BlogSpot.com gives a very false idea of how many followers I actually have. If it were so, I'd be very sad. (They say 6.) It doesn't give a reliable number. Most people read it as an e-mail, which is a shame, since my blog design has such beautiful wall paper background and includes other information about me. But, I'm glad to be able to help friends and family keep up with our happenings.
I can always read the Stats section and see how many have actually looked at it, plus the world map which also lets me know where people reside who are reading it. It's interesting. You probably surmised by this time, I write because I like to write.
I always seem to begin my posts with I'm so busy. I don't know how I used to manage when I was working. Actually, the world seemed to go much faster and I was moving faster then too. Now, time seems to envelope all my activities. . . whether I'm busy or not. . . the time goes by. Quickly.
Paul had a good 80th birthday weekend. His kids are great.
Greg arrived on Thursday evening, driving up from Florida. Brenda, who flew in from California, arrived Thursday evening also. Dorothy and Jeff arrived on Friday. They were so busy getting ready for the party!We didn't see much of them. But - they had a chance to be with each other. The Elks Club in Watkins Glen is in a beautiful location that overlooks Seneca Lake. It was a beautiful day and evening. We couldn't get over how lovely it looked - with candles, mirrors, flowers, colored leaves, linen colored napkins on all the tables. Thanks to Dorothy for the floral arrangements.
Sharon and her "committee" of Greg, Brenda and Dorothy (Jeff said he only did dishes which I don't believe) spent an afternoon baking cakes and decorating them. They set up a table for them in the corner of the banquet hall. They were just gorgeous and people were taking lots of pictures. They tasted delicious too. (I could appreciate their beauty.) (It took many more hours for Sharon to bake - especially since her boxer, Flea, ate part of one of the chocolate cakes.)
We had 66 (?) people. I know I will forget to mention some people. There were a LOT. It was nice to meet his secretary from work.
Early on - The kids opened up the invitation list to their cousins. I'm getting to know that generation a lot better. His nephews on Donna's side, Eric and Joe, came from Middletown. Of course, it wouldn't be the same without Lue! Lue was there with her son and daughter-in-law, Mike and Barb. - and her sister Sharon, came also. I had friends, Ruth, Wes, and Carol, come from Bath and our next door neighbors, Dick and Ann, came also.
Plus my kids and two grandkids. Vincent and Evie are getting to know their cousins. Evie was one of several smaller children who enjoyed a dvd player that was set up in the corner for a while.
Evie, Vincent and Nancy arrived at Elmira Airport, on Friday evening and left on Sunday evening. They had the same flights that Brenda had taken - only Brenda's was a day earlier and a night later. Sunday was my son-in-law, Dan's, 40th birthday, so Nancy, got a sitter, and took him out to dinner when they got home. Bless him - he took care of Walter, who is 20 months old, for the weekend. What a guy. It was much appreciated. We missed him though.
Paul just laughed at me. I asked him for another word for kids. He said children. Then I said - kids, who are ages 40 - 60. Offspring. That sounds a lot better, doesn't it.
Paul's brother and sister-in-law, Howard and Alicia's three offspring came: Charles/Chuck flew in from Alaska to Connecticut a couple of days early, and drove his parents to the party. Karen came from D.C., Joe - from NYC. Plus mine came:. Bill from Florida. Nancy from Chicago.
Grandkids: Some were unable to come - due to school, college. But there was a table of grandkids: - including Vincent. That was really neat. Of Paul's siblings - the brothers, Howard and Bob, were there. Got some good pictures placed on Facebook. Bob, stayed with us overnight. We always enjoy having him.
Paul surprised everyone (including me) by giving a great speech at the end. When I commented to him on it, he said -with a twinkle in his eye - what did I think he was doing downstairs in his "cave" all this time? I had no idea.
Speaking of his Cave: It has worked out very well for my son Bill. He works from home in Florida. He's been able to continue doing his medical transcription and not miss any work time. He was also able to get in touch with several of his high school buddies, go to his home church, and see his dad.
Gracie and Martini, her older 8-year old cousin: Now, I don't know why - perhaps the difference in ages, but they haven't actually played together much. Martini is rather shy and lets Gracie get away with a lot of things. This time though, they actually played - pretend wrestling, growling, sharing (?) toys. Maybe: Gracie is maturing and is not as rambunctious as she's been. Ya think?
