2 mango martinis and a banana split

What a blissful day it was today!
I went to the fish market to get some cod, scallops and shrimp. As I drove there, I noticed how blue the skies were, and the flowers on the trees and the green budding leaves on others. The grass appears greener,
The daffodils as well as the tulips are all vibrant in colour.
Back home- I chucked the seafood in the fridge and pulled out my lounging chair. It was too beautiful a day to be indoors. Too precious to be doing gardening chores too, so I just sat on the lounger and read, napped and read in that order for the best part of the day.
I chatted with a friend in California for an hour and then I reluctantly decided to start on dinner.
Today we had mango martinis, codfish cakes, Chili Relenos, watercress salad, and Pico de gello for our meal. All made from scratch. Photographs were taken of these delicious dishes and will be posted when I am not so wiped out by those martinis.
After dinner, I caught my current favourite sitcom-‘Everybody hates Chris’.
I am quite enjoying ‘The Holographic Universe’ and I would recommend it to those who think Abraham-Hicks lack evidence…

To tell you that there is no such thing as random or coincidence- I first came across Fred Alan Wolf in the movie, “What the Bleep”. The next time I saw him was in the movie, “The Secret” http://thesecret.tv/, which was the first movie, I ever purchased and watched on the Internet.
He showed up again in http://www.monday9am.tv in “something for nothing”. He was also mentioned in The Holographic Universe. I love how this all comes together! Can there be any doubt that we are all interconnected or that we are all tapping into One Mind?

The Holographic Universe

I just saw the "Turn Off Your TV" week headlines, which started this week. I am amused. Really. For one thing, I grew up without TV initially, and when we did obtain one, I was far too engrossed in reading to give it up for a black and white fuzzy screen.
Nowadays, we have premium channels and all the HDTV that is available, and still, I will not give up my books for it.
Besides reading, I have taught myself jewelry making and beading, painting, embroidery and cross-stitch, faux glass painting, stenciling, scrap booking, card making and a ton of other stuff, which has not yet been named .
Some TV shows are interesting to watch such as 60 minutes, some episodes of The Sopranos, the early episodes of South Park, some PBS shows and a few highly entertaining movies. I watch for amusement and information not necessarily together.
Surely we do not need a "Turn Off Your TV" week to watch less TV. The interesting shows could be seen in less than 2 hours per week. So my big question is what exactly are people watching for so many hours to make it such a media alert?

Back to reading The Holographic Universe by M. Talbot.

Some things I know intuitively

Death is nothing more than a shifting of consciousness;
The energy of the individual being, is always with us.

Nothing is ever lost in the universe. Everything including every thought that has ever been, still exists.

There is no such thing as a co-incidence. For example my bank is trying to persuade me to invest in a mutual fund they are touting. This means more than 5% up front fees for the bank. I procrastinated because I am not feeling aligned. Today, the first thing I ‘happen’ to encounter online, is an article cautioning against that very thing!
According to Abraham-Hicks, "Procrastination is nothing more than your physical realization that you are acting too soon- that some mental alignment is in order. So procrastination is not a bad thing. It is the realization that the Universe has not yet sufficiently aligned the Energy." 2/8/91 Woo-hoo!!!

Bartering, eating, reading and blissing

I already subscribe to my local chapter of http://www.Freecycle.org, which is great for giving away stuff, but I find that I am wanting to trade my skills for those of others. http://barterzilla.com/ looks really promising. It is a newbie compared to
http://westernmass.craigslist.org. I am hoping that barterzilla really takes off.

