There were 23 FEMA lots in New Hartford after the flood of 2008 ... people in these homes could either not afford to rebuild or have enough insurance to rebuild or just gave up on another flooded home...it means they took a 'buy-out' from FEMA ...so those lots can never be built on again...this was a 500-yr flood & affected many homes that never ever have flooded...but many of those that took the buy-out had flooded before ...but not on the main levels like this 2008 flood! So, when FEMA buys you out ...say like $25,000 or something I think may have been an avg (I don't know for sure)...then it becomes property of the city but cannot be built on to live in or have a business. The lots we are restoring have been this Vets Memorial, 4 Season Perennial Garden, Town Square Gazebo lot & a Community Gardens lot. We have written grants, raised money ...many of it donations & that's how we are doing it...we are wearing down as it is many retired people working long & hard...but we promised our community that we would have the 3 lots done by 1st week of June for the local yearly 'Beaver Creek Days.' It's all very worthwhile to all of us & brings a sense of pride back into the community. Thanks for asking, luvs & I appreciate all the comments from you 'Holiday-ers!' Jeanne S.

I brought back truffle oil, garden seeds, olive oil and wine. Italian seed packets are huge. Also, they add nothing to the weight and bulk of your luggage. The olive oil and wine were from a vineyard/olive grove tour. Four bottles were packaged for travel. Bologna is the main objective for my next trip to Italy. From what I've learned, it has the food I would most enjoy in all of Italy. That should be quite wonderful, since all the food I ate on my trip to the region around Florence was wonderful. For a month after that trip, I tried to duplicate those dishes on a daily basis. I did quite well for a while but now the memory needs refreshing. I need another trip. Mementos to bring home would be a low priority for me. The live experience is what's important -- the meals, the wine, the sights, the creature comforts which are abundant and essential to Italian life. They can't be packaged. The glass and pottery are beautiful though. I would probably shop for one of those serving bowls. Also, Italian shoes are the finest. Have a great trip. Jim

"It would help lots if our governments were much more proactive if taking steps to reduce the use of (commercial) pesticides." The tide might be turning, especially with such a strong focus on climate change of late. I'm hesitant to say this, because I know a lot of us are...ahem....not young-uns, but my hope is in the younger generations, the ones now coming up --> they're going to be the ones that fix the cr*ptacular environmental mess my generation and those previous made.

Fun thread! Of course (as Elmer points out) not all yesteryear memories were wonderful or longed for by today's standards (DDT being sprayed on wasps in a summer cottage, cotton candy stuck in long hair, non air-conditioned summers, spankings, snowy TV reception, the horrid polio shots, for example). However some memories really stand out. A fish monger who came to our neighborhood in his horse-drawn wagon. His oyster-colored horse was equipped with blinders and I loved the smell of the horse, it's reins and the sounds of the whole setup. Any in those days, oysters were large and affordable. I loved going to the ice shop and then putting my child mouth on a large clear block of ice after wiping the sawdust from it. My father used to come home from work at the end of the day with large paper bags full of fresh garden peas that were best tasting right from the pod. Local grew real plums and peaches as well. No felt fruit. One great thing was that we didn't need a clamming or salt water fishing license. The beaches were clean and not crowded. No loud intrusive music. Lots of large salmon and trout (wild) from clean brooks. As a kid, occasional leaks in the roof were a fun occurrence, necessitating a wild scramble for pots and pails. We had a huge tabogin (spelling?) and could be towed through farmers corn fields. We could skate on or swim in just about any pond we came across. In the winters we could slide down large hills with abandon, on privately owned, undeveloped property. No one thought about law suits. What fun. I was always outside doing something fun like rowing, skating, sledding, walking through privately owned woods whose owners didn't mind. Coca cola from a machine hosting those thick pale green bottles never tasted as cold or as good. Three cents for the returned bottles. Chips, Oreos, ice-cream sandwiches, donuts were all enjoyed without the troublesome awareness that came later about the negative health effects. For many years our family had this incredible large metal, glass-lined vacuum bottle wide-mouthed Thermos. My father made batches of the most delicious lemonade. He'd add lots of ice cubes and some of the squeezed lemon halves to the mix. I regret no one was forward thinking enough to have bough a couple of cartons full of the wonderful large thermos jug. Although I probable couldn't get away with guzzling down homemade lemonade, I still would love to have one of those very same jugs. Heavenly, was my father's lemonade. Remembering those picnics now, I'm taken with all the caring, work and vigor my folks put into all they did. I see photos of events, dinners, and see how peopled dressed (better, more carefully) in those days and before carefree materials came about. I used to like being around when my mother was ironing -- the resh clothes from the line and the smell of the iron on clean cotton. As a youngster, few understood the amount of labor involved. Whew! Oh, and remember those wooden handled, wheeled metal garden cultivators?! Thanks for the interesting thread, seniorgal, and to all those sharing all sorts of memories.