FRIDAY FOUR FILL-IN

 

 

Thanks to Feeling Beachie for the statements:

This week’s statements:

 

1. I love to eat   but I hate to cook.
2. Kisses in the morning makes a day better
3. They Didn’t Think I Could enjoy retirement, But I Did
4. Warning: there is a happy woman running around!

FIVE QUESTION FRIDAY

 

1. What do you enjoy doing the most with your spouse?

I love travelling with my spouse as well as ballroom dancing.

2. How do you eat your taco? From the top or from the side?

I don’t eat tacos.

3. Have you ever shut off the basement light and ran like a fool because you knew someone was down there and would get you?

No however since my husband wants us to conserve electricity I have turned off the basement light while he is down stairs.

4. If you could change one thing about you what would it be and why?

I would love to be a size 10 and never have to worry about my weight again.

5. What age do you think is appropriate to have the "bird and the bees" talk with your children?

It would have to be my grandchildren now and I believe in answering their direct questions with a direct answer. So if they ask I will tell.

THRIVING THURSDAY–LATE EDITION

 

My apologies for delivering my blog so late in the day.  I got in trouble from my daughter as well as my mother for being late.  My excuse can be found in the name of my blog.  I am retired however I am not tired yet.

Yesterday we were away from home.  We travelled north to Grand Bend which is near Goderich on the Lake Huron coast.  We saw a play “Johnny and June” which is part of our series this summer.  I thought it was wonderful.  The music was Johnny Cash’s songs with June Carter, his wife, singing with him.  The first act was set in Folsom Prison where he actually recorded an album. The second act was a retrospective of his life with June.

The musical director is the same one who worked on the adaptation of Elvis in “Blue Suede Shoes”.  The actor who played Johnny is an unknown.  He had an excellent voice and almost sounded like Johnny. It was his debut performance with the Drayton Festival Theatre.  Let’[s hope we see more of him.  The actress who played June was also new.  It was her first time with the theatre group as well.

Besides being busy away from home I am also busy at home.  I have picked up the knitting needles and I am making funky socks for the grandchildren.  I was inspired by the knitting ladies on our last cruise. Good thing I did not thow away my patterns or knitting needles.  It is like riding a bike, I haven’t forgotten how to knit on 4 needles.

Stop by tomorrow for 5 question Friday and hopefully I will find a little more time for blogging.

WORDLESS WEDNESDAY–CHANGES

 

A new development is being built on the site of the old Anglican church and where the family business was located.  The business was closed down 5 years ago when the church stopped renting the yard.  Change is happening every where.

TRAVEL TUESDAY–PLANNING

 

A good trip is only as good as the planning.  We have some small day trips in the next few weeks. Our usual theatre trips as well as a trip to see my parents.  We will celebrate my mother’s birthday.

Our next big trip will be to Charleston in October.  We now have the dates and are making plans.  This trip may go down as a family trip since my daughter and my sister want to come with us.  The purpose of the trip was to help H and her family while W is away at a conference in Germany. It now appears that it will be a touring trip as well.

That is no problem since H loves to show off her city.  We also love the many attractions that are offered in the great city of Charleston.  We personally have done most of them on our many visits and will be delighted to see them again through new eyes.  Our grandson E will be delighted to help us as well.

It always amazes me that we can be flexible and accept the challenges of travelling any where, any time.

MEET ME ON MONDAY

 

Welcome to Monday Quiz About Me -

Here are FOUR QUESTIONS that everyone can answer and then you have the option to add a fifth question of your own for those who are visiting your blog to answer in the comment section, along with commenting on the four standard questions you answered!
Grab the badge for your post if you like:

And now for this weeks Questions:

1.  When  was the last time you tried something new?

2.  What’s a belief that you hold with which many people disagree?

3.  What kind of music do you enjoy listening to?

4.  What piece of advice would you give to a beginning blogger?

And don't forget to add a 5th Question on your own blog so we can answer as we hop around!

My Answers:

1. I  joined in on Book Club while I was on my cruise.  I have read many books over the years but this was my first Book Club event.  I thoroughly enjoyed the discussions and wish there was a book club in my area.

2. I believe there is a “Destiny” for everyone. 

3. I listened to a Jazz radio station however we ballroom dance to foxtrot, waltz, cha cha, rhumba, tango, salsa.  We also love country music.  I would say my taste in music is well-rounded and eclectic.

4.  Have a support person who will help you connect to other bloggers.

My 5th question is:

When was the last time you went to the theatre and what did you see?

SUNDAY IN THE CITY–NIECE’S WEDDING

 

A departure from our cruise pictures.  We had the pleasure of attending our niece K’s wedding to M yesterday.

A good time was had by all.

Add you pictures and link up to

 

SATISFACTION SATURDAY–NEW FRIENDS

 

Besides visiting wonderful countries around the world we have made many new friends as well. We are gradually putting together a collection of pictures for the many people we met.  Hopefully we will keep in touch and maybe even cruise again in the future.

