The Daily for Sunday 06/05/2022

[summer slope]

@Heartgroveprayers for your family. 

[ottahand7]

Happy Sunday! Thanks for the Daily and all the great photos.  Today's drink looks like a winner for a hot day.  Not so here today.  Highs in the 60s.  No break on the mosquitoes yet but the black flies dished.  I planted a lot of seedlings into hanging baskets for summer beauty.  Today I will plant my Mexican sunflower seedlings in my old vegetable garden. I grow tomatoes in containers now.  Easier to keep them warm at night next to the cabin.

 

@HeartgroveI am praying for your siblings and strength for you and your sister.  Prayers for all on the prayer list. 🙏

 

Hopefully our dock will go in today.  Friends from town will help us push it in.  DF will put on waders and level it and tighten the bolts. I usually have a company from town do it but he has been stringing us along for three weeks.  It gives me a chance to get ahead on my neglected garden. Have a wonderful day!

 

[ger_77]

Good morning, thank for the Daily!  Happy Shavuot to our Jewish friends; enjoy your day of celebration.  If we all care for the environment around us, the world will be a much healthier place.  We'll have to phone our DGS's and wish them a Happy Child's Day.  We all know people who are cancer survivors, and are grateful for each one of them.

 

Thank you to all of my Daily family who sent good wishes for us for yesterday.  It was a beautiful day, one filled with laughter and joy.  The sun was shining and birds were singing as we officiated the graveside service with about 25 people in attendance.  From there we convened to a nearby hall where my cousins had organized photographs and memorabilia from both my birth mother and her husband and we spent time browsing through all of it.  I was literally welcomed with open arms by what you could call my step-brothers (my birth mother's husband's sons) and their wives, and we spent a wonderful afternoon listening to each other's stories.    In true six degrees of separation, it turns out one of the brothers is a good friend of a good friend of ours . . . go figure.  

 

@HeartgroveI'm saddened to hear of your DS's decline; I wish for her a peaceful passing into the next realm.  I do hope your DB will be able to become more comfortable at the rehab facility; it must be so difficult with a feeding tube.

 

I think today is going to be a relaxed Sunday spent watering outside plants, making sure there is enough ant bait mixed up (they're making a mess of our lawn again), and enjoying the sunshine and warm weather.   I am going to tuck today's menu suggestion away for another day because we've been invited over to friend's for dinner tonight.  He makes a great steak on the grill (something we always turn into shoe leather), and she's a great cook, so I'm sure we'll have lots of good food to enjoy along with their vibrant personalities.  It's looking like steak and all the fixings for us tonight.  And wine.

 

Prayers for everyone who needs them and even for those who don't think they do.  Extra prayers for Ukraine's continued bravery, and for the families of the victims of senseless gun violence.  Always extra for our Daily family members who are struggling.  We'll salute those on the celebration list by raising our glasses high tonight.  Stay safe, wear masks when you need to, get your boosters, and be well.

 

Smooth Sailing!  🙂🙂🙂

Gerry

[Lady Hudson]

Good Sunday morning to all.  Prayers for all in need.  Thanks to all our regular posters for their efforts in keeping this thread going.  
 

My family update is that both my sister in law and brother in law are in the same rehab facility.  Makes it easier for visiting relatives, for sure.  No real medical update but have been told “no news is good news”!  
 

Starting, somewhat, to make preparations for 6/16 trip on Enchantment of the Seas.  Kids have said they will stay with their father but I know circumstances can always change.  Have applied for my Bermuda authorization form - notified it will arrive on the 13th.   Another form to take with me!  Going with a friend I met on Enchantment in 2015.  Haven’t seen her in 3 years.

 

Lovely weather here is SE Pa.  I am within walking distance of my church so it is nice when the weather cooperates.  Have to start getting ready soon for today’s service.

 

Best wishes for a wonderful Sunday across our great nation.  Katherine 

[ottahand7]

@marshhawk I read your comments yesterday. I agree 100%.  I have a group of friends in our wine group and Hans is 96 and he picks up all the ladies who can't drive at night.  Aging well is the gift of genes and the wisdom and strength to keep going as long as one can.  

[MISTER 67]

Good morning from beautiful Southwest Florida.

