Julie's 365 Day Journey

Only 335 more days to go!!

 Driving home from Detroit/Canada was a breeze except it rained and it was cloudy. I got home in time to have lunch with Maria and her family which was fun. Their nieces are the cutest things ever. They are three and six years old and can sit through any adult meal without an iPad, amazing! Their mom is really on top of her game. She brings coloring pages and orders perfectly so the kids are happy throughout the entire meal. Then I got to watch Purdue win another basketball game and the Eagles win their way into the Superbowl. I watched the KC Bengals game but I think the referees were questionable. I think the Eagles will win the Superbowl. 

   I have just spent 2 solid days at a needlepoint retreat. The Wool and the Floss hosted 18 women in Gross Point, Michigan, to share ideas, shop, get inspired and learn!  It was an excellent weekend. I thought Detroit was farther away but it wasn’t a bad drive at all. I will definitely visit them again!  My current project is a baby mobile for Leah and Eric’s bundle of joy. I hope it’s done in time for the new baby! I have no pattern for the little animals but I did use pictures and an old canvas for inspiration on the woodland animals. There are 8 of them all together. I got a lot of help from my new friends at the retreat. All but one of the animals were completed on my cruise travels in January. With the mobile complete, I am now working on these trees. There will actually be 3 of them and they will be gifts for the girls. I am using fibers I would have never used before this weekend but my new friends gave me encouragement to try something new! 

Today has been wonderful!  I am attending a needlepoint retreat at The Wool and the Floss in Detroit. I have met so many new people!!  I have also gotten great advice about my projects. Pictures will be on tomorrow’s post. 

Detroit Well actually I’m in Canada but my view is of downtown Detroit. It’s been a very long day with lots of driving. My day started with a new Bible study.  More on that later because I have to be honest; the wonderful women in this group are what made me want to join. My good good friend is leading it and she is excellent. All the other participants are people I met in my first study in the fall. There is something about meeting new people that can really make me step up my game. First I have to be a good listener otherwise I will never remember anyone’s name! Next I get to sit back and be enriched by someone else’s story. The key to these new relationships is to take any judgment out of the equation. Listen to this new friend and show no bias. Hear what they say and appreciate the life they are living.  This morning I sat next to someone who I probably would have never met outside of the study. Our lives are very different but her life story and how she is is living it right now m

  Today I got to see my WI daughter for dinner. She travels for work and frequently gets down to my area. We met at a restaurant but I couldn’t resist bringing my own dessert This sugar cookie recipe is sweet and soft. It’s made with powdered sugar instead of granulated sugar and just one egg. My grandmother’s recipe calls for 8 (!) eggs. Even halving her recipe makes dozens and dozens of cookies so making this small batch with another old recipe was a better choice.  This was my first time coloring the dough and it came out nicely. 

Woe. I am very tired. I’m back home from my lovely trip and 6 inches of snow is in the forecast for tomorrow. Bummer.  (Technically it’s Day 25 of the year but I’m still awake and I make the rules so for me it’s still Day 24.)

Today is a travel day back to the cold cold Midwest.   This morning I said goodbye to my month of fine living with one last plate of Eggs Benedict. My waiter, Alex, knew just how I liked it. I asked him if he would like to come back with me to continue this daily routine and he politely declined!😉 I can report that my first visit to the Centurion Lounge in the Miami airport was just delightful!

 5 reasons to take a cruise… 1. Coffee. On Celebrity Cruises, Cafe al Bacio is the place for fancy and simple coffees, sweet treats and people watching.  2. Food. All the time. Night or day. Early or late. I know buffets are not everyone’s cup of tea but you really have to use it for what it is. I never look at it like a gluttonous feast but more of all Julie’s favorites in one place. I can have a beautiful Caesar salad tossed inside a hollowed out wheal of parmigiana. On another day I can have eggs Benedict. Things I would never attempt to cook, like Indian cuisine, Is always available. They key is to not eat all those things at the same meal! 3. Never pack or repack. Once you are on the ship you can unpack and relax. Let the ship take you to every destination without the hassle of changing hotel rooms with every new day. As a single traveler this is a bonus. BUT I do think that over time a combination of different kinds of travel are necessary. A car trip across a large area can be a

 Early or late? Are you an early riser or late riser? Some people are early risers because they have to for their job or for the needs of their family. But really at your core when nothing and no one is requiring anything from you, are you early or late? I’m early. Everyday. Guilt doesn’t keep me from staying under the covers nor does ambition make me pop out of bed. I don’t understand my own body chemistry but I do know that the promise of a new day filled with the blessings of God pushes me onward each morning. Today’s beginning was exceptional. 

