Sometimes the best adventures are the ones close to home.
Weird. I could not find this thread in the topics list. I had to go to the previous thread and click the link to get to it. I turned on Tracking, and now I can see it. Nothing like that has ever happened before.
ET: And now I can see the link in the other thread.
A trick to find the latest MMP is use Discourse search and look for [in:title MMP after:yyyy-mm-dd] where the date is the most recent Monday or a couple days before. Like this: Search results for ‘in:title MMP after:2025-06-25’ - Straight Dope Message Board.
The after search verb is really “at or after” (AKA >=). Conversely, the before verb is strictly <, not <=.
As to me …
Pleasant day here, now home and procrastinating a bit before bed. Had a nice beachfront dinner with only mild overeating, and no excess carbs. I’ve made a mid-year resolution to get back on the nil-carbs bandwagon. Adding some semblance of exercise is next; this paunch can’t be allowed to sit here or it’ll cement itself in there permanently.
Dinner done, it was off to two music venues. At the end of the first venue’s first act I should have stayed there for their second act instead of going to a second venue. The second venue’s act looked promising but was rather lacking. Oh well.
The big, BIG news over here is that today GF’s Mom signed a lease on a very nice independent living place with all the bells and whistles and on-campus care. So pretty quickly she’ll be moved there, the townhouse where she now resides that is owned by GF and soon to be ex-hubby will be sold, and one of my major fear factors about our relationship will be retired. Truly a great day in our joint history.
Been a blue day. I should have been having a fiftieth wedding anniversary but the groom and I are divorced forty five years ago. Tell swampie I had fuzzy navels, not mimosas.
Evening all. This will be an early late night final for me, the braunschweiger hunt and perhaps a little too much time at the gym has been a bit groggy tonight, so I’ll be turning in early. Tomorrow will be Golden Corral day so already thinking about it. Otherwise not much occurring (except booms are still intermittently being heard).
FCM, thanks for the pics, I really need to download and edit mine and get them up in the Book of Faces. Hopefully tomorrow.
Wait until you’re 72, the skill will be back…
Oopsie, nice pic, I don’t even bother to look anymore. And that coincidence with FCM was fascinating! And hope you had a good time at BFF’s despite your concerns.
doggio, I do believe you were a bit…‘put out’ as the Brits like to say with the shennigans today (I mean more than usual). Hang in there.
52, hope sleep is an option for you tonight.
flyboy, thanks for the trip report, sounds like it was a good day’s journey.
Pilot, glad things are working out for you and GF (and her Mom).
Cupcakes, I guess you can celebrate your 45th divorce anniversary (provided you were in favor of it, of course).
And that’s the best I can do. Need to make myself comatose here for awhile and hopefully Sunday will be a good day. Take care all.
Doing the PT exercises they gave me helps the back for a half hour or so, then it’s sore again. It is truly exhausting to be in pain all the time. Sleep beckons.
Long Night wasn’t bad at all - we were slow even by regular Friday standards.
Which makes sense - folks were busy swimming, barbecuing, grilling, blowing shit up.
But apparently the night before (when thankfully I was off) was madness.
Plenty more kah-booms tonight; they will continue all weekend for sure.
S.M. made a run for The Border and brought us all back Taco Hell, which was a nice surprise.
Stopped at the dispo on the way home and plowed my tip cash back into the local economy, so, uh, go me?
Very tahred now.
I think that’s why FCD naps so much. He said he’ll talk to our doc about it when we get home - he’s got an appointment the week after. Hope she can point him in the right direction.
We’re ghosting our way into Alta - I just looked out and We’re barely moving. If not for the chill, I’d be posting from our balcony. Anyway, our tour is at 3 so we’ll probably catch a tender into town around 1 or so. Unless we feel motivated sooner.
Keeping track of the day of the week is a challenge, even with elevator rugs. I just checked our itinerary and tomorrow night is our first dinner at one of the fancy on-board restaurants. Three were included in our fare and we’re starting with the steak-and-seafood place.
For the most part, the food has ranged for OK to pretty sad. The salmon has been really good in the various configurations. Chicken in general has been good. The fish part of fish-n-chips has been universally awful - over-battered and mostly soggy. I gave them 2 chances. No more. Veggies are occasionally overcooked, but never truly awful. The breads are amazing, the desserts are dangerous! And the cantaloupe is crunchy… 
Maybe my palate has become more sophisticated, but I seem to recall on our earlier cruises, the food was much better.
Anyway, it’s just after 6am and still a few hours till we breakfast. Happy Sunday!
Five hours we’re sitting in the buffet area by a windows, chilling till it’s time to catch a tender ashore.
FCM: What brand is this cruise? I know you’ve told us but not recently and it’s not a practical search.
…
Mornin’ all - A bit after 0600 as I start to drivel. I’ve been up since 0445 for no good reason.
