Swimming in the shadow of the Island Princess and some old tub that was grounded in a hurricane.
Princess Cruises allow one bottle of wine per passenger in the luggage. Spirits are not allowed. We had been told by others that if you just stick a bottle of Scotch into your bags it will probably go through. We thought that if we could smuggle a bottle of Scotch on board that we could probably smuggle a bottle of Scotch and a bottle of good Gin too.
The 1st sign that things were not going as planned was when all of the luggage without contraband showed up but none of the luggage mules. Hours passed. Then the remaining bags showed up without the Scotch and without the Gin. Each bottle had been replaced with a really well written card explaining that the laws of the sea left the cruise line no choice but to claim the bounty and destroy it.
This morning I check the onboard Duty Free to see if they had been out on the shelf for sail.
Tomorrow we are in Grand Cayman. If I see a liquor store I am going to try again. I will beat these guys yet. Interesting that I no longer drink.
We are on the boat and heading to Panama. A couple of days ago we had a decent scare when an email arrived saying that they had a few cases of Norwalk in the previous cruise that they were taking a couple of extra hours to sanitize the boat. We were asked to show up two hours past our scheduled arrival so that they could dedicate their time to getting the boat ready. We did.
First thing that I did was to weight myself in the gym to create a record of my weight. I hope to get off the boat in 10 days weighing at least that much.
I have watched this video a couple of times lately (and lots of other videos from Maggie) and enjoyed it both times. She is very talented. This is the moment when she meets a famous music producer, Pharrell Williams, in a university class and plays a song that she had written 8 days earlier. You are able to watch him discover her talent and her reaction when she thinks that he is telling her that it is not very good.
Another interesting video is Maggie on the Tom Power radio show (CBC mornings - the best interviewer ever):
I have always been a fan of Morgan James, she is an internet star but tours constantly across the US and Europe. This winter she came slumming to Ontario and played London on Sunday night. Concert was held at the London Music Hall. The 1st indication that something was wrong was when I received notification from Ticketmaster that the show had been moved frm the big hall (1000 people) to the small hall (350).
It was a nice drive into London - exactly 60 minutes, the hall is a gorgeous little room with a good bar and very good viewing. Carol recons that 60 people showed up for the show.
The 1st half of the 90 minute set was very good with Morgan and her band playing many songs that highlighted her amazing vocal talents. Then it went south. Morgan announced that it was the 59th anniversary since the release of the Beatles "White Albumn" and that they were going to finish the show with an homage to the Beatles. I was never a Beatles fan - especially Dear Prudence and Back to the USSR. Very disappointing end to the performance.
Still, we made it back to New Hamburg and were in bed by 10:15. A very successful concert evening.
Top marks to the venue, its location, the bar and the 1st half of the show.
All of the problems that I have been having with pain in my legs and feet have been brought under control. I can now put shoes on and walk without any pain. Thanks to all who have expressed concern.
Still have not determined root cause and it would be cheap medical quackery to suggest that this has all been the result of 70 years of food and drink debauchery.
You do need to turn up the volume for the beginning of this video.
This feels like a really bad way to start the new year. Both of my feet are killing me. I have been to the doctor a couple of times and all they can tell me is that I am getting old and that I am suffering from arthritis.
I have not really done much research into arthritis; eveytime I start to read I get frustrated by the lack of treatment methods and I move onto something else.
50 years I have been practicing my tennis stroke. I was so hoping to hit the perfect forehand (or backhand) before I hung up my racquet.
We have booked a cruise into the Panama Canel for February and I am going to do everything that I can to increase my mobility before we go.
"We are having a wonderful day giving out 36 lunch bags with socks to homeless downtown. Kids are really into it, taking turns sharing the holiday spirit. It’s wild how many others are doing the same. Makes my heart grow. We will hit one more shelter and head home . . and yes we are being safe!"
Have a fantastic day
Love
The Garlands
We had a quiet Christmas eve. Started a 2000 piece puzzle. Bronwen, Glenn and Eryn, and Katie, Jay, Bille, and Jackson visited Saturday for our christmas celebration. Lots of fun, noise and excitement. I hope that everybody finds as much family.
Today Carol and I will talk about going to the movies. Then we will discover that there is nothing that we need to see, or that the theatres are closed, or that the roads are too slippery, or that we would rather do the puzzle.