Quarantine and chill and kindness chatty clubhouse: Jump in and join the conversation! All is welcome!

[Snowysmom]

Judique I am in awe of your trip planning and strategy in using points and dates and resorts.

Good morning. It is 15 degrees here now with temps heading into the mid 20s. We have some warm days coming up beginning Wed with temps getting to 40. Looking forward to getting more outside walking done. Yesterday was a quiet day with errands, gym, and housework. I watched an interesting show on the marriage of Queen Victoria and Albert. I found it by accident when going through the guide. Today is a busy, busy work day with year end close, hopefully my last one that I have to deal with. I will be happy to give it to someone else. It will be busy for the next couple of weeks.

Have a good day.

 

[lynxstch]

Good morning. 25 now going to 45, then temps climbing. 60 on Friday and Saturday, but calling for rain both days.

Nothing new around here.

Have a good day everyone

 

[flyingdumbo127]

Good morning everyone. Dad, God-willing, will come visit at lunchtime, yesterday was rainy. I am so blessed that he and a friend who is an advocate will be making some advocacy phone calls for me as back-up. I will be making calls, too. By God's grace also, I expect to have two therapy sessions this morning also. Have a great day, friends. I will check back later.

 

[Judique]

Judique I am in awe of your trip planning and strategy in using points and dates and resorts.

Good morning. It is 15 degrees here now with temps heading into the mid 20s. We have some warm days coming up beginning Wed with temps getting to 40. Looking forward to getting more outside walking done. Yesterday was a quiet day with errands, gym, and housework. I watched an interesting show on the marriage of Queen Victoria and Albert. I found it by accident when going through the guide. Today is a busy, busy work day with year end close, hopefully my last one that I have to deal with. I will be happy to give it to someone else. It will be busy for the next couple of weeks.

Have a good day.

I've been manipulating my points for 25 years now to try to get the best value out of studios.

My biggest mistake was buying 4 resorts. If I had it to over I'd buy 3 - BWV - most; BCV - a few more than I have to fill in the hard to get December nights when I can't get BWV, and Hilton Head because I love it. I'd double what I have there even though the dues are more expensive. I would not buy Vero Beach because I can always get something there. Hind sight is 20/20.

Anyway, this morning I woke up sometime after midnite and went online and saw a room available that I needed for December. Eventually fell back to sleep, woke up at 5 and had my coffee, cheese and a slice of Pannetone from my freezer. Ten seconds in the microwave and it was as nice as fresh.

Just after 7am, I decided to check the DVC website again and voila, there are 2 nights available that someone abandoned just for me!

So, now I've still got a bit of a hodgepodge but only one night that needs changing.

I have 3 nights in a one bedroom at Hilton Head which will easily sleep 5 so if DD's family comes, we will have adequate sleeping spaces - murphy bed for 2, King bedroom for 2 and the sleeper chair for 1. Arrive Wed, stay through until Saturday. Guests can return home if they want and depending who actually comes, maybe go to Florida with me.

Right now, I do not have a room booked for Dec 28. Travel day so maybe it will be Swan or anything closer to Disney. On a recent trip I used the Residence Inn Lake Nona and it was a very nice hotel, parking, staff...5.0 to me and then I did the drive - less than a half hour on 417 to Disney, and ended up doing a park -AK - and checking into BWV. I also used a free night certificate from Marriott that sweetened the pot. It's also a shorter drive from Hilton Head if you don't have horrible blinding rain as was encountered on the previous trip staying there.

On Nov 29 I will use up some leftover BCV points and sleep there for one night.
Nov 30, I will move to Boardwalk until Dec 4 which gives me 5 full days at Disney to include the BCV night.

If it works out to stay at Swan or Swan Reserve, or even Celebration Hotel, my nights will be six, and that combined with three at Hilton Head will be plenty Disney. I'll also need a hotel on the way home, so 10 hotel nights total.

It's easy for me as single to do multiple checkin/checkouts. The other possibility is to reduce them if any availability shows at 7 months and I switch my BCV room to BWV using the BCV points. It happens a lot last minute, and I'm always scanning websites until I have what I want. It's sort of my retirement job with only me to please.

The DVC entities really rewarded me this morning - 3 nights further ahead and almost finished! I also was able to have the points from end of January rescued - that would have been an outstanding issue that I would have had to deal with but it worked out very nicely.

Next booking - looking at Mid-February 2027 since I booked Nov/Dec 2026. I'm actually longing for the end of January to get here so I can ride south and get warm, but I'm also looking at returning while there's lots of snow chances around here. Mid Feb would push it closer to March and spring showers and flowers popping up in my yard.