Tropical storm Alex has left Florida and is out in the Atlantic.

Been to Messina with a tour to Taormina, loved it.

We sail next Sunday on the Celebrity Equinox, our 4th cruise since Thanksgiving and we will continue to mask up while indoors. 

Thanks for The Daily, stay well and have a great day.

Edited June 5, 2022 by MISTER 67

[Quartzsite Cruiser]

Good morning from central Texas.

 

Happy Shaxuot to the Jewish Dailyites.   The environment and  children need  elebrating everyday.  I wonder about the world we are leaving the children. I will celebrate all cancer survivors.

 

Today's quote is good, and I too hope tact is used when telling the truth.

 

The meal looks good, but we'll pass on the drink and the wine.

 

We have been to Messina, and I'll look for my pictures that I posted before.

 

@dfish Debbie, enjoy your walks.  Sorry your neighbors had to spend the night at O'Hare.

@Heartgrove Jack, I'm sorry your brother is still having so much trouble.  Sending good thoughts to you and your family that your sister has peace and pain free days as the inevitable approaches.  Safe travels to you and Sue as you head to Chicago Tuesday.

@St Pete Cruiser  The Nieuw Statendam has us beat.  In 2019, the Veendam had 13 ports in a row.

@smitty34877  Terry, enjoy the barbecue.  It was nice of you to invite your neighbor as thanks for all his help.

@ger_77  Gerry, I'm glad yesterday was such a good day and you got to know your birth family better.  Grilling a good steak is all about timing and internal temperature.  Over many years, DH has learned that the recommended temperatures for steak doneness are too high.  A good instant read meat thermometer is essential.

 

Lenda

Edited June 5, 2022 by Quartzsite Cruiser

[Cruzin Terri]

Good morning and thank you to both Rich and Roy for the lists

Happy Shavuot to our Jewish friends and to our Christian participants, we celebrate PENTECOST SUNDAY as well.

it is important to care for the environment and certainly celebrate our children.  They are our future!  Hats off to all cancer survivors and prayers for those who are suffering from this awful disease right now.

@Heartgroveprayers especially to you and your family as you deal with both your brother and sister being so ill. Prayers that they both are made comfortable during their difficulties and last days.

@dfishyou sound like you are on the mend.  Good for you.  I love the recipes and will probably try one today.

I have been to Messina a few times on a cruise and my father’s family is from this area of Sicily.  Not that I have ever met them.

I took it upon myself to increase my Prednisone dosage because I am doing so poorly with both shoulder and hip pain.  Tomorrow I am going to try to get in touch with the Orthopedic doctor and see when i can see the hand surgeon.  I was going to try to do everything at once to minimize travel, but cannot wait until August 8 to see the hand surgeon.  Hopefully that appointment will be sooner.

Have a wonderful Sunday, no matter what you celebrate.

Prayers for all,

God Bless,

Terri

[rafinmd]

Prayers for your brother and sister, @Heartgrove..

 

Roy

[Cruising-along]

Good morning all!

Yesterday was our last full day in Yellowstone and we spent most of it hiking —another 5+ miles (and I’m feeling it)!

 

First we climbed up Mammoth Terraces and then to the overlook at Prismatic Springs and then on to Fairy Falls. 
 

The boys have finished their Junior Ranger booklets so this morning we plan to drive to the Ranger Station in Mammoth so they can get their Grizzly Bear badges. They got their Geyser badges a couple years ago. Then we’ll drive back to Bozeman for our flight home. It has been a wonderful time!

 

Prayers for all who need them and cheers for all on the celebration list. Have a wonderful day. 

 

Looking down from the terraces to Mammoth

 

Next 4 photos are the terraces

 

 

 

 

Looking down on Prismatic from the overlook. Well worth the hike!

 

After a long hike we reached Fairy Falls

 

DD said she was proud of us for doing something new, especially because the whole hike back was in the rain!

 

A family tradition, photo of us spanning the arch in Gardiner. 

 

 

[durangoscots]

2 hours ago, dfish said:

Good morning, everyone!

