8/17/08 Captain Jack's Repossession Repo Cruise to PC thru TPC Part 17

[PBader]

Well, we got clobbered again with 9" of snow before it changed over to sleet and rain. It will definately be a White Christmas this year.

Right now I am a little frustrated because even though I am not a baker (I can cook pretty good) I am making goodie/movie baskets for all my neighbors who have been bringing me dinners since I started treatments. They have been so wonderful, making a schedule amongst themselves on who brings dinner what night, I wanted to do something nice for them for the holiday. Anyway, I am completly messing up some stuff and have had to dump the melted chocolate and all the pretzel rods that I covered in caramel and put on wax paper (I was going to dunk them in the chocolate over the caramel). I guess you can't put caramel on wax paper; it sticks to the paper (DUH), and I don't know why, but my chocolate turned into an oily lump of grossness (is that a word?). Going to give it another shot tomorrow and if doesn't work, the baskets are going to be a little light. On a happier note, the homemade "turtles" came out awesome

Hope everyone had a great weekend. Can't wait for the Survivor Finale tonite. Anyone else watch?

One year ago today we were just getting on our way on the Magic for the 10-Day Christmas Cruise. My, time flys!!

Mary Ann, I am sure your neighbors will love your baskets whether you feel they are a little light or not. We are blessed here with some wonderful neighbors too. I have trouble trying to make candy too.

 

[arlenesp]

Looks likes some furnaces will be running in Florida for a few days.........

I got an e-mail from Walt yesterday telling me today's high was only going to be around 60* or so in Lake County, FL.

At this point, I'd gladly welcome a 60* day...............

Yes it is 53 and dropping. Yesterday the air was on and tonight the heat maybe?.Did your Mom and Walt have any storm damage? Few coworkers called out today as they had a hard night. My pup Rocky was shaking all night long due to the storm and he kept both of us up til I grabbed the OTC meds we have for him and it seemed to calm him down. That dog is such a wimp

Your socks have ......drawers!!!!

Mine are lucky if they make it back upstairs after laundering let alone back to where they're supposed to be.

I'm having a touch of bah humbug at the moment. Finances are tight and with this trip coming in Aug and the cost of passports and airfare... there's not much extra cash around...ok there's no cash around...I just paid the mortgage.

I wish we could live in a cheaper house but in MD without moving to a dump or severe fixer upper...There's not much else out there...
Even if we sold the house and rented again. Then our income taxes would go up $10-15,000 each year (not having that mortgage interest to deduct.)

I'm just really fustrated.....Even a simple trip to visit my sister next week for 2 days will cost us ($25 for tolls, $50 for gas, $75 for a hotel room + other money for food) Just us getting there will be present enough for me.

After the water heater going out last week....and I wanted to at least put up some decorations outside but then it rained and now everythings wet (water + electricity don't mix) and i don't know if we'll ever get the stuff up.

Doesn't seem worth it for a couple weeks either.

This is my most trying time of the year and I usually get down in the dumps as well. Every year we say we will get some lights and light up the front but so far we have been here since 92 and other than the reg lights doesn't look like it is going to happen this year as well. Oh well.

The Hojo on Harbor is right off of the main freeway that runs near Disneyland. there is a 7-11 (Liquor store) about 3 miles ones direction and a Ralphs Grocery Store about 3 miles the other direction. There will be small liquor stores and other types of stores close but nothing that comes to mind. I will take a look for you and let you know.

Desiree

Thanks! I was looking on Google Earth and saw the stores and restaurants and thought the blocks looked really long.However some of the info on there is not updated and smeecanada said there was a Target close by as well.

Darn I didn't even think about that

So just buy a dress in a larger size or starve myself 3 weeks before the cruise
I've actually managed to gain 4 pounds in one birthday weekend
Maybe if I manage to get up early and find the gym...



