Azamara Cruisers - How are things where YOU are

[Grandma Cruising]

Same here - blooming miserable!

[Mackdogmolly]

Today was a state holiday, so I spent a lovely morning with some pals from work Kayaking on the nearby Winooski (Abenaki for Onion) River, which empties into Lake Champlain. We just beat the rain, which started about 10 minutes after returning home. It was nice to meet up in person, as we have all been teleworking for the past five months.

Betsey

[nordski]

Off this morning for a hike at a local Provincial Park. Because of Covid, I now go earlier in the morning to avoid an increased number of ramblers who are out to find a stress-relieving ambience.
 

As we wait for schools to open, and perhaps an increase in cases, we are trying to fit in appointments with auxiliary medical offices: dentists, optometrists, etc.

 

I have included a few photos of the Park. It is located on an extensive geologic formation, the Niagara Escarpment, and the trails I walk on are part of the Bruce Trail, which runs from Niagara Falls to Tobermory (circa 900 km.)

 

In the late 1800’s, this particular lot would have been settled by a family from Ulster. They cleared the land, although natural vegetation has now reclaimed it, but this is a difficult place indeed to successfully farm. You can see part of a stone fence they built. There was no shortage of that msterial
 

[Grandma Cruising]

Looks beautiful countryside,, Nordski. Interesting to hear about the erstwhile settlers. It’s a shame they couldn’t make a go of it.
 

We’ve had a lovely day today, after a few damp & miserable days. It was nice to sit out in the garden until one of our neighbours decided to get their hedge cut, and the contractor used a very noisy petrol driven hedge cutter.

[Ithikan]

17 minutes ago, Grandma Cruising said:

Looks beautiful countryside,, Nordski. Interesting to hear about the erstwhile settlers. It’s a shame they couldn’t make a go of it.
 

We’ve had a lovely day today, after a few damp & miserable days. It was nice to sit out in the garden until one of our neighbours decided to get their hedge cut, and the contractor used a very noisy petrol driven hedge cutter.

Very happy to hear you've been able to sit out and enjoy the weather, GC.  And I certainly feel your pain with the diesel-driven landscape equipment.  Here in Hawaii when restrictions were put in place and the visitors stopped (i.e., yesterday, 1745 arrivals via air to the state; same time last year, 35,000) the jungle continued to grow.  Landscapers were immediately classified as essential workers, and the mowers, hedge trimmers, and 500 horsepower leaf-blowers all started up.  Deafening, especially against the creaking silence of streets with no traffic.  However, I'm grateful to the workers and happy they've employment.  Kauai will be even more lovely when this is over and we can once again welcome travelers. 

[nordski]

7 hours ago, Grandma Cruising said:

Looks beautiful countryside,, Nordski. Interesting to hear about the erstwhile settlers. It’s a shame they couldn’t make a go of it.
 

We’ve had a lovely day today, after a few damp & miserable days. It was nice to sit out in the garden until one of our neighbours decided to get their hedge cut, and the contractor used a very noisy petrol driven hedge cutter.

Farmers tried to make a go of it up until at least the 1950’s, but even with their stern resolve success was ephemeral. They were tough people.

 

Had they acquired land just 15 km. north of here, they could grow potatoes in a manner that would remind them of life back home.

 

Noisy estate machinery is common here as well. Of course property managers yearn for the efficiency of beautiful weather, just the days that you wish to be outside.

 

Locally, we now have a fad of people setting up fire pits in their backyards. Of course, the resulting smoke recognizes no property boundaries.

 

Makes one appreciate the more stringent smoking rules now enforced on cruise lines.

[Grandma Cruising]

Very windy today. We walked by the River Humber from the other side of the Humber Bridge. The river was the roughest I’ve ever seen it. 
We came home and I hung my washing out - it took every peg I have to keep it all on the line.

[snowglobe]

Making the rounds on FB, so I cannot properly credit the author... it kinda reflects a bit the coming months, as the weather turns colder:

 

I won’t arise and go now, and go to Innisfree

I’ll sanitise the doorknob and make a cup of tea.

I won’t go down to the sea again, I won’t go out at all,

I’ll wander lonely as a cloud from the kitchen to the hall.

There’s a green-eyed yellow monster to the north of Katmandu

But I shan’t be seeing him just yet and nor, I think will you.

While the dawn comes up like thunder on the road to Mandalay

I’ll make my bit of supper and eat it off a tray.

I shall not speed my bonnie boat across the sea to Skye

Or take the rolling English road from Birmingham to Rye.

