All Things EARTH... part 2

[laurspag]

The Landmark...the photos aren't the best, but you get the idea:

 

 

 

[MJC]

Wow Laurie that's beautiful.

[laurspag]

I am so excited and ready to pack.  Three weeks!  I am organizing at this point. Things such as my formal night purse, dress sandals, bathing suits, etc are ready.  Daytime attire has to wait, since I'm still wearing a lot of those clothes.  

 

I am trying to make sure I'm using a general packing  list I have.  I have sunscreen, for example, with the other items I mentioned.  I always have to remember the oddities, like hearing aid batteries and my prescription sunglasses.  

 

I kept trying to narrow down my daytime outfits, but I'm just going to bring what I showed you all.  If I don't wear an outfit, then I bring it home clean.  I sweat a lot, and washing  and trying to dry clothes while traveling just doesn't always work.  That being said, I have some quick drying items if I run into that problem.

 

I never found  a solution to having a backpack I like, so I'm bringing the same mini cross over style that I used last year.  I have to get that out so I don't forget!

[neeuqdrazil]

I'm just under 3 weeks away myself, and also starting to think about getting things together. I need to pull my suitcase out this weekend and start putting things in it. My partner is going to be away next week, so I can use their office as a staging area while they're gone, thankfully. 

This cruise doesn't have a formal night (which is weird for me), but I am doing dinner at the specialty restaurant, so I'll be taking something nice to wear for that, but also something nicer to wear for dinner the rest of the nights - part of the fun for cruising for me is dressing for dinner. 

[laurspag]

On 8/22/2023 at 10:25 AM, neeuqdrazil said:

I'm just under 3 weeks away myself, and also starting to think about getting things together. I need to pull my suitcase out this weekend and start putting things in it. My partner is going to be away next week, so I can use their office as a staging area while they're gone, thankfully. 

This cruise doesn't have a formal night (which is weird for me), but I am doing dinner at the specialty restaurant, so I'll be taking something nice to wear for that, but also something nicer to wear for dinner the rest of the nights - part of the fun for cruising for me is dressing for dinner. 

I love to dress up for dinner too!  It is part of the fun for me.  The planning for a cruise in general is almost a hobby for me.  I plan outfits, plan excursions, etc.  When the time comes to travel, I am ready.  I always try to keep myself flexible and keep it leisurely.

 

What cruise line are you going on?

[neeuqdrazil]

13 hours ago, laurspag said:

I love to dress up for dinner too!  It is part of the fun for me.  The planning for a cruise in general is almost a hobby for me.  I plan outfits, plan excursions, etc.  When the time comes to travel, I am ready.  I always try to keep myself flexible and keep it leisurely.

 

What cruise line are you going on?

 

I travel much the same way - the planning is a large part of the fun. I've got a Google Sheets doc where I keep various lists, calendars, tracking of costs and reservation details, to-dos for before I go. I set it up as soon as I book (which means that the Jan 2024 Cunard Panama Canal transit doc was set up in November 2022!)

 

This trip is on HAL - it's a New England/Canada 7-day out of Boston - but my preferred line is Cunard, where dressing for dinner is expected. 

[awhfy]

50 of the over 80 stitches removed from my mouth, I should start feeling more like me!

[laurspag]

Melody!!!  What did you have done?

[awhfy]

4 hours ago, laurspag said:

Melody!!!  What did you have done?

I had a sinus lift & 4 bone grafts with the hope that I’ll be able to get dental implants (non titanium) put in in the next year. Hey, it was good for 15 lbs (so far); I do not recommend as a weight loss!!!

[slidergirl]

On 8/25/2023 at 6:20 PM, awhfy said:

I had a sinus lift & 4 bone grafts with the hope that I’ll be able to get dental implants (non titanium) put in in the next year. Hey, it was good for 15 lbs (so far); I do not recommend as a weight loss!!!

