An Attitude of Gratitude

When you practice gratefulness, there is a sense of respect toward others.

~ Dalai Lama 

We're a few days past Thanksgiving and I'm still in the mood to count my blessings. 

Mom & Dad & the mandevilla they saved
from freezing!

First, I'm thankful to God for my family. We were blessed with ten around our table for the holiday (including my niece and her fiance, of whom I didn't manage to get a photo!) and as we prayed together, we remembered all our other family members who are scattered across the country and the world. (One of my great nieces is serving in Japan right now and our Ecuadorian exchange student "son" lives in Belgium!) 

My sister Linda flew in from South Dakota.(You met her when we drove out to Seattle for our Alaskan cruise in September.) She had made a quick trip to NYC to visit her daughter and her family just a few days before she came to see us, so  I'm sure she's tired of traveling. Linda is pictured at right with #2 Daughter. #2 D is the one who will be taking care of our house while we're on our world cruise and calls herself the "designated dog nanny!"

Our #1 Daughter and her wife drove down from Columbia for Thanksgiving. They also brought our three grand-dogs, so with our two little pups, our canine quiver was definitely full. When the time for our cruise comes, we'll drive our truck up to their place on Jan. 19th. They'll take us to Saint Louis on the 20th, and then we'll fly out on the  21st. While we're gone, they said they'd be happy to babysit the truck for us!

Next, I'm thankful for my friends, not just here in the town where we live, but all over. When you've lived in as many places as we have, you tend to leave people along the way, but we haven't forgotten them. So many are still near our hearts and would probably be astonished at how often we speak of them.

Lastly, I thank God for my marriage. My DH is truly my best friend. There's no one on earth I'd rather spend time with. When we first started considering taking a world cruise,  I began to lurk on the Cruise Critic message boards. One lady wanted to go on a world cruise but didn't know if she and her husband could stand being cooped up together in a small stateroom that long. 

I think her money would be better spent on marriage counseling than cruising. If you don't like to be together on land, being sloshed about on a ship will not improve anyone's temper. We, however, can't wait to run off on our next adventure together.  

How to Make a Tipsy Turkey--I cooked the turkey for this year's feast. My mom is always worried it will be dry, but I've figured out a way to make sure it's moist and tender. After washing the thoroughly thawed bird, I don't fill the chest cavity with stuffing. (For one thing, my family is divided into 2 camps on the stuffing question--cornbread or oyster. So I make both kinds on top of the stove.) Instead, after rubbing the turkey with olive oil and seasoning it with salt,pepper, poultry seasoning, thyme and parsley, I pour about half a bottle of  Chardonnay into the turkey insides. It gives the drippings I use for my homemade noodles an extra kick and after baking at 350 degrees for the recommended amount of time for the size of the bird, my turkey comes out of the oven nicely moist and delicious. 

Christmas is coming. Do you have a special trick that makes holiday meals better, easier, or more festive?

The Joy of Shoe Shopping!

'The time has come,' the walrus said, 'to talk of many things: of shoes and ships - and sealing wax - of cabbages and kings.' ~ Lewis Carroll

Okay, I know the title of this post surprises those who know me. After all, I am the Anti-Shopper.

Ask anyone. Wandering around a mall "looking for nothing in particular but I'll know it when I find it is" my definition of the ninth circle of Hell.

My parents, who will celebrate 64 years of wedded bliss this year!

I am, however, an enthusiastic buyer when I know exactly what I want and where to find it. Those two trajectories synced last week when we took my parents to Branson. It was something of an early Christmas/Anniversary present. (Yep! They followed a 3 generation family tradition of being married on Christmas Day. The DH and I decided some traditions were made to be broken!)

Foyer of the Sight & Sound Theater

For the uninitiated, Branson, MO is a small town nestled in the Ozarks that features more live theaters per square mile than Broadway. We took the folks to see The Miracle of Christmas at the Sight & Sound Theater. It was a visually stunning production and there were more characters flying above the stage and our heads than if we'd gone to see Peter Pan! 

Anyway, after the shows, the next biggest draw for Branson is the shopping. Ordinarily, this would make me groan, but I happened to know there was a Rockport store at the Tanger Outlet. 

I usually have trouble finding a shoe that fits. I don't know what it is about the Rockport brand, but I can almost always wear a pair out of the store and have them feel like they were made just for my feet. On this particular trip, I found FOUR (count 'em!) pairs. The very sweet salesperson Rhonda was so  good to help me find just the right size.

Mack, seen in the background, thinks packing never bodes well for a dog...

I'm tickled to pieces with all of them. The three dress shoes all have non-skid soles, so they'll be perfect for shipboard evenings. The black heels aren't so tall that I'm afraid I'll  break an ankle if the Pacific Princess starts rocking. The blue slip-ons will be great for walking excursions. The strawberry in the situation is that they were all on sale and averaged $30 a piece. Along with my red leather deck shoes (also Rockports) these five will compose the bulk of my cruise shoe wardrobe.

But I'll also be bringing three pairs of sandals--black, brown and blue--and hot pink flipflops for a total of 9 pairs of shoes. I'd originally thought I could pare it down to five altogether, but it looks like this is the final count.

