Silversea Water Cooler: Welcome! Part Five

[MBP&O2/O]

When I first went to sea I spent alot (far too much 😀) of time in the Arabian Gulf and the temperature frequently went over 130 degrees .... nowadays I shiver when it gets below 80 ! 

I was out the other day, the temperature was just above freezing, the sheep were huddled together for warmth and a lad walked past me wearing a tee shirt and shorts !!!

[Daveywavey70]

8 hours ago, MBP&O2/O said:

I was out the other day, the temperature was just above freezing, the sheep were huddled together for warmth and a lad walked past me wearing a tee shirt and shorts !!!

 

‘Why aye man it’s coold  taneet. 

[Lois R]

Good morning,

 

[UKCruiseJeff]

Greetings all ... from a very cold Hampshire.

 

The flight home was long but made delightful shared with a well known British comedian who was also sleep challenged and we talked and imbibed in the First galley for much of the flight comparing lives. 

 

Made her a lovely braised lamb shank with mint gravy and mash and brussels.  It is lovely to get back to comfort food after our Asian food safari.

[jpalbny]

Welcome home Jeff! I understand what you mean. We ate so much good food on the South America trip. It's nice to get back to a normal diet.

 

Making an eggplant parmigiana tonight, if we get home from work at a reasonable hour.

[Lois R]

Welcome back Jeff and JP!

[jpalbny]

Thanks, Lois! And on the plus side, it's above freezing today!

[Daveywavey70]

Welcome home Jeff and JP. 

All this BBC propaganda about snow. Tut. It was a beautiful day here yet again full of sunshine. 

‘Glad you’re all safe and sound. 

[UKCruiseJeff]

Thanks for the kind welcome back words!  

 

Wifey has a bit of a horrible throat and cold this last day or so, so as I didn’t go to bed last  night I made her a big vat of “The Broth of God”.  She is sounding a little less throaty now so I hope it works it’s magic. 

 

 

[mysty]

Hope Mrs J recovers quickly!  The Broth of God looks delicious!

 

Have a great day all!

[UKCruiseJeff]

Thanks M.  Wifey is a lovely “sharing” person, and whatever it is I have it now as well.  😞  

[jpalbny]

Jeff, I hope you are both feeling better.

 

Dragging a bit here myself. Don't think it's any particular illness; just the usual consequences of jumping directly from vacation to work with no rest. And going from 90F at Iguazu to 0F in Albany didn't help.

 

We got into JFK at 8:00 Monday after a 10-hour overnight flight from BA, and were on the road by 9:00, home at Noon, where a temperature of negative 1 greeted us. Then we had to scrounge up some lunch, do grocery shopping, clean the fish tank, and return the rental car to the Albany airport. And unpack all the wine, start laundry...

 

Then we were back to work all week starting bright and early Tuesday morning - and I was on call all week, and I am still on call for this weekend. Chris is at least off this weekend but she was pretty busy this week too.

 

And we have jumped back into our exercise regimens this week too, but tonight we will take the night off. I baked a chicken last night so we have leftovers for dinner instead of having to cook something new. So at least some things will be easier tonight. If only I weren't on call, but since there are only 3 of us who rotate through ICU call, and I was out of the schedule for 3 weeks. So, no getting around it - it's definitely my turn. 

 

Guess I can rest next week! Hope all the other coolers are well.

[Lois R]

Hi everyone, hope you all feel better soon.

 

Well, if you recall, I had posted last month about being transferred to a new position at our HQ...…...I went over there today and will start regularly on Monday. So the new thing begins...……..hoping it will all work out ok.

 

Had a physical this afternoon and of course now I have to get labs done...….so tomorrow I will go to Quest (JP, I am sure you know them)……..they are the blood/lab people. Have to fast so after dinner tonight, no food and hopefully they won't have a long line tomorrow. They take "walk-ins" and on Saturday they are open 8-noon.

 

Have a good weekend.

 

 

[jpalbny]

Good luck, Lois! I hope it works well for you. And fasting labs are no fun. 

[Lois R]

Good morning,  I have already been to the lab and then stopped for breakfast.....I was able to make an appt on line last night and they had a 7:30am opening this morning so I had no wait.  Took very quick...….then they gave me something I had to do here at home......at first I thought this is strange but the tech said it was on the Dr's order...….then when I read it, it was not difficult LOL....JP, I am sure you know about it.  A bit TMI...…..have to send the results back in or I can drop it off at that Quest location (they are not far so will probably do that).

Anyway, see the image below...…..

 

[TLCOhio]

Good luck to Lois with your job adjustments and health challenges.  We are now down in your state and enjoying the sunny weather.  Being in the Florida Keys helps have warmer weather.  Parts of Florida has been hit with colder weather and/or lots of rain/storms, etc.   

 

It's especially great here compared to the brutal cold now hitting the Midwest and heading to the northeast U.S.  Hope J.P. and Chris can survive that black of the Polar Express hitting them soon.  See below three items of "visual evidence" for what we are experiencing now in the Keys.  Looking good??  Then, there is the food in the Florida Keys??!!  It's super wonderful and the people in these islands are such FUN!! with their more unique and full of character approach to life. 

