The Fleet Report and Daily for Friday June 9th, 2023

[Quartzsite Cruiser]

Good morning from a sunny and calm central Texas.  It is 68F and heading to 93F this afternoon.  I'm early since I'm trying to get outside and trim and mow the grass before it gets too hot.  The down side of starting this early is that it is humid so, I may have to wait for the dew to dry.  The weather app say it's 98% humidity with a dew point of 68F.  However, the humidity will go down as the temperatures climb.  We got a surprise rain last night.  On the radar when it first started raining, it looked like it would be a quick, passing shower, but the thunder storm keep building into a nice enough rain that I turned off the sprinkler.

 

Today, I will celebrate Writer's Rights day.  I'm one of the oddballs who is not a fan of Donald Duck or strawberry rhubarb pie.

 

The Abraham Lincoln quote is very true.

 

We'll pass on the meal since salmon collars will be hard to get in central Texas, and we'll pass on the drink.  The wine sounds interesting, and I've never heard of orange wine before.

 

We were fortunate to stop in Korcula in 2016 on Prinsendam.  The unfortunate part of the stop was Korcula was added to the itinerary when the Black Sea cruise was canceled after the attempted coup in Turkey.    We were able to stop in some small ports that are not often visited after the Black Sea was canceled.

 

I also didn't realize that Donald Duck was almost 90 years old.

 

@Cruzin Terri  Terri, good luck with your packing and think layers for northern Europe.

@superoma Eva, congratulations on the quick sale of your DF's house, and at a price higher than the asking price.

@kochleffel  Paul, I'm glad the air quality is improving.  I hope that means the wildfires are beginning to be under control.

@dfishDebbie, enjoy your family weekend at the lake.

Terry, I'm glad for everyone's sake, especially Tana, that your air has improved.  I hope the doctors can come up with a good plan to fight your DH's cancer.

@Nickelpenny  Penny, it's good the air has improved and you are able to enjoy your visit with your friend.  Safe travels tomorrow.

@0106 Tina, thanks for information about orange wines.

@cunnorl  Charlene, I'm glad you are improving everyday, but sorry it's still no golfing for another month.

@RMLincoln  Maureen, I'm glad you have made such good progress in resolving the banking issues.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Lenda

 

[Quartzsite Cruiser]

I would love to go back to Korcula.  It is such a nice port to explore on your own.

 

Korcula as seen from the Prinsendam in 2016..

 

 

The old walled town.  You can either enter the walled town by climbing steep steps or by walking around the outside of the wall until you come to an easier entrance.

 

One of the narrow and steep passages to reach the center of the walled town.

 

Cafes lined the walk around the outside of the wall.

 

DH inspecting part of the wall where a column was separating from the wall.

 

One of the many plazas in the town

 

One of the churches in the old town

 

 

A small chapel

 

 

Another narrow street down to the promenade

 

The area outside the easier steps

 

Part of the wall and tower from two angles

 

 

The small boat harbor

 

The Prinsendam waiting for our return

 

We enjoyed our day exploring this picturesque port.  It is like Dubrovnik on a smaller scale.  It has all the old world charm without the crush of too many tourists.

 

Lenda

[GTVCRUISER]

Good morning 🙂 

 

Edited June 9, 2023 by GTVCRUISER
spelling

[marshhawk]

Happy Friday Morning Dailyites!  At least I think it's Friday.  I worked this week, but I think only about 8 hours....it's all kind of fuzzy with no actual schedule set, and me not being able to stay awake through most of what schedule I have had.

 

@StLouisCruisers, our air is hazy due to our own pollution.  Atlanta is famous for it.  We created a highway that goes in a circle that millions of cars drive around all day, then we have three major highways that go north south, east to west, and we add all those cars and trucks, and Atlanta is the second highest major city, and we filled it with tall buildings, and all that automotive pollution is trapped and slowly oozes out to the burbs....Ah, summer in Atlanta.  We need a Mighty Wind.  But the temps are nice today...

 

DH found out yesterday that seniors that drive less than 5000 (?) miles a year can get an exception for having their car go through inspection.  Since my car has not been driven since January, he thinks this may be the way to go until he can get the car fixed.  But he wanted to check the mileage.  I told him I didn't think he had to worry or lie, he drives the car (when it does work) and all other drives are in his car.  He has only driven the car 500 miles in the last year.  So he wants to go to the car tax place this morning, well i'm still ill and really dont want to go today.  Thinking next week will be fine.  So I am letting him sleep.

