Royal Caribbean Cruisers -- How Are Things Where You Are? (was "Routine" ​ 😁 ​day in lockdown... how was yours?)

[lenquixote66]

36 minutes ago, HBE4 said:

I've always thought the Christmas crowds in NYC feel different.  Less rude, more cheerful. Not sure if it's because  there are more out-of-towners or if people in general are more festive and  caught up in the holiday spirit. Although I do try to avoid Rockefeller Center as it's just too  crowded & touristy. Plenty of other places in the city to see big Christmas trees where you can actually get up close & almost touch them.

Probably a combination of both,more tourists and locals in the Christmas spirit.

[lenquixote66]

12 minutes ago, Sunshine3601 said:

My boss closed up their house in Greenville, Maine and is driving to their home in Ft Meyers this weekend.   They were going to stay overnight in Delaware last night then plan on staying in South Carolina tonight.   Great weather for the drive.   

 

It's a beautiful sunny 68f here today.  Just trimmed rose bushes and some other perennials.  Too nice to be inside.

 

Next weekend we may go to LBI to check on house.  Our fall renters left last weekend.  

63 and sunny here but with it getting dark an hour earlier it will feel like winter.

[brillohead]

On 11/3/2023 at 4:29 PM, Sea Dog said:

Yes this is a separate surgery center and is 10 times nicer than a hospital. Everyone is great. Only issue is that they had a hard time inserting a catheter so an urologist had to come in a scope me and insert because I have an enlarged prostrate. I will will have to go home with the catheter and have my urologist remove it in 10 days. 

 

Do you have a history of urinary retention after surgery?  I'm used to Foley catheters being removed while you're still in the OR, before you even wake up, unless it was for a urological type of surgery (like John/Bella's dad recently had).    

Even with a urologist inserting the catheter due to BPH, unless you have a history of post-surgical retention, I can't think of a reason to continue the catheter beyond the surgical procedure itself. Maybe @Ocean Boy can think of something I'm missing?  

 

We (meaning the hospital I work at) have to track the number of days people have a Foley and how many UTIs are contracted hospital-wide related to a Foley, so unless there are extenuating circumstances (urinary retention, health issue requiring strict intake/output tracking, sacral wound healing problem on an incontinent patient, etc.), a Foley gets pulled immediately after it's no longer absolutely medically necessary.  (Foleys are a huge infection risk.)

Glad to hear you'll soon be home with Linda and the pups!!!

[brillohead]

On 11/4/2023 at 1:23 PM, Ozark_Kid said:

@DeltaOne my SIL and Sharon figured out how to load it up! 

 

After loading it up they drove it up to the Church building and found an area that will be easy to unload it.

We will probably change the ramp surface because it's a little slick.

Also yesterday we were able to drive our DD Siena into the drive. It made it but still concerned how much clearance there would be after they would lower the floor.

 

There are all kinds of vehicles that can be retrofitted for "drive in" capability (versus a lift being installed), and they don't all necessarily have to be lowered.  In my work with disabled patients as a private duty nurse, I've seen a few different types. 

Some have installed / automatic ramps that work with the press of a button, and some have manual ramps that just unfold and hook onto the doorway.  Some load from the side and some load from the rear. 

This webpage shows some of the many options that are available -- Clock Mobility is a local (Michigan) company, but a Google search will help you find a similar company closer to home.  

[brillohead]

15 hours ago, BonTexasNY said:

Cousin Eddy!  The **iter's full.

 

A friend of mine repeats that line every time she sees a Carnival cruise ship, in tribute to the Carnival Triumph cruise where they lost power and the toilets were overflowing while they drifted aimlessly at sea!  

[brillohead]

8 hours ago, h20skibum said:

Since it is seasonal cocktail time, I tried the honey apple crisp.  A drink and desert all in one. 

 

A local bar has a seasonal specialty cocktail made with apple cider and Fireball, garnished with a cinnamon-sugar coated donut hole on a stick.  I'm not much of a drinker, but that one is quite tasty!