Paul just did his last leaf pick-up for the season and the mower/blower is now in the shed for the winter. Everything is just about ready for us to leave. I have to check my 2013 list and add/subtract items I need to have.
Brother Bob and son Bill have been here for two weeks and we'll all be leaving together soon. In a caravan. Three cars. We've never tried this before. We'll stop and have lunch with Edna and Mike at their home in Pennsylvania - two+ hours into our trip. We'll stay one night in a motel. From there, we'll part ways with Bill. He will continue driving on to Fla., and we'll go with Bob to Alpharetta, GA., stay overnight, and continue on to Fla. the next day. We're anxious to see Bob's new place and see Jon, Nicole and the kids.
Wednesday, October 29, 2014
Wednesday, October 15, 2014
Length? Or Longeth? Which?
Time flies by when you're having fun, or not . . .BUT. . . it seems like time just flies by - don't you think? I've been watching this month disappear. The end of which will be very busy. Paul's 80th birthday party is in the works. So much preparation is being done by all five of his kids. They each seem to have a job to do - We don't want you doing anything, they say. Okay. That's so nice.
I'm playing the piano at church this Sunday. I'm playing "As The Deer" which is one of my favorites, but it is not that well known. The lyrics are: "As the deer panteth for the water, so my soul longeth after Thee." As I thought about this, one of my ideas was to find a picture of a deer drinking water and put the lyrics next to it - to be projected on the large screen - as I play - so people can realize it's a Christian hymn.
There are lots of pictures on the internet of just that (a deer drinking water) and some of them even have the lyrics with them. I found one that I thought was the prettiest, in a card-making site. Any lyrics can be included. So - it's being sent to me, to be delivered, supposedly, today. Last Sunday, I talked with the gal in charge of the projection screen at church. She gave me her e-mail and said to send the picture and words any time, which made me feel better, because I didn't know if it would come in time.
And it did come today. I assume it went okay by computer. I have to laugh, though, I had to re-write the words of the card for her because the words of the real card said - "As the deer panteth for the water, so my soul length after thee." Length? What happened to the word "longeth". Didn't the person making the card have any sense of what he was doing? Grrrrrr. Or did I make a mistake when I sent it out. Who knows. It really doesn't matter, but I guess I should do something about it - just for general principles.
We've been inundated with doctor appointments. Nothing new.
So, when people ask - what've you been doing, and we say, not much. We have been busy, but who wants to hear that stuff. Our calendar is full. It used to be full of fun things, now it has mostly doctor appointments.
There was an article in Money Magazine about good health - making the most of doctor visits- how often you should see a doctor - and the article said, mentioning different tests, procedures, protocols - when you're young - you should go, let's say - every 2-3-5 years - for such and such a procedure. Then it creeps up. Now it's every2-3- 6 months. Ridiculous. But I guess when/if your body is breaking down (meaning, my body. . . sorry . . . I can only speak about mine. And I'm trying to be humorous.) and they need to catch things in beginning stages so that they can repair, rewind, redo, renew. That's how they make their money, and how we stay well, I suppose.
And when things crop up - and new doctors appear, my goodness. I know that half to three-quarters of my post-readers are my age, so I'm preaching to the choir. I can see you all nodding in agreement.
Next week at this time, we'll have Bob and Bill here for the last two weeks of October. . . God willing and the creeks don't rise. Bill will be leaving Florida on Thursday, spending a night in Alpharetta, GA, with Uncle Bob, cousin Jon and family. Then on to St. Louis on Friday, to visit a friend and then spend Saturday night in Chicago with his sister and family. Sunday - he'll be here. Late. Bob will be here late that night too. He says he'll spend one night on the road.
So I guess I'll have the sauerbraten on Monday. It needs to marinate for four days. Let's see. . . I guess that means tomorrow it should start marinating. Have to shop for the ingredients.
Got an e-mail from cousin Alice. She was in Colorado for her grandson, David's, wedding these past weeks and posted some beautiful pictures on Facebook of the wedding and the area. I am very happy with Facebook as it keeps me posted as to what all my family/friend groups are up to.
Alice also said that Carol is doing so well. That is great news. Not unexpected. Carol has a lot of gumption. Do you remember Mary Tyler Moore show? When her boss says - you've got gumption, and I like gumption. Carol reminds me of that.
