IT'S DONE!!!

 Well Kevin, Elise, April, Myles, Monte and I all converged on the storage unit.  OMG!!  What an emotionally exhausting endeavour that was.  Initially I had thought Monte and I could do it but there would have been no way.  I would have walked in there, looked around, started crying and walked away.

There was trouble to begin with.  It occurred to me in the middle of the night that I had picked up my keys at home last thing, and made the fateful decision to leave them home as I have no van key on them.  But guess what is on them.  The keys to the storage unit lock.  Effadoodle!!!!!  So before we could even begin we had go to Princess auto and buy bolt cutters.  

I have a wooden sturdy round large container...like an oversized hat box.  I plunked myself down onto it.  Elise, an amazing helper!, would hand me the next box and I would sort through it.  She worked like a trojan!!!  And she slung the heaviest boxes around like a pro!

About the tenth box I opened had my native statues in it!!!!  I was so relieved and happy!  In fact there was quite a bit of native art.  I think I may keep this stuff.  Every box was such a huge reminder of Bill.  Most of the stuff I kept of his I am so glad I did.  One thing I kept is a lovely carryon size roller suitcase...full of his RCMP uniforms.  In another box we came across, randomly, a wee red shoe.  It was Jennifer's when she was tiny.  I never could find the other shoe but I have always kept that one.

  Myles or Kevin, I can't remember which one figured I threw out about half the storage unit.  As Kerry put it when I put that stuff in there I was just kicking the job down the road!  A good way to put it.

But it is all done now.  The storage unit was completely empty and clean.

Now let me tell you about the tetrising job Kevin did packing the van! Omg!!!  It is literally packed tight  to the tits.  The last thing to go in was Bill's stuffed fish!!!  It is laying across the top of the tightly ingeniously packed boxes right up at the roof. And all the stuff is coming to my house.  Sigh.  (shovel list). We do have a storage room fairly empty that we will put all the boxes in.  And from there I will sort again...maybe.....some day. 

 I gave April all the pics which I don't think she wanted as she has zero room for them all.  But she picked up an old old photo album with pics of Bill and his family going way back, and she says 'I am taking this.  Mom will just lose it.' or something like that.  Well fine then...you can be the keeper of all the pics.  Hah!!!  The only reason we still have all those hundreds of pictures is because they were not in organized albums, they were all in boxes in the cold room downstairs in the big house.  The one that burned down.  But the cold room was made of cement, did not burn and everything in there was perfectly safe.  

Today is turkey day.  There are a lot of people here.  Kerry, Kathy, the three girls, Drew (Emily's squeeze..awesome guy), Jo and Craig, Ainsley and Stirling, Auntie Dorothy and Uncle Dave from Seattle.  Uncle Dave turns 100 next summer and Auntie Dorothy is just about 90.  They are so vibrant and amazing.   He actually worked up until he was 94.  He was a psychoanalyst.  And Monte, April and Myles.  And they have an enormous table so we can actually all sit down to dinner together.  And believe it or not...we all get along super well.  No fights...no angst of any sort.  Lots of laughter and eating!!!  

The storage unit only took two hours.  Many hands and all that.  So around one in the afternoon they all headed towards Tunkwa Lake above Savana for a weiner roast.  Monte and I stayed behind.  I was totally knackered.  I am still battling the leftovers of the virus I had on the boat.  We are pretty sure it was covid.  Dorothy, Kathy's Dorothy, also had the same thing and is having trouble totally shaking it.  I did NOT feel well so I sat in the rocking chair, had a wee snooze and watched BritBox.  Monte stayed behind too.  His brain needed defragging so he had a nice long nap.

Now it is early early morning and I am waiting to hear people milling about so I can go upstairs and get a coffee.  Time to get this day started!!!

TFL.  TTYL

pics in a couple of days

MORE PLANS AFOOT

 More packing to do.  I am looking at my open suitcase on the couch.  There isn't even an inch in my bedroom to put it, unless I don't want to sleep in my bed.  I could put it on the bed.

I really need to sort out the summer clothes and get them packed away.  As I said before they are unworn and clean.  Then I need to repack it for the trip to Kamloops.  I don't know why this seems like such a chore.

