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

[Luckynana]

1 hour ago, dani negreanu said:

 

Thanks, Maryann. Today, we "celebrate" 10 weeks since the newest war in our region started.

 

In the last days, the number of air raids has diminished, and today we decided to "breath some air" and take the risk that an air raid will find us without a shelter....

 

Went for a barefoot walk on our local beach, taking advantage of the amazing weather for mid-December. There were even some brave souls in the water.

 

We came home safely. Some pictures ---

 

 

 

 

Dani, I'm so glad that you were able to go out and about today.  You certainly picked the perfect place for your outing.  There's just something "healing" about walking barefoot in the sand.  I do hope and pray that this will become the normal for you and your Country shortly.  Peace, my friend!🙏🌹

[Luckynana]

1 hour ago, Lionesss said:

 Tonight we will be hosting a dinner for our church family. Monthly as a group we all dine at a local restaurant. We will prepare the main course. 
 

 Eye of Round in its own Au Jus, and slow cooked chicken mushroom and dried onion casserole. 
 

Our guest will provide the side dishes. 
 

Potato casserole. 
Vegetable

Pepper poppers. 

Salad

Dinner rolls. 
Chocolate treats 
 

The dessert will be all my home made cookies. 
 

I will be sending home with each household a mini cookie tray. 

 

Our dining room table and kitchen table are both set up the same. 
 

 

 

 

The overview of my cookie table. 

The back has the cookie trays to go home. 

 

 

 

Next are

 

nut keiffel and kolachi

 

 

Next are Cookie Bark, lady fingers, Apricot kolachi. And sugar cookies  
 

Next are Almont melt away. 
 

 

 

Should be a relaxing evening. 
 

Be safe. 

Oh Sue!  I do wish I had half the energy as you to bake all of these delectable goodies.  Beautiful settings and display.  Have a wonderful evening with your friends!

[bobmacliberty]

9 minutes ago, Ocean Boy said:

For those of you who use wireless ear buds... I was wondering what you use and what you do, and don't, like about them. I just got a pair of Samsung Galaxy Buds 2 Pro to replace my Gakaxy Buds Live that were two years old.

 

So far I think these new Buds are fantastic. It is amazing what I was missing with my older Buds when listening to music. These Buds are small and very light weight, great sound, and the active noise cancelling feature is very impressive. They don't seem to cause ear fatigue at all even after having them in for a couple of hours. I have also found that Bluetooth 5.3 provides much better connectivity. At the gym I can wander pretty far from my phone and not lose the connection.

 

I'm always looking for ways to improve the sound quality of music I listen to. So far these Buds have not disappointed me.

 

For those of you with no interest in this subject... sorry.

 

I use Jabras that are a few years old.  I like them.  They have noise cancellation which is nice on a plane.  For me, it's all about comfort.  I can't wear Apple's Airpods, or even their wired ear buds...way too uncomfortable.  The Jabras came with a few (3?) different silicon tips of various sizes.  I was able to find one that fits very comfortably.

[Arzeena]

19 minutes ago, Ocean Boy said:

For those of you who use wireless ear buds... I was wondering what you use and what you do, and don't, like about them. I just got a pair of Samsung Galaxy Buds 2 Pro to replace my Gakaxy Buds Live that were two years old.

 

So far I think these new Buds are fantastic. It is amazing what I was missing with my older Buds when listening to music. These Buds are small and very light weight, great sound, and the active noise cancelling feature is very impressive. They don't seem to cause ear fatigue at all even after having them in for a couple of hours. I have also found that Bluetooth 5.3 provides much better connectivity. At the gym I can wander pretty far from my phone and not lose the connection.

 

I'm always looking for ways to improve the sound quality of music I listen to. So far these Buds have not disappointed me.

 

For those of you with no interest in this subject... sorry.

Still searching for the right fit and right brand. I get ear fatigue. I need small size. Most fall out of my ears. I still hear noise in noise cancelling.🤔

[Ocean Boy]

13 minutes ago, Arzeena said:

Still searching for the right fit and right brand. I get ear fatigue. I need small size. Most fall out of my ears. I still hear noise in noise cancelling.🤔

If the buds don't fit your ears correctly noise cancelling won't work well. With these new Buds it is a bit disconcerting as I feel disconnected from from my surroundings when I activate it. The software for these Buds has a program to tell you if the Buds have a proper fit. It is pretty cool. When I first got them it told me that I didn't have a proper fit. After changing to a larger tip it told me the fit was good.