Last Saturday we discovered a new Indian restaurant called Bollywood Café in Shrewsbury, across from Indian Café. The food was extremely tasty and everything was hot and fresh. We returned earlier today for lunch and were quite disappointed.
I guess it was the chef’s day off today, as the food was obviously prepared by his assistant or even the servers. It was that tasteless. Everything looked good, but lacked the balance of spices and flavours that is so unique to good Indian food. Even the kids in the restaurant were misbehaving. I guess they know what good food should taste like.
Next week we are checking out Indian Café next door…

Yesterday it was seventy degrees here, and today it barely got up to fifty. I liked it though, as it was the ideal weather in which to read ‘Angels and Demons’ by Dan Brown. It was completely unputdownable.
I read it in six hours straight. Now, I am about to read Da Vinci Code. These books were so popular for the last two years, that I was not inspired to read them before now.

I am planning to fill in the bare patches of my lawn (due to rocks) with clover. I think it is very beneficial to the soil and will look really good in the summer.
Clover has so many blessed advantages; I am surprised it is not in widespread use.

I am now going to prepare a pot of tea and settle down for even more blissing.

Panama Canal Cruise - April 3rd- April 13th 2006

April 3rd

After an uneventful flight from Boston to Fort Lauderdale, we taxied to Port Everglades for 15 minutes and another twenty minutes later we were on board our ship - The Coral Princess- 1:30 pm.
From our house to our cabin took a total of 6
Hours. Not once did we have to wait, not even for our luggage. What a great start to a great vacation!

Cabin A220 has its own balcony, which affords us views of the ocean. Right now I am typing these notes from my bed while looking out into the ocean and listening to the water swish by.
Feels good to be here.

Our cabin mates to the left are an English couple and to the right an American couple who loves country music.

We met with Jerry, our cabin steward from the Philippines. We alerted him to our personal preferences: feather pillows, pitcher of water, ice and fruit each day and then off we went for lunch on the Horizon Deck.

Turns out the Horizon Deck is just above us. We like the proximity to all this food!
Enjoyed a delicious lunch of grilled salmon.

Muster Station Drill or General Emergency Stations Drill took place in the Princess Theatre or one could watch it on TV in the cabins.
We were instructed on how to wear the life jacket and where to go.
On the Celebrity Cruise to Alaska we actually practiced the drill in real time. It was much more fun!

Ft. Lauderdale Sailaway on the Lido Deck with B-Sharp Duo was fun. The Cruise Director made sure everyone was in high-spirits for this.
My personal preference for a sail away is San Francisco and the Golden Gate Bridge.
The ship sailed 2 hours later than schedule, which we were assured, would not delay our arrival in Ocho Rios, Jamaica.

We went to the Lotus Spa and signed up for daily use of the Thermal Sanctuary Suite, which contained saunas as well as heated mosaic lounge chairs.

Dinner is in the dinning room with late seating for us.
We have four couples at our table.
It is nice to come together for the common goal of having fun!

The waiter could not find any hot sauce or Sambal for me, so they are going to get their chef to prepare some.

Right now though, it is very pleasant and relaxing to sit here with the gently rocking motions and watches the water.

The air is balmy, the skies are blue and I can truly feel the difference from whence I came. The air is softer here.

Day one closes with us sailing towards Jamaica.


Tuesday April 4th-
At Sea Day
Breakfast in the Horizon Court- Buffet style.
The pineapples were excellent! Coffee was also pretty good. Such a huge variety of food, but I am a coffee person in the morning, so I’ll wait for lunch…

We strolled around the ship for a bit, before enjoying the Thermal Sanctuary Suite where I promptly fell asleep on the on the heated mosaic lounge chair for thirty minutes or so. Then into the steam sauna for another twenty minutes and back on the chair…
Ah yes, life is good.

Lunch in the Horizon Court followed by games in the card room and Afternoon Tea at 3:30 pm.
I love afternoon tea on a cruise.
It is very relaxing and enjoyable as I get to meet all sorts of wonderful people who all have nowhere to go and all the time in the world to sit and chat.
No one looks at a watch, or speaks into a cell phone.
It is so refreshing to see others really enjoying life.

