The Fleet Report and Daily for Monday February 13th, 2023

[dfish]

3 hours ago, aliaschief said:

I was standing in line to board on a recent cruise and started talking to man next to me. He introduced himself and he said you won’t believe this but my last name is Butt and yup mom & dad named me Harry Butt!😃

 

I met a guy in college named Chuck Itt.  He wanted to have a son and daughter so he could name them Chuck Jr. and Maggie.  

 

2 hours ago, 0106 said:

I frequently put carrots in tomato sauce because it decreases the acidity and adds a touch of sweetness.  If you grate it, it “dissolves”.

My Italian friend in college said to use a little bit of ground pork for that.  Then you don't need sugar or carrots.

[puppycanducruise]

Years ago, I worked with a woman whose surname was Legge.  When she was pregnant, she said if it was a boy she would name him "Harry"  and if it was a girl, she'd name her "Peg".   😁

[aliaschief]

1 hour ago, grapau27 said:

Ypres is in Belgium and best reached from Zeebrugge.

We did a tour with Pauline's mam and dad.

Roy was ex army and particularly enjoyed it.

My grandfather was gassed at Flanders Fields in WW1.

Thanks Graham!

[tupper10]

Interesting about carrots in sauces. I am allergic to carrots, cooked and fresh. When we were in Italy both Northern and Southern I never had a problem because I was told carrots is a common food allergy there.  They always have a sauce made w/o carrots.  In the US I find I cannot eat at many Italian restaurants or pizza places because they use carrots as a way to sweeten the sauce even in their most basic sauces.  

 

Graham I wondered how Sarah was doing with her back. It seems that she and I may have similar issues and I wonder if the shot(s) helped her at all.  I am better today but not pain free.  

 

Sad about the Eagles but it was a good game.  

 

It looks like the people on cruises are having decent weather and a wonderful time.  Hoping that everyone who is getting ready to go away feels better and has a great trip.

 

Healing thoughts to everyone not feeling 100%.  

 

Kazu - hope the bad weather passes you by.

 

 

[GTVCRUISER]

La Paz 2-9-2023 sunrise cruising into La Paz 

[cruising sister]

Good afternoon,

It is a lazy day for me today. My niece goes home today and I must do for myself. It will be ok as the pain  turned around yesterday. My grandkids came yesterday to watch the game (Go Chiefs!). Their mother must have lectured them on the way over a little too much. They both were initially afraid to come near me. By the end of the game and with the fireworks going off all around they were better. 
 

I always wondered why my dad never changed his name. I asked my grandmother why she named him that and she said he was named after an uncle. So there was at least two men named Harry Head. 
 

Prayers and good wishes to all. 

[grapau27]

1 hour ago, aliaschief said:

Thanks Graham!

You are welcome.

[dfish]

Forgot to include this from @cruising sister

 

Good afternoon,

It is a lazy day for me today. My niece goes home today and I must do for myself. It will be ok as the pain  turned around yesterday. My grandkids came yesterday to watch the game (Go Chiefs!). Their mother must have lectured them on the way over a little too much. They both were initially afraid to come near me. By the end of the game and with the fireworks going off all around they were better. 
 

I always wondered why my dad never changed his name. I asked my grandmother why she named him that and she said he was named after an uncle. So there was at least two men named Harry Head. 
 

Prayers and good wishes to all. 

 

Glad to hear the pain has turned around.  It can be miserable when you are in pain.  

 

My uncle named his first son Abraham Stanley and his initials were A. $. $.  Son went to court as soon as he was old enough and changed his name to Richard.

Edited February 13, 2023 by dfish

[grapau27]

1 hour ago, tupper10 said:

Interesting about carrots in sauces. I am allergic to carrots, cooked and fresh. When we were in Italy both Northern and Southern I never had a problem because I was told carrots is a common food allergy there.  They always have a sauce made w/o carrots.  In the US I find I cannot eat at many Italian restaurants or pizza places because they use carrots as a way to sweeten the sauce even in their most basic sauces.  

 

Graham I wondered how Sarah was doing with her back. It seems that she and I may have similar issues and I wonder if the shot(s) helped her at all.  I am better today but not pain free.  

 

Sad about the Eagles but it was a good game.  

 

It looks like the people on cruises are having decent weather and a wonderful time.  Hoping that everyone who is getting ready to go away feels better and has a great trip.

 

Healing thoughts to everyone not feeling 100%.  

 

Kazu - hope the bad weather passes you by.

 

 

Sarah is feeling a lot better now and back to work.

