zebra

Merry Christmas and a very happy, healthy and fun cruising New Year, to all Crazies!!!  

I'm so glad to be done with all my annual CE's, classes and other exams.  We took a last minute cruise a couple of weeks ago just to celebrate ..... 😃 Now I need to face 6 day weeks till April 15th and then we will be off to cruise Alaska on back to back cruises.

Have a wonderful family and friend time over the holidays!!!!

Hi All,

A voice from the past I guess!

i'm joining you all in sadness of the catastrophe in Lahaina, just unbelievable.  So very sad for those who have lost everything.  We have only been there twice and both times spent times sat under the old Banyan tree, once  we spent at least an hour under the tree as there were locals making/carving an outrigger which was extremely interesting.

Well the past couple of months has been very sad and stressful for us as we lost a 2nd daughter.  She had a tumor (non-malignant) on the brain, which necessitated her having 5 surgeries in 5 years and the Drs had told us she was terminal 6 months ago.  You may remember we lost our other daughter in 2020 due to Covid.  So it's been a pretty traumatic couple of years for us.

We don't have any cruises in the pipeline at the moment but we are leaving in a months' time for a 6 week South African trip, visiting family and going on a 4 week safari!!!!  Can't wait.

Well off to complete my homework - yes busy with tax classes and exams AGAIN!!!!

Hi Everyone,

Just checking in to tell you that we are safe!  

You just have no idea how relieved we were when the track of the storm changed and Tampa was no longer in the eye. Of course no celebration because we knew that our safety meant someone else's devastation ...... and devastation it sure was. My heart goes out to all those who have lost so much or everything, I can't even imagine.  I will say that our stress level went through the roof watching and waiting for the storm as it had Tampa Bay in it's sights.  We were so blessed that our house didn't sustain any damage, just tons of debris everywhere which we have been cleaning up all weekend.  Our neighbor across the street had a tree limb go through his roof and the neighbor on the side of us has their shed torn apart.

We have 2 cruises (B2B) for 25 days coming up in under 2 weeks and it's so hard for us to get into vacay mode while our heads and brains are still processing this past week.  It's really hard to put into words what we have all been through.

Have a great Sunday everyone!!!!

OMG Andi, you are making me soooo envious!!!  Loved reading all the details of your stunning Whistler vacay ..... now that sounds off the charts wonderful.  The Fairmont Chateau Whistler must have been awesome too.  We would love to do that trip sans the climbing ...... since my accident I have had all kind of problems with my left knee, especially climbing DOWN stairs or walking down steep grades.  I guess my hiking days are over.  Vancouver and the entire BC is just drop dead gorgeous, isn't it.  Loved Lake Louise as well.

Wow, you have all kinds of exciting trips coming up.  We have crossed Iceland off our bucket list as we have been there 3 times already - need to explore new places!!!!   Unfortunately we can never cruise during tax season while I am still working ..... bummer .... actually South America and Antartica still remain on our bucket list because ships only cruise there during tax season .... I wonder if we will ever get there.  We have only visited Venezuela, Colombia and Panama but no further south than those countries.

Jan - glad to hear you survived Disney again .... you are very brave visiting Florida in mid-summer.  Sorry to hear that you all got Covid, darn, hopefully the symptoms are just mild and you'll be feeling well again very soon.

Miranda - so glad to hear you had a wonderful cruise with Joan to the British Isles. Yes, there is so much to see and do and history up the wazoo - I think one could visit there every year and still not scratch the surface in ones lifetime. I think Ireland is our favorite although England and Wales are a close second.  My late Dad was born in Bristol so we visited England many, many times, still have Uncles and cousins there as my grandparents and Dad have all now passed.  We will be going to Israel in 6 weeks time, so I'll give you a heads up after the cruise.

