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4月26日 The Weekend of Late It seems the weekend is over. It as been somewhat sunny, which means I have been productive outside - but not inside. How does any single person keep a home looking good inside and out? I have no idea. Perhaps if I didn't have a boyfriend that lives 175 miles away, I would have more time at home and spend more time cleaning. But I don't, so keeping my place looking good is proving to be a challenge. This weekend I spent much of my time in the yard. I cleaned the master bath first. Then I weeded most of the front yard and planted heather in the parking strip. On Saturday I washed and vacuumed my truck in preparation for selling it to my nephew. Sunday included church, shopping, and a haircut - as well as more weeding in the front yard. I also purchased and installed a new alarm system for my home. There is no doubt I was busy. Unfortunately, there is a downside to all the work and progress. While preparing the truck for sale, I had to install a new battery. When I lifted the old battery out of the engine compartment, I strained my back. Yes - as has been the case for the last four years, around the time of my birthday, the muscle spasms in my back have returned. Thankfully, they are mild so far...well, sort of. I have been doing my exercises as recommended by my physical therapist last summer. I hope the stretching and movement can forestall or even eliminate my problems this year. I don't want to put up with the torture of extreme muscle problems in my back for another spring season. God help me. 4月19日 Changes At Home I've made some changes in my yard since moving into this house 10 months ago. When I occupied the home in late June of 2008, there was a giant old laurel tree in the back yard. It was easily 30 feet tall and an imposing wall of greenery that blocked almost all sun to the back yard and living room. It also provided a great deal of privacy for both me and my neighbors. Because a laurel is an evergreen, the light blocking features would last 365 days a year. I immediately made the decision to tear the tree down. I was willing to sacrifice privacy for the benefits of sunshine whenever possible. It took two hours for an arborist service to chop the tree to the ground, leaving a large stump and a pile of wood. Three weeks later, the wood was hauled away. After another two weeks the large remaining stump and roots were ground into chips. Virtually all remnants of the laurel were gone by the beginning of September. I managed to restore a small remnant of privacy by putting up a bamboo fence. Fall and winter passed without any significant changes in the back yard. I simply lived with the barren conditions. However, that status changed this weekend. After spending $800 at Wells-Medina, Flower World and Swanson's Nurseries, the back yard is coming back to life. The remaining plants from the previous owner include: a camellia, vellow flax, 4 small euonymous shrubs, 8 lily of the Nile, 4 small hostas and two ornamental grasses. Yesterday I added to that inventory by planting a large flowering dogwood tree. That was a big pain in the back, believe me! I also added forsythia, three azaleas, an Italian cypress, a white rhododendron, five more hostas, an astilbe, heavenly bamboo, maiden hair fern, sword fern, lady fern, 5 mondo grasses, 9 blue star creeper, and a growing collection of river rocks (collected by digging up the yard) arranged around my large Japanese lantern. Coming up, I have more work to do in the side yard. I intend to add bishop's weed, bleeding heart, more astilbe, as well as container plants on the hot tub deck. I will probably also add a simple drip irrigation system and cover all that with bark mulch to suppress weed growth. I suspect I have another $400 to spend in the next 1 - 3 months. Below are some pictures of my revised landscaping from last July and today. It's early spring and everything is young, but I imagine there will be a lot of growth in the next 5 months.         4月16日 Teacher Resentment I'm unhappy with one particular issue at school, and years of resentment are bubbling up. We are working on classroom assignments for next year. We will need to have a new third grade teacher. Someone in the building has to step into the role. For the third time in eight years, I am the one who will move to a new position voluntarily. I resent that I am the one who again will not get my first choice of teaching positions because one teacher in particular refuses to budge. She refuses to teach third grade. She never volunteers for ANYTHING. She has never served on a committee, an advisory board, or any other volunteer or leadership position. She refuses to step up, and our current and previous principals have never pushed her to change. In my opinion, she is the weak link in our staff. She plays the