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The RV adventures of Sparky and (the late) Jett |
I had the stitches from my eyelid surgery removed yesterday. The scars continue to heal, but this minor ordeal is pretty much over.
My sister was alarmed by my day-of-surgery photo so I feel compelled to post this updated photo, to show her that I am recovering.
Marlene had eyelid surgery earlier this year and was very happy with the results. She recommended it to me and I had to admit to myself that my eyelids were drooping. Apparently the doctors agreed and the insurance company said they would pay for it, so yesterday, just to finish the year with a bang, I had my eyelids and eyebrows lifted.
I look like Frankenstein’s monster today, but it isn’t painful and I expect that I will recover quickly. But if I want to go out to celebrate the new year tonight it will be with a couple of black eyes.
Marlene’s “double whammy” health issues on the NCL3 cruise – flu-like symptoms and a swollen and discolored leg – has been diagnosed as a single problem – cellulitis, probably from a scratch she got while giving her dog a haircut before the cruise. She is on antibiotics now and the flu-like symptoms that subsided before the end of the cruise have not reappeared, so she is recovering. But the leg remains swollen and painful. Not a fun way to be at Christmas.
The doctor has advised her to keep the leg elevated, so we have been spending a lot of time watching movies while she lies in the recliner with two pillows under her leg. I doubt that she will be ready to dance on New Year’s Eve. But neither will I – I am scheduled for eyelid surgery December 30 which pretty much guarantees that I will have two black eyes then.
Are we beginning to show our age?
Copyright 2001 by J.A. Jance. Published by Avon Books, an imprint of Harper Collins, New York.
This is the first J.A. Vance mystery I have ever read. This one features J.P. Beaumont, a retired Seattle homicide detective. I guess I jumped into the middle of the series as this is #15 of the 23 Beaumont books Jance has written.
This was a great book to read while on a cruise because the entire book is set on a cruise to Alaska, on the fictional Starfire Breeze. Because the book is over 20 years old and because the cruise industry has evolved over that time, some of the details are dated. But not many. It captures the essence of cruising pretty accurately.
There are two murders here and they seem to be intertwined. In the end they are less intertwined than they first appear but figuring it all out is part of the fun. The first murder is Margaret Featherman, ex-wife of Dr Harrison Featherman who just happens to be aboard the ship for a medical conference. Quite a coincidence, right? Only it isn’t a coincidence – Margaret arranged to take the cruise with four of her closest friends, specifically to annoy her ex and his new wife. She goes overboard before dinner early in the cruise and no one sees it except for a man with Alzheimer’s who spends the day watching the very boring aft camera. No one believes that he saw someone go overboard – except Beaumont. He gets access to the security tapes and verifies that she did, in fact, go overboard. And not accidentally – the security footage is clear enough to see that she has duct tape on her mouth.
Beaumont learns that there are two FBI agents on the ship, posing as a married couple, with the task of both protecting Dr Featherman from a shadowy group called Leave It to God (LITG) who had a list of doctors who were performing cutting-edge procedures that saved lives that would otherwise be lost. Dr Featherman, who had pioneered an in vitro procedure to save genetically flawed fetuses, was on the list.
The second murder was the Alzheimer’s witness who was pushed off a train during an excursion in Skagway. A passenger who was associated with Dr Featherman – and who had benefited from Featherman’s life-saving surgery – was present when that murder occurred. The believe was that LITG had targeted him as well and had pushed the wrong man off the train.
Two interesting murders, some well-drawn characters, a shadowy killer organization, some romance (Beaumont and one of Margaret Featherman’s travel companions), all within the confines of a cruise. Great fun.
It was my first Jance book but it probably won’t be my last.
8 out of 10.
This was Marlene’s and my second cruise on Norwegian together. It was better than NCL2 (the trip to Alaska via the Panama Canal) in almost every way, except in one important one: Marlene was ill for almost the entire week. We didn’t use many of the facilities and entertainment options available on board – including doing no dancing, which was a first for us. But I can summarize the cruise as follows:
Highlights:
Lowlights:
If we decide to take another Norwegian cruise we will certainly consider the Encore. We really liked this ship. We will certainly not consider WeParkInMiami.
