Ta-Dah!!!!

Now, before you say "Isn't this supposed to be a knitting blog??? And she keeps writing about her bathroom???"

Let's review a few blogging things and their similarities to the bathroom project: We love to brag about FO's. I finally have one. It still needs to be blocked (translation: the grout needs to cure until Thursday before we can use the shower).

I have the obligatory shot in the bathroom mirror picture:



And I'm showing you the details of the project:











And we sometimes talk about our storage options:








Finally, the view from the throne:





Details: We contracted through FH FURR. They are a large, reputable plumbing company in Northern Virginia. We have used them for heating and air conditioning service for many years. We were initially referred to FH FURR by a doctor I worked with who highly recommended them when we'd been through the mill with several other firms trying to handle a pesky furnace.

We decided that, although we love do-it-yourself projects and we've done small bathroom do-overs in the past, we didn't have the time, energy or expertise to take on this type of project. And we really didn't have the time, energy or resources to have someone else re-do it if we screwed it up. We wanted it done right and done fast.

Planning took a couple of weeks-- meeting with the representative to discuss options and fixtures (don't you just love the antique pewter faucets and shower head and handle?), selecting tile at Mosaic Tile showroom in Lorton. Once this was done, we received our final estimate and the project was scheduled to begin within 2 weeks. The Husband and I purchased the vanity, medicine cabinet, storage cabinet and sink from Lowe's. The sink was special order, and although the delivery time was 3 weeks, we lucked out and had it in a week and a half.

Actual work in the bathroom from start to finish was 1-1/2 weeks--6 actual days of work with 4 days of the Memorial Day Weekend in the middle. The company sent us a schedule and they stuck to it. Work included: demolition & removal of old bathroom fixtures, re-plumbing & shower bed preparation (2 days);
tiling & grouting (3 days);
plumbing finish and fixture installation (1 day).

The products we chose are beautiful. The workmanship is excellent. All the workers were courteous, cleaned up after the project, and kept the noise as low as could be expected, considering the amount of sawing, pounding, hammering etc required. The time involved couldn't be beat.

Would I recommend them? Yes. Unequivocally.

The Bottom Line:
One caveat if you're on a tight budget-- make sure you understand what your costs are during the design phase. Let the company representative know what your limit is, ask questions, and make sure you understand everything he's telling you. They want your business, and they have a vested interest in making sure you're happy. They can explain what you absolutely need, and what you can get for the amount of money you're able to invest in the project. If you have some flexibility, they can also help you to understand where you can tighten up the project, and where you can splurge a bit. Of course, the labor costs will always be there.

We knew what we were getting into, and decided to go pretty big on this, enjoy the project, and not stress about what we knew would be a pretty good chunk of change. This is a capital improvement to our home. We did compromise on some aspects that saved us several thousand dollars, but still resulted in what we consider to be a spectacular little space.

When doing a project like this there are a couple of ways you can go-- you can figure "the hell with it, we're going to get everything we can dream of" which can be very dangerous. Fancy shower features can add several hundred to thousands of dollars. It took my breath away. Extra tile features can add hundreds more. These hundreds here and there add up, and knowing where to draw the line is very important. At the same time, there can be the tendency to nickel-dime the project. It's going to cost thousands, and saving $10 or even $50 on something may not be in your best interest if you won't be happy with the finished product.

We could have reduced our costs in several ways- some would result in substantial savings-- thousands, and some in more moderate savings: We could tile only the floor and shower area and paint the rest of the walls (thousands), select a less expensive tile (more thousands-ours was pretty high-end) and eliminate the little stone shelves, go less high-end on the towel bar and tp holder (several hundred), use different sink material, use different plumbing fixtures, etc. For the time being, we're forgoing the glass sliders on the shower, which will cost $1500-2000, because we have another bathroom project coming up. We'll put in a tension bar and get a really nice shower curtain. And we may decide that we like that just fine.

You get what you pay for. We got a lot. And it was money well spent.

Hokie Squares

Squares for the Hokie Healing Project, that is.

I finished 9 squares, and blocked them last night. I wish I could have done more. I have plenty of orange and maroon yarn, but never enough time... The time that I was able to spend on them was soothing to my heart.


The Husband is off for Blacksburg after work today, and he'll deliver them.

