Hello from the tropics

I am mid cruise and loving almost every minute!  Today we are in St Thomas which is an American Island so I have cell service while we are docked!  Day to surf the Internet and give a quickie update!

We set sail on Saturday and had 2 days at sea.  I love having sea days right off the bat because you get to relax and disconnect for a few days before hitting a port.  That is one of the reasons I liked this cruise.  I got settled in by going to the sail away dance party as we left Miami.  Later that evening, I went to the solo traveler meet and greet.  This is one of the Norwegian cruises solo traveler boats that have rooms for people cruising alone.  In fact, about 80 rooms.  They are tiny inside cabins but gives you access to the solo studio which is like a living room of sorts.  There are couches, drinks and snacks, and a staff member that their job is to make sure you have fun.  He plans group dinners, shows, and other activities.   You have access if you are in a solo cabin but alas, I am not!  But he opens it at 6:00 every night for us.

I've met several fun ladies that I run into onboard.  Most are older retired ladies but boy do they have fun!!  It is nice to see them and say hello or sit by them around the ship.  None of them are doing specialty dining like me so I find I am still eating dinner alone.  That is kind of tough.  Usually in cruising, you have a set dinner time and table of people but NCL does "freestyle" cruising so you have lots of options onboard and don't usually eat with strangers.  I've asked to be sat with others but no luck so similar to home, I'm dining alone.   Saturday I went to Teppanyaki which is like Benihana. I have also ate at Le Bistro which is fancy French and I did a supper club show with a Frankie Vali tribute thing.  Tonight is steakhouse at Cagneys.  I bought a specialty dining package before I got I onboard because the non-paid food isn't very good.

For fun, I've been relaxing.  Lots of naps (usually following a strong afternoon drink), dancing, music, movies, crafts, and such.  Yesterday I did a spa sampler.  I had a scalp, foot, and arm/hand massage.  It was really designed to get you to buy products and book more appointments but I got out without further damage thank goodness.  I brought several books to read and are working on those.  There are several movies a day you can watch either in the lounge area or by the pool.  I've been enjoying the "Howl at the Moon" karaoke pianos at night too.

I did get off the boat in St Maartin.  It is my favorite island for sure.  But I didn't book any shore excursions and mobility is a definite issue for me.  Makes it tough to get around and do much on the islands. In one of my Myositis conferences, they talked about cruising being a great way to travel with mobility issues but they mentioned getting off the ship is impractical which is true. There are several people in wheelchairs, scooters, walkers, and canes onboard.  It is a different way to cruise when you don't get off but still fun.

I am doing lots of walking.  My cabin is in the front of the boat.  I go front to back and back to front several times a day.  The elevator is 20 cabins away.  So much that is a walk too.  The buffet where I like to get salads each day is at the back of the ship.

You will need to check back for photos after I get back.  I will write more then too.  Xoxo

Why not me?

You may have already heard.  I got a wild hair and booked myself a last minute cruise!  I invited people to join but no one could commit.  So after many years of having cruise buddies, I am on my own!

Yesterday, I flew to Miami.  I was in the car bright and early when I got a notice my flight was basically cancelled.  I decided to go ahead and drive to the airport because there was an hour wait to talk to someone on the phone.  Just as I was getting to the airport, I got another notice that I was automatically rebooked on another flight.....a way better flight.  Instead of having to fly to LAX then to Miami, I was routed through Altanta.  And to boot, I was upgraded to first class for the second part of my flight.  I got a great seat in the bulkhead to Atlanta.  AND, in Atlanta, I didn't have to change terminals so I was able to handle my plane change very easily.  On the flight to Altanta, I look over and there is none other than Gladys Knight across the aisle from me on the plane.  And the woman next to me is about my age bracket and is cruising herself on my ship! You wouldn't think it could get better than that but it does.  When I go to my favorite Miami hotel, I was upgraded to a large room that had a bay view.  Seriously this never happens to me!  So needless to say, it was a fantastic day.

Today I woke up to see 5 cruise ships docked.  Mine was the largest 20 guest floors.  I had a relaxing morning complete with room service.  Then I made my way to the cruise terminal.  It is always very chaotic getting on the ship with 4,500 other people.  But as a single, I just mixed in with the handicapped and priority boarding people.  Within an hour, I was sitting in the ship's pub enjoying a salad and burger!  Unfortunately the ship is Diet Pepsi only but I've adjusted and actually think it would be good to try to switch to ice tea on the cruise.  A can of soda is $3.75 and tea is free.  We will see how that goes.

