Silversea Water Cooler: Welcome!

[TLCOhio]

Thanks for all the photos Terry. My grandson's wife is cooking a Thanksgiving dinner for all of them this weekend - she is from Nashville, Tennessee, currently living with him in South London.

 

Appreciate the nice comments from LL and that you will be enjoying a Nashville-cooked Thanksgiving treat for dinner. Below are three visuals on our turkey and the progress that is being made.

 

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

 

Did a June 7-19, 2011, cruise from Barcelona that had stops in Villefranche, ports near Pisa and Rome, Naples, Kotor, Venice and Dubrovnik. Dozens of nice visuals with key highlights, tips, comments, etc. We are now at 188,761 views for this live/blog re-cap, including much on wonderful Barcelona. Check these postings and added info at:

http://www.boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1426474

 

 

At our son's home in Charlottesville, Va., here is the before visual of the turkey as it is being prepared, going into the oven and then, the magic of the bird coming out and being all ready for dining enjoyment. Looking good?:

 

 

 

 

 

[Winner]

I suggest you truss the bird next time.

[UKCruiseJeff]

I suggest you truss the bird next time.

 

Winner,

 

Welcome to the Coolies! Nice to see a newby to the thread.

 

May I disagree with this on two fronts ... although I suspect it might be tongue in cheek! ;)

 

1. I can see that Terry looks like a man of some substance but I do not believe that confidence extends as far as providing Mrs T. with advice on how to cook her bird. I think she considers that she doesn't tell him how to talk on radio and she doesn't expect him to interfere with her turkey.

 

2. Secondly, unless spit roasting I believe that most larger birds cook better untrussed as the area between the thigh and breast tends to undercook if trussed whilst the breast is overcooking. Also from a food safety point of view most cooks don't use a probe and simply use the colour of the oozing juices. That is why the majority of food poisoning seems to come from fowl. Fowl pasteurises after a period at 165F.

 

Mrs T has it right! :D

 

We had the cherry picker team in to do the trees!

 

 

This week, we have been eating our veggies!

 

 

 

 

[spinnaker2]

Admittedly seeing the turkey with its legs splayed as depicted, was slightly off putting and sad. Just my opinion.

[PS Caledonia]

I prefer mine done this way....

[UKCruiseJeff]

Admittedly seeing the turkey with its legs splayed as depicted, was slightly off putting and sad. Just my opinion.

 

And a worthy opinion! :D

 

I hope this has nothing to do with the TV channels you watch! ;)

 

Anyway. I have a theory that we are prisoners to tradition. Americans at Thanksgiving and Brits at Christmas yearn for that continuous thread of doing every year what we and our parents and grandparents did every year. What they did for their kids and grand-kids we must do and so it is wriiten. And so we have the soddin' Turkey.

 

I cooked turkey for years ... and then one day I said to wifey ... "You know this bleedin' bird has cost the price of a small second-hand car, we are forced to eat it over an extended period at a more than "left-overs" cost .... and it doesn't tasted anywhere near as good as a really good quality organic corn-fed chicken".

 

So whilst everyone else are tugging away at turkeys we buy a much better chicken with really good pork chestnut stuffing and have a single "left-over" meal on Boxing day with chips and pickles have salmon, gravlax, lobster and crab on the day after Boxing Day and have stopped being held prisoner by the bleedin' Turkey.

 

Anyway, I have a cunning plan for 2015.

 

I have just agreed to wifey that Christmas 2015 will be a full month in Singapore from mid-December to mid-January 2016. Now I have to make it happen. :eek:

[UKCruiseJeff]

I prefer mine done this way....

 

 

:D:D:D

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=332620&stc=1&thumb=1&d=1417179841

 

The famous Turkey L'Amour of Soho. Known for her big juicy breasts. :eek:

Edited November 28, 2014 by UKCruiseJeff

[Winner]

Isn't Singapore a fair distance to go to have a non-turkey holiday? And do they have turkeys on that little spit of land anyway? And lastly, may I impose on your month in Singapore?

 

I admit I truss my turkey as did my mother and grandmothers. No pop-ups either.

[spinnaker2]

For years we have purchased a willie bird from California. It's smoked and therefore cooked.