Well Tony and I had a really relaxing, fun getaway on the Independence of the Seas, the shows were great as were the ice shows, we ate and drank too much (as usual) - it really recharged our batteries. As we are Diamond Plus members our perks are 5 free drinks each every day plus free laundry and free Wifi among other things, so just those amazing perks makes it really worthwhile to stay loyal to Royal.  I've also got to say being able to cruise out of Florida on a whim is great ...... no airports, no flight delays and concerns, no long distance flights, no ubers/taxi's/shuttles, just drive to the port park our car in the parking garage and board the ship. Also no concerns whether our baggage is overweight or not, which I might tell you is our biggest problem as we fly around the world. I have bought a 25lb blown glass platter in Santorini, a glass serving dish in Venice, a HUGE paella pan in Valencia Spain (yes we do a lot of entertaining) and umpteen heavy African carvings, baskets, ostrich egg light fittings and wooden animals etc from South Africa, not to mention that we usually have to buy another suitcase in South Africa to load with all the groceries from "back home" that we miss and cannot get here in the States. Oh the travel problems that some people have 🤣🤣

Jan, I don't want to be THAT person but I just have to say that WDW is murderous at this time of year. As I am sure I don't have to tell you it is the hottest month and there is typically NO breeze ...... I nearly expired, literally about 20 years ago and we vowed and declared never, never again in the summer, paramedics were attending to people all over.  I certainly hope you don't eperience this!  Luckily we live just down the road, 45 minutes from WDW so can go whenever we choose.  Got to say air conditioning is my friend during the summer months here in Florida ...... outdoors not so much.  Just getting old and cranky I guess 😄 😄 

Andi, I am so excited for you and your upcoming Whistler vacay ..... can't wait to hear all about it.

Both of you travel safely .........

Andi - so sorry that Lucas has lost his other grandma. It's wonderful that he has you close by .... I know that special bond between grandchildren and their grandparents ...... so special. We absolutely love being with ours too!

Thanks for the feedback on your cruise.  You seem to echo everything I have heard about NCL and for this reason we have never been tempted to try them..... all I do know is that the nickel and diming would do me in as well.

Ooh how wonderful - Whistler!!  i am sure it is going to be a magnificent getaway.  We too love Vancouver, have stayed there many times but have never had the opportunity to go to Whistler.  The entire British Columbia area is out of this world. we drove through on our way up to Alaska and took our time (about 2 weeks) just exploring all the small towns, mountains, rivers and valleys, what a treat!!!  Hope you guys have a ball, can't wait to hear all about it.

How was "Covid" on your cruise?  It seems like it is present on all ships at the moment.

Well one good thing is that we don't have to be tested before this coming cruise. We are fulled vaxxed and boosted. but at present testing is still required for our upcoming October cruises ..... hoping that it will fall away for European cruises by then too.

Miranda, are you still cruising?

Ray, sorry to hear that you are still in so much pain, hopefully you will start getting some relief in that shoulder soon.

A very nice pic of you all.  Jan & Andi how about a brief review of your cruise and the ship? Did it meet/exceed your expectations?

Well I have been a diligent scholar all summer and have had my fill of classes and exams so we booked a cruise for 2 weeks time, just to get away!  This is one of the perks of living close to 4 cruise ports, we can just hop on a cruise at the last minute if we want to.  This cruise should tide us over till our big B2B in 9 weeks' time.

Off to complete my yucky homework on Advanced Dispositions: Like-kind exchanges and condemnations .... then I think a glass of wine will be in order 😄 😄 

So exciting to hear that you are all testing negative prior to your upcoming cruises. Gosh how the landscape of cruising has changed. We are always so concerned that the test results are not going to be negative and especially when one flies across the world and has to test there ..... so much can happen being exposed to the "masses" during flying/airports. Urgh ......... anyhow, I can't wait to hear about your fabulous upcoming cruise.

Hi All,

Yes I know I am very bad in staying in contact, iit seems like I always have one excuse or another. I hate to see this little group just fade away though and miss hearing from some others too, like Ray and Shari .... I'm very concerned about both of them.