The injections are working and she has almost stopped her pain killers.

She sees her chiropractor in 2 weeks.

Thank you for asking.

Graham.

[bennybear]

Good morning and thanks for all who have stepped up to keep this thread going!  
 

We’ve enjoyed visiting Paris many times and the beautiful and moving area of Normandy,  @smitty34877thanks for the lovely photos of Giverney.  Loved visiting there along with the Marmottan as I adore Monet.     Rouen was another favourite, but we have spent a few trips in this area.  
 

@ger_77 I’m with you!  What is going on?  Is this the real life version of don’t look up? 
 

My preferred sky

Edited February 13, 2023 by bennybear

[durangoscots]

5 hours ago, ottahand7 said:

Good morning. Finally a morning not having to have room service coffee at 6am.  Ann thank you for starting off our daily reports!  Prayers for all on our Care list and the people of Ukraine.  Special prayers for Kathi.  

Our adventures continue with me as a solo yesterday. I rode a horse on the Pampas with 6 others on our tour.   It was supposed to be 2 hours riding on dirt roads through the Pampas.  For two of us it was riding an hour and a half and laying in a ditch under a poplar for a half hour waiting for a pickup. I bailed out first and shortly thereafter another lady bailed out. It took more riding to find some shade. Our ride took a half hour to show up but we still beat the other riders back. After I had poured bottled water all over me and then ran my head under cold water did I have the energy to look at AccuWeather, it was 105.  I wish I had taken a screenshot. I drank about 5 glasses of water with a little orange juice before I felt human again. I did put a pretty good dent in the Argentinian BBQ they put in front of us and 2 glasses of Malbec.  While the others swam I saw our minibus running in the shade so I sprawled out on the back seat and slept.  We rode very well mannered retired polo pony mares and were given the opportunity to ride fast if we wanted. I managed to get a good trot going for a hundred feet a couple of times but it got to the point I was just hoping I didn't faint.  My skin was powder white from evaporated sweat. Would I do it again yes but I would bail out if the temperature was going to be over 95 degrees. There was a group from our ship that also took polo lessons and got to play a little and then see a 4 rider match.

 

Today we have a Tapas and Wine late lunch and a panoramic city tour. 

John started negotiations with Daphne from Guest Services.  With my $1500 credit, the remains of my $1100 deposit and the cancellation of Volunteer Point King Penguins shorex I have $2650 credit.  Seattle doesn't open till much later today so we will see if John can secure us a cabin upgrade on the Eurodam in 2024 in  lieu of a credit I do not need. 

The food on the grill was the leftovers after 25+ people gorged on beef. 

The hardest fall from a horse I ever had was from a retired polo pony. He was happily cantering along, I shifted my weight slightly, he made a sharp right.... I did not. I was not hurt, just surprised to find myself on the ground. I was much younger then.

 

Susan

[Cruising-along]

Good morning all!

I'm later than usual this morning, I had an 8:00 appointment with my doctor that took an hour, and then 3 pages of the Daily to read.  

 

I'm feeling a bit relieved, I learned that I'm not in stage 4 kidney disease!  I misunderstood her on the phone the other night (strong accent).  I did go from stage 3a to 3b, which is bad enough, but at least not as bad as I thought.  So what she probably had said was "we don't want it to get to stage 4".

 

We have a plan, lots of medications changed, an ultrasound tomorrow morning, and an appointment in early March with a Nephrologist.  And of course I'm still guzzling all that water. 😉  She definitely agreed that the severe illness I had in December is the cause of this, and some of my meds contributing.  

 

I should clean out my computer, don't plan on getting a different name, and don't think (?) I need a wingman.  Lasagna sounds really good, especially if it's really cheesy.  I don't have it very often because of the carbs.  Will pass on the drink, (don't care for the flavor of coconut), the wine sounds great if someone else is buying. 😉  When we were in Le Havre we rented a car and drove to the D-Day Beaches.  Otherwise on other trips we've spent many days in Paris, gone to Giverny, etc.

 

@0106Thank you for the recipe for Dutch Plum Cake.  It looks delicious!

@marshhawkCongratulations on the visit from the telemarketing fairy!

@JazzyVCould it possibly have been a small earthquake?  We've had some that were just like that.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[srdancer]

I had a friend who went to a private school for high school. The called all the boys Master + Last name.  His last name was Bates…….

[durangoscots]

Good afternoon. I started the morning off with a visit to my PCP who was pretty happy with my test results. Will return again in July for another round and then a couple in December if I am still planning my long cruise. I just have to watch my diet and take my meds. Right - should be able to handle that.