About the woodland, just right now, I am not free to go

To see the Keep Out posters or the cherry hung with snow

And no, I won’t be travelling much, within the realms of gold.

Or get me to Milford Haven. All that’s been put on hold.

Give me your hands, I shan’t request, albeit we are friends

Nor come within a mile of you, until this s*h*i*t show ends.

.

Edited August 22, 2020 by snowglobe
had to do some creative editing.

[Ithikan]

On 8/21/2020 at 5:08 AM, Grandma Cruising said:

Very windy today. We walked by the River Humber from the other side of the Humber Bridge. The river was the roughest I’ve ever seen it. 
We came home and I hung my washing out - it took every peg I have to keep it all on the line.

Your windswept laundry reminds me of the outrage here on Kauai when a prominent social media mogul purchased 700 acres on the North Shore, and immediately built a wall.  Wind is important in Hawaii.  There were more than 300 words for the breezes and winds of the islands.  His mile-long, 6 ft high wall blocks traditional paths and, more importantly, the winds.  Hope you were able to safely retrieve your air-dried laundry, GC! 

[Baynanno1]

13 hours ago, snowglobe said:

Making the rounds on FB, so I cannot properly credit the author... it kinda reflects a bit the coming months, as the weather turns colder:

 

I won’t arise and go now, and go to Innisfree

I’ll sanitise the doorknob and make a cup of tea.

I won’t go down to the sea again, I won’t go out at all,

I’ll wander lonely as a cloud from the kitchen to the hall.

There’s a green-eyed yellow monster to the north of Katmandu

But I shan’t be seeing him just yet and nor, I think will you.

While the dawn comes up like thunder on the road to Mandalay

I’ll make my bit of supper and eat it off a tray.

I shall not speed my bonnie boat across the sea to Skye

Or take the rolling English road from Birmingham to Rye.

About the woodland, just right now, I am not free to go

To see the Keep Out posters or the cherry hung with snow

And no, I won’t be travelling much, within the realms of gold.

Or get me to Milford Haven. All that’s been put on hold.

Give me your hands, I shan’t request, albeit we are friends

Nor come within a mile of you, until this s*h*i*t show ends.

.

 

Thanks so much for sharing! 🙂

I have just posted my own slightly altered version on Facebook.

[Grandma Cruising]

8 hours ago, Ithikan said:

Your windswept laundry reminds me of the outrage here on Kauai when a prominent social media mogul purchased 700 acres on the North Shore, and immediately built a wall.  Wind is important in Hawaii.  There were more than 300 words for the breezes and winds of the islands.  His mile-long, 6 ft high wall blocks traditional paths and, more importantly, the winds.  Hope you were able to safely retrieve your air-dried laundry, GC! 

Yes, it dried in no time and I didn’t lose anything, although pegs were scattered around the garden like confetti!

[Baynanno1]

On a happy note we welcomed my sixth great grandchild to the world yesterday afternoon.

A healthy boy. 🥰

I have to make do with photos for the time being though, as we are not allowed to travel between the relevant states.

[Grandma Cruising]

3 hours ago, Baynanno1 said:

On a happy note we welcomed my sixth great grandchild to the world yesterday afternoon.

A healthy boy. 🥰

I have to make do with photos for the time being though, as we are not allowed to travel between the relevant states.

Congratulations!🍾
Sorry you can’t see him yet, but I hope it’s not too long before you’re able to travel to meet him.

Edited August 24, 2020 by Grandma Cruising

[Baynanno1]

15 minutes ago, Grandma Cruising said:

Congratulations!🍾
Sorry you can’t see him yet, but I hope it’s not too long before you’re able to travel to meet him.

 

Thanks very much Denise! ☺️

[nordski]

4 hours ago, Grandma Cruising said:

Congratulations!🍾
Sorry you can’t see him yet, but I hope it’s not too long before you’re able to travel to meet him.

I’ll certainly echo those thoughts, especially the latter.

[Mackdogmolly]

13 hours ago, Baynanno1 said:

On a happy note we welcomed my sixth great grandchild to the world yesterday afternoon.

A healthy boy. 🥰

I have to make do with photos for the time being though, as we are not allowed to travel between the relevant states.

Congratulations!! How wonderful! Hope you get to see him very soon. 
Betsey

[Baynanno1]

12 hours ago, nordski said:

I’ll certainly echo those thoughts, especially the latter.

