Lessons Out of the Basket

Today was another day at sea, and an absolutely beautiful one at that! As is usual and customary on sea days, there are a number of activities to participate in. The first one, was Salsa dancing! Aye Carumba!!! There was a large group of people in the class and our instructor (one of the dancers for the cast on board) was fantastic. He was knowledgeable, patient and encouraging. I've decided that this is a great workout - it smelled like a sweatshop when we were done, so I'm guessing we all burned some calories. :-) Next, it was on to Backward Basketball Toss. The concept is easy - turn around and shoot the basketball over your head behind you to the basket. The execution however - not so easy. Of course, in practice I shot one that was nothing but net. Not so once we were playing for Dollars.

One thing that Holland America implemented a few years ago was the Culinary Arts Theater. Now, I'm no chef, nor would I want to be one as a career. However, I do like to dabble in it, but not enough to actually take a class. Until today. Kadar and I had signed up to take a class from the chef in the Pinnacle Grill - Chef Das. We made filet mignon chops with a tomato salsa, mushroom risotto and a duet of bruschetta. Then - we got to eat it! It was absolutly fabulous and while I was intimidated to be cooking with obviously skilled chefs, it was a fantastic time. We got the recipes and the aprons to bring home - what a hoot!

We lounged around today and did various activities until meeting for dinner at six. After dinner we went to the game show that they do nightly. Last night, Liz and Larry won in the Newlywed Game. Tonight, it was Nowhere Near A Millionaire. Each person got a raffle ticket and they drew out of a bucket to pick the contestant. Who should win, but one of our Compadres - Judy! She did a great job (with a little help) and came away with a boatload of prizes (pardon the pun). Great fun! Suffice it to say, our little group of Compadres is becoming well known around the ship and with the staff. Hopefully, that's a good thing. :-) All around today, we seemed to be stepping out of our comfort zones in order to take another note out of our proverbial baskets.

Tomorrow we meet our friend, Louie Dajani, in Israel. We're praying that we are able to visit Bethlehem, but we're not entirely sure about that. Please pray for our safety and our expedient return.

Until next time, Shalom!