Good Evening! It was 44 degrees outside when I got up this morning! The house felt cold and I turned on the furnace for a few minutes to take the chill off. I worked on thank you notes, laundry, and more clothes sorting today. Tonight we went out to eat at a steak house with two other couples who paid for our meal for our anniversary. One gal is a great cook and she made a two layer sponge cake with a lemon filling and whipped cream frosting. It was to die for and I brought two pieces home for tomorrow.

I am heading to bed shortly. Have a terrific Thursday tomorrow!

Good Afternoon! Another chilly morning but the sun is shining and it has warmed up this afternoon. I may fill in for another cat sitter next week and had to go and find out how to give meds. The cat has a thyroid condition and gets medicine twice a day in her ears. I assumed it would be drops which I have done with one of our cats but it looks like Vaseline and it is measured in a syringe. I have to just wipe it on the very outside edge, where there is no hair, on the inside of her ear, one ear in the morning and the opposite ear in the evening. I've never heard of that before. I've been working on the annual financial report for the gift shop since we have our annual auxiliary meeting next week.

"Gma," I like the idea of your send off meal the night before you leave on vacation! I saw your cookie recipe on FB but didn't see the toffee bits listed. Is it the same cookie you put those in, half chocolate chips and half toffee bits? It's been a long time since I made chocolate chip cookies; Bob reminded me of that when I was making cookies the last time. It would be nice if Jackson could deliver the items you ordered. You have a busy schedule today!

We are leaving in a few minutes for Ian's game. Next week it is a soccer game. Hope you enjoy the rest of the day!

Good Morning! Another beautiful day in my neighborhood! Bob left early this morning for a tractor ride. I've done some laundry and counted gift shop money. I am about ready to toss the laptop out the back door! It keeps wanting me to do something with Microsoft and doesn't like my password which is the only one I've used for the last couple years. Consequently I can't type anything so had to do the figuring with a calculator. That's not hard but just takes longer. I HATE computers! Bob is no help because he has tech service to fix his snafus when they happen. Bob is ushering at church tomorrow and I have to pick up the money. My co-counter is gone for a week and the so called office helper who knows how to do that part is "busy"; she told me we could wait a week, then do the two weeks together. I hope there aren't any large bills to pay this week!

"Gma," I sent a text to Bob's cousin in Florida and she flew to D.C. where her daughter lives. Haven't heard from the relative who was our neighbor at the cabin. She might still be up at the lake; she was a pain "you know where" when our cabin sale was pending so haven't talked to her nor heard from her since. I have been watching the Irma updates on tv. So scary for people living there. The newspaper was giving estimates on the millions of dollars that the state will lose if tourists can't come. I sure hope your cruise will be able to sail on schedule. I've done the same catalog ordering for our grandkids. I don't mind supporting the schools but would much rather just make a donation and call it good.

I need to put my gift shop paperwork away for another week. Our annual meeting is next week so I need to get my report ready for that. I have a busy week coming up with something every day. It will be soccer instead of football for one thing; one hour on the bleachers instead of two. We bought stadium seats and they are great, don't know why we waited so long! Hope you are having a good day and can enjoy the weekend!

Oh what fun! Today's trip to Fort Lauderdale was better but definitely not great! First 100 miles bumper to bumper 20 mph then the plazas were awful and there were lines for gas. They had big police presence to keep problems from starting and honey the people and their clothes! We saw one girl with her butt cheeks hanging out and a lady over 60 was wearing just a tshirt with a long tail. She looked idiotic. Turnpike was better but had slow downs accidents and construction. We got here at 4 ET and our room was given to a you know what that cut in front of me!!! We had prepaid 3 nights and waited half an hr then put us in the very last room at the end of the hall even though the 12 I walked past were dark with the drapes open. My colon is still acting up, I'm stressed from the drive and a grouch but we had a nice dinner in the hotel restaurant. I had salad and the best mac n cheese i have ever had($13 for mac n cheese lolol). So we are relaxing now and gonna watch Cubs game at 8 on our ipad. The city has over 300,000 without power so hardly any place open to eat. we do get free bfast and free snacks and drinks at 5 pm. We need to get on the ship where there's food! 😄😄. It is going to rain here all three days before we leave Sat and the beautiful pool was damaged so no swimming. Brother what a crazy vaca thus is gonna be lol.

