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

[Luckynana]

14 hours ago, Bailey & Sophie said:

 

My husband's aunt can trace her ancestry back to the Mayflower. She can't actually claim Mayflower status tho. One ancestor is accepted in the lineage, but there are no actual written records of her found. Until written records on this person can be obtained, she is "this close."

My dad's grandmother on his mom's side (Hatfield) was full Cherokee, which made my dad 1/4 Cherokee.  

[Sea Dog]

1 minute ago, George C said:

We bake them for about 30 mins at 350 degrees , we cook the sauce for 8 hours bake the meatballs and add them to the sauce at about half way, 4 hours.

 

I think most people do it that way. I'm an odd ball in that I cook the meatballs the entire time in the sauce. It makes for a little softer meatball but as it's cooking some little pieces of the meatball will break into the sauce almost making the sauce a meat sauce. Very delicious.

 

[Luckynana]

52 minutes ago, dani negreanu said:

 

Mark, may I ask how is your daughter doing? Is she already in the "middle of the road" in regards to the protocol she's following? Any "mid-term results" so far?

 

She's always in my thoughts.

 

@h20skibumAlways in my thoughts, also.  Thank you for sharing your journey with us, Mark.  Prayers for your daughter's full recovery.🙏

[mets07]

We are driving 🚗 home from Saratoga Springs NY to New Jersey.  Light snow today. We went up for the weekend.  

 

Out the car window:

 

 

Yesterday on a bog meadow trail:

 

 

[Sea Dog]

From Santa Suit to Tuxedo. Wedding last night for Linda's niece. Nice to have son Jonathan with us. Not sure I care for the beard but he is entitled to experiment.

 

[George C]

45 minutes ago, Sea Dog said:

 

I think most people do it that way. I'm an odd ball in that I cook the meatballs the entire time in the sauce. It makes for a little softer meatball but as it's cooking some little pieces of the meatball will break into the sauce almost making the sauce a meat sauce. Very delicious.

 

Ours are pretty soft , we used to do it your way but too many meatballs broke up in the sauce .

[dani negreanu]

1 hour ago, Momof3gurlz said:

We often babysit our three grandsons in PA when DD & SIL go away, sometimes for just a couple of days but we’ve done a maximum of 6 nights.  There’s almost always an episode of tears when Mom & Dad video chat.  

 

Thank you so much, Deb. You have no idea how reassuring this is.

 

It was really heart breaking seeing him crying buckets. It went on for quite a few minutes, he just cried and cried, not uttering a single word.

 

Really appreciate your reply 😘

[h20skibum]

1 hour ago, dani negreanu said:

 

Mark, may I ask how is your daughter doing? Is she already in the "middle of the road" in regards to the protocol she's following? Any "mid-term results" so far?

 

She's always in my thoughts.

 

 

51 minutes ago, Luckynana said:

@h20skibumAlways in my thoughts, also.  Thank you for sharing your journey with us, Mark.  Prayers for your daughter's full recovery.🙏

She is past the halfway point in her series of treatments.   The doctor says her response to the treatments are right where they expect them to be, but they don’t have any additional imaging scheduled until near, or at the end of her treatment.  

 

Oh, and Dani, great picture of the boys.  I hope you get to have more extended stays with them.  Nothing like spending time with the grandkids.  They grow up way too fast. 

[h20skibum]

1 hour ago, Luckynana said:

Awesome!!!  Do you have a family Historian?  I have pages and pages of my family on my mom's side.  One of my brother's has been working on my dad's side of the family.    I really have to sit down one day and make copies of our family history for our daughters.

I guess that would be me at this point.  I had a lot of information that had already been researched, but I undertook a project during the pandemic, to condense seven generations into a book, complete with photos and narrative of their lives.  
 

Needless to say, my goal of completing the book by last Christmas didn’t happen, so I am shooting for next Christmas now.  My only stumbling block has been getting further back than Susan’s one grandfather.  He was a orphan, and records have been hard to come by.  Everything else in my book is complete and ready for the printers.