Marlene continues to have no fever so I think the flu component of her illness is gone. But her leg continues to be swollen and painful.
We had breakfast together in the buffet, then disembarked. We waited for the parking lot shuttle and had no real expectation that it would arrive, so we weren’t disappointed when it didn’t appear after waiting 50 minutes. But we were very annoyed. We took a taxi to the parking ramp and I expressed my displeasure at the service – or lack thereof – to the staff there. I also told the people waiting for the shuttle to be prepared to get a taxi because the people in charge there were a bunch of liars.
On our way to pick up Becky we made two stops: at Walmart to get some Christmas sweaters that she had seen people wear on the ship (they had none) and at an urgent care facility to have a medical professional take a look at her swollen leg. Marlene received a tetanus shot and a prescription for an antibiotic on the presumption that it was a bacterial infection. But she was advised to have her doctor look at it again on Monday.
Becky was overjoyed to see us and couldn’t wait to get into the car. The trip home was uneventful except for a stop at Goodwill, to sate Marlene’s need to shop after a week in bed. She bought nothing.
We picked up her antibiotic and she took her first dose. Then, even though it was only 9pm, we fell asleep while watching television.
It was a stressful week.
Finally! Marlene woke to find her fever gone. But her leg was still swollen and very painful. I ate breakfast alone and took food to her in the cabin.
She rallied enough by noon to spend some time in the pool. We then dried off, changed clothes and went to the crew talent show – always one of our favorite events on board. At it happened, that was the one and only time we set foot in the theater.
We spend time on the balcony in the afternoon and went to dinner in the dining room – our only visit to the dining room on the cruise. She had an entree of lemon pepper shrimp – one of her favorite dishes – while I had broiled bluefish. We shared a bratwurst. All very good.
After dinner we packed and put our large suitcases out to be taken to the terminal the next morning. Then we tried to go to the theater show. We thought there would be a late show, as on Carnival, but there was none. Instead we went to the casino. I lost a bit but ended the cruise up $220. Marlene also lost a bit but ended nearly $500 ahead. Because the cruise cost us only $75 each we ended up making money on the cruise. But Marlene’s illness overshadowed all positive aspects of the cruise.
Marlene continues to have a fever and her leg continues to swell. The fever is less – around 101 – but the leg swelling and pain is worse. We discussed the option of going to the infirmary, but she declined. I didn’t argue because while her condition is cause for concern, I doubt that much could be done for her. We decided to wait two more days then go to urgent care on shore.
Because she was still ill and we would have to take a tender to shore, we just stayed on the ship. She was well enough to spend some time on the balcony, soaking up the very intense sun. But I had breakfast alone, taking food to Marlene in the cabin. She was well enough to have lunch with me. After lunch I did some blogging. She did accompany me to dinner in the buffet, then we spent an hour in the casino. We both lost, but not much. We are both still ahead.
We played one game of rummy and of course she won.
We had a late night snack at The Local, the 24-hour restaurant on the ship. We shared pretzel bites, a salad and some large wings with a sweet chili sauce. Delicious! And free!
Yes, Marlene is still sick. Her fever comes and goes but she is generally lethargic and has no appetite.
I had breakfast alone and brought some fruit to her in the cabin. I spent some time blogging then we ventured forth into the port area of Falmouth – a place neither of us had ever been. Across from our place in port was the Disney Fantasy, so there were lots of families ashore in Falmouth.
As in most ports the goods were wildly overpriced. We bought nothing except two souvenir magnets. I saw a pharmacy and thought I could get more Tylenol, but the price there was about 50% higher than the already exorbitant price on the ship.
Back on board we had lunch in the cabin and I read while Marlene napped. She rallied enough to have dinner with me in the buffet, but she ate very little. We then spent about an hour in the casino. She lost a bit but I continued to win. Up $370.
Another day at sea. Another day with Marlene sick. And her leg is getting worse.
We did have breakfast together and went to the casino for a bit. Good decision for Marlene – she won a major (about $950) and is up over $500. I broke even.
We played some rummy and Marlene won the single game.
We had dinner in the cabin then watched a movie