[brillohead]

On 11/2/2023 at 9:45 AM, TravelGirlinDallas said:

So exciting!! The 7th grader stayed up wayyy past his bedtime to witness this historical moment and all of the hoopla afterward. While we weren't able to swing attending WS game, he did get to see this team play a couple of weeks ago in one of the ALCS games. At the end of last year, he insisted they were going to the WS, back when they were terrible and their manager had just been fired. Of course, I laughed. I should have believed him.

 

Can you ask him what the winning PowerBall lottery numbers are going to be?  

😉

[BonTexasNY]

1 hour ago, Luckynana said:

Yes and yes!!!!  Nothing like NYC during the Holidays!  Don't forget Radio City and their Rockettes!🎄

I saw that show once when I was still in school and never forgot it.

1 hour ago, Luckynana said:

I bought a gorgeous black gown there years ago for my first RCI cruise back in 1998!😉 

Was it in A&S?  That was my favorite store.  When I still lived in Manhattan I used to take the subway to Hoit/schermehorn station in Brooklyn to go to that A&S.

1 hour ago, HBE4 said:

When I lived in Rockland County, most if not all of my clothes shopping was done at Paramus Park Mall and Garden State Plaza. Back then, no sales tax on clothing & gas was significantly cheaper in NJ. Pretty much made a day of it, getting lunch and/or dinner at one of the many diner or a pub/restaurant if we wanted to treat ourselves.

 

 

Yes to no sales tax on clothing! I had lunch at Tom Sawyer diner last year, Ridgewood Rd., right outside the old Paramus Park Mall.  So different now.  Both the mall and the diner.

1 minute ago, brillohead said:

 

A friend of mine repeats that line every time she sees a Carnival cruise ship, in tribute to the Carnival Triumph cruise where they lost power and the toilets were overflowing while they drifted aimlessly at sea!  

They didn't call it the poop cruise for nothing.

[Luckynana]

15 minutes ago, BonTexasNY said:

I saw that show once when I was still in school and never forgot it.

Was it in A&S?  That was my favorite store.  

I really don't remember what store I bought the gown at.  A&S was also my favorite store.  I used to shop at the Woodbridge Mall.  I always got beautiful clothes for my 3 daughters there.

 

I went to the Christmas show 3 years in a row, bringing 2 grandchildren the first year, 2 grandchildren the second year, and the last 3 grandchildren the third year.  🎄

[DaniDanielle]

Loved A&S in the Woodbridge Mall😁

[Ocean Boy]

41 minutes ago, brillohead said:

 

Do you have a history of urinary retention after surgery?  I'm used to Foley catheters being removed while you're still in the OR, before you even wake up, unless it was for a urological type of surgery (like John/Bella's dad recently had).    

Even with a urologist inserting the catheter due to BPH, unless you have a history of post-surgical retention, I can't think of a reason to continue the catheter beyond the surgical procedure itself. Maybe @Ocean Boy can think of something I'm missing?  

 

We (meaning the hospital I work at) have to track the number of days people have a Foley and how many UTIs are contracted hospital-wide related to a Foley, so unless there are extenuating circumstances (urinary retention, health issue requiring strict intake/output tracking, sacral wound healing problem on an incontinent patient, etc.), a Foley gets pulled immediately after it's no longer absolutely medically necessary.  (Foleys are a huge infection risk.)

Glad to hear you'll soon be home with Linda and the pups!!!

They had issues inserting the Foley and narcotics are notorious for causing retention. I would have left it in.

[brillohead]

On 11/2/2023 at 1:25 PM, Sea Dog said:

There is a nationwide shortage of Pharmacists. Combine that with CVS’s working policies and working them to the bone. Apparently Walgreens has the same problem. There is always a line to pick up prescriptions inside and even outside in the drive through. Most of time I only see one pharmacist working along with 2 or 3 techs.

 

I have a couple recommendations regarding pharmacies / prescription medications.

