Today I sent JOJG a letter, exerpted here as I find it interesting to see the ongoing discussion at this forum : "As a long time subscriber and respectful reader of JOJG, I feel compelled to write regarding a disturbing tone that weaves throughout the writing from time to time. This has come squarely into focus with the May/June 05 issue where various contributors comment in Viewpoints on religion and Japanese gardens. In the comments here, as in many of the editorial comments over time, I find an undertone and attitude of elitism. It reminds me of a group of smug people gathered in a corner with their noses in the air, whispering among themselves and looking down on the misinformed masses, thinking "tsk, tsk, poor foolsÂif they only knewÂ". Attempting to separate Zen history and the Japanese garden seems baffling to me. The simple experience of seeing the gardens at the temples in Kyoto would make such an attempt seem ridiculous. There are many rewards to be found when one begins the study of this unique area of Japanese history and culture. One course interweaves with another and leads to enriching experiences. One of the best guides I know, "Kyoto A Contemplative Guide" by Gouverneur Mosher, published originally in 1964 by Tuttle, combines the history of Kyoto and the development of the Zen sects, with an excellent description of the gardens and the temples. It was an invaluable companion that enabled me to explore Kyoto quietly and alone both times I visited that city. The experience I had there left a permanent and transformative influence in my life. I will continue to subscribe to JOJG. It is a wonderful publication that provides a singular resource for expanding oneÂs knowledge of gardening in the Japanese way. For those interested enough to seek out the deeper layers of the history and techniques behind this unique form of expression, it stands tall. The first time I read an issue I recognized immediately that there was a strong dedication to showing the deep discipline and commitment one undertakes in deciding to truly explore Japanese gardening. I would suggest that your work is noble and generous, and does not need to be diminished by what often feels like a reprimand to those who find and value the connection between the mundane and the spiritual in the experience of the Japanese garden. Respectfully and with warm regards, Wall Matthews

Good morning all, Back from DC and all I can say is WOW! My head is still spinning! We had a very powerful and moving weekend. I know that Rolling Thunder sounds like a bike rally of the normal kind but let me tell you this was not. We left NH on Thursday morning at 9am and headed for Philadelphia. Traffic wasnt bad until we got into Hartford (which is always crazy). I must say that being a motorcycle driver made my being a passenger a bit unnerving! Mark is a great driver but I had no control back there and that was disconcerting at times. Just past Hartford we met up with a huge group of bikes (40+) heading to DC. At first it seemed like a good thing to be behind them but the like to ride the lines and were in the middle lane, 2 astride, with cars and truck trying to pass on the left and right. Not comfortable so we got off the highway to regroup. I donÂt know why they ride the lines like that but itÂs really not fair to people trying to pass. Back on the road we were passed many, many times by bikes rolling in the same directions. It was fun. When we got to Philadelphia around 3pm we were pretty road weary. Our room was an absolute gorgeous sanctuary with a commanding view of the Ben Franklin Bridge and the mighty Delaware river. The room was gorgeously decorated in turquoise and brown and the sheets were soft cotton with down pillowsÂÂÂ.ahhhhhhhh. I loved it! We walked along the Delaware and popped over to Old City to mill around. We did not see any of the sights there because we were tired and hungry. We ate in a nice place along the river and had a great dinner. We headed out early to DC in the morning with a 3 hour drive ahead of us and we wanted to beat the holiday traffic. It was a grueling ride in but we made it. We checked into our hotel (another little sanctuary from the madness). Saturday, we cruised around and did all the monuments. It was amazing. I have never been to DC except in passing. The monuments are truly amazing as is the way the city is laid out; it reminds me a lot of Paris only smaller. All of the monuments were powerful but I have to say that the Korean War Memorial was amazing. I would love to see it at night someday - it was really haunting. Iwo Jima was amazing tooÂthey were all amazing. All the while we were visiting DC the air was filled with the sound of bikes rumbling everywhere like well, Rolling Thunder. It was really neat. I even got my horse fix watching the mounted police on their extra tall horses. Sunday morning - the big day. We got up at 5:00 am to head over to the Pentagon parking lot which was the assembly area for the demonstration. We got over there at 6am and there were already hundreds and hundreds of bikes there! The procession order was on a first come first go basis. Nothing would start moving until noon so we had a long wait in the hot parking lot. We people watched, met new people and tried to keep cool with the bikes just kept coming and coming and coming, and when the Pentagon lot was full more bikes were directed to the other parking lot. It is estimated that about 6,000 participated in the demonstration and that Washington had about a million motorcycles over the weekend. Just before noon the an Air force jet flew over us! At noon the thunder started rolling and that just gave me chills. In about a half an hour we were on our way. We headed up a ramp that was lined with people waving flags, we started across the Memorial Bridge and at the beginning of the bridge there were a bunch of soldiers holding huge flags, once turned onto the bridge there were officers standing at full attention and saluting! We followed Constitution Avenue, around the Mall and down Independence Avenue to the Wall. There we were directed into a field by mounted police! Then we just watched all the thousands of others behind us come in. It was amazing. I have to say that this organization, Rolling Thunder has done a great deal in the last 23 years to bring attention to the plight of our POWÂs, MIAÂs and VetÂs issues. I certainly will never forget this experience. Left DC at 4am and got home late Monday afternoon and THANK GOD I took Tuesday off! I mowed all day long except for a couple of hours to get Sweet Pea out for her first drive. She did really well. ItÂs good sheÂs feeling well. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gbf3-T_JUek here she is driving. I will post some video of DC on YouTube when I can. Donna,the link was in last week's thread.