Here are some of our friends from our cruise:

FIVE QUESTION FRIDAY

 

1. If you could have been (could be) any profession you wanted (brains and $$$ no problem) what would it be?

I have always said there are only 2 places to be in a company so I would like to be the president of the company. 

2. How often do you clean out your car?

Not very often.  Usually when we need to pack for another trip or we have just come from one.

3. Do you wish there was such a thing as fashion police or are you deeply relieved?

I am critical of the way some people dress however since I have a weight challenge I am glad that there is no fashion police.  I just wish people had more respect for themselves.

4. What's your go to food/drink/activity when stressed?

To alleviate stress you can find me in a hot bubble bath with a cup of hot tea and a good book.

5. If you had twins, what would you name them?

We were very lucky that were skipped when it came to twins since both my husband and I had twins on both sides.  As far as names go I used my girl names with my daughters and my son got one of the names I was going to use.  The other twin might have been Stuart.

Play along by checking out:

 

 

 

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THRIVING THURSDAY–GETTING IN THE GROOVE

 

It is hard to get back into the real world after having been on a fabulous cruise.  We miss the care as we had people prepare our meals.  The beds were made and the rooms were cleaned every day.  In the real world we have to do it ourselves.

We also got used to the activity on the ship.  We talked to people every where. There was lots of social interaction which is hard to find at home. It is definitely a close community. We could be as busy or as relaxed as we wanted to. At home we are getting back into a quieter routine.  We don’t see our neighbours as often because they still work.

We are catching up slowly but surely.  In the meantime we are glad to share our experiences so here are a few more.

I miss the interaction with the librarian and the book club she organized.

Our future cruise director who is giving us new dreams and helping us make them a reality.

The sales clerk who chatted with us every day even when we didn’t buy anything.

Thank you all for making our trip more enjoyable and look forward to meeting you again.

WORDLESS WEDNESDAY–THE CREW

 

Even though we are home from our cruise we still have many pictures of our adventure at sea.

To really enjoy a cruise the staff work exceptionally hard.  Here are some of the people who helped us enjoy our time at sea.

Our dining room stewards

 

Our room stewards

Our dance teachers

The executive chefs

The DJ in the Crow’s Nest

The Captain of the Ship

TRAVEL TUESDAY

 

We have finished our cruise and now the planning for our next one begins.  Our next cruise is February 17th 2013.  We will be back on the Ryndam and will cruise the Caribbean from Tampa Florida. After all of our cruises next year D H thinks may become the size of ship we will be able to afford.

I hope not since it doesn’t appear to have a very dance floor.

Your life is only as good as the next trip in the planning stages. Happy Travels everyone.

MEET ME ON MONDAY

 

Welcome to Monday Quiz About Me - My apologies for getting this up late... but it's been one of those days...
Here are FOUR QUESTIONS that everyone can answer and then you have the option to add a fifth question of your own for those who are visiting your blog to answer in the comment section, along with commenting on the four standard questions you answered!
Grab the badge for your post if you like:

 

 

1.  If you found a $100 bill on the floor at the mall, what would you do?

I would look around for someone with an open purse or a pants pocket that may have a whole.  I actually dropped $60 o0ut of my wallet on our trip away.  Someone is enjoying my money.

2.  What is one thing a friend could do that you would considering ending your friendship upon finding out?

I don’t appreciate being lied to and I also dislike a person who continually puts other people down.

3.  When was the last time you had to say your 'sorry?'

I say sorry even when it is not my fault.  It almost takes the place of excuse me.

4.  In your words, define 'perfect.’

Perfect is a place I will never be.  Just being good takes a lot of time and effort.  It is the unattainable.  On the cruise survey the highest score is 9 because there is always room for improvement.

And don't forget to add a 5th Question on your own blog so we can answer as we hop around!

My 5th question today is “How often do you see a doctor?”

 

 

 

 

 

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SUNDAY IN THE CITY

 

Check out what's happening in cities all over by visiting:

 

I am sorry this post is late.  We have just returned home from our cruise.

I don’t know if it is good to be home however the laundry is done.

SATISFACTION SATURDAY

 

The trip is coming to an end.  We are laving our home away from home after 35 days. We are saying farewell to the fabulous staff who have taken care of every need.  The room stewards who made our bed every morning.  They cleaned the bathrooms and vacuumed morning and night.  They turned down our beds and gave us 2 pieces of chocolate on our pillows.  They made wonderful towel animals that kept us company as well.  They worked very hard and always had a pleasant smile and a willingness to joke with us.

We are saying goodbye to the staff in the Lido restaurant who made our coffee every morning.  They served us our fresh squeezed orange juice as well as oatmeal and cream of wheat.  There was always bacon and french toast as well.  The food tasted great because it was served with love and smiles.

We say adieu to the bar staff who served us ice water by the pool as well as while we were dancing.

Adieu to the staff in the Rotterdam Dining Room who provided elegant service at dinner which we shared with our new friends from Wisconson and Texas. It was a pleasure to meet every night and share our days with them.

To all of the people we met while dancing, while playing cards, while exercising and just walking about we thank them for making this trip an adventure as well as memorable.

