were neighbors in our mountain community in NM. UP is very similar to our old landscape, though we were far south in NM we were near 9000 feet, so simulate clime to your northern latitude. My work was out of Marquette in the mid 70s. When DH and I went back in 2018, I barely recognized places. I had reports and maps for exact locations but it felt so completely foreign in most places, not even an echo of familiarity. And I didn’t look the same either! 🤣. You have a long road in! In NM ours was 4 miles and 1000 feet down in elev to the mailbox which was on the paved road. I loved it there! But we were younger and it was time to move on. I sincerely wish you a deeply enjoyable time there! Safe travels and 🤞on the systems coming up without difficulties or delays! m—

Yay! Now to really exhale all the stress…. enjoy! m—

Happy Victoria Day! It will be an odd day here in Maryland, warm, heavy clouds, breezy later with rain. I hope to get out for a walk. Yesterday did hip exercises in the pool- makes a big difference! Have a grand day @Crazy For Cats Jake and DH! Bon Voyage! 🙏 Thinking of Eva and her family, and my friends in NM at the memorial celebration for one of our fire department, and another one of them whose siblings gathered from across the country yesterday to remember their dad’s death 50 years ago in a commuter-plane crash when my friend was a teen…. loss is part of our journey. So 🥂 cheers to all celebrating, reminding us that Life is Good! We’re happy for you! And you’re good for us! Blessings to all in need of healing, comfort or hope! Near and far. Smooth travels to all away, especially our granddaughter and her DH in OK this weekend for a BIG engagement party for her best friend… the party is with the bride’s extended family who won’t be traveling out of state to the wedding thus the very big ta-do. DGD will be matron of honor. So glad they could make the trip! m—

It is useful to have both a printed Boarding Pass with a bar code, and one on a phone. You only need to print the page with the bar code, not all the other pages. Print it after the arrival time is shown. We had to show our Boarding Pass multiple times at Florida’s Port Everglades: entering the terminal, within the terminal, and to get on the ship. You won’t have room key cards until you are onboard. They’ll be in your room mailbox.

@superoma oh Eva, what a shock. So very sorry for your loss. Sending blessings for you and your family. The process you describe for ON is the same where I was in New Mexico. As 911 we would stay with the deceased until the coroner, usually several hours. It’s a grueling day. You may not be able to sleep but I hope you can get some rest. After my mom died I was awake 3 days, then first sleep was filled with dreams, not bad dreams just busy trying to process! Give yourself a warm hug. Check in here only if you feel like it, we’ll still keep you in our hearts! M—

@dfish that’s so encouraging! And you’ll be in good hands too😉. Send you blessings! @dobiemom Patience is paying off. Finally some better news. @ottahand7 I’ll have to check the map, I’m not familiar with that district. But the lakes are so picturesque. Again, 🤞for power and water! @aliaschief Love Barcelona! Busy times for you. You’re gonna need a vacation! Stay well… m—

Happy Friday! I have been to Loretto by air and sea. It’s quite stark. DH’s niece took us sailing in the Sea of Cortez from there. My most vivid memory is first taking the dingy to the boat and seeing phosphorescence around us! Then we went swimming in the phosphorescent water! Magical. On old Ryndam we stopped there on our Copper Canyon cruise. Took a shuttle to the beach for an hour or so. Daytime, so no phosphorescence! I agree with Graham @grapau27 that no number of wrongs make anything right. Happy to hear that @summer slope and @1ANGELCAT have better news for now! Bon Voyage to @Crazy For Cats and soon to @Denise T and @aliaschiefs. Blessings for relief for @dobiemom, @Vict0riann, @JazzyV, @StLouisCruisers, @CruznTeri and all who are feeling pain or struggles . And all those in dire needs near and far. Hope the smoke clears! 🥂Cheers for celebrations and the small ups that lift our spirits! Thinking of @luvteaching and @smitty34877, hang in there one day at a time. Applause 👏 for all the growers! @ger_77 Gerry, enjoy Friday night pizza, and wine! Hope you can have it on your deck! DHs eye readings have been a little high and trending up. Haven’t been advised by the doctor yet to make any changes in meds. We have 2 months before surgery to get through without high pressures causing optic nerve damage 🤞. Thanks for your caring support! @ottahand7, wondering where your cabin in UP is. I did geology graduate work in UP, mostly out of Marquette (long ago). In 2018 I went back there, also visited friends on the UP south shore, all seems like yesterday. Beautiful country! Hope the power comes up and the well pump starts! 🤞 Maureen

Thank you Graham. You are always here for all of us! Please pass along any news you might hear at church about Fr David! m—

