I love DHC too and have been a loyal customer to their olive oil skin care products-I recommend any of their skin care products. I have been using a skin care product that feels similar to it, I use a Neck Cream and Night Cream-part of the Be Fine Food Skin Care collection. The Neck Cream has mushrooms, iris flower and caffeine, all of which help firm, tighten and smooth the skin. I learned that on different parts of your body, the skin has different skin cells and these foods respond well with the skin on the neck as is is absorbed quickly. The Iris flower derived estrogens for tightening while the Caffeine evens out and smoothes the skin, while natural vitamins support collagen production. the night cream has cocoa, millet and rice bran, which help improve the skin's elasticity and support collagen growth. The cocoa's caffeine increases circulation. I bought these at CVS I love these new products and they make facial masks that are equally divine. I hope this helps you on your quest for a good cream.

Loved the animal stories too. When in England, one of my planned stops was Harriot's vet hospital. It was wonderful, fascinating...everything was just as it was when he practiced there and even had the original TV setting where they filmed. The people in the little town loved visiting Americans and would repeat that we were the reason his books become popular. A book I recommend to many is Mrs. Chippy's Last Expedition (tis a "he" though). It is about the cat on Shackleton's Antarctica expedition, brought aboard by the ship's carpenter. Written with the cat's view, has wonderful pics of the expedition, ship, men and history story of this sad event. Although a teen level book, highly read by adults and found in the adult section. Be ready for a very sad ending, but truely a worthwhile read.

Chris Bohjalian, who's been mentioned already, also had a book out of compilations from a column he wrote when he moved to Vermont. It's called "Idyll Banter," and I really enjoyed it. Right now, I'm reading "The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society," which is a few years old. I'm enjoying it. "The Distant Hours" -- (fiction) about a letter posted in 1941 that reaches its destination in 1992 -- is one of the titles on my to-be-read list. "A Vintage Affair" I read a few books back. Really liked it. A mystery to go along with your cruise theme? Mary Higgins Clark's "Santa Cruise."

I find there is a lot of good information on this website and ones like this. Many books I have had over the years aren't as informative IMO. If there are recommendations maybe check if your library has it before investing in it since you have financial concerns.