Well after our may cruise, which we absolutely loved...... we both got Covid. Tony literally had a sore throat and a slight cough for one day then nothing, I had a head cold with streaming nose and eyes, but thankfully nothing more serious.  As we are cruising again in October to Europe, Israel and then Transatlantic back to the States we decided to go on Thursday to have our 2nd boosters.  Well all went according to our shot history - Tony had no reaction to it at all, not even a sore arm and I had fever, chills, awful headache, body aches and pains. Today is the first day that I am feeling myself again.  Now to look forward to our October travels!!!

Jan, can't wait to hear about your Bermuda cruise. It's been a few years since we were last in Bermuda.

Andi, so happy to hear that you had a wonderful Alaskan cruise .... our happy place. We would have liked to go again next year but our planned 2023 trip/safari to South Africa is eating hugely into our travel budget unfortunately.

Miranda, it sounds like your Baltic cruise was super, it's always fabulous making new friends onboard .... one of the highlights of cruising for me. We are also looking forward to Israel and Cyprus in a few months ..... so we can exchange notes 😄 😄 

Now back to my dreaded tax classes ...... July to December are all my CE's before the new tax season and I absolutely hate the exams.  Being away this Fall for a month is putting more pressure on me getting through these classes in a much shorter timespan.

Keep well all ............

Hi Crazies,

Yes, yes I know a voice from the past!!

Well a very successful tax season is behind me and I'm just enjoying the retired life at the moment before I have to face a dozen tax classes and the dreaded exams.

To get into relaxed mode we booked B2B cruises on the Allure of the Seas ...... 16 days of bliss, well almost bliss. Three days before disembarking Tony woke up with a sore throat and a slight cough - yes we too had thought that we had escaped getting Covid but guess what?  I had taken 4 test kits on the cruise with us so I tested Tony and he was negative. Hmmmm....  So we carried on enjoying the cruise.  Two days later I started with the same symptoms and also tested negative, but by now we were disembarking the following morning.  I drove 5 hours back home from the port with a serious head cold and the sore throat had disappeared.  The following day I still felt lousy so went to be tested ..... yep, positive.  Well that was almost 2 weeks ago, I have done my 10 day isolation at home and I feel fine.  Tony did not present with any other symptoms but we know it had to have been Covid. Anyhow, we are both well now and I really didn't feel sick except for the annoying running/congested nose.

Andi - happy to hear that you and Ed are also over Covid and are ready for your next cruise.  Have you tested again just to see if you are still testing positive?  I have had some friends who have taken a month or more to test negative ..... which as you well know is a pain in the you know what if your are traveling, forcing one to present the positive test result and the Recovery letter within 90 days.  Andi are you on a cruise at the moment? I see your signature says Viking Sky on 5/14/22?

Jan - oooh your back sounds sore!!! Having spinal issues myself I feel every bit of back pain with you ..... hope you heal quickly.  your yard and flowers sound wonderful, that's one thing I miss in Florida all the flowers, most of our plants are tropical which means much more foliage and lots and lots of green!!!

Miranda - I see you were on the Regal Princess last month. We have cruised twice on her sister ship the Royal and really love that class ship, it was beautiful!  Sounds like you are having lovely summer weather over there already too, we certainly have moved into summer here in Florida.

Look after yourselves everyone, till we chat again ..........

If you are interested to see the Covid status onboard a particular cruise ship (this changes per cruise) - here is the CDC website:

https://www.cdc.gov/quarantine/cruise/cruise-ship-color-status.html#cruise-table

Hi All ...... we're back!

We had an amazing cruise on the Serenade albeit very short and we certainly didn't want to get off on Friday.  Everyone on board was vaccinated except for 3 young children.  People stuck to the protocols pretty well except for 2 instances where more than 4 would try and get on the elevator with us.  Tony had it with one group so we both got off (we were already on the elevator when it stopped at their deck) - I wish people would comply with rules ... it just makes life easier for everyone.  Anyhow, the tables were well spaced out in the Windjammer or every 2nd table was marked unavailable.  We basically only had to wear our masks while walking around inside between venues, in the shops, on the elevator and during embarkation/disembarkation. The rest of the time while sitting in lounges, restaurants, out on the open decks - no masks were required.  