[h20skibum]

44 minutes ago, Sea Dog said:

From Santa Suit to Tuxedo. Wedding last night for Linda's niece. Nice to have son Jonathan with us. Not sure I care for the beard but he is entitled to experiment.

I think the beard looks great on him, Greg. (Says the man who has had a beard for 50 years). I wish mine was that color, instead of white.😁

 

In fact, you all look great.

Edited December 11, 2022 by h20skibum

[xpcdoojk]

15 hours ago, Bailey & Sophie said:

 

My husband's aunt can trace her ancestry back to the Mayflower. She can't actually claim Mayflower status tho. One ancestor is accepted in the lineage, but there are no actual written records of her found. Until written records on this person can be obtained, she is "this close."

We definitely have a Mayflower ancestor on my mother’s side. Didn’t know it was a thing?

 

jc

[h20skibum]

18 minutes ago, dani negreanu said:

 

Thank you so much, Deb. You have no idea how reassuring this is.

 

It was really heart breaking seeing him crying buckets. It went on for quite a few minutes, he just cried and cried, not uttering a single word.

 

Really appreciate your reply 😘

Unless you have one like our California grandson.  Never a tear from him when we have had him for the entire summers.  
 

But I bet if we kept the two grandkids that live here for an extended period, there would be tears involved,   Even though we see them every day, they would miss their mom and dad.

[Ocean Boy]

1 hour ago, Momof3gurlz said:

 

I hate to use a four letter word, but we’re supposed to get 1 to 3 inches of s-n-o-w tonight.  

Now I need a drink.😑

[h20skibum]

@dani negreanu and @Luckynana

 

Don’t know why only the first and last paragraph showed up in my response above.  This is what I had written.  Guess CC demons are about today.

 

She is past the halfway point in her series of treatments.   The doctor says her response to the treatments are right where they expect them to be, but they don’t have any additional imaging scheduled until near, or at the end of her treatment.  

 

It is encouraging to us, that the response seems good, but the emotional toll is tough sometimes.  Susan is her sounding board, and she fields all those late night calls and calms her down when her mind is filled with those, “This is probably my last Christmas……(fill in the blank for any other occasion)” thoughts.

 

One of the things that makes our days so long, is she is cold capping.   For those who don’t know what this is, it is supposed to preserve most of the patients hair.   They wear a tight fitting cap that is attached to a computerized machine that cools the scalp to 36°F.  They have to start this an hour before treatment, and it extends through treatment and a couple hours after.  

 

She wanted to do this, not because of vanity, but because she thought the complete loss of her hair would frighten the kids.  I must say that it has worked well.  The problem is that it is not covered by insurance, so we are picking up that cost for her.  I think by the end, it will be about $5K out of pocket for it.  I think this should be available to any patient who wants it, and not just to those who can afford to do it.

 

One thing that helps, is a lady I am friends with on an exercise site went through the same thing with her daughter last year.  As it turns out, her daughter had the same type, and was the same age as my daughter, and she had a good outcome.  She has been very supportive. 

 

Sorry to ramble on, but this is where we are at now.  Just taking it a day at a time

[Ocean Boy]

1 hour ago, George C said:

We bake them for about 30 mins at 350 degrees , we cook the sauce for 8 hours bake the meatballs and add them to the sauce at about half way, 4 hours.

I can just smell my grandmother's Sunday kitchen now....

[molly361]

3 hours ago, Ocean Boy said:

When it is in the 50's I still bike ride wearing shorts.🙂

 

3 hours ago, Keksie said:

That is Brrrrrr!  When it is in the 50s I am wearing at least pants, long sleeves/sweater and probably a jacket.  If it is wet and windy add gloves.

When it's in the fifties here I have my parka on😜and knit ski cap

Edited December 11, 2022 by molly361

[h20skibum]

Ok, now the pesky elf is just getting creepy. She showed up in the kids bathroom, where she can watch them.  Not only that, but she replaced all the TP with Christmas wrap 

 

Granddaughter had to find another bathroom to use today. 🤣🤣. She is not going there. 

 

[HBE4]

1 hour ago, Momof3gurlz said:

I hate to use a four letter word, but we’re supposed to get 1 to 3 inches of s-n-o-w tonight.