 

[Judique]

I watched an interesting show on the marriage of Queen Victoria and Albert. I found it by accident when going through the guide. Today is a busy, busy work day with year end close, hopefully my last one that I have to deal with. I will be happy to give it to someone else. It will be busy for the next couple of weeks.

I've seen that! Can't remember diddly squat about it, but I watched it in the background one time while reading on my laptop. I love a lot of the British stuff and have real TV just so I can look at old stuff.

I enjoyed watching Mary (what's her last nme??) do Xmas recipes also.

 

[Pea-n-Me]

@PollyannaMom I love Maggiano’s! We’ve had a lot of work events there and things like graduations and other celebrations, etc. I like the family style, too. It’s nice that you’re involved in the Lodge activities.

@Judique I admire how well you manage your DVD membership and how much joy it brings you. I’ve looked into it so many times but I was always worried my cancer would come back and didn’t like the idea we’d have to continue to pay if I wasn’t able to work. (And my instinct was right.) I also didn’t want to have to be saddled down with managing it or selling it, etc. Plus I made my hobby finding good deals for us on our trips and that became a nice challenge, and fun, too. Always managed to get a good deal somewhere, and got to stay at most of the resorts. (Still a few we have no interest in, but if the price is right, maybe!)

Going forward we still keep DVC in mind, especially as our family grows and we continue to enjoy family trips together. We toured the cabins in Sept. We love OKW and like BRV. SSR may be a possibility. We don’t love it as much as OKW but its proximity to DS is appealing, especially where our trips are often resort heavy. Now I know who to come to if I have questions. There was another poster here I used to ask, she gave me a lot of info, and I always read on the DVC boards. DD loves Vero and my friend works there. I know the maintenance fees are high.

That’s another thing that’s kept us from buying, ie heavy maintenance fees, not only DVC but a more local time share that we love and spent a lot of time at over the years where my cousin owns. A few years back I looked into buying a 3BR unit there (NH) but when we did the math on it, the maintenance fees added so much even though the price of the time share itself was peanuts. Adding in costs to kennel our dogs, I calculated it would cost us $60K in ten years. Maybe we might wind up spending that much anyway, but at least we’d have more flexibility if we weren’t saddled down by a contract. That’s basically why I don’t mind spending a little more at resorts sometimes, it may just be cheaper in the long run for us. But we still do think about it. We’ll see.

We’ve stayed at the Residence Inn in Lake Buena Vista (and other Residence Inns as they’re dog friendly) and we really like it there. Nice rooms and great breakfast. We stayed there a few years back for a long weekend when we had a local wedding, then we moved over to Disney afterward (and DS and I came down with Covid while there ). I’d definitely stay there again and it’s right outside the Disney gates over by Hyatt Grand Cypress (which we love too). I think I’ve mentioned here I like the Hyatt Place that’s right there, too.

@Snowysmom I’m glad you have your retirement plan in place and you can leave sooner if you want to.

@flyingdumbo127 I’m glad you’re getting therapy twice a day and hope you can think about going back home soon.

Enjoy the rest of the day, Quackers.

PS Did I share my recipe for power salad here? It’s pretty good and healthy for the new year. Let me know.

 

[Judique]

Very few timeshares have the advantage of having Disney within a short walk or bus ride. I'm lucky in that I bought 25 years ago and that it ends in 2042 for me. I was spending much more than what my dues were when I first joined. That has actually stayed constant as while my dues have tripled over the 25 years, the prices to stay have also risen, some more than others. DVC has to be managed. You can't just let it sit or you've wasted a big chunk of opportunity.

I think a lot of people over buy. And they place value on things that have an attractive value for a span of time. I've kept mine relatively small and since I've retired it's easier to go. That requires a plan.

But getting what you want with a Boardwalk contract is not easy right now. Makes me glad I'm retired! So it's important to be able to swivel when the first thing doesn't work the way you'd prefer. Having time makes that easier.

The one year I couldn't go I rented out my points here on the Dis rental board. Another option if you can't use them is to deposit for trades. And, take a cruise. Or spend another $99 and use your points to buy an annual pass. Some possibilities.

But, If you are enjoying your vacations as they are, you can be happy without buying a timeshare.

My DD's friend's parents gave my DD their Vistana timeshare week this past summer. They listed it, it didn't rent so they gave the week away. It's forever so I imagine their kids will dump it when the parents pass. None of them really bother with it very much other than to pay and try to get something back renting it. DD is still complaining that there was no elevator and she had to climb 5 or 6 flights.

 

[PollyannaMom]

PS Did I share my recipe for power salad here? It’s pretty good and healthy for the new year. Let me know.

I don't think so. - I would love to read it!

 

[Pea-n-Me]

I don't think so. - I would love to read it!

They sell it at Roche Bros in a small container for like $6.99. I was pleasantly surprised with it when I bought it and decided I could make a big batch of it on my own for a lot less. Everyone here likes it and I always give a container to DS and his crew and my sister and husband enjoyed it, too, etc. (You know I never use exact amounts, so this is a guideline.)

One bag of cole slaw mix
Two or three cups of kale (washed)
Two handfuls of hulled sunflower seeds
Two handfuls of dried cranberries
One handful of walnuts, if desired
A small amount of red onion sliced up thinly
One container of blueberries, large berries if possible
Poppy seed dressing, about 1/2 bottle, to taste

Mix all together in a large bowl. Let set at least an hour or two in refrigerator for best flavor.
Don’t oversaturate with dressing, can always add a little more when serving.

Enjoy! Let me know how you like it if you try it!

 

[DaisyDuck001]

They sell it at Roche Bros in a small container for like $6.99. I was pleasantly surprised with it when I bought it and decided I could make a big batch of it on my own for a lot less. Everyone here likes it and I always give a container to DS and his crew and my sister and husband enjoyed it, too, etc. (You know I never use exact amounts, so this is a guideline.)

One bag of cole slaw mix
Two or three cups of kale (washed)
Two handfuls of hulled sunflower seeds
Two handfuls of dried cranberries
One handful of walnuts, if desired
A small amount of red onion sliced up thinly
One container of blueberries, large berries if possible
Poppy seed dressing, about 1/2 bottle, to taste

Mix all together in a large bowl. Let set at least an hour or two in refrigerator for best flavor.
Don’t oversaturate with dressing, can always add a little more when serving.

Enjoy! Let me know how you like it if you try it!

View attachment 1035919

What size bag of cole slaw?

 

[Pea-n-Me]

What size bag of cole slaw?

A small bag that you find in with the produce.

Finding kale is more of a challenge. I’ve seen some bags that are massive. (And we had to make Kale Soup, too.)

Yesterday I bought a bag of those ready made salads you put together that was kale based and used in place of plain kale - and actually, it was very similar to this salad (had cranberries, pumpkin seeds and poppy dressing inside the bag) so that would be a good alternative if you want a smaller portion of this. (It can get watery after a few days if not eaten.)

Aldi’s is a great place to shop for all the ingredients, even the poppy seed dressing (which I found at Roche for $6). They have the bag of cole slaw, bag of kale (or premix), small-ish container of massively big blueberries, seeds, cranberries, walnuts, onion and dressing.

I took some pics - Cole Slaw



Bagged kale mix (can use alone)



They happened to be out of Poppy Seed this time but usually it’s here. Dressings are excellent.

 

[Snowysmom]

Pea-n-me The salad looks so good. Thanks for the recipe.

Judique Your trip plans sound like fun.

Flyingdumbo127 Glad you are still doing PT and hope you can be home soon.

Good morning. It is 23 here now with temps going to 32. Then it will warm up over the next 4-5 days. But, each day has rain or snowy mix for parts of the day. I want some sun and be able to enjoy the 40s. I went to Macy's near me yesterday to take a look at dresses. There really was nothing I was interested in. It is a smaller Macy's so when I am seriously looking I may go to one near where I used to live and take a look. I also need an outfit for the rehearsal dinner. That will be pants and a nice top.

Have a nice day.

 

[lynxstch]

Good morning. 31 now going to 55, I'll gladly take it.

I talked to Summer last night and her husband hasn't been called back to work yet. They said it might be another week, which means 2 weeks without a paycheck. And of course they didn't plan for an extended leave so all of the bills are either past due or will be shortly. I told her she can come shopping with me and I'll buy them the neccesity foods, but I'm not paying any of their bills.. It just never ends with them.

Going to do the shopping this morning along with a couple of errands I need to do.

Have a good day all.

 

[bobbiwoz]

@Pea-n-Me, your salad looks delicious. I mostly use romaine lettuce and regular salad veggies, but I do like bits of crunchy things in the salad too!

Today I will take our tree down. Yesterday we did our Blessing of our house. We both get a bit sad when it’s time to put away Christmas things. I will bring my amaryllis bulbs out of dormancy, and place them in the bay window until they flower. I put them there after Christmas last year, and seeing them made me feel a little less sad.

