Monday, June 16, 2025

Hello from Karlstadt!

We are cruising up the Main at what feels to be a leisurely pace. I'm sitting in the glassed in lounge watching the countryside glide by. Such activity feels quite luxurious and civilized. While this is not real life, I sure do see the appeal of this type of living. It's very non taxing!

Italy cruise will be booked today. I'm still considering Egypt vs Greece for a 2027 trip. Both are bucket list destinations, as would be an African Adventure! I am also thinking either a Rocky Mountain train adventure or seeing Alaska would be super fun. So. Many. Choices! (Sadly, finite funds!!!!)

I am grateful for my sleeve and tirzepatide on this trip. The food choices are extraordinary so I can see how one could easily pack on some pounds over 18 days. The breakfast buffet is a real work of culinary artistry. Ron has eaten his way through breakfast like a real champ! I've been pretty careful, but enjoying the food nonetheless. This morning I had a poached egg on a toast point with a tangy avocado puree followed by a small bowl of milk based oatmeal. For me, the smaller European portion sizes help, too! I get a little taste of everything without feeling too wasteful.

Last night I was unable to eat my dinner. I ordered a braised chicken. It was unappealing visually and then tasted too gamey. Add on the unctuous texture and after one or two bites I couldn't stomach it. I nibbled at the vegetables, but that was it. Of course I finished my desert and Ron finished my dinner. LOL!

This afternoon we will port in Würzburg. I am looking forward to getting out for a nice walk. The weather is lovely - mid 70s today with fluffy clouds.

The news of the assassinations reached us. Our group of 3 is horrified and bewildered. We have not overheard others speak of it. I took great delight in reading that an estimated 50 million US residents took to the streets for the NO KING Day protests (as compared to the fewer than 10,000 people who showed up for Trump's parade. No surprise Trump took to social media with promises of retaliatory action.

DD, enjoy the first Monday of your newest chapter! I am looking forward to comparing notes with you over the next year.

Liz, I think this is your last day in Aruba. Hope you get to enjoy it to the fullest.

Diane, Viva la France! You must go!

Hoping everyone has a good start to the week!

120.2 - I will find out tomorrow if the scale here was accurate.

Peps and I just posted close together again, so I deleted that one and pasted it here.

Peps, good for you not eating what didn't appeal! DH and I have talked about that. Don't eat if you are already full and what one eats should always be worth it.

Yesterday we had a nice afternoon and evening. DD and SIL went on their sunset cruise and loved it while DH and I bopped around town. We had drinks and an appetizer at a rooftop bar overlooking the water and town. Very windy but nice. Thank goodness the rain seems to have finally gone away. I think the kids will have a good week weatherwise.

We will take a walk, get some breakfast, then clean up, pack and leave for the airport. Our friends are giving us a ride which simplifies things. We have a lot of dirty laundry to pack, but I still had too much as there were some things I only wore for about 4 hours. But I was closer to being efficiently packed than ever before.

Can't wait to see Justice tonight! If all goes smoothly we will be back at the house around 10 pm. Cross your fingers. Have a marvelous Monday!

ETA: I just opened the news and saw that the Minnesota shooter was in custody. That's a relief but I worry that our country is falling apart. Seems there is more bad news daily.

When we cruised 2 summers ago, I gained minimal weight (maybe 2 pounds?). I think eating food that "is worth it" satisfies in a whole different way. And although there is an overabundance of food on cruises, eating actual meals also helps me know I've had enough vs. the snacking habit instead of meals I sometimes find myself doing.

I hope the weather improves when you get back to the Cape Liz. It continues to be a real bust here, but I am not as personally offended as I usually am, knowing I have lots and lots of warm days ahead when traveling. Next week it looks like Western Massachusetts is having a heat wave, with temps in the 90s. We will be with my Aunt in Amherst the 24th -29th, and bookend nights with DD. That sure made it easier to put her on the plane yesterday. :)

DD is enjoying her time with her new beau. You can tell when a text from him arrived, by the smile on her face. He also works at the VA, but in IT. DD has a lot of friends at work who are invested in this romance. He asked her, is it my imagination people are suddenly staring at me in the elevator? She burst out laughing, and said, probably some of my coworkers. Her old boss sent an IT ticket and specified she wanted him to take care of it so she could check him out. Haha. He is being a good sport about all the buzz. She said if they're still dating in August we can meet him then. LOL.