 

I hope you all have moments of joy and serenity today, if not for the whole day, at least for some of it. Hugs!

 

 

 

 

 

[ger_77]

Good morning, thanks for the Fleet Report and Daily!   I like Donald Duck - a dear departed friend of mine could talk just like him and would use the voice to cheer me up when I was in a bad mood.  I like strawberry pie and rhubarb pie, but don't care for the two together; I think they combine them so the rhubarb doesn't seem so tart.  I'm all for writer's rights - they are in danger of being phased out with AI.

 

Well we've got the smoke back and our air quality is at High right now, and it's expected to stay that way throughout the day.  I knew something was up when I opened the curtains and the sunshine coming in was apricot coloured.  We don't have any outside events planned, so shouldn't have to worry about taking precautions.   Yesterday DH decided it was time to cut away the dead branches on our Japanese Maple tree, so we worked for a couple of hours out there.  While I was in the yard, I decided to measure our papyrus plants - one of them has grown 11" since we got them a month ago.  The others are little slower growing, which is strange, because they get the same amount of water, sun and shade.  

 

We had a great visit with my godson yesterday, hearing all about his life in Seoul.  We spent a couple of hours together and look forward to another visit with him and his wife later in the summer.  Unfortunately earlier in the day I learned that a friend/colleague of mine's son suddenly passed away overnight, so DH and I went over to the grocery store where I picked up a rotisserie chicken, a large Caesar salad and a fruit tray, as another colleague is going to pick everything up from a number of us to deliver to the family home this morning.  It's really sad, as this woman lost her husband only 2 years ago and now has to deal with the loss of 1 of her 2 sons.

 

@Heartgrove sending prayers for Sue's heart issues; hopefully it's something minor that can be easily remedied.

@summer slope keeping you in my prayers as you deal with your health.

@marshhawk I hope you and Chuck recover soon - maybe it's time to check in with the doctor if you're still having to sleep semi-prone.

 

I've spent a couple of days cleaning off the shelves in the spare room; I look at all the little things I've collected over the years from various places we've been and realized that they mean something to me, but to nobody else, so it's time for them to go.  Although I don't have the things, I still have the memories, and now someone else can enjoy the little dishes, figurines, and other little delights I brought home.

 

Today it's time to get to work on cleaning the house, as our older friends are coming next week for their medical appointments again.  She's a pretty meticulous housekeeper, so I'm going to have to be diligent about dusting and cleaning.  I usually only dust as high as the tallest person, but guess I should get up on a step stool to do the tops of things today.  LOL  I think I'd like to try today's drink, although I'd call it Adult Lemonade, would try the wine, even though it's a white, but the price is right, and have not heard of salmon collars before.  It's Friday night pizza night at our house, so we'll check the online menus to see what appeals to us.  Because of the smoke, instead of dining outside, we'll enjoy our pizza at the kitchen table tonight.  And wine.

 

Prayers for everyone who has needs.  Cheers to all with celebrations, especially to our lovely DIL, Noriko, who is celebrating her 40th birthday today.

 

Smooth Sailing!  ☺️☺️☺️

Gerry

Edited June 9, 2023 by ger_77

[grapau27]

21 minutes ago, Quartzsite Cruiser said:

I would love to go back to Korcula.  It is such a nice port to explore on your own.

 

Korcula as seen from the Prinsendam in 2016..

 

 

The old walled town.  You can either enter the walled town by climbing steep steps or by walking around the outside of the wall until you come to an easier entrance.

 

One of the narrow and steep passages to reach the center of the walled town.

 

Cafes lined the walk around the outside of the wall.

 

DH inspecting part of the wall where a column was separating from the wall.

 

One of the many plazas in the town

 

One of the churches in the old town

 

 

A small chapel

 

 

Another narrow street down to the promenade

 

The area outside the easier steps

 

Part of the wall and tower from two angles

 

 

The small boat harbor

 

The Prinsendam waiting for our return

 

We enjoyed our day exploring this picturesque port.  It is like Dubrovnik on a smaller scale.  It has all the old world charm without the crush of too many tourists.

 

Lenda

Thank you for your nice photos Lenda.

Dubrovnik is lovely and your photos show this port is a smaller version of Dubrovnik.