I am sitting in my 'Fraser's Dad'sesque' recliner, complete with big hole (duck tape actually does not stick to recliners) looking at boxes of Halloween candy spread around on the floor.  Plus an Amazon box full of things for Ainsley and Stirling, and garbage and shoes.  Honestly anyone else would just be disgusted if their place ended up like mine seems to always end up.  (shovel list).

But...my kitchen is organized and clean and my dining room is all clean and table clear.  All I have to do is put the candy out of sight, pack a few things I want to take to Kamloops and empty my suitcase.  I will feel much better after that.

I think I am feeling guilty because I did fish out the bagged Mars Bars from a full box of candy that has nuts in it, thus the bagged mars.  I have been sneaking the odd teeny tiny Mars Bar.  Ohhhhhh they are so good.  My all time fave bar.  Always has been!  I'm not checking my blood sugar tonight.

So on Thursday we are on our way to Vancouver.  We are staying in the hotel we always stay in in North van.  Monte is going to a concert downtown that night with his friends Nordio and Graeme.  He will be coming back to the hotel and in the morning we will be leaving for Kamloops.  Busy week end happening up there.  Clearing out a storage unit, packing the van, trip to the dump, turkey dinner at Kathy's Sunday, on Monday Monte and I will finish up the unit and I really want some time to visit Anne.  I asked Kathy if I could invite Anne to dinner and she very graciously agreed.  

It will be a big crowd up there.  April and Myles, Kevin and family, Kathy's three girls and significant others, grand children, an ancient uncle and aunt from Seattle and Anne.  There is a hot dog roast happening on Saturday but I think Monte and I will have to take a miss on that one.  The whole purpose of going up there is to empty the unit.

One of my goals is to find the four carved native statues that were on Bill's funeral table.  I am dearly hoping they are in the storage unit.  I will put a pic below and if anyone of my family has seen them let me know.  Those carvings are the one thing of Bill's I really really want.

  I am also looking for a stained glass lamp I have always had in my kitchens.  I know it is in there.  I should really give it to Aryn...it is orange, her fave colour!

She had a friendsgiving last night.  She had fourteen people for turkey dinner with all the trimmings and more.  April and Myles were there and April said it was an amazing dinner and the most fun time.  It was a vintage theme so they all dressed accordingly and April said the music was fantastic!  Old school jazz and I think Bradley did a dj stint.  What fun!!!

What made me think of this is that they sent me a picture of the set table.  Half the table was vintage Wedgwood dinner plates and the other half was Noritake Nanking.  Both were Bill's and my dishes  originally.  I was one of the rare people with a daughter that actually really wanted them.  I couldn't pack them around with me, just wasn't practical so they have been passed to Arnie.  I am so grateful to have a kid that actually loves them.  So many of us boomers are getting rid of their precious dinner sets because their kids are simply not interested.  Times have changed.  Those dishes were in storage but now they see the light of day occasionally.  I will see if I can put a pic of the table setting below.

KATHY'S DOROTHY, ARNIE, APRIL, MYLES

Well thats it for today.  TFL and TTYL

=

 

A BEAUTIFUL TABLE

THE CARVINGS ARE ON THE RIGHT....TWO ARE OUT OF SIGHT..IF THEY AREN'T IN THE UNIT THEN SOMEONE HAS THEM...NEFARIOUSLY

THEY SAY HONESTY IS THE BEST POLICY

 Since arriving home and conversing with friends and family, I have been on the receiving end of a lot of sympathy for my ten days of sickness on our sixteen day cruise.  People have been so kind and caring, I have sucked it up and appreciated it all, except....

Time for honesty.  That cruise was one of the best cruises I have ever had and there have been a lot of them.  In retrospect I absolutely loved the lounging around in pjs, watching awesome tv and reading my many ebooks....taking advantage of free room service, even if it was sub standard.  I fortunately am not overly picky.  A tuna sandwich made with dry bread is still a tuna sandwich.  I didn't have to get dressed, the bathroom was ten steps away, Monte occasionally would show up with an awesome loaded plate of food from the buffet, once a day a lovely Filipino man would come in and clean the room, change the towels and sheets and take away dishes and garbage.  What on earth could be wrong about any of that I ask!?

