What's Happenin'

Thinking: About all I need to accomplish in the next couple months. I promised Aunt Marie that I'd help her do some clean out before she moves. I need to get to St. Louis. Our resolve to travel more is having an impact on our free time!! Mostly in a good way.

Thankful for: Spring! It's upon us. Also, we're getting lots of rain and it's not even April. 

Cooking: So. We tried a new home delivery meal service. Marley and Spoon---it's the Martha Stewart one.  Right away, I was not impressed with the packaging. There were individual brown bags for each meal, meat in another package and then assorted ingredients in yet another. Once you decide to make the meal, you have to figure out the ingredients. Not hard, I know, but still an extra step. Plus, unlike the other two that we've tried, you have to add ingredients. Now I don't know about you, but I don't keep apple cider vinegar, red wine vinegar or sea salt. So, Butch had to go to the store for those---$6.00. You have to figure that in to the cost of the food. And now I have these things that I don't use. The recipes  took about the same time to cook as Hello Fresh. There were a couple things that I thought were ridiculous to do. Two of the meals required grated parmesan, so they sent two tiny squares that I was to grate myself. WTF? I just used the parmesan that I always have on hand. To grate those tiny squares would have ruined my nails and/or bloodied my knuckles. The first meal was a steak with parmesan roasted potatoes. The instructions said to put the grated cheese on an olive oiled baking sheet and the potatoes on top. I knew what was going to happen. That cheese browned and stuck to that pan. They didn't even taste that good. The steak was a sirloin, but we are filet people. Filets just melt in your mouth. The sirloin was too chewy for my taste. The chicken schnitzel with braised cabbage was really good and so was the French Dip burger---but what a mess on the stove--grease splatted everywhere. We NEVER fry things. I'm not sure the cleanup was worth it. Anyway, the bottom line, we'll stick with Hello Fresh---and not very often. We've about had it with roasted vegetables. After awhile, they all taste the same!

Wearing: Workout clothes. Don't be fooled. I was just on the treadmill. Trying to get back at it.

Hoping: To finish some travel planning. Everyone knows, we are planners---to the nth degree. That requires a lot of time. A lot.

Taking: Some bridge classes with Connie. We're both learning a lot and getting a lot mixed up! It's a very complicated game. I've always said I'm an average bridge player. I might have to downgrade that.

Planning: Finished planning our mother/daughter trip to Newport. Lots of fun surprises in store for the girls. Starting on our family vacation at the Stillwater Resort near Branson. We are not sit around people, so you can expect our week will be jam packed with activities.

Working: I'm ashamed to admit, I'm not. This is the second year in a row where I vowed to clean out all the closets and haven't started yet! I didn't even finish my closet yet. I thought we might do one room at a time on our Butch and Barb days, but that hasn't happened either.

Reading: Becoming Mrs. Lewis for our book club. It KILLS me that I had to buy the book as the wait was too long for the library. I've gotten spoiled with ebooks from the library AND I'm saving a ton of money! Last year alone I saved $663. Since I'm living off of my social security, this is significant! As for book club, we need to pick older books that are easier to get!

Loving: Morgan's new life. We went down to her new apartment this afternoon to help her hang a few things. She lives near downtown in an area called Germantown. She asked for macrame plant hangers for Christmas. At first, I was just going to buy the supplies and help her make them since I made so many in the 70's. But then, I saw that you could get a set of 3 for less than 20 bucks and decided it wasn't worth the effort. Butch put up the hooks and we shopped across the street from her new apartment (not only new to her, but a new complex) at the Farmer's Market. Wow! People always talked about buying plants at the farmer's market. Well, I don't think they are cheaper. I was very surprised at the cost of houseplants. Admittedly, I haven't bought any in years. We bought Morgan 3 as a housewarming gift Then we went back to the apartment to get them in the hangers. Now I remembered what a hassle that was. By the time you wrestle the plants in to the hangers, they are pretty mangled. We convinced Morgan to forget about putting the wandering jew in one. It was just too thick and hard. Instead, we put it on her entry table. Everything looks great. She got her first paycheck from her "real" job! She's on her way!

Watching: I'm pretty bored with just about everything. Stephanie suggested a Netflix program called Snapped. At first it seemed pretty good. I like all those Dateline shows. But I grew tired of Snapped pretty quick. It's ALWAYS the spouse or boyfriend/girlfriend. Oh wait, that's true of Dateline too. I've watched a couple movies but nothing all that great. I've re-watched The Greatest Showman for about the 12th time. Still love it and never get tired of it.

