Christmas 2003 - Who's sailing (20-27 Dec 03)?

[Ginny]

To all -

Thanks so much for your kind wishes and prayers. You know, I never cease to be amazed by how much this DIS group has in common on many, many different fronts.

I am just now home from visiting my mom. I wanted to check on her and restock everything for her just in case the roads were a challenge post-Isabel. We moved her here from San Diego almost 2 years ago (right after our last cruise) and she celebrated her 88th b'day on the 4th of July. Though originally she was living in Fairfax (at an Assisted Living on the campus of DD's school), we recently moved her to a little higher level of care in MD. It is more of a drive for me but half as far for my sister.

Jim, besides Isabel (and your lovely getaway in Ocean City), you are truly in my thoughts and prayers for the changes with your mom as you begin this journey. Hopefully, she will adjust quickly and flourish in her new environment. There have been many times in the past two years when I wondered what else was in store........and, then, there are times like tonight when she is so happy to sit quietly and hold my hand and I feel such peace. Of course, that sweet interlude was followed by the staff explaining that they had moved her temporarily because she had left the water running with something in her sink and flooded her room and.............the dining room on the floor below. And, I just had to laugh out loud and then mom laughed and the staff started laughing (while questioning my mental status, I'm sure). For some reason, it simply struck me so funny - here we have Isabel coming and the floods will ensue but my Mom beat her to it. Mom's new care providers are so wonderful - we are very blessed.

So, we are holding on tight to thoughts of our cruise.............and rest........and relaxation...........and Studio Sea............and the Rainforest.............and Mickey Bars..................and pin trading and all the other fun things in store!

Edit (9/18) - Originally, I had asked if anyone had heard from Julie (HawkRN) as I somehow missed her post on the 16th. She always has such great ideas!!

 

[jgalecpa]

Many thanks to all for your caring words.

We are battened down here, ready to ride out whatever may come our way.

We prepare for the worst, and pray for the best.

When put up against the trials some on this board have been up against, a few days of bad weather is not all that bad.

Weather permitting, we'll be checking in soon.

God Bless.

Jim

PS, If you wonder what being in a hurricane is like, ask BD what his worst day of marriage is like and you'll get the idea!

 

[hawkrn]

Ginny, thanks for remembering me! To tell you the truth, the reason we are going on a XMAS cruise is because my dad died Dec. 28 last year and my mom has been gone since 94. So I really wasn't in the mood to spend XMAS here in Iowa this year. So hang on to your mom while you can! I know you, Jim, and Greg dread the word "hurricane", but I'm sorry to say that I find them fascinating. I've been watching those guys on the Weather Channel today whenever I got the chance! I know they're scary (we have tornadoes here) but for someone who doesn't get to experience them....Hope all is well and you have power!

 

[Grumpy's Mom]

Julie, I am so sorry about your mom - a hard time of year for that to occur. Hopefully your trip will provide just the right amount of distraction and yet allow you the 28th to be home and reflect on your mom.

I have been through both hurricanes (Hugo) and many tornados, having lived in Birmingham, AL for five years. I have to say that they are both very similar in the amount of destruction they can do, but the tornados are by far the scariest. At least in B'ham, they come up sooooo quickly -- you know that if you hear the sirens, you had better take cover quickly. They are in and out so quickly, and leave such a path of destruction. Hurricanes are very similar in terms of what one actually experiences in the house while sitting through them, but at least you have some warning and ability to prepare for them.

Glad to see you are doing well --

Ginny, Jim and P3guy --- where are you???????????

 

[Ginny]

Julie -
I am so very sorry to hear about your loss. Losing your dad must be so very hard for you and it is a challenging time of year to lose someone dear. No matter how old we get, our parents are very important in our lives.

I had really missed your posting and am glad to hear from you!! And, I agree with you, I think these storms and the power they pack are really fascinating. We try very hard to be as prepared as possible and hope for the best.

We lost power from 4PM until 9AM this morning. Bonnie, my luck ran out - regardless of the outcome, thanks for the PM and looking out for us!! That really made my day yesterday.

I am pretty tired as this was a particularly noisy storm and we lost many, many big branches that were thudding and clunking on the roof, windows and doors as they flew by. Plus, I camped out in the family room with DD (because her survival guidebook said to) and my back will need intense therapy to recover!! Mother-Love!!

We had pre-chilled the house to 64 so were comfortable all night. We have no tap water at all - all Virginia water treatment facilities are without power. But, we have about 20 gallons of bottled so are fine.

The clean up on this one will take days but, to be honest, the biggest casualty is the DH and DD missed the 90-minute Season Premier of Survivor. It was really touch and go around here last night as 8PM came and went with no power. But, we regrouped and ended up playing Disney Monopoly by Lantern.

I still stand by an earlier post, hurricanes with Mickey are much more fun!!

 

[Grumpy's Mom]

Ginny - glad to hear everything is okay - tell DH not to feel bad, we only got to see the first one hour of Survivor, as I had no idea it was a 90 minute show and only taped 60!! Waiting for a friend to tape off her satellite tonight at 11 - maybe that would be a solution for your family??

