The Uttermost Parts of the Sea ** COMPLETE** Florida begins with Post 206

[unixgirl]

April, thank you so much for posting this. As usual I've been drawn into your life for a short spell through your story telling. I hope RC recovers fully. As someone who spent nearly 10 years on boats I do have to come down on his side on this - there is absolutely nothing, nada, bubkiss, you can do when stuck in the middle of an ocean. My family once decided to tell me that my b-i-l had a suspected brain tumour when I was stuck in a similar oceanlike situation and I really wish they hadn't told me. After that I phoned home much less as I was powerless to change anything.
As for those ***** adults who were mobbing the pin trading and fobbing off knock-offs on Poot, I'm really sorry that it turned from such an exciting experience into one that can best be described as seeing the way some adults behave in truth rather than how you would want them to behave.
I'm glad the barkeeper was a help, it was recommended to me by my kitchen fitter.
Funnily enough I've been to St. Johns for a long weekend as I had a friend who lived there - it was a great weekend. I've sailed across the Atlantic (we called that a steam) starting in the Shetland Isles and nearly called in at the Azores as we had a broken engine but just limped along instead.
I've also sailed up to Hammerfest through the fjords with work and then spent time in the artic circle. The scenery was fantastic.
Thanks for the TF update - I think having an extra year before boarding school is a good idea as he seemed a bit "raw" to go as early as was planned.

[Guest]

Originally Posted by Melbatb

Where to start April!

First of all, so sorry to hear that RC has to have surgery- how awful it must have been to have been hit when innocently crossing the road. I am just happy that it wasn't worse. You must have been beside yourself with worry.

Secondly, I would have also been furious about the pin trading events. What is it with some adults Poot was rightly upset.

I like Barcelona - but we go out of season as ot is only 4 hours away in the car. O went for a week's Spanish training at Toussaint and really loved it! But you do have to watch yourself - and your bag. I once found someone with his hand in my rucksack that was under my arm. I was quite (ok - very) rude to him. I double and triple zip things in it but F's diabetes stuff was roaming free so it could have been a disaster!

I don't know where I stand on a cruise! J has zero interest and I am not sure that I could stand it either. Perhaps we will try once the kids have flown the nest!

Thanks for the highs and lows so far - I guess there are a few more pages to come

See more...

A few more pages? What makes you say that, Mel?


What appealed to me about a cruise (and what I did INDEED like most about it in the end)...was that you unpack ONCE - but get to go to several places. When I was younger I LOVED a road trip (and I still enjoy them in America or Canada) - but now the ease of just unpacking the once - and, in addition, never having to think "Where's a good place for dinner in this (new) city?"...well, it was very nice indeed.

Sorry for the atrocious run-on sentence there.


I would definitely do more cruises - and I'd look specifically for ones that allowed independent exploration of the ports. R.C.'s cousin and her husband did the Panama Canal cruise, though - and they said it was the best holiday they'd ever had. I would like to make that crossing one day. But again, it seems cruel to plan something like that without R.C. - unless I was doing it as some kind of girls' trip with friends or DM...


As to Barcelona - it seems...not meant to be. R.C. has no interest...


OK...an aside here...just among us gals. We've never been anywhere before (as a family) where R.C. had to rely on me 100% in order to communicate - and OH, MY LORD it was funny to travel with him in Spain. You'd think he'd fallen into a "Black Jewels" novel. Mwa-ha-ha...the women have ALL THE POWER now! I've never seen him so twitchy. And then he DROVE BACK TO FRANCE TO EAT.


...possibly because he doesn't speak the language - and I don't think I'd want to go without him. I'll keep working on him - and I DEFINITELY won't be telling him that some sleaze-o almost made off with your kid's INSULIN!


And thanks. I'm still worried about R.C. I don't think his body can really recover properly if he continues to push himself so hard. I'm sure there are DOCTORS (and you know, people who KNOW STUFF) that say otherwise, but it seems to me that what aids recovery most is sleep. I am DREADING the weeks after surgery when he won't be able to drive. He does very poorly relying entirely on others...


As to the pin thing - you know that I'm not exactly Pollyanna (!) - but even I was surprised to see that all go down.

Poot knows me so well, when I was trying to calm him down he looked at me and said, "Mother - please don't say 'Man's a mad animal.' That doesn't really help."


What? You mean other mothers of ten year olds don't quote to them from Marat/Sade...?