With three friends, including my sister, soon we’ll be on DCL’s Destiny. It’s part of our January trip to WDW for the Festival of the Arts. The trip includes a stay at VB, where we will see cousins who live in FL! It’s late in January, but we really hope the tree will still be up in Vero, since we missed my Birthday stay at VB last week.

I hope everyone has a good day.

 

[flyingdumbo127]

Happy Tuesday dear friends. Dad extra prayers appreciated. The last two days have been very hard. I am once again fighting for therapy. Please pray that gets resolved positively this week. Thank you hugs. More tomorrow.

 

[flyingdumbo127]

System double posted. Extra hugs.

 

[Snowysmom]

Good morning. It is 30 here now with temps heading into the 30s today. We have had freezing rain during the night, the roads and driveways are icy. I am glad I took my trash barrels out yesterday so I wouldn't slip on the ice taking them out this morning. Ice is the one thing I really don't like. Snow is preferable. I just need to go to Market Basket after work today but by then things will be treated. My MA friend had to make the decision yesterday to out her beloved dog to sleep. She knew it was coming but still very hard. I feel like alot of 2025 and beginning of 2026 has not been good for alot of people and their families. Just sad for the people I care for who are going through tough times.

Have a nice day and stay safe if you are in the icy area.

 

[PollyannaMom]

Have a nice day and stay safe if you are in the icy area.

I don't have to leave the house until after 9:00, so I'm hoping the roads are good by then.

 

[Judique]

Woke up in the wee hours and read awhile before falling back to sleep.

That meant I got up a bit later this morning, at almost 6am. The big oldest cat was yowling for his breakfast as soon as he saw me move in my bed. If I'm facing the right direction and don't move to alert him, I often see him sitting on the floor sometimes on top of my fuzzy slippers waiting for me to awaken.

Got them fed and started the oven to warm up some scones. Then did my coffee and turned on my tree lights. It didn't come down yesterday as I drove to my sons in the morning. He's on bereavement leave for his Grandpa and was home with the kids.

I had a lot of things to bring him as neighbors and a friend had dropped off stuff. Then there were my Xmas things as the kids had been sick and I don't go when they are sick, on command from son. The other grandparents seem to catch everything but I'm rarely sick from virus. Still I get put into protective status. Note I'm running around to stores and up and down the East Coast and still have been fortunate to stay relatively healthy.

Anyway, Granddaughter loved the remote control Barbie car with 2 dolls from Costco. Once she figured out the remote and that it would go she was shrieking with delight. Eventually she let her father operate it, while she tried to chase it around the family room. I noticed my son seemed to be having a great time and was reluctant to let the controls go.

We also opened grandson's gift which he loved. It was a set of Fisher Price animal figures. DGD also liked his gift and was playing with it and trying to take it over. Anything new in the house is always the best gift. We left the other stuff for Mom to enjoy opening when she came home after her day at school. Son took videos and posted them for us later.

Today I have to do a bit of food shopping - maybe. I also have to do the tree pack up.

Have a great day, All!

 

[lynxstch]

Good morning. I got woken by the wind rattling the windows at 4 am. Fell back asleep and got woken again at 5 by the trash truck. Went back to sleep until 7. Broken sleep doesn't help a lot. It's 49 outside going to 55, but that's what they said yesterday and we never went above 48. It got pitch black on the way home from grocery shopping, looked like it was going to rain but not one drop fell.

Cats are all fed except one outside one who seems to keep leaving the yard and only coming back when he really gets hungry. The birds are eating like crazy, I had to fill the feeders twice yesterday.

Summer was expecting her husband to get called back to work this week, but it's not happening. He's been off since Dec 23 and the only pay he got was 20 hours of PTO and a small Christmas bonus. She texted me yesterday morning that her phone got shut off again. She had to pay $491 to get them turned back on. The carrier charges $25 for each line to turn them back on and they have 4 lines. Because it's happened so many times lately, she had to pay the last 3 reconnect fees for them to turn them back on. I don't understand how they can live, or survive like that. The rent is late, the rest of the utilities will all be late,, and she has to do the registration, title, taxes, and inspection on the new car by Friday. The temp tags will expire then.

I feel bad for them, but I can't pay their bills. I did take her to the store with me and bought them groceries so they at least have some food in the house. That's the most I'm willing to do anymore.

I have laundry to do, but all the other chores are done.

Have a good day