The Daily for Thursday Jul 15, 2021

[atexsix]

7 minutes ago, Vict0riann said:

After DH and DD both had shingles and suffered badly (pre-antivirals) we got the single shingles vaccine and then Shingrix.  DD and I had quite severe reactions to the second dose of Shingrix, but hopefully we're all protected now.  So sorry for those suffering, just don't pass it around this thread, please! 🙃

 

When Pat came back from golf this morning, he said we should go out to Butchart's for lunch, so we raced out there, and boy, was it crowded!  Everything seems to be back to the way it was, I was rather nervous.  The big parking lot was pretty full, no masks, kids racing around everywhere, people bumping into each other.   It's all very colourful, but we had a quick lunch in the coffee shop (they said the Blue Poppy won't reopen until Christmas) walked around a bit, had a gelato in the Italian Garden and came away.  

That sounds lovely!  I haven't been in years, course no ferries are currently running from Washington 😞

[Vict0riann]

Just now, kazu said:

 

Wow, Ann.

You are so far ahead of us with opening.  but most provinces are.

 

We have been more open than many provinces all along with salons, restaurants, etc but we are all still masked and certain protocols are in place.  We are on day 9 of no cases and the goal is to re-open completely by NB Day if not sooner.  We are on stage 2.

We will not fully re-open until at least 75% (or is it now 80%?) are fully vaccinated.  We are at 80% 1st dose and over 50% full vaccinated.  NB is really chugging on the vaccines now that we have them.

And the people are getting them 👍 

 

We are about the same numbers vaccinated, Jacqui, so things are going pretty well, although there are still a few new cases every day.  I just wish they had opened up a bit more slowly.  Masks are still "recommended" but without a mandate, I think no one is going to bother.  We tried going back  to church last Sunday, and there, too, we were amazed at how few were wearing masks, people were singing.  I am tempted not to go again until we see how things progress.

[Vict0riann]

1 minute ago, atexsix said:

That sounds lovely!  I haven't been in years, course no ferries are currently running from Washington 😞

 

The gardens are looking lovely, for a few weeks there was a lull in blossoms, but now the annuals are coming into their own.  They put some really weird colours together en masse, and somehow, it works!  I wish I hadn't forgotten my camera.

[kazu]

1 minute ago, Vict0riann said:

 

We are about the same numbers vaccinated, Jacqui, so things are going pretty well, although there are still a few new cases every day.  I just wish they had opened up a bit more slowly.  Masks are still "recommended" but without a mandate, I think no one is going to bother.  We tried going back  to church last Sunday, and there, too, we were amazed at how few were wearing masks, people were singing.  I am tempted not to go again until we see how things progress.

 

Masks are still required here until we reach stage 3 of green (the final stage of re-opening).  I’m fine with that.  

I prefer to go slowly as we are that to jump into the fray all at once.

 

It’s all good. 

[JazzyV]

The eye is starting to feel somewhat better. I even braved going out in the sunshine (with sunglasses) to bring in the garbage can. I was tempted to put my eye patch on, lol. Light is very painful when it's inflamed. I am hoping by bedtime it will be a good bit better and I won't have to call the doctor tomorrow to get squeezed in to be seen.

 

@bennybear I'm glad DD is doing better with the antivirals. Sorry to hear DSIL may need another surgery. Prayers.

 

@summer slope Oh no, sorry to hear about the shingles. I need to get the new Shingrix. I had the old single vaccine 5 years ago and had shingles last year, but not too severe.

 

@Vict0riann I think things are similar here. With no more mask mandate, most people aren't wearing them. I still do in the grocery store or other inside places with many people. And our vaccination rates are way down, despite the emergence of the Delta strain and big uptick in cases in some places. Luckily in my county vaccination rates are good, especially in the over 60 crowd.