[marshhawk]

I am not a fan of Donald Duck, but DH does do a good imitation of him...I love rhubarb pie, without strawberries.  @ger_77I actually slept all night in the bed.  11:30 to 7:15!  I woke up with one cat scratching my back as she was running away from Furnando.  The boy cats are out on the porch. There are squirrels outside!

[Himself]

Rich

Thank you for another fine Fleet Report.

[kochleffel]

1 hour ago, Quartzsite Cruiser said:

Paul, I'm glad the air quality is improving.  I hope that means the wildfires are beginning to be under control.

 

Alas, it just means that the wind has changed. It was from the northwest yesterday, blowing the smoke toward Philadelphia and Baltimore. Currently, it's from the south.

 

[rafinmd]

Today's sunrise is from my 2015 Prinsendam European cruise.  On June 9 we visited Dublin:

 

 

Roy

[aliaschief]

Good afternoon. Seville what a beautiful city. Today we toured portions of the river, checked out some of the beautiful homes from the Exposition of yore, Presidential Palace. Such a clean a vibrant city. The tour included and ended with a large Tapas lunch and lot’s of wine. Tonight we are headed back to a specialty restaurant as with 24 hour pre request they are providing us with a Dover Sole dinner. Had it twice last cruise and it was fantastic. Tonight they are bringing an entourage of local and cultural entertainers onboard for our enjoyment. We leave for Lisbon tomorrow. Our tour in Lisbon is taking us to Fatima.

After our Tapas lunch we needed siestas and we are now ready to face tonight’s activities.

Thanks for the reports and prayers for those in need. Bruce

 

Edited June 9, 2023 by aliaschief

[Horizon chaser 1957]

Good morning, all! Hooray for Strawberry Rhubarb Pie Day! The ingredients are in season, but DH doesn’t enjoy it like I do, so I rarely make it. When we were in Ireland we went to a cooking demonstration for making scones. They were served with rhubarb ginger jam that was to die for. I need to pick up rhubarb at a farm stand and make some. 

When the DD’s were little,I worked part time at a fish market, so salmon collars are an old friend. When cutting a salmon into steaks, the first cut was right behind the gills. They were trimmings considered undesirable and unsellable but contained a few chunks of useable meat and we were allowed to take them home. They made an excellent chowder. Now that they’re in fashion, I see they’re cut with more actual salmon steak attached. Clever marketing!

We are heading back to the mainland today, and it looks like rain. The change in weather has shifted the smoke and the air quality on the mainland has improved for the time being. Hopefully we’ll be back here before it shifts again!

Happy Friday, everyone! A toast to our BHB’s wherever they may be!

Today’s wake is off Tauranga, New Zealand.

Edited June 9, 2023 by Horizon chaser 1957

[Horizon chaser 1957]

  @ger_77 when you get a chance, try rhubarb Saskatoon berry pie. Each has what the other is lacking. The texture has a much better mouth feel, and it’s delicious!

[durangoscots]

Good morning. Sunny and cool. I need to get out and do some weeding this morning before it heats up.

 

I like Donald Duck and will certainly take a slice or two of the pie. Korcula looks interesting but I am not likely to be headed that way. But it certainly gets the urge to travel up and going. Today I am going nowhere. I need to spend concentrated time on the house and yard.

 

@RMLincolnWhen I had the fraud case, my manager told me that the banks and financial institutions are getting very good at handling it since it happens so frequently. Not something you really want to hear. Glad things are getting ironed out. Still an incredible annoyance.

 

Susan

[loveandpeas]

Happy Friday all! I sure do love reading the Fleet/Daily, and am appreciative of everyone who contributes even though I'm not "here" that often.

 

I don't love fruit pies that much except for apple, BUT my mama makes a rhubarb custard pie and it's one of my very favourite desserts. I highly recommend you try it this season! 

 

Rhubarb Custard Pie (thecreativebite.com)

I did not know about fish collars so that was an interesting read - not sure if I've tried one but I do love salmon almost any way I can get it. 

I am working today and I think it might be a busy one, but then a couple days off for the weekend. June is so busy and it feels like a struggle to keep up sometimes - I'm really looking forward to SUMMER and CRUISING.

[0106]

 

17 minutes ago, Horizon chaser 1957 said:

try rhubarb Saskatoon berry pie. Each has what the other is lacking. The texture has a much better mouth feel, and it’s delicious!

