Tuesday November 28th, 2023 -- The Fleet Report and Daily

[grapau27]

14 minutes ago, kazu said:

Roy’’s update for this morning:

 

 

Monday night was at least somewhat better with just 1 interruption for vital’s but I don’t think I actually got a lot of sleep;  it seemed to be almost a nodding off.

 

No plan yet; the doctor should be by this morning with implications of my echo.

Thank you for keeping us updated on Roy.

I know it could be serious but Prayers 🙏 our good friend Roy @rafinmd can be cured with antibiotics.

[grapau27]

Sandi @StLouisCruisers.

Happy 54th wedding anniversary to your dear twin.

[ger_77]

Good morning, thanks for the Fleet Report and Daily! I was one day ahead, as yesterday I wrote letters in cards to both grandsons.  I do that occasionally just to give them something special in the mail.  I love French toast but haven't made it in a long time.  I'm sure all Mauritanians will be celebrating today.  As far as the days in history go, I'll bet Magellan never thought he'd have a travel store named after him.  LOL

 

Cold and dark again, although that big old moon is sure shining brightly in the sky.  We're currently at -6C (21F), but hopefully will creep up into the plus temps with a high of 4 later today.  It got warm enough yesterday that DH felt it was a good day to put both vehicles through the car wash without fear of having the door locks freeze shut later.

 

@Seasick Sailorlovely to see a photo of the two of you!

@rafinmdsending positive vibes for a quick recovery so you can get home and rest.

@StLouisCruisersHappy Anniversary to your twin and her DH!

@Quartzsite CruiserI'm happy to hear your wine/liquor cabinet is restocked, now you can restock the kitchen cabinets.  LOL  

 

Can I ask a totally off-topic question of my Daily friends?  What's with your Medicare?  All of our US television stations are bombarded with advertisements to enroll or update their Medicare provisions.  Do you have to do this every year?  Do your doctors opt in and out of the program?  Living on the "frozen tundra" we just go to the doctor, the province pays for it and we're done without ever seeing a bill - it doesn't matter if we go to a regular physician or specialist, office or hospital.

 

DH has a dental appointment this morning; he thinks he may have the start of a small cavity on one of his teeth.  While we were having dinner last night, suddenly he took something out of his mouth - it was a tooth from his partial plate.  Not the front one that we had fall off last year, it's one from the back part of the plate.  Of course it was after office hours, but he did leave a telephone message for the denturist's office for first thing this morning.  Hopefully he can get in to see him later in the afternoon. 

 

I'd like to try a sip of today's drink, although I think it would be pretty sweet; I'm sure I'd like the wine, and look forward to Debbie's recipe for chicken and rice.  I like the French Toast day, so I've decided we're going to have breakfast for dinner tonight with French toast and bacon at the kitchen table.  And wine.

 

Prayers for everyone who is in need, especially the hostages still being held, the innocents in wars, and those needing a little extra.  Cheers to all with celebrations.

 

Smooth Sailing!  ☺️☺️☺️

Gerry

[kazu]

Just a quick post to wish everyone a good morning and Happy Tuesday.

 

Off to the lab for tests and will try to catch up later.

[ottahand7]

Good morning everyone!    I have to be brief as we are heading to John's eye appointment at Costco at 11 but we will leave a lot earlier as all the schools are closed.   We probably got 8" of snow because it packs down due to the weight.   I don't think they predicted this much.   Thanks for the daily and fleet reports @richwmn.  We are back on diets so no chicken and rice for us or the sweet cocktail but would give the wine a shot. 

Thanks for the cares and celebrations lists @JazzyV.   Prayers for Roy's healing, thanks for keeping up updated @kazu and Roy.   Prayers for everyone on our list needing them, the people in war zones, Ukraine, Israel and the innocents in Gaza.   

I will check in after we get back from our trip to Costco.  Have a nice day!   Nancy 

Edited November 28, 2023 by ottahand7

[RedneckBob]

Thanks for the Fleet Update and General Info from all contributors.

 

Today is National Letter Writing Day.

 

To: Cruise Critic Management                         Date: November 28, 2023

      1234 Internet Drive

      Oceans Way, Anycontinent

 

From: RedneckBob

          4321 Miller Lite Drive

          Pumpkin Creek, FL 00000

 

Dear CC Management,

 

This letter is to put you on notice that since joining the Cruise Critic I have experienced many issues that you should be aware of. Before joining this site I was just known as Bob. So to hide my identity I had to add Redneck to my name. Just cause I grew up in Alabama didn’t mean that I was one. Then started the sleepless nite, waking up at midnight or 2 am to try and come up with new materials each morning. Then I became addictive to this site and had to join CC anonymous. This effected family life as the Misses complained that I was spending too much time on the CC site. Then this lead to drinking an excessive amount of Diet Cokes and eating too many Moonpies. To control this uncontrollable habit I plan to go a cruise on Sunday with no Wi-Fi. I guess I can say this cruise is a form of rehab!
Hopefully when I return I will return to my original name, plan old Bob.

 

Sincerely, best regards and Happy Holidays,

 

RNB

Edited November 28, 2023 by RedneckBob

[richwmn]

16 minutes ago, RedneckBob said:

Then this lead to drinking an excessive amount of Diet Cokes and eating too many Moonpies.

Moon Pies are best served with RC CoCola

[aliaschief]

14 minutes ago, RedneckBob said:

Thanks for the Fleet Update and General Info from all contributors.

 

Today is National Letter Writing Day.

 

To: Cruise Critic Management                         Date: November 28, 2023

      1234 Internet Drive

      Oceans Way, Anycontinent

 

From: RedneckBob

          4321 Miller Lite Drive

          Pumpkin Creek, FL 00000

 

Dear CC Management,

 

This letter is to put you on notice that since joining the Cruise Critic I have experienced many issues that you should be aware of. Before joining this site I was just known as Bob. So to hide my identity I had to add Redneck to my name. Just cause I grew up in Alabama didn’t mean that I was one. Then started the sleepless nite, waking up at midnight or 2 am to try and come up with new materials each morning. Then I became addictive to this site and had to join CC anonymous. This effected family life as the Misses complained that I was spending too much time on the CC site. Then this lead to drinking an excessive amount of Diet Cokes and eating too many Moonpies. To control this uncontrollable habit I plan to go a cruise on Sunday with no Wi-Fi. I guess I can say this cruise is a form of rehab!
Hopefully when I return I will return to my original name, plan old Bob.

 

Sincerely, best regards and Happy Holidays,

 

RNB

Now that is a classic. 😁 We shall be waiting with bated breath for your grand reentry to the hallowed halls of the Daily. Will you be missed? Absolutely! Have a grand cruise. Bon Voyage!

[RedneckBob]

4 minutes ago, richwmn said:

Moon Pies are best served with RC CoCola

Agree but I only drink diet cokes!

[RedneckBob]

5 minutes ago, aliaschief said:

Now that is a classic. 😁 We shall be waiting with bated breath for your grand reentry to the hallowed halls of the Daily. Will you be missed? Absolutely! Have a grand cruise. Bon Voyage!

Thanks Chief!!!!

Hopefully with some rest and finding new material, life will become much easier on the CC!

[Cruise Suzy]

26 minutes ago, ger_77 said:

Can I ask a totally off-topic question of my Daily friends?  What's with your Medicare?  All of our US television stations are bombarded with advertisements to enroll or update their Medicare provisions.  Do you have to do this every year?  Do your doctors opt in and out of the program? 

 

Yes, we are allowed to change our Medicare provider every year - or we can just keep the provider and plan we have. (Some providers have multiple plans - depends on where one lives.)

 

Yes, doctors can opt to be "in network" with a particular provider or not. Some doctors accept the payment offered by one or more Medicare provider. Going to a doctor in your network is less expensive than going to one who is not in network. Some don't accept any providers and you then have to file forms yourself.

[kochleffel]

28 minutes ago, ger_77 said:

What's with your Medicare?  All of our US television stations are bombarded with advertisements to enroll or update their Medicare provisions.  Do you have to do this every year?  Do your doctors opt in and out of the program? 

 

Medicare itself is a government program and is the same for everyone. Once enrolled, a person stays enrolled.

 

Because Medicare benefits are less than comprehensive, many people purchase supplement plans ("Medigap") from insurance companies to cover deductibles, copays, and other costs that Medicare doesn't pay. (The confusing part is that Medicare sets a maximum amount that a doctor who accepts Medicare assignment can charge, but doesn't pay all of it.) The "Medigap" plans are highly regulated and denoted by letters, so (for example) Plan C from one insurance company has exactly the same benefits as Plan C from any other. Almost all doctors and hospitals accept Medicare.

 

There are also "Medicare Advantage" plans that integrate Medicare, Medigap, and other possible coverage. They may provide higher benefits at lower premiums than a Medigap plan, but are more restrictive. While traditional Medicare covers almost every doctor, Medicare Advantage plans usually don't.

 

This is the time of year when it's possible to change one's Medigap or Advantage plan, which is the reason for all the advertising.

[travelingbums]

Thank you everyone for sharing.

Have a great day.