We really aren't 4 day cruise people, but it is what it is.  There are no longer cruises out of Tampa unfortunately.  I think we'll cruise again after tax season, possibly a 7 day on the Harmony, and then we have our B2B's Israel and Transatlantic  in October --- aaaah almost a month onboard ..... perfect.

Andi - so sorry to hear about your brother-in-law. I can fully understand how your sister was in disbelief, when our daughter died of Covid in March this year it has taken us the rest of the year to try and come to terms with it.  I hope those awful tornadoes didn't come near you! Oh how sad to see the devastation, my heart goes out to those who have lost family and all their worldly possessions.

Jan - how fun moving into a new home!  I know it's lots of work but enjoy that bigger kitchen .... think of all the family and friends enjoying that space too.  Just don't overdo it with the knee, I have the same issue ...... we need to be careful.

Ray - I hear you about the body not cooperating.  Glad you have decided to stay with your reduced class schedule. Stay well.

Miranda - so good to hear that you'll spend Christmas with your friend, I hope you'll get to drive into Germany as well.  How is Covid in the Netherlands at the moment?

Shari - oh goodness it sounds soooooo cold there now.  Please stay warm and bundled up. Will you be staying home for Christmas?

Keep well and safe everyone!

Hi everyone,

Hope you all had a great Thanksgiving.

We went to Cocoa Beach for a few days for our granddaughter's (Amy & Ben) wedding.  It was such a beautiful smallish wedding and of course what Grandma wouldn't say she was the most beautiful bride 😄  We stayed in an AirBnB on the water and just chilled for 4 days ... heavenly!

Well our long awaitied cruise is almost here, albeit a short one out of Tampa - only 6 days to go!  We will be "testing the cruising waters" and like everyone else who has been sequestered to land for almost 2 years, we cannot wait!!

Hopefully with this new Omicron variant our cruise plans for Europe next year won't be dashed.

Stay safe everyone!

Andi - they have "Vax Required" and "Vax Not Required" sailings.  Our sailing is a "Vax Required" sailing on RCCL. I am with you that this is definitely a key to safety!

Gosh I feel like a total stranger here. Do you guys even remember me 😄 😄 

Well like everyone else probably I haven't had much to chat about on a cruise forum but pleased to say that we are changing that in a few weeks. Yay!!!  We decided to do a "get yourself back into cruising mode" cruise at the beginning of December, so we're doing a short cruise on the Serenade OTS just to break our cruising drought.  We are really looking forward to it ..... even just to sit on our balcony and watch the ocean will be a huge difference to what we've had to go through these past 20 month, right?  Although we did travel to South Africa for 5 weeks in August/September and have to tell you, although the vacation was superb, the travel protocols during the pandemic for International travel were exhausting and a royal pain in the ....... !  

We also have 2 great cruises booked for 2022 on the Odyssey OTS.  We will be doing The Holy Land and Greek islands as well as a Transatlantic hitting a lot of our favorite Spanish and Portuguese ports.  So something to look forward to after tax season 😄 

Yep, speaking of tax season, it is just around the corner and I'm keeping out of mischief doing all the obligatory classes, studying and exams.

I hope everyone is doing well, have a great week!!

Shari, I am so sorry to hear this news.  I am praying for a complete healing for you dear friend. Sending hugs!!

Just popping in to wish you all a VERY Merry Christmas and happy New Year! Most of us I am sure will be thrilled to see 2020 in our rear view mirror.

Andi - I read that you will have to have your Gall Bladder out. I had mine removed a couple of years ago and have felt wonderful ever since, no more pain, nausea or vomiting.  Also my Dr said he doesn't put his patients on ANY type of a food restriction diet .... so I did nt have to change anything.  Still eat bad things like spicy food and creams etc .... no problem whatsoever, which makes me think why do we really have a gall bladder at all. Anyhow, I have had NO adverse effects at all.  Hope it goes as smoothly for you.

My life ges on as usual, back to Tax time ..... so Hi, Ho, Hi, Ho it's off to work I go after the holidays.

Keep well and safe everyone - hugs.

Merry Christmas to all my Crazie friends!! Have a very special, blessed and happy day with all your loved ones!!

