Weekly Chat (Non-Osprey), 28 August 2016

Good Morning Everyone. The sun is just breaking through the thick early mist. Promises to be another lovely day.

Our daughter-in-law has suffered an early miscarriage, but while checking everything was clear, the doctors have found a possible tumour on her pancreas. The Drs in Singapore have been fantastic. Our daughter has spoken to them and has had all scans and reports forwarded to a consultant here. It could mean a major operation and D-i-L wants to come home if that is the outcome. She has an endoscopy and further biopsy this Thursday. She feels fine at the moment and is still going to work. The miscarriage has, in a way, been a blessing, as they can treat her while she is young and fit. Otherwise the tumour may not have been found for many years to come.

Great capture, Mary. Wonderful camera.  

BRENDA - I am so sorry to read this but as you say, a blessing in disguise in that a possible problem has been uncovered. Also a blessing that your daughter can speak with the docs in Singapore and organise things. How is your son? Hugs from here.

Brenda: I am so very sorry about your daughter-in-law's miscarriage and then the discovery of the tumour. I am glad, however, that the doctor's have caught it early. I'm sure they'll be able to treat it effectively, especially since she is so young and fit. Best wishes to all.

Lindy: I enjoyed the posts of the Tatton Park show. Very creative. I loved the aliums. My favorite were the wooden sculptures. I want the heron sculpture and the woodpecker.

Here in the eastern part of the U.S., some of those gardens would be discouraged or illegal because of the little pools of standing water. Everyone here is worried about mosquitoes and Zika. In Florida, the police are charging people huge fines for having any water at all standing on their properties -- even small amounts!

Heather: Nice that you could help your youngest daughter. You're a good person.

Alan: That's a beautiful hibiscus.

Annette: Stay cool today. Hope your sister is improving.

Rosy: I'm so sorry that your son's basement flooded and his home sustained damage. Glad he didn't lose his car, too! I'm ready for the relentless heat and storms to finally end.

MaryGK: Congrats on seeing the Orca Whales at Spey Bay, even if you'd gone to see ospreys. I shouldn't say this on this particular forum, but I would have been just as happy to see the whales. :-)) I've seen other marine life, such as large sharks, big rays, etc., but I've never seen a whale and I would love to get a chance to view one in the wild.

I was up late, and I watched the Pacific Princess glide slowly into the harbour right before I went to bed. The wind was, indeed, blowing fiercely. Looks like heavy fog is moving in there while I've been typing. The Serenissima is now in the harbour, but I'm not sure when she arrived. I also watched a big passenger/Ro-Ro cargo ship, the Hjaltland, move through earlier. Here's a capture of the Serenissima before the fog began.



Shetland Webcams

Diane - When you mentioned the Serenissima yesterday the name didn't ring a bell, but it should have!  It was only when you posted your capture that I remembered we had seen this little ship earlier in the year when we were on the Isle of Iona.     Funny I couldn't remember the name but did recognise the ship, a bit like recognising a face but not the name I suppose LOL....

Isle of Iona with the Abbey in the distance.....

Talking about whales I can say Diane one of the wildlife highlights of my life was seeing a humpback whale breech when we were on an Alaska cruise.  We took the trip out on one of those wildlife catamaran's, the weather was dull and drizzly, but when that whale broke the surface I will never forget the sight of it!   I have no digital photos as it was in 1998.    Wildlife and nature really are the wonderful things about this World! 

Oh, how wonderful to see the humpback whale! What a meaningful experience! I would love to see Alaska.

We went to Alaska for a Special Birthday celebration Diane.   I wouldn't mind going back as I have another coming up in a couple of years time LOL....   but its all the travelling, if we could get a direct flight, I would do it in a heartbeat but its all the hassle of changing planes etc.     It is a wonderful wild and rugged place.  

The big bonus is that you cruise close to land for a lot of the time..... I always remember cruising for a couple of hours and not seeing a single sign of human life, when in the middle of nowhere there is this lovely log cabin, and they had draped over the veranda a big white sheet with the words "LUCKY ME" written on it.   I did laugh when I see that, and they sure were lucky indeed.   

Better stop prattling on Ha Ha....   

Mary: After Scotland and Ireland, I think Alaska would be next on my vacation wish list. That's a very funny story about the Lucky Me sign. Yes, he or she was lucky!