 I never heard of a Saskatoon berry so I looked them up.  They look like blueberries, though they are more closely related to the apple family. The taste of the berry is described sweet, nutty almond flavor. The Saskatoon berry is known as a service berry in eastern Canada. In Michigan and Minnesota, the delicious berry is known as the juneberry. They ripen in late June or early July.  I’d love to try them in a pie with rhubarb

[Horizon chaser 1957]

3 minutes ago, 0106 said:

 

 I never heard of a Saskatoon berry so I looked them up.  They look like blueberries, though they are more closely related to the apple family. The taste of the berry is described sweet, nutty almond flavor. The Saskatoon berry is known as a service berry in eastern Canada. In Michigan and Minnesota, the delicious berry is known as the juneberry. They ripen in late June or early July.  I’d love to try them in a pie with rhubarb

Yes, they are much like a blueberry but drier and lacking in flavour. Rhubard gives them moisture and flavour. The berries give rhubarb sweetness and firmer texture. I’ve always found strawberry - rhubarb has a mushy/ slippery texture that I dislike.

[marshhawk]

Good Morning @loveandpeas and welcome.  Don't be shy! You are welcome here.

[JazzyV]

Good morning. Thanks for the Fleet Report/Daily.

I like Donald Duck, not sure about strawberry-rhubarb pie, and support writers' rights. Local strawberries haven't done well due to our drought, and some strawberry festivals were cancelled. I like the quote. Pass on the meal (fish), maybe on the drink, no on the wine. I'll take Roy's meal.

I haven't been to Korcula Island.

 

I'm back from the PCP. I'm all congested and coughing again. after I thought I'd gotten over the cold I picked up in Germany. She thinks maybe the hours spent outside doing yard work on Tuesday and Wednesday are the culprit, with the bad air quality (it didn't seem that bad to me). She wants me to stay indoors this weekend; I have plenty to do inside this house. She also was concerned about my 2 falls. Then I had bloodwork done after the visit. But this afternoon I'm going to a local park with BFF, where a plaque in his late Dad's memory is bring put up. His Dad (and Dad's GF) walked there almost daily for the last 20+ years, and his Dad photographed lots of the flora there which the park kept much of. 

 

@cruzn single I hope you're doing ok.

@StLouisCruisers Sorry your mailbox got messed up.

@kazu Congrats on paying for your cruise.

@dfish Have a great time at the lake house.

@cunnorl Scary about the nearby tornado; good news on no injuries. Good to hear you're doing better. 

@RMLincoln I'm glad things are slowly getting straightened out with the banking issues.

@Quartzsite Cruiser Thanks for the photos of Korcula. 

@marshhawk I got an exemption from emissions check (still had to pay for the sticker), but not general inspection, for driving less than 4000 miles a year. Good to hear you were able to sleep in your bed last night.

@ger_77 So sorry to hear of the death of your friend's son. Condolences to you, and her family and friends.

@aliaschief It sounds like you're having a fabulous time. I went to Fatima when I was in Lisbon.

@loveandpeas Nice to see you posting and thanks for the recipe link.

 

Prayers for the Care List and a toast to the Celebration List.

[Horizon chaser 1957]

Welcome @loveandpeas, and thanks for the rhubarb custard pie recipe. I need to give that a try!

[rafinmd]

@JazzyV it's the tiny particulate matter that's the issue.  If you can wear an N95 mask when outdoors, that's a benefit.

 

Roy

[Cruzin Terri]

3 hours ago, RMLincoln said:

Thanks for expanding on the estate issues. It’s all way too long. You are a trooper for hauling yourselves through it.
As for clothes for Norway and the Baltics:  Your SC wardrobe will work fine. As suggested, layers is the key. You will want under layers, middle layers and outer layers. For the coldest places you’ll want under layers like leggings and a knit top you can wear under a shirt. Middle layers would be your normal clothes for cooler SC weather. For Outer layers you need something rain and wind proof like a rain jacket. I didn’t want to pack a fleece, too bulky, so for Norway’s North Cape I added an extra shirt to my layers: an under layer knit top, a t- shirt, a long sleeved warm shirt like a flannel, a rain jacket. Leggings under my jeans-type pants. I used a thin gauzy scarf around my neck and a close fitting fleece cap. And lightweight gloves, even gardening gloves if you don’t have gloves. If you don’t have a fleece hat use a scarf around your head. My rain jacket has a hood that I pulled up over the scarf and hat. North Cape was brutally cold with such strong winds we had to hold on. But that was the worst and the vast part of the time you won’t need it all. Sturdy shoes are a must, probably a second pair of some type of shoes so one pair can dry out when the primary pair gets wet. I have very utilitarian Teva lace-ups that are rainproof but if you don’t have rainproof consider taking a backup. I hope this helps. Some people had parkas but no way was I going to pack such bulkiness. I did fine with layers in the fall. You’ll be there in midsummer, long long sunny days, no cold night. You’ll need the rain jacket anyway, just add some leggings and a good under layer top, scarf to wrap your neck against the winds, and light gloves. I also saw women with ear muffs but I doubt you have any in SC!  You’ll have a grand time!  

Thanks for your detailed help with the clothing.  The farthest north we are going is Trondheim.  i guess we will not be in the coldest part of Norway but we will make sure we have enough layers with us.  I follow Jeff Farschman’s blog and saw that they were very cold in Kirkwall, Orkney Islands.  We are stopping there and have an all-day tour there.  All I know is that I want make sure we both stay warm.

Thanks for all your help and good luck in getting your financial affairs straightened out.

Terri

[Cruising-along]

Good morning all!

I woke up to a welcome drizzle/rain.  We need it, even though I watered everything yesterday (of course!)  

 

I like Donald Duck, support writers' rights, but will pass on the strawberry-rhubarb pie.  I've never been a fan of rhubarb and would prefer the strawberries alone.  Our local strawberry fields have just opened up this week for picking -- yay!  The drink sounds good (maybe as dessert?) would love to try the wine, I love Chenin Blanc, but will pass on the meal and prefer my salmon prepared other ways.  

 

Not much on the agenda today other than some cleaning and, of course, cruise planning.  Getting more and more excited for the Grand Australia as we make plans!

 

@Nickelpenny Bon Voyage!!

Debbie @dfish Enjoy your weekend with the family!

Maureen @RMLincoln Good to hear that your banking issues are clearing up.

@Cruzin Terri Don't assume that it will be cold on your cruise.  When we were in Norway in July it was 90 degrees (!)  Layers is the way to go, as others have said.

Gerry @ger_77 Happy 40th birthday to your DIL!

Welcome to the Daily @loveandpeas, we hope to hear more from you. 🙂  

 

 

We've been to Korcula at least 3 times.  Once we took winery tours, once we took the "Dalmatian Riviera Cruise" excursion, and once we enjoyed walking, browsing and shopping.  It's a beautiful port as are most of the ports in Croatia.  I would love to go back!  Way too many photos to post, so here are some of them:  

 

Approaching Korcula

 

A church seen from our Riviera cruise through 20 islands in the Korcula Archipelago

 

I loved this private courtyard with apartments

 

Gorgeous peeks of the water through the alleys

 

 

We saw this same cat twice on two different visits.  She belongs to a man who sells jewelry, she has her own chair near him.

 

Korcula market

 

 

 

Mosaics in the sidewalk

 

On one tour we also visited Vela Luka

 

Another time a winery

 

Where we saw old grape growing and harvesting tools

 

The last tender returning to the ship

 

[bennybear]

Good morning and thanks all!  
Jumping into the rhubarb discussion, we should have rhubarb ice cream with that pie!  
Just a note on Saskatoons,  they can be dry and mealy or really delicious and plump, I think it depends on how much water they get.  We had some wonderful flavourful,plump ones last summer where our RV lot is.  Almost a little bit of cinnamon flavour. 
@Cruzin Terri we found a light Goretex jacket with light merino wool sweaters to be ideal for layers and take up little room.  Or a fleece and down vest under your  goretex also works,  

we enjoyed Korcula our last cruise 

[kochleffel]

24 minutes ago, bennybear said:

we found a light Goretex jacket with light merino wool sweaters to be ideal for layers and take up little room.  Or a fleece and down vest under your  goretex also works,  

 

My preference for a warm layer is a down-alternative vest that is very packable, although the kind I have is no longer available. Fleece hardly compresses at all. OTOH, if fleece gets wet, it dries quickly.

 

Edited June 9, 2023 by kochleffel