 

It is supposed to be a nice day today here in northeast Ohio.  Still no signs of my neighbors.  They went to London for their son's wedding and caught Covid.  They were supposed to come home on May 25th, but Covid changed those plans.  Last I heard, they were coming home yesterday, but there are no signs of them.  

 

My plans today are to do my laps around the block and then hit the grocery store.  I do have a Zoom meeting tonight with my family going to Norway with me.  Only six weeks!

 

Today's meal looks like a really good one.  Most of the recipes were the same recipe on different websites, but I did find a couple.  We'll start with this one:  https://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/pancetta-and-mushroom-stuffed-chicken-breast/

 

 

This one is a bit more involved and has an interesting sauce to go over the chicken.  

https://www.finecooking.com/recipe/chicken-breasts-with-mushroom-pancetta-stuffing-verjus-sauce

 

 

 

This last one isn't really stuffed with the pancetta, but has all the ingredients.  You stuff the chicken with mushrooms and boursin cheese and then wrap the chicken rolls in pancetta.  https://sosupersam.tumblr.com/post/21195085103/amp

 

 

Update on neighbors:   Plane was delayed out of Heathrow so they missed their connecting flight in Chicago.  No hotel rooms available so they spent the night in the airport.  Flying in this morning.

 

Prayers for all who need them, especially Ukraine, victims of gun violence, and our Daily family members struggling with challenges.  Cheers to those who are celebrating and may all of you who are traveling have a better time of it than my neighbors.  Wishing everyone a great day!

Glad your neighbors are nearly home... travel is a real throw of the dice these days. Also, that meal looks really, really good.

 

Susan

[Quartzsite Cruiser]

@Cruising-along  Carolyn, I have enjoyed seeing Yellowstone through your pictures.  Congratulations to yur DGS on earning their Grizzly Bear badges.  Have a safe flight home today.

 

We have been to Messina three times.  The first time in 2002 on Noordam III, we did what was called "A Drive to Mt. Etna", and since it was raining, that was pretty much what we did.  It cleared just enough for a few minutes for us to see the crater.

 

The second and third visits were on the Prinsendam in 2017.  The first of those, we went to Taormina.  The second visit in 2017, we decided to stay in town.  We walked to the cathedral and bell tower and then took the Ho-Ho.  We climbed the tower, which was interesting, so some of the pictures were taken inside the tower.

 

These are some pictures of Messina from the bell tower.  The Prinsendam looks so small next to the MSC mega ship.  

 

Lenda

[Quartzsite Cruiser]

I also posted these pictures of Messina on April 4, 2021.

 

These are either from the Ho-Ho or from our walk back from the bell tower to the ship.  Unfortunately, we did not get to see the noon show at the bell tower since the Ho-Ho left just before it started.  We'd been warned to be out of the tower before noon if we valued our hearing.

 

This is the plaza in front of the cathedral and tower.

 

The main altar in the cathedral.

 

A couple of street scenes.

 

The Church of the Annunciation of the Catalans.  It is very old, but I don't remember when it was built, but over the centuries, the church became lower than street level.  Inside, it was a fairly simple church.

 

Lenda

[Quartzsite Cruiser]

We just got an email from Amazon with some good news.  They finally acknowledged they received the package I returned May 20.  Now, if they just admit the first lawnmower never arrived and we can't return it.  A supervisor told DH it was unreturnable, but the web site still says we need to return it.  It's not Amazons fault, but a problem with UPS.

 

These are the pictures @StLouisCruisers Sandi, posted of Messina on April 4, 2021.  Since we just had Taormina as a port last month, I am not going to repost her pictures of Taormina.  As usual, her comments are in Italics.

 

Messina is a port that seemed to be on a quite a few of our cruises.  We were there on Royal Princess in 2013, Emerald Princess in 2016 and 2019, and Westerdam in 2017.  The Straight of Messina is a narrow straight between eastern Sicily and the western coast of southern Italy.  At the city of Messina the straight is only 3 miles across. 

 

As we approached Messina in 2017 on Westerdam we passed the Stromboli volcano.  It looked quite beautiful and peaceful that day. 