Granted I will admit I felt super sick and coughed and sneezed my brains out.  I was doing a lot of holding my eyeballs in my head with my fingers but it was still a true holiday.

Thinking back over my recent life I find I am very much a fan of sitting around in my recliner, busy on my laptop reading or writing.  I spent many many years running around like a beheaded chicken from babies to teenagers to work to cooking and cleaning and teaching teens to drive to....well you name it!  It is time to sit and enjoy my sedentary life with no guilt or shame! 

 And I will let you in on a personal secret...I hate walking/hiking.  I find it unmitigatedly boring.  Even if there was zero pain involved  and fantastical scenery, I would hate it.  I remember as a kid I despised our 'family' walks to distant lakes and up mountains and down logging roads.  At four years old I remember asking myself 'why? why are we walking here?'

So I love love loved reclining on a soft comfy bed surrounded by umpteen pillows, over 300 ebooks personally chosen for my perusal, all you awesome folks out there at my fingertips to talk with, endless amounts of fruit (the fruit plates from room service were the best thing ever), double espressos also at my fingertips...sigh.  Name me one thing wrong about this.  You can't?  Me neither!!!!  Lol!!!

TFL.  TTYL

ALL I CAN SEE IS HOW UGLY I HAVE TURNED OUT TO BE!!!!  HAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!  SO MUCH LESS WORK EVERY MORNING WHEN MAKEUP DOESN'T HELP SO YOU STOP PUTTING IT ON.  HALLELUJAH!!!!!

HOME AGAIN HOME AGAIN JIGGITY JIG

Well we are home again safe and sound.  Other than being sick it was a great trip.  Every trip I take I come home with an overall super like of something and an overall super dislike.  This time I came home super liking margaritas!  With salty as heck rims and on the rocks.  Limey and delicious...ohhhh I want one right now!!!!  I could easily be a drunky on those things!

And I came home with an overwhelming dislike of slow vacuous old people.  The cruise this time was overloaded with them, a lot of them with wheels.  Two things I am glad about...my wheelchair/walker broke and I could not join the parade of wheels on the boat, and the fact that I had to spend ten of the of the sixteen days in my room, away from all those creeping people.  The other thing is due to the age group of the majority, pretty much all of them on meds that cause the runs, the bathrooms were always lined up.  And there is nothing slower than an old lady in the loo. 

 I am not there....yet.  I can go into a bathroom and from shut the door to throwing the paper towel I dried my hands on in to the garbage by the door as I exit is approximately 45 seconds.  Some of those wrinklies are up to five minutes.  Or more.

I try not to talk too much about Floppy.  I have actually unfriended people on Facebook who have attained a new pet and you end up getting a million endless pics and antidotes about their new addition.

But let me tell you when we got home that dog went crazy!!!  He actually in his excitement put my hand in his mouth and started to clamp down!  I did an almighty yank!  Out of all my endless line of dogs over the years I have never had a welcome back like that one.  That one was EPIC!!!!!

All the stuff is still in the van.  Monte is sick and in bed.  I can't lift the stuff to bring it in.  If it weren't raining I would start bringing in armfuls of clothes!  The suitcase is pretty much full of all summer stuff, most of it clean and not worn since I did laundry.  I spent most of the trip in pjs.  So those clothes are going straight into storage for next summer.  With my luck we will have a four week hot hot hot spell.  One last kick at summer and all I have are me long johns and heavy sweaters out!!!!

Alrighty I have to get busy.  I need to buy new underwear.  On Amazon.  And I need to make a blistering review about that stupid walker before another wrinkly buys one and gets dumped out.  TFL and TTYL

AN HONEST REVIEW (SORT OF) NOT A COMPLAINT (HONESTLY!)

 Really, I mean it.  I think this will probably be my last cruise (Cookie I will talk to you about this.  Maybe, if you are okay with it, a road trip instead?  I have an exciting idea!). The negative side of cruising is raising its ugly head. There is a main reason that doesn't involve pain!  So I have decided to write honestly about cruising.  I have always been a big fan but now that the end is near I can let 'honesty' surface in my brain and stop hiding the truth just to keep it positive.