A note: Paul has set up my old camera - the one where the shutter doesn't close completely so that the battery doesn't last long - so that I can take some pictures. And he has set up the present sick camera's battery charger so I can use it with the old camera. Pretty neat.
Leaves, leaves everywhere - Paul was outside yesterday and mowed/swept the lawn and the grass is that lovely emerald green. We had a wind/rain storm and it's all covered up again in a blanket of leaves. All of his work is for naught.
Another note: Our hot tub is drained for the winter and all winterized. There's a good chance that a lot of people that read my blog will be staying at our house in the next two weeks. If you do, don't bring your swim suit. Unless you want to use it when you shower.
We spent a lovely Sunday evening at Sharon and Dave's house to celebrate Lee's 19th birthday. His dad drove down to Maritime Academy Saturday night for a football game and drove Lee home afterwards. (It was a three day weekend - Columbus Day.) Sharon had sandwich makings, and two home-made pumpkin pies. All Delicious. I brought my gluten-free bread so I could make a sandwich. It was good to see Dave's dad, Dave Sr., there. His wife passed away a couple of weeks ago. Also there were Dave' sister and two of Lee's cousins. A good group.
Just spent a lovely afternoon at TGI Fridays with my good friend Ruth from Bath. It was so nice to catch up with all her news. She's been taking care of her 98 year old mother, Emily, for a couple of months. Her mother is very very feeble. And she requires 24 hour care. Ruth has two sisters with whom she shares care of her mother. Emily stays with Ruth for several months and then goes up to her sisters' homes up near Buffalo where her mother used to live.
Last weekend, all three sisters and Emily went for a sisters' annual Columbus Day weekend and rented a cottage on Seneca Lake. When the weekend was done, Ruth's sisters took her mother home with them. So Ruth was so glad to get out and be by herself!
It's not easy having an elderly person always around requiring 24-hour care. One thing Ruth remarked about today was her son-in-law Mark. He was so wonderful because he would come over and take care of her mother so she and Wes could do necessary things. Doctors' appointments, a dinner out, visiting people.
I must repeat what Mark told her because I think it's really really nice. I wish I could remember the exact words, but here's what I remember. . . She asked him, aren't you afraid that she could possibly "pass on" (my words) while you're here looking after her? And he said - This is not a verbatim quote. "I would consider it a privilege to be the one who was here when she passes to the other side. I would consider myself very blessed."
The other morning, before 6 AM, we were awakened by our carbon monoxide alarm going off. It wasn't a false alarm. The back burner on the gas stove was left on simmer and it blew out during the night or something, Paul said. He's still not absolutely sure that was what it was, or was it a malfunctioning unit. All our alarms are interconnected, so the whole house was sounding the alarm. It's not very loud, but enough to waken you. I had thought it was Paul's alarm clock. He had thought it was mine.
The next paragraph is funny. Not funny ha-ha- but funny- strange.
Gracie who's so small isn't afraid of thunderstorms, lightning doesn't make her shake, but those alarms do. She just shakes like she's going to break apart. We have to hold her and calm her down.
Tonight, Paul was downstairs in his Cave, which is directly below where our computer room is upstairs, and where I was sitting. He tested one of those alarms - just ONCE, and poor Gracie got under my computer table, which she never does. She literally cried. I couldn't even hear it at all and didn't know what was the matter with her. She started for the stairs, didn't want to actually go down there, but I was concerned that Paul might need help or something (You hear about dogs knowing that.) So we went down. All is okay now. He says if he has to, he'll test it out in the garage from now on. Her hearing is so good - I wonder if that'll make a difference.
I'm playing the piano at church this Sunday. I'm playing "As The Deer" which is one of my favorites, but it is not that well known. The lyrics are: "As the deer panteth for the water, so my soul longeth after Thee." As I thought about this, one of my ideas was to find a picture of a deer drinking water and put the lyrics next to it - to be projected on the large screen - as I play - so people can realize it's a Christian hymn.
There are lots of pictures on the internet of just that (a deer drinking water) and some of them even have the lyrics with them. I found one that I thought was the prettiest, in a card-making site. Any lyrics can be included. So - it's being sent to me, to be delivered, supposedly, today. Last Sunday, I talked with the gal in charge of the projection screen at church. She gave me her e-mail and said to send the picture and words any time, which made me feel better, because I didn't know if it would come in time.