ADORABLE

Are those from the princess game ? My DD had a princess board game that she loved to play (before she turned into a tomboy ). Wish I had pics of her playing the game with her Dad




Sure, send it on over when you get a chance

My DH's grandmother made really good gefilte fish, but the recipe was so complicated and time consuming that no one in the family has made it since she passed away in 1995



Chocolate and caramel covered pretzel rods

Sounds like it will be awesome when you're done

Would parchment paper work better than wax paper ?

I haven't watched Survivor in a while, so can't help you there

My DGD wouldn't be caught in a dress let alone a tiara! DD loved to dress up as a child and it kills her the one girl she has dresses like the guys.

The recipe is quite easy. I season the brisket with lots of garlic powder(love garlic) s/p and braise it. It goes in a roasting pan with 1 cup of Ketchup,1 pkg of onion soup mix, 1 can cranberry sauce (I use whole just for the texture) and 1 can beer. Put foil wrap on top where it actually touches the brisket so it stays moist and bake 350 for around 3 hours. I add veggies (carrots and small taters) and we like it.

I had a neighbor who did the fish from scratch and thought boy is that a lot of work. I think it tastes better in the jar.

Here is the link for Christmas treats if anyone needs it.http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=973110

Just a quick post to let ya'll know that we're okay. Just got our electricity up and running, after it being off since last Sunday night. I took tons of pics! Fortunately,no house damage but do have a lot of tree damage to clean up.

Gonna try and play a little ketchup.

TTFN!

Debi

Glad you have power. I spoke to someone and they won't have power for close to 2 weeks

 

[PBader]

These are great Paula. I looked at someone's photos from the last repo last night. Cann't wait to take my own and maybe by then I'll have started to scrapbook some of mine own pics. I have oodles to do with going to DL in 05,06 and then WDW and DCL in 07.

Thanks, I have been gathering an awful lot of pictures lately that need to be put in books. For some reason lately I just can't seem to get motivated to get them done. I am current to March of this year so hopefully this winter I'll make a good dent in them.

 

[dahuffy]

Check this out. Taken this afternoon.

Notice he's laying on a couch? Notice the blinds in the background? Notice the (undecorated) tree?



DS came home today.



He has to take it easy. Go back for another CT Scan in a few days. And follow up with the Neurologist in a week. But, he's home!

Dang ST. Wouldn't hardly eat in the hospital but asked for Micky D's this evening. Ate a small fries, cheesburger and chocolate sundae! That's more than he's eaten in an entire day. Yep, he's feeling better.

What a wonderful Christmas present!

 

[PBader]

The 2010 Olympics will be in my backyard (well a 1hr 40 minute ferry ride away). We're hoping to go to either the Opening or Closing Ceremonies but not sure if the price will be in our pocket book range. Much rather spend that amount of change on a DCL holiday.

Being that close, it would be a shame if you couldn't see some of the ceremonies. Hope it works out for you

 

[micmse2003]

A Holiday treat for us all, take a look at this thread......http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=22178561&postcount=1

That is great news. Here I thought my high speed was not that fast.

Oh, cheryl! That is adorable!!!!!

I your Christmas decorations!!!!!!! I didn't do any this year since I thought we were moving next week.... It looks like it will be after Christmas now.....

Sorry to hear the moved will be later than sooner. Just think it will be a new beginning of the New Year!!

Didn't taste any with Nutmeg in them Andy. Will have to do something about that next year. Here is the kids all decorating their cookies. Most of them were consumed soon after.

Who are all those children. All the cookies looked yummy!!!!

If we'd had a daughter she would have been named Genevieve. I'm glad the name hasn't completely died. It's so beautiful. Especially the French pronounciation.

She's as lovely has her name.

I am French but DGD name of Genevieve had nothing to do with it. If you can believe she is three-quarters Italian!!! My DSIL named her after St. Genevieve a school he went to. She is difinitely a Saint in my eyes.

Our turn to spread some holiday cheer, from our family to yours, enjoy the very brief show.......... http://www.elfyourself.com/?id=1449119930

I thought Angelina made the cutest elf!!! Nothing against you or Hazel.

