for fun: Do/Would you still put on all your makeup and decent clothes if you are quarantined

[Lois R]

Good morning girls,  I found out some sad news earlier today. Do any of you know the cruiser with the screen name rkacruiser? Very helpful person on various boards. I came across a thread from another poster who knew him and rka passed away recently☹️......sending my heartfelt condolences to his family. If ya'll could do the same I am sure they would appreciate it.

 

This morning I started to take out clothing for my cruise (I fly to FLL on Wednesday morning). This is just a normal 11 night sailing so I am not sure why I am having a problem figuring out what to bring this time😮.........I have only been to the Caribbean about 2 dozen times LOL.........

[Lois R]

Hi PH, good to see you again😃

 

Well, I tried one of TJ's Artichoke tarts and I had their quiche.......both were delicious😃 I would try another quiche for sure.  It is a small size, perfect for 1.

 

I had the flatbread last night and it was ok but the other 2 items were better.

[PurpleHays]

8 hours ago, awhfy said:

Purple, need recipe for Sugar Cookie Sparkler drink!  Melody

 

7 hours ago, cruisemom42 said:

 

Seconded!!

It's pretty easy:

 

Dip glass (wine or champagne flute) in water, rim with colored suger (I found some Christmas stars).

Put sugar cube in glass, place a few drops of bitters on cube.

Add one ounce vanilla vodka, top with prosecco.

 

If you sprinkle the sugar, it almost dances in the bubbles. At least the stars did.

 

 

Enjoy!

Edited January 2, 2023 by PurpleHays
Add video

[cruisemom42]

7 hours ago, Lois R said:

I found out some sad news earlier today. Do any of you know the cruiser with the screen name rkacruiser? Very helpful person on various boards. I came across a thread from another poster who knew him and rka passed away recently☹️....

 

Sorry to hear that. He always had a lot of good stories and info to share, and it seemed like he lived an interesting life. He'll be missed here. 

[cruisemom42]

10 minutes ago, PurpleHays said:

 

It's pretty easy:

 

Dip glass (wine or champagne flute) in water, rim with colored suger (I found some Christmas stars).

Put sugar cube in glass, place a few drops of bitters on cube.

Add one ounce vanilla vodka, top with prosecco.

 

If you sprinkle the sugar, it almost dances in the bubbles. At least the stars did.

 

 

Enjoy!

 

Oh that is really pretty too....and sounds easy.  Thank you -- I hadn't heard of it before. 

[Lois R]

17 minutes ago, cruisemom42 said:

 

Sorry to hear that. He always had a lot of good stories and info to share, and it seemed like he lived an interesting life. He'll be missed here. 

Hi, he was a teacher for 30 years!

[slidergirl]

On 1/1/2023 at 5:13 PM, cruisemom42 said:

 

Really glad to hear you made it home safe. Conditions like those would scare the $#%& out of this southerner!

Hey, the conditions scared the cr@p out of this mountain dweller!!!  NEVER saw it like that before.  

[sjb317]

Good morning to all!  Made it back to the beach yesterday afternoon.  We left VA Sunday around noon with the plan of driving halfway and spending the night at a hotel in Poohler, GA.  It turned out to be a great decision as traffic was miserable.  We have typically  found traveling on a holiday to be great traffic wise but not this year!  I am happy to be home! 

 

So, a belated Happy New Years and best wishes for 2023 to all of you!  Even though we have never met I feel like I know all of you as friends.  I always look forward to reading about your OOTD, your travels, families, and, basically, just. your daily lives. Thank you!

 

Sherri🙂

[awhfy]

15 hours ago, PurpleHays said:

 

It's pretty easy:

 

Dip glass (wine or champagne flute) in water, rim with colored suger (I found some Christmas stars).

Put sugar cube in glass, place a few drops of bitters on cube.

Add one ounce vanilla vodka, top with prosecco.

 

If you sprinkle the sugar, it almost dances in the bubbles. At least the stars did.

 

 

Enjoy!

Sounds great!!  Thanks 

[awhfy]

Semiannual retina exam yesterday. Doc has a new toy (machine). He says, I see you had a migraine last week (huh, I did). Is your medication working ok, or do you need a change?  Cool toy. 
 

Purple, thanks for that recipe, pretty easy!

 

dermatology appt on Thursday & diagnostic mammogram & ultrasound in my near future. Sigh.

 

my OOTD is fleecy shirt & Cuddle Duds fleece pants with thick cabin socks. Melody

[cruisemom42]

On 1/2/2023 at 11:12 AM, Lois R said:

This morning I started to take out clothing for my cruise (I fly to FLL on Wednesday morning). This is just a normal 11 night sailing so I am not sure why I am having a problem figuring out what to bring this time😮.........I have only been to the Caribbean about 2 dozen times LOL.........

