Last Sunday in March

[PeggyinCT]

Good morning Everybody from gray, cloudy CT. Yesterday was beautiful and my daffodils are blooming, but today is a different story.
Judy B, in reply to your PM. Yes, I am on the Aranui 5 which is a cargo/passenger ship that delivers supplies to the French Polynesian islands on a regular schedule. We get to visit each island as the cargo is being loaded and unloaded. I am interested in the Polynesian migration across the Pacific Ocean in their outrigger canoes. It’s a fascinating story and this will be my third trip to the South Pacific. I was supposed to go last fall, but the trip was postponed for a year. Hopefully it will happen.
Sue, taking a paddle wheel down the Mississippi would be fun. I tried to do it when I was in St Louis but the river was too low. I was finally able to take a day trip out of Memphis. There is a lot of barge traffic, which I enjoyed watching.

The large cruise ships do have their place, especially if you like being in a resort, but they are very limited if you are interested learning about people and places. Enjoy today. Peggy

[BirdbyBird]

Peggy your trip sounds interesting and much more suited to my idea of discovery and adventure than a large floating resort with endless food and drink. I do keep looking at the small River cruises..... more in Europe, etc.

My phone says it is going down to 29 degrees tonight but I am still taking the RT over to the mechanic. By the time he fixes the ceiling fan and figures out and corrects some of the electrical issues he will probably be able to de-winterize. He claims so anyway. I can always replug in my heater if necessary. My daughter said her camp driveway will be open by the middle of April after both she and Lucas have moved 2 weeks past their last shots. Apparently Lucas now has an electric car. Kate said he had the electrician put in an extra plug for visitors when he got a plug for his car. I haven’t even met my new grand dog yet. She is a Dutch Shepherd that the got from a rescue group..... or as my daughter says. Wicked smart and high energy.

[Bethers]

I'd love that type of cruise, Peggy. My last cruise a very long time ago was on one of the smallest cruise ships. So the wood was real teak and gorgeous. I think there were only 300 of us. You could walk around the deck in a very short time. We were the last cruise before the ship left for it's new home with a different company to do river cruises, etc in Europe. Why was it sold? Because they were doing away with the smaller cruise ships for the bigger and bigger and bigger. I think I might like checking out some of the European cruises one day if they still use the smaller ships. As to barges on the Mississippi, I think they are definitely a part of the charm. During the time I lived on the Mississippi in Wisconsin my living room window faced it. It was wonderful watching the barges.

I'm being a bum. No excuse. I've actually done a couple little things, but not touched a few things I intended to get to today. Most have nothing to do with getting ready to leave, so they'll still be here next time I am if I don't get to them, but I'd like to have a few of them done. We shall see. I'm definitely procrastinating.

Tina, I'm sure a trip to your daughters driveway is in your near future. And I'm sure it'll feel wonderful to do this. Seeing them and getting out, wow, finally. You've been and are still on a long path of recovery and it's wonderful to see you forging ahead.

[Redetotry]

Finally talked to our regular vet and he called in some prednisone for her. It has really made a difference! That along with the antibiotic and the inflammation in her mouth is getting better. She ate on her own last night the smelly baby food the vet suggested. I had been shredding cooked chicken breast but he said dogs that won't eat will usually eat baby food especially Gerber's little meat sticks mashed up with the juice. Today she ate two of those and dquite a bit of my scrambled eggs. I didn't want her to eat too much since it has been at least 5 days since she had at much more than a tablespoon a day!! I gave her another small amount at noon and she seems to be doing well so will give her a little more at dinner. Still no explanation for the gum irritation.

It was 82 degrees here yesterday I was ready to turn on the A/C! It is beautiful to drive around and see all the trees that are in bloom.

Velda I sent you a PM but it looks as though you didn't get it as it says NO PM Here is the link you wanted. https://leaf411.org/finding-the-best-cb ... -for-pain/ scroll down for the phone number.

[MandysMom]

BJ, I answered your PM Saturday.
Velda

[cnq50b]

Peggy, I like the idea of a slower pace of travel & the ability to really investigate places more. I'll have to look into those cargo/passenger ships more.

