Saucy, I agree you should go to the PC information gathering. I am not aware of how the PC operates very well since 1966! But I would like to add that there was great caution about health with removal of all molars whether they needed removal or not, experimental inoculations with explanations only afterwards, etc. I somewhat understand this, and expect you do too from your navy experiences, BUT...!!!!Also they were big on psychological evaluations and causing grief by trying to remove quite competent people from the program. (DH was one of those!) Also there was much treating us like children, surprise checkups, holiday and travel restrictions, etc. Personally I would rather do the work I dream of independently of an organization. I'd prefer to teach abroad, or work on bridge development, or whatever without the mothering. Certainly there are advantages too: quick evacuation, housing, sometimes doctors and vehicles. Money is NOT one of the advantages, though at the time (age 23) there was little to spend on. As an older person with children (they don't accept these kind of folks I believe unless the children are beyond school age) I'd be more concerned about income and so on. Just some of my morning thoughts. Photos: Saucy, this should remind you of photos you posted earlier. These are decorative tombstones in the Efik area of Eastern Nigeria. The faces and hands are painted pink or white oddly enough. Here are photos of the children of DH's school principal, Mr Nsofor. This is sports Day, 1965. DH played guitar with the Tex Dandies in town on a number of occasions. The child, Okereke, skillfully danced along in front. The tall man to the left was a PC man as well, and he was well loved by PC volunteers as well as locals. And here is yours truly with (now) DH November 7th, 1966 at our send-off party. (We were married in '68)The man to the right is DH's friend from Cornell University who taught at the same school. The Nigerian lady is Cecelia Ahaonu, also a teacher at the school. Ndeewo (Greetings/Thank you/Goodbye in Igbo)

Thank you for the compliment loves2cook. I have 3 digital cameras, one of which is a Canon EOS SLR the other two are Olympus, one tiny and one middle-sized point & shoots. I use one or the other according to where I am. (The smallest pocket one is for dining out in restaurants.) I don't use fully automatic settings, but rather make my own combination of manual and "scene" settings. Natural light is all I use and since our meals are in the early afternoon I never need an electric light, unless sitting at a dark restaurant table, where the overhead lamp is sufficient. Never use flash for food photos. I'd be happy to write some tutorials starting this weekend over on the Conversations side to share any tips and knowledge I have. But don't forget there's a whole blog of free help at Digital Photography School I have Photoshop but never use it. I prefer simpler editing programs with minimal adjustments of light, contrast etc. Okay now it's Ann's turn and anyone else who can elaborate on how they do it. I will go over to Conversations before Monday and write something that could hopefully be of help. SharonCb

My Reynolds parchment paper is good to 420ð, too. I don't think I never need to go over that when using it. Mostly, I use parchment paper for baked goods, but when I use it for the occasional main dish, it's something that's cooked fairly gently, not blasted. My problem with the Martha wrap is having to throw away two products, instead of just one. I usually recycle my parchment paper a few times before I throw it away, and even then, I'm wishing I could recycle. Unfortunately, I've tried the Silpats, and don't like them nearly as much.

I bought gel pens, books, colored pencils, etc. and have yet to finish a picture. I got too stressed over what color to use so I put it away, several times. I think I will sell it all or give it to my grandchildren who would probably not have the stress that I do, lol.