Life Raft Training - Freedom of the Seas

Good morning,

Safety training is ongoing on board Freedom of the Seas.

While we were ashore in Labadee, Haiti, we watched as the crew performed a practice drill with a life raft.

The large orange life rafts are packed inside white barrels you'll find on deck four.  The lifeboats are used for evacuation of guests in an emergency.  The orange life rafts are generally used for crew evacuation after the guests are all safely off the ship.

 When deployed, the covered orange life rafts resemble alien pods in a science fiction movie.

 The crew performs regular lifeboat and life raft drills.  It's always a precision operation.

 After we began to walk up one of the hillside paths around the front of the ship we noticed the life raft was being retrieved and returned to the ship after the drill.  You can see it in the image above on the left side of the bow.

It is fascinating to watch the various tests and drills that are continuously performed.

All the best,
Lois

Grass and Flowers - St. Thomas, U.S.V.I.

Good morning,

The late afternoon sun was just right to get the image above in St. Thomas, U.S.V.I. 

It's so nice to see lovely flowers growing here when we have cold weather at home.

There is just nothing like beautiful flowers in bloom.  :)

Enjoy,

Lois

Needlework Update - February, 2012

Good morning,

It has been quite awhile since my last needlework update.  I knitted the adult size sweater above just before I left Cincinnati and put it in my Etsy Shop.  It has been purchased and has a new home in Hong Kong with two similar sweaters in children's sizes.  Others have found homes in Europe and in North America.  I have a hard time keeping these Cat in the Hat inspired sweaters in the shop.  Originally, I made them just in children's sizes, but am delighted to have gotten requests to also make them in adult sizes.  I plan to have more sweaters finished and in the shop by April 11, which is my next completion date for special orders.

This crocheted capelet will be beautiful to add style and warmth to any casual or formal outfit.  It's also in the shop.

I've made bottle covers in red, green, and blue and put them in the shop, too.  These are great table decorations and are gift wrap that won't be thrown away.

 And, finally, here is another card case.

 I can't seem to make enough of these, too.

 The most recent item finished is another basket weave tunic sweater for Daughter Catherine.  I made one of these for her in purple that she likes very much so it was worth a rerun of the design. She picked out this grey yarn herself. 

I made a fashion scarf for our granddaughter's birthday, but forgot to take a picture of it before I wrapped it and sent it off to her.

So, that's what has been keeping my hands busy recently.  I'm now working on two more sweaters that are already spoken for in Cincinnati.

I have more ideas than I have time which is a good problem to have.   I would hate to be one of those people who complains about being bored!  As Mom used to say, "Only boring people get bored."  Mom was very smart.

 Are you working on something now?

:),
Lois

PS - Are you on Facebook?  If so, would you be kind enough to stop by EvensensProductions on Facebook and "like" the page? I'm told the page will be listed in more places if I have more people clicking that "like" button.  Thanks!

Freedom of the Seas in St. Thomas, U.S.V.I.

Good morning,

We went ashore in St. Thomas, U.S.V.I. late one afternoon to take a few pictures.  At first, I was disappointed about the sun being behind the ship when I got ready to take the above image.

After I downloaded it, I really liked the "halo" effect around the bridge. 

We walked over to a newer shopping area that is near the marina.

Expensive toys. 

And, even more expensive toys.  ;)

 There are plenty of places to eat and shop.

 There are also places to stay.  If you sail in on your yacht, you might want to spend a few nights in a bed on land so this is a very convenient place to do just that.

 The name of the shop on the left is White House Black Market.  We didn't go inside.

 We continued our walk along the boardwalk and were able to get changing views of Freedom.

 This walkway goes all the way to the old downtown St.Thomas.

 We didn't go very far, though, since we had come ashore late in the afternoon.

 We made one final look back as we walked back to the ship.  High on the mountain you can see homes that overlook the harbor.  We will return here every two weeks and will plan another day when we can spend more time ashore.  Watch this space for more pictures of St. Thomas, U.S.V.I.

How beautiful.

All the best,
Lois

Sunset at Sea - View from Our Stateroom

Good morning,

We never get tired of this view.  What a beautiful way to end any day at sea.

Enjoy,
Lois  :)

Dancin' Cruise - Freedom of the Seas

Good morning,

There are many groups who cruise to be able to spend time together and enjoy a common interest.  Above are Maria and Marie, left and right respectively, and one of the dance instructors with their group in the center.