Edited July 15, 2021 by JazzyV

[Quartzsite Cruiser]

18 minutes ago, Horizon chaser 1957 said:

Good afternoon, all! I was once a dork (probably still am, but don’t care), so the day fits. And a GOOD tapioca pudding is hard to beat on a hot day. The quote is so true of so many people! An Asian noodle bowl sounds good for tonight, but so does the lamb. There’s no reason not to have lamb with a noodle bowl, so there we are. I’ve been to Sitka twice and loved it. No pictures near to hand, though.

The cherries are all processed, the jam is made, the cherry pitter is washed and bleached and back in the crawl space for next year. Today is a take it easy day. Other than catching up on correspondence that got neglected to process fruit. Oh well.

We have finally decided to cancel our November land trip to Africa. The news on both the virus and the rioting in South Africa is very bad and getting worse. The odds of things proving enough to make travel there enjoyable or even possible four months from now are slim to none. We are still in the no penalty stage, so no loss other than disappointment.

Meanwhile, the weather here has cooled to normal perfect summer weather. We’ll take it while we can!

Happy Thursday, all, and congratulations to all those boarding a BHB later this month!

I'm sorry you had to cancel your trip, but it was probably the safest decision.

[bobpatj]

We also were on Statendam in July, 2015, the wonderful 14 day Alaska cruise.  It was our first visit to Sitka, and we’re looking forward to a return visit next month on a BHB.

[atexsix]

2 minutes ago, Quartzsite Cruiser said:

Double check about the Tribal Shuttle that is at the drop off point of the shuttle from the ship.  As I mentioned, for a small fee, it will take you to see the bears, then on their next loop, pick you up and drop you off at the Raptor Center.  When you're ready, the Tribal shuttle will be back to return you to the starting point.  I can't remember if it had other stops..  It's a good option if walking is a problem for your dad, and you would rather not take a ship's tour.

 

Sitka is an easy DIY port.  If you just want to see the area without a tour, the city bus has three loops.  We rode a couple loops in 2018, just to see different places.  I think they had a day pass.

 

Whatever you decide, you'll have a great day.

 

Lenda 

 

I think that would be great once we reach that point.  My biggest challenge was getting him to remember that we even stopped in Sitka at all when I told him I'd be booking the raptor center.  I had to pull out my phone and show him the HAL website for him to make the connection.  I think he's getting Sitka confused with Skagway maybe because he mentioned a train, and that's the only port I recall having one.  When he can't remember something he starts to get angry, so I had to just let it drop for now.  

[atexsix]

11 minutes ago, Vict0riann said:

 

The gardens are looking lovely, for a few weeks there was a lull in blossoms, but now the annuals are coming into their own.  They put some really weird colours together en masse, and somehow, it works!  I wish I hadn't forgotten my camera.

My phone doubles as my camera, I have a Pixel, and they are known for really good cameras that put most phones to shame, otherwise I'd forever be forgetting my camera too. 

[Quartzsite Cruiser]

13 minutes ago, JazzyV said:

The eye is starting to feel somewhat better. I even braved going out in the sunshine (with sunglasses) to bring in the garbage can. I was tempted to put my eye patch on, lol. Light is very painful when it's inflamed. I am hoping by bedtime it will be a good bit better and I won't have to call the doctor tomorrow to get squeezed in to be seen.

 

@bennybear I'm glad DD is doing better with the antivirals. Sorry to hear DSIL may need another surgery. Prayers.

 

@summer slope Oh no, sorry to hear about the shingles. I need to get the new Shingrix. I had the old single vaccine 5 years ago and had shingles last year, but not too severe.

 

@Vict0riann I think things are similar here. With no more mask mandate, most people aren't wearing them. I still do in the grocery store or other inside places with many people. And our vaccination rates are way down, despite the emergence of the Delta strain and big uptick in cases in some places. Luckily in my county vaccination rates are good, especially in the over 60 crowd.

I'm glad the eye is feeling better, and hope it continues to improve. 

 

Lenda 

[rafinmd]

3 hours ago, dobiemom said:

Roy, my very first cruise was on the Rotterdam V in Aug 1997 (we may have talked about this before 😉). I fell in love with Sitka and am so glad to be returning in September. 