 

Same here. In fact, it's been flurries all morning but nothing sticking to the ground yet.  I just finished blowing the last leaves yesterday so for the first time in over a month, my lawn looks clean. Glad I get to enjoy looking at it for a few hours before the next mess. 😉

 

In fact, I also ran my lawn mower dry by "mowing" the lawn (actually just mulching the left over leaves) yesterday afternoon as well. Cloudy sky, temps in high 30's wearing insulated jeans, gloves, heavy jacket. I could see my breath.  Pretty sure I earned the title as the street's "crazy neighbor". 😄

 

In all seriousness, I did get plenty of offers from my neighbors to take care of my yard while my mind & focus were  elsewhere but I turned them down. I find such "mundane" work to be therapeutic.

 

[Ocean Boy]

I had to run out to the grocery store and, for some reason, picked up some eggnog while there. I have no idea why as I rarely drink the stuff. I put some Kraken in it and now  I might just spend the rest of the afternoon home with a cat on my lap.

 

 

[Sea Dog]

1 hour ago, George C said:

Ours are pretty soft , we used to do it your way but too many meatballs broke up in the sauce .

 

What worked for me was leaving the meatballs undisturbed for at least 30-45 minutes and then stirring very gently. After about an hour I could stir the sauce normally just making sure I stirred in between the meatballs.

 

 

55 minutes ago, h20skibum said:

 

 

Sorry to ramble on, but this is where we are at now.  Just taking it a day at a time

 

 

Thank you for the update. It makes me mad that insurance will not cover it as it has proven to give good results.  She will be in my thoughts.

 

 

33 minutes ago, Ocean Boy said:

I had to run out to the grocery store and, for some reason, picked up some eggnog while there. I have no idea why as I rarely drink the stuff. I put some Kraken in it and now  I might just spend the rest of the afternoon home with a cat on my lap.

 

 

 

I have never had Eggnog before. Now I might have to try. Cheers!

 

[grapau27]

2 hours ago, Momof3gurlz said:

Such handsome boys Dani.  We often babysit our three grandsons in PA when DD & SIL go away, sometimes for just a couple of days but we’ve done a maximum of 6 nights.  There’s almost always an episode of tears when Mom & Dad video chat.  

Cheers to new beginnings and new adventures in your new home.  All the memories from the house you’re leaving are going with you.  
 

@grapau27 best of luck tomorrow with your procedure.  
 

Today is a day of relaxing for me after cooking and preparing all day yesterday for my party last night.  We had a great time, lots of delicious food (everyone brought something) and many laughs.  Do I need to mention a lot of wine was consumed 😄?!  
I hate to use a four letter word, but we’re supposed to get 1 to 3 inches of s-n-o-w tonight.  

Thank you Debbie.

Graham.

[grapau27]

2 hours ago, Sea Dog said:

 

Looks delish! I cook mine all in the sauce. Do you fan fry first or let them cook entirely in the sauce?

 

 

 

Wishing a successful procedure tomorrow Graham!

 

Thank you Greg.

[grapau27]

2 hours ago, Sea Dog said:

From Santa Suit to Tuxedo. Wedding last night for Linda's niece. Nice to have son Jonathan with us. Not sure I care for the beard but he is entitled to experiment.

 

Great family photo Greg.

[lenquixote66]

2 hours ago, Luckynana said:

Awesome!!!  Do you have a family Historian?  I have pages and pages of my family on my mom's side.  One of my brother's has been working on my dad's side of the family.    I really have to sit down one day and make copies of our family history for our daughters.

I had journals of my life from age 13 to 47 but stopped writing for some reason. Several years ago my daughters bought me a book that asks various questions about a person and I am now updating that every time there is a change.

[lenquixote66]

1 hour ago, h20skibum said:

I think the beard looks great on him, Greg. (Says the man who has had a beard for 50 years). I wish mine was that color, instead of white.😁

 

In fact, you all look great.

I tried in vain to get my son in laws to grow beards but alas they prefer the clean shaven look.