And it did come today. I assume it went okay by computer. I have to laugh, though, I had to re-write the words of the card for her because the words of the real card said - "As the deer panteth for the water, so my soul length after thee." Length? What happened to the word "longeth". Didn't the person making the card have any sense of what he was doing? Grrrrrr. Or did I make a mistake when I sent it out. Who knows. It really doesn't matter, but I guess I should do something about it - just for general principles.
We've been inundated with doctor appointments. Nothing new.
So, when people ask - what've you been doing, and we say, not much. We have been busy, but who wants to hear that stuff. Our calendar is full. It used to be full of fun things, now it has mostly doctor appointments.
There was an article in Money Magazine about good health - making the most of doctor visits- how often you should see a doctor - and the article said, mentioning different tests, procedures, protocols - when you're young - you should go, let's say - every 2-3-5 years - for such and such a procedure. Then it creeps up. Now it's every2-3- 6 months. Ridiculous. But I guess when/if your body is breaking down (meaning, my body. . . sorry . . . I can only speak about mine. And I'm trying to be humorous.) and they need to catch things in beginning stages so that they can repair, rewind, redo, renew. That's how they make their money, and how we stay well, I suppose.
And when things crop up - and new doctors appear, my goodness. I know that half to three-quarters of my post-readers are my age, so I'm preaching to the choir. I can see you all nodding in agreement.
Next week at this time, we'll have Bob and Bill here for the last two weeks of October. . . God willing and the creeks don't rise. Bill will be leaving Florida on Thursday, spending a night in Alpharetta, GA, with Uncle Bob, cousin Jon and family. Then on to St. Louis on Friday, to visit a friend and then spend Saturday night in Chicago with his sister and family. Sunday - he'll be here. Late. Bob will be here late that night too. He says he'll spend one night on the road.
So I guess I'll have the sauerbraten on Monday. It needs to marinate for four days. Let's see. . . I guess that means tomorrow it should start marinating. Have to shop for the ingredients.
Got an e-mail from cousin Alice. She was in Colorado for her grandson, David's, wedding these past weeks and posted some beautiful pictures on Facebook of the wedding and the area. I am very happy with Facebook as it keeps me posted as to what all my family/friend groups are up to.
Alice also said that Carol is doing so well. That is great news. Not unexpected. Carol has a lot of gumption. Do you remember Mary Tyler Moore show? When her boss says - you've got gumption, and I like gumption. Carol reminds me of that.
A note: Paul has set up my old camera - the one where the shutter doesn't close completely so that the battery doesn't last long - so that I can take some pictures. And he has set up the present sick camera's battery charger so I can use it with the old camera. Pretty neat.
Leaves, leaves everywhere - Paul was outside yesterday and mowed/swept the lawn and the grass is that lovely emerald green. We had a wind/rain storm and it's all covered up again in a blanket of leaves. All of his work is for naught.
Another note: Our hot tub is drained for the winter and all winterized. There's a good chance that a lot of people that read my blog will be staying at our house in the next two weeks. If you do, don't bring your swim suit. Unless you want to use it when you shower.
We spent a lovely Sunday evening at Sharon and Dave's house to celebrate Lee's 19th birthday. His dad drove down to Maritime Academy Saturday night for a football game and drove Lee home afterwards. (It was a three day weekend - Columbus Day.) Sharon had sandwich makings, and two home-made pumpkin pies. All Delicious. I brought my gluten-free bread so I could make a sandwich. It was good to see Dave's dad, Dave Sr., there. His wife passed away a couple of weeks ago. Also there were Dave' sister and two of Lee's cousins. A good group.
Just spent a lovely afternoon at TGI Fridays with my good friend Ruth from Bath. It was so nice to catch up with all her news. She's been taking care of her 98 year old mother, Emily, for a couple of months. Her mother is very very feeble. And she requires 24 hour care. Ruth has two sisters with whom she shares care of her mother. Emily stays with Ruth for several months and then goes up to her sisters' homes up near Buffalo where her mother used to live.
Last weekend, all three sisters and Emily went for a sisters' annual Columbus Day weekend and rented a cottage on Seneca Lake. When the weekend was done, Ruth's sisters took her mother home with them. So Ruth was so glad to get out and be by herself!
It's not easy having an elderly person always around requiring 24-hour care. One thing Ruth remarked about today was her son-in-law Mark. He was so wonderful because he would come over and take care of her mother so she and Wes could do necessary things. Doctors' appointments, a dinner out, visiting people.