And finally to the crew who kept us safe and entertained we thank you too. Until we meet again on a few cruise.

Here is our home away from home:

Overall it was a most satisfactory cruise and we look forward to our next one in February.

FIVE QUESTION FRIDAY

 

1. What's the one thing you buy every time you walk into the store?

Usually we have to restock the fridge.  Since we have retired we don’t need a lot of clothes.

2. If you had a day all to yourself how would you spend it?

In the bathtub, reading a book and drinking a pot of tea served by my slave husband.

3. Are you a speed limit driver? If not, over or under?

Definitely a speed demon.  Thank goodness for cruise control.

4. What's your favourite dessert to make, homemade or from a mix??

My favourite dessert is banana cake although apple pie is my second choice.

5. Would you rather have a spider or a mouse scurry across your face (no copping out and saying "neither!!")?

Spider all the way.  The only good mouse is a dead mouse.

THRIVING THURSDAY–KEEPING FIT

 

On any cruise one must be careful bot to gain any weight.  This hard to accomplish as it is possible to eat 15 meals a day if you wanted to.  One of our ways of being able to eat dessert and enjoy the wonderful food on the ship has been our dancing.  We even won the twist competition.

We have several excellent places to dance.  One place is a small dance floor in the Ocean Bar.  We dance to a group called “The Neptunes”.  Here we do most of our ballroom sets.

The other venue is the Crow’s Nest. Here we dance rock and roll to “Jenny and The Halcats”.

We also had the pleasure of a Tango evening with the “Adagio String” Quartet. D H got the nickname “Mr. Tango”.

To help us with our dancing with had 2 fabulous teachers, Allison and Terry who started on the basics of Rhumba, Cha Cha, Waltz, Tango and Swing. 

 

I don’t know if we have kept the pounds off but we are thriving and we keep on dancing.

VOV33

St. Johns

We woke up to a breezy and rainy day, not ideal weather to venture up to Signal Hill and the embattlements. Consequently, we just wandered about the downtown, checking out some of the stores and remarking on the changes that we noticed since we were here last. We did see the Terry Fox Monument at Mile 0 and followed the historical harbour walk.

Once on board we basically relaxed until sailaway at 3:00. It was great to pass through the Narrows with lots of onlookers waving at us from Signal Hill and a 3 Gun Salute from the cannons. Of course the ship answered with a long blast from the fog horn. The combination of the cannon blasts and fog horn roused up the local sea bird population and their raucous protest lasted quite a while.

Tomorrow is a sea day.

VOV31 & 32

Great Big Sea

No, not the band although they hail from Newfoundland.We have missed another port. Yesterday was another sea day and everything was going fine until the captain got on the P A to make an announcement.It is always bad news when he does this. This time he announced that there were storm warnings around St. Anthony and the seas would be too rough to tender in so we would be heading directly to St. Johns. In essence today was basically another sea day but by missing St. Anthony we arrived at 5:00 PM and will overnight here.

At 4:00 the show band played a sail in set at the Crows Nest for an hour and we danced of course. After dinner dear wife managed to call her mother and check up on her as she has been in ill health for most of the time we have been cruising. Thank goodness for free long distance in Canada.

At 9:00 the show band played again up in the Crows Nest but this time it was ballroom dance music. For the first half hour it was just practice and the last half hour it was a dance competition. The ballroom dances were Cha Cha, Waltz, Fox Trot and Free Style. DW and I had a great time dancing the three ballroom dances and cheered on the winners of each. The free style turned out to be the Twist and we managed to be co winners in this category so my record is intact. However we felt that another couple on the dance floor deserved the prize. The female partner had wrecked her knee and basically gets around on a wheel chair but she was standing up a twisting as best she could and we gave our prize to her.

Tomorrow we will get off the ship and wander about. We have been here before and will probably be back some time again so we have no great plans ( except maybe to slide over to the Quidi Vidi brewery to sample their beer. )

WORDLESS WEDNESDAY–CHOCOLATE EXTRAVAGANZA

 

I’ve shown you mine

TRAVEL TUESDAY–SAFETY

 

Sadly we are nearing the end of our cruise. It has been an amazing voyage.  One of the best parts has the been the care taken by the captain and crew for our safety. We have travelled in the Atlantic Ocean from Boston to Europe and back.  We’ve had calm seas and many rough seas. 

We have missed a few ports because of unsafe conditions.  We missed Red Bay Labrador because of fog and ice bergs.  It was the same for Greenland. We outran a major gale to arrive in Iceland ahead of schedule. We added the port of Molde, Norway to make up for it.  On our way back we were able to catch up and visit Prince Christian Sound on a gorgeous sunny day.

Now we are missing St Anthony’s Nfld because of high swells which would make tendering impossible. To make up for it we are going to spend extra time in St John’s.

The rocking and rolling of the ship have made it difficult to dance however the sleeping is great.  Just like a baby sleeping in a cradle.  Fortunately I have managed to maintain my stomach and not be seasick.

This is what the pool looked like during the rough seas.

The sun set before a storm.

A calm sea.