 

One of my favorite things to see at Messina is the Noon time performance at the beautiful automated astronomical clock tower at the Messina Cathedral.  Tourists gather there in advance to get the best position for the many photos they take.  The clock features decorative dials indicating the signs of the zodiac and the annual calendar with golden mechanical figures which move.  The noisiest time is when the lion figure roars and the rooster figure crows.  Always a big hit!  But if your ship arrives at 1 pm you are out of luck, and that has happened to us once.  We arrived right at noon and you could barely hear the lion and rooster from the upper decks of the ship.  The Cathedral is a couple blocks away from the pier so an easy walk.  People waiting to see the noon performance. 

 

Here is the Cathedral

 

And just to the left is the famous bell tower

 

Here is the lion at the top and the rooster below it.

 

The figures all move including the lion and rooster, the angels, etc.

 

Other lovely views and buildings around the city to look at.

 

 

The Court of Messina with a horse and wagon statue on top.

 

The beautiful Parrochia Santa Caterina church which translates to Church of St. Catherine.

 

The Church of the Annunciation of the Catalans which was rebuilt from a Mosque.

 

I hope you can all visit Messina in the future.  

[Dismomx5]

Good morning from sunny southwestern Ontario.

 

Thank you all who participate on the Daily thread, and especially the keeper of the lists, wines and recipes.

 

Happy Shavuot and Happy Pentecost Day to those who celebrate.

 

The celebratory days are important to our world.

 

I like the quote, but, like @puppycanducruise  I hope people are tactful.

 

The meal sounds delicious, but DD is cooking tonight so we'll see what she has in mind.

 

Thank you @grapau27 thank you for both the sermon and the significance of Shavuot.

 

Prayers for your family @Heartgrove as they travel this difficult road.

 

Since we are still testing positive, we remain in quarantine for a little longer. I wonder if we will just keep reinfecting each other like a vicious circle? I'm going to call the Health Unit tomorrow to get clarification for hubby, since he tested positive the first time 10 days ago.

 

Prayers for those that need them, whether they thing they do or not, cheers for the celebrations, and blessings to all!

 

 

 

 

 

[irishjim]

3 hours ago, Heartgrove said:

Thank you Rich for the Daily Report, thank you Roy for the Cares and Celebration Report, and thank you Debbie for today's recipes. And thank you all for being here!

 

Received a call from my younger sister late in the evening about my brother and sister. My brother is having a hard time at the rehab facility. He still is having trouble swallowing so the feeding tube is still in place. They are wondering if he suffered a stroke as he is only moving one arm.

 

The inevitable seems to be near. My sister is failing exponentially now.  My younger sister said that she saw a huge difference between Friday and Saturday of my sister's condition. The plan is to move her to Inpatient Hospice Care as soon as a bed becomes available. Sue and I are planning to leave Tuesday for Chicago. 

 

Stay Safe!

 

- Jack

Sending love  and  prayers at  this sad  time to you  all.

                                                                                                Jim.

[irishjim]

1 hour ago, MISTER 67 said:

Good morning from beautiful Southwest Florida.

Tropical storm Alex has left Florida and is out in the Atlantic.

Been to Messina with a tour to Taormina, loved it.

We sail next Sunday on the Celebrity Equinox, our 4th cruise since Thanksgiving and we will continue to mask up while indoors. 

Thanks for The Daily, stay well and have a great day.

 Wishing  you  a  very wonderful  cruise.

[cat shepard]

@Heartgrove

 

Jack 

 

Prayers for you & your entire family. May wonderful memories help you all through this painful time. 
 

May your brother’s medical team find a solution that gets him on the road to recovery. 

[MISTER 67]

1 hour ago, irishjim said:

 Wishing  you  a  very wonderful  cruise.

Thanks Irishjim.

[grapau27]

5 hours ago, rafinmd said:

Thank you for the Sunday Daily, Rich,  I will salute both care for the environment and children.  I just marked a quarter century since my surgery for prostate cancer.  I love the Hosseini quote but have not been to Messina.  Since I don't care for mushrooms I'll pass on the meal.  My alternative is Pinnacle Caesar Salad, Petit Filet, and Baked Alaska as served in the MS Prinsendam Pinnacle Grill on June 5, 2015. And thank you @grapau27 for today's sermon.