I must repeat what Mark told her because I think it's really really nice. I wish I could remember the exact words, but here's what I remember. . . She asked him, aren't you afraid that she could possibly "pass on" (my words) while you're here looking after her? And he said - This is not a verbatim quote. "I would consider it a privilege to be the one who was here when she passes to the other side. I would consider myself very blessed."
The other morning, before 6 AM, we were awakened by our carbon monoxide alarm going off. It wasn't a false alarm. The back burner on the gas stove was left on simmer and it blew out during the night or something, Paul said. He's still not absolutely sure that was what it was, or was it a malfunctioning unit. All our alarms are interconnected, so the whole house was sounding the alarm. It's not very loud, but enough to waken you. I had thought it was Paul's alarm clock. He had thought it was mine.
The next paragraph is funny. Not funny ha-ha- but funny- strange.
Gracie who's so small isn't afraid of thunderstorms, lightning doesn't make her shake, but those alarms do. She just shakes like she's going to break apart. We have to hold her and calm her down.
Tonight, Paul was downstairs in his Cave, which is directly below where our computer room is upstairs, and where I was sitting. He tested one of those alarms - just ONCE, and poor Gracie got under my computer table, which she never does. She literally cried. I couldn't even hear it at all and didn't know what was the matter with her. She started for the stairs, didn't want to actually go down there, but I was concerned that Paul might need help or something (You hear about dogs knowing that.) So we went down. All is okay now. He says if he has to, he'll test it out in the garage from now on. Her hearing is so good - I wonder if that'll make a difference.
Monday, October 6, 2014
Guess I won't have pictures for a while.
My camera is really kaput. There's nothing but blackness when you look through the lens and it doesn't change no matter what we do. Paul said, and I agree, we have to send it back to the manufacturer. Unfortunately, I can't send it from here now because we could end up being in Florida when it's shipped back. There's just not enough time left. Also, unfortunately, I won't be able to take any pictures of Paul's 80th birthday party at the end of the month. We had some rain this morning, but this afternoon has been absolutely beautiful and I saw some perfect shots. You know - with the colors just perfect. Sky blue. Leaves. Oh, well. It is what it is.
We've had a quiet (?) week of doctors' appointments. I go to see my rheumatologist on Wednesday, so I needed blood tests which I got today in Big Flats - 10 minutes away. I have so many doctors that I sometimes forget where they are located - Sayre, PA, Corning, Big Flats? And just think - in a month or so, I'll be introduced to new doctors in Florida, as it was suggested that I get some down there.
My car: tomorrow morning it goes in for a recall and oil changed. First time! Did I tell you how much I love my car? I was thinking that as I drove home this morning from Curves. I love the color and I love the back up camera. I will miss it when we go to Florida. But, it'll have a good rest in the garage up here - out of the salt and snow.
You should see the most recent pictures of my son, Bill. He's been on a diet and very very strict about keeping to it and exercising. He should be very proud of himself and all the effort it's taken. He's coming up for a couple of weeks and will work from here.
Paul made two new end tables for his room downstairs. They're really pretty. Sorry. No pictures. You know - I could be easily discouraged. . . I learn how to put them on this blog and my camera breaks! There's no justice.
His room is so nice. That futon is so lovely - it's very comfortable to sit on. I told Paul we should get another. And he said - why? I said because I love it. That's no reason, of course. I made some chili yesterday and it needed 1/4 cup of beer. (what a waste of a can of beer. . .) so I took it downstairs and sat with him while he finished it.
He has my hope chest as a coffee table. Inside the hope chest is a folded WWI flag that's been in there forever. It's huge. People would march with it - held open - like a blanket - in parades in WWI. People would throw pennies down into it from windows . I guess the pennies were then used for the war effort. Now, I wouldn't dare open the flag without great caution. I'm afraid it would fall apart. My parents flew it from our huge willow tree to the house for Memorial Day and the Fourth of July. Circa 1940-1955.
These are such exciting years for Paul's grandchildren.
Heard from Greg, and Brenan seems very happy at Georgia Tech. He went camping this past weekend and it was supposed to be very cold. I wonder how this young Floridian made out??? Of course he's used to upstate NY Christmases.
Nee Nee has been accepted at two colleges and is still waiting from UFC. ( For me, it's wonderful to be a part of all this. I feel very fortunate.)