Oh! And did I mention that they all hug my feet? (Contented sigh!)

So how about you? Are you an Anti-Shopper, too? Or do you, like my mom, shake your head in disbelief that I could actually hate shopping? 

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A Travel Wardrobe that Works!

I never travel without my diary. 

One should always have something sensational to read on the train.

~ Oscar Wilde

94 days...That's how long we'll be on board the Pacific Princess.

How do I pack for that? 

Of course, like Oscar, I'll bring my laptop so I can add to this blog (my diary) as we go along, but I've been struggling with how to pack a functional travel wardrobe. It's tempting to just stuff as much of my closet as I can into my two suitcases (yep, just two because we're flying from the Midwest to LA to board the ship next January.) But besides our clothing, we need to pack other essentials--electronics, a traveling OTC medicine chest, some storage items, shoes, etc. Those two checked bags are going to fill up fast.

So I need to be intentional about my clothing allotment.

Enter the concept of the capsule wardrobe!

According to my Google search on the subject, apparently some pack-saavy travelers can spend two weeks in Paris with only what they can fit into a carry-on and never wear the same outfit twice. I'm a bit skeptical, but I decide to try build a little 9 item capsule for myself. 

Here it is: black pants, white capris, black lacy camisole/tank, black/print tank, black sweater, white sweater, copper maxi dress, black/white scarf, black sandals (not pictured.)

If I mix and match these pieces, how many outfits can I make?

1.Black pants, black/print tank, black sweater
2.Copper dress, scarf
3. White capris, black tank, white sweater

Okay, those are the easy ones. Let's get creative.

4. Black pants, black tank, black sweater 
5. Black pants, black tank, white sweater
6. White capris, black/print tank, white sweater 
7. White capris, black tank, black sweater
8. Copper dress by itself
9. Copper dress with black sweater
10. Copper dress with white sweater

If I'm not self conscious about baring my arms, I can add 4 more possible combinations.

11. Black pants, black print tank
12. Black pants, black tank
13. White capris, black print tank
14. White capris, black tank

A capsule purist would add more iterations by moving the scarf around with the solid tank (with and without the sweaters) for a bunch more combinations. It would take my math major husband to figure out how many because frankly, I'm already tired of these 9 pieces of clothing, no matter how I team them up. 

In the end, I'll probably fall back on trying to cram most of my closet into the suitcases, but I've learned enough to promise myself that NOTHING will make the trip unless it contributes to at least three different outfits.

We'll be using the self-launderette on board, as well as sending our whites out to the ship laundry, but it's still going to be a trick getting everything I want to bring packed. When the time draws closer, I'll do a "practice pack" and make a master list of everything I manage to fit in. 

What do you think? Have you ever used the capsule wardrobe concept? Did it work for you?

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The Horrible Importance of Unimportant Things...and Why They Cost So Much!

"Fame changes a lot of things, but it can't change a light bulb." 
~ Gilda Radner

You're in for a treat today. My DH is guest blogging, so without further ado, I turn Round The World Writer over to him!

~~~ 

We have a 2013 Chrysler Town and Country van that we really enjoy.  It is comfortable to ride in, and gets great gas mileage.  Most importantly the back seats are comfortable for my in-laws so they

are happy when we take them on long trips.

The other evening we went to our Community Choir rehearsal, and I noticed that the low beam headlight on the passenger side was out.  So the next day I contacted our local dealership to make an appointment to change the light bulb.

The receptionist (Shirley) said it would be no problem.  Typically it took 10 minutes for a lube tech to change a headlight, and it would cost less than $50.  So I made the appointment.

The first surprise came when I pulled in, and Shirley took one look at the van.  Suddenly, to change the headlight they had to take the entire front bumper and grill assembly off.  It was going to take an hour, and cost about $110.  I had to do it, so I said go ahead.

Then Shirley took me to visit with the parts guy.  He looked up the headlamp needed, and said it would cost about $30.  I said OK, and he arranged one of the mechanics to start working on it.

I had been in the waiting area for about 20 minutes when Shirley came in, and then walked out again.  She came back into the waiting area, and walked towards me with a disappointed look on her face.  

"I really hate to say this, but you have HD headlights, and the parts guy looked up the wrong one.  We have to get the headlight from the O'Reiley's downtown, and the cost is $130.  I am so sorry."  

By now they had the front end all apart, and there really was no turning back, so I told her to go ahead.

So in the end my 10 minute/$50 job took almost 2 hours, and $250.  All of that just to change a light bulb!  

At least now it is done, and the van should be good to go in case our daughter needs to use it while we are on the cruise. 

~~~

Hi Gang! I'm back. Let me just end this by saying he waited a couple of days before he wrote this post. He was much more steamed when it happened.

But I think we have a good take-away from this that applies to our WC next January. Even though we've pre-paid a lot of it, there are going to be expenses that pop up, and things that cost more than we expect that we haven't planned for. I heard a wise man say we should pack half the clothes and twice the money.

If the DH's experience with a light bulb is any indication, that man was right.