The grand sewing-up of blankets will be on June 15 at the Inn at Virginia Tech. I, of course, am scheduled to work that entire weekend, but if you'll be in the area, contact Gina.

And now, off to work for the night.

Pictures of the finished bathroom tomorrow.

Almost Finished!!!

The Great American Bathroom Remodel, that is...

It's not the ultimate bathroom of my dreams, let me make that clear. The UBMD would be at least 4 times this size with a very large tub having a wide tile surround that I could put plants and candles on, and a separate shower with a rain head, and two sinks and mood lighting, heated towel bars, and hell, while I'm at it, a small refrigerator that would hold a couple of bottles of champagne. (And somebody to keep the place clean would be nice, too.)

But what we have is a 5' X 8' space that needed re-plumbing, modernizing, minimal maintenance while being beautiful and functional. We weren't willing to do structural house changes, and enlarging the bathroom would have cost us what little closet space we have and/or the other bathroom-- neither being an option.

I'm happy so far, and I trust I'll be when it's finished out tomorrow.

I'm really pleased with the tile. It's a bit pricey, and we chose to tile the entire room. It feels like being in a canyon-- very organic, cool (I hope I don't regret that in the winter), and peaceful.

We're completely grouted, and the fixtures and plumbing fit-out get installed tomorrow. We are eventually planning on a glass slider for the shower, but for now we'll use a tension bar and heavy-gauge shower curtain.

Check it out (and click on the pics to enlarge-- the detail of the tile guys is pretty neat-- never thought I'd be so inspired by a "good grouting"):

The Shower- check out the little tiles on the shower floor.


The little stone shelves at each end of the shower-- and the polished stone accents at eye level (eye level for tall people, that is.)


The stone and antiqued brass towel bar and stone tp holder. (The blue tape is not a design feature-- it's just to keep the towel bar in place until the cement and grout cure.)

The grout needs to set for a week, and then we can use the shower.

Think I'll treat myself to some new towels.

Memorial Day

I remember the Memorial Days of my youth. We'd go to Mass, then march in the parade-- I was with the Girl Scout group, and various brothers and sisters were in the grade school band. I don't remember it ever raining, but it was usually getting a bit warm out. We'd march to the cemetary, where there was another memorial service, and flags to place at the graves.

It was before Memorial Day became another occasion for stores to have yet another sale. We remembered those who served, and we were grateful for their sacrifices.

May was a busy month at Saints Peter and Paul elementary school. Since it was "Mary's Month" there were May altars in the classrooms, May Crowning in the church, and first communion services.

I remember the smell of lilacs. It was warm enough to walk to school, and many of the homes along the way had lilacs blooming. They were especially sweet in the morning when it was cool, and the moisture of the dew seemed to enhance the scent. Those who were, in my mind, fortunate enough to have lilacs growing in their yards would bring the fragrant blooms in for the May altars, and we'd smell the lilacs all day long. My mom wasn't fond of lilacs, and when we moved to a house that had a small patch growing at the side of the yard, they left in short order. Only later did I understand that they were in a spot that obstructed a traffic view. But she still didn't like lilacs.

Today I'm not doing anything special. I took the opportunity to read the whole paper-- not something I can frequently do. I'm cleaning out a room that needs severe de-cluttering, while listening to audiobooks and podcasts on my iPod.

And I'm lamenting the fact that the plumbing in the middle bathroom is failing, as in non-stop dripping that is impervious to normal repairs. As soon as our master bath is completed and useable, we will have to go through this again. The plumber who did the estimate for the renovation in the master bath told us that getting to, repairing and refinishing the center bathroom shower plumbing would run at least a grand. We made the decision then that we would do a limited remodel at that time (we were thinking next year) instead of basically throwing away the repair costs, since the 60's bathroom really needs an upgrade.

So today's family discussions haven't focused on cooking out, or even the philosophical aspects of Memorial Day. Instead we're discussing alternatives for paying for another bathroom renovation, and ways to treat it as a capital improvement while trying to spend less than the cost of a new car. Again.

There are many, many blessings to be counted. We have a house. We have bathrooms. We will be able to do this while still maintaining our standard of living. We are very fortunate.

But this is really inconvenient. I'm such a whiner.

Meanwhile...
More Hokie Squares in progress. The Husband will take them to Gina at Mosaic this weekend.

I wanna go to Blacksburg!!!

