More Stressed

Megan is now limping on her front legs badly, i am going to try and get some weight off her to alleviate the stress and weight on her legs. This is not easy, she has an incredible appetite and with not walking as much it's a long road.
Her medication from the vets (anitinflammatory) gave her the diarrhoea and made her uncomfortable.
I still hope it's a strain on a muscle and with my parents staying when i was on holiday she much have got onto their bed in the spare room which is higher than ours and also the floor is laminate and slippy when she jumps off the bed so fingercrossed the next blog contains positive news!!

STRESSED AGAIN!!!!

When i returned from holiday i realised that Megan's limp had become worse and i noticed she was putting a lot of weight on her back right leg while walking on her toes on her left back leg.I could not sleep last night and think i eventually fell asleep crying. She has been with me now since 1999 and yes, she is nine years old on April 12th 2008, i am taking her to the vets tomorrow for their opinion and i guess a diet plan as she is a little heavy, but has struggled with that since i had her spayed when she was about one year old.
When you receive unconditional love for a period of years, no arguments, no disagreements, just love and kisses, its sad when you see them in pain or suffering. I think it will all be ok once i get her some medication from the professionals.
Megan has really been the only living thing that has truely loved me and i think once she has gone from me i will never be loved again.
Maybe i am worying for no reason, maybe i will have her for another 5-6 years, but it comes to me after a bad 12 months of stress, upset and fighting with my own sanity and emotions so im teetering on the edge right now.
A week ago i was enjoying the luxuries of a cruise now i am thrown into reality and stress, the dermatitus will rear it's ugly head if i get too stressed.

Great things don't last

When i returned from holiday i realised that Megan's limp had become worse and i noticed she was putting a lot of weight on her back right leg while walking on her toes on her left back leg.I could not sleep last night and think i eventually fell asleep crying. She has been with me now since 1999 and yes, she is nine years old on April 12th 2008, i am taking her to the vets tomorrow for their opinion and i guess a diet plan as she is a little heavy, but has struggled with that since i had her spayed when she was about one year old.
When you receive unconditional love for a period of years, no arguments, no disagreements, just love and kisses, its sad when you see them in pain or suffering. I think it will all be ok once i get her some medication from the professionals.
Megan has really been the only living thing that has truely loved me and i think once she has gone from me i will never be loved again.
Maybe i am worying for no reason, maybe i will have her for another 5-6 years, but it comes to me after a bad 12 months of stress, upset and fighting with my own sanity and emotions so im teetering on the edge right now.
A week ago i was enjoying the luxuries of a cruise now i am thrown into reality and stress, the dermatitus will rear it's ugly head if i get too stressed.

New York 14th September

I knew this was going to be a long day when the alarm clock went off at 0600, taxi was coming at 0630 for the trip to Heathrow terminal 4, we arrived safeand checked into our confirmed club world business class seats 14E and 14F, comfortable and even better after take off and we were escorted into First class seats 4E and 4F, we landed with the 5 hour time change at 1145am so we had the entire day to walk about, jet lag permitting. We were staying at the Hilton near central park, we took the underground ( subway) to ground zero and as only 3 days after the 6th anniversary of 09/11 the flowers and tributes were still there. On returning we walked through central park and around some of the local shops as well as Broadway, it was a warm day and a little humid but we enjoyed it before collapsing into bed at about 830pm (0130am uk)and we slept like babies and looking forward to our 7 day cruise the following day.










Leaving New York

Sailing out of New York is quite spectacular. After a bad start in the embarkation process which was total organised chaos and we were standing for almost 2 hours in queues but once we were onboard it was ok.
We sailed at 5pm behind the Norwegian Spirit, sailing past downtown Manhattan and passing ground zero which we had visited the day before and the statue of liberty and going under the verrizaro( forgive my spelling on that one) bridge which we looked like we cleared by a matter of inches,not sure how they judge that with high tides or it could have been our overweight american travellers which were helping to keep the boat deep in the water!
Once again spectacular views and a glorious day.

New York 15th September

Sailing out of New York is quite spectacular. After a bad start in the embarkation process which was total organised chaos and we were standing for almost 2 hours in queues but once we were onboard it was ok.
We sailed at 5pm behind the Norwegian Spirit, sailing past downtown Manhattan and passing ground zero which we had visited the day before and the statue of liberty and going under the verrizaro( forgive my spelling on that one) bridge which we looked like we cleared by a matter of inches,not sure how they judge that with high tides or it could have been our overweight american travellers which were helping to keep the boat deep in the water!
Once again spectacular views and a glorious day.

