welcome home to us

I understand the weather around here was pretty mild last week while we were gone.
We were welcomed home by a couple of days with light snowfall.

 Pretty to look at and not enough to cause any trouble.

There were a couple of smallish deer very close up in the back yard. They decided the sedum that I have growing around the pool area is quite delicious!

You can see in the photo below...the turkeys were near by. It seems like the deer and turkeys depend on each other to be alert for danger.

We had a ton of mail to sort through when we got home...which included a cable/internet/phone bill with a huge rate increase.

They raised the price of our modem lease to $10 a month...so I decided to go ahead and buy a modem (they don't mind) but when I went to hook it up I found the new modem has no place to hook in the phone line.

After a couple of calls to the cable company I learned that I would have to keep their modem too...but there would be no charge for it when only using it for the phone.

Oh.

Also, I learned that I would now need a "splitter" and two short co-ax cables.  Thanks to my hoarding tendencies, I had all of those things in the closet!

So here is the new modem and instruction sheet...hmm, just connect 3 cords...

Oh dear! My set-up looks a bit more complicated that that!

I did manage to wrangle those cords into somewhat neater bundles...and everything worked.

And I had another nice surprise waiting for me. The Sasquatch had sharpened all my kitchen knives while he was house-sitting... 

I didn't realize how dull they were before. Now they are really sharp!

chicken pot pie soup

We were ready for some home cooked food when we got home from our trip.

I have been hearing and reading about chicken pot pie soup so I thought it was time to give it a try.
I looked at several different recipes and found that it's basically just pot pie filling without the crust.

No crust is a good thing...less fat and carbs...and easier to store leftovers (crust gets soggy in the fridge).

I didn't follow any one recipe...just got the general idea and used what I had on hand.

First, I simmered 4 chicken thighs until cooked through. Chopped the meat and strained the broth.

I diced half an onion and 4 stalks of celery and sauteed them in butter until tender.

Added the chicken broth and brought the temperature back to a low boil...

Next, added 3 twelve ounce bags of frozen mixed vegetables that I had preheated in the microwave...

Then added the chopped chicken, a couple spoons of chicken base paste, salt and pepper and Mrs Dash.

Then, simmered on low until the veggies were tender. Next, I mixed a couple tablespoons of flour into a cup of milk, and stirred this into the soup to thicken. No half & half in the fridge or I would have used some of that too.

I added a small amount of turmeric for color. Don't tell my husband because he does not like Indian spices.  Turmeric is said to have some health benefits though (antioxidants).

At this point, I tasted the soup and it seemed bland. I added more salt and pepper and also a splash of balsamic vinegar and some Tony Chachere's seasoning.  

Just right!

Add a few oyster crackers and it's a meal!

We both liked this soup and there is plenty left over for a couple more meals.

more about that cruise

Our second port stop was Charlotte Amalie, St Thomas, one of the US Virgin Islands.
I had done a little research on the beaches there and chose Magen's Bay beach as our destination for the day.
It was lovely but crowded.

 When we got there, I held our spot near the tree line while Lonnie went to rent some chairs. I figured someone would bring the chairs over but Lonnie ended up having to carry them quite a way.

He took a little siesta while I went for a swim and snorkeled a bit.

With those sunglasses on, it's hard to tell....is he sleeping?

....or just enjoying the scenery?

Wake up and I will get a photo of us!

Now the other way....

The beach was on the opposite side of the island from the port. The taxis are open air seating built on the back of a pick up truck. 

The roads are curvy and steep. The yellow center lines are ignored and a stop sign means "honk your horn" so other drivers will know you are coming through. 

They drive on the left in St Thomas, so this isn't quite as bad as it looks...

It's a nerve racking ride but the views are spectacular!

Here we are ready to get back on board...

The view from our balcony...

Later, dinner,and a show featuring a singer/dancer who had a multi-win stretch on that "Star Search"show years ago .  He was talented and energetic, and told a few jokes too.

Below is another novelty inside the ship. The large oval shaped thing is a bar that travels up and down from the 5th deck to the 8th deck (Central Park) and back again. It doesn't move very fast...It takes maybe 20 minutes to go one way. You can get off when it stops on the 8th deck or stay on and go back down. 

 The very next day we sailed into Philipsburg, St Maarten, which is also one of the Virgin Islands...half of the island owned by the Dutch - the other half owned by France.

The Harbor Pilot came out to board our ship and guide it in to the dock.

We had decided on another beach day here too. We have been to these islands before and done lots of sightseeing. The very best thing here is the natural beauty of the white sand beaches, turquoise water, and plentiful sunshine.

We went to Mullet Bay Beach.  It was quiet when we arrived, but it got more crowded as the day progressed.  

Snorkeling was fun here. I saw some small fish that looked like baby spearfish and a few other fish as well.

Later, heading back to the ship...

A beautiful sky as we set sail....

I noticed a rainbow forming...

Then disappearing quickly...but I could actually see the end of it...touching the water. There must be a pot of gold down there!

The sun and swimming made us pleasantly tired and lazy, so we had a bite to eat at the buffet and went to bed early.