 

Thank you very much! ☺️

[Baynanno1]

7 hours ago, Mackdogmolly said:

Congratulations!! How wonderful! Hope you get to see him very soon. 
Betsey

 

Thanks very much Betsey. ☺️

[the mice]

On 8/23/2020 at 10:08 PM, Baynanno1 said:

On a happy note we welcomed my sixth great grandchild to the world yesterday afternoon.

A healthy boy. 🥰

I have to make do with photos for the time being though, as we are not allowed to travel between the relevant states.

Such happy news - hope it won't be too long before you get to see him in person.  

[Baynanno1]

3 hours ago, the mice said:

Such happy news - hope it won't be too long before you get to see him in person.  

 

Thank you very much! ☺️

[Grandma Cruising]

We’ve been feeling really fed up with staying in one place so decided we’d find somewhere reasonably local where we could see some nice gardens. We identified Renishaw Hall, which is near Chesterfield in Derbyshire and is only 1 hour’s drive away. It was built by, and is the home of, the Sitwell family. 
At present, like most other such places, they only accept bookings even just to see the gardens, so we booked online for this afternoon. The Renishaw Hall Gardens won UK Garden of the Year in 2015 and I’m not surprised. It’s a lovely mixture of formal gardens, a woodland area and woodland gardens, a vineyard and a lovely lake, with a variety of statuary fitted around. I’ve posted some photos below.

 

Also we have decided we must have some sort of a holiday this year and have booked a couple of weeks in Greece, in the Messina area of the Peloponnese. That area has had few if any COVID cases and definitely has no cases currently. I know it’s possible it will be added to the list of countries that you have to go into isolation when you come home from, but that really wouldn’t worry us. I’ve checked our travel insurance and, as when we booked it was definitely not on that list, we are covered for all risks.

The Hall from the gardens

Formal gardens

View of the lake from the ‘Haha’ (ditch to stop cattle)

Knot garden to the side of the house

‘Moose’ looking over the fence

 

A casting of a statue by Ivor Roberts-Jones to commemorate the police officers who lost their lives in the Kings Cross disaster of 1987

Edited September 4, 2020 by Grandma Cruising

[nordski]

Thanks for those photos.

 

It would be remarkable to stroll those gardens and imagine the life of Edith Sitwell and her brothers, although Edith seems to have been quite happy to be rid of those environs or, at least, her parents who lived there.

 

How do you get to the Peloponnesus? We are really envious of that planned winter break.

 

As in England, there Is considerable controversy here as schools undertake to reopen. Our eldest teaches at a Secondary School and our youngest works at the University of Toronto. So each is involved in the attempts to avoid a serious outbreak of Covid 19 in those settings.

It is remarkable how much we have now learned about this disease and how much more we need to know.

 

 

[Grandma Cruising]

Yes, as we were walking around the gardens I could imagine all the people who would have strolled around them.

 

We fly to Kalamata from Manchester, then hire a car to drive down the western peninsula of the Peloppenese to get to the little village of Chrani where we stay. We stay at a small hotel apartment owned by a wonderful family who are very welcoming and can’t do too much for you.

 

Our schools are going back soon - next Wednesday in our area, so it will be interesting to see what happens then. Where we live is pretty good, but Leeds, 45 miles away, is a hot-spot at present and is in danger of going into a local lockdown. We certainly are learning more about COVID, but neither our politicians, nor some of our population, seem to be taking appropriate actions.

Edited September 4, 2020 by Grandma Cruising

[Mackdogmolly]

I, too am envious of your planned Greek holiday and hope you have a wonderful time, Denise. Please post lots of pictures. No plans to go anywhere here for the immediate future. Schools and universities are starting to reopen and of course everyone is now worried about an uptick in cases. I have recently been trained as a Contact Tracer and am now on the Contact Tracer Surge Team, and will be deployed should there be major outbreaks. Fingers crossed it won’t be necessary. 
Betsey

[nordski]

1 hour ago, Mackdogmolly said:

I, too am envious of your planned Greek holiday and hope you have a wonderful time, Denise. Please post lots of pictures. No plans to go anywhere here for the immediate future. Schools and universities are starting to reopen and of course everyone is now worried about an uptick in cases. I have recently been trained as a Contact Tracer and am now on the Contact Tracer Surge Team, and will be deployed should there be major outbreaks. Fingers crossed it won’t be necessary. 
Betsey

All of us need to keep our fingers crossed! But you must be proud to potentially play a positive role in your state.

 

Thanks for posting here. It is a respite from the rancour sometimes found on other threads, often reflecting a rancour all too prevalent throughout our societies.