Yet another Christmas-time post
Greetings from Montreal, Quebec, where we've been docked for 3 days. There have been major delays due to ice and extreme cold. We were originally supposed to be back to Hamilton on the 18th, and haven't made it there yet! We might get to go into the locks tomorrow, and it takes about 4 days to get to Hamilton from here (normally it's 36 hrs). Once the ship unloads in Hamilton, it goes to winter layup. The cupboard is pretty bare. My 2nd cook and I have made 3 trips to grocery stores since coming aboard, and won't be getting the regular order til we get to Hamilton. A friend is on another ship with the same company, and has been following us up the Seaway. She's been kind and given me a few things to stretch our meager supplies. I also visited a friend in Montreal who sold me 2 turkeys she had in her freezer. They're small but at least everyone will get some.
This is the end of another 90-day job share, and I'm now on the same ship I was on last December. I was also on this ship in July for 3 weeks. It's been a good season, including a month on a tugboat, cooking for only 9 people.
My biggest personal accomplishment this year is finally paying off my debt (not including the mortgage!). I started off with $60k in credit card debt (miss-spent youth) and will be paying off the last $1400 next week. It will be so good to have that off my back.
Friday is my 40th birthday. Not sure how I feel other than it's worth celebrating. When Mark asked what I want for my birthday, I said "a birthday party". Unfortunately the weather and the ship's schedule is not helping. Definitely won't have the party on my birthday, and Mark is still trying to determine when the party will be. It will be good to see friends and family. We're having a gaming night with pizza and a pot luck dessert table.
Mark is wrapping up another season with the ship re-fueling company. He's got enough hours in now to start the process of getting his 3rd Engineer's ticket. He'll be working on that this winter.
We liked our cruise so much in January that we're going on another one. This time we're flying to San Juan, Puerto Rico and cruising from there. We also will spend a couple of days there when we get back from the cruise. I'll start going back to the union hall in February to see if I can pick up some winter work. I might also just get a part time job to pass the time until shipping picks up in the spring.
This is the first time since 1996 that I haven't been home for Christmas. I'm actually ok about that. We have a nice dinner planned for the guys and will be having a sandwich buffet for lunch. I'm going to try making a ham and swiss stromboli for the first time. One thing we do have a lot of in the freezer is pizza dough.
I haven't had much time to glean Christmas videos from YouTube, so all I can do is wish you a Merry Christmas, and a Happy New Year!
This is the end of another 90-day job share, and I'm now on the same ship I was on last December. I was also on this ship in July for 3 weeks. It's been a good season, including a month on a tugboat, cooking for only 9 people.
My biggest personal accomplishment this year is finally paying off my debt (not including the mortgage!). I started off with $60k in credit card debt (miss-spent youth) and will be paying off the last $1400 next week. It will be so good to have that off my back.
Friday is my 40th birthday. Not sure how I feel other than it's worth celebrating. When Mark asked what I want for my birthday, I said "a birthday party". Unfortunately the weather and the ship's schedule is not helping. Definitely won't have the party on my birthday, and Mark is still trying to determine when the party will be. It will be good to see friends and family. We're having a gaming night with pizza and a pot luck dessert table.
Mark is wrapping up another season with the ship re-fueling company. He's got enough hours in now to start the process of getting his 3rd Engineer's ticket. He'll be working on that this winter.
We liked our cruise so much in January that we're going on another one. This time we're flying to San Juan, Puerto Rico and cruising from there. We also will spend a couple of days there when we get back from the cruise. I'll start going back to the union hall in February to see if I can pick up some winter work. I might also just get a part time job to pass the time until shipping picks up in the spring.
This is the first time since 1996 that I haven't been home for Christmas. I'm actually ok about that. We have a nice dinner planned for the guys and will be having a sandwich buffet for lunch. I'm going to try making a ham and swiss stromboli for the first time. One thing we do have a lot of in the freezer is pizza dough.
I haven't had much time to glean Christmas videos from YouTube, so all I can do is wish you a Merry Christmas, and a Happy New Year!