Lee is doing well at his school. He visited us last time he was home and we learned how happy he was as he talked and talked about school.
Charles is on the swim team at his high school. (reminds me of the "Bill years" when he was on his swim team. Exciting).
Ida is on her soccer team. We have her schedule and hope to get to see her play.
We went to Corning last Friday night and saw our Corning relative and the Corning Band play for their football game. He is (Now I can't remember correct titles here, so bare (bear?) with me) head chair of the percussion group. . . 10 -15 students?
Corning has just combined two high schools - so the band is huge. This is their first year as one school. I taught and retired from Corning. (11 years ago! Seems like yesterday.) Loved that time in my life. Made some good friends and had some great experiences.
I spoke with Bob and he's so happy in Alpharetta. He says there's always something going on. He'll be visiting us soon, for a couple of weeks before we leave for Fla. He's driving up with Martini.
We've had a quiet (?) week of doctors' appointments. I go to see my rheumatologist on Wednesday, so I needed blood tests which I got today in Big Flats - 10 minutes away. I have so many doctors that I sometimes forget where they are located - Sayre, PA, Corning, Big Flats? And just think - in a month or so, I'll be introduced to new doctors in Florida, as it was suggested that I get some down there.
My car: tomorrow morning it goes in for a recall and oil changed. First time! Did I tell you how much I love my car? I was thinking that as I drove home this morning from Curves. I love the color and I love the back up camera. I will miss it when we go to Florida. But, it'll have a good rest in the garage up here - out of the salt and snow.
You should see the most recent pictures of my son, Bill. He's been on a diet and very very strict about keeping to it and exercising. He should be very proud of himself and all the effort it's taken. He's coming up for a couple of weeks and will work from here.
Paul made two new end tables for his room downstairs. They're really pretty. Sorry. No pictures. You know - I could be easily discouraged. . . I learn how to put them on this blog and my camera breaks! There's no justice.
His room is so nice. That futon is so lovely - it's very comfortable to sit on. I told Paul we should get another. And he said - why? I said because I love it. That's no reason, of course. I made some chili yesterday and it needed 1/4 cup of beer. (what a waste of a can of beer. . .) so I took it downstairs and sat with him while he finished it.
He has my hope chest as a coffee table. Inside the hope chest is a folded WWI flag that's been in there forever. It's huge. People would march with it - held open - like a blanket - in parades in WWI. People would throw pennies down into it from windows . I guess the pennies were then used for the war effort. Now, I wouldn't dare open the flag without great caution. I'm afraid it would fall apart. My parents flew it from our huge willow tree to the house for Memorial Day and the Fourth of July. Circa 1940-1955.
These are such exciting years for Paul's grandchildren.
Heard from Greg, and Brenan seems very happy at Georgia Tech. He went camping this past weekend and it was supposed to be very cold. I wonder how this young Floridian made out??? Of course he's used to upstate NY Christmases.
Nee Nee has been accepted at two colleges and is still waiting from UFC. ( For me, it's wonderful to be a part of all this. I feel very fortunate.)
Lee is doing well at his school. He visited us last time he was home and we learned how happy he was as he talked and talked about school.
Charles is on the swim team at his high school. (reminds me of the "Bill years" when he was on his swim team. Exciting).
Ida is on her soccer team. We have her schedule and hope to get to see her play.
We went to Corning last Friday night and saw our Corning relative and the Corning Band play for their football game. He is (Now I can't remember correct titles here, so bare (bear?) with me) head chair of the percussion group. . . 10 -15 students?
Corning has just combined two high schools - so the band is huge. This is their first year as one school. I taught and retired from Corning. (11 years ago! Seems like yesterday.) Loved that time in my life. Made some good friends and had some great experiences.
I spoke with Bob and he's so happy in Alpharetta. He says there's always something going on. He'll be visiting us soon, for a couple of weeks before we leave for Fla. He's driving up with Martini.
Thursday, October 2, 2014
Our Cruise to New England and Canada
We're back. I don't like advertising the fact that we'll be away, for obvious reasons. After the fact, is fine.
We went on a seven-day cruise for Paul's 80th birthday to Canada and New England on the Norwegian Cruise Ship, The Gem.
We left from NYC which in itself could have been an adventure. The idea of driving in NYC wasn't met with much approval by my husband. So we drove to Middletown the day before and stayed overnight with Paul's niece, Sue, and had a nice visit with her and her brother, Eric. On Saturday morning we took the beautiful ride along the river on the train in to the city. We took a taxi to the ship from Grand Central.
