Silversea Water Cooler: Welcome!

[UKCruiseJeff]

Jeff

Qu'est-ce que c'est? Looks decadent!

 

Hi Spin,

 

It was British Sausages with braised red onions and baked beans pie. It was lovely.

 

:)

[V8Babe]

Yum!!!

[specialcruisegirl]

Good afternoon coolers,

 

Tis a cold, wet, windy and miserable day here so one is glad to be indoors!

 

Finally finished off the packing that is going ahead with room to spare just in case l feel a shopping spree coming on in New York....;)

 

The galley is still running at half speed so it's quick offerings from the freezers as l count the days to departure!

 

Sophia:)

[spinnaker2]

Morning coolers and even colder coolers....

Happy Monday!

It's even cooler is sunny south Florida. That would be in the 60's F.

We opened the windows and sliding glass doors for the first time in months and shut off the a/c. It's like unleashing a trapped animal, we feel so free.

S, your trip is late October right? When do you fly to NYC? Are you spending time in the city for shopping only?

We are supposed to get our documents today in the miniature silver box. Then we begin the thoughts of packing in earnest.

Jeff what's on the plates for today?

[UKCruiseJeff]

Morning coolers and even colder coolers....

Happy Monday!

It's even cooler is sunny south Florida. That would be in the 60's F.

We opened the windows and sliding glass doors for the first time in months and shut off the a/c. It's like unleashing a trapped animal, we feel so free.

S, your trip is late October right? When do you fly to NYC? Are you spending time in the city for shopping only?

We are supposed to get our documents today in the miniature silver box. Then we begin the thoughts of packing in earnest.

Jeff what's on the plates for today?

 

Hello Spin and all.

 

Like others, a blowy Autumn to Winter day today. But on the plus side an Ocado Day.

 

To answer your food question. I had a corn-fed chicken delivered which I spatchcoked, marinaded in chillis, course ground black pepper, lemons, garlic, oil, and sea salt and cooked on the stove with some fresh thyme. Quite safe - I used my probe and took it to 165 degrees ..... and splashed it with wonderful single crop olive oil on completion.

 

With Rioja in jug glasses because I am a heathen, as some seem to think ;)

 

Very much looking forward to all of us seeing off Salsa Gal on the trip so well deserved and really anticipated. She has caught our affection hasn't she! :)

 

Edited October 6, 2014 by UKCruiseJeff

[specialcruisegirl]

Morning coolers and even colder coolers....

Happy Monday!

 

S, your trip is late October right? When do you fly to NYC? Are you spending time in the city for shopping only?

We are supposed to get our documents today in the miniature silver box. Then we begin the thoughts of packing in earnest.

Jeff what's on the plates for today?

 

Hi Spin,

 

Flying out to NYC on the 24th for the weekend before joining the ship. I will be doing some shopping, orders are already in from my daughter and son in law!

I shall also spend some time just walking which is what l love to do in the city particularly on a Sunday morning.

 

My little silver box arrived on Saturday with the cruise journal et al so I'm all set to go.

 

S:)

[specialcruisegirl]

Chicken looks delish Jeff.....l shall hopefully be able to post from the ship if l can tear myself away from those chocolate martinis.....;)

 

S:)

[UKCruiseJeff]

Hi Spin,

 

 

My little silver box arrived on Saturday with the cruise journal et al so I'm all set to go.

 

S:)

 

Chicken looks delish Jeff.....l shall hopefully be able to post from the ship if l can tear myself away from those chocolate martinis.....;)

 

S:)

 

Home run when the box arrives!

 

[specialcruisegirl]

Home run when the box arrives!

 

 

It's becoming more like a slow motion movie with stuff happening to test my patience right now......:o

 

The Worcester Bosch engineer is currently here trying to unlock the lock out that happened at 10 pm last night, so no hot water or heating......leak under the kitchen sink and my plumber is on holiday......gardener rained off and I've have to re-arrange my day to suit everyone but myself.....I must just keep dreaming of those decadent choccie martinis ....:D

 

S:)

[UKCruiseJeff]

It's becoming more like a slow motion movie with stuff happening to test my patience right now......:o

 

The Worcester Bosch engineer is currently here trying to unlock the lock out that happened at 10 pm last night, so no hot water or heating......leak under the kitchen sink and my plumber is on holiday......gardener rained off and I've have to re-arrange my day to suit everyone but myself.....I must just keep dreaming of those decadent choccie martinis ....:D

 

S:)

 

 

Next time you buy .... please buy Miele. Wait until they include a special offer 10 year guarantee. This is a traditional German technocratic family that makes products like bricks. German bricks. "Ve 'ave vays of making you vork".