When you aimed the exhaust out your window, did you have it blowing through a window screen? If so, that's wrong. It's very difficult for air to blow *through* a screen. Try it again with the screen off the window or the exhaust duct aimed out a door, or simply laying on the floor, whatever, so the air stream has no restriction. Just wondering also ... I've seen cases in which the dryer was shoved too far back against the wall, crushing the flexible vent hose or bending it sharply. By the way, the thermostat is *supposed* to turn off (and then back on) to maintain whatever is the target temperature for the selected cycle. For your reference, below are the temperatures at which the heat shuts off. It cycles back on when the temp drops by 10°F to 15°F. High = 155°F +/- 10°F Medium = 145°F +/- 10°F Low = 125°F +/- 10°F Ex Low = 105°F +/- 5°F Your washer's spin speed does have some effect on drying time, but the new dryer still should be able to dry a load in close to the same time as the old one. Maybe your old dryer ran hotter than the new one? Did you normally use the High temperature setting on it? The starting cycle time is only an estimate. The electronic control recalculates and adjusts the remaining time based on how quickly it senses the clothes are drying, size of the load, what is the target dryness level, etc. If the two damp items were of substantially heavier fabric weight than the rest of the items in the load, it's normal for them to be damp at the end. Your dryer's electronic sensing split the difference between the lighter and heavier items. If your old dryer didn't have an electronic sensor, you may not be accustomed to how it works. Some newer dryers also tend to err toward the side of less-dry for energy saving purposes, so you may need to raise the target dryness setting by one level depending on the mix of fabrics that comprises your normal loads.

Jennifer, I did not check the turnips and beets today. The guy that baled the hay and ran over the beets and turnips was here today working on the baler and hauling hay. I did not want him to feel bad about a crop being in that mess he ran over, plus my grand daughter came to visit, the rain also kept me in the house a long time today. I don't know how much rain we got, but, it was at least .3 inch. The rain, hail, and wind was a little rough on the tomatoes. I was so proud that I was doing a much better job keeping them tied up, but I fell off the wagon and they got out hand in just a few days. I tied some damaged plants up today, and hope to do more tomorrow. I harvested our first pimento pepper today, and I have a sweet banana pepper ready for harvest. All the peppers are green, I wont expect any ripe ones for a long time. We are getting a lot of squash and cucumbers, but I don't thing we are getting many customers at the produce stand yet, but this is only the second day the stand has been open, and they are trying to sell the garage sale stuff out first. I hope to get up in the morning and pot up the last of our sweet potato slips. We have a few late slips, which I may try growing in hay. I have got to quit gardening, and start working on equipment, it seems like everything I own is broken down.