A Few More Images From Around the Ship

Good morning,

I have a few images today that I have taken around the ship. The image above and the next one are more of the great vegetable art that the culinary department produces.

There seems to be no end to the different designs I find from day to day.

The same is true with the towel art that our Stateroom Attendant, Diane, creates.

This doggie is one of our favorites.  I have saved him in our living room where he is now propped up watching TV with us.

This is a favorite afternoon snack here on board.  It is Norwegian waffle cakes with strawberries, ice cream, and whipped cream.  Oh, yum!

A much more elegant dish is the crab cake appetizer at Chops Restaurant.

Our daughter, Catherine, ordered the raw fish appetizer.  It looked delicious.

Somehow we got so busy eating the steaks and lobster that I didn't get any pictures of that, but here is the cheesecake dessert at Chops. 

A change now to the Captain's Corner talk.  That larger than life man on the screen is the absolutely best Captain, Captain Tor Olsen.  That is a screen shot in the theater of the video shown before the Captain's Corner question and answer session.

I saved the best for last.  This is our friend Greta celebrating her 302nd Royal Caribbean cruise while having dinner with Captain Tor Olsen.

I hope you've enjoy these few images taken around the ship.   

Very best,
Lois

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 Royal Caribbean International Cookbook

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Cozumel Blues

Good morning,

Blue is my favorite color so I am in the perfect place to enjoy it. 

We are in Cozumel, Mexico, where there are so many gorgeous shades of blue in the sea and sky.

Those clouds produced about 60 seconds of rain, then the skies were blue once again.

I hope you enjoy the blue with me.  Soon we will be home to a colorful Fall, then some grey winter days.

Best,
Lois

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Moon Cancun and Cozumel: Including the Riviera Maya (Moon Handbooks) 

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Roses!

Good morning,

Are those roses pretty or what?  Some friends sent them to us on board Freedom of the Seas.

There is a florist shop on board the ship and the arrangements they create are just lovely.  There is a fantastic aroma of fresh flowers in our stateroom today.

This is so pretty, I just wanted to share it.  I hope you have many pretty things in your life today, too.

Very best,
Lois

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Mix and Match - Endless Summer Bouquet - Mixed Fresh Cut Flowers - 25 Stems 

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People on the Royal Promenade

Good morning,

I'm going for another walk down the Royal Promenade of Freedom of the Seas today.  Beatrice of the Frog and PenguINN and others have commented that they don't see people in the pictures I have been posting of this beautiful ship.  Little do they know how long I have stood in a spot waiting for the place I want to photograph to be clear of people before I take my pictures.  :)

So, today I have purposely included some people in these shots of things I have missed in some of my other walks down the Royal Promenade.  ;)

Here's a busy afternoon on board...

...with shops and restaurants doing a booming business.

Here is a stairway I missed when I posted pictures of stairways on board.

This one is between the Royal Promenade on deck 5 and the Photo Gallery on deck 4.

And, here is another important stairway I missed before.

This one leads from the Royal Promenade on deck 5...

 

...to the Casino Royale on deck 4.

 

And, this is the same staircase looking up from deck 4.

Back on deck 5, this is a day to shop for some great merchandise.

Or, stop in at the barber shop for a shave and a haircut.

Here is artwork on the wall...

...Bull and Bear bar.

At the end of the Royal Promenade is the elegant Champagne Bar.

Every time we take a stroll on deck 5, there is something else to see.  It is quite easy to find your way around this huge ship with maps and directories at every turn.

I hope you are having fun here.  Who knows who or what we will see on board tomorrow.  ;)

Very best,
Lois

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Vera Wang by Wedgwood Love Knots Toasting Flute Pair 

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Hat to Match Cowl Scarf - Knit

Good morning,

This project went quickly and I am very happy with the results.  These sets of cowl scarf (yesterday's post) and hat (my pattern below) for my twin granddaughters worked up very quickly.  The yarn is very soft Bernat Germantown (#4) so should be very comfy to wear.