As a follow up to yesterday, I tried the get a photo of the sunrise but a heavy early morning rain got in my way.  My excursion today was to a somewhat secluded beach in St Kits. If you’re on a cruise and you have an opportunity to visit cockleshell beach, you must go. It was not fancy, but it sure was relaxing. Our group was able to stop for a picture of St. Kitts and Nevis with the Atlantic Ocean and Caribbean ocean in the same photo.  And to make the day even better, my news friends from the Carolinas were on the same excursion. We had so much fun! I usually meet a few nice people while I travel but this time I have 6 wonderful new friends who have made this cruise even more fun!

I’m waiting for the sun to rise while sitting at the back of the ship. We are currently sailing to St. John’s Antigue having already passed Dominica and Guadeloupe.  The moon phase is a waining crescent moon. Tomorrow or the next day I should be able to see the sun and the moon together as the sun rises below the moon. This is called the New Moon. Google has a lot of positive things to say about the new moon.  My first picture shows the moon and the sun. Although not yet aligned, you can see they are getting there.  Enjoy the beauty of the sun rising and have a very blessed day. 

 Barbados Hmmmm lots of opposites today… The port was ugly, but the beach was beautiful. I saw an old man and a young woman, and an old woman and young man. Both couples seemed very mismatched. I saw a man dressed, totally head to toe in Gucci and walking a monkey on a leash. Then I saw a woman in a teeny tiny bikini, carrying a child. Later on, I saw that same child streak across the beach wearing nothing. I’ll bet that mom wished she had the monkey’s leash for her child. The man in the lounge chair next to me told me a story about getting run over by a golf cart yesterday in St. Lucia. I told him my story of having a wonderful day in St. Lucia making chocolate. As we pulled away from the port I saw another rainbow. The weather was rainy and sunny all day  

 My day was DELICIOUS! My cruise ship pulled into St. Lucia with a bright sun and an excellent view. We arrived at 10am and I just happened to be on the deck of the spa and had an actual bird’s eye view.  My excursion in St Lucia was a cooking lesson on making chocolate plus an education on the local fruits and vegetables with tastes of their specialty dishes. Our first stop was at the Pink Plantation. We sampled fish cakes,  fried dough and fruits. The grounds were lush and tropical. I won the prize for knowing what most of the fruits were. I wasn’t any smarter than anyone else but I was willing to speak up.  I could have lived at that place. It was so beautiful. Our next stop was at the Howelton Estate. We took winding roads to a lush location at the top of a hill near the Pitans.  We learned how cacao grows, sucked on the seeds and witnessed the different phases of chocolate drying and preparing. Our lesson was hard work as our small group ground the cocoa nibs into a paste. We adde

 7:00am When the day starts like this, nothing can go wrong!

 Afternoons.   I love late afternoon. For me, it is always the time to take a little break with an espresso.  On a cruise ship my daily practice is elevated to include a treat. Yesterday the ship had small charcuterie boards in the buffet. Today they had small sandwiches and scones with clotted cream. Oh my! There was sun much of the day but now it’s a little overcast as we are passing by Punta Cana and San Juan on our way to St  Maarten tomorrow.  While cruising, I am also working on a big needlepoint project. I can’t think of a nicer place to sit and stitch.

 Wow!   Keep believing. 

 I have so many thoughts from my Disney trip but I’ll do a recap later in the month. For now I’m headed to the Southern Caribbean. I might share more later but if I don’t, here’s a picture off my balcony.