role of adequate instructor, but she is dull and stuck in a rut from which she refuses to extract herself. She is surrounded by outstanding instructors and most parents find her to be less desirable. Apparently she has the kind of personality that dislikes change. I'm tired of watching others or being the one that makes up for her unwillingness and deficit of creativity and teamwork spirit. I think it is time for a private confrontation. I am not the only person who is fed up with this particular co-worker. I can name at least 4 other teachers who have had it up to here (I'm pointing at my neck) with her stonewalling! I have had such a conversation once before, but apparently it was ineffective in the long term. The staff at my school is very dynamic. We are stable, there is little turnover, but there has been a lot of movement up and down for instructional positions. Even those that don't like changing grade levels have been good about volunteering to take on additional tasks and positions beyond classroom instruction. But my second grade co-worker does nothing. She is the rock in our school that refuses to budge, and my resentment can no longer be contained. 4月4日 Saturday April 4 - End of Days (At Sea) It had been a beautiful day. Sunny and warm, though not too humid. A breeze has been blowing steadily. The seas were calm and we passed two other cruise vessels as we made our way westerly past Cuba and then northerly through the Bahamas. Dad and I slept in until almost 9am. I was first up, showering and retrieving my watch and necklace from the spa where I mistakenly left them after my massage yesterday. Dad was taking his time, so I went to the buffet myself then retreated to the Aqua Spa pool – a kid free zone. It’s a beautiful pool inside an atrium space. Blooming bougainvillea grows up the glass walls and colorful fountains dance and sparkle on the opposing side of the warm pool. At 9:30 I grabbed a couple of padded teak lounge chairs and put down roots for the day. Napping, reading, and listening to music were on the menu. I left the pool at 2pm to grab some pasta in the buffet. Then Dad and I started our packing and completion of the passenger survey. Dad started his evening by going to Palm Sunday Mass. I packed during that time. Then, when he returned we both went to pick up our portrait from the first formal evening. We poured our last glass of wine at Cellar Masters, and walked with those glasses into Blu for our final dinner with our tablemates. Dinner was very nice. It was good food and good conversation. With the Maitre D’hôtel’s permission, I even ordered my entrée from the menu of the main dining room. I started with ceviche, followed by an avocado salad, and ending with an entrée of quail stuffed with sweetbreads and a sweet potato gratin. For desert I enjoyed a glass of Muscat. Dad ate a tortilla soup prior to his duck breast entrée and a rhubarb and strawberry ice cream for desert. Now it’s 9pm. We are packed and the luggage has been set into the passageway. One of the nice amenities we have taken advantage of is Luggage Valet service. The cruise line has already printed our airline boarding passes. Our luggage is ready to be automatically transported to and checked in with American Airlines. We will not see it again until we arrive in Seattle. The cruise is over. Here are some of the highlights: Tea and flowers in our cabin, the Ghost Light show, a spectacular shower in our room, dining in Blu, wine flights in Cellar Masters every night, making it through a rain squall in San Juan, dining in Murano on the first night, sailing on the Lord Sheffield, the beauty of Labadee and Philipsburg harbors, driving around Tortola, the variety of foods in the buffet, and the totality of the ship and staff of Solstice. Bon Voyage!  4月3日 Friday April 3 - Labadee, Haiti Yeah! We have the ship all to ourselves! Well…nearly so. Labadee is a small private resort area owned by Royal Caribbean International – the parent company of Celebrity Cruise Lines. Most people left the ship soon after we dropped anchor in this little bay on the north central coast of Haiti. A small village is located on the opposite side of the bay from the resort, and includes some very nice homes no doubt owned by some very wealthy people in this very poor country. Dad and I chose not to go ashore. Instead we lounged by the main pool – I in the sun, Dad in the shade. We ate lunch at the Mast Grill around 1:30. By 2pm we were in the spa ready for the pinnacle moment of the day. Dad received the first Swedish massage of his life. I, on the other hand, received what I estimate to be my 14th. I chose the hot stone massage – a longtime favorite of mine. Mine was a good massage, perhaps one of the best (though nothing could rival the massage I received in Hawaii the winter of 2008). Dad said he enjoyed his massage as