I have added a couple more sections under Reminiscing but have not made the announcement publicly yet.  I will wait until I have finished to 2008 the year that I retired.

Well, the weather forecast has come true - we did get our freezing rain over night and a bit of a drizzle during the day.  It does not look very nice out there.  A good day to stay indoors for sure

I get e-mail ads from Royal Caribbean on an almost daily basis so have been looking at cruises for 2020.  Already! You can't start too early and everything is on sale with 60% off the second traveller.   I see a couple of 10 and 11 night cruises out of Fort Lauderdale for March but also some 7 night one out of Tampa.  Checking the prices a back to back out of Tampa for 14 nights in total is only slightly more than a 10 or 11 night out of Fort Lauderdale.  The only problem with the Tampa ones would be visiting pretty much the same ports.  Will have to check with 'The Boss' about that.

Yes I have finally made it back on here.  I certainly do not know where the time goes but it just does seem to flit away sometimes.

I am getting back at the reminiscing again and have copied all of the previous entries and will be adding them under a new menu heading of Reminiscing.  I think that makes a bit more sense than adding them kind of willy-nilly as blog entries.

Once I get the separate write-ups entered I will add a couple of photos as well.

Our days are drawing closer to our next cruise.  We well be leaving here on the 06 March to drive to Florida, spend a couple of days with our friends there and do some bird watching and sight seeing.  Then proceed to Fort Lauderdale for a 10 night cruise to the Easter Caribbean retuning on 25 March.  From there a drive home with a stop over in North Carolina to visit some newly found relatives.  Back hope and hopefully this year the snow and cold will be gone.

I have started some hydroponics again and the first batch of herbs are doing quite well.  A second batch has been started and coming along as well as a few in soil as well. 

I am debating on starting seeds before we head south or wait until I get back.  Everything you read about starting seeds for transplanting is start 6 to 8 weeks before transplanting which would be the middle of March.  Beginning at the first of March would be about 10 weeks before transplant.  I have done that in the past and the results vary.  Will just have to wait and see how I feel the last week in the month or the first week next month.

Sadly I have become a "fair weather" runner.  This winter has been brutal for running with the sidewalks covered in ice and snow and the roads not much better. To make up for that I have started a more or less regular walking routine which should help.  I am planning on doing some treadmill running on the ship.

I have finally signed up for my two races of the year - the 5K in the Tamarack Race Weekend in May and the 5K Army Run in September.  I did very well last year and hope to be able to do the same this year.  Of course I would be happier to beat last year's times.

​That should be about if for now.

I am just sitting here looking out the window and wondering if winter has already arrived.  It started to snow sometime last night and then a bit of rain mixed in.  The mixed rain and snow continued over night and there was a bit of accumulation on the ground this morning.

According to the official Canadian Weather Service the statistics for the  Ottawa airport for yesterday: 27 October 2018:
Max: 4.7 °C   Min: -1.7 °C
Total Precipitation: Rainfall: 2.6 mm Snowfall: 3.4 cm Total 7.6 mm

The snow has continued on and off during today as well.  It is a good thing that I put my garden "to bed" yesterday.  Did things a bit differently this year.  Instead of pulling up the tomato plants and composting them I cut them down leaving the roots in the ground to compost in-situ and just laid the bush on top of the ground to compost over the winter.  In the spring I will probably just dig what is left into the soil.  Because I left what was left of the tomatoes on the plant no doubt I will be getting some tomato plants sprouting next year.

I pulled the sweet potato plants and was surprised at the number of tubers that were attached to the roots.  Sadly they were only about the size of a pencil so not big enough to save for eating.    I decided to see if there were any more buried in the soil so I started digging up with a garden fork.  When I dug up the sweet potatoes and got a few. For the amount of return based on the cost of the individual plants (about $2.00 each) I don't think I will be purchasing any next year.  If I have any left over and they sprout shoots I will plant them.  It will also be interesting to see if any grow from the small ones that I just turned over in the soil.

NO regular potatoes next year.  I didn't get a one from this years crop.  I am not sure just what happened because the plants looked well and healthy at the beginning of the summer.  I was just covering them with straw as I had done with good success in past years but this year one of my neighbours suggested that after a couple of  initial covers I just leave them and let photosynthesis take over.  So that is what I did.  And then along came a horrendous number of Japanese Beetles and even with spraying with insecticidal soap they completely decimated the plants leaving only a few stems above ground.  So not sure if it is my fault, the beetles fault or a combination of both but not going to bother next year.

During the upcoming week, supposed to warm up by Wednesday, I will do the garden in the back yard and decide on where to plant my garlic.  If I decide to plant it here I will have to get a bale of straw from the farm, if I decide to plant at the garden there is already a bale there.  I will also have to spread what is left of the top/garden soil at the garden.  I think I will use it to fill the rows that I was using for the potatoes.  Just put the soil over the straw that is already there and then plant some root crops next year.

Over all I am fairly satisfied with my vegetable gardening this past year.  A few changes for next year are in the offering.  No pole beans, no one eats them, only a few green beans at a time, the same with lettuce.  I was also told more beets.  A couple of different planting times for carrots, did that this year with fair results.

Now that winter is fast approaching it is time to start looking for an ocean cruise to somewhere warm next March.

The drive from New Smyrna Beach to Port/Fort Lauderdale took a bit longer than expected because of highway construction which slowed traffic to stop and go.  At one point it took us 50 minutes to go a total of 9 kilometres!  And then just as we took the exit off of I95, and while we were still on the exit ramp the GPS said that we had reached our destination - the Park & Go cruise ship parking area.  After a couple of U-turns we made it to the parking lot which had a direct access from the exit ramp.
After pulling into the Park&Go under a shaded canapé the attendant unloaded the RAV and put the luggage onto a shuttle bus.  Once the bus was fully loaded we said good-bye to the Rav and it was only about a 3 minute drive to the ship.  The driver unloaded our luggage and a porter put it on a cart and that was the last we saw of it until it was in front of our cabin.
Ship check-in was a breeze. We received our Ship's Passes which you use for any transactions on the ship and also to go ashore and rebound.  Your credit card is linked to the pass so while on board no need to carry anything except the pass and your good humour. The airlines have a lot to learn from these people.
Once checked in it was off to find our cabin, change into our 'cruise clothes' and then off to the buffet for a spot of lunch.
When we returned to the cabin there was our luggage by the door so it was time to unpack and hang this in the closet and stow the suitcases under the king size bed.
The ship departed right on time so we waved good-bye to Port Lauderdale for a relaxing week and a half to see and explore some new and exciting places.
After doing some minor exploring it was time for supper.  On booking I opted for "My Time Dining" and picked the time for 7pm every night.

Supper 19 March on board ship  Serenade of the Seas cabin 3540
19:00 supper
Wendy - Mushroom soup, horseradish baked salmon, hazelnut chocolate cake w chocolate sauce 
Bill - Shrimp cocktail, prime rib of beef, creme brûlée 
8 choices for each course

YES! There were 8 choices for each course and we later found out that the top four changed daily while the bottom four were constant.  The four constant were could be considered your standard meal i.e. Shrimp Cocktail, New York Strip Loin Steak, Creme Brûlée 

Because of our supper time we missed Tropical Theatre entertainment with comedian Mike Pace.

All in all, even with the bit of rough start with traffic and getting a little lost,  it was a pleasant first day sailing.

11 Nights Southern Caribbean
Royal Caribbean
Serenade of the Seas

Bird watching in Sebastian Inlet State Park
Famous for White and Brown Pelicans
​and
Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge