Cameron, sorry, I didn't mean to scare anyone. Ticks have been around here for a long time and never been a problem for the tourism trade. Still, it pays to be alert, hence what I've been writing. As for France, I'm not sure what the situation is there, and I'm not sure where the Esterels are, but the Côte d'Azur has a very similar climate to where I live. Even the flora is quite similar. So I guess we can safely assume ticks may be present there as well, even though, as I said, they have not been known to be a problem for the tourist trade. It's been a while since I've been to France, but I'm sure you will be able to buy insect repelent at the airport (are you flying to CDG in Paris?) and at the major locations in the Côte - Cannes, Antibes or Nice come to mind. I don't think you should be too concerned about hiking in the area, just be alert to the possibility and deal with it if it happens. Of course, safe hiking in any place should include stout footwear and socks, plus long trousers and long sleeves, if the weather allows it. Not just because of ticks, but for all kinds of bugs and even plants. Sorry if I'm scaring you, it was not really my intention, but just to alert you that ticks are a lot more common than one can think of at first and appropriate measures should be taken if you're planning to spend time outdoors in this type of climate. Cameron, above all, enjoy your trip to France, the Côte d'Azur is a wonderful place (used to go there for work, many moons ago). Eduarda

this is from the GardenWeb terms of service. Basically if you upload to their servers your content is fair game. "By submitting content, which shall include your member name, to any "public area" of the GardenWeb Network, including, but not limited to, the forums and your personal website, exchange page and journal, you grant iVillage a royalty-free, perpetual, irrevocable, non-exclusive right (including any moral rights) and license to use, reproduce, modify, adapt, publish, translate, create derivative works from, distribute, sublicense, assign, derive revenue or other remuneration from, communicate to the public, perform and display the content (in whole or in part) worldwide and/or to incorporate it in other works in any form, media, or technology now known or later developed, for the full term of any Rights that may exist in such content. If you are not the creator of such content, you also warrant that the holder of any Rights, including moral rights in such content, has completely and effectively waived all such rights and validly and irrevocably granted to you the right to grant the license stated above. You also permit any visitor or member to access, display, view, store and reproduce such content solely for personal, noncommercial use" from photobuckets TOS "When you make your Content public, you grant us a worldwide, non-exclusive, royalty-free license (with the right to sublicense) to copy, distribute, stream, post publicly display (e.g. post it elsewhere), reproduce and create derivative works from it (meaning things based on it), anywhere, whether in print or any kind of electronic version that exists now or is later developed, for any purpose, including a commercial purpose." Most other website that allow uploading of content have the same TOS. Now if you own the Server and the website then you have a bit more "rights" When i share a photo I realize that now it is public and could be taken and used elsewhere. That is why I would suggest everyone watermark you photos. mike

Several are rather revolting, but I think the dirty mug is funny and I could be tempted to do the teeth ice cubes for a party. It reminds me of the time a nursing home resident wandered here, and I served her a cup of tea while waiting for a staff member to come pick her up. When she finished her tea she handed back the cup to me.....with her teeth in it. :-)

I'm an infrequent visitor to this board after my project was mostly completed over a year ago, but I do love lurking and looking at pics of gorgeous homes, etc. Anyway, this was a very interesting read with my morning tea. I had no idea! My sheets are washed weekly (though the exact day may vary). They are washed and immediately go back on the bed (king-size--HATE to fold). I wash the mattress pad when I think of it (it's so thick, it has to go to a laundromat, so it's not often) and the duvet cover gets washed 2x year. Luckily our ancient kitty no longer chooses to sleep with us (the bed it too high up for her--she's 20). My mom (very "old-school"--born 1919) would never have washed any more often and was sometimes known to switch the sheets around from top to bottom. She rarely washed blankets and never (that I know of) washed quilts--she aired them out. All of us kids survived quite healthfully. My MIL was worse about cleanliness (and even I cringe) and none of her children were ever sick or had allergies, etc. I think that keeping things overly clean is a detriment to our immune system. Humans spent many more years barely bathing, etc., and only in the last half-century has regular washing of any kind been less of a chore. Maybe ignorance IS bliss? When I was a kid, I'd never heard of dust mites, so I didn't fear them. Oh, and I laughed about the towel on the bed thing, Sherrmann.....I've been known to grab one too, especially when the sheets are fresh clean! Now if I had a live-in maid? Oh, how lovely to have fresh bedding each night......but it ain't ever gonna happen with me having to do it :-) I bet those of you that change your bedding so often also use clean towels each time you bathe?