It only needs to be heated. Which I do on my charcoal grill on indirect heat.

That frees up the other two ovens for sides, etc.

We have established our own family traditions since my mother was pretty generic about the holiday.

However, we try something new on each Holiday, and it just might become a repeat dish.

There must be some comfort in knowing what the meal will be, and while I might like to really change it up, my children are upset if we don't have the same basic stuff. They always want to know before hand what we are having.

This year I passed the baton, and my daughter and son in law cooked the meal. Amazingly they ordered a willie bird 😃.

As we were just returning from the transatlantic cruise, I was asked to bring a single dish, which then became multiples, to include some of the traditional dishes I cook.

The meal was wonderful, and best of all, I did not have to stress or clean up. A family gathering goes on, and the tradition, continues.

I am sure TMI.

[UKCruiseJeff]

Isn't Singapore a fair distance to go to have a non-turkey holiday? And lastly, may I impose on your month in Singapore?

 

 

No distance is too far to escape UK Christmas ... although we might have Turkey on Christmas day as the Intercontinental does a really festive Christmas Lunch. The difference is that we can then go out for a walk in Botanic Gardens .....

 

We use to have Christmas lunch on Manly beach just outside Sydney .... but gave that up ... and now Singapore calls. It look's (hopefully) like three visits between three and four weeks for 2015.

 

To your second question .... join us for "Happy Hour" (it's two hours... they can't count ... :D ) for a Singapore Sling any night in the IC Club Lounge. We will be at our usual table with NutCam. :D

[UKCruiseJeff]

For years we have purchased a willie bird from California. It's smoked and therefore cooked.

It only needs to be heated. Which I do on my charcoal grill on indirect heat.

That frees up the other two ovens for sides, etc.

We have established our own family traditions since my mother was pretty generic about the holiday.

However, we try something new on each Holiday, and it just might become a repeat dish.

There must be some comfort in knowing what the meal will be, and while I might like to really change it up, my children are upset if we don't have the same basic stuff. They always want to know before hand what we are having.

This year I passed the baton, and my daughter and son in law cooked the meal. Amazingly they ordered a willie bird .

As we were just returning from the transatlantic cruise, I was asked to bring a single dish, which then became multiples, to include some of the traditional dishes I cook.

The meal was wonderful, and best of all, I did not have to stress or clean up. A family gathering goes on, and the tradition, continues.

I am sure TMI.

 

Sounds like a good plan.

 

I have always pondered whether the majority of turkey is actually cooked by people neither know how to cook it - and are completely stressed by the idea and also don't want to cook it. I also wonder that they are eaten largely by people that - tradition apart - would prefer to be eating something else. I always prefer the chestnut stuffing and roast potatoes to be honest. It is quite a tradition in the UK to have the annual family row and falling out at Christmas.

 

In our local supermarkets, for the last week or two pensioners have been fighting in the aisles and grabbing anything Christmassy to squirrel away. Each time wifey has come back she has demanded a punch with a shot. And yesterday we had terrible pictures of warfare in the Black Friday sales where people were assaulting each other. I don't recall hearing the term "Black Friday" before this year ... it (to me) has just suddenly appeared as a result of (as I understand it) the day for shopping for bargains after Thanksgiving in the US.

 

I guess from now on our UK festive season will be heralded by these terribly unfestive images :D

 

These are a few of our reasons to make the "great escape" and flee to Singapore hopefully henceforth to start a new and better tradition.

 

:)

[spinnaker2]

Just wait for Monday. It's cyber Monday.

[UKCruiseJeff]

Just wait for Monday. It's cyber Monday.

 

Not in my gaf ..... :D

 

Today's lunch and supper ....

 

 

 

[TLCOhio]

1. I can see that Terry looks like a man of some substance but I do not believe that confidence extends as far as providing Mrs T. with advice on how to cook her bird. I think she considers that she doesn't tell him how to talk on radio and she doesn't expect him to interfere with her turkey.

2. Secondly, unless spit roasting I believe that most larger birds cook better untrussed as the area between the thigh and breast tends to undercook if trussed whilst the breast is overcooking. Also from a food safety point of view most cooks don't use a probe and simply use the colour of the oozing juices. That is why the majority of food poisoning seems to come from fowl. Fowl pasteurises after a period at 165F.