Hey, maybe we should plan a GTG on a small cruise somewhere once things are safe.

Tina, Just saw your mention of Europe. Where would you like to go? My DD is sending fabulous pictures of Paris & the nearby countryside. They live close to the Eiffel Tower so there are many places & parks well within the set limits for being outside their apartment during the day. While she is enjoying having this area to locals only, being able to use her French & become familiar with her new home without all the tourists, her French husband is yearning for the active, hustle/bustle that he knew growing up. His mom lives in a small town north of Paris amongst castles & an historical equistrian center. I definitely want to visit there.

Survived having the grandbaby spend the last couple of nights. Just took him to his other grandparents where Olivia spent the weekend. Their parents will pick them up from there. He slept pretty well each night - I'm the one who couldn't sleep - based on my fitbit I only got around 4 hours each night. Hope they don't want to 'get-away' again anytime soon.

Going to try to get my place back in order this afternoon & be ready for my little prince in the morning as usual.
Take care,
Catherine

[JudyJB]

I have been drooling over the Aranui 5 since it was the Aranui 2! That's at least 25 years.

That is what I consider a REAL ship, with cargo in the front and a cruise ship in the back. And you go on islands that do not normally get tourists, so no fast food in the Pacific, etc. Just wish I could afford it. I have a 401K, but since I have no house, and my motorhome depreciates, I just cannot afford to spend any of it, especially since I still want to go back to the UK for a month next spring. I have only SS--no pensions or other income, which is why I am still working.

Some good news!! I have been struggling with the amount of Verizon data I have each month. I have two hotspots and my phone, and each gives me 15 gig of data before they throttle me to a very slow speed. And it has been costing me $164 per month. With Zoom and just more things I need to do online, I have been running out. For example, this month, I had a staff meeting on Zoom, and had to have three two-and-a-half hour Zoom sessions monitoring groups of students while they took their final exams. So now I am out, so I just called Verizon. Have not changed my service in four years, and found out the new plans provide 30 gigs per device of un-throttled speed and now my cost will be $145 per month.

So, it really pays to check every couple of years to see if you can get a better deal Yea!!

And I am game for a short cruise sometime, as long it is not on one of those "apartment block" huge ships that are more like hotels with shopping centers.

[Bethers]

Hopefully I'll get to bed early tonight. The person washing my rig will start between 7 and 7:30 a.m. He's not concerned with me sleeping in, but Ty will go berserk when he starts. That will get me up in a hurry. Ty and I will hang out in the casita, or outside part of the time (it'll be in the mid 80's, great for some porch time). I have some projects I plan to work on in the casita tomorrow and think I can get what I'm planning started and finished in the one day. Of course it means I can't spend the day procrastinating.

[snowball]

It is Sunday that is my itty bitty news!!!
text my dd's one is going to talk to the pharmacy in town see what he says they just want me to head north when I safely can
still need to check weather.com again see what it says for the next 10 days sorta want to wait till tomorrow though as I am pretty sure I will stay through the weekend... its conference weekend and notorious for having bad weather... but then it is virtual so maybe
last night sometime between 10 and 11 I heard a car then a door slam tried not to think about it then about 12 took Shadow out and there was a car and a campfire.... then around 1 it left thankfully there was no wind as they didn't bother to put the fire out it died down though so glad I would have been really irritated if I'd had to lug water over to put it out in the dark...
feel really bad I had rinsed out some miracle cloths that I use to clean up after Shadow pees not on a pee pad so had rinsed them out and just left the water to use again tonight for some reason looked in there and there were two bodies think it's some of the squirrels didn't even give it a thought that they would get in and drown
you all take care
sheila

[Acadianmom]

Another do nothing day most of the day. I finally got my tax papers together tonight except I'm missing a 1099 from a local bank. I should be able to get that tomorrow. I'll be glad to get that box out of the floor.

As usual I feel like there is something I should be doing. Maybe clean house before the dust bunnies take over. There has been nothing on TV worth watching all weekend.

