It's over, at last......

Jenny,

It is good to hear the operation went well, I don't think you can blame yourself for not being with Mandi, it is a long journey and as you said.. its not easy.

You will be fine once you find a flight you can manage. I hope your Christmas is a good one this year.

I have to agree its getting cold here too. I have been having my fire on full for a few days now.

I hope you have a good week too. I will, its my birthday on the 30th :)

Thanks so much Steve, for these kind words. I hope you have a great birthday on the 30th. I hope my Christmas is a good one this year too - the last two have been spent on my own. I could have gone to my son's, but as they go to my daughter-in-law's family, none of them I know - I'd much rather stay on my own.

So glad that it's done now, and great that it was done so quickly too.

I had a 'bleb' removed from my eye some years ago, and they took macro pictures of that for their records and because it was unusual, but they never showed them to me, just asked permission.

Maybe they were ensuring Dogan knew how big they were and that he needs to take care of her?

So sorry to see you're having problems getting a flight sorted out to visit Mandi. Really hope you can get that sorted out very soon.

Cold here too, and so very wet and dreary. We need some sunshine.
Take care.

Thank you so much, Fran for your kind thoughts and wishes. Yes I thought they might have shown them to Dogan so he could see how big they were and therefore why she was in such pain. I will keep on looking for flights, but they are few and far between.

Im glad thats done now. Such a relief to her and you. Do not think for even a minute that you're a lousey mom! She wouldn't be strong enough to handle all this were it not for how you raised her! You're a great mom!
I do hope you find a good connection for your trip. I wonder would you be better takes ng the train into London and using an airport near there? I don't know but here you have a better selection from larger airports.

Aww thank you so much Gracie for this - it makes me feel so much better. It was lovely chatting to you this afternoon. I can catch a coach to London, but even from there, there aren't any direct flights. I'll keep on looking - but now she's had such a big operation, she won't be able to collect me from any other airport in Turkey. It's a worrying situation.

Well, that was a great report, Jenny!!! I am soooooo happy that Mandi was well cared-for and got a confidence boost because of the close contact by the surgeon. It means so much. We are always frightened by surgery so this was really great. THREE LUMPS, omg!! Well I'm glad they're out, and I'm glad Dogan took an active role in being support to his wife. I gather that he can be way too traditional in his thinking from the way you speak about him. That would drive me totally nuts if I had to stand by and watch that sort of backwards behavior. He obviously loves Mandi a lot though, and that's good! To look at the pictures of the lumps is big of him, that isn't something that Steve could stomach at all. BTW, if you've ever had a colonoscopy procedure, we discovered that it's standard to get pictures to see...you are under general anesthesia for a short time and I think they show pictures to prove that they DID the procedure. I will say that I've never heard of lumps being photographed but I'm not surprised. Sounds like the surgeon had all the right interest and care for Mandi and making sure everything was well at the end.

And by the way, you're a GREAT mama! Nobody can be everywhere for everyone. You cannot just pop down the street to check on her. She knows how much you love her and it may even be that it's better you're not there. So don't worry, you're awesome! :)

I hope you're able to get a flight worked out. Sounds like a nightmare!

Finally, the weather is getting very cold around here too! As you saw on FB, it snowed a lot the other day, though all but just a touch here and there are now melted. The power outage we had wasn't fun but happily it only lasted a couple of hours. We've had winter outages that lasted for 2-3 days, and THAT was no fun at all! Anyway, stay warm and cozy!!

OH! Thank you so so much for your lovely comments about my two previous presentations!

Re: metal detecting and your garden finds--it is great to dig up treasures, isn't it! I loved reading about the buckle from the bygone days of the carriage house! That's so cool...how I'd love to get out there and snoop around for more! :D Also, the sand dunes sound like fun too. It was interesting to read about the fees associated with finding treasures in your country. What a concept to find something so valuable that it makes you rich! CRAZY!

So happy you chose the first pip of my resin pictures, as that one is arguably my favorite. It's just so hard to choose which picture to make first, you know?! I'm glad you enjoyed the pictures so much, I was really surprised at how well they turned out, especially since I thought that none of them would turn out at all!

Thanks too for the holiday wishes! We're roasting a duck for dinner, such a treat! And also we made macaroons and lemon curd for desserts! Should be wonderful!

Thank you so much for your very kind words Janet. I know I should start making plans to move to Turkey - but if you could see this house and all the stuff here in it - you'd understand why I feel so overwhelmed by it all. This house has been in our family for 60 years, so it's quite a wrench to leave it, but it is a big house, and I'm finding it very hard to keep going. My legs don't seem to want to work all the time, so soon I won't be able to stay here on my own. It's no fun getting old!!!!!

Oooh macaroons and lemon curd sound gorgeous for dessert. I'm not a lover of pumpkin pie, so you've shown me something else that could be done.

Yes those pictures of the resin droplets were absolutely stunning. How could they not turn out well, you've taken them, so they are bound to be good. You take incredible macros, I think it's your genre and you do it exceptionally well.

It's gone cold here, but not so cold that it'll snow, although the sky does have a strange colour to it. Still I have a radiator on together with a halogen fire, and with a cardigan and jumper on, I'm cosy. If it gets really much colder, then a hot water bottle and a quilt over my knees will do the trick.

Wow, I am so relieved to hear that Mandi is doing better after her surgery! Like others have said, it isn't unusual for the doctor to take photos of the byproducts of surgery, these lumps are particularly of note. I am very relieved to hear that they were able to remove them all completely, and hopefully it will be the end of it.

Winter has arrived at my home as well! Some areas up north have received snow, and in my area it is cold and wet. They were talking of a frozen mix to fall upon us today, but it hasn't happened yet, only dark cloudiness and bone-chilling cold.

I know how hard it is for you to make plans to move with your home as it is; we have been in our home over 28 years, and a lot of belongings to contend with now! I hope you can find the best flight to take you to Turkey this holiday season; it must be so hard on you to not be able to be there for Mandi at this time! But whatever you do, don't consider yourself a bad mum because you can't get there when you want! I know Mandi understands your predicament, and would not want you to agonize over it!

Hugs to you and Mandi xxx