[jemima2]

Oh my ! Where to start? Sooo glad to see you two again ! What a run of dramas though... 😕 poor R.C and what a shock for you to hear that over the phone... 2 DAYS after the event 😮 Have to mention the pin trading incident... the anger I feel on Poots behalf ! Also nice fellow travelers you had when you fell... ? Despite all that I laughed very hard at your report... the fig jam was just the icing on a very funny cake 😂😂😂😂

[Guest]

Originally Posted by unixgirl

April, thank you so much for posting this. As usual I've been drawn into your life for a short spell through your story telling. I hope RC recovers fully. As someone who spent nearly 10 years on boats I do have to come down on his side on this - there is absolutely nothing, nada, bubkiss, you can do when stuck in the middle of an ocean. My family once decided to tell me that my b-i-l had a suspected brain tumour when I was stuck in a similar oceanlike situation and I really wish they hadn't told me. After that I phoned home much less as I was powerless to change anything.
As for those ***** adults who were mobbing the pin trading and fobbing off knock-offs on Poot, I'm really sorry that it turned from such an exciting experience into one that can best be described as seeing the way some adults behave in truth rather than how you would want them to behave.
I'm glad the barkeeper was a help, it was recommended to me by my kitchen fitter.
Funnily enough I've been to St. Johns for a long weekend as I had a friend who lived there - it was a great weekend. I've sailed across the Atlantic (we called that a steam) starting in the Shetland Isles and nearly called in at the Azores as we had a broken engine but just limped along instead.
I've also sailed up to Hammerfest through the fjords with work and then spent time in the artic circle. The scenery was fantastic.
Thanks for the TF update - I think having an extra year before boarding school is a good idea as he seemed a bit "raw" to go as early as was planned.

See more...

Aw, Liz - thanks for that.

I wrote...somewhere...that it feels now like when I write these posts, I'm writing them for you and my other TR amigas - so when I proofread I'm always having to put in things like "as some of you know" - I dearly hope that doesn't come off like Mean Girl inside-joke nonsense. It's a tricky balance to get right (or wrong, as the case very well may be).


10 years on boats - were you in the Navy? (Does that sound as stupid as it looks on the screen?) Because those are some amazing travels! I keep thinking about the Shetlands and the Orkneys...


ANYWAY...I do appreciate that there wasn't anything we could have "done" per se - but what I would have done was paid for the extortionate Disney wifi and emailed some friends, etc...and got them to bring 'round food and things like that. I love R.C. partly because he's so stoic - but with that quality comes an unwillingness to ask for help. People (well, GOOD people) WANT to help - our only worthwhile acts in life are the ones we do for others!

Did your brother-in-law recover?


When I was a kid, Disney really was "another world" - it was so far from the scum and sleaze of nightclubs, and people really did seem to behave BETTER there. But I think those days have gone. I saw it at the parks, too. People saying and doing things that they never would have done on Disney property forty years ago. It's just sad.

Lol, Cazzius calls my posts "rich in moral outrage" or something like that...and I think she's right.


And with you entirely on TF...hmm...perhaps he'd benefit from exposure to a...Geordie accent.

[Guest]

Originally Posted by jemima2

Oh my ! Where to start? Sooo glad to see you two again ! What a run of dramas though... 😕 poor R.C and what a shock for you to hear that over the phone... 2 DAYS after the event 😮 Have to mention the pin trading incident... the anger I feel on Poots behalf ! Also nice fellow travelers you had when you fell... ? Despite all that I laughed very hard at your report... the fig jam was just the icing on a very funny cake 😂😂😂😂

See more...

Ah, Jemima! I was JUST thinking about you!

The fig jam thing was classic R.C. And I can't stay angry with him when he's all innocent and earnest (hmm...after fifteen years of marriage he probably KNOWS that...).


But yes, good and bad in our holiday, and in our life - like always.

Do you like Paul Laurence Dunbar?

I often think of that poem of his...

...A pint of joy to a peck of trouble,
And never a laugh but the moans come double;
And that is life!

[Goldia]

It feels like the highs outweighed the lows on your cruise, although RD did rather trump all the other lows so I'm not counting that.

The Azores looked beautiful in your photos. And so did you both, even with your grey hair and Poots double chins.

My favourite sign was the bacon one! contains pork

A real shame about the stampede Poor endured while being master of the pins. What is it about people when they are after a freebie?

Another shame about the loud and rather rude passengers. I can remember vividly the urgent cry from the back of the car that the toilet is needed right NOW, there isn't always time to look for the facilities and better to water a bit of grass than have an accident.

I'm glad that not all the passengers were like this and you were friendly with the Scottish group. It sounds like Disney bounding is all the rage on board.

Oh and Justin Timberleg is hilarious!

[unixgirl]

Originally Posted by GopherLass

Aw, Liz - thanks for that.

I wrote...somewhere...that it feels now like when I write these posts, I'm writing them for you and my other TR amigas - so when I proofread I'm always having to put in things like "as some of you know" - I dearly hope that doesn't come off like Mean Girl inside-joke nonsense. It's a tricky balance to get right (or wrong, as the case very well may be).


10 years on boats - were you in the Navy? (Does that sound as stupid as it looks on the screen?) Because those are some amazing travels! I keep thinking about the Shetlands and the Orkneys...


ANYWAY...I do appreciate that there wasn't anything we could have "done" per se - but what I would have done was paid for the extortionate Disney wifi and emailed some friends, etc...and got them to bring 'round food and things like that. I love R.C. partly because he's so stoic - but with that quality comes an unwillingness to ask for help. People (well, GOOD people) WANT to help - our only worthwhile acts in life are the ones we do for others!

Did your brother-in-law recover?


When I was a kid, Disney really was "another world" - it was so far from the scum and sleaze of nightclubs, and people really did seem to behave BETTER there. But I think those days have gone. I saw it at the parks, too. People saying and doing things that they never would have done on Disney property forty years ago. It's just sad.

