Reflections on 80.

 The thing about life is that we never know how long we will retain our memory. That is why I am so happy I started this blog about quarter  century ago and record almost everything. (Wish blogs were invented long before though.)

I was reflecting on becoming 80 which sounded so remote up to a week ago.

 But now I will soon move away from that landmark and end up where I wonder?

This is why I am saving these pics to remind me of all who helped me celeberate, from nearby Plantation and Lauderhill to distant Sebring  all in Florida. 

Last year I had big plans with friends to go on a cruise around sections of Southern Africa from Mauritius to Cape Town in 2026, to celebrate this milestone. However, my heart objected, informing me that I have to stay close my cardiologist.

So,  I will be finishing off the celebration next month with my immediate family, on a cruise in the the nearby Caribbean. (Some have school till June).

It is what it is.

To get the celebrations going, we started started in Plantation where my good friend Carolyn hosted a wonderful dominoes session.

 (https://joan-myviews.blogspot.com/2026/05/dominoes-forever.html)

Horace, Carolyn,  uncle Lesly, uncle Ruddy, Hollden at dominoes on my birthday. 

Then it was off  to lunch with my Trini friend Helena.

Not only was the Trini curry goat delicious,  but I have to thank Helena for reomtroducing me to Indian food. For you see, I was in Sri Lanka exactly a year ago, and while it was a great experience,  there they not only curry almost everything,  but the hot spices nearly killed me!🤢. 

I had never met hotter peppers in my life and thus I swore off curry.

But the Trini version was a delicious, gentle reminder that not all curry is hot and my once favorite roti, bussup shut, was most welcome.

Bussup shut.

Next we finished off the celebrations in Sebring where Camille and I drove to,  to spend the long weekend  with my lifelong, bosom friend  Sunshine and my extended family.

Thr Golden girls aka the scrabble ginigogs😁

The octogenerian.

Today (23rd) is Givannis birthday, but that makes him a Gemini, not a great Taurean😁. 

 He turns 13.

Yep it was great to get out of the city and hang around with more "family."❣️💕

Cardiff is extra special too for athough he was born an Adventist so pork has never touched his mouth, he had no problem seasoning and cooking the most delicious pork shoulder for me.😄.

Big up Cardiff.

It was so well seasoned, soft and delicious that I even had some for breakfast next day!

It's been a great 80th celebration.

On to the next big landmark.😉

Early Thanksgiving

 It was like early Thanksgiving, but the fare was even nicer and fit for us queens.

The queens, Michelle, Sonja, Joan, Kadia

This wonderful splash was prepared from start to finish by the creative Kadia, owner of the top-tier Blue Fork LLC, a well-known catering service in New York.

😋 Cheesecake my very favorite 

I only met Kadia the master chef, in May while on a cruise. We hit it off immediately when we discovered we were both former Hamptonians.

That's how I managed to get a commitment from her to cook me a super meal for my birthday😁.

The Hampton posse

There was a logistics problem however, as she lived in New York and I lived in Florida.

Anyway it all came together when her best friend Michelle migrated from New York to Florida. 

So this weekend she flew down for the birthday special and made it into a house-warming bash too.

Oxtail

Curried goat

                               Tada.... Pork.

 And would you believe cheese cake and creme boulee for desert!  Wow.

The chef extraordinaire 

And how could I forget the mannish water we started with😋.

It sure was a fun day (and filling to boot) to remember.😁😋

MSC entertainment

The MSC entertainment has been really enjoyable on this Mediterranean cruise.

Most have been cabaret but there have also been some outstanding individual performances.

I give them overall a 4.5 star rating as I did not find the pianist all that entertaining.

 But the others, definitely 5 plus, Especially the tenor Giovanni Sacca. 

What a voice.

And the African acrobats were absolutely perfect.

Great performances MSC.

Hilo, Hawaii

 Hilo is the fourth largest settlement in Hawaii, with a population of 44,186. It has two well-known volcanos, Mauna Loa and Mauna Kea. 

The latter is active and I was looking forward to at least seeing where it was. 

I have heard a lot about the October surprise during the election period, but mine was terrible.😭.

For we stopped at Hilo on our family cruise in October 2024, but I could not go ashore as a unknown disease I had contracted in the last two years, struck.

I think it's either long COVID or effects from the damn COVID vaccine. It started about eighteen months and I have been to just about every doctor, urgent care, plus an emergency room, and they can't find a thing wrong with me.

It messes me up just about every two months or so and the symptoms include, dizziness, cold sweat. shortness of breath. 

The thing is, if I lie down for about two hours, it just goes away by itself so I have learned to live with it and stop wasting my time seeking medical assistance!

This disease has however always been considerate in that it has never bothered me when traveling.

Until we arrived at Hilo!

Then it struck just before breaksfast.

As the tour we arranged to go on started at 10 am, I had to go back to bed and miss that sightseeing tour.

Anyway, Michelle was good enough to take these pics and share them with me.

No pics of volcanos, but it looks pleasant enough.

Escaping Milton

 Up to now,  October 9th, we have no idea how terrible hurricane Milton will be when it makes landfall, but the expectation is so bad, that a weatherman, during a live report on national tv, actually broke down and  cried as he reported the strength and size of what is predicted to be a monster storm.

It's reports like this which caused a Delta airline customer service rep, to warn Michelle, (Shadrach's mom) on Sunday 6th, that the fort Lauderdale airport may be closed on the 9th.

She called me and we were able to get a flight out a day earlier, so hightailed it out on the 8th.😊

Michelle and I in shuttle from Honolulu airport.

You see, along with the other Michele, my daughter and my granddaughter Madelyn, we had been booked  to take a cruise in the peaceful Pacific around the Hawaiian islands, hence the close call. 

So at 3 am on the 8th, we took off to Fort Lauderdale airport to catch a flight connecting in Minneapolis, then on to Honolulu.

Sunny, calm St. Paul, Minnesota below 

Honolulu is 6 hours ahead of Florida time, so here I am settled in near Waikiki Beach but still unable to say what havoc Milton has created in its path.

Hoping for the best and praying my friends in Florida will remain safe.