 

Lois, hope you enjoy your Caribbean cruise.  As I'm sitting here in about the third straight week of gloomy gray/rainy weather, the Caribbean sounds like a great change of scenery!

 

I've driven from Jax to FLL for a post-holiday cruise (and even to Miami), but never flown. 

[Lois R]

1 hour ago, cruisemom42 said:

 

Lois, hope you enjoy your Caribbean cruise.  As I'm sitting here in about the third straight week of gloomy gray/rainy weather, the Caribbean sounds like a great change of scenery!

 

I've driven from Jax to FLL for a post-holiday cruise (and even to Miami), but never flown. 

Hi Cynthia, thanks so much.  When I first started cruising over 20 years ago  I would drive down.

As time has gone by and I have gotten older I no longer enjoy that 5 hour trip on 95😮............a flight is less than 1 hour😃

[WELDON]

Lois, have a great time on your cruise. Warm and sunny today in Ft. Lauderdale.

[Lois R]

Thanks Janet😀 I am sitting at the gate at the airport. We board at 9 so not too much longer

 

[awhfy]

Lois, I’d love to see some pictures from your SilverSeas ship. We’re thinking about one of their cruises. Have a great cruise. Melody

[Lois R]

Hi Melody, I can't remember the last time I took any pictures, to be honest. Just not a photo person anymore. And no S on the end......it is Silversea. Just an FYI😀

[slidergirl]

2 hours ago, Lois R said:

Thanks Janet😀 I am sitting at the gate at the airport. We board at 9 so not too much longer

 

Have a wonderful and relaxing cruise!!!  I'm so jelly...

 

[purduemom1]

Happy belated New Year wishes to all. I finally caught up with all of the posts.
 

Melody, good news about the ulcer and hoping all the tests come with good results.

 

Kat, that was certainly a white knuckle drive for you! I was relieved that you made it successfully. Pork and sauerkraut sounds interesting. Recipe?

 

Cynthia, your NYE dinner sounds delicious.  A fun way to end ‘22 and begin ‘23! I did not know that about Hoppin’ John. 
 

Lois, I think I missed the chance to wish you Bon voyage. Hoping you might stop by and let us know how it’s going.

 

PurpleHays, that was quite an exhausting Nov, Dec. Good that it’s behind you and that you have your big birthday cruise to anticipate. Our hospitals are so full that there are SOS announcements on TV asking everyone to do all possible to stay well. We have 3 large hospitals and it isn’t enough. To add to it all, the only hospital in the county north of us has closed and filed for bankruptcy. Not getting enough $ to cover costs for Medicaid patients. All that county’s hospital needs will now fall to our hospitals. Not a good situation at all.

 

Sherri, sounds like you made good trip plans breaking ir up with an over night stop. Of course you now have that lovely new kitchen to enjoy. That is unless you have a cruise coming up.

 

To all the other posters, hope the new year will be a good one for everyone. Yes, absolutely, let’s keep this thread going. I agree, it seems like we are all friends even though we have not met. 
 

It was a busy several days for us. NYE. morning friends came for brunch and brought a bottle  peach Bellini from Wilsoncreek winery. That is the winery that hosted our AMA Danube cruise. They are located in Temecula. We love their almond champagne and now the peach Bellini will be another favorite.

 

NYE night we had dinner with our neighbors. It was raining pretty hard and we had some items to bring so we ended driving across the street.  Several jokes during the evening about limiting alcohol since we were driving! 
 

On Monday we took our DS’s cat up to Sacramento so she could go home with them on Tues. It had rained so hard that a section of 99 was under water and closed. That  meant that we had to cut over to I 5. Saw some flooded farms along the way. However, the closures and flood  warnings meant no traffic to deal with and a quick drive. Interesting that the GPS said it would be a 4 hour 38 min drive which actually took only 2.5 hrs. Sac was hit pretty hard with rain and wind on NYE.. 2  homes on our DIL’s parents street had trees fall on their roofs. The damage was really bad. Fortunately no damage to our host’s home. We delivered the cat, all 4 grandparents took our granddaughter to the park,  had lunch, said our good buys and we started for home. Again, no traffic and an easy drive. Kids flew home yesterday to a huge snow storm in Minneapolis. Pretty bad there today too. DS doesn’t fly until tomorrow so hoping conditions improve by then. Forgot to ask him if this trip involves layovers in warmer places.

 

While on our way home on Monday, DS called to say he had checked air fares for our next trip to MSP. Fares were down so we booked outbound using our Delta employee  (son) travel benefits discount. However, return flight will be on Alaska as their schedule was better than Delta’s. Cost was really good. I booked it. The next day the fare we got had increased by $120. per person. Thanking my lucky stars that I booked when I did.

 

Christmas decorations are still up and lots to catch up on but little by little it will get done. Predictions for today and tomorrow are for heavy rain and wind up and down the state. Unfortunately, this state has not set up good infrastructure that will allow the rain to be diverted for storage and instead we will deal with flooding. We should be ok where we live bit unfortunately that won’t be the case elsewhere. 
 