This was quite a different cruise from a Caribbean one. The second night there were eleven foot waves which made walking, standing, sitting and sleeping kind of exciting. The next day we were in Halifax, Nova Scotia, and went to Peggy's Cove, a picturesque little town on the rocky coast with scattered houses and a lighthouse. We could still see large waves rolling in. I guess they're used to waves because they said that when there's really high waves, the town-folk come out from Halifax and go watch the waves at Peggy's Cove which sometimes go over the lighthouse! It was a beautiful day and I'm glad we got a chance to see it.
The next day we docked at St. John's, New Brunswick. The main tourist attraction is the tidal portion of the Bay of Fundy. If you've never heard of this, the tides are the biggest in the world - 50' from high to low tide daily. We had a boat tour of the reversing rapids at high tide. It's a section of the water where the water reverses direction after a while. It was high tide so we could get quite close because the water wasn't too rough. To get on the boat, we needed to take a floating stairway down to a floating dock. The stairway incline was, I'm guessing, at a 15 degree angle - so it was very high tide. After our boat trip we went into a museum where we had a very knowledgeable young man give us all a lecture on whales. When we left the museum, had a cup of coffee, and then went outside, the dock was at a much much higher angle. 40 degrees in two hours? So we could see the water had lowered considerably. Didn't get any good pictures there.
The third day we went to Acadia National Park from Bar Harbor, Maine. We had to dock out and take a tender in. A beautiful and scenic tour. From mountains to seashores. They said that people will come to the beaches by the hundreds to sunbathe on sunny hot days, but you might see 6 kids in the water. Very cold! I somehow think I'd prefer Jones Beach on Long Island. But it was a beautiful spot. We got out at the top of Cadillac Mountain, which they say is the tallest mountain on the east coast, and could see our ship down below.
The fourth day we were in Boston. That was a disappointment. The pier where we docked was old and decrepit - sad looking. There was a mile-long four-story dirty white building with broken windows in a lot of areas. A few spots had lights on. We took a bus/trolley tour and saw a lot, but went past most things too fast to get pictures. No stopping. And the sound was poor quality. Not good for Paul. I did see the church my former nephew Andy was married in and hotel across the square where we stayed. It was as beautiful as I remembered it 20 years ago.
The fifth day we were in Newport, Rhode Island. That was beautiful. We went to the tourist center and got on a small bus for a ride around the area to see the mansions. I had been before, but Paul hadn't. It was a good tour with a good tour guide and excellent sound quality. Unfortunately, my camera stopped working. Not sure what happened but we were unable to get any pictures.
The next day we were back in NYC. What a zoo! There were four cruise ships in at our pier. The luggage was color-coded and amazingly we found our luggage quite easily in the pink section of our ship's luggage area. But the thousands of people! We thought we'd never get a taxi, but there was a queue across the street that we got on, and got in. A short wait. We felt badly for our annoyed taxi driver because he waited an hour for a ride - and we were only going to Grand Central Terminal (a ten-minute $10+ fee) He had hoped for a JFK ride. Oh, well. All we could say was "sorry."
We're still recuperating from our trip. It was fun. One thing I did was to make it known that I wanted gluten free meals, and they supplied a dietician who worked with me each day to prepare a dinner that was GF. Each night, after I finished eating, he'd come by with the next night's menu. He used the regular menu and showed how they could change the ingredients so that I didn't have any wheat products. Such as chicken parmesan with GF pasta. Plus GF toasted bread when Paul had the regular rolls. There were (I'm picking a number)2,500 people on board. The dietician worked with only 32 people on the ship. So I felt very special.
Sue was at the train station to pick us up and we took her out to lunch before leaving for home. We stopped at Tioga Racetrack on the way back and played the slots. I couldn't seem to lose my money! I was down to 50 cents and then I accrued $30. - I was tired - so I cashed in my original $20 and we left. I paid for pizza for supper when we got home. Gluten Free for me. Regular for Paul - Pretty good!
We picked up Gracie on Sunday around noontime. She was happy to see us, of course, but it looked like she had a good time with her friend, Micky.
We went on a seven-day cruise for Paul's 80th birthday to Canada and New England on the Norwegian Cruise Ship, The Gem.