Hey, maybe recommend your weight loss plan to the rich women - leave the Ozempic for those who actually need it to live 😉   I don't  know how much weight I've lost lately, but I know it's an inch from my waist.   At this point, thank goodness for stretch waistbands and belts!!   As far as teeth go, do you get to have a temporary "flipper" to fill in or do you have to go "bare"?  

[awhfy]

6 hours ago, slidergirl said:

Hey, maybe recommend your weight loss plan to the rich women - leave the Ozempic for those who actually need it to live 😉   I don't  know how much weight I've lost lately, but I know it's an inch from my waist.   At this point, thank goodness for stretch waistbands and belts!!   As far as teeth go, do you get to have a temporary "flipper" to fill in or do you have to go "bare"?  

Too raw to put anything in. I do have a 3 tooth appliance that should fit when the gum heals

[awhfy]

Laurie, when do you leave?  This week or next?

[laurspag]

Hi Melody!  I leave next Friday.  I plan to do most of my packing over this weekend, with the exception of dresses.  Having a long weekend is a good opportunity, plus my husband is working some overtime so I know we won't be doing other things.

 

I feel off a bit, like I need to completely revamp the type of packing list I've used in the past.  I keep thinking of things that aren't on it, that should be.  I used to have a really good one I created, and I must have deleted it?  My goal will be to create a new one.  One will be the "one size fits all" part and the other can be specific to the cruise or trip I am taking.  For example, I need prescription sunglasses, hearing aid batteries, and certain clothing for every trip.

 

The next part will probably be cruise specific, and say things like swimsuits, cover ups, passports, set sail pass.  Then, I can list my clothing.  I kind of don't need to anymore, as I started taking photos of individual outfits with the jewelry and then creating a layout photo.  It's right on my phone, so it I go to get ready, I can always glance to see if I had jewelry picked out or whatever.  Still, I kind of like the list because there are times when I have a very specific outfit for an excursion, and I always like to determine what outfit is for sail away.

 

We have been super busy in the house lately.  We've replaced 4 light fixtures, I painted the mud room and changed out some of the wall decor to simply the room, and then the biggie....we did the batten and board last weekend in the den!!!  That was kind of lengthy.  We had all the spacing figured out, but we wanted to tape the boards in place first to make sure the layout was what we were planning on.  We changed out the baseboard too, as I think the regular type doesn't really work properly.  You need a flat top.  

 

We also wanted to be sure the room tied in well with the rest of the house, especially the trim.  So while the baseboard piece was changed, we opted for the exact same size.  Then we added the same two trim pieces to it that we have in the rest of the house.  As a result, it feels seamless.  I hope to get it painted this weekend, but we will see.  It may have to wait until we are back because I have to finish caulking, and I plan to add 2-3 coats of paint to it.

 

It is such a good feeling to see your ideas come together.  

 

Also, it has been a big week, sort of.  I celebrated my 40th anniversary at the bank.  It was a big deal to me internally, but I don't like people to fuss so I didn't say anything.  They knew though, and they did all sorts of fun things for me.  It has been very emotional, to say the least.  I feel very grateful to work with such kind, caring people.

[awhfy]

Congratulations Laurie!  So you started in banking when you were 6? Nice that your coworkers recognized this big achievement (as they should)
 

I’d love to see pictures of your finished den. 
 

have a fabulous cruise!!  I’d move your passport up to your critical list with your hearing aid batteries & prescription sunglasses!!  

 

we’ve done a lot to the house this year too, outside & in; it is a good feeling to see it completed. We did our upstairs bathroom converting it to a walk-in shower; redid our big deck & cut down some trees (our big yard now looks huge!). Melody

[slidergirl]

Big Labor Day sale on Title Nine.  Anita - this is the place that has the Horny Toad/Toad & Co dresses and stuff.  If you are looking for a swim suit, they have a bunch of theirs on sale.

[MJC]

Congratulations Laurie on your bank anniversary! I'm happy to hear they spoiled you a bit. What a milestone.