8:15 pm
Now it is time to get dressed for our first formal dinner.
This is always exciting as everyone dresses up in gowns and tux for a fun evening of fine food and celebrations.
The hot sauce was presented to me. It turned out to be medium hot very tasty chutney. They promised to work on it some more.

The Princess Theater featured “A Salute to Broadway” which was fun. The theatre is huge and the production is professional. We recognized the lead dancer from the Mercury (cruise to Alaska).
I met up with him later on, and he confirmed my suspicions.

“Wild Bunch Party” in the Explorers Lounge was not my style; all line dancing, which is too conformist for me. I am too much of a rebel for this type of entertainment, so we strolled over to the Universe Lounge where it was better, but alas bedtime won over at 12 midnight.

April 5th
Ocho Rios, Jamaica

Pleasant sitting out in the forward deck and watching our slow arrival into the port.
We got off a few hours later. Walked to the tourist village, which was over priced and over rated.
This is an extremely poor island where we were constantly hassled for money.

Walked into town and bought bottled coke from Trinidad, rum from Puerto Rico, Scotch Bonnet peppers sauces and Cocoa from Cadbury.
The exchange rate is $US 1.00 = $60.00 Jamaican.
The grocery store clerk, a kid who packed our purchases was very polite and did not beg for money so guess what? We gladly tipped him.

We made our way back to the ship where we did our Basking Rituals, which consist of two hours in the Thermal Sanctuary Suite followed by Afternoon Tea, Games, and chatting with shipmates.

Dinner was a Caribbean theme of which I enjoyed the flying fish and coo-coo the best. Pepper Sauce was not an option, however I had my own, thanks to a bottle of scotch bonnets, which I purchased in Jamaica.

Akos improved upon the Sambal which was better than the night before.
He promised to work on it some more.

April 6th
At Sea Day
Andre was fortunate enough to witness the sunrise this morning. We had a sit-down breakfast this morning, in the formal dinning room as opposed to the Horizon Court where Buffet is served.

More Basking Rituals…
I went to a lecture on pearls in the wheelhouse lounge but fell asleep for all of it. Not bad for a holiday.

When I awoke it was lunchtime and I had samplings of the Mexican Cuisine. The fried chicken breasts in cornflakes batter were particularly good.


At 3:40 we went to Afternoon Tea where we met with a lovely couple from New York. It was their first cruising experience. We shared our comparisons with Princess and Celebrity.

At 4:45 we checked the Horizon Court for Pistachio Ice Cream but it was already closed. We found instead, some amazing avocado sandwiches and some desserts, which were quiet, irresistible. (Yes, we are here to eat and bask)


Returning to our suite, we played a round of domino on the balcony until 6pm.

In the Princess Theatre we saw Claire Gobin perform on the violin.

Dinner was fun. I like our table, especially Don and Margaret.

We caught the magician who was funny. He performed in the Universe Lounge, which I really like. It is filled with couches or sofas and loveseats. Very posh and cozy and yes, I always fall asleep there.
The waitress asked me what I wanted to drink and I said, “Not right now” and she being Thai and brand new to the job, pulled out a pencil and pad and proceeded to right the name of the drink down!
I had to explain to her that Not Right Now is not a drink, it just means no. Needless to say, I crack myself up at that for a long time.

April 7th
Panama Canal
Woke up very early, breakfasted and watched our ship as well as the Galaxy manoeuvre their way into the first three set of locks in the Panama Canal. Incredibly fascinating and exciting to be a part of.

Boarded our Panama City Tour a few hours later with our magnificent tour guide Giovanni and our driver Tony. I initially expressed a desire for fresh mangoes, and Tony sighted some on a tree. He promptly pulled the bus over, climbed on top of it and picked me some mangoes.
Panama is a dirt-poor country, which is full of litter as well as abandoned buildings and begging children. Giovanni and Tony did make this tour one of the main highlights.