 

[marshhawk]

Good Tuesday Morning Dailyites!  The computer says it is 35 degrees, and once in a while, the temp info changes to HIGH WINDS AHEAD.  I hope that they dont show up while I'm walking the dog.

 

This time of year in the US @ger_77 we are bombarded with phone calls(about 16 a day) regarding changing our Medicare.  Medicare auto renews, but we have to add our drug prescription plan, and supplemental insurance, we can add dental, silver sneakers, travel insurance, I have even seen  an ad on the TV to add on pet insurance.....Medicare does not cover everything.  And then on December 7th, the calls all go away.  And thousands of telemarketers from somewhere will all be looking for jobs.

 

Yesterday I worked 7 hours.  I got one pledge for 1200.00.  Long day. 

 

I am glad that someone can see me at the Lung doctors, even if its the PA.  I am hoping that they can help me.  @rafinmd I hope that you are getting the help you need.

 

I read on the googly news that we should ask our docs to check our b12 level, that lack of b12 causes us to be exhausted all the time.  And as you older folks know, we dont eat the same as we did in the past, so a lot of our foods that we are eating are not giving us the vitamins we need.  Krogers is always out of milk these days, and that is a food that we do need.

 

On that note, I love french toast.  My secret ingredients in french toast is vanilla extract, and cinnamon.

I love breakfast for dinner, DH not so much, so dinner tonight is left over meatloaf, peas and mashed taters...with gravy....yummy.

 

[aliaschief]

27 minutes ago, RedneckBob said:

Thanks Chief!!!!

Hopefully with some rest and finding new material, life will become much easier on the CC!

I know. With so many Me Me’s being posted it’s getting harder to find new material and harder not to post repeats. Oh life’s calamities.😁

[StLouisCruisers]

Does anyone else hate the Medicare commercial with Martha in it, whining about she already has Medicare, why do I need to call, I'm not going to call !!!!  Wow, I hated that commercial.  I haven't seen her lately so they must have gotten too many complaints about how awful it was to watch her commercial.  Now we have a reasonable lady named Ellen, I think  I will be so glad when Dec. 7 arrives and we don't have these interminably long commercials urging us to CALL!☎️

[RedneckBob]

1 minute ago, StLouisCruisers said:

Does anyone else hate the Medicare commercial with Martha in it, whining about she already has Medicare, why do I need to call, I'm not going to call !!!!  Wow, I hated that commercial.  I haven't seen her lately so they must have gotten too many complaints about how awful it was to watch her commercial.  Now we have a reasonable lady named Ellen, I think  I will be so glad when Dec. 7 arrives and we don't have these interminably long commercials urging us to CALL!☎️

Ditto, ditto, ditto….Thank goodness there is a mute button on the remote. Unfortunately the Misses thinks the mute button is duck tape! 😀

[RedneckBob]

3 minutes ago, aliaschief said:

I know. With so many Me Me’s being posted it’s getting harder to find new material and harder not to post repeats. Oh life’s calamities.😁

That’s why I stay away from the cartoons. Just observe what people do on cruise ships; there is so much material there!

[dfish]

Good morning, everyone.

 

@rafinmd Thank you for the updates and I hope you are more comfortable.  Keeping you close in mind today.

@Sharon in AZ Sharon, I think you, Dixie @summer slope, Sue and I should all try the hula.  That is my 25 year old mind talking, not my 70 year old body.  It is worth a try, though!   

 

It is another cold day here in mid-Michigan but the sun is shining brightly so I don't think it will seem as cold.  It is currently 21F with a high of 30F.  Sue has been coughing and hacking for the past week and is feeling pretty miserable.  She has tested several times for Covid and come up negative.  What ever it is, she hasn't given it to me yet.  She is debating about calling the doctor because this is lingering on so long.  She had it the whole time she was up north deer hunting.  So, that is almost two weeks now.  Not much on the agenda today.  I hope to start up on my quilt again today.  Still no results from the CT scan on November 10th.  18 days.

 

Today's meal sounds really tasty but I would have to find a substitute for the rice.  Or maybe mix half rice, half riced cauliflower.  It sure does look tasty!   https://www.lecremedelacrumb.com/one-pan-spanish-chicken-rice/

 

 

This recipe uses a shredded or chopped chicken and has olives in it.  I do like the olives and that would interest me.   https://www.aheadofthyme.com/2017/02/one-pot-spanish-chicken-and-rice/

 

 

This last recipe is quite different from the first two and sounds really good to me!   https://www.themediterraneandish.com/spanish-chicken-rice-recipe-chorizo/

 

 

I hope this finds you all well or on the road to recovery.  Wishing you all a wonderful day!