BJ, glad your dog is doing better.

Martha

[BarbaraRose]

Shiela, so sad about the squirrels. Poor things!

Spent the day with my new manager at work. She seems really nice. We were really busy so we didn't get a chance to chat much. I work tomorrow all day with her so we will get more time to get to know each other.

It is getting very warm here. Was in the low 90's today and will pretty much stay that way all week. I need to get the window trim painted before summer. I am hoping we get some 70's weather yet with no wind so I can at least finish the trim around the sliding door in front so it looks decent from the street. The sides and back could wait til fall but I really want to get it all done soon. Then I will be done with the outside. I had a neighbor say they like what I have done with the house with the colorful accessories. Most of the park models here are beige or white with neutral trim.

My shoulder is still a bit sore today but getting better. I got a bad headache this afternoon before leaving work so I went straight home and took a short nap. I don't get headaches very often. I didn't even feel good enough to bring my new gourd to Debbie tonight for her birthday.

Speaking of birthdays, tomorrow is my daughter's 20th birthday. I hope she is doing well.

Beth, do you have a bathroom in your casita? And a couch? Maybe you could go nap in there when the guy comes.

More bad storms thru the south. I think they said 16 tornadoes today. I hope Sarah, Martha and the rest of our ladies in the southern states are safe.

[Redetotry]

I have been drooling over the Aranui 5 since it was the Aranui 2! That's at least 25 years.

That is what I consider a REAL ship, with cargo in the front and a cruise ship in the back. And you go on islands that do not normally get tourists, so no fast food in the Pacific, etc. Just wish I could afford it. I have a 401K, but since I have no house, and my motorhome depreciates, I just cannot afford to spend any of it, especially since I still want to go back to the UK for a month next spring. I have only SS--no pensions or other income, which is why I am still working.

Judy if you were married can't you draw SS from your ex? Seems to me as though someone I know about was able to do that, doesn't matter if your are divorced. There might have been a stipulation as to how many years you were married.

[MandysMom]

BJ, drawing on husbands SS depends on who made more $$. You draw on the account which will give you more. You can not draw on yours and his and she said she gets SS , but also teaches for more income. I drew on mine until Mel died, then they switched me to his, which was larger and mine went away.
Velda

[BirdbyBird]

I believe the bar is if you were married more than 10 years.......if one qualifies (year wise) it doesn't cost to check. I have a friend who kicked herself because she was unaware and lost a chance of earning funds. Had she known she could have filed ..... to the tune of $40,000 dollars.

[JudyJB]

I was married 18 years, but I waited until I was 69 to collect. He was a year younger and retired at age 57, so his SS was not that much. I might have tried it earlier, but I just didn't. My SS is not bad because I waited so long to collect, but I wish I had worked at a job that paid a pension. My problem is predicting the future--how long will I live? I want to be able to afford a place to life on my own in my older years, and not have to live with kids, so I am trying not to spend anything from my 401K. I guess I am just cheap, but I do enjoy traveling as I do, and I would really have to skimp if I quit teaching. I am probably going to quit in a year anyway. And it does keep me busy--not sure if it helps my brain anyway.

(Quick Story: When I first was diagnosed with CLL, I googled it at 3 am one night. Several articles said life expectancy was 4-7 years, and my doctor said I had probably already had it for several years. Panicked, thinking I would not have time to spend my 401K, and did not want to leave it to kids who did not need it, so started planning immediate trip to Scotland so I could spend my money before I died! Few days later, I discovered that the 4-7 years was old info, and that I was likely to live a normal lifespan. Darn! Had to stop planning my big blowout trip!)

But I am going to England and Scotland next year, so that will be a big expense. And maybe someday I will take the Aranui! Maybe in 2-3 years?? Anyone want to join me to share a double??

I have a free week, so really need to get busy with some cleaning. Need to wipe down the walls with a damp cloth because they get so dusty and don't help allergies. Also need to vacuum. Easier to plan it than actually do it, however.

Now, you have me looking up the itineraries online! I'm almost hooked.