 

I went into the Audience Room this morning to receive my catering instructions which I duly passed on to the kitchens ..... myself .... and made her Plain and Simple Singapore Shenanighans with Hokey Pokey Sauce and Hoo Ha Sprinklings .... with lot's of Rioja. I need to say that when it came to wifey production I have the best model ever made. Lovely. :)

 

[spinnaker2]

That looks good Jeff.

[UKCruiseJeff]

That looks good Jeff.

 

Good Afternon Spin! Thanks. :)

 

A simple peasant lunch.

 

Seabass with far too much caper hollandaise with stove top roast potatos with cracked black pepper and Marldon salt .... and by special request petit pois.

 

With Bredon Champagne.

 

 

[spinnaker2]

I am having egg whites with Savora, yours looks much better.

The mini silver box arrived with the cruise docs for the TA. So it's true...we are going. We ended up canceling the trip to Capetown, although I did not want to. The fact is, that we, in general, have not really thought out a response to the virus nor taken action, nor given much thought to its spread.

I will just avoid Africa for awhile, although I am not so naive to think that will insulate me from Ebola.

We are facing so many threats on so many levels, maybe I can take some precautions to avoid some risk, or lessen it.

Sorry to wax so "sky is falling" mentality, but can't help myself.

[UKCruiseJeff]

I am having egg whites with Savora, yours looks much better.

The mini silver box arrived with the cruise docs for the TA. So it's true...we are going. We ended up canceling the trip to Capetown, although I did not want to. The fact is, that we, in general, have not really thought out a response to the virus nor taken action, nor given much thought to its spread.

I will just avoid Africa for awhile, although I am not so naive to think that will insulate me from Ebola.

We are facing so many threats on so many levels, maybe I can take some precautions to avoid some risk, or lessen it.

Sorry to wax so "sky is falling" mentality, but can't help myself.

 

 

This is the place to Wax, Spin ... so Nil Desperandum as they say.

 

These fears are a perfectly rational result of intelligent people's self-preservation response. We are talking about leisure here being considered against scary stuff. If the scary stuff stops you from relaxing then it's rational to shrug and walk away to fight another day. It is pointless doing something like travel that causes one not to fully enjoy. There is after all (hopefully) tomorow. Nothing belittling in that. Quite the reverse. And saying so is whatever thereverse of belittling might be.

 

The moment we feel more unsafe then we will stop doing whatever we had planned without looking back.

 

How is retirement apart from that?

 

:)

[spinnaker2]

Thanks Jeff.

Retirement is exhausting so far. I am hoping the cruise that is upcoming in November will help me better set pace, as it is, I am driven to achieve something every day.

I had hoped to do so more photography, and other things. Right now I am still trying to attend to things I haven't since 1991, or earlier. I have only ever been in school or at work for so long...

And how did you achieve the balance?

[UKCruiseJeff]

Thanks Jeff.

Retirement is exhausting so far. I am hoping the cruise that is upcoming in November will help me better set pace, as it is, I am driven to achieve something every day.

I had hoped to do so more photography, and other things. Right now I am still trying to attend to things I haven't since 1991, or earlier. I have only ever been in school or at work for so long...

And how did you achieve the balance?

 

Ahhhhh .... the meaning of life.

 

 

The lovely thing about these forums is that you can say exactly what you think so long as you are not inhibited by any sense of other things ... so .... :D

 

 

In answer to your question I think I'm genuinely lucky to be at one with both my strengths and weaknesses. I am lucky enough to be cleverer than average but either unlucky enough - or lucky enough - depending on your view of these things - to be very lazy. This is very un-American, I know where effort isprized.

 

 

I don't consider myself to have been an entrpeneur. I say this because they sometimes do not know when thy are beaten. I know that instead I'm an opportunist. A maligned description. I say that proudly. I know both when to start and when to stop. I also knew when to charge.

 

 

Let me give you an example you in your profession will understand as there are common elelements in what we both did. We basically charged for our expertise. I guess you mostly by the hour ... and me sometimes by the hour but mostly by the project as you and I both know clients hate paying people pots of cash by the hour. Sometimes - as you know -you are faced with a prized client asking you to do something you don't fancy or think will probably fail. So what do you do? Do you agree or say "no"? The honourable answer is to say "no". If you say "no" in so doing you feel smug, and the client feels hacked off. So it is the wrong answer as it leaves you with a client with a grudge that you don't know about because you were self-deluded. The correct answer therefore is to say "thanks - I'd love to" but to quote a price that is so outrageous that no sensible person would ever agree. But then the client doesn't think you have said "no" but thinks instead "respect" - you must be good because you are so expensive. I followed that approach both in the entertainment business and in the mentoring/business consultancy business. If in doubt I shrugged and asked for more. What was the point of comparison?