No Way!!!

OK-- so that orange stuff just isn't going to make it as a sweater. Nor is the multicolored stuff that the stripe's made of. No Way!!! Ick!!!!

I think it may become a baby play blanket. If it doesn't blind the little dears.

I'm giving myself 2 more squares to see if that's a possiblility. Otherwise the yarn gets tossed or donated.

Life is too short.

Tomorrow (Today) It Begins

The Great American Bathroom Rehab, that is.

Here are the "before" pictures. The Husband has already removed the blue tile, the white and blue flowered wallpaper, and knocked out a bit of the wall around the plumbing:

Note the snazzy floor tile. The crew is arriving at 8 am to gut the room, remove the tub, toilet, vanity, and flooring, replace the wallboard in what will be the shower area, and get ready for tiling next week.

This is going to be fun...

It IS going to be fun...

Right?

In Knitting Knews,
A Hokie Bird Hokie Square, with his friends the Mitred Squares and Mr. Diagonal Stripe.

He needs to be blocked, and he doesn't have his detail stitching around the beak and waddle area, but that'll be done soon.

And I need some instant gratification, so I'm starting on a boxy summer cardigan from bulky summer stash yarn. Here's the first bit:

What a Beautiful Day!

I hope we have some more like it! Soon!

Been Working & Been Working Some More

But before I get to that, today marks 26 years of (mostly) wedded bliss for me and The Husband. Of course, he had to work way early this morning, and I had a meeting with a non-profit I work with this evening, and-- you get the picture. It's pretty much been the story of our life together. Luckily we're both pretty independent, and able to survive a marriage despite wacky work hours and time consuming hobbies and interests. And we have two great Offspring.

Anyway, he's a remarkable man for putting up with my quirks, and I love him whole bunches.

Back to working-- it cuts a big hole in my knitting time, but that's how we pay for the yarn, no? (However, and more significantly, it also cuts into my time with my knitting buddies at Knit Happens.)

It's also how we help to pay for the bathroom re-do that will be happening soon at Casa de la Infermera. (That's The Nurse's House, more or less.)

The "before" is too fierce for vision-- The Husband started tearing things apart before I could capture the entire effect of the bright baby blue 60's tile. It looks like a war zone right now. We'll take pictures as the demolition and renovation proceed, and share it all in one fell swoop.

The Daughter is home from Tech. She arrived late yesterday, and I am just thrilled to be able to spend time with her. My time with The Offspring has always been precious to me. We enjoy being together and doing things together. But it seems even more precious now. It's been a really emotionally draining month.

Please indulge a repeat of Nikki Giovanni's tribute (shamelessly copied from Mosaic's website-- hope you don't mind, Gina):

We are Virginia Tech.
We are sad today, and we will be sad for quite a while. We are not moving on, we are embracing our mourning.

We are Virginia Tech.

We are strong enough to stand tall tearlessly, we are brave enough to bend to cry, and we are sad enough to know that we must laugh again.

We are Virginia Tech.

We do not understand this tragedy. We know we did nothing to deserve it, but neither does a child in Africa dying of AIDS, neither do the invisible children walking the night away to avoid being captured by the rogue army, neither does the baby elephant watching his community being devastated for ivory, neither does the Mexican child looking for fresh water, neither does the Appalachian infant killed in the middle of the night in his crib in the home his father built with his own hands being run over by a boulder because the land was destabilized. No one deserves a tragedy.

We are Virginia Tech.

The Hokie Nation embraces our own and reaches out with open heart and hands to those who offer their hearts and minds. We are strong, and brave, and innocent, and unafraid. We are better than we think and not quite what we want to be. We are alive to the imaginations and the possibilities. We will continue to invent the future through our blood and tears and through all our sadness.

We are the Hokies.

We will prevail.

We will prevail.

We will prevail.

We are Virginia Tech.

I've been chugging along on my Hokie Squares. I've completed 5, and they're not that terribly creative, compared to some of the others I've seen, but they're about what I can handle without lots of knitting time. I've done 4 mitred squares and one diagonal striped square. All the ends are weaved in-- that's major for me. I'm going to try a brioche square next.

And to wrap up this rather disjointed posting, I'm sending you to this remarkable song that my youngest sister forwarded to me. Apparently it is too "politically incorrect" to be played on the radio, and is not released, but gets a standing ovation every time it's played.


