Author Archives: tbavendam

I got James and I ancestry kits for Christmas. My results became available yesterday. I was kind of hoping to find something surprising – at least a tiny bit of Mediterranean ancestry but alas it is nothing very exotic. I think Parent 1 is my mom as her father was German and her mother wasContinue reading “My ancestry”

We were both wide awake at 4 AM (really 3 AM with time change). I decided it would be a good time to do the hot tub – perhaps relax us so we could get back to sleep. Carol reluctantly agreed and we got into our suits and up to the 16th level only toContinue reading “The day after……”

Vish did a wonderful job making Carol up. She truly felt like a queen and even kind of liked her new look including false eyelashes. We dined in the Crown Grill and Carol had lobster and I had the sea bass. A huge chocolate mousse cake with Happy Birthday sung by the waiters and fellowContinue reading ““It has been a magnificent day””

The slowness of this internet makes it difficult to upload images and once they are uploaded they seem to disappear so hopefully they come through…. We were both up to go the bathroom around the same time so Carol got her first “Happy Birthday” song at 3AM. We had breakfast in our room and thenContinue reading “Hugs and Tears”

I didn’t even take any pics today. Temp this morning was in the 40’s. It was still windy but the skies were mostly sunny. Carol has been sleeping really well. I am sleeping OK. We had breakfast in the room this morning and discovered that when you order bottles of water with breakfast, there isContinue reading “Day 3 – Are we there yet?”

Last night I went through and made us reservations in the sit down dining rooms for all of our nights on the ship. Some nights we got a private table and some nights we will share a table. Tonight was scheduled as a private table. I practiced putting a bit of make-up on Carol tonightContinue reading “Our first traditional cruise dinner”

After my time of reflection I decided to go the hot tub in the cold, windy weather. While I was there I decided to have a strawberry daiquiri – before lunch. It was quiet and pleasant and there was a movie playing on the big screen. I then dressed myself in borrowed clothes from friendContinue reading “Aunt Carol’s first pedicure”

When I chose “unleashed” I thought of it as unleashed from the straight-jacket and muzzle but there is another meaning – unleashed from the past with the privilege to discover who I want to be in the next phase. My volunteer carpentry with Habitat for Humanity and Nashville Tools for School anchors and fulfills meContinue reading “Sea Day – perfect for decompression and reflection”

Aunt Carol on the balcony of our mini suite and me with a bottle of champagne to start the decompression process. We arrived at the terminal at 1230, our scheduled time, only to find out the scheduled times for entry were meaningless. Everyone was arriving at the same time. We were one of the lastContinue reading “All’s well that ends well (or it will be)”

Remember what I said about bad things happening in 3’s – well we are in the multiples of 3 by this time. At James suggestion, I called Fed Ex and found out that there was no way for my bag to get from Nashville to SF in time for the cruise. James went to NashvilleContinue reading “Made it to SFO”