lazy days of summer

Morning,I am still in bed, drinking an iced coffee and playing on my laptop. I have been in a lazy hazy mood these last few days. I really shouldn't be,my folks are coming for a visit, horizontal surfaces are in need of clearing, dinning room table has a sewing machine and a very large oil painting with all the accouterments. I have been clearing and tilling an area for my rose garden that I will plant in the winter. Been planing this for a while and now have an area, have removed several plants and a layer of bermuda grass, tilling it and raking it up. Apples continue to fall and I dry as many as I can, juiced up a container and I have made a few pies. I haver accepted that I will not use every apple that falls from this tree, although there is a very small ocd part of me that wants to use every single one, I cant keep up. Hundreds drop every day and I may use 12 or so.The weather is nice, I have the windows open and get nice cool breezes every so often. I just feel lazy and when I feel lazy all I want to do is eat junk food like ice cream and cake. I have been hoeing the poppies and weeds that have come up in the last few months..i go out and work in the garden for ten minutees and then come back to my laptop. Jim and I head out to New York in a few weeks, I am excited but also guarded. We have never been to New York before and we have no idea what we are going to do. I think over planning can kill a trip. I am most worried about HUMIDITY living in Northern california where there is no such thing it always takes me a few days to acclimate and I HATE IT....oh well I do want to go to the moma and the Guggenheim, I think my first step in visiting any city is checking out their best art museums. Jim thought it would be fun to rent a paddle boat in central park, I love that idea. we were going to see if we could get tickets to a broadway play, Pissed that grey gardens is ending before we get there. I was all gung hoe to see spring awakening but it will be coming to SF so we dont need to....I guess curtains is my next pick. we were going to go and see about cheep tickets and just take what we can get. We have seen almost everything that is on broadway right now. We figure we have been to many other large cities in the world and loved every one of them that odds are in our favor that we will love new york city too. I ran into a former student the other night and asked her what she has been up to, turns out she is moving to New York city to be a line chef at the hilton times square, hmmmm thats odd that where we will be staying....I will try to hook up maybe have a drink with her...Love seeing my students actually reaching their goals, I guess I did reach my goals, they were easy to get to....waiting for the next stage, the one where we have an empty nest, I think it will be a good stage. ghad this is so boring

ohhh last weekend I saw stardust, beautiful but of course there were a few things that were left out of the movie that I thought would have made it much better. I wish the line about the star giving her heart to tristin so the witch couldnt cut it out was left in, such a beautiful sentiment. We saw Avenue Q , had our usual good seats but had some fucking idiotic people next to us, the man who sat next to Jim couldn't sit still and his wife stuck her stinking foot on the balcony railing......I felt like such a snob but really you dont go to a broadway show and put your feet up...didnt help that I have this gag aversion to feet...lol I mean it makes me sick to my stomach to see people touch their feet and then touch their faces....ewwww and she kept moving them and she wasn't keeping beat she was just cracked out.....blech disgusting....Poor Jim was closest to them....When we went to see stardust I was so happy to be in a crowd of people who know how to be in an audience. It was a screening for Lucas employees and they all stayed for all the credits, Man I just loved that and no one spoke through the whole movie except mandy and Yoshi but they were so quiet sitting next to them I couldn't hear them just knew they were commenting on their favorite book...lazy day today.... tomorrow we go to a winery for a private party, always like those.we still have two more Shakespeare plays to see this summer...I have some odd netflix, sweeny todd and rent...lol how in the heck did that happen? I harvested a shitload of Anaheim peppers and made the best chili rellenos ever...and the extra egg whites I made a soufflé with peppers and jack cheese OMFG it was heaven...some a hole is doing LOUD yard work....fucking leaf blower....i hate weekends when all the other people in the neighborhood come out and disturb my oasis where is my ipod? OHHH john lennon's stuff is on itunes, had to buy a bunch...someday maybe the beatles stuff will be there, I am missing several albums....yawn,,,,,still in bed.....the dogs love it when I stay in bed all day. Jimis on callso he has to stay around the house, makes for a nice relaxing day.