[lenquixote66]

18 hours ago, Jimbo said:

@A&L_Ont Andrew found this interesting video on Amazon Prime and also on Youtube.

 

Don't know if you have any interest in Titanic or  not but found this to be so surprising. I have never heard this about Titanic before? or was it Titanic?

 

 

I saw this earlier this year It makes one wonder.

[cruiselvr04]

Lioness your table loved lovely.  I’m sure your dinner went well.  We do a game night every month with 3 other couples and rotate homes.  The host does the main dish and everyone else brings sides.

 

My table is ready for Christmas for 10 minus plates and silverware that I put out just before.

[Arzeena]

32 minutes ago, cruiselvr04 said:

Lioness your table loved lovely.  I’m sure your dinner went well.  We do a game night every month with 3 other couples and rotate homes.  The host does the main dish and everyone else brings sides.

 

My table is ready for Christmas for 10 minus plates and silverware that I put out just before.

Very nice!

[ollienbertsmum]

3 hours ago, dani negreanu said:

 

Well done, they look tasty. Can't comment on recipe, since DH is doing his own "thing".

 

As a "sous chef", all I know is that I've peeled lots and lots of potatoes....😉

Thanks.  I (reluctantly) took a couple to my daughter who needs building up after a wisdom tooth removal.  She messaged me to say she enjoyed them (actually that is big praise).  I read the recipe again and I realized I should have added the starch.  I’m doing them again for sure 

[aussielozzie18]

Another hot day yesterday.  Went into the city in the afternoon for a couple of the Christmas markets.  Funny to see adult Sydneysiders get excited by the fake snow that was sprayed above the French Christmas Markets square and because of the heat, the outdoor eateries near the Opera House were spraying a very fine mist to keep diners cool.
 

Nice and cool inside the Art Gallery of NSW, viewing the current Kadinsky exhibition.  The “Maman” sculpture by Louise Bourgeois - first time it’s come to Australia - was impressive to see up close, including the egg sac.

 

 

Lots of families relaxing in their sun shelters in The Domain - large open green space near the Art Gallery - waiting for the free annual Carols in the Domain Christmas concert in the eve.

Edited December 16, 2023 by aussielozzie18

[Sunshine3601]

@Lionesss   Happy Birthday Sue, sorry I missed yesterday.     Busy day at work and we had a Holiday party.   Lots of good food and drink.  White elephant gift exchange was lots of fun.    @Coralc  the echo dot, I believe was you that suggested this gift, was a hit.   It was stolen by one of our younger techs.    

[lenquixote66]

3 hours ago, A&L_Ont said:

A very interesting video. It seems very possible. 

When I was in college I took a history course where the Professor had the students write a paper disproving a proven fact.It was to be a minimum of 10 pages because he wanted us to do a lot of research.

I chose to write that Booth did not kill Lincoln .I wrote a 40 page paper.

[Sunshine3601]

My SIL had knee replacement surgery on Tuesday.    She said the first night was the worst once the nerve blocker wore off.   She has PT person everyday and is doing great as of this morning.    She is going to try to get out of the house tomorrow and visit her Mother.    She hopes to use just a cane tomorrow.    Seems pretty soon to me but she's the type of person that cannot sit still for long.   

[Ocean Boy]

53 minutes ago, aussielozzie18 said:

Another hot day yesterday.  Went into the city in the afternoon for a couple of the Christmas markets.  Funny to see adult Sydneysiders get excited by the fake snow that was sprayed above the French Christmas Markets square and because of the heat, the outdoor eateries near the Opera House were spraying a very fine mist to keep diners cool.
 

Nice and cool inside the Art Gallery of NSW, viewing the current Kadinsky exhibition.  The “Maman” sculpture by Louise Bourgeois - first time it’s come to Australia - was impressive to see up close, including the egg sac.