Creating: I'm moving along on the Easter train that I'm stitching. That's why I want something interesting to watch. I set a goal to do each one in a month. I'm on track to finish in time for my next new project---that workshop in May on this (I know you've seen it before, but I just can't get enough of it! If you are local and want to join me, please do!):

Bumming: That we have to get a new dishwasher. I swear if someone had asked me how old it was, I would have said about 7 years. When the estimate to repair it came in at over $500, I figured I better see how old it really is. I pulled out the file---we bought it in 2004. It's 15 years old! OMGosh, I couldn't believe it. And then I couldn't believe it actually lasted this long. I guess we're lucky. Still, not looking forward to the hassle. Butch is going to do the research. White will cost us. It always does!

Hearing: The news. Funny, I started this post in the early morning--listening to the news and here it is now late afternoon and I'm listening to the news again. Here's something interesting that they just reported:

Nashville is still the "it" city. It's growing 3 times faster than other places in the US. There are currently 379 hotels with approximately 40,000 rooms in the area with 115 more hotels in the building/planning stage. In 2018, there were 6 months where over a million rooms were sold. Lots of people/friends don't like to hear it, but I do. This is a fun, happenin' place! You just never know what/who you might see. Pink did a concert on Sunday night downtown. I love her and wanted to go, but didn't because, well, I'm old and it was Sunday night and then there's the parking situation. For the lucky ones downtown, she made a surprise appearance at Tootsie's across the street from the arena and put on another little mini concert. Gotta' love that!

Appreciating: Butch---every time it comes to reading things like contracts. I can't even. And numbers are not my thing. Luckily for us, he understands all that crap!

Regretting dreading: Those darn taxes! Oh wait, after my experience last year, I don't have to do that anymore! Click on taxes if you want refresh your memory on that story.

Weekending: No real plans yet. I do need to get up in my scrapbook room because, I think I have a problem. I sort of tore things apart trying to use my Circut (electronic die cutter). I think it's been "fried." Now I have to see if my sewing machine is toast too. I hope not. I won't be replacing either one. I'm just not scrapbooking enough to make it worth it. Sad but true. 

Friday Funnies

Sign outside a church:

Guidelines when entering church!

It is possible that on entering this church, you may hear the Call of God.

On the other hand, it is not likely that he will contact you by phone.

Thank you for turning off your phone.

If you would like to talk to God, come in, choose a quiet place, and

talk to him.

If you would like to see him, send him a text while driving.

Food and Beverages

The food was fabulous! We certainly enjoyed it all.

 This was some sort of shrimp on black rice and spinach.

 Several of the girls got this lobster dish.

 This was some sort of fish on green beans with a mango salsa.

 This was the surf and turf one night. Shrimp and short ribs.

 I had a salad just about every day. They had so many choices and then you added to them: Cobb, asian, caesar, etc.

 On display at the fancy restaurant.

 The dishes were so cute there. No food on these plates yet, just the pictures.

 Most of us got the king crab legs. Mmmmm.

 After dinner, the chef sent out some truffles---after we had dessert! Had we known, we'd have skipped the dessert. Also, they had the most awesome bread pudding! The sauce was delicious. I could have had it every day, but I didn't. I ended up only getting it once. I kept forgetting, or was too full.

 They had an extensive bar menu with all kinds of exotic drinks.

 I don't remember what this was, but it was my second drink of the cruise. The first was a Bloody Mary at the pool.

 Baileys and hot chocolate---my guilty pleasure. I have to admit. I had 3 of them over the course of the week. I easily could have had 2 every day!! At home I only allow myself one a week.

 I had a vanilla shake with a burger I split with one of the girls. Then Joyce told me about this alcoholic drink. I ordered it. It looked pretty, but was awful!! One sip and I could tell it had kaluha. I don't like coffee.

 Strawberry daiquiri and Pina cold mix. I ordered a BBC (Bailys, banana and colada) but it wasn't very good so I never ordered another.

I don't even remember what this drink was. I got to the point that I just picked them if they were pretty.

By the second day, I was about "drinked out!" I'm not a regular drinker, so I had probably in one week what I normally drink in a whole year. I did discover two new things that I loved: a grapefruit cosmopolitain--it was pink and a dirty martini with gin. I tried the vodka one, but liked the gin better. Now I have to figure out how to make it.

On our tour of Puerta Plata, this is the lunch they served us. It was gross and pretty tasteless. Chicken with the bones, rice, potatoes, and plantains. The avocado was on the table to put on top. Didn't help.

 One of my favorite things was the room service. We did that for breakfast several days. Jennifer and I ordered cereal. When the tray came, I said, "OMGosh, they sent us someone else's meal." Then I opened it.

 Oh yeah, I forgot that I had ordered a banana.

This was Janice with a triple tequila shot. I thought you were supposed to get the headache AFTER you had the drink. Oh, that's right she did!