Having only lost your power for a few hours, you did quite well, I would say!!

Haven't heard from Jim or p3guy yet - Ginny, what is p3???

Am still waiting to hear from my gf in Woodstock, MD.


I guess we can compare notes on our PS's -

Bonnie

 

[Ginny]

Hi all -

Well, Jim checked in on the main board which is great news. We got our water back by about 2PM this afternoon though we will still need to boil it. Spent 5 hours on clean-up............and that was just the front yard. We will tackle the backyard another day (or millenium)!! Many neighbors with major damage due to downed trees and flooding. Our next door neighbor had extreme basement flooding and another family lost their entire deck with significant damage to their second floor.

Now, we just need to hear from P3Guy and Belle&BeastCrazy (Kim). I saw some pictures of Front Royal and they say that the Shenandoah River will crest again tonight bringing renewed and even more intense flooding. So, Kim, if you can read this, I am sending lots of pixie dust your way.

Take care -

 

[p3guy]

Hi folks,
Well, we survived! Lost two trees in the font yard but that's not so bad because we never lost our electricity or water. We are boiling drinking water but that's OK too...at least we can take showers! Most of our county lost water and electricity, at least for awhile. Some are still without. DM-in-L and DF-in-L (??) in Annapolis are still on generator and downtown is a swamp! Never drove around before with stoplights not working, that's not much fun. Hopefully we'll be back to normal in a couple of days. Time to start getting ready for the cruise!!
Greg

 

[Ginny]

Greg - Glad to hear all is well. Saw the pics on the news of
downown Annapolis. Amazing!! Spoke to dear friends out there who remain on generator after 36 hours but otherwise did great. I agree about the showers - the 19 hours w/o power was fine but I was never so thrilled to see running water coming out of my faucet again than after all that clean-up yesterday.

I am calling today to make reservations for Happy Limo and for LTT for dinner. On with cruise fun!

 

[belle&beastcrazy]

Its's been a hard few weeks for us. I have not been able to talk to everyone, but we are back on track now for our Magical Vacation. Welcome to all our new X-Mas crusiers. It's great to see our group growing . Well we got our DD back to college for her second year. Sad news then her last final isn't untill Friday at 8:00am so no MVMCP for us. We are picking her up at school and driving to the port. So I talked DH into staying 6 days after the cruise through New Year's. Got a room at the Caribbean with an airline discount {thanks mousesavers.com} Second bad news I was bit on my left food by a Brown Recluse Spider. It has taken 2 weeks for the swelling to go down. I can now walk without pain. During this DH had to have surgry on his Achelles Tendon. He is off his feet for 10 weeks. It will be a year recovery. He is home for the next 7 weeks from work. This is putting a damper on any excursions for us.

Now to answer some questions:

This will be our Third Disney Christmas as for gifts my family always get's new PJ'S on X-Mas Eve so they will come wrapped along with something small for X-Mas Morning. Then they girls get to buy something from a gift shop on X-Mas Day that they have had their eye on.

Bonnie-your Grumpy and my Tink should get along great both 13 and hromonal. My Tink fits her name Mood Subject to Change Without Notice.

Bonnie and Ginny- My BIL and nephew to the Jeep tour in July and said it was great. Thier advise was wear something old, they had to throw their tee shirts away.

Everyone- a DIS meet would be great and somthing for the children on X-Mas day would be fun, even the older ones.

Jim- I still put up a tree at home and put maybe half of the outside stuff up. Hope your Mom is adjusting well. We put my Great Aunt in a home 4 years ago against her wishes. It was a ruff few months, but she finally aadjusted put on weight and made friends. Any damage at O.C. for the storm.

Julie- Sorry to head about your Dad-I know that first year is hard you keep thinking last year at this time we were doing this. Being away will help .

Ginny- Not much storm damage at our house. Lost some tree limbs, the wind nocked over an arber that my morning glories were on and lost a butterfly bush. The creek stayed in it's bank on it's way to the Shenandoah. We drove over to the river yesterday, I think it was up more after Fran. THANKS FOR THE PIXIE DUST.

KIM

 

[jgalecpa]

Hey guys,

I';m back, sort of. We are on generator power. I have one PC hooked up (DW's, off course. She is in the middle of an on-line class for here 2nd masters. )

We had no real damage at all. Small stuff down.

No Damage At OCEAN CITY!!!!!

Boat and house are both fine. I hear Kent Island on the way to the beach really took it hard, though. One worker was killed their trying to restore power.

[It does get on my last nerve when people are expecting the biggest storm since 1933 to be cleaned up in 5 hours or less.

They are looking for someone to blame, and her name is Isabel.]

Gotta limit my time on-line, so will check out now.

We can get through this!

(To do my bit, I'm taking my DD-12 to the Redskins game today. Go Skins. Sorry NY Fans.)

Jim

 

[Ginny]

Kim -
So good to hear from you and that you survived Isabel so well!! Your last couple of weeks sound very tough - I hope you (both) continue on the mend. Glad to hear your DH is doing well post-surgery though it sounds as if rehab will take a while!!