Jean: Hope you can get your problem fixed. I told Jack we were like the frosting in an Oreo as we were the only out of state car with dozens and dozens of "choc cookie" Floridians. Will try and post when I get a moment.

Good Evening! This has been a crazy week with multiple things to do every day. Next week isn't looking much better. Bob found the problem on the laptop. I accidentally hit the number lock button, which I did one other time. I have NO patience when something doesn't work right. We had a funeral yesterday and I talked the office "helper" into counting after the lunch. We had a $44,000+ deposit, $1,500 for Hurricane Harvey. I'm sure money for Irma will be next.

"Gma," I have been thinking of you and Jack. Glad you are there safe! A friend from Bob's hometown told me their relative was trying to get from FL to Louisiana before the storm hit. There was no money in ATMs, nor gas available. I'm not sure what part of the state they live in. Bob's cousin, in the high rise, lost power but no damage. I can't imagine where one would start to clean up the damage done by the storm. Hope you can relax a bit, and the ship is ready for you as planned.

I need to unload the dishwasher and fold a load of towels. Hope you have a super Thursday tomorrow!

Good middle of the night! Some dope next door has been in and out of their room and slamming door so hard it makes our room vibrate. Woke me up so decided to just stay up until we start getting ready at 6 AM. They have a wonderful breakfast here free every morning from 6-10 weekdays and 7-9 on the weekends so we'll go down early I expect. They have scrambled eggs, potatoes, sausage and bacon, cook to order eggs and omelets, fresh fruit, yogurt, pancakes or waffles, 3 types of bread for toast, english muffins, bagels, pastries, juices, coffee, milk, and soda. During the week, in the evenings, they have snacks, alcohol drinks, sodas etc for free from 5-8.

We did a load of laundry at the hotel laundry area as the laundromat we use hasn't opened back up. We haven't ventured out much. The grocery store had limited power and could sell nothing that was refrigerated or frozen as all they had was generator power and everything had spoiled. Ugh! We ate in the restaurant here the first night, had Boston Market night the second and ate in the restaurant the third night. We didn't want to get caught in traffic snarls looking for places to eat as a lot of traffic signals are still out and you get caught in long lines. The restaurant is ridiculously expensive but the food is good. They have mac n cheese as an entree and it's the best I've ever had even if it was $13.95!!

Jack went out and filmed different things with his gopro and will edit it all and fancy it up some after we get back home so we have video not just still pics. First year my feet haven't swollen. They did that day I got stuck driving all day but I put them up when we checked into the hotel and it was gone by the next morning. The weather is very hot and really, really humid but hoping for good weather for sail away day today. I'll take my vertigo pill as soon as I get on the ship today.

Jean: Glad the computer was an easy oops. I have done the number lock thing in reverse. I like using the # keys on the side of the keyboard and can't figure out why they won't show up on the screen only to discover my number lock isn't turned on. These poor people trying to get out got stuck on the interstate, like you said, no gas, no money, food etc ran out everywhere. I did get a laugh when we went to the grocery store. Jack wanted some more diet Mountain Dew so we went down the soft drink aisle. No water at all, but obviously this is Coke country as there was not one bottle or can in the store, including the individual cold ones, but Pepsi hadn't been touched. The funny thing is though, most restaurants and fast food places serve Pepsi not Coke down here. The dopes next door just came down the hall talking loudly and slamming doors again!

You all have a great weekend!!! We are anchors away around 4 pm. We'll have internet so I'll try and post as I remember to.

Good Morning! Sun is shining and it's 46 degrees outside! I guess the weatherman was right about the cold front moving in. We are heading for church shortly. I have to finish adding strawberries to my salad as we are invited to Amanda's parents for dinner. The occasion is to meet two other couples traveling to Maui about the same time that we will be there. They have never been there so coming with lots of questions I'm sure.

"Gma," how annoying to have such noisy neighbors in the hotel! I would be too! There was a picture on FB for a case of bottled water priced at $50 so I wasn't too surprised at your mac and cheese. If it was good, that's what counts. I hate paying for food that isn't, when we eat out. Restaurants are switching to Pepsi around this area. We are Coke fans but I usually order water because the fountain pop has no taste. Hope you enjoy a wonderful time on your cruise!

I need to get dressed and get going. Enjoy your day!

