Oct. 18, 2019

I was up and about quite early again this morning. This is so unusual for me. It seems i become a different person while on a cruise. When i look out my porthole window i see dullish colours, big dismal grey clouds and it looks cold out there and you can't tell that it's actually a very warm 82º
So i went for my usual breakfast in the Lido and sat with a woman from Manitoba. She's the first Canadian i've chatted with in a long time and a very nice lady. She invited me to visit her and her friend on deck 10 aft where they paint together. That took me by surprize as i didn't know passengers were allowed to bring paints and do their art on a designated deck. It made me think i could bring my Gelli plate next time. Going to need to ask her if you need to get permission or to just do it. It might be a little different with Gelli printing though as i use very thin paper which could easily fly away out on deck. So i think that's the end of that story as cruiseships are dedicated to not polluting the ocean in any way. The cabins would surely be off limits as well as theres carpets and a balcony wouldn't work either because of the wind and sun.
Later i returned to my room and got my stuff for my next project and then met the group in the Robusto bar for a fun session with everyone doing their craft and enjoying the comeraderie. Most of these ladies are really amazing making the most beautiful blankets, sweaters and stuff.A few are doing embroidery or needlepoint, some crochet, some knit and eventually i'll probably bring the door hanger thingy that i started in an onboard craft class. My project today is making my 4th and last square doily stencil because i'll be out of yarn as that's all i had brought with me. I had found 4 balls each a different colour of Martha Stewart yarns in a thrift shop and at the time i thought the coarse cottony yarn would be perfect. However, i hadn't actually tried it out before coming on the cruise. Now i'm thinking it's too heavy and i wish i would have brought a selection of types and maybe even string or a very thick thread or something that might leave more distinct but delicate marks on the Gelli plate. But without having tried any yarns before i have really no idea if it'll even work out ok for hopefully interesting backgrounds. Time will tell!

After lunch i chose to just chill in my room as i was too late for some things and too early for others on the opposite end of the ship. The sky still looks dull and ominous and i bet it's going to rain even though it's actually really hot out there.

I heard today that the woman who i mentioned had died a few days ago was actually a man.Weird how the news or gossip can get all changed around. I feel so sorry for the mans wife as she tried to wake him up in the morning but he had passed away in his sleep during the night.
I also heard about another man who died but now i'm wondering if it was the same man or another one. Apparently he had won $24,000. in the casino on a penny slot and the shock of it all killed him. He was in his early 50's. Not sure if this story is true but the lady who told me seemed sincere. And i know for sure that there are several penny machines in the casino with the top  payout of exactly that amount.

My dinner was disappointing because i chose a delicious looking slab of pork ribs that hadn't been cooked enough. The meat should fall right off the bones but my knife couldn't even separate the meat from the bones. Gotta wonder if it was the same chef who served pork roast yesterday and the piece he cut for me was red inside. Good grief and geeze Louise. I hardly ever choose beef or pork and then when i do there's something wrong with it. I'll be sticking with fish and veggies from now on.

I made my way to the forward end and you have to pass through the casino to get to the showroom. At least my route takes me there but technically the showroom has seating on 3 different levels. I spotted my friend Yumi who said she wanted to join me for the show but first she had to go to her cabin and get a sweater or money, i forget which. So i said ok, i'd wait for her. Anyhow i waited for a long time and she didn't return and the seating was filling up fast so i went in at the last minute and then had to go up a level in order to find two seats together and then i watched for her. The place was full to the rafters and soon the show started without her. It was music from the 80's and i felt bad but what can you do when a person doesn't return are you supposed to wait outside and miss the show too? Well, apparently that's what she thought i should have done and because she wasn't back before it started it was my bad and so she ended our friendship.  But i hadn't seen her in the showroom nor in the casino afterwards either so wth. I just did my usual thing and it was the next day that she confronted me saying fine friend you are! But i know that she knows that its a very long walk from there to her room; it's on my deck but way down aft and i don't know if she had actually come back or not.  So for the remainder of the cruise we were civil to each other whenever we passed.  Well, at least i was and i think if i didn't say hi first she might not have and so that was pretty much the end of our short onboard friendship.