#644 The Shetlands

Not a tree in sight and yet...

The Shetland Islands are breathtakingly beautiful!

We docked in Lerwick on the most beautiful day of the year (according to the locals) and made our way to the northwest edge of the mainland to see the Eshaness sea stacks near the Eshaness lighthouse.

 It's been a couple decades since we last visited Scotland and we are happy to see it again.   

 Some of our favorite things include kite-flying over the sea stacks,

the crofts,

 cutting peat,

 those intelligent, strong, adorable Shetland ponies,

 and the dry stone walls.  (I predict there will be a dry stone wall in my future.)

Yours in enjoying the spectacular beauty of this Scottish island,
Mary

#341 The Comforts of a Muddy Saturday

Here we are in 1996 on Johnston Terrace, a lovely street near the castle in Edinburgh, Scotland.

Johnston Terrace (and UVA) are both referenced in The Comforts of a Muddy Saturday by Alexander McCall Smith, the 5th in his Isabel Dalhousie series.

I love Isabel, so I had to get a copy just as soon as it hit the bookstores. Isabel is an Edinburgh philosopher who does a little sleuthing, but mostly she's trying to live a meaningful, judgment-free, conscientious, help-your-neighbor lifestyle. Isabel refers to her moral neighbors, those she comes in contact with and does what she can to help them.

There are many comforts on a muddy Saturday or even on a sunny Saturday - and an Isabel Dalhousie novel is one.

Yours in waiting for the next installment,
Mary

#298 Remembering Scotland

We're 50 miles from the Isle of Lewis in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland. After more than a week at sea, everyone is excited about being so close to land.

We are having fun with all the shipboard events and we are having fun remembering Scotland.

We don't get to dock in Scotland, but our proximity guides our thoughts back in time to our last Scotland visit. A dozen years ago, we borrowed a mini cooper - about the same size as a picnic table - from our Scottish hosts (thanks Randall and Donna) and motored along the single-track roads around the Scotland coast.

Back then, we looked north from John o' Groats, the most northerly settlement in Great Britain, toward the Shetland Islands and wished we had the time to sail there. Tonight, we are passing between the Shetland Islands and the Orkney Islands and wishing we had the time to sail to John o' Groats.

Perhaps we'll catch a glimpse. It's not long till midnight and there's still plenty of light in the sky.

Yours in being eager to arrive in the Kingdom of Norway but also enjoying a slow journey past the Kingdom of Scotland,
Mary