Outdoor Wednesday

Photos from our cruise.

View from the ship. Gulf of Mexico.

Port at Cozumel

Ocean at Cozumel

Larry parasailing. Not me, not fond of heights.

Now, this is the life.

Beautiful beach at Mr. Sancho's.

Visit with Susan at a A Southern Daydreamer for more outdoor pics. She has some fabulous night sky lightning pictures.

Tabletop Tuesday

Marty at A Stroll Thru Life hosts Tabletop Tuesday each week. She always has the most beautiful vignettes in her home.

I found a massive (heavy) candelabra at a local antique shop last Saturday. After trying it in several different spots, I decided on the side table in my dining room.

Added the candlesticks from my mantle. 

And a couple of rose bushes.

And a couple of chests.

Circle of Friends figurine from Home Interiors & Gifts

Be sure to drop by A Stroll Thru Life to see  a menagerie of beautiful table tops.

Take care and God Bless.

Cruise -- Part 3

Things to do, continued . . .

There were shows each night by a cast of dancers.

A ventriloquist.

A juggler. This guy was so funny.

A comedian followed him, but most people enjoyed the juggler much more.

The ship had 3 or 4 jewelry stores and they stayed pretty busy. Prices ranged from $10 to hundreds of dollars.

A casino.

Basketball and volleyball.

A piano bar. I so wanted Kelsey to be able to sit down and play "Clocks" on that piano. But, I didn't really think they would let her.  She says she's going to have one of those one day. I hope she does.

They had dance classes, a spa (pretty expensive), a gym, a coffee shop, karaoke, and the list goes on. There was a room for children, pre-teens, and teens with activities planned for most of the day. Parents were able to drop the children off at any time and pick them up whenever they wanted to. They had teen dances, etc. in the evening. Some started at midnight. I bet the teens loved this because they were able to stay up all hours of the night.

To sum it up . . .  there was something for everyone.

Until later  . . .

Take care and God Bless!

Cruise Part 2

Let's see. What to show and tell today?

Things to do!

This place was always too crowded for me. And it was really hot. I usually checked out the shady, cool areas.

If I knew how to play chess, I would have. This was in a cool, shady area. I really need to find where I can purchase these chess pieces. We have a concrete chess board in our back yard.

Now, I do love to play putt putt golf. I'm not sure why I didn't take time to play. This small course was on the top and front of the boat. And oh my, it was very windy. Some days, I could hardly stand up.

Food was available 24 hours a day. This is the formal dining room. Although we only had to dress formally on one evening. There were 4 or 5 different buffet areas on the Liddo deck. Breakfast was served from 6:30 to 11:00. You could get traditional breakfast foods, pastries, or omelets.

Then you could get burgers, hot dogs, chicken strips, etc. from one line. Another line had fish, some type of chicken or beef. It was more of an American food line with steamed veggies, diced potatoes, etc. A pizza line was open 24 hours a day. The kids like it. I had one piece and was not overly impressed. There were too many other things to choose from.

Another line had a Mongolian buffet. You took a bowl and added the veggies you wanted, handed your bowl to the chef, and he cooked it in a WOK. You had a choice of shrimp, chicken, or beef, or you could get a combo. There was also a choice of three sauces. I cannot believe that I didn't discover this buffet until the last day. Otherwise, it would have been my daily choice. I should have known whatever was served there was great because it always had long lines.

There was also a salad line daily. And the kids favorite. Ice cream. All day, every day. You could even call room service for ice cream. What more could you ask for?

During our formal dinner, each night at 6 pm, we sat with the same family each night and had the same wait staff. Each evening we chose whatever we wanted from a menu. We usually chose an appetizer, from a choice of 6-8 items and a main entree, from a choice of 8-10 items. Although, you could choose as many of each as you wanted. Then when we were finished with the meal, they brought out a dessert menu. Here again, we had a choice of 5 or 6 desserts. Here is my favorite.