So shortly I will be disconnecting from life and joining the relaxation only an 8 day cruise can offer.  I have lots of photos to share but I don't know how on my iPad so you will need to be patient.  I have lots of books to read, personal balancing, and relaxation on my schedule!  I need it.  2016 has not been great for me.  Let's see if I can reset for the rest the year!

You might wonder where the title of this post came from.  I watched a movie on my flight....My Name is Doris.  It was starring Sally Fields.  She is a shy 70s something woman whose mother just passed.  She goes to a motivational speaker at the senior center and he gave her that line.  I don't want to spoil the movie for you but it gives her just the boost she needs to launch her life.  It really stuck with me as that is where I am at to some degree.  It is a good movie worth a watching.

So Bon Voyage.  Hopefully I will have a great time and return in a week with sun kissed skin, a smile for miles, and a memory of a great adventure.  Exactly my plan!  Hope you all have a good week.

Bye Bye Fosters

That was a quick 2 weeks.  I finished my foster time with the Batman group.  I took them back in to be neutered this afternoon.  We had so much fun and as much as I tried to stay objective, I fell in love with those little furballs.  Here are a few photos.

Part of our job was to hold and pet them daily.
Philip is a natural with Joker.  He loves to lay on his back and
have belly rubs!

Joker just flat falls asleep

Sometimes I go in and they are in a big kitten pile.

Joker doesn't like being on the floor when we are in
there.  This is his "why aren't you holding me?" look.

I had to cut out their mid day wet food meal.  They don't like it.

Alfred holding still for a second.  Such a cutie.

Bruce cleaning his feet after eating.

Joker again. What a sweet face.

I spent lots of time snuggling them together before
they went.  I miss them already.

Philip and I both agree fostering kittens was a huge success.  We both really enjoyed them although there were times it was really hard.  They all got upper respiratory infections and unfortunately, Sissy got it too so she had to go to the vet over the weekend and is on medications.  I feel really bad about that and really tried to not share but the vet told me it lives in the air for about 30 minutes so there wasn't much I could do.

I will definitely pick up another litter when I get back from vacation (I got a wild hair and booked a cruise for myself on short notice.)  I'll be watching these little buggers to see if they get adopted quickly.  They are so cute and purr every time you touch them.

That is some funny shit

One of the things I really love about my time with Philip is his wicked sense of humor.  We love to tease and joke around.  Today the fosters needed to go to the adoption center for their shots.  I asked Philip to go even though he was exhausted from working all day and was rather grumpy.  I ask myself how you can be grumpy doing charity work around a bunch of really cute cats and dogs.  I thought getting out of the house would be helpful.  So we decided to go get ice cream when we were done.

I couldn't imagine where a McDonalds was on our path so I was weaving through the back streets trying to line myself up for a McD on the right side of the street.  All of a sudden, Philip looks at me exasperated and says, I don't get why we can't go to this McDs on our way!  I totally forgot about that McDs!!  So we spent another 10 minutes getting around traffic to head back that way.

That is when Philip looked at me with all exhausted seriousness and said "You're gonna burn in a brush fire!"  What the what?  We both started laughing so hard.  What is that all about??  A brush fire?  I swear I couldn't make this shit up.  He is so damn funny.  When I asked him where that came from, he said he is just tired and hot as hell and his feet felt on fire from standing all day.

Crazy Cat Lady starter kit

As you know, I've been volunteering for Best Friends for 2 seasons now.  Not only do I do data entry and office work at the adoption center, but I spend a minimum of 2 hours a week at the Kitten Nursery.  Well I suppose you could say that just wasn't enough.  So I signed up for orientation to be a foster Mom.  It seems pretty straight forward so I went ahead and signed up for a litter of kittens.  I asked for "short term" kittens meaning they were close to being ready to adopt.  I was thinking of "2 week" kittens.  Wednesday I went to get my litter.  (Hang on....more on the litter in a second.)

One thing about kittens raised in the nursery is they have grown in a kennel.  It is a steel kennel that is okay size but not enough to run, jump, or play much.  The nursery is considered a medical facility so we suit up in surgical gowns and gloves and that means kittens never get skin to skin contact.  This helpsavoid spread any potential disease but imagine a kitten that has never snuggled, been kissed, or touched with human hands.  So as a foster family, your main goal is to teach the kittens social skills. Let them get used to house noises and different people.  And for petes sake, touch, hold, and snuggle them!  They suggest you have a place that has a hard floor (no carpet) because they might have potty accidents and you need to commit to spend 2 hours each day with them minimum...and you sign a contract you will bring them back.  I weigh them daily too.