Good evening! We have had dinner, bags are packed and out in the hallway to be picked up and we'll be off the ship before 10 AM. We are staying in Fort Lauderdale tomorrow and doing all our laundry so I don't have so much when I get home. I have a dirty house that needs cleaning so Jack is going to take Wed and Thurs of next week off to help me get everything done.

We had a great time even though by Monday my right leg and ankle swelled up terribly and I couldn't get the swelling down. I would keep it up in the air when I was in the cabin and we put 3 pillows under it at night in the bed and it would go down some but during the day it would swell back up. We missed two shows because my leg hurt too much and they were 10:30 pm shows but that's ok. Jack bought himself a couple logo shirts and a ballcap with Harmony of the seas on it, I bought my best friend a pink zip up hoodie and this tiny living tree silver necklace. I stayed away from the handbag sales but bought a couple new bottles of perfume and Jack bought me a beautiful pair of gold and diamond earrings. I spent my free money and then some. Had some delicious food and a couple weird things, but only one I hated. It was an eggplant and kalamata olive thing that was mushy and tasted awful. I had a delicious roasted beet and citrus salad tonight and chicken marsala. Jack had a lamb shank that he said was really good.

Well, I am going to go to bed soon. I want to get my leg up and need to get up at 5:30 AM. Have a good evening and talk to you again soon.

Good Afternoon! It is hot and humid again today. We left early this morning for Sioux Falls taking our neighbor lady with us. She has a friend who moved there a few years ago and invited her to visit. Zowie had a soccer game at 11, went out for lunch afterwards, then stopped by the mall. You would have thought it was Christmas; the parking lot was almost full and check out lines were long at Penneys. I need clothes but not that bad! We go back Monday for a football game so may go early and try again. I didn't see any appropriate "old lady" clothes along the aisles as we walked through. After two weeks of having to be somewhere every day, I need some down time.

"Gma," I'll bet my dirty house beats yours, no doubt about it. I'm sorry about your leg swelling. Do you know why that happens? Glad you enjoyed the shopping and food choices. Time to start planning the next cruise! Where will you go? Not sure if I shared but will have first cataract surgery on the 5th. I can't wait!

I have laundry in the washer and dryer so need to change loads and keep moving. Enjoy your evening and safe travels home.

Good Morning! The sun is shining but it was a nippy 45 degrees early this morning. The weatherman is promising warmer temperatures this afternoon. I am home today, until bell practice later this afternoon. My house looks like the maid is on strike. I am making a dent in the clutter though.

My washer is done so need to get the next load going. Hope you enjoy a wonderful Wednesday!

Nightime and never got in here to start posting again. Working on getting laubdry done and everything put away then try and get groceries, car washed and house cleaned by the end of the weekend.

We came home to my little friend having chewed through two bags of those goldfish snacks and tore the heck out of one of those roach bait traps! We put cheerios in the trap, moved it and turned it on. Now all we can do is wait. I am positive it is the scummy neighbors down a couple condos who brought the thing into the building. It's particularly disgustng when you don't live like that. I bought a bunch of sealed cereal storage boxes and boxes to store everything that isn't a can good. Mainly I am big time irked and more than a little freaked out.

Jean: I have talked with three different doctors and get the same responses. Truth is they have no idea why getting on a ship causes my legs to swell. I had no swelling traveling to FL and didn't swell when I was in FL for three days. The second day on the ship it started swelling and by Wednesday my right leg was swelled so badly it was shiny. My left one,though not as much swelling, bruised from swelling. I slept with three pillows under my calf and foot. I felt like the "Princess and the Pea!" The swelling is way down already and I figure a couple more days and it will be gone completely. Other than that, we had a great time. Even the professional photos were good this year.

Have a good evening. Talk tomorrow.

Good Evening! Another nice fall day in my corner of the world today. I went to get my nails done this morning, then made a stop at WM for orphan food. This afternoon I sorted through magazines for the hospital and wrote church birthday cards. I did get the vacuum out so it's ready to go tomorrow.

"Gma," I think it is hard to get back in the groove after being on vacation. It would be nice to know if "It" is hiding somewhere in your condo or comes and goes as he pleases. Frustrating and scary too, I'm sure. Glad you enjoyed your cruise in spite of your swollen leg.

Tomorrow is my cataract physical; since I was there a month ago I don't expect it to last long. Hope you enjoy a fantastic Friday tomorrow!