Author Archives: Holly

About Holly

fiber person - knitter, spinner, weaver who spent 33 years being a military officer to fund the above. And home. And family. Sewing and quilting projects are also in the stash. After living again in Heidelberg after retiring (finally) from the U.S. Army May 2011, we moved to the US ~ Dec 2015. Something about being over 65 and access to health care. It also might have had to do with finding a buyer for our house. Allegedly this will provide me a home base in the same country as our four adult children, all of whom I adore, so that I can drive them totally insane. Considerations of time to knit down the stash…(right, and if you believe that…) and spin and .... There is now actually enough time to do a bit of consulting, editing. Even more amazing - we have only one household again. As long as everyone understands that I still, 40 years into our marriage, don't do kitchens or bathrooms. For that matter, not being a golden retriever, I don't do slippers or newspapers either. I don’t miss either the military or full-time clinical practice. Limiting my public health/travel med/consulting and lecturing to “when I feel like it” has let me happily spend my pension cruising, stash enhancing (oops), arguing with the DH about where we are going to travel next and book buying. Life is good!

Catalina Island

Posted on 2023-02-12 by Holly

Given the comparative size of the Celebrity Solstice and the harbor of Catalina Island (Avalon side) it is no wonder that it is a tender port. Since there are mostly adults, a lot of whom seem to fall in the … Continue reading →

Posted in Cross-Stitch, Cruising | Leave a comment

And on to the Solstice

Posted on 2023-02-11 by Holly

We checked out of the Hampton Inn this morning and caught another Lyft back to the port. This time we are on the Celebrity Solstice – Pier 93. But it still means that you have to drive around the entire … Continue reading →

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Bridges, traffic

Posted on 2023-02-10 by Holly

and other bits of insanity. Getting in/out of the Port of San Pedro is insane. Yes, there is a cruise terminal. But really, it is a huge, industrial shipping port. The kind that moves thousands of containers a day. Passenger … Continue reading →

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and Packing

Posted on 2023-02-09 by Holly

and, as is often, the day before one departs is devoted to sorting and packing. I always prefer when such a day is not a port day. So my biggest accomplishment today, other than chasing Lev around a bit was … Continue reading →

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Towel Critters

Posted on 2023-02-08 by Holly

We are finishing this cruise with two sea days. Sea days on ship are much different when one has a toddler. So, rather than describe a day which had smiles, laughs, tears and all the usual.     and you … Continue reading →

Posted in Travel | 1 Comment

Puerto Vallarta

Posted on 2023-02-07 by Holly

Today we docked.         And you can see the obvious “great view” from our balcony on the starboard side of the ship.. And yes, that is a Walmart and next to it is a Sam’s Club.  The … Continue reading →

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Matzalan

Posted on 2023-02-06 by Holly

Today we docked and it was an easy route off ship. After wading through both the inside and outside port vendors it was simply a matter of following the extremely clearly marked Blue (Azul) line to the historic portion of … Continue reading →

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Cabo San Lucas

Posted on 2023-02-05 by Holly

Our first stop is Cabo. We sailed in early while watching the whales. It is a tender port as it turns out. Not ideal for getting off a ship with a toddler. So we didn’t. But actually I think that … Continue reading →

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Too many drunks

Posted on 2023-02-04 by Holly

There is a serious % of the 35xx+ passengers on this ship who are positive that it is 5 0’clock somewhere. I don’t get it. But then I fail to see the entertainment in being falling down drunk at any … Continue reading →

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Navigator of the Seas

Posted on 2023-02-03 by Holly

We three are heading off on an adventure…. Shana, Lev & I Boarding Navigator of the Seas in San Pedro for a week our schedule is below… Friday, February 3 Los Angeles (San Pedro), CA 4:00pmSaturday, February 4 At Sea … Continue reading →

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Long Beach, California

Posted on 2023-02-02 by Holly

My packing was pretty much completed last night, so this morning it was mostly adding those things which I missed on the first go round. It wasn’t clothing, that is easy. I pretty much take the same things on every … Continue reading →

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Silence

Posted on 2023-01-24 by Holly

may not be golden, not even considering that old song. But it certainly can be welcome. As a child of the 50s, starting university in the 60s, med school in the early 70s, I was never one for background anything. … Continue reading →

Posted in Computers & Software, Home, Prose | 2 Comments

phoneless

Posted on 2023-01-23 by Holly

Not  because I have anything against having a cell phone. In fact, for most of us, it has become a way of life. A handy little gadget that serves to handle photos, email, finances, directions, games, group discussions, texts…. That … Continue reading →

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Not snowing here

Posted on 2023-01-22 by Holly

It is Sunday. The Football playoffs are still underway. It was snowing in Buffalo which amazingly seemed to be worse for the home team than the visiting Bengals. In local news, the 49ers managed to hold on to their ‘one … Continue reading →

Posted in Basketball, Cross-Stitch | Leave a comment

presents

Posted on 2023-01-11 by Holly

the problem with hand making presents is not being able to share what you are doing till after the present is gifted. By that time, well, one can be throughly sick of the whole thing. In this case, it is … Continue reading →

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forgot to post

Posted on 2023-01-10 by Holly

Obviously, I wasn’t quiet with it for the last few days of 2022. Posting a belated finish – Leo Rising by LongDog Samplers. Stitched on a 16 ct BeStitchMe fabric that came in (I think) the Space Mystery Box with … Continue reading →

Posted in Cross-Stitch | 2 Comments

and more rain

Posted on 2023-01-09 by Holly

It has been on and off raining all day. Mostly off, except of course for the times that I needed to be outside.  Of course, then it rained. I will not bore you with errands. Or runs to BART. Or … Continue reading →

Posted in Home | 2 Comments

bouncing cages

Posted on 2023-01-08 by Holly

My intention this morning was clean up. Right, like that is going to happen.  Instead, we wound up over at Shana’s where George played with Lev while Noah and I put together a trampoline which now resides in her garage. … Continue reading →

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FFN

Posted on 2023-01-07 by Holly

is finished for now. I have managed to get the entire floral thing with pot stitched. It equals  78% of the total stitches needed for this section. The rest of the stitches are a single stitch border which will go … Continue reading →

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How Hot?

Posted on 2023-01-06 by Holly

Like many others, I prefer stitching full coverage pieces on pre-gridded fabric. I am not so naive as to believe that I can keep track of stitches at any significant distance. Counting errors happen. Since I prefer stitching along the … Continue reading →

Posted in Cross-Stitch | 2 Comments