 

Today’s care list:

Sharon Dh and Bruno with covid
Malinda with stage 4 cancer
My cubmaster
Heartgrove older sister in hospice nearing the end
Buddy with continuing problems
Dismomx5 and DH in covid quarantine but feeling better
From the rotation:
StLouisSal with weakening legs
1Angelcat facing expensive medicines
Cruising-along niece awaiting a kidney
Strength, peace, and healing for kazu

 

Celebrations and Shoutouts:

Platinum Jubilee for her Majesty
Volendam housing refugees
All but 1 BHB with guests
Heartgrove brother moved to rehab
Cruising-along great visit with grandsons in Yellowstone
Dfish productively following discharge instructions
Kochleffel and rafergus still negative
4 days for travelingbums (Jewel of the Seas, June 8-20)
Welcome home lazey1
StPeteCruiser (Ineuw Statendam to 6/10), Sharon in AZ (Oosterdam  to 6/13 + 6 days Venice) and StLouisCruisers and kb4683(Island Princess  to 6/29) at sea
Koningsdam Staff Captain Sabine - Our first female Staff Captain and HAL’s likely first female Captain(I know this is a repeat but she’s worth it)

Roy

Thank you for today's lists Roy and congratulations on your 25th anniversary since your prostate surgery.

This is fantastic news and gives hope for all men who are diagnosed with prostate cancer.

Delighted for you Roy.

Graham 

 

[grapau27]

4 hours ago, Heartgrove said:

Thank you Rich for the Daily Report, thank you Roy for the Cares and Celebration Report, and thank you Debbie for today's recipes. And thank you all for being here!

 

Received a call from my younger sister late in the evening about my brother and sister. My brother is having a hard time at the rehab facility. He still is having trouble swallowing so the feeding tube is still in place. They are wondering if he suffered a stroke as he is only moving one arm.

 

The inevitable seems to be near. My sister is failing exponentially now.  My younger sister said that she saw a huge difference between Friday and Saturday of my sister's condition. The plan is to move her to Inpatient Hospice Care as soon as a bed becomes available. Sue and I are planning to leave Tuesday for Chicago. 

 

Stay Safe!

 

- Jack

I'm really sorry to hear your family news Jack.

Sending you our prayers 🙏.

Graham.

[StLouisCruisers]

Good morning friends.  I feel like I've been gone forever from the Daily but I guess it was Thursday when I was able to post here last?  Not sure.  Our internet on board just went kaput and we didn't get it back until sometime earlier today.  We had our five days at sea Tuesday through Saturday and today are docked in Reykjavik.  They said it would rain but this morning was just cloudy so I told DH I was walking to the Hallgrimskirkja church with him or without him.  He elected to walk with me.  We had a few spritzes on us as we returned to the ship at the end of the "excursion".  Total walking distance was 6.97 miles and my legs were feeling it.  This afternoon's weather has deteriorated and it's wet out there, with fog hiding the mountains in the distance.  Tomorrow we stop at Isafjordur where the low will be 29F and the high 39F with partly sunny skies according to my weather app on the phone.  That's alright - tonight they will have snow showers!

 

When we got back from our long walk we found face masks and a letter on our bed telling us we would be required to wear our masks inside at all times except while eating or drinking and outdoors where we aren't able to social distance.  I suppose numbers have risen to a certain point and they don't want a further spread of Covid.  The Captain's Circle hostess was not present at the Most Traveled Guest luncheon at Sabatini's yesterday.  She hasn't been seen in 8 days and I overheard the Cruise Director Olivia say the hostess was still under the weather.  We had a nice lunch and chatted the whole time with a British couple who moved to Canada, then to the U.S. with his automobile business background. 

 

@HeartgroveJack I'm sorry to hear the unhappy news about your sister's decline and the troubles with your brother at the rehab facility.  I hope you have a safe trip to Chicago. 

 

@kazuJacqui I hope you are well.  I'm sure we would all enjoy hearing from you again soon.  Take care!

 

@ger_77your visit with the birth mother's family and the internment sounds like it went well.  I'm glad you were able to connect with them all.

 

Yesterday was the first anniversary of my DS Nancy's death.  A sad occasion for us all and I've been thinking of her all week as well as the two great grandsons of hers who were born and passed that same day. 