Thanks, Diamond Rio-- we needed that.

Sheep and Wool- Good for the Soul

Just LOOK at how beautiful these sweaters are-- all natural colors:These are the work of Kelly and Kathy. After all that's happened, I've had difficulty focusing. But when I saw this display, it took my breath away. The simplicity and harmony of the natural color gradations put some order into my soul. I really can't explain it, and I know it sounds weird.

I bought some absolutely gorgeous wool/alpaca blend from them-- natural grey and cream. I don't know exactly what I'll do with it, but it's going to be spectacular.

Since I was in need of a bit of escape, I headed up to MSW on Friday night, and stayed in the Hampton Inn in Columbia. You know what a fan I am of Hampton Inns, but THERE WAS NO COFFEE in the little breakfast place.

Either morning!!!

I met some really nice people from Stuart Virginia and upstate New York on Friday night, and ran into them several more times. It was nice to have some fellow knitters (including a Y chromosome knitter!) to chat with. They comisserated on the coffee situation, and may have been more distressed than I, if that's possible.

I met up with a group of The Irregulars.

We all pulled out our knitting, and I did a little work on anotherHokie Square. (Gina of Mosaic hit the press again!)


We acknowledged that for at least a couple of us, it was "the first time":


A really special treat was that Shanti and Shanti's Mom (hey-- she really has her own name-- Lynn)were there. I hadn't seen her in ages-- I've been out of town when she's been back in the DC area, and of course, I haven't made it down south to minesweeper-land (or sea).


I never knew how many breeds of sheep there are. I fell in love with the little Jacob lambs. The pics aren't that great, but they are the cutest little things-- they look almost like little goats with tiny little horns sticking straight out of the sides of their heads. I didn't see any already spun yarn from the Jacobs, and although there were fleeces available, I haven't started the spinning. I figure I really can't do another thing right now, but it's in my future sometime. I did pick up a drop spindle and a very small amount of wool just for playing-around purposes. I tried using it, (during the Kentucky Derby) but it was pretty pitiful.


I really enjoyed the Border Collie demonstration. Those lil pooches are something else. (Could have used a couple when a flock got loose on the road in front of our bus in Ireland. Took almost an hour to round 'em all up.)

And then, of course, there was food...

I shared with some of my friends that I've had a tough time making decisions lately, even about what to eat. Hence, the recent Yodel debacles. I did make a conscious decision that I would eat at least a taste of Fried Twinkies, because, well.... I never have. Unfortunately, it was not to be. Not a Fried Twinkie in the place. I had to make do with some of a funnel cake. I did, however, not eat curly chips. They looked and smelled wonderful, and I'd show you a picture, except that for some reason, I can't upload it.


A final little note: I was bowled over when I heard this:
"Rise Up, Virginia Tech Tribute" by R Kelly. It's thoughtful, uplifting and just what the Hokie Nation needs right now. It's being released on May 15th, and proceeds are going to the Hokie Spirit fund. I'm hitting the iTunes store to purchase it on that day.

You might want to think about it, too.

Odd's and Ends

First of all:

Take 60 seconds to do this, I guarantee you will show someone else, it's too funny not to.
1. go to www.google.com
2. click on "maps," above the search bar...
3. click on "get directions"
4. type "New York" in the first box (the "from" box)
5. type "Paris" in the second box (the "to" box)
6. click on "get directions"
7. scroll down to step #23
8. Laugh

Late Night was a Great Night

Lots of friends at The Shop. We laughed, and knit, and talked, and had a great time just being together. I showed off some of my Hokie Squares, Elspeth finished her very blue skirt, and a whole boatload of Irregulars- Nikki, Christine, Holly, Ann, Erin, Jasmine, Michelle, Dani, (Check out their links on the left side). We discussed our plans for the weekend:Maryland Sheep and Wool A bunch of us went to South Austin Grill. My first time out for dinner with friends in a L-O-O-O-N-G time.

Thanks.

I needed that.

Check it Out

Mosaic In the New York Times. That's Gina and Mimi and Lawre and Loren (who's holding a square with a maple leaf on it in honor of her French teacher),and I'm not sure whose back of the head that is... (I was sitting in a comfy chair to the left of the table. Imagine me there.)