 

THANKS!  Enjoy!  Terry in Ohio

 

Amazon River-Caribbean 2015 adventure live/blog starting in Barbados. Many visuals from this amazing river and Caribbean Islands (Dutch ABC's, St. Barts, Dominica, Grenada, San Juan, etc.).  Now at 62,775 views:

www.boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2157696

 

From yesterday in the Florida Keys, here are three visual samples, including the interesting bird seeing its shadow on the beach, the sun/blue skies/palms and finally the beautiful waterside sunset over the Gulf of Florida.:

(Open your screen/viewer wider to see these pictures larger/better!)

 

 

[mysty]

Greetings Coolers!  Yesterday we had a delicious lunch at Mudbrick Vineyard and Restaurant on Waiheke Island.  Beautiful location and great food.

 

 

My Taste of the Hauraki Gulf...

 

 

Myster's Freedom Farms Twice Cooked Pork Belly....

 

 

 

My Hawkes Bay Natural Grilled Lamb Loin...

 

 

Myster's Leigh Fish of the Day....

 

 

Have a great day all!

[TLCOhio]

19 hours ago, mysty said:

Greetings Coolers!  Yesterday we had a delicious lunch at Mudbrick Vineyard and Restaurant on Waiheke Island.  Beautiful location and great food.

 

Great that misty is at Waiheke Island near Auckland and enjoying its super scenic location and their wonderful food, etc.  It was 2014, just about five years ago, when we were able to be there and experience its beauty and hospitality. Excellent area and memories from that visit. 

 

Below are details of the Midwest COLD back home that is affecting a large part of Canada and the U.S. this week.  Glad we picked this week to be down in the Florida Keys. Most all of the schools, universities, etc. are closed today back home.  Even the U.S. Postal Service is stopping deliveries today in most or parts of five states.  

 

THANKS!  Enjoy!  Terry in Ohio

 

AFRICA?!!?: Fun, interesting visuals, plus travel details from this early 2016 live/blog. At 44,172 views. Featuring Cape Town, South Africa’s coast, Mozambique, Victoria Falls/Zambia and Botswana's famed Okavango Delta.

www.boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2310337

 

From AccuWeather, first below is the current weather for Central Ohio.  Being MINUS one below is not just cold.  That "real feel" of minus 25 says how really bad the weather is there.  Second is the chart for the upper Midwest.  Even worse.  Fortunately, we are now down in Key Largo, Florida, where today it will be near 70F with sunshine, etc..:

(Open your screen/viewer wider to see these pictures larger/better!)

 

[Lois R]

Good morning friends, hope everyone is staying warm.

 

Well, the new job started Monday so this is day 4.  Things have been going ok.  I miss "my family" (the office I was in for those 28 years) but so far this is ok.  No major issues...….not the same feel as my old office though. Oh well.

 

Have a good Thursday everyone.

[UKCruiseJeff]

Good Afternoon All ...

 

Very modern food M .....   I remember the old days when you’d put stuff on a plate seperately but now it is all placed in a tower!   It looks good!

 

Good luck with the new work location L.

 

[jpalbny]

Yummy stuff!

 

Lois, glad that the new job location is OK so far. It is definitely a challenge to pick up and leave after so long. I've been here since 2000 (and even longer if you count residency, etc) so I can empathize. Hope it gets familiar and the transition continues smoothly.

 

Made up a dish for dinner a few nights ago. I seared some chicken thighs then cooked them in the oven over mushrooms and onions. Once cooked and the skin was crispy, I stirred some sour cream into the mushroom mixture (reminiscent of beef stroganoff) and voila, a nice easy dinner for a cold winter's night.

 

 

I also popped the cork on the bottle of Pisco that we brought home from Chile, and made a Pisco Sour. It was a little less tart than I liked, so next time I'll add a little more lime juice and a little less sugar. But it looked authentic.

 

 

Chris is wading through thousands of South America pics and I am starting to work on my blog. Will be a slow process, but we will need to have the pictures sorted by next weekend when we go visit her Dad. We promised him a slide show.

Edited January 31, 2019 by jpalbny
Add pix

[UKCruiseJeff]

Nice food JP.

 

 Good luck to Chris with the piccies.  We came back with over four hours of 4K video which there was around two hours of good edited flim from Singapore.  We are delighted to have made the move to the Osmo Pocket and have only a couple of dozen JPEGs.  The combination of very stable 4K content with sound is great.  

Edited January 31, 2019 by UKCruiseJeff

[spinnaker2]

Oh the pisco sour looks great!!!

 

[Lois R]

Hi friends,

 

[UKCruiseJeff]

We have snow ....

 

Bewildered to hear from Reprieve this morning that five of the men detained in Guantánamo Bay have long been cleared for release through a process involving all of the main US intelligence and security agencies, including the Department of Defense, Homeland Security and the Director of National Intelligence.    Yet they remain detained because President Trump refuses to let them leave.    So the US President insists on the continued detention of five men who the U.S. authorities have acknowledged should not be in detention. By all accounts they should be free and back with their families.  

 

Contrary to all logic, reason, and due process, these men’s access to justice is being denied.