 

I'm happy to say I'm a melanoma skin cancer survivor and also had some minor skirmishes with basal cell.  I hope that's the last cancer my body sees!

 

It's been so long without internet I can't remember what I told you about Buddy.  The latest is the oncologist has decided the surgery on his spine and scapula must wait because they need to begin treatments immediately and that would delay it.  They say his lung cancer is moving too fast!  This scares me to death.  In the meantime they have installed a pain pump and put him in a back brace which is so claustrophobic to him he has had panic attacks wearing it.  My niece had to drive their youngest child to a welding school he enrolled in.  He graduated high school last month and is still only 17 years old.  I'm not sure how far away this technical school is but while Amy is away her youngest sister Lyndsey (she works in Radiology) will sit with Buddy and make sure he is safe and comfortable.  He is wearing an oxygen cannula in case he stops breathing due to the pain meds.  Another scary thought.  Sometimes I can hardly believe this isn't a soap opera.

 

The only good news I've heard lately is that DGS Ren's soccer team, the Michigan Tigers Gold '05 won the Michigan State Championship yesterday 5-0.  Life really is a soap opera.

 

 

I've been trying to post this repeatedly for 30 minutes so I hope it only goes through once, not 3 or 4 times!  Ship internet is the pits!

[grapau27]

4 hours ago, marshhawk said:

Happy Sunday Dailyites!

 

@grapau27  Thank you for sending us Father David this morning.  Once again, he hit my heart.

 

I spent half of my work hours yesterday trying to figure out a new work schedule, and venting to my boss about why she took my scheduled call backs and gave them to my co worker. After work, I finally got to go grocery shopping.

 

I know bologna is not healthy food, but have you ever just wanted some to make easy to make sandwiches during a hectic week?  Well, Krogers did not have beef bologna.  And we got there too late to see any decent enough steaks for a shish ka bob on the grill tonight. So, while I shopped, I didn't get what I went for.  So, today it's off to the farmers market.  I wondered why when I saw the total it seemed low.  Oh, and no cat food either, so back out to Walmart.  So much for a day off.  The upside ?  the farmers market has Lebanon bologna.  Yummm.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

You are very welcome and Father David is thrilled that I am able to pass his sermons on to so many lovely people on the Daily.

Best regards.

Graham.

[grapau27]

2 hours ago, Quartzsite Cruiser said:

We just got an email from Amazon with some good news.  They finally acknowledged they received the package I returned May 20.  Now, if they just admit the first lawnmower never arrived and we can't return it.  A supervisor told DH it was unreturnable, but the web site still says we need to return it.  It's not Amazons fault, but a problem with UPS.

 

These are the pictures @StLouisCruisers Sandi, posted of Messina on April 4, 2021.  Since we just had Taormina as a port last month, I am not going to repost her pictures of Taormina.  As usual, her comments are in Italics.

 

Messina is a port that seemed to be on a quite a few of our cruises.  We were there on Royal Princess in 2013, Emerald Princess in 2016 and 2019, and Westerdam in 2017.  The Straight of Messina is a narrow straight between eastern Sicily and the western coast of southern Italy.  At the city of Messina the straight is only 3 miles across. 

 

As we approached Messina in 2017 on Westerdam we passed the Stromboli volcano.  It looked quite beautiful and peaceful that day. 

 

One of my favorite things to see at Messina is the Noon time performance at the beautiful automated astronomical clock tower at the Messina Cathedral.  Tourists gather there in advance to get the best position for the many photos they take.  The clock features decorative dials indicating the signs of the zodiac and the annual calendar with golden mechanical figures which move.  The noisiest time is when the lion figure roars and the rooster figure crows.  Always a big hit!  But if your ship arrives at 1 pm you are out of luck, and that has happened to us once.  We arrived right at noon and you could barely hear the lion and rooster from the upper decks of the ship.  The Cathedral is a couple blocks away from the pier so an easy walk.  People waiting to see the noon performance. 

 

Here is the Cathedral

 

And just to the left is the famous bell tower

 

Here is the lion at the top and the rooster below it.

 

The figures all move including the lion and rooster, the angels, etc.