#10 qqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqq moxie typed that

Friday day at sea slept in until after 10:00missed breakfast, so we headed to the photo gallery and picked up some photos, tossed tons into the bin. Its ok we got some real cutes ones. We then went and had lunch. After lunch we shopped, I bought pashimas and necklaces, we went back to our state room and read and napped until it was time to see the show put on by the crew, it was tons of fun the second in command did the whole joke about the wait staff tying strings to their penises so they don’t have to clean their hands after they pee…lol and he actually had a string going in his zipper..omg and he had the spoons you know the joke the waiters have extra spoons for customers and they use these spoons to put their penises back in their pants after they pee…they also did this real funny thing called fountains sorta like the fountains at the bellagio but this was a bunch of the crew, came out in togas, and were holding canisters of water they all took a sip and then spit onto the next person…lol one at a time, it was really funny they did the Grecian urn thing all spitting water. After that we headed out to the back deck to enjoy some sun, I had a cookie and some tea and then we walked through the buffet and I saw some Indian lentils and some other Indian food that I have been wanting to try, seeing as it was after 5 and dinner is at 9 I stopped and had some spicy vegetarian foods and we ate with the guys from Malaysia Jim met on the fishing trip. It was a nice lunch. Now I am trying to catch up and get this all typed up before I forget.

#9 Davidson glacier

Next morning we woke up in Skagway. We woke up late because our excursion was later in the day. We walked to town and bought some souvenirs for everyone. I am trying to get things that are useful like socks for the girls and boxers for Scott. Jim found some nice hematite necklaces for his co workers. I bought some salt water taffy from this area. We went to a jewelry store and Jim bough me a turquoise necklace and earring set along with a silver chain and a turquoise pendant and a rose quartz pendent. My jewels for this trip. We came back to the cruise ship and off loaded our stuff and then we met the bus for our excursion, it was a funky old school bus, the driver was this young cool fun girl who reminded me of a sebetoski. She said is everyone here who is supposed to be? Alright lets roll and she drove real fast and said you guys are real lucky, this helicopter is going to lift a bunch of stuff right here from the road in front of us, it is stuff they bring up to the top of a glacier for a picnic, or the dog sled ride. It was six 55 gal drum barrels in groups of three and the helicopter lifted it up and flew right over us, our bus driver had let us out to take pics because as she said this is pretty cool and not everyone gets to see it. Off we went to the catamaran which was driven by captain Dan and we were introduced to Boris who was very personable and knowledgeable and we rode for 45 minutes to the Davidson glacier. We got out of the catamaran and met up with Linda who single handedly rolled the gang way down the rocky beach to the catamaran, dumping it over onto its side..lol which she was laughing about. We got off the boat, on a beautiful beach covered with strawberry plants and fireweed and blue berries and wild roses, OMG just beautiful. We got into more school buses drove for a minute or two.We were given rubber boots and life vests. We next hiked a short walk through the woods, the young woods as this area was under a glacier not too long ago, we reached a grey shoreline, the water was grey due to the glacier flour that is in the water. Glacier flour is the result of the weight of the glacier pushing, rubbing on the rock as it slowly moves and crushes the stone into powder. We were told how to get into the canoes and we went and got in and then we paddled out into this river and into a lake at the base of Davidson glacier. It was fantastic to get as close as we did the blues were so beautiful, we saw baby seagulls, and some mountain climber s who looked like tiny ants. We paddled around the lake and got lots of pictures of the glacier. Our canoe had a pair of Canadian’s, a pair of Scotts, a pair of Irish a pair of English and us the pair of Americans. What a great group! We had a wonderful time and it was sunny and warm even when we were being blasted by the winds from the glacier. We rode home, had dinner in the main restaurant hit the casino where Jim was selected by the manager and a winner of a tee shirt that says I am a winner ast the casino in the seas…lol actually I am the one who is the winner.

#8 Juneau

Juneau, well first last night we had sushi for dinner, it was ok and then we went to the casino and played the penny slots so much fun this morning we woke up in Juneau. We had omelets for breakfast and we went off the ship rode a bus to the center of town there is a tram that goes up to the top of the mountains, we bought our first decent cup of coffee this whole trip. We then found our tour group and we rode on a bus around juneau and took bunches of pictures then we went to mendehal glacier took more pictures and then we went to a chapel that had a great view, great place for a wedding. We just made it back on the ship and went to the 7 seas for lunch I had chocolate soufflé for desert and it was yummy. We came back to our room I napped and then we had anniversary cake and champagne for our anniversary. It was fun after cake we booged it up to the front of the ship where we stood for three hours as we rode up a fiord to see saywers glacier, it was really fantastic so beautiful but it was cold. We kept thinking we were going to see the glacier any time and we just kept on going up the fiord, winding left and right. There was somuch ice broke off the glacier that we didnt get right up to it was it still was fascinating to see the end of the fiord and this giant glacier wrapping around this mountain, we could see both ends of the glacier. Now we are getting ready for dinner it is our anniverasy and we are going to the French bistro. I need to get dressed.
We had a wonderful trip to sawyers glacier up tracy arm. For our anniversary dinner we went to the French Bistro, it was the richest food we have had so far. When we first went to sit down I noticed the plates, chargers, OMG they were my favorite china on earth! The verssachi plates we saw in Germany. I said to Jim would it be rude of me to lift this plate up to see if for sure it is the versacci plates that I love? He said no. Dinner was excelant, I had a scallop and shrimp martini, escargot which the waiter said isn’t ordered very often (OMG they were the best I have ever had) my entrée was a shrimp encrusted salmon wth some kind of creamy rich French sauce, It was the first meal I have had that made me feel over full. We had a bottle of champagne and after dinner we were given a free bottle of wine which we still have in our fridge. While we were eating we were still going back down the tracy arm so we were seeing ice bergs and Jim actually saw a whale breach in our wake. We went to the casino and once again we did real well on those penny slots. I just love them! This casino is the best casino I have ever been to on a cruise ship.

#7 Ketchikan

Ketchikan, woke up at about 4:00 am and got out of bed to take a picture of the pink sky and the mountains. Went back to sleep but Jim was up at 5:00 or 5:30. I kept sleeping knowing I had to be out at the dock in Ketchikan at 6:50 Jim had to be out by 6:00 for his fishing trip. I ordered room service the night before and it arrived 25 minutes early! Who hoo, non fat plain yogurt cantaloupe, pineapple and green melon, coffee, just right. Jim left for his excursion and I took pics and cleaned up, I left for my excursion, which was Totem bight, clan house, the totem heritage center and fish hatchery. The weather , sunny and warm. Totem Bight was a bit out of town, beautiful rainforest, and there was a clan house native built out of cedar western red cedar and it smelled so good! The totem poles were interesting and the style of art was so beautiful Hmmm after walking around this beautiful flower surrounded park with the totem poles where we were told many fables of the natives and stories represented in the totems, we went to the fish hatchery where I was able to take some pictures of bald eagles before my camera batteries ran out. My back ups were on the bus. The hatchery is in the woods and just beautiful they care for injured bald eagles and we were able to get up close and personal. There were 30 old totem poles at this museum. The paint had been aged off. And the grain of the wood was more visible. The natives would make the paint by chewing up salmon eggs and mixing it with ground up pigment. It was so sunny and warm, I came back to the ship and had lunch, I found Jim and we met up with one of his fishing partners and we sat in the bar as the ship left Ketchikan. John Butler and his wife and their 17 year old son. We chatted a bunch and I discovered their son is a giant dr who fan. He also just loves harry potter and has read the books over and over. It is beautiful here and it has been warmer than we thought it would. I actually look like I got some sun. Jim caught with his group of three fishermen 14 fish! And he sent five of them home!

#6 hammered time

Today was a day at sea, or really a day of islands. I woke up early to a sunrise that made the sky silver, we were pretty far away from any land but still could see it. Jim and I had breakfast in a nicer restaurant, I had oatmeal yogurt and cantalope trying to be good,,Jim had eggs benedict, omg looked so fricking good. We came back to our rooms and spent the morning on our balcony watching the islands get closer and closer, we saw at least 50 dolphins and didn’t manage to capture a single shot of one, I should have tried a movie. We are traveling up the inside passage and our ship is one of the largest allowed to do it. The nature is amazing, think forrest and rocks and tall granite mts some snow capped and waterfalls everywhere. We have seen several bald eagles, I just love my new binoculars Jim thinks he saw a bear and I know I saw an otter. I was looking at a bald eagle which are easy to spot just look for white balls and I saw beneath one a sleek otter running up over the rocks. It is so desolate, the wilderness just goes on and on. Fantastic! We are off to dinner now and some healthy place tomorrow we are up early. Jim has a fishing trip and I have an excursion I think to see eagles…cant remember
Dinner was a blast we went to the place we had reservations at and he told us that tonight they had lobster at the other restaurants and we would like that so we went lol and we ended up sitting next to a couple from England who were awesome and we talked to them the whole dinner, it was so much fun he said they lived n the town where the woman warrior boddicia burnet down some priests fortress, anyway they were nice and we had fun, after dinner we went to the casino and I won almost 400 dollars whoo hoo Jim is mad but hey cant touch this…I have had hammer time stuck in my head all night bom chick a boom…cant touch this we have two adventures tomorrow Jim goes fishing and I do something Anyway I am off to upload my pics,,, ta ta I must remember to bring my camera and take lots of pics the typos in this are so bad hmmm cant have anything to do with all the cosmos I drank whooo hoooo
Cant touch this…boom bom bom boom
Hammer time

#5 Casino

We went out to dinner at a Japanese place where the guy cooks at your table, there was a group in our party from Turkey, it was fun, food was good although my calamari was a bit salty. After dinner we went back to our cabin and watched the sun set and I took massive amounts of pictures. After the sunset was over we hit the casino and I actually came out of there two hours later with 2 dollars@ I put 40 in and I still have 42…lol the machines pay off… they are slow and the key is and I need to remember pay out and leave! I had a drink in the casino and OMG it was just perfect! Jim was winning too but I think he put more in than he got out…lol as we were leaving they opend up a small buffet in the casino and we grabbed a few sandwiches, hit the spot, so far we have had a blast! Tomorrow is a day at sea, it should be a gas!