Good info on the Jeep tour. DH is looking at the info as I write this note.

Jim -
So excited that your house and boat did so well. That is great news and a big relief I'm sure. I hope things continue to improve over the next week and that the Redskins game is fun for you and DD.

Since we will now be staying put in the DC area, my two big wishes are for a generator and a snow blower. DH said he would see what he could do!! No one ever seems to realize how vital they are (or smart you are for buying them) until you need them.

 

[Grumpy's Mom]

Glad everyone is okay - and surprising that out of a diverse group of people, no serious damage!! Must have been enough prayers and pixie dust!!

Ginny - got my PS at Tony's for 5:30 - had to wake everyone up in the hotel room with a wakeup call at 6:50 - then made my phone call on DH's cell from the bathroom - no problem!! hope you got yours at LTT!!

Kim - funny - my DDs always get new PJs on Christmas Eve - something I started when they were very little to make sure they would look "presentable" for Xmas morning photos! I am glad you mentioned that, as I would not have thought about it. Having just gotten back from the Grove Park Inn in Asheville, and Grumpy extremely frustrated that she could not go to the spa (have to be 18), will be thinking about the spa packages as gifts for them. Sorry we are going to miss you Friday night, but will look forward to seeing you Saturday!

Jim, hope you are off generator power soon - I am sure it is no fun in a family of one man and three women to prioritize what needs power at any given moment! What is your DW working on for her Masters? What was her first?

Well, we are under the 90 day mark now - time for some serious planning - DH is even getting into the act - still looking for fly fishing!

Bonnie

 

[Ginny]

To all -

How about arranging a wonderful Palo's brunch as a DIS meet on Monday (our first day at sea) at 1000 or 1030? Depending on how many adults there are, we can try for the private room or, if not, different tables in the same general area. Those that would enjoy it, can get together and share good food and make new memories. I am happy to pull the brunch meet together but you will need to Private Message me your names and stateroom numbers so I can make the reservations. The brunch charge will be automatically made to your KTTW Card.

We can certainly plan other meets but thought this might be fun. Please let me know if you are interested..................I promise no hurt feelings if folks would rather be lounging at the spa or pool.

Bonnie -

You won't believe it..................LTT was all filled up so I asked about Tony's (thanks to you) and got PS for 5:45PM. So, maybe our paths will cross there.

The best part was when I told DH, he said he was much happier because he really loves the food and atmosphere at Tony's. So all is well that ends well. Thanks again for trying to get PS for us! That was just great and, definitely, above and beyond. I hope you had a wonderful time at the Grove Park Inn.

 

[Grumpy's Mom]

Ginny -- great idea!! We would love to do that. Don't have a cabin room number yet - booked a "guaranteed" so hoping for an upgrade to a 6 when docs come. I think brunch would be great - my DDs will likely still be asleep -- so that would be a great time!!

Thrilled to hear you will be at Tony's -- Someone posted on the restaurant board how much they enjoyed eating on Main Street during the holidays because of the decorations. That should also be a great spot for us to see the "snow", and for both families to meet.

My dds' birthdays are this week - Maleficient (Megan) will be 17 on Wednesday, and Grumpy (boy, was she this weekend) will be 13 on Thursday. I am toying with giving them just the dates and that we will be at WDW, and telling them that we will be staying in several different resorts this year -- maybe even Vero Beach??? I can imagine their faces when we drive up to Port -

Still cannot decide whether better to surprise them or let them have a hand in the planning/chosing their excursions. I know that someone posted that they thought most of the fun was in the planning --


Bonnie

 

[jgalecpa]

"I've got the Power"

Finally. Got a call during the game that the girls school was out today AND the power was on.

Rieann (DW) and friend plus two girls in the car when they heard no school (started the cheering) and then they started noticing streetlights on as they got closer.

Came to our neighborhood and........LIGHTS!!!!!!!!

R said it was a party in the van.

Gotta store "Jennny" the generator today. She deserves an extra fond pat for her good service. (So does R, for that matter.)


Thanks for all the good wishes over the last few days.

Bonnie:

I know that someone posted that they thought most of the fun was in the planning

My girls are really enjoying the excursion planning.



Talk to you soon.

 

[LynnTarrant]

Hi Ginny
Would love to meet you all, but from the reseach i've done I found out that 2 adults are likely to be on the LAP rotation and with the late dinner seating that would probably mean it would be our character breakfast on that morning at 9:45am so i'd say count us out of brunch.

We thought we might do brunch on Christmas Day as probably most groups with families will want to be with their children on that day and it will make it special for us.
Lynn

 

[Grumpy's Mom]

OMG - Jim - look at your tag!!

 

[jgalecpa]

YEAH, BABY!!!!

That Tag fairy really has his/her act together.

The tags are really right on time.

(The mystery that is the tag fairy is really quite intriquing.)

Thanks a million Bonnie. Last time it took days for me to notice.

Jim

 

[Grumpy's Mom]

Welcome!!

The TF must be as addicted to these boards as I am finding I am - I keep wondering what will happen after the cruise -- does it get worse??

Bonnie