First is Sam's Club, if you have one in your area.  I know my local club's pharmacy isn't open at all on Sundays, and they're closed for an hour at lunch (I think from 1:30-2:30 or something like that, not during the normal noon hour), but I have always had excellent service, and I've never been more than third in line to pick up a prescription, and can usually just walk right up and be first in line.  You also do NOT need to be a Sam's Club member to use their pharmacy.  

My other recommendation, particularly for "maintenance" medications (things you take every day, so you can order them in bulk in advance and have them delivered), is the Mark Cuban website: CostPlusDrugs .  They don't have ALL medications, but the ones that they do have are probably significantly cheaper than what you're paying locally (and they are continually adding more meds to their inventory as they make more deals with manufacturers).  

 

I have prescription coverage through my health insurance at the hospital, but it's still cheaper for me to get my meds through CostPlusDrugs versus at my hospital's pharmacy using our insurance.  They charge a per-pill price (cost plus 15%), plus a per-fill fee ($5 per medication), plus a per-shipment mailing fee ($5 per order).  So it works out the most cost-efficient if you can get your "provider" (quote marks for OB's sake... my primary care provider is a Nurse Practitioner rather than a physician) to write your prescription for 90 or even 180 days' worth of pills at a time.  This way you can get all your prescriptions filled at the same time, and pay the "fill" and the "mailing" fees less often.  

 

For example, if your pill costs $.02 per pill and you take it once per day:
--A 30-day supply would be $.60 for the pills, plus $5 for the fill and $5 for the mailing, or $10.60 (about $.35/pill). 

--A 90-day supply, would be $1.80 for the pills, plus $5 for the fill and $5 for the mailing, or $11.80 (about $.13/pill). 
--A 180-day supply would be $3.60 for the pills, plus $5 for the fill and $5 for the mailing, or $13.60 (about $.07/pill).

If you order four different pills all at the same time, you only pay the $5 mailing fee once for the entire shipment, so that further reduces the cost per pill.  

And every dollar you save can be used to pay for more cruises!!! 

 

The website has a page you can print out to take to your doctor/provider that details exactly how to electronically send your prescriptions to the CostPlusDrugs pharmacy.  The company also participates with a limited number of insurance companies (and adding more all the time).  

My "surrogate mom" has a med that her gastroenterologist has to continually fight with her insurance company to get them to cover it -- every year they need to mess around with "pre-authorization" paperwork, and there are delays until they finally decide to cover it again.  I looked up the med on the CPD website, and she can get 90 pills for $9.50 plus $5 for mailing (or she could get the whole year at one time for under $30 including mailing!!!!).  Why on earth her insurance company is spending tons of time and money jerking her around every year for pre-auth on a med that costs less than $50 a year is beyond my comprehension... especially since she's been on it for over a decade and they end up approving it every single year.  

Anyway, give Sam's Club or CostPlusDrugs a look, especially if you're not happy with the service you're getting from your local pharmacy. 

[MJSailors]

When I was growing up, my mother took me to see the Radio City Christmas shows during my grammar school vacations. After the shows, we would have lunch at Schraffts’s restaurant not far from Radio City. We also saw the tree at Rockefeller Centre and stopped into St Patrick’s Cathedral before taking the subway home.

It didn’t seem too crowded to me then, but that was ver 60 (!)years ago and as.  a City kid, maybe lots of people around was just the norm.

MJ🙋🏻‍♀️

[George C]

18 minutes ago, DaniDanielle said:

Loved A&S in the Woodbridge Mall😁

I worked at A&S in Brooklyn doing IT in late 70’s and early 80’s ,cool thing was it was just a mile from my Brooklyn apartment in Carrol Gardens , they gave us a huge discount around Christmas bought several TVs etc for family.

[Sea Dog]

20 minutes ago, brillohead said:

 

Do you have a history of urinary retention after surgery?  I'm used to Foley catheters being removed while you're still in the OR, before you even wake up, unless it was for a urological type of surgery (like John/Bella's dad recently had).    

Even with a urologist inserting the catheter due to BPH, unless you have a history of post-surgical retention, I can't think of a reason to continue the catheter beyond the surgical procedure itself. Maybe @Ocean Boy can think of something I'm missing?  