 

 

So where and what does this do for the overall scheme of things in terms of ying and yang and the future and retirement. I think it is the pursuit of opportuism in what is left with life rather than placing steps in front of you from where you came. Letting go and grabing change. I think you should do things you know you cannot do. So I cook. I try to travel in a style I shouldn't aspire to. I am lucky in that becasue of my previous incarnations I can often find myself talking to people I probably wouldn't otherwise be talking to. I think you also try to extract out of leisure stuff at a level you think you shouldn't be in your "station" able to do. So to me it's beavering around trying to get £50k travel trips for wifey for a more affordable £10k.

 

 

I think the other thing is simply pondering about the insult sometimes we receive here. "Have you nothing better to do?" I am proud to say ... "No". Having nothing better to do but being released to be able to cook and travel and make a fuss of the person you love is a great gift and nothing to defend or be ashamed of. The other thing I learned is that you cannot make yourself happy. Only others can do that. And in turn you can make them happy and often that does make you happy. So a bit for charity and family and others you care for.

 

 

And of course .... the purpose of life only becomes clear once you accept that there is no purpose. It is what it is today. We arrive. We experience. We go. 30 years later no one knew. When you understand that, you get on with today.

 

 

You know .... I'm not certain I'm making any sense but then I don't feel embarrased about being an idiot because no one that knows me need know.

 

I do go on ...

 

 

;)

[specialcruisegirl]

Good Evening Coolers :)

 

So lovely to see the usual mouth watering foodie pics from Chef Jeff and also to read about other such moments that we all think about at times and tend to cause worry.

Our news over here right now is focused on Ebola...it's nothing new if one looks back over the years that most of us have been on the planet. It's very serious of course and the media seem to love the scaremongering....I suppose it takes the pressure off the current political party conferences....for now!

 

I agree with you Spin about taking the precautions, that's sensible and necessary for the area you are visiting, but I'm sure you will still have a lovely trip......l fly home as you are embarking! :o

 

Sophia :)

[UKCruiseJeff]

I'm warming to this chap and I am seriously considering becoming a Catholic ....

 

 

[spinnaker2]

If he leads your services that might be a consideration.

He is pretty awesome.

[UKCruiseJeff]

[lincslady]

Love your philosophy on life, Jeff. I am finally, at quite an advanced age, becoming mellow and finding something to love or like in (almost) everyone, and getting less stressed about the little things. I guess having serious health problems (hopefully solved) gives you a different perspective, and gratitude for the little lovely things around us; birds, trees, music and so on.

 

The new dish - looks like fishcakes surrounded by petits pois in cream, or alternatively like a rather lovely piece of jewellery - maybe a pendant?

 

A peaceful day to all coolers,

 

LL

[UKCruiseJeff]

Love your philosophy on life, Jeff. I am finally, at quite an advanced age, becoming mellow and finding something to love or like in (almost) everyone, and getting less stressed about the little things. I guess having serious health problems (hopefully solved) gives you a different perspective, and gratitude for the little lovely things around us; birds, trees, music and so on.

 

The new dish - looks like fishcakes surrounded by petits pois in cream, or alternatively like a rather lovely piece of jewellery - maybe a pendant?

 

A peaceful day to all coolers,

 

LL

 

 

LL,

 

Lovely of you to post here as it is becoming a touch lonely with a few old lags hanging on for dear life .....:eek::D

 

We must all seek seams of happiness where we can in an otherwise unforgiving ad increasingly confusing world. And that is why we should be nice to nice people and be nasty to nasty people.

 

And this constantly changing world as we saw here in the UK early this morning when our politacal landscape had the minute seeds of a very different future when the two disparate laws of seemingly unrelated converging trends met the law of unintended consequences and we ended up with the first UKIP MP. :) The square root of bu88er all people will say. Just one cornetto MP. It is not. It is monumental. It is the seeds. What makes it more monumental is that those others do not get it. C'est la bleedin' vie.

 

Lunch. It is her favourite meal. Cod fishcakes with a parsley and pea sauce. Embarrassingly easy. And a bottle of Pecheur obviously.

 

How are others doing today?

 

[specialcruisegirl]

Good Evening All,

 

Woke up this morning with a raging sore throat which has developed into a head cold so it's been rather a go slow day with another freezer raid for lunch!

 

Only two days until my luggage starts it's journey to the Whisper, thankfully I'm pretty well ahead of myself.

 

LL I don't tend to become too stressed out either these days...not sure if I've mellowed too much though...l can still get a bee in my bonnet !

 

Sophia :)

[UKCruiseJeff]

You need to suck on some lozenges and take lots of "stuff".

[specialcruisegirl]

You need to suck on some lozenges and take lots of "stuff".

 

Good advice Jeffers......I'm killing the pain right now with a large vodka....;)