well. Steiner, the company that runs the spas on Princess, Celebrity, and Royal Caribbean ships has apparently cut back on their hard-sell tactics used to sell products after every spa treatment. I only had to say, “No, thank you” once. There was no further mention of products by the therapist. However, they have also started a new policy of making the gratuity automatic. That does not thrill me. Frankly, they charge 10% and I used to tip 15% for a good massage, so I suppose I come out better for it. I rinsed off all the massage oil and relaxed for an hour before dressing in my formal attire once again. Tonight was the final formal dress evening. Dad and I went to Cellar Masters, as is our custom. We also ordered two portrait pictures taken on the previous formal evening. Then, we ate dinner at Blu. I had soft shell crab as an appetizer, along with a Caesar salad, and a chicken breast in phylo dough and a lobster tail as my entrée. Dad enjoyed a potato gratin appetizer, endive salad, and Atlantic salmon as his main course. After the show we attended the final big show in the main theater. It was called Solstice: The Show, a homage to Cirque du Sole type shows yet with dance and vocals as a background. It was a really wonderful show and a big hit with the audience. Acrobats were flying over us constantly. The lighting effects and costuming were terrific. If I have any complaint, it was that so much was always going on it was hard to take it all in. Our cruise is winding down now. Tomorrow we have a day at sea and then Sunday we disembark and head home. It will be good to see my pups again, and I will have a special guest in town on Monday night, but I will miss this cruise. It has been quite wonderful.   4月2日 Thursday April 2 - My First British Virgin (Island) Tortola – the largest island and capital of the British Virgin Islands. They are adjacent to the US Virgin Islands. I was amazed to find out the US Dollar is the official currency of the BVI. We stepped off the Solstice and onto the port property in Road Town, Tortola, BVI. We walked about 20 minutes to the car rental agency. Hot and sweaty, we soon climbed into out 4WD rental (with A/C) and set out to explore the hills and bays of this tropical paradise. Unfortunately, the roads in this tropical paradise are smooth but mostly unmarked. Our goal was to do some driving along the coast as well as along the ridge road – stopping at a restaurant called Sky World – renowned for it’s views. The route advice I received from a gentleman at Avis proved impossible to follow. Though we eventually found the ridge road, we could not find Sky World before it was time to head back into town. I have no doubt our hoped for destination was probably located in that 25% of Ridge Road that we didn’t explore. Otherwise, the day was pleasant and some of the views quite beautiful – especially the time we looked down a steep valley toward Road Town Harbor where two giant cruise ships (including the Solstice) were floating in the middle of the aqua blue bay. I dropped Dad at the port 2 hours after we had started. I returned the car to the agency, and then hoofed it back to the port on my own. Once I was showered, we got lunch from the buffet. I had two soft tacos and dad got a hamburger. We ate on our balcony as the ship pulled out of the harbor and headed west toward Haiti. Right now it is 2:40pm EDT and we are passing Saint John Island – what some say is the most beautiful island in the USVI. This is really a beautiful channel. There are dozens of islands all around the ship. It’s like the tropical version of the San Juan Islands in Washington State. UPDATE: The day is over. Earlier, this afternoon while cruising through the Virgin Islands, we took a long nap. Vacation is so often brisk and active. It’s always wonderful to slow down and sleep. I don’t get enough slumber at home, but during a cruise I can make up for the paltry amount of sleep which plagues my day-to-day life. When we woke up from our nap, we dressed for dinner. Before arriving at our dining venue we partook of a recently developed ritual: wine at the Cellar Masters enomatic machine. Six premium white and six premium reds are hooked up to wine taps. Insert a payment card, press a button, and you are automatically served a tasting of wine. You can work your way through a flight very simply. A sommelier is always on hand to explain the selections for the day. Cheese, bread, olives, and salami are served as well. Dad and I have two favorite chairs we like to occupy. One of the first things I had to do was shoo away an obnoxious drunk who was annoying passengers like us looking to engage in quiet and private conversation. He had a habit of stomping his feet and talking loudly. It didn’t have to say much for the old sot to understand he should move along and leave us alone. Others weren’t so direct and had