The melting pot cake. Oh my gosh. It was so very rich that I could not eat it all. And the serving was not that big.

This was probably one of my favorite meals. Lobster and shrimp served with broccoli and potatoes. Yummy!

Thanks to Kelsey, I could do a whole post on food. She was the food photographer. But, I am too lazy to start over. So, I'll continue on food and things to do tomorrow.

It's getting late so I'm going to put in a movie and work on some applique for a bit. Until tomorrow . . .

Take care and God Bless!

Cruise Highlights -- Part One

I felt so rested while I was gone but now that I am home, I feel like I have little energy. It could be that 100 degree temps are taking their toll on everyone.

We left for our cruise on Sunday morning driving to Mobile, Alabama. The trip was a little over 10 hours but just about the whole time was interstate driving. Going through Lake Providence, LA  on US Highway 65 was one of my favorite places. I thought I took a picture, but I guess I didn't.  The interstate changed into a 2 lane highway that ran parallel to the Lake. It seemed so peaceful--like a lazy little town. 

We spent the night in Mobile, AL just a few minutes from the port. Our hotel was close to a small creek that had alligators in it.

I know Louisianans are probably used to this, but it was a novelty to us. Of course we gawked and took pictures.

We checked in at the port around noon on Monday and was on the ship by a little after 1 p.m. It wasn't too bad waiting in line. We all went ahead and got passports even though the cruise lines still accept a photo id and birth certificate. In the next year or so, I think passport books or cards will be required. When we left the ship and returned, we had to show our ship card and a photo id.

Our ship was the Carnival Elation.

The view from the ship looking back at the Port of Mobile.

One of the two pools. This was the most popular, especially with the children and pre teens. I found it too crowded. In fact, I don't any of us got in the pools during the cruise.

The atrium of the ship. It looks like a grand hotel, doesn't it.

I thought these stairs were beautiful. It was very hard to get a good photo because of the lighting. There were photographers everywhere taking photos. They then printed them out and put them up on display and passengers could purchase the ones they wanted. The pictures were $11 for a 5" x 7" and $22 for an 8"x10".  I assume they made a lot of money because people were standing in line to pay all day everyday.

Well, that's enough for today. I'll be back in a day or two with more.

Take care and God bless!

Gearing up for 4th of July

As promised on my Tabletop Thursday post, I have added my blue dishes to the patriotic quilt I'm using as a table topper. 

Be sure to visit Between Naps on the Porch for great table ideas. Thanks Susan for hosting once again.

Take care and God Bless!

A Wondrous Sight

I am generally not fond of storms. But, I can weather the thunder and lightning better than the wind. We live on top of a ridge and what seems to be a low winds on flat land are often high winds here.

Monday morning, I was giving my vehicle a thorough cleaning on the inside when some high winds came up. I shut my doors, grabbed all of the floor mats, etc and put them under the patio and headed indoors. In a few minutes I looked out the window and here is the awesome sight I encountered.

 

Isn't our Lord awesome?

I stood inside the door and watched the clouds. They changed quickly and the little storm rolled through in about 15 minutes. Out of those wondrous clouds, we got a few drops of rain. I guess they emptied out somewhere else.

I do believe we are in for a hot, dry summer here in Arkansas. The temps have already reached the upper 90's on at least 4 or 5 days already this month. We generally don't have these extreme temps until July.

Stop by A Southern Daydreamer for more outdoor posts.

Take care and God Bless!

Tabletop Tuesday

Thank you Marty @ A Stroll Through Life for hosting Tabletop Tuesday. Be sure to drop by for inspiration.

I decided to show my simple dining room table as it looks today. I just finished this patriotic quilt and wanted to show it off. I don't have very much red, white, and blue around the house but I did find these red and white candles I used at Christmas and these red party thingies (don't know what you call them) from Valentines Day.

I hope to get around to adding my blue dinnerware for Tablescape Thursday. Be sure to stop back by.

Take Care and God Bless!