Andi - yes my last throes of sanity 😄 I'm just trying the psych myself up for the crazy season!!

Ray - Sure you will make yourself totally confused with the research of many, many countries of Africa.  If you have questions about Southern Africa especially South Africa, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Lesotho or Namibia, I will be more than happy to help ....... if I can 😄 😄 North, West or East Africa are definitely not my area of expertise ........ sheesh, such a huge and diverse continent for sure.

Looking forward to not having to cook tomorrow as we will spend the day with Candice and family and she has an amazing menu planned ... yay!!!

Happy Thankgiving to all you wonderful Crazies ....... hope you day is filled with family, pets, fun, love and lots of good food!

Ray - hope you had a wonderful birthday.  Happy Birthday and many, many happy years ahead.

6 hours ago, RayColey said:

Tuesday, 26 November 2019

Good Morning, Crazies!

I'm headed down to Easton(bul) this morning to attend a meeting of a writers' critique group.  Don't know if I will join the group, but I'm thinking that it may jumpstart my attempt to revise the book I wrote.  We'll see...  Of course, that required me to shift a couple of gigs around, which in turn put pressure on my lesson schedule, but I think I have it all sorted out.  Maybe.

   Jan, no Rocky.  Like you, we've done our Thanksgiving grocery store pilgrimage, so now we can laugh at the others who are stuck in the last-minute crush.  LOL

   Jackie, the tax season shouldn't be as stressful as last year, when all those people who got a small tax break during the year found out that the government was going to take it right back from them in April!!  Hopefully, this year they are resigned to their fate...

   Shari, all the audiences I have when I entertain thank me, not because I am a particularly good pianist, but for refreshing those long-put-away memories.  I am cherishing them more and more, too...  We may wind up going with "Mitzi."  At least, with that name, we don't look daggers at each other!  LOL

Time to frame up and get myself ready to be critiqued.

Have A Great Day, Crazies!

 

Hey All,

Starting to pack for the upcoming cruise ... yay!!!!  Also getting all my doctors appointments in before the 1st of the year.  Had my Echocardiogram today and still have the awful mammogram to look forward to 😞 

Ray - We didn't experience small refunds with our clients at all, (also we don't have state and city taxes here in Florida) maybe because we also informed and explained to all our clients how the TCJA would work for them so that they were prepared to change their W4's at work accordingly...... consequently we had very satisfied clients. In fact I built my client base considerably and am extremely thankful ..... I now have a 385 client base and 77% retention rate. As I say I am very grateful ..... it's always a pleasure being able to assist others and form new friendships.  Hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving with your cats .... they are going to love the turkey!!! 😄 

Hello Crazies,

Well I have been back at work so my fun and relaxation came to a screeching halt 😄 Albeit only for 2 weeks then we will be cruising next week ..... can't wait.  We try and take about 3 cruises a year but in the years that we do a 6 week safari (which ttals more than 3 cruises for sure) we only get to take one ..... this is it!  Next year we have 2 on the books and will surely find another 1 or 2 to suit our needs 😄 

This weekend has been spent like millions of Americans ...... putting up Christmas inside and out .... whew, mission accomplished!!

We always go to Candice's for Thanksgiving and this year is going to be no different. The only thing that differs is the menu because most of the family don't eat turkey ...... I think we are the only ones who do, so I bought a small one and will make it for us with dressing and all the fixings, probably on the weekend.  Candice will be making Escargot and then rack of lamb and all the trimmings ....... yum!!! 

Andi ..... I hope you won't be too inconvenienced with all the construction taking place at the rest. Have a fabulous time in Costa Rica. We love it there as well, especially the mountains, toucans and howler monkeys!!

Miranda ..... hopefully you guys don't have a freezing winter. So glad you hooked up with your childhood friend again and hit it off well, how wonderful.

Shari ...... hold onto those cruising memories and never say never - all things are possible! Hope you are getting stronger each and every day.

Well off to plant a new dish of herbs - basil, parsley, cilantro, rosemary and chili peppers!!!