Wonderful photos of NY. Great memories! I was born in Brooklyn, moved to Staten Island at 12. Went to multiple colleges of the NY City University, then Rutgers Newark branch for grad school. I took the ferry most every day for 2 years for classes at Hunter College. Never took any pictures, was too busy running for buses, trains and ferries. Grew up going to the NY museums! I cruised out of NY at 16 on the Home Lines Oceanic. In 2013 DH and I cruised into NY returning from LA around the Horn. It was February, pre dawn, 30F. We were packed to disembark but had light jackets, needed parkas with the wind at the bow! @JazzyV captured the sights beautifully! Besides the NY Metropolitan and NY Museum of Modern Art which had Picasso’s Guernica and Monet’s Water Lillies back then each in their own rooms! I think my favorite museums we’ve visited are the archeological museums in Athens, Naples and Santorini. I’m sure I would love Cairo’s but doubt I’ll get ever get there. I have copied down the recipe for Flatbread! Thank you @dfish Were making progress working with the eye pressure device (tonometer). The software isn’t sending the data to the eye doctor; the company apparently needs to update an account for her. So far DH sends it via her email. The readings have been good to high so far. We hope it’ll all stay ok until August 1 surgery. Thank you for your continued good thoughts and prayers, always the best! Blessings for all the needs and concerns posted, I keep you all in my heart! And to all in need of healing, comfort or hope near and far. Happy for all those celebrating 🥂 Life is Good! On the more somber side: My NM fire chief asked me to write the Last Call for our department members memorial Saturday. I’m honored and grateful to be asked! But it is so hard! I wish I could be there but we won’t be traveling until well after surgery. The Last Call is put out over the 911 radio from Dispatch. It calls out twice for the departed member (by his Man Number) to respond, then acknowledges that he has made his Last Call. There’s a very brief mention of name, rank and departments where they served, acknowledgment of their years of dedication and the sacrifice of their family. It ends stating that he is now a Guardian of all responders. Then the radio traffic pause is released. After Last Call, the Four Fives are rung at the memorial: the memorial bell is struck 5 times by 4 people each, remembering how fire companies used to announce call alarms long before radio dispatches, and the 4 Fives was to announce the death of a company member. Writing a personalized version was hard. I can never get through a memorial without a flow of tears. I’ve lost several chiefs, one in the line of duty, and many friends, with more to come. Sorry for my somberness but this too is part of our journey together. The department member being remembered Saturday was a firefighter, his wife was also EMS and we all worked side by side, day or night for 19 years as volunteers. People don’t realize that in the US ~70% of EMS and firefighters are volunteers covering the rural communities. Thanks for your support here. This is my Chief and me in 2017. m—

The birth certificate must be a government issued version, not a hospital issued type.

Check and post also on the Ports of Call forum. I was in Bergen but not on HAL so my experience was different for my Hurtigruten cruise. M—

I have taken Volendam to Alaska, Inside Passage. A nice advantage of Volendam is the big open Promenade deck with lounge chairs. You can even walk around the back. There are viewing areas in the bow on upper decks. Our Captain opened the bow at times for viewing also. Seems viewing is the main attraction! The restaurant options are fewer than a Pinnacle ship. If you don’t like MDR I’m thinking you might not be interested in Pinnacle Grill either. But there’s Canaletto, cozier than the buffet. Daytime there’s the Terrace Grill at the pool. Not sure if they still have the taco bar at the pool, used to love that for a quick lunch. And HAL has a very decent Room Service menu. Plus you can still order room service dinner off the MDR menu, the best of both worlds! We always did late dinners so we could enjoy the outside and long daylight! The Natl Park Rangers come aboard in Glacier Bay for the full day. There may be other talks, you’ll have to follow a current thread or check a recent review. There’ll be some evening entertainment, and a few activities during the day but really the cruise is about what’s outside! Check the times you will be in the ports compared to to big ships. HAL does usually offer small-size excursions that will be less overwhelming if you’re worried about crowds. Tell us more of your desires for what you need for a great cruise. We’ll try to help! Happy planning! Maureen

