My Shipboard Romance(s)

I asked to be placed at a table for 8 on my Norway cruise.

Having that many tablemates gives one a better

chance of finding someone with whom they are

compatible.

When I went down for dinner the first night,

I arrived at my table for 8 to find two gentlemen
 sitting on one side. I sat opposite them.

 That was it. Just the 3 of us.

They were strangers who had just met.

The guys were very British, Paul from Lincolnshire,

and Les from Liverpool. 

They were extremely difficult for me to understand

because their "British" and my "English" 

sound very different.

They were both widowers, and shared about

the deaths of their wives, 

 one 8 years previously and one 2 1/2. 

The second night it was just the 3 of us again.

I had shooed off the photographer the first night,

telling her we were total strangers!

Then the guys said something about the only

thing good about pictures is that you can send

them home to your family.

So I said, "Let's go for it" when the photog came.

Well, I had in mind going over and standing

behind them.

When I started to get up, Paul said,

"No, we'll come over so you don't have to move."

Very nice, I thought.

So they came around and sat on either side of me.

Then the photog asked Paul to move his chair

closer to mine, and he acted scared to death.

He said, "The next thing I know you'll be

asking me to put my arm around her."

So I said "Come here, you two, and threw my

arms around them!"

That's Paul on the right and Les on the left.

We were stopping at Bergen the next morning,
and I kinda hoped Paul would offer to walk me to
 the funicular. I had no memory of how to get there. 
It's a good thing he didn't. He logged 13,000 steps
that day, probably many of them before I dragged
my jet lagged self out of bed!

 The third night, I come down to dinner and only

Paul was sitting at our table.

Assuming that Les was not coming, I sat down 

beside him. I could not feature us sitting on

opposite sides of that big table!

Well, he stood right up and was going to move--

where I don't know.

I think it was because he knew Les would be there,

but he actually seemed afraid of me!

Les did come and sat casually across the table!

Dinner was extremely arduous, since I would

have to ask them to repeat everything.

By this night the tension in my shoulders was killing  

me after dinner.

The next day I was waiting for an elevator when a

couple approached me.

They said they were the only 2 at a table for 6 very

near my table, and they wanted to join us.

YES YES YES!

Their names were Bonnie and Mike.

So, would you believe, when I got down to dinner

they were already seated to one side of "my" chair,

and Paul was seated on the other!

I guess he felt they would be protection for him.

Although, mysteriously that night Paul began to

act a little less like he was in fear!

But it was good to have 5 instead of just 3.

Mike and Bonnie

 The next day I got off the elevator on my floor,

and there sat Paul on a sofa.
He didn't know my room number, and there
were 4 elevator lobbies on the 9th floor, so
I don't know how he found me.

I sat down and talked to him a minute, then told

him I was going to the art auction just out of curiosity.
(Both of us had kinda poo-pooed the auction.)

So...guess who shows up. First a floor above me,

calling my name, then sitting beside me!

By the way, Les had told a couple of people at dinner

that he had asked me to marry him. 

The first time he said I replied that 
"I would think about it!"

  The second that "He didn't have enough money!"

He met me in the hall one day and asked if he could 
give me a kiss.

 When I declined, he said "Just a little peck?"

Fast forward to the last dinner.

I asked Bonnie to take a picture of Paul and me.

Funny...he doesn't seem scared any more.

Now I'm scared!

Cruisin' Norway With The Brits!

Y'all, I was the only one on the ship that said "Y'all!"

It was Royal Caribbean's Independence of the Seas.

We sailed out of Southampton, which is near London,

so I guess it's reasonable that it was loaded with Brits!

One day there was a darling little boy on the

elevator, probably about 11 or so, and I don't

remember what I said to him, but he looked so

puzzled and asked, "Where are you from?"

I said that I was from Texas, and I think I

might as well have said "Mars."




Here I am on the plane to London--very excited!
(I got better at selfies.)

With my new London tote and my Kindle!

And here is a screenshot of the time I arrived in London.
They said it was 6:30 A.M.

Here's my first view of the ship.

And of my room!

Both were "lovely." (Used quite often by the Brits.)

And off we go!

Our first stop was Bergen, Norway.

I was very jet lagged and had been there before,

so I only barely got off, hoping for a picture of the ship.

Someone was so inconsiderate as to leave those green
shipping things in the way!