And this was all of us after a night of hard drinking!! Jeanne got this shot. We have no idea how that happened, but it seems appropriate.

While we were having amazing food, Butch and Walter were not so lucky. Butch said that the food wasn't all that good. In fact, the best thing they had was pizza. But then they did have to try this expensive delicacy.

 Can you figure out what it is? It's a guinea pig!

They raise them for eating. I guess it's like us with lobsters. You pick out the one you want. Not really.

Butch tried a teeny bite and didn't like it. He said they don't eat much protein. They don't eat much beef or chicken either. I guess rodents are more prevalent. Now I believe in trying everything, but I don't think I could do it!

Well, that's my report on the food. 

What I Buy Wednesdays

 When we were in Key West, I bought these roosters since they are running wild. Good reminder of the trip (and my brother at the same time).

We stopped at a little roadside stand on our Segway tour on Grand Turk. I bought a few pieces of Larimar for my girls.

After learning about the salt mines and donkeys, I asked our guide if I could have a rock. The entire island is built on this. It's called curry(not the cooking kind). I didn't want to lick it to see if it's salty. I like to pick up a rock from unusual places. When I get home, I use a sharpie to mark it. This one crumbles, so I couldn't mark it. I gave it to Butch.

I bought some hand rolled cigars for the boys. There are two "cigar worthy" events coming up. Mitchell's college graduation and Steeplechase. No one smokes them regularly, but this makes it sort of a treat.

I added a couple charms to my travel bracelet. Stephanie and I started them while in Ireland last year.   The camera and anchor are some cheapie things offered on the ship. The green/blue ball has shamrocks and the sheep next to it are from Ireland. I bought the Larimar/amber ball from Puerta Plata in the DR. Larimar is only found in the DR.

That's it for what I bought this trip. I don't really need anything, so I try to be discerning with my purchases.

 After leaving the hot tropics, the other girls (except Janice in Texas) were coming home to freezing temperatures and snow. I couldn't resist sending them this picture.

 A lot happens in a week in Nashville!

Spring has sprung! Still chilly though. Good thing. I'm not done with my daily fires.

Travel Tuesday

Okay, here we go.

Our cruise was soooo much fun. Honestly, anywhere we go is fun just because we're together. We don't have those opportunities often enough.

We all flew in to Ft. Lauderdale last Saturday. Joyce arrived a little later than the rest of us. We ended up meeting her at the ship.

We started with---what do you think? Lunch and drinks, because, well, why not?

Before I start, let me say something about the pictures. I really would like there to be ONE designated picture taker in the group so we could all share them. I don't get my way on this. Instead, there are hundreds to wade through and many that I never see. It's so frustrating for me. I hate the disjointed, lack of organization of that. Plus I think it's rude to hand someone who's offered to take a group shot---5 cameras! Due to lack of internet access, I couldn't even get most of them. Plus a couple of the sisters still use old fashioned cameras. I'll never see those photos. Truly, for sharing purposes, our iPhones are the best! Airdrop makes it a breeze. I had planned to use this feature when we got to the airport, but that was a fiasco and another story! The iPhones take great quality photos too! In fact, I've gotten rid of all of my cameras now. See for yourself. The pictures are in about the best order I could get them.

We were on Holland American---to me it was a big ship. But it only had 1750 passengers---much smaller than some of the others.

The gallery bar was our favorite meeting place. They had some really nice art hanging all around. The only problem is there was some really loud shuffleboard type game in here. Jeanne is taking this picture. From left: me, Sharon, Joyce, Janet, Jennifer and Janice.

 Jeanne and me.

We met Ricco Chico---the matre di on our first night. He was very friendly (as most of the staff are) and made a point to stop by several times. His name stands for "rich boy." He's from Indonesia and said that when a baby is born, the name is given based on either what the parents want for them or something in their current situation---like a full moon, or sunny day.

 Our first stop was Key West. This is the southernmost part of the US---just 90 miles from Cuba.

On our tour, we went through an area where these iguanas were all over. All OVER, I tell you! Every shape, size and color. Everywhere! Huge!

 There are wild roosters and chickens everywhere. I asked a bartender who collects the eggs (don't say it---I know roosters don't lay eggs!). He said that no one did. I never saw any, nor did I see any chicken s**t! Very surprising to me since the wild turkeys we have go through our yard are very messy on the patio!

 It was appropriate that we encountered these wild roosters on this particular day. It was the one year anniversary of our brother's death. His nickname at work was "rooster." We had a toast and I gave each of the girls a deck of cards (we're big poker and game players). I got the idea about the cards from Mindy. She gave Butch a deck for Christmas with her and his picture on them.

