It feels like autumn here!

Good morning!

I would have loved to match your spring posting with one from Cyprus and I was planning to put pictures of my flowers from my verandas, but the weather here this week is more like autumn than like spring: it is cloudy and cold and it rains from time to time.... Despite this, my lavender is full of flowers - I was startled when I saw it, picture will be provided over the weekend - and my cactuses also have flowers. But the bougenvilias, the hybiskus' and the jasmin are very much behind.... They now have small new leaves and I hope they'll be in full bloom by the end of April when my mother, sister and friends will be here for the baptism.

Seattle! One of the most exciting things you can do there is to take a boat trip from a small town with a harbour north of Seattle and go our through the straights of the San Juan islands into the Pacific ocean to see the orca whales travelling to warmer waters. It takes a full day, but it is well worth it! The boat follows the whales from a distance but you can clearly see them swimming in and out of the sea. At the end of the trip, our boat sped up, went ahead and stopped on the path of the whales. The captain switched off the engine and we were waiting... when the whales arrived near the boat, they surfaced IN FRONT OF US and dived again, passing right under the boat! It was one of the most exciting pictures in my life, to see the mother whale and the baby into the green waters passing under the boat! I remember that I screemed. You will see also sea lions, bald eagles, seals, etc... but seeing the whales is the most exciting part of the trip.

My cough still persists, so I tried the onion and honey medicine: thinly sliced onion with honey in a jar; after a few hours there is a thin liquid on top; I take one spoonful three times a day. It seems to work!