Lol, Cazzius calls my posts "rich in moral outrage" or something like that...and I think she's right.


And with you entirely on TF...hmm...perhaps he'd benefit from exposure to a...Geordie accent.

See more...

You could never be a "Mean Girl" as you don't exclude anyone and are generous in your inclusion and thanks for everyone who comments (as you always have been).

I was not in the Navy (doesn't sound foolish at all as I didn't give any context). I was in oil and gas doing marine seismic surveys which meant I got to travel to various places around the world.

When I say that there is nothing you could have done, I mean to have got home earlier. In effect you are trapped at sea (except for very exceptional, life threatening circumstances) and feel fairly helpless even if you could rally round help. I hope that doesn't sound heartless or offensive - RC was putting you and Poot first and thinking that when you could do something he'd let you know. My b-i-l didn't actually have a tumour, so all's well that ends well (and this was a very long time ago).

As for Disney and people not behaving as they would have done in the past, I only have 1 experience from 16 years(ish) ago to go by prior to my recent visits so I defer to you . I have to say that people have been generally very nice when I've been there.
Then again there were the people near the front of the Disney fireworks who put their children on their shoulders, effectively blocking the view for everyone else behind them. Also people who were big (tall) and then then held up their massive phones above their heads recording all the fireworks :angry:. I try and watch the event and capture only small bits with devices to give a flavour.

I think TF would be completely baffled by a Geordie accent but it would be amusing watching him trying to make sense of it. Actually RC would probably be almost as baffled . I maintain that my accent has mostly gone except for when I'm talking to another Geordie and then it reappears.

[Guest]

Originally Posted by Goldia

It feels like the highs outweighed the lows on your cruise, although RD did rather trump all the other lows so I'm not counting that.

The Azores looked beautiful in your photos. And so did you both, even with your grey hair and Poots double chins.

My favourite sign was the bacon one! contains pork

A real shame about the stampede Poor endured while being master of the pins. What is it about people when they are after a freebie?

Another shame about the loud and rather rude passengers. I can remember vividly the urgent cry from the back of the car that the toilet is needed right NOW, there isn't always time to look for the facilities and better to water a bit of grass than have an accident.

I'm glad that not all the passengers were like this and you were friendly with the Scottish group. It sounds like Disney bounding is all the rage on board.

Oh and Justin Timberleg is hilarious!

See more...

You KNOW how rubbish my photos are - so when someplace looks good in MY snaps...it must be beautiful.


And...thank you. Just this morning I was going through all of the holiday photos (I have around 2,000) with R.C. (to see which one he wanted me to print for his New Year's cards) and there were like TWO that he thought were "good enough".


"No, not that one. (Poot) looks childish."

"AHEM...he's a child."




People after a freebie are BONKERS. But it was the CHEATING that really made me nuts. And the cheating of children...


Not to be indelicate...but when Poot was small we got used to carrying a BUCKET in the car on long journeys. I've been on the M25 when they've had to close it. Same with autoroutes in France. You just never know - better safe than sorry. So far we've never needed it...but it still comes with us every time. R.C.'s best friend sat in the Eurotunnel for something like seven hours one night...I live in fear of that happening to us!



As for the dressing up...

There was an English family on the Magic who we saw queue for every character. And the mother of the family had arranged character-specific outfits for all the family members - for EVERY character. It was amazing. They ALL had Mickey/Minniebounds, Marvelbounds, Prince/Princessbounds...and I would TOTALLY do that, too - if I could get either of the chaps in my house on board (oh, dear...no pun intended). But HOW MUCH LUGGAGE must they have brought?

In the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique, boys COULD get togged out like the ship's captain...and I offered Poot the chance...but he shot me down.

I liked "Justin Timberleg" so much that I started faffing about on the computer last night (while I was waiting for R.C. to get home from work - he finally rocked up around midnight, sigh). Did you know there are "Pirate Name Generator" websites?

I did not - but now I do...and "pirate me" is...

Opal "Knee Biter" Gummo
"The Spirit of Rattlesnake Cove!"

This pirate be having a spiritual vision. Or should that be a spirit-fuelled vision?

and R.C. is...

Finn "Bearded Beast" Smith
"The Poison Claw of Bottle Inlet!"

This pirate be known for his merciless rule of the ocean!

pirate.namegeneratorfun/

[unixgirl]

Fun - I am
Your pirate name is:
Mae "Blue Mane" Craggs
"The Cutlass of Skull Gulf!"
This pirate be sharp of wit and sharper with sword!

[Guest]

Let us know if you want us to call you "Blue Mane" from now on.

Poot and I have just done my mother...she is...

Vera "Lazyjacks" Veal
"The Raider of Booty Atoll!"
This pirate be fierce and fast and ruthless as they come!

Now I will go back and give your previous comment the attention it deserves.

Wait...no, sorry - Poot's vexed. He wants me to post HIS name, too. It's:

Jacob "Handsome Sailor" Noon
"The Terror of Castaway Bight!"
This pirate be frightening away all the natives. And all the other pirates!

OK...that's all.