 I used this picture---the last one with all 7 of us. On our last family gathering, Janet "made" us take it. There was some grumbling (not from me), but in hindsight, we're so glad to have it. I don't think any of us considered the importance of it.

 I was the oldest and Ronnie was next in line. This is our last picture together. We were all sad for a minute, but then happy that we could share this moment together on the ship.

 The next day was a "sea" day. Some of us took the kitchen tour. I'm always amazed at the amount of food they go through in a week.

 Beautiful water everywhere.

 Our ship---taken from one of the islands.

 When we were on Grand Turk, we took a couple tours. There are wild donkeys roaming around. They were brought over by Great Britain to haul the salt from the mining that was going on there. When that came to an end, the donkeys were left to fend for themselves. They are protected by the government and just roam freely. Local people will put out food from them.

 Janice posing with a couple. They are not skittish or aggressive.

 Janice and Jennifer were on a tour that stopped at a---I don't know what it was called---some sort of preserve. These are baby conks.

 They grow up to be these beautiful pink conk shells.

 Here's an actual conk in its shell.

 This is a sea cucumber---it's some sort of animal or amphibian that lives in the ocean. I saw them in the ocean on one of my tours.

 While Jennifer and Janice were on the island tram tour, the rest of us took he Segway tour. That's my favorite way to tour anywhere.

 Another donkey just walking down the street. Apparently he knows to stay on the sand sidewalk!

 In the Dominican Republic, we took this hokey tour where we were to see a chocolate factory, a coffee factory and a cigar factory. Well, they weren't really factories, but stores! They passed out samples. I left the cigar place pretty quickly as it was a cigar bar and all smokey. Our final stop was at a local family and lunch. It was pretty gross, but we were starving by then.

 Our last stop was the private island owned by Holland American. They bought it for $6 million. Seems pretty cheap for a whole island.

 Cocktails before one of our fancy dinners. I'll be doing a separate post about the food and beverages.

 In the plaza of Half Moon Cay. We all went in different directions. Janice, Joyce, Jeanne and Sharon when horseback riding in the ocean. As it turned out, they didn't actually get to swim with the horses since they didn't know how to make the horses cooperate. Janet and Jennifer went on an island tram tour which they said was a joke. I had the best tour of all! It was called and eco tour---basically it was a flora and fauna tour. This is my favorite type of tour and I take them whenever I have the opportunity--mostly by myself. We were on a little boat and saw every possible colorful fish and coral. I tried to take a few pictures, but you can't really get the idea from them. It was sooo good---just as good as snorkeling without getting wet or getting that nasty salt water in your mouth!

 The plaza here was very nice and colorful with beautiful landscaping.

 One afternoon, Jennifer and I decided to go to the Crow's Nest bar. This was also the library. There were tables set up with jigsaw puzzles. I just wanted to read and enjoy the view. Well, this was my view.

 This is the view if you aren't short! The story of my life!

I'm not sure if this works, but here is the video of Janice "making it rain" after her big win at the casino!

 Check out all of those Ben Franklins!

Our room when it was made up. We had to be really organized to make the most of the lack of space. We joked that we played PacMan all week! We literally had to keep backing up and out of the way for another person to pass to get anywhere---bathroom or closet. I have been on many, many cruises---10 to be exact. This was a really small cabin---and it was a suite! We did have a nice balcony that our cabin steward opened up to the rest of the girls. We ended up not using it because it was so windy.

On cruises, one of the things the cabin stewards do is a fancy towel fold every night. They leave them  on the bed with chocolates, room service menu and the schedule of the next day's activities. One night, this little monkey was hanging. The ship offered a towel folding class. We didn't take it. Now, had it been napkin folding, I would have done that!!!

We girls had the best time. The food was delicious and the beverage package is a MUST. You have to pay for every drink---including bottled water and sodas. The only thing you can get for free is tap water---which is filtered, but I only drink bottled water anywhere except at my own house. You can also get coffee and tea in the food areas. The iced tea was disgusting. Remember, I'm a purist about my tea. I can tell immediately if they used a pot that coffee was in prior. In the nice dining room, the tea was pretty good. But in the fancy restaurant, the tea was some sort of fruit tea. Not my cup of tea---pun intended.

Butch had a fabulous time with his brother in Peru. We went through our photos on our tv last night---another great thing about using your phone to take pictures. When I set his photos up, he had 274. I was like---"whoa! This is going to take forever!" Plus, he likes to tell me the history of everything. He kept jumping up to point out things. Luckily for him, I only had 135 pictures. And, I can't remember one bit of history I learned (well, I should say "heard" since I didn't actually learn it). I didn't have to get up to point out anything! It only took about an hour and a half this time. We had such a good time sharing our experiences.

Tomorrow, I'll be sharing what I bought. Then food and drink on Thursday.