IN PURSUIT OF TRIVIA

October 15, 2017

We went to our first game of trivia tonight instead of listening to the operatic tenor.  It is risky to join trivia well into a cruise because teams are already formed, and some people   play trivia like they are winning a suitcase full of $20 bills instead of a plastic cruise line key  chain.  We were sitting by ourselves, content to play as a duet, when a team of 5 asked us to join.  We contributed 5 correct answers out of our total score of 10 and it would have been 6 out of 11 if one of us had spoken louder (like she was yelling at me).  The winning team had 12, so I thought we did okay.  We were invited back to play tomorrow, but tomorrow’s show on the World Stage features the singers and dancers – our favorite – and the next day’s talk, my last for this cruise, is Henry Morgan, another new talk, and I’ll need the extra rehearsal time.  So we probably won’t do trivia.

We were almost finished supper tonight with 3 other cruisers, enjoying being able to talk in a normal conversational tone when a bunch of loud ruffians appeared at an adjacent table.  There went the neighborhood.  Bonnie and I had Chinese Chicken Stir Fry for supper tonight – my first Chinese in over two weeks, and it was very good.  Could have had a little more of the sweet and sour sauce, but tasty nonetheless.  And we each had twice-baked potato soup and chilled mixed berry soup.  She ordered first, and I copied her.  She had a  cherries jubilee sundae and I had peach crisp with a scoop of French vanilla ice cream for dessert.  All was yummy.

There was a good crowd for “The Spanish Main and the Search for Eldorado.”  One man stroked my ego, telling me I was the best of the three speakers.  I responded by saying, “Huh?’  So he repeated it.  Shame on me.  One person said, “I thought you were going to talk about brown gold.”  When I replied with a blank look he said, “Brown gold that the conquistadors took back to Queen Isabella.”  Still no response.  He said, “Chocolate!”  Oh, sez I – that will go in a future talk.  Thank you, sir.  Another man asked me, in Spanish, “Do you speak Spanish?”  I replied, in Russian, “No, but I speak a little Russian.  No Spanish, however.”  He said, “I thought so.  You mispronounced several words.”  I laughed and said, “I am confident of that.  I mispronounce English.”  And he laughed.  Some people!  Tomorrow is “When Pirates Sailed the Atlantic” and some of the worst jokes on the high seas.  Also to be shown will be: one of the greatest pirates of all time who was from Puerto Rico – Number 21, playing right field, Roberto Clemente.



By my reckoning the football game should be into the second half.  Hopefully the Steelers have more points than the Kansas Citys.

Well, she guesses she’ll blog tonight, so ...

TTFN

Well, 2.5 miles yesterday and 2.7 miles today.  Makes me hurt like mean dog at night but it keeps me moving.

It was a great morning for my walk today. The weather was not too windy or cold. Yesterday morning I walked at 6:30 in the morning and today it was about 9am. I took one extra turn today at 1:15 because the theater wasn’t open yet when I went down after lunch.

Today was better than yesterday. By the end of the day yesterday I was not feeling good at all. Two sleeping pills, off to bed at 8:30 and I slept 11 hours. Tonight is better. We get to turn our clocks back again tonight and then, every night till we get back to Ft Lauderdale, two more times.

It is hard to believe our cruise is almost over. It has been a wonderful trip except for the snafu in Lisbon and trying to get on the ship.  It is hard to get on when no one knows your name or where your room is. I hope they do a better job when we try to get on in Athens in November.

Hey Mikey did you hear about Ophelia heading for the coast of Ireland and England. The Captain said it is the first time in 30 years since a hurricane has hit there. Wow, and it is supposed to be a Category 2. That was in our Captain’s talk at noon today.    The last two days the Captain’s talks have said things your Dad is saying in his talks. Quite a coincidence.  

I have been making real good progress on my scarf. I have to crochet it 254 cm long and I am up to 160 so far. Then, I have to finish the 2 pockets it has and put on a hood. It should be cool when I finish. Now for some cold weather. The ship puts a condensed New York Times paper out each day and I have been keeping up with the temperatures in Atlanta, Washington DC, Rome, Athens, and Moscow. Athens has been in the  60's and low 70's and Moscow in the 50's. We will travel through the Moscow airport during our trip to Athens. I do hope some of our stops are a little cooler on the next cruise, but this one has been nice.

The trivia game was fun, but it is hard to give answers when you are in a group of 7 people. Tonight’s answers were all related to the nautical field. Your Dad did real good. We went there because I really didn’t want to listen to an operatic tenor. I am sure he was good but I really don’t enjoy songs sung in foreign languages. I have been to ones in French and  Italian before on other ships.

Well, we are back in the room. I am drinking some Mio water and playing scrabble.  I still have my nightly pills to take, brush my teeth, then we will probably head to bed. Even with the clocks turned back it is about 9 pm now. Good time to go to bed.  Miss you all and will see you in about 4 days if you come for a visit.

Jennifer or Amy please get a gallon of 2% milk, a loaf of wonder bread and a dozen eggs for us before we get back on the 18 th.  Thank you.

I have already made out my grocery list for our”Thanksgiving “ Dinner on the 28th of October. So I am already to go shopping when I get home.

Good night all, Love Mom, Granny and Bonnie