The last two days were at sea, as we sailed back toward Ft Lauderdale. We enjoyed some activities on the ship...playing ping pong and miniature golf.

Our balcony caught the afternoon sun...which was just too intense for us pale-faces. But there were plenty of other areas on the ship to relax and read or just people watch.

There was an afternoon show in their ice-skating rink...singing, dancing, costumes...all on ice skates!

The performers were so skillful - they made ice skating look fun and easy...but I'm sure it isn't.

On the last evening we spruced up a bit and had dinner in one of the specialty restaurants (another perk with the AAA package).

It was very pretty walking through "Central Park" at night to get to the restaurant.

Here's the handsome one....so serious!

It was a wonderful trip!

We were glad to have a week of warmth and sunshine...but it's nice to be back to our regular routine and sleeping in our own bed.

about that cruise

We certainly had a better vacation experience than we did last year on a cruise...when my husband got sick (norovirus?) and I had a lot of stings or bites of some kind - plus got a bit sick, too...and hurt my little toe on a beach chair!

This time it was smooth sailing!

(We did get a message from Royal Caribbean the day before the cruise - telling us if we were concerned about traveling to islands where there have been cases of the Zika virus - then we could reschedule our cruise for a later date.
Nice of them, but Lonnie just went out and bought a can of insect repellent to take along.)

We sailed from Port Everglades in Ft Lauderdale, Florida.  Even though the skies were overcast there, it was warm enough to change into summer weight clothes.

These photos were taken from our balcony.  Goodbye Ft Lauderdale - see ya next week!

 We booked the trip through AAA. Even though the price was the same as I could get by booking online, the AAA trip included a few perks, like this bottle of champagne for a toast as we set sail.

Unfortunately, neither of us really like champagne. It took me us three days to finally get it all down.

Our stateroom was very compact. Besides the bed, there was a small couch, a desk. closet and bathroom.  Each evening the room steward would close the drapes over the balcony doors - then later I would open them up again to look out at the stars (or the clouds) as I fell asleep.

The first morning, I opened my eyes just as we were passing a small light house on the point of that strip of land in the photo below. We were pulling into the dock at Nassau, Bahamas.

Here is Lonnie on Deck 16 (there is one more partial deck above this one...it's where the luxury suites are).  In the background, you can see the hotel "Atlantis"...the one in the TV commercials.

We had planned a beach day there in Nassau, but the skies were cloudy and rain was in the forecast so we just stayed on board the ship to look it over while many of the approximately 5398 other  passengers were off the ship.

The Allure of the Seas is open part way down through the middle of the ship. Below, this is a view down into "Central Park". There are real plants and trees planted in this area. 

The walkways pass by specialty restaurants (specialty means they cost extra) ...some with outdoor dining areas. Very charming!

The white framed glass structures are skylights for the deck below.

You can see that there are stateroom balconies facing into this area on each side.  

A view of Central Park from within.  You would have no idea you are even on a ship. 

Now, on the deck below the skylight (actually 2 decks high) is the main indoor public area. 

Again, no clues that you are on a ship. 

That's a pizza restaurant there in the middle. On the left, with the blue awnings is one of three designer purse stores on the ship (no, I did not buy a purse on this voyage, but I did sort of want to).

There is a Starbucks Coffee shop in this area, also shops, jewelry stores, and other restaurants and lounges.

They even have an old Rolls Royce parked there that people like to have their photos taken beside.

 Beyond that are steps leading down to the casino.

But, back to our first day...it did rain, but we sat and read and relaxed in this area under the "Conservatory", in the front of the ship. It is partly glassed in, not so windy as the open decks. 

Later we changed clothes for dinner.

The show that evening was a live performance of the musical "Mama Mia". It was great entertainment. Lots of singing, dancing, and colorful costumes. 

The second day was just cruising. The weather was sunny and beautiful. We spent the day relaxing...mostly in the shade, reading, eating, and looking around the ship some more.

We watched people playing basketball, then dodge ball in the sports court, others trying to stay upright on a boogie board in a surf simulator pool, others attempting the rock climbing wall.

There were always people lined up to do this...zip line across another open inside area of the ship (called the Boardwalk).  These photos are just to show the zip line...we didn't do it.

We didn't do any of these things but it was all fun to watch.

We did take a spin on the carousel.

It was exhilarating, ha ha!

Later we watched the sun set. It was beautiful, but it looked so much like it was sinking into the ocean that you might expect to hear a sizzle and see steam rising as it hit the water! 

 In just a few minutes it was out of sight.

The show that evening was an outdoor high diving and acrobatic performance, involving a pool, trampoline, trapeezes and more. Amazing stunts!

Well, this is getting long and I still have lots more to tell, so I will finish up tomorrow!

we're back!

My husband took me on a nice cruise vacation...we just got in late last night.

We had a great time and I have lots of photos but I need to spend some time getting them sorted out.

We sailed on Royal Caribbean's "Allure of the Seas".

 It is the largest cruise ship in the world.

I'll will tell more about it tomorrow. 

For now, I am off to unpack my suitcase and get the laundry started.