 

PS Caledonia: Whilst "talking Turkey" I prefer mine done this way....

 

spinnaker2: Admittedly seeing the turkey with its legs splayed as depicted' date=' was slightly off putting and sad. Just my opinion. [/quote']

 

Just to update, the cooking of our turkey pictured earlier was done by our son in Charlottesville. It was based on one of the top gourmet websites and their suggestions. Not cooked or done by Mrs. T. Don't blame her. One of our friends who saw that spread-eagle picture said it looked like a "crime scene!" Agree there could be very "mixed" feelings on that type of bird/turkey visuals.

 

Below are two more visuals from that Turkey Day dining delight day.

 

More visuals to come from being down in Virginia and the trip back.

 

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

 

For details and visuals, etc., from our July 1-16, 2010, Norway Coast/Fjords/Arctic Circle cruise experience from Copenhagen on the Silver Cloud, check out this posting. This posting is now at 164,954 views. Appreciate the interest and follow-up questions/comments!!

http://www.boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1227923

 

 

Here is how my Thanksgiving Day plate looked when loaded up with turkey (both white and dark meat), plus mashed potatoes, dressing and green beans. Do you think I like gravy on things? YES!!:

 

 

 

Here is a wine from Burgundy enjoyed on this special day. It was produced in 2003 and I bought this bottle while visiting in Beaune, France, in 2007. I hand-carried it back on the plane and saved it for a special family event. Yes, it was wonderful. Very subtle and special, as you'd expect from Burgundy!:

 

[TLCOhio]

Over the holiday in Charlottesville, Virginia, we stopped Friday at a super cute and charming greenhouse/store called Ivy Nursery. Below are some visuals that capture the holiday spirit!! Like? They do a very nice job at this location for combining wonderful books, great gifts, flowers, design ideas, etc.

 

They had pottery items there from the Royal Botanic Garden, Kew! My wife, of course, had to buy a couple of these items. One as a gift, the other for us. As if we don't have enough "stuff" at home??? My visit here with my camera was "priceless"!! BUT, my wife's purchases do add to our credit card balance and gain us a few more frequent flyer miles in a costly manner. Such is life in America!

 

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

 

Enjoyed a 14-day Celebrity Solstice, Jan. 20-Feb. 3, 2014, Sydney to Auckland adventure, getting a big sampling for the wonders of "down under” before and after this cruise. Go to:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1974139

for more info and pictures of these amazing sights in this great part of the world. Now at 87,366 views for this posting.

 

 

Do these various items from Ivy Nursery in Charlottesville, Va., over this past Thanksgiving holiday weekend get people in the Christmas and holiday spirit"? Love their many colorful sights and charming holiday gift/decorating ideas!:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[TLCOhio]

On our way back Saturday from Charlottesville, Virginia, and visiting our Grandsons, Son, etc., to Ohio, we stopped at the famed Greenbrier Resort in White Sulfur Springs, W. Va.

 

Lovely and super scenic location!! Had lunch there and watched part of the Ohio State vs. Michigan football game. Yes, the Buckeyes won, beating that "Team Up North" for the 12th time in 14 years. OSU unbeaten in Big Ten regular season competition for the third straight year.

 

Below are some pictures from the golf clubhouse where they have a huge collection of trophies, pictures and memory items from the career of golfing legend Sammy Snead. He won a record 82 PGA Tour events, including seven majors. He never won the U.S. Open, though he was runner-up four times. At the signed 18th green flag notes, he won the Masters three times. In 1946, Snead won the British Open. Below are a few visuals from the grounds of the Greenbrier and their Swinging Sammy Snead collection.

 

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

 

If Venice is one of your future desires or past favorites, you might look at this earlier posting that I did on the Italy board that shows many options and visual potentials for this city that is so great for "walking around", personally sampling the great history and architecture. This posting is now at 43,727 views and I appreciate those who have dropped by and tuned in.

Venice: Loving It & Why??!!

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1278226

 

 

Here is a sampling of visuals from our Saturday stop at the historic Greenbrier Resort with its collection of items from famed PGA golfer Sammy Snead. Great-looking grounds with snow highlights, charming cottages, white wood structures, rolling terrain, mountain back-drops, etc.:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[spinnaker2]

Shamelessly trying to find a job for son who has finished phd in computer engineering...anyone have any thoughts?