OOTD since I will be staying home, sweats top and bottom!

 

Take care all, to those in the path of storms, stay safe.

Sharon

PS Hope my typing or auto correct hasn’t taken over and changed any of this post🤞

 

Edited January 4, 2023 by purduemom1

[slidergirl]

Sharon  - the pork and sauerkraut is pretty basic.  I brown up the pork chops and heat up the sauerkraut.  Sometimes I'll add a little apple and apple juice to the sauerkraut.  For me, it's plenty,

 

Allow me to give a big sigh of frustration:  SIGH...  Drove my car down to SLC to the appointment I made 2 weeks ago to figure out why my Sportage is suddenly losing power going uphill.  Well, they say they don't have my name on the appointment list!!!  UGH!!!   The service manager heard me and took over from the mechanic.  Turns out he worked with my favorite service manager at my old Audi place.  Turns out there are some minor recalls that I never got notice of (happens when you buy used, he said).  They'll do those first because one of them may have something to do with my power loss.  Then, they'll do a deeper dive if it's still there.  Looking at a minimum of $400.  Then, I mentioned I'm losing wiper fluid very fast like there's a hole in a tube.   He said they'll look at it but it's not an easy thing because of where the lines are to the back washer.  Double Ugh.  Not going to be done today, maybe not tomorrow, maybe not Friday.  Triple Ugh.  So, I dial around to find a 4x4/AWD vehicle to rent since it's going to snow again tomorrow and Friday.  Good thing I'm in with Hertz - got a VW Tiguan within 30 minutes.  It's going to cost but what can I do???    Took out my frustration at Trader Joe's...  Pray for my little KIA..

 

OOTD:  leggings, my neat teal insulated and quilted Mountain Hardware mini skirt, a WoolX hoodie, and old boots.  The mini skirts are what we all wear over our leggings at work.  Adds a little flair to just leggings.

 

[awhfy]

Kat, hope your car worries are covered by your recalls. So frustrating when your dependable vehicle decides to throw a hissy. Melody

[cruisemom42]

22 hours ago, purduemom1 said:

To all the other posters, hope the new year will be a good one for everyone. Yes, absolutely, let’s keep this thread going. I agree, it seems like we are all friends even though we have not met. 

 

[slidergirl]

4 hours ago, awhfy said:

Kat, hope your car worries are covered by your recalls. So frustrating when your dependable vehicle decides to throw a hissy. Melody

Matt, the service manager, told me that.  We texted this morning.  The tech found that the lack of power issue is covered by one of the recalls.  Yay.  The tech also quickly found that the, washer mechanism is what is leaking and needs replacement. (I put in a gallon a week ago and got the "low" message on Tuesday).  Plus, I told him to go ahead and do all the "little" things that need done for mileage checks.  I'm breathing a little easier now.  The tech did a whole check and sent me the video - all the hardware is good and no replacement/fixing needed.   It's still going to cost a small fortune, but that's cars...

 

Staying in today to do laundry, dishes and miscellaneous.  OOTD:  joggers and a Tshirt.  

[awhfy]

4 hours ago, slidergirl said:

Matt, the service manager, told me that.  We texted this morning.  The tech found that the lack of power issue is covered by one of the recalls.  Yay.  The tech also quickly found that the, washer mechanism is what is leaking and needs replacement. (I put in a gallon a week ago and got the "low" message on Tuesday).  Plus, I told him to go ahead and do all the "little" things that need done for mileage checks.  I'm breathing a little easier now.  The tech did a whole check and sent me the video - all the hardware is good and no replacement/fixing needed.   It's still going to cost a small fortune, but that's cars...

 

Staying in today to do laundry, dishes and miscellaneous.  OOTD:  joggers and a Tshirt.  

Worth it to have a dependable vehicle, especially with the power issue!!

[slidergirl]

2 hours ago, awhfy said:

Worth it to have a dependable vehicle, especially with the power issue!!

Power issue fixed!!!  Luckily it was one of the recall things so that was a "freebie".  

The service manager texted me at 4:30 and said if I could get there before 6pm I could pick up my car.  Luck was on my side, I think.  All parts for all the recalls were available and the washer mechinism was there, too.  He had a guy work on it all day.  It sure wasn't cheap, but everything my  car wanted/needed is done (oil, filters, engine flush, stuff like that) for awhile.   I bolted down there, turned in my rental car at 4:55 (they close at 5!!), got an Uber to the KIA place and was out the door by 5:30, and home by 6. Phew!!  

 

Now I just hope the snow that's coming overnight/tomorrow isn't a mess.

 

OOTE (Outfit of the Evening):  Yellow Laguna Surf hoodie, Free People Camo pants, and my Ferrari baseball hat.  

[awhfy]

Good news Kat. That’s a service guy that takes care of his clients