Geiranger Fjord...One of my 7 Wonders of the World.

We entered the fjord very early in the morning.

It is so quiet, so pristine, so majestic.
The huge ship glides along noiselessly.


I happened to look outside just as we were passing
this waterfall--called the Suitor. 
(I'll explain later)

The little village at the end of the fjord.

From my vantage spot.

And here I get my postcard picture!

Good thing I had learned to do a panoramic shot, since 
the Indy was too big for a regular photo!


I saw my first real drone here.
It was owned and operated by Ian and Victoria,
who became my friends.
See it there?

Ian flew it over the ship--

and waaay up high--

and right back down!

I guess you can tell that I was fascinated!
Ian is going to send the drone footage to me!

Back home.

We didn't sail from the fjord until about 7:00 P.M.
We passed the Artania as we left.

Here's my selfie as we cruised away.

I had left dinner early so that I might be sure to see the
Seven Sisters waterfall from my balcony.
As it turned out the captain did a 360 with that big
ship so that both sides could see equally.

So actually the Seven Sisters is not as impressive as
the Suitor--right across from it--that I photographed
this morning.
Get it? Seven Sisters and their Suitor?



Cutest towel animal EVER! 
He's reading the Cruise Compass for tomorrow!

Next...

I hopped on this little train--there really

are several cars behind this engine--

and went sight seeing.

The best viewpoint in Alesund.

That's the Independence over my shoulder.

My lunch on my balcony in Alesund was quite

an event.

I got a very nice ham and cheese sandwich and

fancy coffee and brought them back to my balcony.

Unfortunately I dripped mustard on my top and

had to rush into my cabin to try to remove it.

When I came back out...

Not so nice any more.

Leaving Alesund was such fun.

I took about a hundred pictures of this!

Which was just for us!

Only about the third time this has happened to me

in my sailing life.

My only official excursion was in Stavanger, Norway.

I took this small boat through the Lysefjord.

(We chuckled over the name of the boat.

It would actually be "Fjordspeed" in English.)

This waterfall up close and personal was fun.

We sailed into a cave which was hard to photograph.

But this animal lover's favorite stop was this:

The goats recognize the sound of the boat and come

down to be fed.

Note that in the closeup the goat has a piece of bread,

fed to him by the crew.

Then we stopped for this:

Waffles with strawberries and cream.

Almost as good as seeing the goats!

It was pouring when we got off the little boat.

Fortunately I had brought my umbrella,

which I had had to buy onboard because I

left all my umbrellas at home!

Here I am with Ian and Victoria (drone friends) 

on the Royal Promenade.

And then it was time to return to Texas.
Bye bye chaps!

It's been lovely!

Today Has Brought Some Tears

I haven't cried for a few months now--until today.

July 1, 2017, was one of the worst days of my life.

I had to have my beautiful Charleigh-Girl put to sleep.

I really thought God had failed to realize how very

much I needed her.

She wasn't the perfect dog, but she and I had become

perfect for each other.

What God saw that I couldn't was an approaching

period of time--about 3 months--when I would

not be able to take adequate care of Charleigh, 

even if she had still been in perfect health.

Much as I hate to admit it, I couldn't even take

care of myself!

I have made some effort recently toward getting

another companion (dog!)

I do not feel able to tackle the puppy thing again.

There were two of us when we got C-G, and our

home and belongings still show many battle scars

from her puppy stage!

I got a lead on a 4 year old female Sheltie,

only to learn she had been used for breeding purposes

and had not lived inside in a family setting.

Housebreaking a 4 year old? Not for me!

I have heard about a champion 2 year old who

had already been diagnosed with hip dysplasia.

An 8 year old--but that's considered geriatric in a dog!

A 5 year old who had chewed through a metal

crate and lost several teeth!

Once a chewer...

One day I'm willing to take on the many, 

multitudinous responsibilities

of a new pet and the next day I'm hesitant.

My prayer is that God will place the right one in

my path...but, "Lord, you need to do it soon!

I get a little lazier (and older) every day."

I will certainly always look back on the years

that Jack and I, and then just I, had

Charleigh-Girl as a great chapter in our lives.

We had absolutely no idea what we were getting into 

when we got her, but she was worth every dollar,

every headache, for the joy and companionship and

unconditional love she brought to us...to me.