Laurie’s Cobalt World was closed the first week of 2010. We spent our January 3, 25th anniversary aboard the Carnival Dream. It was a fabulous ship and a wonderful trip.
The Carnival Dream is the largest ship in the Carnival fleet. It has only been sailing for a very few months. In fact, our cruise was the first opportunity for the crew to repeat the same cruise.
The ship is absolutely gorgeous. After boarding in Port Canaveral, we first had lunch on the Lido deck. Although the was slow, we loved our food from the Mongolian wok. We assembled the vegetables and noodles we wanted in bowls. Then we handed them to the chef who cooked them with our choice of meat and sauce. It was just perfect.
After that, we roamed around looking at everything so new and beautiful. We spent a little time in one of the two double hammocks. Too bad we never got back to that.
The food in the dining room was better than our last two Carnival cruises, even for the very same items. That was a treat.
For our actual anniversary, we paid a bit more to eat at the steak house. It was a fabulous experience. The dress is elegant. I wore purple satin and my husband made use of his tux.
The setting is small with very personal service. We started off with a gift from the chef. Mine was 3 pepper soup; my husband didn’t catch the name of his but it was fruit with a sweet and sour flavor to it.
We had mushrooms for appetizers. Andrew had a Caesar salad – tossed at the table – and I asked for a fruit salad (not on the menu, but they obliged). It was absolutely gorgeous. Every piece of fruit was perfectly ripe, meticulously cut, and beautifully arranged.
We both chose the 14-oz. NY strip steak, which was cooked perfectly. I also had creamed spinach. That’s not my favorite vegetable, but I promised myself I’d branch out more. It was wonderful.
Because it was our anniversary, the chef sent out a large plate with Happy Anniversary written in chocolate. There were also white chocolate rosebuds, tiny fruits with fancy carving, and chocolate standing straight up in the middle like a candle.
For dessert, my husband had the fruit salad. He’d loved the look of my appetizer. I had fantasy of chocolate – four different desserts topped with four different sorbets/ice creams. Heavenly!
The entertainment was about par for the course. We had a juggler who was very good and also a magician. The regular singers and dancers were good, but their best night was a show that featured two break dancers and two men who did feats of strength. That’s not my normal type of dancing, but I had to admit it was very good.
The Carnival Dream is one of only two Carnival ships with a comedy lounge. We had a total of 4 comedians on the ship with 8 different shows. We caught several of them and were generally very impressed.
Our stops were Nassau, St. Thomas, and St. Maarten. We stayed on the ship for Nassau. I had done everything I was interested in on previous trips.
St. Thomas was absolutely gorgeous. We rode a lift to the top of a hill to enjoy the view. We also shared a Bushwacker – the local drink that features two types of rum and goes down easy like a chocolate milkshake. Beware the delayed reaction! We enjoyed a bird show while we were there, too.
In St. Maarten, we just got off of the boat and walked around a bit. It was the cleanest, nicest port we’d been in yet. It was very impressive to walk down the pier between two rows of huge cruise ships. We also got to take a look at the Oasis of the Seas, the largest cruise ship in the world. Wow.
The weather in Florida, coming and going, was awful, but we had 80 degrees and sunshine in St. Thomas and St. Maarten.
We enjoyed dancing on the cruise ship. I enjoyed it too much and am still recovering. My feet hurt all the way up to my hips! Although we had to follow the danceable music around, we found it in The Song (a small bar with a tiny floor), Ocean Plaza (a bar with a larger floor), the Atrium, and during the welcome aboard reception in the comedy club.
We enjoyed our towel animals each night. We were terribly disappointed to find no animal on our bed one evening. Disappointment turned into delight when we turned the corner and found a gorilla hanging from the woodwork over the mirror!
It’s really hard to get back to regular life after the pampering of a cruise. If you are considering a cruise, I highly recommend the Dream. It really can make your dreams come true.
Donna K chose the lovely Inverted Thistle Serving Bowl
Unfortunately, I never heard from Buddy. Today, I picked a new winner. The winning number is 12 and the winning entry is Donna K, who was already a subscriber to my newsletter.
Donna K chose one of my favorites – the cobalt blue glass serving dish in the Inverted Thistle pattern by Mosser Glass. I have one in my personal collection.
Donna K now has 48 hours to contact me to claim her prize.
The winner is Buddy Garrett who wanted a Blenko Vase for his wife. He was entry #139 out of 141.
I would like to get the Beautiful Handcrafted Cobalt Blue Glass Vase by Blenko for my wife. She loves to decorate with large vases. http://cobalt-world.com/items/…..-vase.html
Buddy, this vase is even more breath-taking in person. I think your wife is going to love it.
Buddy has 48 hours to contact me at laurie@cobalt-world.com to claim his prize. If he fails to do so, we’ll draw another winner.
The winning number was randoming generated at Random.org.
Cobalt Blue Glass Cracker Jar in the Grape & Cable Pattern by Mosser Glass
This giveaway is over. Please check back often for future giveaways. It won’t be long. Want to know the winner? Check it out here.