 

We were having some light snow when I left but now the sun is out. However, another much stronger storm is due in starting tonight and they are saying a foot of snow. We still have about that on the ground from the last storms although the roads are, temporarily at least, pretty clear. I am well stocked with food so dogs and I will just hunker down if all this comes to pass.

 

I didn't watch all of the game yesterday evening as I had to drive a friend out to hospital. I did not wait with her since the ER was pretty crowded. She called me this morning, she is home and all is well. I do not like driving at night.

 

Take care all. Off for a quick and light lunch and then more tossing. I am really slow with that. I keep stopping to look at books.

 

Susan

[srdancer]

Latest object shot down- octagonal with strings - sounds like an escaped kite. Didn’t we have kite day in the last few weeks?

[USN59-79]

Just came back from my twice a week physical therapy on my leg fracture.  It is coming along very well.  Here is Sara's story on name changing.  She was born in Taipei during the Japanese occupation of Taiwan.  Her Chinese name was Tsun Tzu, but most girls also had a Japanese name.  Her's was Salako.  I knew her as that but she decided to change it to Sala so people wouldn't assume she was Japanese.  She was Sala when we married and came to the U.S.  When she told some people her name, they assumed that she meant Sara using the stereotype that Chinese can't pronounce Rs very well.  Finally we decided the Hell with it; we will just change it to Sara.  It was easy.  First got her driver's license in that name and then everything else, including her passport.

Ray

[superoma]

I just discovered that my snowdrops are up all over the front lawn and my hellebores have blossoms! They may all freeze their b***s off when it gets cold again next week!  Currently 10c but windy. If the wind stops it will be very nice in our corner.

[AncientWanderer]

Good afternoon.  What a lot of funny names people have!  I'd definitely change mine if cursed with some you guys have mentioned today.  And everyone did a great job of dodging the censors. lol

 

I keep a pretty clean computer.  Not sure about the wingman.  I'll take it in the sense of the delicious wings @dfishposted.   Wing woman here for those.  

 

The food and drink sound very appealing.  My grandmother was given a lasagne recipe from an Italian woman in Chicago in the 30s.  We all still make it by her recipe.  The only way that it differs from many is that instead of meat sauce, she made plain marinara, but then made fresh meatballs with half pork and half ground beef, and broke those up to put within the lasagne layers.  It has really good texture and flavor that way.  But seriously, is there a bad lasagna?

 

I'm recovering from babysitting grandkids over the weekend.  As @kazusuggested, yup...pretty darn tiring.  But fun and we all did well.

 

I saw the posted photos of @StLouisCruiserssailaway.  They were great!  And @Quartzsite Cruiser's comet photos.  Wonderful!   Glad to see that @grapau27's Sarah is feeling better.  @cruising sister, don't try to do too much too soon.

 

Thanks everyone for all the delightful posts.  Sending best wishes to all.  ❤️

[richwmn]

Zuiderdam position around 7:15 this morning

 

[dfish]

@AncientWanderer No, I don't think there is a bad lasagna.  Just different.

@Cruising-along I'm glad you feel better after your visit with your doctor and that you are following up with a nephrologist.  Sounds like your doc has it all under control.  Relax and breathe deeply a few times.  

 

 

[Quartzsite Cruiser]

Good afternoon from a very gray, cloudy day.  I caught a brief glimpse of the sun as it was rising this morning, but then it disappeared into the clouds.   It looks like the sun will stay behind the clouds for the next ten days, and tonight there will be rain and high winds of 20-30 mph with gusts to 50 mph.

 

I survived the house cleaning, which was more thorough than a regular cleaning.  Now, if it would just stay that way for a day or two, but that would mean we'd have to move into the the motorhome. 😁

 

@ottahand7  Nancy, I hope you can get the obc issue resolved before you disembark.  If things don't seem to be working out the way you want, would it be possible for you to get your TA involved? Years ago, we were getting nowhere on compensation after an issue on a long cruise.  When we got out TA involved, we wound up getting a lot of credit for future cruises.  I'm glad you did not get a heat stroke on the horse ride.

@marshhawk  Annie, that is good news you got more hours and your DH is getting his own computer.  Have you thought about getting a lottery ticket?

@0106  I've never put carrots in my tomato sauce, but they are part of my tomato soup recipe.  The problem is finding really good tomatoes for the soup.