So I got up at 8am, made my tea, and am planning my workout time. DH took this week off from his part time work, so he is part of the negotiation. I think 10:30am. Other plans include reading a stack of papers, and we need to go to a wake this evening. One of DH's coworkers/friend has lost her husband. She is the sweetest woman, with one of the most truly purest souls. We will attend the funeral tomorrow.

It probably does take some time to shed the work pressure. Both nights I dreamt about work, and thoughts pop into my head like last night, what will I pack for lunch? Feels INCREDIBLE to remember not only do I not need to do these tasks tomorrow, I never need to. Hard to wrap my head around it.

It does look like a warmup in Massachusetts is coming starting later this week. It is supposed to be 90 even on Cape Cod by mid-week next week. I leave for Spain on the 25th so will move to Madrid heat at that point LOL.

125 on the dot this morning. Took 2.5 mg yesterday instead of my normal 2. Still feeling a bit snacky but less real hunger today. Hope both a curbed more by tomorrow.

DH and I went for a 2.5 mile trail hike. Lots of stones and tree roots to navigate along with some little streams of water. We even tackled the 220 foot bluff that we have avoided the past few years as we (I) were just not in good enough shape to do so. I exclaimed that we are in far better shape than the majority of 60 year olds out there and that surprised him. He said he just takes his health for granted!

Grilling out burgers tonight. I'm going to make a Big Mac salad out of mine. DH wants his to be a blue cheese burger. Funny, he had not had blue cheese before meeting me and now can't get enough of it. Same with sushi! Glad I could help expand his culinary experiences!

No real plans for the rest of the day except to continue watching the newly released episodes of The Chosen!

Peps, we have some similar places on our travel bucket lists. I too want to go to Egypt, Africa and Alaska. I also want to make a trip to the Holy Lands and Europe!

DD, you will probably dream about work for awhile. I still do occasionally.

Liz, give Justice a big hug when you get home. Hope your weather is better than ours has been!

I looked up a Big Mac salad and they look really tasty. I may try it! I used to love those things.

It is really helpful that these multi-use vials of our meds allow us to tweak the dosage. I'm sure the brand name pens don't. I won't if those "single use" vials by Lilly can actually be used more than once so I could continue on my half doses twice a week?

Greetings all

It is sunny here and the ocean is sparkling. I had banking chores to do including breaking the 100 bills received yesterday. All done. I went to the studio and picked up new items and made some more slugs. Took the new stuff up to the gallery. I raised prices on some of my stuff so it will not sell so fast. It's not like I want a job or anything,

Yay Peps your description of the cruise sounds so inviting. Sitting on a boa****ching nice stuff go by. That is for me. Hope you can book all the stuff you want. We did Alaska some years ago and it was great. Glaciers! DH and I referred to the ship as the Binge Barge. Food was excellent and abundant, Greece is on my bucket list too.

Your hike sounds great Paula. How did your DH not discover blue cheese on his own? Maybe something he tried once as a kid and hated it. Glad you "summited" the bluff.

DD you will dream about work for some time. Then wake up and go "aahhhhh". Now you have us all curious about your DD's boyfriend, Do tell when you learn more. Meanwhile laze about.

Liz I am envisioning a happy Justice when he sees you. Enjoy that and summer on the cape.

Deli roast beef tonight. Maybe in a grilled sandwich.

Cheers. Diane S

Interesting comment about the slugs, the gallery and you're not really wanting a job. There is a bracelet often copied on Cape Cod which was originally developed by a jewelry maker called Eden Hand Arts. They only wanted to make limited supplies of their jewelry but then the bracelet and some subsequent work became all the rage and their little tiny store was overrun. For the last 10 years or so they had used a ticketing system to limit the number of people allowed to come every day and it was a big deal to get one (I do have one as do most of us on the Cape). And they were only open July-August lately. But they didn't want to have a mass production shop nor did they want all this work. As the owner said in a recent article all they wanted was decent salaries out of it and to enjoy making the jewelry. So after many years they are closing the shop, originally started by the mother. They are going to sell their work on Etsy staring July 2, with limited copies of each item available (basically what they feel like making). I feel for them, though many will mourn the closing of their tiny, cute shop.