 

We (meaning the hospital I work at) have to track the number of days people have a Foley and how many UTIs are contracted hospital-wide related to a Foley, so unless there are extenuating circumstances (urinary retention, health issue requiring strict intake/output tracking, sacral wound healing problem on an incontinent patient, etc.), a Foley gets pulled immediately after it's no longer absolutely medically necessary.  (Foleys are a huge infection risk.)

Glad to hear you'll soon be home with Linda and the pups!!!

Thanks Debbie the main problem is that I have an enlarged prostrate but it was not letting the catheter in. So they had to do the camera/ catheter to get it up in my bladder. I have an appointment hopefully sooner than the 12 days they scheduled to have it taken out. I’m frustrated now at home to get enough elevation on the couch to have it flow downhill.

[Sea Dog]

There’s no place like home. Linda captured this photo of Charlie taking care of me.

 

 

 

Incision at Hospital before I left.

[bobmacliberty]

2 hours ago, helen haywood said:

See, @bobmacliberty, I need grandchildren to explain what you just said! 😜

 

And to set up your smart phone, and configure your Wifi, and upgrade your computer, and...

 

I'm a tech geek and it's getting harder and harder for me to keep up. 😁

 

1 hour ago, reallyitsmema said:

 

I am just repeating what we were told by the owner of the overhead door company and the installer.  My car will not work with the new opener because of frequency.  We could not buy new remotes or outside keypad for our old model because it was too old and the new ones are on a higher frequency.  My car didn't work with the old opener because we needed a working remote to program it, so we ended up upgrading when we did our driveway, garage floor and door project a couple of years ago.

 

Sorry...I didn't mean to insinuate that you were wrong.  I was just explaining why many people may have problems getting their built-in car buttons to work with their garage door openers.  

[bobmacliberty]

5 minutes ago, Sea Dog said:

There’s no place like home. Linda captured this photo of Charlie taking care of me.

 

 

 

Incision at Hospital before I left.

 

We can rebuild him.  We have the technology.  We can make him better than he was.  Better.  Stronger.  Faster. 😜

 

Congrats on the Chiefs win.  Great game to watch.  Hope your pain subsides soon and that your recovery is easier than the other knee.

[helen haywood]

@Sea Dog That Charlie is SUCH a sweetheart!!!

 

DH managed to get the other Tahoe programmed to open both doors!!!  We honestly have no idea what he eventually did that worked!  It was not the same sequence as what he did the day before…

[dani negreanu]

On 11/2/2023 at 12:24 AM, MJSailors said:

@dani negreanu 

 

I hope it helps, in a small way, to know that many people are thinking of you and praying for a return to normal days where you are with your friends celebrating with a lovely meal. 

 

Thank you, Mary. It helps in a HUGE way, and, as I've said it repeatedly, I'm grateful to all of you.

[helen haywood]

Dani, how nice to hear from you!  Yes, you are in all our prayers.

[CrzLvr2]

1 minute ago, helen haywood said:

Dani, how nice to hear from you!  Yes, you are in all our prayers.

+1  🙏 and {{{hugs}}}  for @dani negreanu

[Sea Dog]

26 minutes ago, dani negreanu said:

 

Thank you, Mary. It helps in a HUGE way, and, as I've said it repeatedly, I'm grateful to all of you.

Thinking of you always!

[Sea Dog]

Charlie knows daddy has a big owey!

 

 

[lenquixote66]

2 hours ago, MJSailors said:

When I was growing up, my mother took me to see the Radio City Christmas shows during my grammar school vacations. After the shows, we would have lunch at Schraffts’s restaurant not far from Radio City. We also saw the tree at Rockefeller Centre and stopped into St Patrick’s Cathedral before taking the subway home.

It didn’t seem too crowded to me then, but that was ver 60 (!)years ago and as.  a City kid, maybe lots of people around was just the norm.

MJ🙋🏻‍♀️

I was in Radio City Music Hall the night that I saw the ball come down to welcome 1963.Everyone who was there was given a souveneir program which I still have.