Starting to cruise

First order of business was to find coffee. We got to the pier around 12:30.

Cindy and I got in line to get on the ship at 2. It was a long process.

Our room 14th floor.

Sail away party. Free champagne!

Me and E.

Bye, Seattle.

Cindy and D.

Sunset.

Before dinner we saw a comedian from Ireland, Sean Finnerty.

We had dinner with E and D at Gumbae, a Korean BBQ restaurant. It was interesting.

Kudos for L

Our girl won fifth place in the quarterly awards today for being great at her job.

L and her friend J. Pretty dress she wore.

The award. She can wear it like an Olympic medal.

Can we leave?

Trying to get out town Wednesday and the weather wouldn't stop. Here Cindy and I are sitting in a downpour picking up Andy's prescriptions at CVS. Our flight to Seattle was scheduled to leave at 4:20 p.m. got pushed to 6:10 then shortly therafter moved to 7:42 p.m.

With time to kill we went to Costco so Cindy could but Peanut M&Ms for the trip. Then she found Reeses Pieces, sweatpants for Austin, chocolate-covered cherries, a Harry Potter hot chocolate kit, cashews and a Chicka Chicka Halloween board book for the grandkid. That's what happens when you go to Costco for one thing.

Andy drove Cindy and me to O'Hare yesterday afternoon for our flight to Seattle. The United Club wasn't accepting any passes so we sat at the gate and had overpriced McDonald's. The plane finally pushed away from the gate at 8:45 p.m. and were in the air a half-hour later.

We leave Thursday (today) on our Virgin cruise to Alaska. I'm not sure how much wifi access I'll have on the boat but will post what I can. Of course, I'll take travel notes along the way. I might be able to post a picture or two each day - maybe not - and will add more when I can. We'll see how that goes.

Sister in town

Andy and I went downtown Monday night to pick Cindy up from the train station. Yesterday we did the Goodwill circuit, starting in North Riverside and ending in Melrose Park (that's five stores lol). We stopped for lunch at Lou Malnati's because when you're in Chicago you should have deep-dish pizza.

We were at Westchester when heavy thunderstorms rolled through. There were tornado warnings and I wasn't going to drive in that so we browsed ... a lot. Andy's office had to shelter in the hallway. We spent so much time there lunch was our next stop.

Shopping, shopping. She got some good bargains - a big wicker sled, a Ruggable holiday runner for $3.19 (they retail for $200 and they had so many designs and shapes), some puzzles, a Disney T-shirt, a Creative Memories album with pages, a set of four "Christmas Story" pint glasses and a Vera Bradley medium duffle she'll take on the cruise in case she needs souvenir space.

I found a few things - two Creative Memories storage bags, a Kitchen Aid juicer attachment for $2 which should make margaritas a bit easier to make, and a Chicago Metallic brownie pan with dividers B had asked for ($5 but retails for $30-something. It's really heavy).

How cute is this? The longer you look, the more things you find.

D has a stocking

I've been searching all year for a Christmas stocking for D. The one I had been using was a bit too small. When I saw this one - and noticed that it had a D on it - it seemed like it was meant to be. And that Longaberger basket I don't need was $2.09.

Ruby loves it. I may have just purchased a fancy cat bed.

Western ‘burbs adventure

With nothing pressing to do Sunday, Andy and I took a drive out west. We were still in the suburbs but you know you're pretty far from the city when there's a horse crossing sign ... and corn and soybean fields.

It started raining and looked like it was going to storm (it did) so we stopped at this brewery, Tangled Roots. We were in South Barrington. Nice restaurant but a bit odd that it was part of an outdoor shopping mall.

Cheese curds for lunch.

The rain cleared up on our drive home and what a cool cloud. If you look closely you can see the flat bottom on it.

Bird puzzle

Ruby was trying to help put this bird puzzle together.

I got it new so all of the pieces were there and was able to finish it before I leave for Alaska!

Garden is going strong

We bought two Black-eyed Susans a while ago at Costco on clearance. One has started to bloom and has lots of blooms in waiting. The other one ... not yet.

This is a project I've been putting off for at least a week. Andy cleaned up the yard and decided for some reason to move this huge terra cotta pot. Of course it broke. Now I'm supposed to plant all of these Chicks and Hens in different pots.

Yard sale poster finds

I found these picture posters at a recent yard sale being sold by the photographer himself, Bob Gally. When he saw I picked out two U of I photos, he went into the house, saying he had another, but it was the football stadium I had already found. I considered getting three, one for each of my Illini grads, but I figured they probably wouldn't want something to hang on their walls. They haven't even taken their diplomas.

So I spent $1 each on the photos then found frames for about $8 each. I hung them in L's room, now our guest room. They're not quite level with each other but as long as I don't have to see them everyday, they're fine.

Nashville treat

Nice to go to work and find a treat on your desk. My co-worker, R, went to Nashville for the weekend and brought this back. Looking forward to trying it.