Coral, it sounds like you are putting a lot of effort into your pc information! I really hope they have that same woman that came onboard last time. She was a wealth of information. DCL was also great with narration as we cruised through the canal. And the mimosas they served us that morning were a wonderful way to start the day. I wish there was a port stop included so we could explore Panama, but I'm not complaining. All in all it was a wonderful day, it is really interesting seeing how the locks work.

Here are a couple of scrapbook pages I made of our trip. I don't have too many of our pc pictures in my shutterfly account.

Great pictures Paula!!! I am looking forward to the mimosas.

 

[PBader]

Just a quick post to let ya'll know that we're okay. Just got our electricity up and running, after it being off since last Sunday night. I took tons of pics! Fortunately,no house damage but do have a lot of tree damage to clean up.

Gonna try and play a little ketchup.

TTFN!

Debi

Glad to hear your OK. I was wondering where you had been. Hope life gets back to normal for you soon.

 

[micmse2003]

I couldn't read The Path Between the Seas as I'm not a very fast reader and I lose interest easily. I did get the book on CD and listened on my way to work. It was a very good book and gave me a lot of insight on the history of the canal. Made me appreciate it even more when we went through.

Paula, I didn't realize you were on the August cruise with us last time! I recognize many of your pictures (mine look the same LOL).

It is a small world after all!!! Got the song in your head now.

The Hojo on Harbor is right off of the main freeway that runs near Disneyland. there is a 7-11 (Liquor store) about 3 miles ones direction and a Ralphs Grocery Store about 3 miles the other direction. There will be small liquor stores and other types of stores close but nothing that comes to mind. I will take a look for you and let you know.

Desiree

I forgot to welcome you aboard Desiree. I just hate people who live in Florida or California.

Are those from the princess game ? My DD had a princess board game that she loved to play (before she turned into a tomboy ). Wish I had pics of her playing the game with her Dad

She is only 3 and I did not buy her the Pretty Pretty Princess game. She has 7 tiaras. She changes her crown everyday to match her outfit.

Just a quick post to let ya'll know that we're okay. Just got our electricity up and running, after it being off since last Sunday night. I took tons of pics! Fortunately,no house damage but do have a lot of tree damage to clean up.

Gonna try and play a little ketchup.

TTFN!

Debi

Glad you are okay Debi!!! I think I would die without my computer. I would defintely not miss the cooking.

 

[PBader]

Didn't taste any with Nutmeg in them Andy. Will have to do something about that next year. Here is the kids all decorating their cookies. Most of them were consumed soon after.

Looks like a lot of fun. There was a large turnout!

 

[dahuffy]

 

[dahuffy]

Here's the Oak tree that came down in our front yard.

 

[GoofyontheHiSeas]

Well we are back from a very long day at DL. Weather was cool but made for a nice day. Took 350 pictures, will get to sharing some tomorrow. I think we almost had a mini-meet. DW thinks that she saw Crash and his family having lunch in Tomorrowland but by the time that see came to collect us off of Autopia they were gone. Was that you Crash? Talk to you all in the AM.

 

[Andrew DEREK UK]

I know those sea days were the best! It was absolutely the most relaxing vacation we've ever had. I am keeping my fingers crossed that we make it into Cabo this time. And yes, we will have to make sure that we meet up.



Andrew, I so wanted to do one of those Med. cruises this year--maybe next time. But those darn vacation dollars only stretch so far.

Hopfully 2010!

 

[LITTLEKID58]

GM

Presently 41 going up to 58 here in Sunny Central florida..a little bit chilly this morning...

Love all the Pics

Please put my DH and I on the list for the PV Zip Line.

and prayers to everyone who is going to need it today

aboard to all the newbies

Happy Birthday and Anniversary to all we have missed.

Have a great Monday

 

[sk8ingmom]

Yikes! I hope FL warms up before we get there in about 3 weeks!
Did anyone catch the highlights of the Browns game? There was about 2" of snow on the field! That's where we're going next Saturday. The boys are SO excited - they miss snow.

