About this Blog: Bread making recipes, knit and crochet projects, wood working, gardening, digital imaging, travel, cruise ships, Labrador Retrievers, and more....

About the Header Image: Idlebrook Wendy Darling Evensen "Wendy" one of our four Labrador Retrievers.

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Tuesday, May 31, 2011

Sea Day - Freedom of the Seas

Good morning,

We just love sea days!
Sure, it's fun to stop at ports, go ashore, look around....
But, the very best thing to do on a cruise ship...
 ...is enjoy the sea...
 ...and the ship. 

Otherwise, gosh, this could have been a land vacation.   ;)

Enjoy!

Lois

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Monday, May 30, 2011

Shrek is Here! Dreamworks Aboard Freedom of the Seas

Good morning,

It is Memorial Day in the United States and it will be celebrated in many ways.  It is the unofficial beginning of Summer and is often the first cook out for some of us.  Others will travel to see relatives; some will be working.  The important part of the day, though, is our remembrance of those who served and sacrificed to keep us free.  I hope you enjoy this special day wherever you are.

We are at sea this Memorial Day and I have pictures of Dreamworks to share!
It was so much fun to see the Dreamworks Parade aboard Freedom of the Seas!  As are all Royal Caribbean productions, this one is spectacular!
The ship's Royal Promenade, more than a US football field long becomes the parade ground...
for the Dreamworks characters that have come to life.

 Fifty five people are involved to pull off this spectacular event.



 Look!  It's Princess Fiona!  In addition to being Shrek's wife, she is also the official God Mother of Royal Caribbean's newest and largest ship, Allure of the Seas.
 Princess Fiona's mounted guards are here...
...and, if you look carefully in the center of the above image, her husband, Shrek, is here, too!


 In addition to having all these wonderful creatures on board, there is a TV channel dedicated to running Dreamworks movies.  We have seen some we didn't know existed.  They are terrific!
 The Grand Finale is when the confetti rains down upon all of us 

 This was soooo much fun!

Enjoy,
Lois

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Sunday, May 29, 2011

Freedom of the Seas - Here Come the Kids!

Good morning,

The children's program, Adventure Ocean, is terrific aboard Freedom of the Seas.  The children go in and don't want to come out for the entire cruise.
While sitting on the Royal Promenade at Bull and Bear with my friend, Martha, this group of children passed us singing.
There were such happy faces on the children and those of us who saw and heard them!  Sitting there felt as if we were sitting at a sidewalk cafe watching a group of school children pass.  I guess we were.  ;)

There are other children's activities, too.  I hope to get more pictures of them while we are here.

Enjoy!

Lois

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Saturday, May 28, 2011

Needlework Update

Good morning,

Here's another needlework update.  I'm having a wonderful time designing more clothes for my 18" doll, Ginger.  My pattern for this outfit is in the shop, too.  This sweater is knit in one piece from the bottom up with seams only at the shoulders.  The sleeves are picked up and knit in the round from the armholes so there are no seams.  I just love it that way.  The pattern in the yarn creates the fair isle-type design.
This one is in the finished stack now!
And, so is this baby set.
On the needles now is a sweater for my daughter, Catherine.  She knows I'm making this and now she can see a preview.  ;)

What are you making these days that are getting warmer and warmer here in the Northern Hemisphere?  From reading their blogs, I know my friends down under are making warm comfort food and warm clothing now.

Best,
Lois

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Friday, May 27, 2011

Casanova's Italian Restaurant by the Sea - George Town, Grand Cayman

Good morning,

As I ended yesterday's post My Honey and I had just arrived on Grand Cayman and were on our way to Casinova's Italian Restaurant by the Sea with our friends, Martha and Russell.
We were seated outside on the porch with a perfect view of our ship at anchor in the harbor, Freedom of the Seas.
Russell and Martha have sailed with us several times before and we have become good friends.  You meet the nicest people on cruise ships.
 And, here we are, in front of the camera for a change.
 If you can read the small print at the front of this, uh, vehicle, you can see it says, "It's a boat."  I love it!  I've heard of water taxis, but never a water bus.
We watched the dive training just below the porch where we were seated.
 
 I can't say enough good about the meal we had here.  When the bread and wine arrived, I knew we were in for a special treat.  My Honey drank Italian sparkling water that the rest of us also shared.  So perfect!
 Warm bread, oil, and balsamic vinegar.  Oh, so good!
 I took Martha's advice and ordered the veal and pasta.
 Russell ordered spaghetti and meatballs to appeared to be enough for three people.
 And, then dessert....  Creme brulee. *sigh*
 My Honey chose tiramisu.
 Russell's chocolate concoction is what I'll order the next time we are there.  Chocolate is a food group, you know.
 This place is fantastic!  What a find!  Thanks so much to Russell and Martha for taking us here.
 This is a view of Casanova's from the sea side.  The area with the umbrellas is anotehr restaurant and partially hides the porch from this angle where we were seated use a little while earlier.  That umbrella area didn't hamper our view of the sea at all.

We will return!

Enjoy,
Lois

Check out Watery Wednesday!

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