There are approximately six weeks left of prime online holiday shopping. These are the days when you can order without worrying about gifts arriving on time. You won’t face backorders that will arrive in January. Items are in stock. And you don’t have to pay for expedited shipping.
You may love going to the mall. Go, but take the pressure off by ordering your gifts online.
To help you with your holiday shopping, we’re having a giveaway. The winner will be able to check one person off their shopping list!
PRIZE: Any one item from Laurie’s Cobalt World. Pick carefully when you enter. If you win, the item listed in your entry will be your prize. For purposes of this contest, two candlesticks, four glasses, four plates, four bowls, or four dessert dishes are considered to be one item.
WHO CAN ENTER: US residents of the lower 48 states aged 18 and older. Sorry Mom, but my family members are not eligible.
DEADLINE: 11:59 p.m., EST, November 10, 2009.
HOW THE WINNER WILL BE PICKED: A random number generator will be used. The comment that corresponds to the number will be the winner. The winner will have 48 hours to respond to my email or the post on the blog. If the winner does not respond, another winner will be chosen.
PRIMARY ENTRY: This entry is required. Reply to this post, telling us which Laurie’s Cobalt Worlditem you would select for a person on your holiday giftgiving list. (You may enter this way once daily as long as each reply is different.) Tell us why they would like it. Please copy the url for the item into your post so that others can shop along with you.
Example - My husband would love the coffee cups. He likes a big cup for his java! http://cobalt-world.com/items/glass-mug.html
Cobalt Blue Glass Compote in the Queen Pattern by Mosser Glass
ADDITIONAL ENTRIES – TWITTER:
You can earn extra entries by tweeting. Tweet the official tweet below and then reply to this post and tell us you did so. You can tweet up to 8 times per day, limited to once per hour.
Pls RT: Holiday Shopping Giveaway – win your choice of cobalt glass gift – many ways to enter – #LCW – #contest – http://tinyurl.com/yzyt3pn
(Twitter is not allowing multiple tweets that are the same. Feel free to modify the tweet slightly – just make sure the link and #LCW are included.)
ADDITIONAL ENTRY – FOLLOW ME: Just follow me on Twitter, then come here and reply to this post to tell us about it, for an additional entry. If you already follow me on Twitter, you still get an entry. Just reply to this post and tell us that you already follow me on Twitter.
ADDITIONAL ENTRY – NEWSLETTER: Sign up for our newsletter, which is free and comes to your email approximately six times per year. Look near the bottom of the right-hand column for a quick and easy sign up box. We do not rent, lend, or sell our list. If you already receive our newsletter, you still get an entry. Just post a reply to this post and tell us that you already receive the newsletter.
ADDITIONAL ENTRIES – BLOG: Earn five entries by blogging about this contest. After you post your blog entry, come back and reply five times to this post letting us know about your blog.
ADDITIONAL ENTRIES – LINK: Put a permanent link on your blog or website and earn five additional entries. After you link, come back here and reply to this post five times. Tell us a little bit about your blog or website! (Websites and blogs offensive in any way do not qualify.)
The fine print: decisions of the judge are final, the prizes are not redeemable for cash, void where prohibited, shipments are insured, no one associated with Laurie’s Cobalt World assumes any liability for injuries or damages associated with this contest, comments on this blog become the property of Laurie’s Cobalt World and may be used for marketing purposes, this contest is subject to all federal and state laws, the winner agrees to comment on the post announcing the winner of this contest.
We moved to Ararat, Virginia, a little over ten years ago. The nearest town is Mount Airy, North Carolina, also know as “Mayberry” because of it’s connections with Andy Griffith. During the years, we’ve made many, many, many trips back and forth to Mayberry. And we take one of two paths to get there.
On one of those paths, we often pass a woman out for a walk. I believe she walks from her home to the neighborhood store because we always see her on the same stretch of road.
After seeing her a number of times, we began to wave to her. At first, we could tell that she was looking hard to see if she recognized us. She’d wave just to be neighborly. But that was it.
Over the years, however, just as we recognized her as the lady we wave to, she began to recognize us as the car she waves at. The smiles became warmer and more genuine between us. We looked forward to seeing her.
A few weeks ago, my daughter and son-in-law pulled over to talk with her just a bit. I was so excited to finally learn her name, but they hadn’t thought to ask.
It’s funny to see how much this lady we wave to has come to mean to our family. Maybe she’s a symbol of the friendliness of small communities. Maybe she’s been woven into the fabric of our lives, even if just on the fringe. Whatever she is, she’s a positive part of our lives that we enjoy.
Last week, our mini van died. It had given service well past what was expected of it, so I can’t be too sad. Now we have a different mini van – one that our lady does not recognize.
On the way back from church, we saw her walking away from the little neighborhood store. We waved, but she didn’t notice. It was the feeling of disappointment that let me know how much we counted on seeing her friendly face and kind gestures.
Are there people in your life that you look forward to seeing? Even more imporant, are there people who look forward to seeing you, even if it’s just for a kind exchange of words, or even just wave? It’s worth thinking about.
November 10th, 2009 at 8:31 pm e