Well much to my pleasant surprise, I got a litter of 3 kittens.  They are the "Batman" group from the nursery.  This is way fun because I've worked with them in the nursery and knew they were a good litter.  Pleasant, good eaters, and snugglers.  So let me introduce you to the Batman litter.  We have Bruce, Alfred, and Joker (we call him Gordon because he is too cute to be Joker).

This is them waiting in the carrier at the adoption center (PAC)

Meet Alfred.  He is so damn cute.  He has lots of spunk
 and plays non-stop.  He likes to chew and bite - we are working
on fixing that.

Kitty Pile.  Each time I pick them up, they start purring.
 They pile on each other and fall asleep while I hold them.

This is Bruce and Gordon.  They eat wet
 food like pigs.  They fight to clear the plate
each time I put them down.

Alfred is not a fan of wet food but he loves crunchies. He lays
in the bowl until it tips and eats off the
top...dumping them all over the floor.  Silly kitty.

Bruce loves to sit on a shoulder.  Unfortunately, the day after I got
 him, he started having signs of a respiratory infection.  The next day was
even worse.  He went to see the vet and now have antibiotics
and eye drops for a week.  He is already doing so much better.

This is Gordon.  Such a pretty boy.  Rarely sits still though.

Gordon waiting for me to shower.  They loved laying in my clothes. 

Alfred - doing his Alfred thing.  Play....play....play

They are all waiting to get big enough to get neutered.  Bruce was supposed to go next Monday but now that he is on antibiotics, he needs to wait a week so they will all go 7/18.  After neutering, they leave me and go out for adoption.  They are a darling litter and will go fast at the PAC.

Baby you're a firework...

Thanks Katy Perry for that title.  Yesterday, I was hoping I could see the fireworks from my front patio but as it started getting dark and there were little booms, I saw some trees were in my way.  So I decided to jump in the car and go to my old stomping ground, the old Blue Cross building (which is something else now) to the top of the parking garage.  I had the most gorgeous view of the valley as the sun finished setting and the fireworks started.

I got some pretty cool photos of the Sugarhouse fireworks.  There were also some over to the right and farther west.  There were some on the left too.  It was quite a sight to see.  It wasn't long before I was joined by a whole group of people.  I'm not surprised because it was a sweet spot.  I tried to take some photos I thought I would share.

Check out the end of the sunset while I waited.  Stunning.

As the sun was setting.  It was beautiful with the city lights behind.

The finale never disappoint!

Althought my 4th wasn't quite what I planned, my plan B worked out pretty well.  I had a good day and enjoyed myself.  Hope you had a good 4th too!

Here is a link to Katy's song.  A pretty good message too.  

Katy Perry - Firework

Happy 4th of July!!

Another year rolls around and it is a beautiful day to celebrate the 4th of July.  In Salt Lake, it is HOT.  But it is awful cool inside my air conditioned condo!

I had planned to spend the long weekend in Idaho.  In fact, I drove up there Friday after work.  I was so excited to see Fritz and family.  We planned a family BBQ, parade, and fireworks.  Unfortunately, we don't see eye to eye on a few things so I ended up coming back home on Saturday.  Kind of weird because it left me with a long weekend without any plans.

Before I came home, Fritz took me to see Shoshone Falls.  I've been wanting to see it for an entire year but we never seemed to get there. So this time, we did it.  They are literally just a few minutes outside the center of town.  From what I read, people compare them to Niagara Falls saying they are the west coast version.  I admit they were impressive and very pretty.  There was even a beautiful rainbow by the falls.  I'm so glad I got to see them.

My kitties were sure excited to see me when I got home.  Sister hasn't left me alone.  Yesterday was a resting day for me as I absolutely didn't feel well but today, I am working on creating a celebration.  I have a big book club book to read and I have some projects around the house I want to work on.  I'm hoping I can see the fireworks from my front patio!

For some reason, I've always been emotional on the  4th of July.  It is a marker for me of another year of living.  I usually get really emotional during the fireworks.  Silly I know.  I'm sure this year will not be any different.  I made it yet another year!