 

 

 

[RMLincoln]

It’s sunny, 32 in New Jersey, going up to only 35…. only a few degrees warmer where we came from in Maryland. Seems cold. 
 

Yesterday we filled out forms for at our on-campus medical office for new doctors and records transfers.  Hopeful we can get established here without much difficulty or delay. I had cancelled 2 screening appts before we left Maryland so would like to get those scheduled in the next few months. 
 

DH’s got a call just now that his eye surgery is postponed a week due to his doctor’s schedule. Not happy about that but nothing to be done but roll with it.   
 

We have a resident Greeter coming this morning. I was thinking of going to exercise class then but maybe that will happen next week. Last night we enjoyed a wonderful musical event here, the North NJ Concert Band of about 40 woodwinds and brass played holiday favorites and medleys, excellent and great fun!  So glad we didn’t miss that. Nice start to our new world. 
 

Prayers for Roy lifted first thing. Hope we hear some encouraging results and a path forward for him. Sending blessings to all in need. Thank you Vanessa for your dedication, and Jacqui for forwarding updates. 
 

Cheers to all celebrating!  And what fun to hear from those cruising!  Thank you @Nickelpenny!  Smooth travels to all away.
 

Glad Bruce is healing and @seagarsmoker could get their cruise moved up!  Nice hearing from @luvteaching, love you Karen!  And @smitty34877, Terry you’re cooking up good things!  Bon Appetit!  
 

Thanks @StLouisCruisers Sandi for the Capri photos. We tried for the ferry last time we were in Naples but the times were too tight, it was a short day in port. We loved the archeology museum. 
Onward!  
Maureen 

[aliaschief]

12 minutes ago, StLouisCruisers said:

Does anyone else hate the Medicare commercial with Martha in it, whining about she already has Medicare, why do I need to call, I'm not going to call !!!!  Wow, I hated that commercial.  I haven't seen her lately so they must have gotten too many complaints about how awful it was to watch her commercial.  Now we have a reasonable lady named Ellen, I think  I will be so glad when Dec. 7 arrives and we don't have these interminably long commercials urging us to CALL!☎️

I cannot agree with you more. Why anyone would spend the money to promote a product with such a terrible commercial. I cannot hit the mute button fast enough. Then it’s usually followed by the My Pillow guy. We won’t go there.

[kochleffel]

The meal suggestion would be OK, but rice is the only ingredient I have for it. No, no, no, on the drink. I don't think I would like the wine very much, but for a red blend I might suggest Fulkerson's Red Blend, "A smooth wine made with the Noiret grape (Developed by Cornell University) and Cabernet Franc. Aromas of white pepper, black cherry, and spice."

 

I have visited Naples once, on the Norwegian Epic in 2018. It happened to be on May 1 and our tour operator didn't know in advance whether Pompeii would be open, so we booked a tour to which Pompeii could be added, with an additional charge, once they knew. It was. Our guide wasn't licensed for Pompeii, so a guide with the required license met us there.

 

 

My main project today is to time the presentation for class on Thursday. I have only 20 minutes, and I tend to be long-winded -- plus it includes 3 minutes of video and 40 seconds of audio.

 

[ClippyJoe]

I also hate the ad with the shrieking woman yelling about Medicare. It stereotypes older women .Not many of us dress this way or yell like banshee's. But then again I also dislike Joe Namath's ad too.

[smitty34877]

Good morning. I had an early appointment at the orthopedic office to check on my almost one year old new hip. I am happy to say the replacement is “perfect” and the other side is ok for now. It was nice to be told good news.

The first chicken and rice dish will appear on our table tonight, thank you Debbie @dfish! Please nag your sister to get checked out. Two weeks is a long time to feel like that.

Bruce, @aliaschief, I am glad that you do not have to have a surgical repair but sorry about the fracture of such long duration. Is there still pain?

Lenda, @Quartzsite Cruiser, there was an interesting article in the Washington Post today about NPH and shunts. If I were technologically smart, I could send it to you but it had a lot of interesting comments from others who have had the condition. Essentially it took many doctors and years to figure out the diagnosis.

I am making spinach and tortellini soup for lunch and my vegetarians can have it for dinner. It is a soup day for Tana and myself as it is cold and blustery outside.I am so glad our oil tank issues were fixed before the cold weather set in.

Thanks to all who are here !

[aliaschief]

@smitty34877 Back in June after the fall there was some pain but more related to just a bruise. Leg after prolonged walking felt some strain but the main reason I sought medical was I just had the feeling the knee was out of alignment. Tear yes but would have never guessed fractured tibia. Thanks for asking.