There is a huge amount of positive about cruising.  Obviously, or it wouldn't be such a popular form of travel.  I have found that those that love it most are the ones that take shore excursions on every stop, do most of their dining in the formal dining rooms and are very very patient people.  Plus, another thing I have been noticing, cruising was always an older generational form of travel.  In fact one cruise line was referred to as a floating senior home.  Not anymore.  

The average age of the average cruiser is getting younger and younger.  I believe that is partly due to the fact that cruise ships have become dauntingly massive and full of crazy activities like kilometre long water slides, endless blocks of shopping, shows you have to buy tickets in advance to attend or miss out, huge skating rinks, roller coaster rides etc...not any activity you see us elders partaking in. No, my main reason for not cruising anymore isn't about the pain incurred by endless walking, but because there is nowhere to sit.

We seniors tend to gravitate towards the older smaller ships.  They are still huge enough that it can be hard for us old arthritic peeps to get around easily.  What we do is go on the 'lots of at sea days' cruises and even plan to not get off at every port.  Physically our bodies set limits our heads might not like, but thats life.  

The drawback to this is those smaller older ships present certain problems.  For example my number one reason to not cruise any longer is the lack of anywhere to sit.  Lounges, the buffet and the plaza, which is the heart of the ship and the main hub of entertaining activities and the only coffee shop on board, are all over crowded.  People get into these areas early (6:00 am), grab a table and don't move til bedtime.  Yes they use the nearby loo but their table mate, spouse or sweater reserves the table whilst they are gone.  And there is one thing I will not do...I will not eat my lunch or whatever without a table.  There is never anywhere to just sit and eat or drink or watch entertainment or whatever.  

On this trip, sick or not, I spent 90% of the trip in my room.  The thought of going up to the lido or down to the one dining room we could use so daunting I just wouldn't go.  Even the last resort lounge up top became too crowded to use.  So as much pain did limit some of my activity, not finding a seat limited me more.

I am pretty sure I am going to get some push back from people that have no problems physically.  They can walk around endlessly til they find seating.  They have no idea what it's like if you hurt and or have to use wheels.

I much prefer these older smaller ships, as I have already pointed out.  But they do have one problem that happens every single time I am on one.  The turrlet system.  Heaven's to Betsy!!!  This might sound like whining here but I tell ya....I have yet to cruise a complete trip where I can use our toilet the whole time.  Every trip, at some point, we discover that the toilets are not flushing, supposedly only on our floor.  Keep in mind even if it is only one floor that involves hundreds of toilets.

Also keep in mind our general age group on these old tubs.  The majority of us have type two diabetes and we are all on a drug called metformin.  And that drug is a massive cause of...well to put it delicately, explosive you know whats.  And given our age certain muscle groups weaken.  Couple this with turrlets that don't work and you have a big big problem.  I am not talking about being out of commission for an hour or two.  I am talking about them being out of commission for a couple of days or more.  We are now on our third day!  Monte, bless his young body and willingness, does make the huge trek upstairs to the working johns.  I don't. I can't.  Sigh.  (this is where I need a bucket list...I could use a bucket...old school...dump it over the side of the boat)

My last complaint, and this may only be a Princess complaint...I haven't used room service on any other cruise line, Princess room service absolutely sucks.  I had to really use it this time due to being sick for endless freaking days and nowhere to sit up there.  

To begin with it is very limited, and expensive.  There was complimentary stuff and then there was very expensive stuff from the specialty restaurants.  I stuck to the complimentary stuff.  It was awful.  I tried  three of their sandwiches they offer and every one of them the bread was like cardboard.  I could scrape a fork across the untoasted bread and hear it scratch.  The sandwiches were inedible, even the peanut butter and jam one off the kid menu.  The chilli was so chokingly dry beans would roll off my fork.  The quesadilla edges were curled up and cracked like crackers.  

I did get one thing I liked.  A chef's salad.  It was a good size and covered with ham, turkey, bacon and egg.  I got it with thousand islands dressing.  I quite enjoyed it.  I ordered it again last night.  It was a bowl of iceberg lettuce, a tablespoon of some white tasteless cheese, one quarter of an egg and that was it.  No ham.  No bacon.  No turkey.  No other part of the egg. Half the cheese or more was missing.  That was the last straw.  Plus I had ordered the fruit plate...and it didn't come.