Do you remember what week?  I was August 8-15.  It was my third traditional cruise (I consider an overnight on the Alaska Ferry Matanuska my first "cruise", but that was certainly not traditional).  It's become a special bond for me.  My Cruise Director on the Rotterdam was Rick Spath, and he moved over to Crystal Serenity several years later.  In 2014 I did a triple connection on Crystal Symphony, Crystal Serenity, and Amsterdam.  The Cruise Director on the Symphony always said "if you've ever sailed with me before, even on another cruise line let me know".  I mentioned that I had sailed with Rick on the Rotterdam last Alaska season, and he tipped off Rick.  Rick cornered me as I left a lecture once I moved to Serenity and it's been a special bond between us ever since then.

 

Roy

[Quartzsite Cruiser]

9 minutes ago, rafinmd said:

Do you remember what week?  I was August 8-15.  It was my third traditional cruise (I consider an overnight on the Alaska Ferry Matanuska my first "cruise", but that was certainly not traditional).  It's become a special bond for me.  My Cruise Director on the Rotterdam was Rick Spath, and he moved over to Crystal Serenity several years later.  In 2014 I did a triple connection on Crystal Symphony, Crystal Serenity, and Amsterdam.  The Cruise Director on the Symphony always said "if you've ever sailed with me before, even on another cruise line let me know".  I mentioned that I had sailed with Rick on the Rotterdam last Alaska season, and he tipped off Rick.  Rick cornered me as I left a lecture once I moved to Serenity and it's been a special bond between us ever since then.

 

Roy

 

Rick was the Cruise Director on our first HAL cruise in 1998 on the Ryndam.  Shortly afterwards, he moved to Disney for awhile.  We enjoyed a conversation with him in the Lido one day at lunch.

 

Lenda

[Sharon in AZ]

  Second try!
 

Good afternoon everyone and Happy Thursday!  Thank you for the Daily Rich. 
 

I wanted to post some pictures of Sitka before I read the Daily. It’s been a busy day!  We were in Sitka June 9, 2019 on the Oosterdam. It was the second time but the first time (August 2012) was a dreary rainy day and I had caught a bad cold that ended up a sinus infection so stayed on board that day. 
 

I had wanted to do a tour through the National Park and we went to a bird sanctuary first. I’ll have to check on the hard drive for pictures. I have the park pictures on my phone. 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Our guide was great and lived on the island. After the tour we went to the gift shop and I couldn’t resist taking a picture of these tiny flowers in the grass. We then walked around and ate lunch. It was a wonderful day. 
 

 

Edited July 15, 2021 by Sharon in AZ

[rafinmd]

25 minutes ago, Quartzsite Cruiser said:

 

Rick was the Cruise Director on our first HAL cruise in 1998 on the Ryndam.  Shortly afterwards, he moved to Disney for awhile.  We enjoyed a conversation with him in the Lido one day at lunch.

 

Lenda

I was not that impressed with Rick on the Rotterdam but came to really appreciate him on Crystal.  He's  the consummate people person and a perfect fit for the 900-passenger Serenity.  I'm very happy to report that he's now at work on the Serenity on her Bahamas cruises.

 

Roy

[bennybear]

4 hours ago, summer slope said:

Had some welts show up on my hip. Just got home from the dermatologist and I have shingles. Not happy. 

No!!!!     Hope you got the Antivirals in time!  

[smitty34877]

@JazzyV,I am glad the eye is a little better.It sounds like a very difficult  condition  to manage.

@summer slope,I am so glad you got the medication  right away.Sorry to hear about the shingles.

[dfish]

Good afternoon!

 

I accomplished my goals today.   Both bathrooms have been scrubbed down and are sparkling clean.  

 

@summer slopeI am so sorry to hear about your shingles.  I know they can be very painful and I hope the antivirals kick in quickly.

@JazzyV So sorry to hear about your eye.  Let's keep our fingers crossed that it is much better tomorrow.