We left from NYC which in itself could have been an adventure. The idea of driving in NYC wasn't met with much approval by my husband. So we drove to Middletown the day before and stayed overnight with Paul's niece, Sue, and had a nice visit with her and her brother, Eric. On Saturday morning we took the beautiful ride along the river on the train in to the city. We took a taxi to the ship from Grand Central.
This was quite a different cruise from a Caribbean one. The second night there were eleven foot waves which made walking, standing, sitting and sleeping kind of exciting. The next day we were in Halifax, Nova Scotia, and went to Peggy's Cove, a picturesque little town on the rocky coast with scattered houses and a lighthouse. We could still see large waves rolling in. I guess they're used to waves because they said that when there's really high waves, the town-folk come out from Halifax and go watch the waves at Peggy's Cove which sometimes go over the lighthouse! It was a beautiful day and I'm glad we got a chance to see it.
The next day we docked at St. John's, New Brunswick. The main tourist attraction is the tidal portion of the Bay of Fundy. If you've never heard of this, the tides are the biggest in the world - 50' from high to low tide daily. We had a boat tour of the reversing rapids at high tide. It's a section of the water where the water reverses direction after a while. It was high tide so we could get quite close because the water wasn't too rough. To get on the boat, we needed to take a floating stairway down to a floating dock. The stairway incline was, I'm guessing, at a 15 degree angle - so it was very high tide. After our boat trip we went into a museum where we had a very knowledgeable young man give us all a lecture on whales. When we left the museum, had a cup of coffee, and then went outside, the dock was at a much much higher angle. 40 degrees in two hours? So we could see the water had lowered considerably. Didn't get any good pictures there.
The third day we went to Acadia National Park from Bar Harbor, Maine. We had to dock out and take a tender in. A beautiful and scenic tour. From mountains to seashores. They said that people will come to the beaches by the hundreds to sunbathe on sunny hot days, but you might see 6 kids in the water. Very cold! I somehow think I'd prefer Jones Beach on Long Island. But it was a beautiful spot. We got out at the top of Cadillac Mountain, which they say is the tallest mountain on the east coast, and could see our ship down below.
The fourth day we were in Boston. That was a disappointment. The pier where we docked was old and decrepit - sad looking. There was a mile-long four-story dirty white building with broken windows in a lot of areas. A few spots had lights on. We took a bus/trolley tour and saw a lot, but went past most things too fast to get pictures. No stopping. And the sound was poor quality. Not good for Paul. I did see the church my former nephew Andy was married in and hotel across the square where we stayed. It was as beautiful as I remembered it 20 years ago.
The fifth day we were in Newport, Rhode Island. That was beautiful. We went to the tourist center and got on a small bus for a ride around the area to see the mansions. I had been before, but Paul hadn't. It was a good tour with a good tour guide and excellent sound quality. Unfortunately, my camera stopped working. Not sure what happened but we were unable to get any pictures.
The next day we were back in NYC. What a zoo! There were four cruise ships in at our pier. The luggage was color-coded and amazingly we found our luggage quite easily in the pink section of our ship's luggage area. But the thousands of people! We thought we'd never get a taxi, but there was a queue across the street that we got on, and got in. A short wait. We felt badly for our annoyed taxi driver because he waited an hour for a ride - and we were only going to Grand Central Terminal (a ten-minute $10+ fee) He had hoped for a JFK ride. Oh, well. All we could say was "sorry."
We're still recuperating from our trip. It was fun. One thing I did was to make it known that I wanted gluten free meals, and they supplied a dietician who worked with me each day to prepare a dinner that was GF. Each night, after I finished eating, he'd come by with the next night's menu. He used the regular menu and showed how they could change the ingredients so that I didn't have any wheat products. Such as chicken parmesan with GF pasta. Plus GF toasted bread when Paul had the regular rolls. There were (I'm picking a number)2,500 people on board. The dietician worked with only 32 people on the ship. So I felt very special.
Sue was at the train station to pick us up and we took her out to lunch before leaving for home. We stopped at Tioga Racetrack on the way back and played the slots. I couldn't seem to lose my money! I was down to 50 cents and then I accrued $30. - I was tired - so I cashed in my original $20 and we left. I paid for pizza for supper when we got home. Gluten Free for me. Regular for Paul - Pretty good!
We picked up Gracie on Sunday around noontime. She was happy to see us, of course, but it looked like she had a good time with her friend, Micky.
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