[TLCOhio]

Shamelessly trying to find a job for son who has finished phd in computer engineering...anyone have any thoughts?

 

No problem in being "shameless"!! Especially for one of your children. BUT, lots of questions:

 

1. What exact type of tech job is he seeking and where is he located and/or want to be working?

2. What specific types of computer-related work/jobs has he done in the past?

3. Given that he has a Ph.D (is it all completed and degree received?), does he want to teach at the college level? What school and area does his degree come from?

4. Does he have a specialized area of expertise such as in web design, tech security, etc.?

 

Our son in Charlottesville, Va., has a Masters in technology management from the University of Virginia, runs a computer firm there and can be someone with whom I can pick his brain. BUT, I need to know more about your son's details, interests, needs, etc. Also, my general sense is that the main reason you do all of the work in getting a Ph.D in this area is in order to college teaching. Was or is that his goal? Help me understand more on the why for his getting this high of a degree level in this field?

 

Look forward to hearing more details. Might be able to make some suggestions and/or get good tips/ideas.

 

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

 

For details and visuals, etc., from our July 1-16, 2010, Norway Coast/Fjords/Arctic Circle cruise experience from Copenhagen on the Silver Cloud, check out this posting. This posting is now at 165,044 views. Appreciate the interest and follow-up questions/comments!!

http://www.boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1227923

[spinnaker2]

Terry, thanks for the response. Son has completed phd. Published number of scientific papers. Has won number of awards, member of lots of honor societies. Army vet, which makes him an older job candidate. When returned from active duty, went to university and completed bachelors, masters and then doctorate in about 8 years. Certainly can teach. Has had numerous research projects in Europe, to include Italy and France. Speaks fluent German, which is self taught after living there while in military. Recent job was a project which was secret, so I don't know what it involved.

I would send you his resume, but not on this forum.

[TLCOhio]

Terry, thanks for the response. Son has completed phd. Published number of scientific papers. Has won number of awards, member of lots of honor societies. Army vet, which makes him an older job candidate. When returned from active duty, went to university and completed bachelors, masters and then doctorate in about 8 years. Certainly can teach. Has had numerous research projects in Europe, to include Italy and France. Speaks fluent German, which is self taught after living there while in military. Recent job was a project which was secret, so I don't know what it involved. I would send you his resume, but not on this forum.

 

Sounds like your son has an interesting background and many experiences. Can you let me know your e-mail with a format of XXX at XXX.XXX. Then, we can hook up more directly off of the CC Board. Between my son and some top personnel folks with whom I work in Ohio, I can try to gather some added ideas/suggestions.

 

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

 

Enjoyed a 14-day Celebrity Solstice, Jan. 20-Feb. 3, 2014, Sydney to Auckland adventure, getting a big sampling for the wonders of "down under” before and after this cruise. Go to:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1974139

for more info and pictures of these amazing sights in this great part of the world. Now at 87,366 views for this posting.

[spinnaker2]

Swimmingdogs2@gmail.com

[UKCruiseJeff]

Good luck ... hope a suitable career is found.

 

:)

[spinnaker2]

Jeff, thanks.

As I said, I may have stepped over the line into promotion or politicking, but sometimes one has to try all avenues. As a now retired lawyer, I have no contacts with the computer tech world( didn't even when I was working). As I see it, the world is still "who you know", and that often gets one into the door. Finding a job these days thru the Internet job searching is as impersonal as it gets and driven by a computer looking for key phrases.

This is someone who has given a good chunk of their life to serve their country and then spent more time trying to be super qualified for a career.

[UKCruiseJeff]

You haven't stepped over the mark at all ... this is the cooler you know! :D

 

The computer industry is a different place to what it was just a few years ago and I hope he finds something suitable and rewarding. A phd is a big investment. I had 18 years in the computer industry and it was an extraordinary time that I miss.

Edited December 1, 2014 by UKCruiseJeff

[spinnaker2]

Thanks Jeff. I hoped I didn't offend anyone.

Terry and I spoke and we are offline with this conversation now. Since I put my email address out there, anyone can reach me off of this thread.

Back to the food pictures.