 

 

Lots of families relaxing in their sun shelters in The Domain - large open green space near the Art Gallery - waiting for the free annual Carols in the Domain Christmas concert in the eve.

Looks like one of those Australian spiders to me.

[dani negreanu]

1 hour ago, ollienbertsmum said:

I read the recipe again and I realized I should have added the starch.

 

I've asked DH what are his DIY "recipe" ingredients -- egg, potatoes and flour -- "by the eye" 😎

[Ozark_Kid]

5 hours ago, dani negreanu said:

 

Thanks, Maryann. Today, we "celebrate" 10 weeks since the newest war in our region started.

 

In the last days, the number of air raids has diminished, and today we decided to "breath some air" and take the risk that an air raid will find us without a shelter....

 

Went for a barefoot walk on our local beach, taking advantage of the amazing weather for mid-December. There were even some brave souls in the water.

 

We came home safely. Some pictures ---

 

 

 

 

Thanks Dani for posting the pics.  Nice!  I love the beach and the water and I also love the sky! 

Thankful to see you able to get out.

[dani negreanu]

1 hour ago, Ocean Boy said:

Looks like one of those Australian spiders to me.

 

You cannot get the big hairy scary spider out of your mind, can you?😉

[grapau27]

22 hours ago, Jimbo said:

@A&L_Ont Andrew found this interesting video on Amazon Prime and also on Youtube.

 

Don't know if you have any interest in Titanic or  not but found this to be so surprising. I have never heard this about Titanic before? or was it Titanic?

 

 

Nice watch.

We have heard this several times.

We have been to Titanic museums in 

Belfast.

Cobh.

Orlando.

Southampton.

[Ocean Boy]

37 minutes ago, dani negreanu said:

 

You cannot get the big hairy scary spider out of your mind, can you?😉

I figure if I drink enough Kraken eventually I'll knock off the part of my brain containing that memory.

[Sunshine3601]

4 hours ago, cruiselvr04 said:

Lioness your table loved lovely.  I’m sure your dinner went well.  We do a game night every month with 3 other couples and rotate homes.  The host does the main dish and everyone else brings sides.

 

My table is ready for Christmas for 10 minus plates and silverware that I put out just before.

 

Great job!    Quite lovely.   

Having cats does not allow me to decorate table too early.    Even though they rarely get up onto the dining room table, I still wouldn't want to risk have cat hair there.  

[BonTexasNY]

6 hours ago, dani negreanu said:

 

You're so right, Mary.

 

I really came home with my very depleted batteries fully replenished.

Dani, I am so glad you were able to do something to bring you joy and peace of mind.  Walking in the sand and breathing in that sea air sounds just what you needed.

2 hours ago, Sunshine3601 said:

My SIL had knee replacement surgery on Tuesday.    She said the first night was the worst once the nerve blocker wore off.   She has PT person everyday and is doing great as of this morning.    She is going to try to get out of the house tomorrow and visit her Mother.    She hopes to use just a cane tomorrow.    Seems pretty soon to me but she's the type of person that cannot sit still for long.   

I hope your SIL heals quickly with minimal pain.  I know from @Sea Dog Greg, and friends and family, it isn't an easy recovery.  I hope she asks her doctor or at least her PT if she's cleared to use a cane. 

[George C]

We had a very nice afternoon went to see the play “Christmas Carol “ which Dallas theater shows every year, but they change it up every year, this year had more songs than before , large cast was super talented. Really hope Bills my favorite team beats cowboys my least favorite team tomorrow. I most likely will place a few bets with my poker buddies before game starts. 

[ValerieJo]

Nice afternoon here as well.  Went granddaughter’s first dance recital.  She’s 4 years old.  The kids were all adorable and did a great job.

[helen haywood]

A cousin of mine was going through a box of old photos and sent me this one of me dressed for my high school prom in 1977.  Forty-six years ago!  He was a really sweet boy.

 

 

[Gardener5b]

44 minutes ago, ValerieJo said:

Nice afternoon here as well.  Went granddaughter’s first dance recital.  She’s 4 years old.  The kids were all adorable and did a great job.

She's a beautiful little dancer!!