My Absence Explained

To the readers of my blog,

My husband and I headed to Ft. Lauderdale on January 9, 2025. I was excited to set sail on Princess Cruises newest “Mega” Ship– the “Sun Princess“. I had booked this ship almost a year before it was even completed. I’ve been on dozens of cruises (from my past life as a travel agent), but never on a ship this size.

The Sun Princess exceeded our expectations. We upgraded our cabin to the Sanctuary Category. We loved having a private and quiet deck, for adults only. It was a relaxing cruise, with top notch service.

THAT’S WHEN IT HIT!

It was Day One of being at Sea. I was sipping on a cocktail when I received a text, from a friend of my brother’s, telling me to call the Sheriff’s office. My first thought was my son and I went into a panic. It wasn’t my son, thank God. However, I found out that my oldest brother had suddenly passed away, from a heart attack.

There it was.

All the relaxation and joy of being on this long-awaited trip came to an immediate halt. My brother, Fred, was gone. He hadn’t been in the best of health, and he had just turned 75 years old.

I called my other brother (Alan), and broke the news to him. Then, I called my Best Friend of 48 years. The first words out of her mouth was “what can I do to help?” I felt helpless, being on a ship in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. My BFF told me not to worry. She called my brother and, together, they took care of Fred’s arrangements. Friends like her are priceless.

I wondered if I should try to find a way to get off the ship and fly home. NO! My family and friends reassured me that Fred wouldn’t want me to do that. Things were being taken care of by my loved ones.

We managed to enjoy our remaining days on board, grateful for a more peaceful deck to hang out. (The above photo is the Lido Deck. It’s a stark contrast to the quiet Sanctuary Deck.) My grief ebbed and flowed until our cruise ended on January 18th.

I have been super busy, handling my brother’s affairs since the day we hit the ground, back in California. My departed brother lived in Santa Cruz, California and we live on the Monterey Peninsula. That’s about a 45 minute drive. My surviving brother and my son both live in Oregon. Fred wasn’t married and has no children.

That left my husband and me to handle emptying out his storage unit. It took a few trips to retrieve whatever we could. Planning his Celebration of Life has been another huge project.

So, you see, my Food Blog has been on hiatus for this reason. In addition, I decided to go back on a healthier eating program. All of those Craft Cocktails on the cruise ship were loaded with calories! (When you book a Sanctuary Category, it includes unlimited drinks.) My husband and I are not heavy drinkers. We just had fun trying out a few of their 200+ cocktails at the MANY different bars.

My brother’s Celebration of Life is scheduled for February 21st. I hope that the winter weather will be kind, so that my Oregon family can safely make the journey to Monterey. Once this event is over, I plan to resume posting recipes. Thanks to Weight Watchers, I am losing the weight from the rich food and fancy cocktails on the Sun Princess.

I’m wondering. Would any of you want me to share some of my “healthier” recipes I’ve been making? I haven’t baked in a month, though. I miss my desserts!

Marketing statistics say that when a food blog isn’t heavily active, readership goes down. I’ll take my chances. I just didn’t have the heart nor energy to post recipes during this difficult time.

Thank you for taking the time to read this. I’m doing much better, and I appreciate all of the support and comfort from my family, friends and followers. It has helped me so much.