At least the weather so far today is perfect; no high overcast and Venus is very bright. As the sky slowly lightens it’s become obvious there’re almost no puffies out over the water so the day will be sunny from the moment the Sun emerges from the sea in ~30m. The last hour’s balconatin’ and caffinatin’ have been great. A very slight breeze with temps about 82/28. NWS expects today to be hot, 92/33 with t-storms inland later in the afternoon. That’s more like my kinda summer! Let it rain and be gray on the alligators, not the people.
I think it’d be wise for me to quit predicting how my day will be spent; none of the last few days’ predictions have come to pass. Something about how much easier it is to type about an activity or chore than to go do the activity or chore. The RDOS is strong in that one.
Cheers and happy Sunday to all!
Up, caffeinated, and sheveled. Off today. The usual morning cleaning and afternoon sloth. Plus Tropical Storm Chantel will appear at some point. Spot is off being cat and mysterious.
Morning, mumpers! It’s currently 16c/61f with a predicted high of 18c/64f with showers. Weather app says “Would you fucking look at that? It’s pissing down again.” Yes, it’s raining but that’s ok, we don’t need to go anywhere for a while.
Yesterday was a fun day of bands and beer, chats and hugs. During the day, they made the first announcements for next year’s festival so I got our tickets already as they do an early booking discount. We saw lots of great bands, some completely new to us, so it was a good day. And we get to do it all over again today!
We have had breakfast and have a bit of time to chill out before going to the venue for this afternoon’s first band at 1.30pm. Time to make another t-shirt decision!
Good Mornin’ Y’all! Up and caffeinatin’. YAWN ‘Tis 72 Amurrkin out and cloudy with a predicted high of 92 and sunny. The big item on the agenda is deheathenization in which I have chalice duty. It’s also first Sunday brunch day. The lemon icebox pies are nice and firm and I am sure they will be yummy. Nappage, day drinkin’ and other RDOS inactivities will take up the rest of the day.
Now I need more caffeine and to feed rumbly tummy. Then purtification for deheathenization must commence.
Happy Sunday Y’all!
Holland America - Nieuw Statendam.
We will be heading down to Deck A (one down from Deck 1) to catch a shuttle to shore. Our excursion meet-up is at 3, and we plan to be early, because that’s how we roll. Plus there might be a souvenir shop there.
It’s been a lazy day for us, which is good for my poor sweetie’s legs. If he can’t find some relief, this may well be our last cruise. I’d have spent more time exploring, but he can’t handle much walking. And I don’t want to go alone. Such is life.
Morning all. Got up and did my NY Times run and saw that my neighbor was back from his vacation, so I paid him for his mowing and edging my lawn with several small boxes of chocolate from Belgium, so I think he got a good deal out of it. Several hours from now I’ll head off to Golden Corral for the main feasting of the day (soup, salad, pot roast with rice and gravy, pecan pie and a brownie and several glasses of Coke, all for less than $23). Then maybe a guilty trip back to the gym (or not).
{{{Van Go}}}, hope the back ache abates soon, constant pain is no fun at all.
FCM, Know what you mean by ‘what day is it’ syndrome. I think the cruise lines do it deliberately, for reasons best known to themselves. Sorry that the food disappoints, that is supposed to be one of the highlights of cruising…do they have any ‘specialty’ restaurants you might visit once or twice during the cruise? (they cost extra). And hope FCD’s legs get to doing better.
Don’t think I’ve ever been with Holland America. Have done Royal Caribbean, Viking, Carnival, and just recently MSC (first cruise ever was with Disney). Think Royal Caribbean is the best quality overall, but depends on the cruiser, I guess. Hope the food improves (I got real tired of British bacon for breakfast…).
Pilot, our high is supposed to get to 95F today and that’s a bit too warm for this native Northerner. Enjoy what you do (or don’t do).
boo fae, good move on the advance tickets. Enjoy the music.
swampy, happy chalicing. And happy brunching!
Good morning.
It’s 57°F and sunny outside. It’ll be sunny all day, and our expected high temperature is 88°F.
FCM, I’m sorry your sweetie’s legs are giving him so much trouble. I’m sorry about the sucky food, too. It seems that for the money one must pay for a cruise, the least they could do is offer good-quality food.
VanGo, I’m sorry your back continues to hurt. I hope you find relief soon.
BooFae, sounds like a wonderful day.
The fourth was loud, as expected. The booms did not stop until after 1:00 a.m. I had to drug Maisie twice. Yesterday was relatively quiet until it got dark, then the booms started up, and Maisie was highly stressed. I didn’t drug her up, but damn, I’ll be glad when this over.
We had a nice time visiting with my son on Friday and yesterday. He packed up and went home late afternoon.