I know I sound like an ungrateful whiner.  And I guess I am.  And possibly the fact that I was horribly sick and couldn't taste or smell (maybe both those were a blessing) has coloured my opinion somewhat.  But I am also remembering our trip last September to Alaska and the exact same thing happened.  Nowhere to sit and busted turrlets.   And only one visit to a glacier that was miles away.  So I am calling it quits and I am totally okay with that.

There is still one way to travel that is actually more hands on and enough of the unknown to make it exciting...road trips.  And the first person I am going to talk to about it is Cookie.  She is the most fun person to road trip with!

Well it is now 8:45 am.  I just may try to go upstairs at 11 for breakfast.  It goes to 11:30.  This will be the most chance I have to get a table.  Two hours...I can do it!!!  If there isn't a table I will try again at supper, but there will be no more room service!!!!  TFL...TTYL

MY STRAWBERRY DAQUAIRI I GET ONCE EVERY CRUISE....NOTE THE GENERAL AGE GROUP

THE SET UP FOR THE OBLIGATORY CHAMPAGNE TOWER

SEE THAT LADY IN THE WHITE PANTS?  SHE HAS BEEN THERE SINCE SIX THIS MORNING

BEER (WATER) PONG IN THE PIAZZA , PEOPLE PEOPLE EVERYWHERE AND NOT A PLACE TO SIT 

CRUISING IS NOT FOR THE INFIRM..PHYSICALLY, MENTALLY OR HEALTHWISE

 Over the years as I have travelled around the world  many  times with Spod, conversations would arise with various people about travel.  Most had never cruised before.

I remember one lovely evening sitting on my sister's neighbour's deck on the river.  There were four of us out there in the soft evening visiting and sipping.

The subject of travel came up, not by me I might add, but by a very urbane well dressed man in his sixties.  I was asked where in the world had I travelled.  I answered that I was very fortunate to have travelled to many countries and cities over the last few years.  How? I was asked.  So I said my husband and I had done many many cruises.  I went further to say it was my husband's favourite mode of travel as he was much older than me and having to unpack just once was definitely easier for him.

That man...that urbane well turned out man, went on the attack.  He proceeded to say that cruising wasn't really travelling.  He stated that getting on and off a ship for short little visits did not constitute real travel.  I tried to get a decent word in but he wasn't having any of that.

I did finally demand equal time and he did have the grace to shut up for a few minutes, no eye contact though.  I explained that whilst we could we drove all over Britain nine times, Europe three times, Italy and Greece once and a month long driving trip in Portugal, Spain and Morocco.  I felt that all those trips gave me a unique opinion of cruising verses trekking the Himalayas...which he had NOT done!  But he would not let up.  That was when I realized I had a choice.  I could either gracefully get up and go inside and stop the silly conversation or...and this is what I not only wanted to do but I am very very good at...go in for the gnangs and nail the bastard.  It wouldn't even been hard as he had been NOWHERE!!!!!

  But I didn't.  I put a filter in place and quietly said, "It's a shame you have done little to no travelling yourself.  From where you sit you have no real game in this conversation, no knowledge beyond your narrow borders, no validity in your opinions.  So if you will please excuse me I must go and find other  interesting people to visit with.' And I left the deck.

But even with the ease of cruising, having mobility issues really makes it difficult.  Plus a number of couples I have visited with, were with spouses that had dementia and the spouse that didn't have it was exhausted.

In Kahului after getting off the boat we were told it was a short walk to the nearest mall.  There were no taxis right at the ship.  Well we walked and walked and walked, in 90 plus heat, til a number of oldsters were turning around...unable to go that whole distance.  Short is an ambiguous word!  In the end it was basically a kilometre which is a long long way for old people with arthritic hips or other issues.

In cruising you run into these long walks that not everyone can handle.  To go to the back of the boat where all the food is, from the front and back again is over 3,000 steps, and we are on a smaller boat.  Wheelchairs and walkers are great but you can't get down the hallways when the cleaning carts are there.  It really does become awkward, difficult and painful.  If you are going on tours you have to be able to hoist yourself up into buses and out and in and out and in.  Lots of older infirm people just stay on the ship and don't move around much once they are situated for the day.