Boston 16th September 2007

As the Boston skyline appeared it was another great day weatherwise, it was unsual in my 5 prior cruises to arrive somewhere at 2pm, usually very early in morning but we were not sailing until 10pm. I have been many times with my job so knew my way around. We walked to the shops and into the main square, a cancer walk had been going on so it was hectic with walkers and spectators, we ended up in the park and bought a coffee. We tried to get on a duck tour but they were all booked up until 6pm so we thought that was a little late so missed out. The shops were all we had and a few local sights that we managed to find. We were back onboard by 6pm and had dinner as we sailed to our next port of call.

Portland Maine

Portland Maine was a great port, close to the city so easy to get about with lots of little curiosity and gift shops, we walked around the town in the morning and had lunch off the boat, the local clam chowder is renowned and delicious. We took a tour around the towns highlights and to the most photographed lighthouse in the world which you will see in the pictures. The day was bright and sunny with clear skies and we were informed the previous week visibility was down to 5ft with sea fog so not so enjoyable for those people, we were lucky, fantastic views and spectacular coastlines.






A Maine sunset, fabulous!!!

Saint John New Brunswick

Saint John is an unassuming little port/town in New Brunswick, we disembarked and took a walk into the town, we were joined by RCCL Explorer of the Seas so there were 7000 bewildered passengers walking the streets, we were informed the following week 3 ships would be in port with 10,000 passengers descending on the town. We found a quaint little market but that became over crowded busy so we walked slowly back to the ship and enjoyed the views from our balcony. The scottish bag pipes were played as we left in the darkness and played until we were a dot on the horizon. Probably a great place to live with little crime but with severe winters it's not that appealing but a great stop off for a cruise ship in the fall.

Halifax Nova Scotia 20th September 2007

The last port of call was Halifax Nova Scotia, a pretty little town with a lovely walk along harbour front from the ship.We were joined in port by Crown Princess a huge ship, only slightly larger than ours though.
We walked to the citadel in the picture and then we joined our tour after lunch to the Titanic Museum and the graveyard which is home to 120 graves of Titanic victims, Halifax was the first port of call for many being so far northeast.The graves form the shape of a ship and are well taken cared for with fresh flowers and also toys for the grave of the unknown child!! quite a tear jerker.
Halifax itself is very british with red double decker buses and a fort flying the union jack so we felt quite homely.

Took Mam,Dad and Ged to see "Joseph" or better known as Joseph and the Technicoloured dreamcoat today, i paid £200 for four tickets and we were in dress circle row K4 K5 K6 K7, great seats and view was good.
Lee Mead who plays the lead was fantastic, maybe started a little hoarse but improved as the show progressed, i will admit "close every door to me" brought a tear to my eye, infact was streaming down my face, but interval was still 10 minutes away so had time to compose myself before the lights came on, that can be really embarrassing.
Lee won the part in a show to find the best Joseph out of a group of guys, one being eliminated live in TV every Saturday night. I thought Lee was the best but on reading the programme before the show started i was amazed that he had already done Les Miserables, Phantom of the Opera as well as other shows and Pantomimes.So that explains why he was not as nervous during the live show and presented himself better than the others as well as show no signs of nerves.
Our friend Derek who we met on a cruise with his wife and friends in 2004 on Black Watch picked us up outside the Adelphi Theatre on the Strand and brought us home to the door as he is a taxi driver, we also had a great guided tour of London and Famous People's houses and apartments on the way home....Thanks Derek!!!
A show well worth seeing and guaranteed to bring a tear to your eye one minute and have your foot tapping and hand clapping the next.

Up and coming Cruise

Well it is now 7th September and i will be flying to Newark, New Jersey on 14th at 0855 landin USA time 1135am, i have organised transfers to Hilton Hotel in Manhattan and i suppose we will chill out and maybe have dinner before making our way to the ship the following day around 12pm. The Carnival Victory is 102,000 tons and we will sail from New York-Boston-Portland Maine-SaintJohn-Halifax Nova Scotia-New York, our cabin in Penthouse 7299 on Empress deck and i am really looking forward to it.
I will post a new blog including cruise highlights and pictures once i return home.
I just hope all goes smoothly as i have been planning this for months and i have it down to the fine details of even having USA customs and immmigration paperwork completed for both of us so no last minute stuff to do, it should be:-
Airport-hotel-sleep-ship-cruise-airport-home, ( if all goes to plan)
Will update soon