I met Maria and Marie at breakfast one morning and was invited to join them and take some pictures for my blog.

This is an afternoon learning and practicing session in The Crypt aboard Freedom of the Seas.

 By the time evening rolls around,

 these folks will be dressed in their formal attire enjoying the many dance floors of the ship.

 Click to contact Marie Periu, President of Cruise Connection, Inc. travel agency.  This is NOT the Cruise Connection transportation company that owns the buses you may have seen in Florida.

I enjoyed meeting these lovely people and watching them have so much fun.

Enjoy!

Lois

Wedding by the Sea - Labadee, Haiti

Good morning,

What a beautiful place for a wedding!  This is the pathway leading to a spot on Royal Caribbean's private island, Labadee, Haiti, where you can have a beautiful seaside wedding.

There had been a wedding here earlier in the day that we visited.

And, there are canon available to scare off pirates or other party crashers.

What a beautiful back drop for wedding photos!

All the best,
Lois

Going Ashore in Labadee, Haiti

Good morning,

It's another beautiful day at Labadee, Haiti. 

There's that handsome man with his camera again. The water and rock formations on Labadee are so beautiful!

Looking up from the dock side you see how very big Freedom of the Seas actually is!

This art is beside the entrance...

 ...where a fabulous day at the beach, a zip line, water sports, shopping, a picnic lunch...

 

...a cool drink, and more await.

 We were here this day to take these pictures on a beautiful sunny day. 

More pictures of Labadee to come....

Best,
Lois

The Fat Turtle - St. Thomas, U.S.V.I.

Good morning,

Now here's a guy who knows how to vacation!

This is the sign in front of a restaurant on the dockside in St. Thomas, U.S.V.I.

We didn't stop in this time since we walked past late in the afternoon, but perhaps another time we'll see if they serve lunch.  What a fun looking place!  Gotta love that turtle!

Best,
Lois

Jake, Catherine, and the Tree

Good morning,

That's our daughter, Catherine, holding her friend Erica's dog, Jake.  Below is the email I received from Catherine yesterday.  She sent it to me and to a number of our dog club friends. For those who don't know where all this is happening, Club Brit is Erica's home where she harbors, er, uh, rescues Brittanys.  I believe there are eleven dogs at Club Brit right now.

Here goes the story as told by our daughter, Catherine, about what happened when she went to walk Erica's dogs while Erica was out of town:

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Most of you have already heard about the fire department bringing Erica's dog Jake out of the tree yesterday from about 20 feet up.

Apparently, I didn't get the memo that Jake is supposed to be leash walked until we have a solution to the dog climbing tree problem.

I also didn't really know what 20 feet up in the tree looked like until this morning.

I brought my pups up to play with Erica's pups and was enjoying my second cup of coffee when I saw a flash of Brittany White in the pine tree in Erica's yard.

Now, this tree is approaching 3 stories tall, and Jake is up there practicing to be next year's tree topper at Christmas.  Several small birds, perhaps tree swallows, are 180 degrees in the branches looking at Jake and laughing.

I approached the bottom of the tree, "Jake, get down here so I can kick your butt!!!" For some reason, this garnered no response.

I called Erica to tell her I was going in.  I took my phone with me in case I got stuck up there, "Help, I've elevated and I can't get down!"

About halfway up the tree, my two pups figured out that I wasn't where they could be with me, so then I started yelling, "I'm ok, I'll be down soon," in response to their frantic barking.  When I was within reach of Jake, I tried to get him to come to my by grasping the nearest part, his hind leg, and pulling.  No luck.  Another few limbs and I was able to grab his collar and pull him over my shoulder for the ride down.  At about A-frame height I tossed his butt out of the tree.  He promptly ran off to play by the pond.

When I arrived back on solid ground, I realized the tree had eaten my cell phone.  Still somewhat high on adrenaline, I got the dogs in the house, called Erica from the house line to let her know we were back from our space exploration, and then went back out for the cell phone. Fortunately, it was suspended like a strange fruit slightly above my head; no further acrobatics were necessary.

Erica and I are discussing having a video and photo crew for tomorrow morning's visit to Club Brit.  I'm sure it will film better in daylight.  See Toby for tickets to the event.  He's saving for a new foot massage pillow.

Catherine

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Tax season (or any time!) would not have been a good time for Catherine to fall out of a tree.  *sigh*

Catherine should be doing a circus act, or, at least stand up comedy....

Lois