#4 Bon voyage

Jim and I just did something we have never done before, we swam at the bon voyage party! There was a band playing all the classic stupid make people dance songs, village peoples ymca, the electric slide, we are family … but Jim and I grabbed some poolside chaise lounges and ordered some drinks (tasted like mai tais real acidic) and then we swam! The water was salt water and of course I was so buoyant…lol I loved it and did at least a dozen laps (it’s a small pool) and sat out with the sun on my face and just enjoyed the moment. We went under a giant bridge and waved at bikers who were waving at us, I didn’t have my camera and wish I did, there are some beautiful kids on this boat, it is such a diverse group, Germans, British, Americans Canadians. French, Asians everything and you know I just LOVE THAT, we had several sea planes fly over us, so cool. Now we are back in our cabin enjoying the view out on the veranda, the sound of the water is so soothing, constant, whishing. I love it, there are tall snow capped mountains and islands with beautiful houses , we have seen tugboats and log drifts. We are headed north and the sun is getting low.

#3 Emergency drill

ok we just finished the emergency drill, the worst part of any cruise, argh it is so humid who knew it would be humid here? We were standing next to a couple who were funny brits, he was short and reminded me of alan paul who we met last year on the cruise in France…my feet are killing me because I was wearing high heels which I never do but heck I cant be bringing a million pairs of shoes with me can I? We made reservations for our anniversary dinner and tonight we are going to the Japanese place where they cook the food at your table.

#2 champagne and strawberries

We are on the ship. We made record time getting off our plane, going through immigration, picking up our luggage, exchanging money and catching a taxi all took us less than 30 minutes. Our taxi drive through Vancouver to the ship was beautiful, our taxi driver was from Bangladesh he was great and got us to the ship in record time. Very smart driver,never got in a slow lane, knew how traffic worked. He said we had the least amount of luggage of anyone he had ever seen…lol Vancouver is a wonderful looking city maybe someday we will get a chance to really explore it. The houses are old and nicely landscaped, I saw moon flowers blooming in hedges. The city is young hip and urban, I could see Yoshi living here. We saw many nationalities represented in the restaurants we drove past. The funniest sight was a man on a motorcycle with a golden retriever in a side car. The dog was so excited, barking the whole way, we all laughed as we drove past them...lol It is humid which we didn’t expect. We got onto the ship after having to show our passports about five times…lol we landed in canada, went through imagration, rode a taxi, had to go back through immigration ...we are just one floor above the lifeboats. We got onto the elevator and we are just around the corner from the elevators and the atrium. We walk into the room and find a bottle of champagne and chocolate covered strawberries which we devoured as we hadn’t had any lunch…lol We have a balcony and we are midship sort of close to the bow… so far this is fun!

#1 North to Alaska

July 07 day one
We had a nice last dinner before our vacation, I barbequed some chicken and we sat out in the garden and drank a bottle of wine from Benzinger. Jim packed. We cleaned the house and went to bed. The dogs all slept with us. This morning when I woke up, moxie was still asleep and facing the wrong way. lol she knew we were heading out and she had that scared face like she had done something wrong. Especially when we removed all the pillows and comforters from the bed which we have to do so she won’t destroy them all. We covered the bed with a plastic tarp and that’s when she headed for the living room and sulked on the couch. Yoshis Rat looks like she isn’t going to be around much longer, she keeps having seizers, poor thing, she has such a sweet face. I don’t expect she will last through this week. We loaded up the car, drove to San Francisco airport. Going through TSA is the worst part of flying and this time it was pretty fast, the employees were all young and not disgruntled. I just love my new computer bag it really isn’t a computer bag but it holds my computer and my essentials which is great, it also is beautiful nice light green softest leather and made by liz Clairborn… I just adore it. We had breakfast in the airport. Jim had pizza and coke, SACREY I was good had yogurt with fruit and granola and a iced coffee. We are now on our flight to Vancouver. The flight is a short one. one and a half hours. There is a chance of showers. We will take a taxi to the cruise terminal. I can’t wait to see Vancouver again.