 

I have a master packing list that I tailor for each trip. This time I deleted lots of things since I won't need snorkel gear or shorts. 🙂

Aside from our three formal nights, I plan to pack two dark slacks and  cardigans with a selection of easy wash tops for evening. I have a greater selection of outerwear than I normally would pack, with some that I can layer depending on our temps. Folks from England on our RC are saying an Indian summer is predicted for northern Europe, which would be nice, but can't rely on. Will know more about the weather by the end of the month.

 

I need to work on my footwear choices for all the walking we will do. 

 

Very exciting!

 

Laurie, you will get back just as we are preparing to leave. I can't wait to hear about your trip and see all your pictures!

 

 

[awhfy]

Laurie!  Have a great cruise!!!

[laurspag]

Thanks, Melody!  We are in Miami now.  Our itinerary has been adjusted, with Costa Maya and Cozumel replacing St. Thomas and St. Kitts.  We are fine with that - best to be safe!

[awhfy]

5 hours ago, laurspag said:

Thanks, Melody!  We are in Miami now.  Our itinerary has been adjusted, with Costa Maya and Cozumel replacing St. Thomas and St. Kitts.  We are fine with that - best to be safe!

Try to get into Nachi!  Tell them how many times you’ve been there, they got us in when we were diverted there. I’d be bummed missing St Thomas & St Kitts (my shopping islands). Hurricane Lee is the reason likely

Edited September 9, 2023 by awhfy

[laurspag]

11 hours ago, awhfy said:

Try to get into Nachi!  Tell them how many times you’ve been there, they got us in when we were diverted there. I’d be bummed missing St Thomas & St Kitts (my shopping islands). Hurricane Lee is the reason likely

Oh, the hurricane is definitely why!   They've done a good job keeping us informed the past few days.  I completely understand, as I'm not too keen on getting too close to a category 5 hurricane.  I just roll with it, but a number of people in our sailing are not happy.

 

We are going to  Coco Cay still, so I was unsure if we wanted togo to Nachi or not.  It is my favorite place.

[awhfy]

21 minutes ago, laurspag said:

Oh, the hurricane is definitely why!   They've done a good job keeping us informed the past few days.  I completely understand, as I'm not too keen on getting too close to a category 5 hurricane.  I just roll with it, but a number of people in our sailing are not happy.

 

We are going to  Coco Cay still, so I was unsure if we wanted togo to Nachi or not.  It is my favorite place.

I, too, love Nachi. 

[laurspag]

I'm back!  What a wonderful vacation. I think I learned a lot about being flexible, with the changes in ports and then having them move around formal night and so forth.

 

Harmony was fantastic. Even my husband wants to go back on Harmony, and he has always said that he doesn't like the big ships.  

 

I have pictures to share and lots of thoughts.  I will hopefully get to all of this soon.  I always like to post one picture right when I get back though.  My husband wore his shirt!  

[awhfy]

4 hours ago, laurspag said:

I'm back!  What a wonderful vacation. I think I learned a lot about being flexible, with the changes in ports and then having them move around formal night and so forth.

 

Harmony was fantastic. Even my husband wants to go back on Harmony, and he has always said that he doesn't like the big ships.  

 

I have pictures to share and lots of thoughts.  I will hopefully get to all of this soon.  I always like to post one picture right when I get back though.  My husband wore his shirt!  

Great picture!  What deck were you on?  We were on 7 & it took me 6 of the 10 days to figure out how to get to our cabin without going up or down 

[Anita Latte]

You look so happy and relaxed in that photo! I love the pose and what y’all are wearing! 
 

We had such fun on Harmony. I’m one of those people that doesn’t really have absolute favorites…my faves are all situation dependent…but I can get in such a mood and think that Oasis class ships are just what I’m in the mood for. I’ve been on Allure and Harmony. I may appreciate them more now that I live closer to the coast. I haven’t read much about the up and coming Utopia of the Seas…but down here we are getting blasted by commercials for it and man, every time DH and I are like…cruising is such fun. We haven’t been on a cruise since Feb 2020.

[awhfy]

We loved all the different things to do on the big ship (Harmony) in December. Now that she’s going to be based in Galveston we might get the crowd on her