to be rescued by a staff member. Eventually he realized he should stagger on to some other place – preferably his cabin. For dinner we dined in Silk Harvest – the Asian specialty restaurant onboard. Dad tried eel sushi for the first time. We also shared miso soup and shrimp shumai. For the entree Dad had orange chicken while I enjoyed red curry duck. I had caramelized bananas with a coconut ice cream for desert. Dad had a selection of ice creams including kona coffee, green tea, mango, and strawberry. I also introduced Dad to the relaxing warmth of heated sake in lieu of wine. I don’t think it was a hit with him, but I sure enjoyed it. After dinner we adjourned to the main theatre for a show called Pulse. It borrowed heavily from the Broadway hits Stomp! and Blast! along with some acrobatic dance a la Cirque du Sole and good old fashioned pop tunes from many eras. Though the show was an unusual mishmash of styles and choreography, I still enjoyed it. I wish this ship had some comedians, jugglers and magicians, as is often the case on Princess. I suppose Celebrity has different programming – and that’s fine. It was a good day and the show was a good way to end it.  4月1日 Wednesday April 1 - Saint Martin I made a mistake last night. We had two breakfast order forms in the room. I filled out one so breakfast could come early while we were getting ready for our sailing and snorkeling excursion. But, apparently I placed the blank one out in the hall for pickup and put the completed one into the closet. Then I went to bed. When I woke up this morning, I showered and waited for breakfast – and waited – and waited. Finally I called room service and they called the cabin steward and he explained the problem. I pulled out the other form we had and sure enough, there was the order written out clearly and still in the room - not in the hands of room service. I’m such a dope! Ahh well. We got breakfast from the buffet instead and arrived down on the dock at 8:45am. By 9:15 we were had embarked on the Lord Sheffield, a pretty brigantine sailing ship. There were 17 people onboard and a crew of three. First we motored over to a little cove just outside the bay. The snorkeling was pretty bad – the worst I’ve ever experienced. It was totally boring. The bottom was sandy with occasional rocks. Fish were rare. It seemed the place had been stripped of life. The bottom did have a sunken tourist submarine, an old canon, and some other remnants I could not recognize. There was a Snuba trail as well. Once Dad was back onboard, I dived down to the bottom and retrieved a lost mask and some other trash. I was the only person doing any skin diving. I figured if the snorkeling was bad, I should at least clean up the bottom. Yet, the worst day snorkeling is better then a day at work. I’m not one to complain – at least not too much. Once back on the boat, we sailed for a while. The crew barbecued ribs and chicken. We snacked on cheese and crackers. Liquor was included but no one drank much (unlike my snorkeling trip in March – yeah, I’m looking at you Derek!). We also enjoyed some fresh cut fruit and cookies. Then they turned the boat around and motored back into the marina. The return trip took about forty-five minutes. Dad was allowed to steer for about 20 minutes. We watched some pretty yachts race across the water then soon we were back ashore. A taxi van was waiting to return us to the ship, but the “heft” of some of the passengers meant we could not all fit in, so Dad and I walked about 6 blocks back to the ship. It was a pleasant opportunity to see more of the port area. It wasn’t too hot and our excursion had been relaxing so we weren’t too tired – at least not until we got back to the cabin. I showered and laid myself down on my bed and suddenly I was asleep. I napped for almost two hours. Once the nap was over, it was time to slowly start the process of preparing for dinner. I read for a while, typed a portion of this blog, took some pictures around the ship, and sat on the balcony reviewing pictures I have taken thus far. Then, at five our canapés arrived. We were dressed soon after and at 5:15 Dad and I adjourned to the Cellar Masters bar for more wine flights. Soon it was 6pm and time for dinner in Blu – lump crab served in a martini glass, arugula salad with feta and pine nuts, a grilled Spencer steak with cream horse radish, and cheesecake to finish the meal. After dinner, Dad and I sat in the atrium and listened to the Solstice orchestra play favorites from the big bands, R & B, Hollywood movie themes and easy listening music from the likes of Barry Manilow. We both sipped on a snifter of VSOP. Now it’s just after 9 and time for bed. Tomorrow we will be landing in Tortola, BVI. We plan on picking up a rental car and driving around the island on our own.   |
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