I am not sure what the day holds for me. Laundry is done and chores are done, too. I could putter in the yard, but it’s going to become awfully hot for this PNW gal.
I need to make another cup of coffee. I think I’ll peruse real estate and scoff at poorly designed million-dollar+ homes, or mega homes that take up an entire lot. WHY?
I want a one-level home that has a PC/VR game room for my husband, a den for me, three bedrooms, a kitchen with a walk-in pantry, a family room off the kitchen, a good-sized yard, and not be located in a cul-de-sac, nor right next to my neighbors. I’m done with neighbors. And, it’s got to be reasonably priced—also, there needs to be enough garage space for our vehicles and a shed or garage for my tools and mower. Finally, NO CARPET!!! I hate carpet.
I don’t think that’s a huge ask.
Okay, on with the day. I hope you all have a good, restful day. I hope those of you in pain find relief.
Batten down the hatches!
Hope you can get some relief from your aching back, VanGo.
Up, caffeinating, breakfasted and fixing to do KP. After that, I’ll get sheveled and go Krogering before people get out of church and clutter up the grocery store.
Stay safe and healthy y’all!
Now I’m wondering. Did they serve British bacon because they starting from England, or because it’s MSC? It’s possible to get streaky bacon in England. Our cruise in 2026 is leaving out of Amsterdam, but it’s with Celebrity, which is the same company as Royal Caribbean. This year’s cruise is with Princess, same as last year’s cruise.
Today was task day.
Descaled the espresso machine and steam oven. Oiled the dining table. Got out a new toothbrush and put toothbrushes on the grocery list. Washed the matress cover, sheets, and a load of clothing. Fertilized the tomatoes, rasberries, roses, and grass. Cleaned up the kitchen from yesterday’s strawberry pie mess and then made a mess of it making lunch (chicken with sun-dried tomatoes, pasta, and green beans) and now chilling and waiting for it to rain.
Got into the strawberry pie this afternoon. Very good, but one a year is enough.
When the mattress cover is dry enough (it’s currently in the drying room with the dehumidifier), we’ll rotate the mattress and make the bed. Exciting times!
We used to be better about oiling the dining table, but kept putting it off. The oil stinks a bit, so it’s good to be able to have the windows open, especially with the breeze.
The laurel hedge is still mocking me. Maybe Thursday evening I’ll be energetic and start trimming the top before it tries to take over.
It is, but I’d much rather have back bacon.
Started Typing: 11:39 AM ET
Clicked Reply: 12:37 PM ET
Yesterday at the BFFs’ went well! HusbandBFF was able to take care of the hornet problem, so we were able to use their deck after all (phew!). The weather actually cooperated, and it wasn’t too hot/humid outside. It was really good to see their niece and her family again for the first time in a few years, and fuss over how big all of the kids have gotten. The food was great (burgers, roasted potatoes, corn on the cob, and baked beans), and the newly-minted 5-year-old liked her ice cream cake and gifts. And, HusbandBFF did not have any fireworks! First time in the 20+ years I’ve known him! Turns out the place he likes to get them from is 2.5 hours away, and he wasn’t willing to leave WifeBFF alone for that long while she’s still recovering from March’s shoulder replacement. It meant I was able to hang out for a little while after niece-and-family left (I’d also arrived early, to help set up). I left with Ziploc bags of homemade chocolate chip cookies and banana muffins, so all in all it was quite a successful evening. 
I had a short proposal status meeting this morning and also spent a little time looking up/defining some acronyms, but neither of the guys I need more info from wants to meet today (
) so I only worked for about 1.5 hours. I’ve done everything I can without additional input. The final deadline is 8pm on Tuesday, and I’m hoping to be released from the proposal (i.e., told by the proposal manager that I can go away) shortly thereafter.
My new Lego set (Keith Haring - Dancing Figures) got delivered yesterday: I’m looking forward to starting the assembly after lunch!
!!!
He had that bad combover for years…it’s in several pictures of him from the early '80s. He grew a beard in '86 or '87, and finally accepted the male pattern baldness then.
My dad’s a church organist/choir director who directed FCM and sometimes had liturgical battles with preachers, and Kevin Bacon’s character in Footloose also battled with a preacher…?
Wahoo! That has to be a relief for all parties. 
Combined with your reviews of the shipboard entertainment so far, I think I’m taking Holland America off my list of possible future cruise lines! But I’ll be keeping an eye on your posts to see if either of those things improve. (Hopefully, for you and FCD!)
Sounds like an amazing weekend! 
I want one or two levels with at least 3 bedrooms (master, home office, guest room) plus a music room and a family room I can dedicate to Lego, and as little yard as possible but a big deck or balcony. A two-car garage would be nice, but a one-car garage is the minimum. No apartments or condos; a townhouse would be acceptable, but it should be an end unit. I’m with you on “no carpet,” though!