I guess my take on it is get your travelling in before you can't.  I don't know if I am going to go on another cruise or not.  Whomever I go with I will definitely be slowing them down or leaving them to their own devices a lot.  I think I am still up for driving trips...if sugar cane runs are in the works.  Those of you out there with experience with me will know exactly what I am talking about right there!!

Well I got my taste back in the night.  I still can't smell.  Now Monte has whatever our sickness is.  He isn't feeling well and can't smell or taste.  This trip was definitely a bust.  I think he did have a good time going off by himself.  He tends to be a loner anyway.

So home in five days.  I know I cannot go without coffee that long.  So I am going to go find the closest possible coffee.  TFL.   TTYL

HALEAKALA

THE GAP OVER KAHULUI

HALEAKALA 

HEART RENDING MAUI TODAY

  A bit of a catch up first.  We are docked in Kahului.  It is only 6 am so no-one is off the boat yet.  Monte is still restlessly sleeping so I thought I would hop on here and make a quick report.

We docked in Honolulu, got the old wheels out and exited the boat.  It was hotter than the hubs of hell!  We easily got a cab to the very middle of Waikiki, the International Marketplace.  It is a very high end, three story open air mall with a massive banyan tree right in the middle.  We hadn't eaten yet so we walked to the food court.  Cookie and Monte are burger eaters and when I was there with Cookie we ended up at that burger spot for our meal.  Monte did the same.  And he got himself a pineapple teriyaki burger.  If I could taste I would have got one myself!!!  Instead I got a bowl of vegetarian ramen.  I love slurping noodles, even if I can't taste them!

We then started to do the rounds in that massive place and within ten minutes I went down like a half dead man.  I was sick again, dizzy, puky, just not feeling well.  I sat for a while in rocking chairs provided on the second floor mezzanine whilst Monte went around to the stores he was there to see.

He ended up buying two pairs of vans.  Normally they are in the hundred dollar range and NOT size 17.  This time they were in the fifty dollar range and size 17!!!!  Plus he found a hat store and bought himself a new black hat...bigger brimmed, not quite so Amishy.

  By this time I was street level sitting most uncomfortably in that stupid contraption.  Man! it was hard on the back!  Long story short Monte started to push me and the front left wheel just simply bent right over flat on the ground.  It damned near dumped me out onto the bricks.  We gathered up our stuff, pushed that assy piece of shit out to the street to a garbage can and abandoned it. I am now in contact with the company that made it.  They don't want me making a negative review on Amazon.  They just got on to Amazon with no reviews yet.  Hah!!!!!

Anyway I had to get back to the ship.  I was sick and I should not have attempted leaving the boat.  I was trying to remember the last time I was really sick.  Not even the one time I had covid was it like this.  I think it was way back when we still had Luz with us in the big house and I had walking pneumonia for three months.  All I could do was sit in a chair with my mouth hanging open remembering to breathe. I couldn't smell or taste then either.

Yesterday we were in Nawilliwilli on Kauai.  What a beauty place that is! Monte went off and had the time of his life as usual.  He brought me back a beautiful mug from Starbucks.  It's just the right size too.  I don't like big huge mugs. I put some pics of the view off my balcony.

And that comes to today.  I think we have planned to get a taxi to the dole plantation.  It isn't too too far away and possibly will have the nuts I am looking for.  Plus it is astoundingly beautiful there.  And then a stop on the way back at Costco.  We will see. I associate every single 'where' on this Island with Bill.  I can already feel my heart welling up just looking at Haleakala out there.

I shall post some pics here and do another report in a day or two.  TFL. TTYL

DESSERT AT SABATINIS

NOT SURE WHY THERE WAS A HOLE RIGHT THERE

A VERY VERY SKINNY PIECE OF VEAL MARSALA...NO IDEA WHAT IT TASTED LIKE BUT THE TEXTURES WERE LOVELY

PENNE...DIDN'T FINISH IT...EVEN THOUGH I COULDN'T TASTE I DIDN'T LIKE IT

T

THE VIEW OUT THE WINDOW BY OUR TABLE

WATCHING OUR EXIT FROM KAUAI 

PIECE OF CRAP