Hi, Everyone! I never dreamed I'd be away this long!
I'm looking forward to catching up with my blogging buddies.
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We arrived home from Sydney with more than we bargained for: white pneumonia.
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We walked into our home, turned up the heat, turned on the water, and fell into bed.
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Now as an American I was thinking,
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And for Nicole, two special faces I found in an old box recently:
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The Ovation of the Seas Passes Behind a Famous Sydney Icon
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Till next time ~
Fundy Blue
On the Bay of Fundy
© M. Louise (MacBeath) Barbour/Fundy Blue
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I'm looking forward to catching up with my blogging buddies.
Terry and I had a wonderful time cruising on Royal Caribbean's Ovation of the Seas
from Honolulu to Sydney via French Polynesia and Wellington.
It was the adventure of a lifetime for sure!
Terry and I
Motu Ofetaro, a Public Park
Near Raiatea, French Polynesia
October 21 2023
© M. Louise (MacBeath) Barbour/Fundy Blue
All Rights Reserved
Motu Ofetaro, French Polynesia
October 21 2023
© M. Louise (MacBeath) Barbour/Fundy Blue
All Rights Reserved
And, in my case, it spread into my ears and sinuses causing chronic infections.
I never do anything halfway ~ lol.
I was stone deaf for a week,
but my hearing has been slowly recovering over the past four weeks.
We left Sydney on JetStar at 5:25 pm on Monday, November 13th on a nine hour flight
and landed in Honolulu at 6:05 am on the same day!
We were supposed to spend the day and night in Waikiki before flying home on the 14th,
but Terry discovered there was a flight boarding for Phoenix
in an hour and it continued on to Denver.
We joined the check-in line, and by the time we reached the counter,
Terry had scored tickets for the flight. I so love Southwest Airlines!
Heading Home on Southwest Airlines
Sand Island (left), Waikiki (middle) and Diamond Head (right)
November 13, 2023
© M. Louise (MacBeath) Barbour/Fundy Blue
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Six hours later, still on the 13th, we landed in Phoenix.
But the continuing flight was nixed,
and we had to hoof it to another concourse for a new plane.
Two hours later we were landing at Denver International Airport!
Home!
I'm sure the passengers around me were glad to get away from me.
I had a bad asthma attack during the flight, and my throat and ears hurt so bad
that I was plugging my ears and opening and shutting my mouth like a fish out of water.
The air around me reeked of the cough drops I was chowing down.
Sixteen hours in the air, and it was still the 13th!
And all our bags made it!
Denver International Airport
8348 miles or 13435 kilometers ~ as the crow flies!
January 10, 2023
© M. Louise (MacBeath) Barbour/Fundy Blue
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We reunited with our bags, caught the train to Gateway Park, and headed to our car.
My little white Forester looked so good in the dark and cold.
Until we got closer.
Everything inside it was tossed, the doors were unlocked,
and the steering column was badly damaged.
My beloved Subie was inoperable.
The vandal(s) must have been scared off,
because a heavy cross peen hammer lay on the driver's seat.
Terry called and reported the break-in to the Aurora police
(Like the police had time to worry about a vandalized car!).
Next he called our insurance company and reported the incident.
Then he called Uber, and fortunately someone picked up our ride.
It was 11:00 pm when the Uber driver pulled up.
I walked away from my Forester and never saw her again.
My Forester on in Our Garage
on the Day Terry Retired
February 20 2015
© M. Louise (MacBeath) Barbour/Fundy Blue
All Rights Reserved
We walked into our home, turned up the heat, turned on the water, and fell into bed.
The longest day of my life, literally, was a good 40 hours,
compliments of the International Dateline.
I couldn't get out of bed Tuesday morning.
Terry crawled out very early, while dealing with pneumonia himself.
He drove to the park-and-ride, met an AAA tow truck, and followed it
to Speedy Roo Motorsports where we've had our cars serviced for twenty years.
The owner Dave made Terry an offer and bought my Subie to part it out.
At twenty-one years old, my Forester wasn't worth salvaging.
Dave's now keeping his eyes out for another Forester for me.
Terry came home and fell into bed beside me.
I don't know how he got through getting the car dealt with.
Lord love him!
And then he rallied and took such good care of me,
bringing me food, coffee, and medicine for three days
before dragging me out of bed and carting me to urgent care (more antibiotics),
then nine days later to my primary care doctor (back to my old friend prednisone),
and then five days later to an otolaryngologist or ENT
(almost two hours of hearing testing, but no ruptured eardrums ~ whew!).
Terry cared for me until I until I got well enough to make dinner for him ~ lol!
Terry is the best, with me through the ups and downs, highs and lows!
Definitely a High!
Riding the NorthStar on Ovation of the Seas
300 Feet Above Sea Level
October 19, 2023
© M. Louise (MacBeath) Barbour/Fundy Blue
All Rights Reserved
Terry Walks the Track,
While the NorthStar Hovers in the Air
Ovation of the Seas
October 18, 2023
© M. Louise (MacBeath) Barbour/Fundy Blue
All Rights Reserved
It's a long Way Down!!!