Ray - wonderful news of Yuki ..... you are not kidding life moves so fast and moving items from the bucket list to the calendar sometimes seems almost impossible.

Hi to everyone so good to hear all about your lives - so many interesting things happening in everyones lives.  Ours isn't too exciting at the moment, it's the lull before the storm as work starts in 2 months.  Oh yes we did book a last minute 7 day Caribbean cruise in 4 weeks time.  A quick getaway before I am tied down to H & R Block for 3 and a half months again.

Enjoy what's left of the weekend everyone!

Hi Crazies,

Well we're back from our 6 week vacation/safari to South Africa and what an amazing vacation it was.  Our 16 days on safari were totally amazing, we sure didn't want to leave Kruger National Park. I think if we are blessed enough to do another SA trip we will spend our entire time in Kruger, maybe even more than a month!!! We have both left part of our souls there in the African bush veld. We also had an outstanding time with our family although sad too as my Dad is very frail now and i am sure we won't have him with us for much longer.  Also our daughter Yvonne who lives in SA has had 2 brain surgeries (reoccurring brain tumors) and now has regular grand mal seizures. She is not doing well and has many challenges (speech, psychological etc) - I just wish we didn't live so far away from our loved ones. on the bright side our daughter Charmaine and hubby Mike from New Zealand came to join us, so it was a great family reunion time.  I must say the long 18 hour flight from Washington DC to Johannesburg was very tiring and is not my favorite.

Shari and Falina - it is so great to see you both posting here again ..... Yay!!!!

Ray - health issues?  I am so sorry to hear that - please keep us in the loop so that we know what to pray for.

Thanks to those who missed me too!

As you all know January to April is my busy tax season, so I have hit the ground running and have completed 3 classes and exams this week....... same old, same old story of my life.

I do have a Transatlantic cruise scheduled in April 3 days after tax season ends, so we are in the throes of planning for that at the moment too.

Sending lots of hugs from sunny and very warm Florida!!!!

4 hours ago, coloradocruisers said:

Have a great time in South Africa, Jackie and tell Tony a big happy birthday from the Coloradocruisers!

Kevin, Thank you so much for the birthday wishes.  We are really looking forward to SA if only Dorian would GO AWAY!!!!  The timing is terrible, setting it's sights of Florida at the moment for the day we fly.  So we are waiting with bated breath to see if it turns or there is a change to it's track. Gosh we miss seeing you guys   love seeing your wildlife photos!!!

Jan, thanks for sharing those photos of your trip.  So nice to see the group and the fun you had together. I'm not sure who the couple with white hair are?  Thanks again!

Andi & Miranda - you both have such gorgeous smiles, hope you had a great cruise.

Hi All .... a voice from the past.

I have been super busy working on our 6 week tour of South Africa.  Being a tour guide is entirely different to being a tourist on a tour.  i have to plan everything down to the infinite details.  Anyhow it has all been planned and we are more than ready to begin our vacay on Friday .... it's been a year in the works.  Actually the frist three days will be at an Airbnb in Tavares, Florida with our children here in the States to celebrate both our birthdays which are in a couple of weeks time and we will be in South Africa.  It will be a big one for Tony, his 80th!!  We get back home on Monday (Labor Day) just in time to pack the last minute items and then we leave at 5am Tuesday for the l-o-n-g trip to South Africa with the couple that we will be taking on this trip.

I'm so glad you all had a great cruise .... I have to be honest I was so looking forward to hearing about your interactions (being a CC group cruise) and seeing pictures of you all having different experiences ...... it was disappointing  just seeing one group picture for the entire time.  I found that a little strange. 

Falina, it's so great to see you back here on the Dock. Yes it really is sad that it has become a "ghost town" ...... I loved the good ole days when there was so much interaction.

Andi - are you OK, haven't seen or heard from you either, or did I miss something.  Did you enjoy the cruise?

Does everyone have fun plans for the long weekend?

I won't have wifi on safari in the bush ....... Yay, digital detox ..... but will post pictures on FB whenever I can.  Getting very excited!!!!!!