Welcome back @richwmn Many thanks to @StLouisCruisersSandi for the outstanding follow through! And to @rafinmd Roy, @JazzyV and @superomaEva for the Care and Celebration lists! And the food and beverage researchers! Thanks to all! And to all the Dailyites for your caring sharing! A most happy anniversary to Bruce and Sue! And applause 👏 for your work with your grandkids; safe travels home! 🙏 for Terri and DH @Cruzin Terri for improvement soon! @1ANGELCAT glad Fluffy is more comfortable but so sorry her prognosis is not good. 💔 Hope @luvteaching DH’s wheelchair comes back! So glad he is closer! @tupper10glad you are improving slowly. Blessings to all in need of healing, comfort or hope! Cheers to all celebrating, life is good! Smooth travels to all away, and especially thinking of @marshhawk in Sitka. Positive thoughts to those working out future travel plans, especially around health issues for loved ones! Prayers for Alberta and Ukraine. And all those impacted by the shooting in Farmington. I have friends in NM on standby as a Behavioral Health crisis response team! They are too busy… Today we received our (expensive) new tonometer to take home eye pressure measurements! Trying to make it all work is not easy. DH is now on the phone with them…. but we’ll get there! New passwords, new devices, oiy! So far we haven’t seen a pressure measure but I’m hopeful, and have faith! I say, when we pray for guidance and seek counsel of experts, we should follow the path that unfolds! Here we are! More to come…. Oh he just got reading out of the software: above target but not much higher than from the doctor office. Hopefully she’ll get the numbers and advise on changes in meds 🤞 Sky has turned gray, wind is up, rain on the way! But Maryland’s weather is generally kind, I have no complaints. As for trees, I loved living in the forest (mixed conifer and aspens, with cottonwoods on the lower valley, brilliant) but got worn down from the anxieties of fire season, and storms causing tree falls, sometimes by the hundreds. Here I don’t need to carry a chainsaw to get to the paved road! I don’t need my fire radio, boots, helmet, yellow and greens… Very grateful we could do it as long as we did, and that we don’t have to any more! Blessings to those who do! Maureen

In 2013 we cruised HAL on Amsterdam from San Diego )or LA?) to Sydney, 21 days. DH doesn’t fly over 5 hours! For us it was basically “luxurious” transportation. Nice itinerary for a repositioning. Hawaii, Tahiti and Society Islands, Vanuatu, New Caledonia. Had a long stay in Australia going north to visit folks, then to Cairns for Great Barrier reef and Korunda, and south to Melbourne, Great Ocean Road, and 10 days touring in Tasmania. Then a week back in Sydney before we cruised Celebrity to NZ. Stayed there a few weeks with camper van! Flew NZAir to Tahiti, stayed there a few days, cruised Princess to Hawaii. Flew home. Trip of a lifetime! 16 weeks. In 2017 I flew back to Australia by myself for a funeral. Had a 8-hr layover in LAX, not a good way to prelude a 15 hr flight but you take what you can get last minute. The flight to Sydney was ok in economy for me. I had a window seat, good for sleeping, not good for getting up. I slept 7 hrs, ate 3 meals, watched 2 movies. I used a good inflatable neck rest pillow that was excellent! I took No Jet Lag tablets and felt that it helped a lot. Returning home (eastbound) I had an aisle seat in the back area of the plane with no one next to be, much better! Allow extra time for immigration if you need a connecting flight to your home airport. I’d do it again in a heartbeat. (When I bought the economy R/T Sydney-Albuquerque United Airlines plane tickets for $1450, I could have upgraded to first class for $19,000. Not a typo. I don’t know what Business Class cost, or if it’s cheaper in advance! ) In Sydney, we found the metro train easy and very useful, we bought a 1week pass. We got a reasonable hotel near the metro train, 3 stops from Circular Quay. Also had a pass for the Circular Quay ferries, also excellent. We pre-purchased concert tickets for the Opera House and while there we added a tour of it. Pre-purchased a Great Barrier Reef full-day boat trip from Cairns, fabulous! Got the Korunda tour while in Cairns, stayed in Cairns 3 nights. Flights within AUS were easy and not expensive.… to Cairns, then to Melbourne, then to Hobart Tasmania, then to Sydney. Just be very careful of carry-on sizes, weights and rules. Bring a pocket-size luggage scale! We traveled with a 24” rolling checked bag each and a shoulder tote each. I don’t think I could have done it with just a carryon size bag. And a lot of the planes we were on wouldn’t have allowed US-size carryons unless as checked, so not much advantage. The Celebrity cruise from Sydney to and around NZ was 14 nights and excellent! NZ is an amazing country from every aspect: geology, flora, fauna, history, culture! We used a camper van, from Auckland drove a week in North Island, ferried to South Island for 2 weeks and out from Christchurch but would get a car next time. Our problem was we wanted to stay at Milford a few days and no accommodations were available. Next time I’d figure out something else. Roads are sparse in South Island, rural and not a lot of hotels but it can be done. People are fabulously friendly and helpful! Flight from NZ to Tahiti was 5 hrs. Tahiti was great for a few days pre-cruise to Hawaii except it was January and uncomfortably sticky, humid and warm… not a lot of places have Air Conditioning. We stayed at a small, family owned “pen-si-on” lodge on the water outside of Papeete. One day we rented a car and drove around the island, the other 3 days we kayaked the lagoon! Hope you can put together whatever will work for you. I’ve shared our path to show that there are a lot of options! Happy planning! Maureen

@1ANGELCAT blessings to you, Fluff and the vets. Hope the treatment helps make you both more comfortable! Let us know how you’re doing when you can. m—

Thank you @kazu Jacqui for your kind attention to all of us! Keep us updated on Ivan and tge grass!