@Vict0riann I know what you mean about places being crowded and feeling uncomfortable.  I wonder how long it will be before we do feel comfortable in a crowd.   Over the fourth we went to Charlevoix to go shopping and there were so many people.  I was ready to go home in 20 minutes.  

 

 

[bennybear]

1 hour ago, kazu said:

 

Wow, Ann.

You are so far ahead of us with opening.  but most provinces are.

 

We have been more open than many provinces all along with salons, restaurants, etc but we are all still masked and certain protocols are in place.  We are on day 9 of no cases and the goal is to re-open completely by NB Day if not sooner.  We are on stage 2.

We will not fully re-open until at least 75% (or is it now 80%?) are fully vaccinated.  We are at 80% 1st dose and over 50% full vaccinated.  NB is really chugging on the vaccines now that we have them.

And the people are getting them 👍 

I think your province is very wise!  Ours is fully open, makes me very nervous at the grocery store, although I’m still wearing my mask.  
 

@Vict0riann  wise!  DH had a bad case, so I’ve had both types of vaccine.    Had a strong reaction as well to the second .shingrix, but much better than shingles.  Unfortunately Both DD and DS  are too young to have had the shots recommended.   

[bennybear]

1 hour ago, Quartzsite Cruiser said:

I'm glad the eye is feeling better, and hope it continues to improve. 

 

Lenda 

Me too!

[Sharon in AZ]

@dfish Thank you for the Asian Noodle bowl recipes.  I’ll have to check them out. 
 

I just made a version on Tuesday and used this recipe from Molly Yeh:

https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/miso-ramen-with-fried-pork-cutlet-11334119 
 

But, the recipe is quite detailed and I didn’t want to spend all that time making broth and instead used a miso ginger broth soup from TJ’s. I also used pork belly instead of pork cutlets. It turned out really good and even Craig liked it. I had leftover miso ginger broth and cooked rice in it for fried rice. That is dinner tonight and it will also help use up some of the leftover pork and veggies. 

[ger_77]

Checking in to catch up on the day's news.  @kazu sorry to see you've had way too much rain, and damage in the area as well.  Sure wish we could ship some of that eastward!  

 

@JazzyV hopefully the inflammation is short lived and won't mean a delay in your surgery.

 

@summer slope yikes on the shingles; I'm so glad you've been able to get on the antivirals quickly.  I hope they do their job and you'll feel like your normal self again soon.

 

@bennybear good news about your DD's shingles, but will definitely add your DSIL into my prayers.

 

Hot, hot, hot here right now (42C on the covered deck), so we're staying indoors.  The wind has changed so now in addition to the heat, we're also getting inundated with smoke from forest fires in the northern part of our province, as well as those in British Columbia.

 

It's Wine:30, so I'm off to check our the status of my Cardboardeaux.

 

Smooth Sailing!  🙂🙂🙂

Gerry

[bennybear]

Thanks Gerri!   We’re inside too,  the heat and smoke!    

[kazu]

9 minutes ago, ger_77 said:

Checking in to catch up on the day's news.  @kazu sorry to see you've had way too much rain, and damage in the area as well.  Sure wish we could ship some of that eastward!  

 

 

Believe me if I could, I would.

I wish I could.  We sure don’t need it.  Pretty sure our well is full despite the hot weather.  Going by my container I neglected to bring in after I got everything dried up after our last storm, we had more rain last night than the tropical storm the other day 😱 

It doesn’t seem right that those that need it are deprived and those that don’t are in deluges 😔 

[kazu]

1 hour ago, dfish said:

I accomplished my goals today.   Both bathrooms have been scrubbed down and are sparkling clean

Wow, you make me feel lazy 😱 

I am truly impressed.

[kazu]

3 hours ago, JazzyV said:

The eye is starting to feel somewhat better. I even braved going out in the sunshine (with sunglasses) to bring in the garbage can. I was tempted to put my eye patch on, lol

 

Thank heavens.  Hoping it continues to improve 🙏🏻