Early Christmas Presents!

 Traveling...it leaves you speechless. Then it turns you into a storyteller. ~ Ibn Battuta

When I was younger, I traveled by organizing everything myself more often than not. Much of our early traveling as a family and as a couple revolved around the DH's business trips and how I, and often our daughters as well, might tag along. It involved lots of non-revenue flying (the DH worked for 3 different airlines over his career), searching for affordable hotels, and studying maps of public transit for exploring once we reached our destination. I researched the area and had jam-packed itineraries for us each day. Frankly, I was, as my dad used to say, like "a fart in a skillet," frenetically micromanaging everything and yet dissolving into ether that left nothing but a bad smell. I was so afraid of missing something I might never get the chance to do again, I exhausted everyone. 

Once we began cruising, I calmed down and hung up my "do-it-myself" attitude. It is possible to book through the individual cruise line itself, but if there was any snag, I decided we needed a "go-between." We began using travel agents to settle our details. I started with Vacationstogo. They are sort of a clearing house of many different cruiselines and destinations, and did just fine for us when we'd take our every other yearly week-long cruise. But when we decided to go big with our first world cruise, I thought we needed the help of someone who specialized in extended travel.

Enter Teresa Skeim and Cruise Specialists. What she brings to the table is experience and the ability to ask the right questions. The company has been in business since 1987, so I have confidence in their fiduciary responsibilities regarding our payments to the cruise line. Also in this not-so-brave-new-world of online scam artists, it's harder for someone to come along and highjack our booking since it would have to go through CS. 

Thanks, Teresa and Cruise Specialists!

Plus they offer lots of extra perks, friendly reminders about visas and vaccine requirements, ticklers for when excursion bookings open, and not least, extra onboard credit and a rebate on our fare after the trip. 

Yesterday, a big box arrived with cruise goodies from Cruise Specialists: 2 fleece vests, 2 thermos style water bottles, two bags suitable for laundry or beach days, a calendar with our itinerary printed on each day, bookmarks (though we only travel with our libraries in our pockets these days!), a coaster, and 2 net bags filled with mini notebooks and pen, two bag tags each and a World Cruise pin. 

Then not to be outdone, we received a packet from Viking with 2 more red leather bag tags. You can never have too many! And once we're on the Sky, if past is prologue, Viking will be leaving us "pillow gifts" of a World Cruise jacket and baseball cap each. Nice not to have to pack those from home.

But back to Teresa for a minute...In case you're not convinced about what a good travel agent can do for you, let me refer you to our 2021 family cruise to Alaska debacle.  We were taking a party of 8 (4 balcony cabins) on a 7 day cruise out of Seattle on Princess, when out of the blue all our bookings were cancelled "out of an abundance of caution" because I have to travel with portable oxygen concentrators for a lung condition.  

The kids had all arranged for vacation time from their jobs. My nephew got his first ever passport and had bought a new suit for the formal nights. My parents were so looking forward to sharing the experience of Alaska with so many of us all together. 

It was devastating when everything--even the flights--was cancelled without so much as a whoopsy daisy.

But Teresa rolled up her sleeves and even with all of our "must haves," found us another option on Norwegian. Our family trip was an incredible time! 

As we count down the days for our next adventure, thank you again, Teresa and all the good folks at Cruise Specialists! Merry Christmas!

 

Over the River & Thru the Woods...

 To Grandmother's house we go!

At least, that's how the song goes. In our case, it's more like over the Ozark hills and through the cornfields. And we're not going to Grandmother's house. Tomorrow, we're taking her halfway to her temporary new digs with my sister and brother-in-law in South Dakota. We'll meet them in Nebraska at B-I-L's brother's house to make the exchange.

2024 was a very tough year for our family. We lost my dad to a glioblastoma in January and the emptiness of missing him is still knife-sharp. It's been especially hard for mom, who spent 70 years of her life  alongside him. At 87, she stays active in church, going to lunch with her friends and still lives in her own home, four blocks from our house. But I didn't feel comfortable leaving her in town for 4 1/2 months without us here.

Never one to travel light...