See below for the pattern.

Very best,
Lois

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Hat to Match Cowl Scarf - Knit

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Hat to match yesterday's cowl scarf:

10 1/2 dp, 1 set each 24" circular and dp needles

cast on 80 st., work in round being careful not to twist

k2, p2 for 3" (~15 rounds)

Next: *k5 rounds, p1 round, k1 round, p1 round. Repeat from * for a total of 5 times.

Decrease for crown:

knit one round

Next round, k3, k2 tog around

knit one round

Next round k2, k2 tog around

knit one round

Cut yarn 18" from work, thread into yarn needle, thread yarn through remaining stitches, pull tight, make a few stitches to hold in place.

Make a pom pom and sew in place.

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7" Double Point Bamboo Knitting Needles 14 Sets of 5 Pieces per set (70 pieces in total) 

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Cowl Scarf - Knit

Good morning,

Recently I showed you the booties I made from a pattern I found in the Fall 2010 issue of Knit Simple Magazine, page 92.

While working on the booties, I admired the cowl scarf pattern in the center column.  The pattern is an adult size, but I wanted to make it for my twin granddaughters.  They'll be nine years old next month and like to snow ski, so this looks like a great scarf that won't unwind, untie, or blow in the wind or get tangled while they are skiing. The alternating rows of knits and purls produce an accordion-type fabric that will fold together neatly and comfortably at the neck without too much bulk.

To make it smaller, I simply used a thinner yarn than called for in the pattern and it worked out perfectly.  Of course, I made two of them and have now started hats to match by incorporating a similar pattern stitch. 

I hope to have the hats finished tomorrow so I can publish my pattern for them if you would like to make them, too.

Enjoy,

Lois

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 Lion Brand Yarn 470-108A Classic LB 1878 Wool Yarn, Dusty Blue

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Weighty Decorating at Sea

Good morning,

That's a picture of my bathroom sink above.  Not my sink at home, but my sink in my stateroom aboard Freedom of the Seas.  And, yes, that is granite.

I'll take you for a walk to see some more of the granite on board.  This is the elevator lobby near my stateroom.  Yes, that is a strip of granite behind the 10.

And, that is granite in the corner of the elevator.

I stepped out of the elevator on deck 5 where I found granite borders around the shop windows...

...and granite on the floor of the Royal Promenade.

It gets better:  this is more granite decorating the doorway of one of the shops...

...and this beautiful display is further down the Royal Promenade.

These pretty squares tie the other flooring designs together on this floating "street" more than one and a half American football fields long.

Even the planters are granite.

Until I started this journey to photograph the granite on board today I didn't realize just how much there is here.

Granite flooring is part of the artwork of the ship.

This is the floor and front of the Guest Relations desk;  the top of the desk is also granite.

More granite flooring and planters...

...and even more designs to connect to the next area.

Yes, there are other guests on board. I've been asked where the people are in some of my picture stores.  I had to laugh because I sometimes wait for quite a long time for the areas to be clear to be able to take the pictures. 

I have another series of images coming soon with plenty of people in them, but these floors are so pretty, I waited to get pictures of them without anyone or anything covering them.

I have moved to deck 4 and am now walking through the Casino Royale.

And, sure enough, there is also granite...

on the bars...

 ...and sales counters.  This one is in the Photo Gallery.

I walked back through the Centrum where the columns are also granite...

...through the entrance to the dining room where granite surrounds a lovely design in the carpet...

...into the main dining room where a table at the entrance rests on still another circle of granite.

I recognize the outer rim of granite and part of the design within the circle as Norwegian Blue Pearl Granite, mined in Norway near where my husband was born and the same granite as we have in our kitchen at home.

It was time for lunch so I stopped taking pictures, but there is much more granite on board.  This ship is elegantly beautiful.

I hope you've enjoyed my tour of the granite on board Freedom of the Seas.

Very best,
Lois

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 Pegasus 61905 Blue Pearl Granite Vanity Top 61" x 22", White Bowl

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