We enjoyed a few pre dinner cocktails on our balcony before going to dinner, which was an enjoyable affair.
They didn’t have a “Being Together” Anniversary to celebrate so we called it our 18th WA which was observed with a fabulous dessert made up of a mini sponge cake with a delicious chocolate filling and covered with dark chocolate icing. Yum!

We went to bed soon after since we had to be up at 6am.

April 8th
Costa Rica.
Beautiful. The most breathtaking country I have ever seen. The land is a lush green and bountiful.
We drove for 3.5 hours to the Irazu Volcano, which is a crater, filled with emerald colored water. The area is so peaceful. We saw all kinds of plantations on the way to Irazu. We even saw a sloth, monkeys and other creatures of the wild.
We stopped for lunch, which was local and delicious.
Stewed beef, rice and steamed vegetables, with black beans served on a banana leaf, followed by rice pudding for dessert. We finished off with freshly brewed Costa Rican coffee.
I loved the mountains, all the fresh air, all the bountiful, luscious fruits and vegetables I saw on the roadside stands, in the market place and in store fronts.

We have just now sailed from the port in Limon, Costa Rica on our way to The Bahamas.

I am sitting on the balcony typing these notes and thoroughly enjoying the balmy air along with my rum and coke.

Dinner in the dinning room was a delicious affair. We enjoyed tasty meals and desserts.

Tropical Night Party was great fun. Andre was a part of the musical chairs event. This is where the guys are up for grabs by the women. Andre sort of won this contest. I looked on with the judges.

Sunday April 9th
At Sea Day
We did a whole lot of Nothing. Woke up at 10 am, went for a workout, yoga and more Blissing Rituals
Lunch was pineapples followed by Afternoon Tea where we met another Canadian family from Ottawa and Calgary.

Dinner was very good and so was the Tiramisu.
We watched the Princess Dancers perform Salute in the lovely Universe Lounge.


April 10th
Grand Cayman.

We tendered to the Grand Cayman, where we went to the Butterfly Farm for 45 mins and then onto 7-mile beach for 2 hours. We had the beach all to ourselves and that was wonderful. The water was cool, clear and very inviting.

We walked to Singh’s Roti Shop, where we had some of the best dalpouri we have ever had anywhere.
We also met a Trinidadian couple that worked as photographers on the Galaxy.

They were with us in Panama and did the same route we are doing. They promised to email us photos of the Coral Princess going through the Panama Canal.

We embarked at 2pm and went for the hot tub, swimming pool, and steam sauna.

Afternoon Tea was refreshing as always. Met some folks from USA. The Tea Service staff is impeccable.
I really enjoy and appreciate the tea on this ship.
It is one of the most unhurried affairs, and I get to meet great people all the time.

Found some good ice cream in the Horizon Lounge as well.

Played dominoes on our balcony before taking a siesta before the evening events.

The Sambal was made by an Indian chef and it was very good! I asked for the recipe.

Tuesday April 11th
Costa Maya.

I walked into the fishing village from Tequila Beach and saw massages on the beach being advertised for $20.00 for forty-five minutes, which I did and it was the best massage I had ever experienced.
I spent some time browsing the shops which all had the same merchandise.

Returned to the ship for Blissing Rituals…

Wednesday April 12th
At Sea Day

Today is our last full day at sea. We had a lot to do, friends to meet, seafood buffet to sample, the cakes display where the desserts were the best of the whole cruise.

We also saw Sarge perform. He is a multi talented comedian.

This day went by in a whirlwind of activity.
We thoroughly enjoyed our cruise. I loved how people had time for each other, and did everything without cell phones and watches. Everyone we went was enthused and thrilled to talk about his or her lives and shipboard experiences.

Thursday April 13th
Disembarkation was the fastest and smoothest operation ever. We were out of there in time to catch an earlier flight to Boston.
In our house by 4:45 pm, 8 hours from the time we left the ship to the time we arrived home.

We had the best weather throughout our entire cruise.
Then again, we always do.

Cruising is our choice for vacations. We like doing a whole lot of nothing.