@Cruzin Terri Blessings to Terri and Jim for quick and complete healing. 🙏. Great that Jim only needed one pass. @kazuGlad the tires are finally off Jacqui! Hope it doesn’t snow for several months! @StLouisCruisers Sandi, you’ve done an Amazing job for us all! Many thanks! Sorry for Ren and the Jags. Where next? It might rain a bit tomorrow in MD, hope that’s not a problem for them. I had a better day yesterday! DH had loving cards and thoughtful appreciation for me as an important part of his children’s and especially the grandchildren’s lives and our future. Plus (drum roll…) both stepsons from my fist marriage called and we had warm extended chats! They’re in their early 50s now, maybe life is giving them some perspective. Blessings to all in need, and joy to all celebrating! Smooth travels to those away and on cruises. Thinking of @marshhawk and hoping they are enjoying their time in Alaska! And blessings for safety and inspiration for Fr David. I hope we’ll get an update or a report eventually. DH is finally doing better! He’s been on just 1 eye drop med for a couple of weeks and the itching is more manageable (been a yr+). Tomorrow the (rather expensive) home tonometer should arrive and we should be able to begin monitoring eye pressures while he awaits the August 1 surgery for the other eye. 🤞 The tzatziki chicken sounds like a winner. The Brunello was too heavy for me even back when I could drink reds, not to mention pricey! I’ll pass. Port Arthur is a fascinating place, geologically and historically. Thanks for all the pictures. Blessings for Alberta and Ukraine. Loved hearing about @ger_77 Gerry’s visit with their new friends! 86F is a long way from the -40F not all that long ago! Enjoy that deck! Thanks to you all for being here! Maureen

Thanks all for being here. Mother’s Day is always a tough day for me. Love seeing your pictures. My grandparents all died before we were born, I’m the youngest. I raised 2 stepsons, one keeps is touch a couple times a year. My relationship with my mom was difficult but we did the best we could together… she’s the one who took me traveling! She died at 90 21 yrs ago. I’m very blessed with my very loving DH and his family, children and grandchildren! I am grateful for life from my parents, grateful for my siblings and their children, and my life is filled with love! I’ve followed most of the Lewis and Clark trail, and where Lewis died on the Natchez Trace. Blessings to all in need, and to those celebrating. Love hearing about Ren, and Margo! Hoping all those who are struggling get a break! Maureen

Glad to hear you have someone close guiding your healing. And thank you for the explanation of the boundary flags/grass issue with Ivan. Makes more sense now. Poor guy has a lot to adjust to. I know you will help him through it! m— @rafinmd Great to hear from Kathi! Was checking her blog just 2 days ago. Thanks for the update. @Vict0riann Best of luck with Pat’s return home! Always great to get discharged, always a handful first day home.

In 1787 England began shipping their non-desirables to Australia because the new United Stars of America refused to continue taking them in as indentured servants. Seeing the prisons in Port Arthur and elsewhere is interesting in itself and also in world history. Thank you @0106 for context of the quote. Blessings to all in need of healing, comport or hope! Prayers for Alberta and Ukraine. Grateful for the good news being posted! Cheers to all the moms. My mom was adopted, or I wouldn’t be here. I raised 2 stepsons in my first marriage, their birth mom died 20 years ago. My DH of 30+ years has 2 children from his first marriage and 3 grandchildren from them, all blessings in abundance to me! The granddaughters tell me, “Grandma, you’ve been our grandma since we were born! You were here for us and we’re here for you!” DH and I are looking at moving to a closer proximity to them! It’s a very special relationship. Today’s toast is with Prosecco 🥂 to all celebrating! Life is good. Smooth travels to all away from home! @StLouisCruisersExciting that Ren scored 2 goals! We we’re within a “stone’s throw” of the soccer fields yesterday when we went to the Gaithersburg Costco for DHs new eyeglasses. That was noonish and not so warm yet, although Costco Friday was a zoo! Jacqui @kazu I don’t understand a dog being afraid of grass…. ? I hope he trusts you enough to learn he’s safe even on grass. Have you considered Steri-strips to provide support while your incision continues to heal? She’s butter, coconut oil or even Vaseline might help keep it from cracking. But follow your doctor’s advice, just thinking out loud here. Wishing you good results soon! Maureen