Just a quick post to let ya'll know that we're okay. Just got our electricity up and running, after it being off since last Sunday night. I took tons of pics! Fortunately,no house damage but do have a lot of tree damage to clean up.

Gonna try and play a little ketchup.

TTFN!

Debi

So glad you are back Debi. Now that I've seen the trees laying in your yard, I'll stop compaining about my leaves!

 

[radioclash2]

I hate ice.
Glad to hear you're OK

 

[yargrnhoj]

Awesome! We've always wanted to go to the Olympics and since this one is close-ish, it seems like the one to go to. I doubt we'll have the $$ for opening or closing ceremonies, but we'll probably spring for medal round hockey & ice dance free skate. Our biggest decision is going to be where to stay since the prices are usually insane during the games, but we don't want to be 3 hours away. I want the whole experience, as well as seeing some great competition.

I'll have to dig out some of our pictures from the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta. Opening/Closing ceremonies were too rich for our blood, too, but we did women's gymnastics, which was incredible. Definitely one of those once-in-a-lifetime experiences, especially with SWMBO eight months pregnant at the time. I had planned to be a volunteer guide, but had to cancel out because I needed to save all my vacation time for the baby.

 

[yargrnhoj]

I'm with M; the "hurry up and wait" that goes with the ship sponsored excursions drives me nuts. I learned that on my first cruise with DCL. Last time we did the Brig Unicorn in St Lucia, but you had to do that with DCL since they chartered it for the day. Besides, the pirate ship was docked on the same pier as the Magic, so it was painless.

You had to bring up last Christmas, huh? I'm having major DCL withdrawal this week (and don't even have an upcoming trip to look forward too).

Of course, I didn't get to do the Brig Unicorn with y'all because of the dumb age limit so I ended up on the beach with DD while SWMBO and the boys got to go sailing. Some of these DCL age limits are really ridiculous.

 

[yargrnhoj]

Hey, y'all -- maybe you want to rethink letting Tom31b and the lawyers on-board your cruise -- this is from the NY Times:

"A incident occurred last month aboard the Sapphire Princess, a 2,600-passenger cruise ship on a 16-night voyage with scheduled stops in Singapore, Shanghai and other Asian ports. Two late-season typhoons severely disrupted the trip, canceling port calls in Vietnam, at Okinawa and at Taipei, Taiwan.

Unhappy passengers rushed to Internet stations to tell the world. Some were “claiming they were on the verge of mutiny,” The Sunday Mail reported while the ship was still at sea.

An online critic, Carolyn Spencer Brown, happened to be on the ship. Ms. Spencer Brown is editor of CruiseCritic.com, which features cruise news and reviews.

Naturally, she also turned to the Internet. As the passenger unrest spread and the crew seemed unable to keep up with the clamor for timely information, she compiled a daily log from the storm-racked vessel.
A former Washington Post reporter, Ms. Spencer Brown has sailed on most cruise lines. But this was her first mutiny.

As port stops were canceled and passengers found themselves with little to do, protest meetings broke out. “It became ‘Monty Python Meets the Perfect Storm,’ ” she said.

“First there was a group of what I’d call rabble-rousers, led by a lawyer,” she said. “We were missing all of these ports, and they felt they weren’t getting the truth” from the ship’s officers. At one point, with passengers assembled in the ship’s theater, she said, “the attorney jumped up and grabbed the microphone away from the assistant cruise director and said: ‘We’re taking over the stage! We have a petition!’”

“There was a big shouting match with the captain,” she said. “One passenger was telling everybody he was captain of a yacht back home.” He stormed the bridge with Google Earth printouts, she said, and demanded to show the captain how to navigate around the storm.
As the ship approached its final port, near Beijing, a few passengers threatened to barricade themselves in their staterooms unless they got $1,000 in chits and a free cruise. Resistance collapsed when the captain noted that the police in Beijing would probably not be in the mood for negotiation, Ms. Spencer Brown said.

 

[dahuffy]

I hate ice.
Glad to hear you're OK

So do we. I'm thinking of using this shot for our Christmas card next year.