Enter my sister Linda. She's been wanting Mom to come for a visit since we lost Dad, so this will work out splendidly. Mom will celebrate Christmas in the Black Hills with Linda's family, including nephew Josh who joined us for the Alaskan cruise in 2021 and his sister Alexis and her husband and kids who'll be flying in from Dubai! Mom is taking a notebook of music for her to play on the piano while my brother-in-law plays his bass guitar. It promises to be an exciting time with lots of fun and family, laughter and good food. 

And maybe, just maybe, this first Christmas without Dad will be a little less painful.   

Linda's already set up a doctor, a beautician and a nail salon for Mom. She will be welcome and well-cared for while we travel the world, which is a big relief to me. 

One of the few downsides of extended travel is fretting about the ones we've left behind. Yes, our kids are adults and able to fend for themselves, manage our tenants and properties, take care of our little dogs and each other, but "what if's" still sneak into my imagination uninvited.

Apparently, I'm arrogant enough to think I can keep bad things from happening or at least mitigate them when they do, just by being there.  

The Greeks have a word for it: hubris. Exaggerated self-pride and importance. 

When I embark the Viking Sky, I hope to fling hubris over board. I don't have to handle every little thing. My loved ones are safe in God's hands, much safer than they are with me.

And the DH and I are safe in His hands too as we roam this unnecessarily beautiful planet. No matter what happens. 

(Yes, Dad, I still remember you warning me about rogue waves!) 

A Day of Small Things

 Who dares despise the day of small things...
Zechariah 4:10

I actually kind of like days of small things. Big days, days filled with drama and deadlines, upset and chaos, even of the exciting kind, are the ones I tend to shrink from. Small things are just as important as big ones to my mind. After all, no days filled with big things tend to happen without a lead up of some kind, an incremental build up of small things resulting in the big ones. 

Today is one of our many days of small things. Here are some of our doings in the works:

Charlie knows suitcases bode a dog no good.

• Luggage Forward will be picking up our two 50 lb suitcases today. The next time we'll see them will be on January 5th when we board the Viking Sky in LA! We'd hoped to only need these two bags. If you've followed this blog at all, you've seen the photos of the DH waggling a cart with luggage stacked so high, he could barely peer over it on our previous extended voyages. I really wanted to lessen his load this time, but I think we'll need one more big case to hold all the things that didn't quite make the weight cut-off for these.
• This morning I'm baking a couple of cobblers for our church's fundraiser for the medical mission trip to Jamaica next year. I'm afraid I wimped out and bought a couple of frozen cobblers instead of making them from scratch, but to be honest, I've never been much of a baker, so I think those who end up eating them will be grateful I chose this path

• My trusty treadmill is an important part of all of my days of small things. I'll spend about an hour to an hour and a half spread out in several sessions, on this machine. Herkimer, my dependable big portable O2 concentrator, is with me every step. Last May, I was diagnosed diabetic with an A1C of  7.4. After changing my diet, dropping 30 pounds and committing to daily exercise, I'm at 5.7. Nearly NORMAL! In this one area, at least...
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  Speaking of dietary changes, this morning the DH and I put together a yummy cauliflower and pork sausage crockpot casserole. I've gone pretty completely keto and fortunately Viking offers a low carb option in its menus. The casserole we're cooking will be ready for lunch when we go pick up my mom. We love having her eat with us and spend a leisurely afternoon together. 

Here's my mom with another small thing. It's Albert, our 5 pound poodle. He was a rescue dog after being abandoned by a puppy mill once he aged out of being a good breeder. He knew nothing about being a dog, but Charlie soon helped him learn how to behave in the house and climb stairs and drink from a water bowl. Most especially, Albert has learned to bond with a select few people after years of abuse. One of those people is my mom. He adores her and she returns the favor.

Albert isn't worried about the suitcases like Charlie is. After all, his favorite person, our #2 Daughter will be here to care for both the pups while we're gone. 

I'm so looking forward to our action-packed, thrill-a-minute world cruise that is shining ever more brightly on the horizon! But until the day we head to the ship, I'm relishing the small things that create the quiet joys of our land life. 

What small thing brings you joy?

PS. The DH just reminded me of another small thing we did today. We were able to check in to the Viking Sky online! Our boarding passes have been printed out and for good measure the DH has them stored on his phone too. Redundancy relieves my travel stress!