Riding the NorthStar on Ovation of the Seas
300 Feet Above Sea Level
February 20 2015
© M. Louise (MacBeath) Barbour/Fundy Blue
All Rights Reserved
Our NorthStar Ride Included a Surprise Proposal!!!
Riding the NorthStar on Ovation of the Seas
October 19, 2023
© M. Louise (MacBeath) Barbour/Fundy Blue
All Rights Reserved
While we were in Sydney, we stayed at Quest St Leonards, a lovely apartment hotel.
Our room came with a compact kitchen.
Located minutes from a grocery store, restaurants, and the train station,
Quest was literally a godsend, because when Terry was too sick to get out of bed,
I could run to Rôll'd for hot curry chicken soup
or stop at the nearby grocery store and load up on Kleenex, mandarins, and pastries.
Our Room at Quest St Leonards
November 5, 2023
© M. Louise (MacBeath) Barbour/Fundy Blue
All Rights Reserved
Curried Chicken for the Soul from Rôll'd
So Good for Soothing a Sore Throat
November 6, 2023
© M. Louise (MacBeath) Barbour/Fundy Blue
All Rights Reserved
Rôll'd in Forum Plaza
St Leonards, New South Wales, Australia
A kind clerk at Quest gave us the address of the medical clinic he had gone to for years.
We had no problem getting into the clinic the next day,
and we're quickly examined by a kind Dr. Irina al Muderis ~
white pneumonia, both of us.
We left with prescriptions which we picked up in short order.
Said the receptionist as we were getting directions to the pharmacy,
"We're a caring and giving people, and we didn't want to give you this!"
OMG, I love Aussies!
The Med Clinic in St Leonards
November 6, 2023
© M. Louise (MacBeath) Barbour/Fundy Blue
All Rights Reserved
Country on the other side of the world,
no local insurance, a doctor's examination for two,
covid tests for two, and antibiotic prescriptions for two ~
What the hell is this going to cost?
Take a seat before I tell you:
$160 at the clinic and $40 at the pharmacy in Australian dollars,
or $129.83 in American dollars!
Did I say I'm in awe of Australia?
So fortified with antibiotics and determination, we went on to further adventures.
A Koala ~ Asleep, of Course!
Taronga Zoo, Sydney, Australia
November 11, 2023
© M. Louise (MacBeath) Barbour/Fundy Blue
All Rights Reserved
So, what's this got to do with a Christmas couch?
About three weeks after we returned home,
I went downstairs and started dragging boxes out of our Christmas closet.
Terry put his foot down ~ no six-foot tree this year!
He insisted that I take it easy and give myself a break,
because I was a long way from 100%.
So I have a Christmas couch!
Our Christmas Couch
Aurora, Colorado,USA
December 9, 2023
© M. Louise (MacBeath) Barbour/Fundy Blue
All Rights Reserved
A Favorite Piece of Art Hooked by Ida,
One of the Talented Rug Hookers,
at the Historical Society & Old Temperance Hall Museum
in Smith's Cove, Nova Scotia
© M. Louise (MacBeath) Barbour/Fundy Blue
All Rights Reserved
Of course, there is forever energy and time for me to display
the sweet tree my mother gave me the last Christmas she was alive.
It looks wonderful beside the Santa that my nephew and niece,
Neil and Jeannie, gave us when we were in Calgary for Christmas two years ago.
© M. Louise (MacBeath) Barbour/Fundy Blue
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We're both doing much better and looking forward to spending Christmas
in Santa Fe, New Mexico, with Terry's sister Noreen, Cathal,
and our niece and nephews Deidre, Kevin, and Conor.
A Favorite Christmas Past
Noreen (left), Kevin, Cathal, Conor, and Deirdre
Breckenridge, Colorado, USA
December 24, 2014
© M. Louise (MacBeath) Barbour/Fundy Blue
All Rights Reserved
What a wild year it has been!
I'm so grateful to be alive and kicking at seventy-three
and looking forward to more adventures in the coming year!
I'm linking to Rain's Thursday Art and Dinner Date and Nicole's Friday Face Off.
Rain's theme is Christmas Lights, so here are ours from last year.
(I have none this year.)
Christmas Lights
Aurora, Colorado, USA
December 24, 2022
© M. Louise (MacBeath) Barbour/Fundy Blue
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Terry's Parents, Marie and Edgar Barbour
on Their Honeymoon
Niagara Falls
September 1939
© M. Louise (MacBeath) Barbour/Fundy Blue
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And just because I think it's amazing, this will give you an idea
of just how big Royal Caribbean's Ovation of the Seas is:
The Ovation of the Seas Passes Behind a Famous Sydney IconSydney Harbour, Australia
November 10, 2023
© M. Louise (MacBeath) Barbour/Fundy Blue
All Rights Reserved
Enjoy the holiday season and have a great weekend!
Till next time ~
Fundy Blue
My next post will be soon! 🤞
On the Bay of Fundy
© M. Louise (MacBeath) Barbour/Fundy Blue
All Rights Reserved