 

Other lovely views and buildings around the city to look at.

 

 

The Court of Messina with a horse and wagon statue on top.

 

The beautiful Parrochia Santa Caterina church which translates to Church of St. Catherine.

 

The Church of the Annunciation of the Catalans which was rebuilt from a Mosque.

 

I hope you can all visit Messina in the future.  

 

Thank you for posting yours and Sandi's photo's Lenda.

We were there in June 2003 and June 2004 on Sunbird (previously RC Song of America) and in May 2113 on RC Navigator of the seas.

Stromboli was erupting each time when we passed it.

Graham.

[grapau27]

27 minutes ago, StLouisCruisers said:

Good morning friends.  I feel like I've been gone forever from the Daily but I guess it was Thursday when I was able to post here last?  Not sure.  Our internet on board just went kaput and we didn't get it back until sometime earlier today.  We had our five days at sea Tuesday through Saturday and today are docked in Reykjavik.  They said it would rain but this morning was just cloudy so I told DH I was walking to the Hallgrimskirkja church with him or without him.  He elected to walk with me.  We had a few spritzes on us as we returned to the ship at the end of the "excursion".  Total walking distance was 6.97 miles and my legs were feeling it.  This afternoon's weather has deteriorated and it's wet out there, with fog hiding the mountains in the distance.  Tomorrow we stop at Isafjordur where the low will be 29F and the high 39F with partly sunny skies according to my weather app on the phone.  That's alright - tonight they will have snow showers!

 

When we got back from our long walk we found face masks and a letter on our bed telling us we would be required to wear our masks inside at all times except while eating or drinking and outdoors where we aren't able to social distance.  I suppose numbers have risen to a certain point and they don't want a further spread of Covid.  The Captain's Circle hostess was not present at the Most Traveled Guest luncheon at Sabatini's yesterday.  She hasn't been seen in 8 days and I overheard the Cruise Director Olivia say the hostess was still under the weather.  We had a nice lunch and chatted the whole time with a British couple who moved to Canada, then to the U.S. with his automobile business background. 

 

@HeartgroveJack I'm sorry to hear the unhappy news about your sister's decline and the troubles with your brother at the rehab facility.  I hope you have a safe trip to Chicago. 

 

@kazuJacqui I hope you are well.  I'm sure we would all enjoy hearing from you again soon.  Take care!

 

@ger_77your visit with the birth mother's family and the internment sounds like it went well.  I'm glad you were able to connect with them all.

 

Yesterday was the first anniversary of my DS Nancy's death.  A sad occasion for us all and I've been thinking of her all week as well as the two great grandsons of hers who were born and passed that same day. 

 

I'm happy to say I'm a melanoma skin cancer survivor and also had some minor skirmishes with basal cell.  I hope that's the last cancer my body sees!

 

It's been so long without internet I can't remember what I told you about Buddy.  The latest is the oncologist has decided the surgery on his spine and scapula must wait because they need to begin treatments immediately and that would delay it.  They say his lung cancer is moving too fast!  This scares me to death.  In the meantime they have installed a pain pump and put him in a back brace which is so claustrophobic to him he has had panic attacks wearing it.  My niece had to drive their youngest child to a welding school he enrolled in.  He graduated high school last month and is still only 17 years old.  I'm not sure how far away this technical school is but while Amy is away her youngest sister Lyndsey (she works in Radiology) will sit with Buddy and make sure he is safe and comfortable.  He is wearing an oxygen cannula in case he stops breathing due to the pain meds.  Another scary thought.  Sometimes I can hardly believe this isn't a soap opera.

 

The only good news I've heard lately is that DGS Ren's soccer team, the Michigan Tigers Gold '05 won the Michigan State Championship yesterday 5-0.  Life really is a soap opera.

 

 

I've been trying to post this repeatedly for 30 minutes so I hope it only goes through once, not 3 or 4 times!  Ship internet is the pits!

Lovely to hear from you Sandi.

Sending you our prayers 🙏 on your dear sisters first memory as well as her 2 Great grandsons.

I'm sad to hear about Buddy's current condition.

I'm pleased to hear you are both well and enjoying your cruise.

Very best regards.

Graham.