So, are you knitting squares???? Here are a couple that I whipped up over the weekend:

I've Been Trying to Leave Comments....

... but typepad doesn't seem to like me these days. So if you're on my sidebar, and your blog is a typepad account, be assured I've been reading you.

Here's what happens: I put in the comment, and the little blue bar goes halfway across, and then I get a blank screen that says "done."

Don't know what I've done to tick off the typepad-- never used any bad words, tried not to put anyone down.... maybe it just doesn't like me.

I'll try not to take it personally.

Hokie Healing- It's a Great Thing

So I'm in Blacksburg, and I gave The Daughter a long, lingering hug-- so that fix is taken care of. Temporarily. More hugs to come.

Then, since she's quite the busy girl, with quite the busy life, and since I'm trying to be the very liberating mother and resist the urge to hold on to her and keep her with me every second so that I can be 100% sure she's safe for this minute at least, I headed over to Mosaic. I was lucky enough to run into Gina just before she left for home. Lucky me!!!

I'd read about Hokie Healing, which is a project she started to make blankets for the families of the victims of April 16th. Gina and Loren told me that they've had inquiries from around the country.

What a great idea. I wanted to write notes to each of the families, but I just don't know what I could possibly say.

So I'm making squares-- and having fun using some techniques I haven't tried before. No pictures or details right now-- but perhaps in another day or so.

Please visit the Mosaic site, and if you have some time, and some maroon and/or orange and/or black and/or white yarn, whip up a square or two to send in. If you've been affected by this horrendous tragedy and need an outlet, this is a great one.

LET'S GO
HOKIES

Re-Entering the World

We've been pretty much hunkering down this week at The Nurse's house. Aside from going to work, we've been staying home, keeping in touch with The Daughter through phone calls, text messages and emails, and trying to deal with the awfulness of the week.

The Daughter is doing ok-- she and her Hokie friends have been taking care of each other. I saw her on TV last night, playing at Ryan "Stack" Clark's memorial service.

It's been tough not being with her. But I know how important it is for her to mourn, grieve and heal in her own way. We're going down to Blacksburg this weekend, and I'll get those hugs I've been aching for.

Meanwhile, I ventured out today, spending a couple of needed hours at Knit Happens with Aimee, Elspeth and Kelly. I made some progress on The Daughter's top. Maybe pictures tomorrow.

I hit 5pm church, and then The Husband and I ordered Chinese delivery. This is my first regular food in many days.

I, who avoid frivolous refined carbs at almost all cost, have been living on cashews (not bad), coffee (aka my lifeblood) and yodels.

Yodels. For the uninitiated, they are the Little Debbie equivalent of Ho-Ho's.

A week ago you couldn't have paid me to eat one, or even forced one into my mouth. I hadn't had one of those in over 4 years.

It's time to start to recover and heal.

No more yodels.

Ut Prosim

Thank you for all your emails, phone calls and comments. I've passed your comments and thoughts to The Daughter. She was amazed at how many of my friends were concerned about her.

She is safe. She has been spending time with her friends, grieving and just being together. The band director and his assistants have been keeping a close eye on the band members, making sure they're not alone. A number of students from the marching band are going by bus to Georgia late tonight for "Stack's" service tomorrow.

I am exhausted. It's been a long and stressful week, with many tears.

My heart aches, not only for the families of those lost, for the students and faculty who were injured and their families, for our children who have lost their innocence, but also for the family of that disturbed boy. I hope someone is helping them.

Tonight--- sleep.

Emotions

Oh.

I can't get my head around this.

Over the past several hours I've been through fear, dread, hope, relief, then back to sadness, grief, devastation, loss.

My Daughter is fine. Her cell phone was turned off, though, and I left lots of messages:

"It's Mom, please call me."

"Honey, give me a call as soon as you can."

"Bebe'-- I need for you to call me as soon as you get this......"

I got a call from one of her sorority sisters who graduated last year and is far away from campus:

"Have you heard from her?"

Me: "No. Her phone goes right to voicemail."

"Well I have to find out if she's ok. I'm calling one of the sisters down there to go check on her."

Meanwhile-- calls and emails from family and friends, knitting buddies and coworkers.

Then the most wonderful call I've ever received:

"Mom, I just woke up. I don't have class today. What's going on?"
"Oh, Sweetie-- it's so awful......"

How do I thank you for your caring?