@grapau27  Graham, thank you for your kind words about my pictures, and those comments you posted on yesterday's Daily.  I am glad that the injections are working for Sarah.  Unfortunately, they did not work for DH.

@kazu  Jacqui, I hope the weather holds until after you get home from your therapy tomorrow, and I hope the worst of coming storm misses you.

@cruising sister  Lorraine, I'm happy that the pain is beginning to ease, but please be careful.

@Cruising-along  Carolyn, I'm am very happy your kidney issues aren't as bad as you feared, and that you have an appointment with a nephrologist.  It sounds like your doctor is on top of things and has a plan for you.

@durangoscots  Susan, more good news on the medical front.  It's always great when the doctor is happy with test results.

 

I've been amazed at all the names people have shared today.  Sometimes, I don't think parents think about how a names sounds or how people, especially kids, react to shall we say odd names.  One of Texas' former governors was Jim Hogg, who had a daughter.  Her name was Ima.  Growing up, there was an urban legend that Ima had a sister named Ura.  Miss Ima, as she was called, was a beloved figure in Texas who did a lot of good for a lot of people.

 

Lenda

 

[grapau27]

4 minutes ago, Quartzsite Cruiser said:

Good afternoon from a very gray, cloudy day.  I caught a brief glimpse of the sun as it was rising this morning, but then it disappeared into the clouds.   It looks like the sun will stay behind the clouds for the next ten days, and tonight there will be rain and high winds of 20-30 mph with gusts to 50 mph.

 

I survived the house cleaning, which was more thorough than a regular cleaning.  Now, if it would just stay that way for a day or two, but that would mean we'd have to move into the the motorhome. 😁

 

@ottahand7  Nancy, I hope you can get the obc issue resolved before you disembark.  If things don't seem to be working out the way you want, would it be possible for you to get your TA involved? Years ago, we were getting nowhere on compensation after an issue on a long cruise.  When we got out TA involved, we wound up getting a lot of credit for future cruises.  I'm glad you did not get a heat stroke on the horse ride.

@marshhawk  Annie, that is good news you got more hours and your DH is getting his own computer.  Have you thought about getting a lottery ticket?

@0106  I've never put carrots in my tomato sauce, but they are part of my tomato soup recipe.  The problem is finding really good tomatoes for the soup.

@grapau27  Graham, thank you for your kind words about my pictures, and those comments you posted on yesterday's Daily.  I am glad that the injections are working for Sarah.  Unfortunately, they did not work for DH.

@kazu  Jacqui, I hope the weather holds until after you get home from your therapy tomorrow, and I hope the worst of coming storm misses you.

@cruising sister  Lorraine, I'm happy that the pain is beginning to ease, but please be careful.

@Cruising-along  Carolyn, I'm am very happy your kidney issues aren't as bad as you feared, and that you have an appointment with a nephrologist.  It sounds like your doctor is on top of things and has a plan for you.

@durangoscots  Susan, more good news on the medical front.  It's always great when the doctor is happy with test results.

 

I've been amazed at all the names people have shared today.  Sometimes, I don't think parents think about how a names sounds or how people, especially kids, react to shall we say odd names.  One of Texas' former governors was Jim Hogg, who had a daughter.  Her name was Ima.  Growing up, there was an urban legend that Ima had a sister named Ura.  Miss Ima, as she was called, was a beloved figure in Texas who did a lot of good for a lot of people.

 

Lenda

 

Thank you Lenda.

How is Steve now?

I pray his recovery is going well.

Graham.

[Quartzsite Cruiser]

2 minutes ago, grapau27 said:

Thank you Lenda.

How is Steve now?

I pray his recovery is going well.

Graham.

 

Thanks for asking, Graham.  He is doing well, and improving a little bit everyday.  Recovery from back surgery takes time and patience. It takes the bone about ten months to grow between the vertebra and to fully fuse them together.

 

Lenda

 

[grapau27]

6 minutes ago, Quartzsite Cruiser said:

 

Thanks for asking, Graham.  He is doing well, and improving a little bit everyday.  Recovery from back surgery takes time and patience. It takes the bone about ten months to grow between the vertebra and to fully fuse them together.

 

Lenda

 

I'm really pleased to hear he is improving every day

Sending you our best wishes for a full recovery.

Graham.

[richwmn]

This was just delivered by the Cabin Steward

 

 

The card -- A GRAND GIFT FOR YOU, "Life is short. Eat dessert first." -- Jacques Torres.

Captain Frison & the Zuiderdam crew wish you a pleasant Valentine's Day