How do I thank God for the life of my child?

How do I deal with knowing that so many parents are not as fortunate as I?

How do I handle the anger I feel at the violation of this lovely place-- our safe haven away from home?

I just don't know what to think.

Please say a prayer for all who are not as fortunate as we are.

And give your kids a hug.

Actual Knitting Content!!!

First of all, Happy Spring!!!










So, now I have some knitting to show you.

This is a small shoulder shawl that I made for my Mom. It's done in Lorna's Laces alpaca. I sort of had to design something that would lend itself to the length of yarn I had. (I have no idea where I got the yarn. There it was in my stash, and I wanted to use it.) For the side lace I used a double-wide version of Branching Out with a 10-stitch border on each side. The back is a single panel of the Branching Out lace with decreasing stockinette stitch to make a triangle.

At the end there is a tube on one side through which is pulled the other side which is basically reduced to a ribbed strip. It stays closed all by itself, but I'm going to try to find a nice shawl pin or something as an accent.


I've started on this for The Daughter from Debbie Bliss'Summer Essentials.
The pattern is written for Cathay-- which I "heart", but I'm knitting it in Jaeger Aqua in a pretty light teal color. It's a bit difficult to tell from the picture, but it's basically a 1X1 rib up to mid-chest when an upside down V is formed with 1x3 ribbing up the sides of the /\.
I love the fabric it makes--nice drape and shiny, but it's a little rough on the fingers. I chose to try this fiber because although I'm most fond of Cathay, it splits a LOT and starts to drive me a bit bonkers after awhile. The other surprise is that to get gauge, I'm knitting it on 3's!!! Yes-- THREEs I tell you-- which are the very high end of what I will ever use for socks, but definitely not what I'm accustomed to knitting larger garments with.

Katie-- are you proud of me??

In order to save my fingers a bit, I've also started a little baby sweater in a wonderful chocolate Cashmarino Chunky. It's for one of not-yet-born twins. The sister will get one in that yummy Cashmarino peachy color. Both will have accents in cream-- probably overstitched.


In other news, I've been off for a few days trying to make some progress toward housal organization.
I spent 2 days here with the tile guys. We had our kitchen retiled about 3 years ago, and unfortunately, the guy who spoke almost only Korean couldn't communicate well with the guy who spoke almost only Spanish, and there were some sections that came loose. So, the tiles were placed and grouted, and our kitchen doesn't seem as much like it's in a falling-apart house any more.

I've done some good work on sorting out clothes-- donate, pitch, save. I started to rein in the yarn stash. I have visions of organization. I am armed with large zipper bags, vacuum storage bags and plastic box containers. I have made progress. I will forge ahead. I will succeed.

Unfortunately, my back started giving me trouble on Friday afternoon. With so much that I had hoped to accomplish, it's really disappointing, because I really can't move much without quite a bit of pain. Despite massive quantities of ibuprofen, heat, cold, moderate amounts of tylenol, I fear I might have to go to the doctor. Of course, you know what that means-- as soon as I get there it'll stop hurting. I keep hoping it'll calm down on its own. I have until tomorrow, because it's back to work on Wednesday.

Knit Happen's own Michael delVecchio is on Knitty Gritty tomorrow:
details here:Knitty Gritty.

The Road To Hana

Hana is a beautiful little town on Maui. There are three ways to get there-- by boat, by air, or via the Road to Hana.

This road is not for the faint of heart. If you choose to drive it, you'll be navigating back-to-back hairpin turns. I went on a little bus, so I got to watch up close as we made the back-to-back hairpin turns.



Our driver knew a place that had really good banana bread-- I had some hot out of the oven. It was amazing.

The weather was generally pretty nice during our trip, but since it IS, after all, winter, there was some rain almost every day (and therefore bazillions of rainbows). And sometimes a bit windy.


Check out these plants just growin' on the side of the road.

Do you get an idea of how large they are?







I saw a few waterfalls-- one around almost every one of those turns.




Beyond Hana is a little church.
In the churchyard is the final resting place of Charles Lindberg.

It was an amazing day. We got back to the ship a bit later than scheduled. The Parents got a phone call from the front desk asking if I was onboard, since we were supposed to get underway, and I hadn't scanned back in yet. Nor were 20 of my new closest friends.

This is one really good reason to use the line-endorsed shore excursions.