I'm atempting to surf and surface after several weeks struggling with illhealth - and now I feel physically better I have an extra 'black dog' as well as my beloved Lukas (rescue cross collie) that doesn't bring me any comfort whatsoever.
I've often wondered how we would know when one of us dies - taboo subject - but a fact of life (and death) - would people want to know?
However I'm not planning on moving on just yet.
Managing to teach King Lear - which was already scheduled - not the best of choices just now - but I'm always impressed by WS's life coaching - who needs to pay for advice and guidance from anyone else when it is all there in his plays!
I've been reading latest auto of Margot Fonteyn - brilliant even if one's not a balletomane and my bedtime story is Attention All Shipping' by Charlie Connelly - I dont think it's necessary to have heard Radio 4's Weather Forecast to appreciate this super read.
I have tried to contact Kate - she emailed me way back re difficulty posting bere but my rely emails never got through.
I've only recently got the cheapest broadband - really only because it frees up the phone but I could live without it - may have to now that everything is getting so expensive for the oldies here.

Jankin,

This is just a rather boring concurrence, really.

I, too, have often wondered how we would know if one of us died. My partner, for instance, doesn't know how to access the internet at all, let alone find this site (why I don't need broadband, by the way: only I log on in this household - there are but 2 of us)

And I, too, have tried to contact Kate by e-mail (we did, occasionally, correspond) - but my letters came flying back.

And I, too, have always got great comfort from LEAR. Especially Act 1V.

Dido

Would I want to know? I'll have to think about that. My initial reaction is that yes, I'd very much want to know. But upon reflection, I suspect I'd prefer to think we are all going our merry way in other places.

Interestingly enough, Lear so overwhelms me with heartbreak that I have no willingness to listen to words of comfort.

Jankin, I'm sorry to hear you have been ill.

Jan, I have been thinking (and wondering) about you for some time and am really sorry to hear you have been sick. Hope all is well with you quickly and completely.

Jan, ditto.

My economic situation after graduating from college was such that the Apple IIc was my computer of choice for the next ten years. No internet. When I 'upgraded' to the 486, we decided to go for it, and had dial up for years. Its only been recently that we have been able to do high speed, and its wonderful In fact I am getting spoiled when the browser isn't fast enough. But I very much remember what that was like, and understand why others cant.

Then theres always the question, if it aint broke why fix it. My land line and my sony walkman work just fine. I don't feel the need for a cell or iPod - tho someday I may

You can go to a place like PCWorld and many other places and download the free version of Spybot Search and Destroy (at least I think you can still get it free) which really keeps my PC free from most large ads. I run it monthly or so and all I see when coming to gardenweb is the initial ad at the top of the page and one to the right and an occasional moving box across the screen from iVillage asking if I want to take a survey. That's it.

Hope this helps.
Kathy

I'm here! Thanks to Rouan.

I moved to the other side of the country (to nothern CA from Boston) last summer and then my computer broke, so for a few months I had very limited computer access and when I did it was strictly the essentials- no time for fun stuff. By the time I'd settled in here and gotten a new computer I'd completely forgotten about RP. Must be getting old. :) It wasn't until Rouan emailed me that I remembered this great place. So here I am, I haven't been posting but I certainly have been reading! I'm looking forward to good discussions.

Welcome back-glad you found us again-where are in in N. Calif?-I am here too!

Pat

Zoenikos,

Welcome back! I'm so glad you are back posting with us. I've missed you and your recommendations.

by the way, I finally, (really!) read The Queen of Attolia, but only after reading the 3rd volume, The King of Attolia first. It only took me how many years......! lol

Zoenikos, I'm in the bay area; perhaps we are neighbors. I'd be happy to tell you about all my favorite used books stores, provided you haven't already found them yourself.

Paula

I have to admit that I am still on dial-up. Since I am the only computer user in my household, and rarely spend more than an hour on the internet per day, it just doesn't seem necessary to upgrade to something much faster.

But then, I am a notorious Luddite at the best of times.

I haven't seen any contributions from Venusia for a while. Have I just missed them, or is she here under a different name now, or /hope not/ gone?

Thanks Sherwood and Rosefolly, I'm in Silicon Valley, Sunnvale, to be exact. Next month I'm going to be moving to... Sunnyvale, trading one apartment and two roommates for a different apartment and a single roommate. The friends I moved out here with are moving back east and it's fairly impossible to live without roommates in the bay area on a nanny's salary!

I've found some good bookstores (although, oddly enough, I have yet to make it to Keplers or City Lights) and I'd welcome suggestions of more. There's a cute little used/new bookstore in downtown Sunnyvale called Leigh's Favorite Books. They're a little expensive, but I like to sell my used books there because they pay so well.

Where do you live, Sherwood? I know Rosefolly is nearby because Rouan told me. I have to say I never thought I'd end up in CA- I was a dedicated New Englander. But it sure is beautiful here. I've been trying to get out more lately since I've been here nearly a year and am embarassed to admit that I haven't been south of Santa Cruz yet. I have this week off so I'm making a trip to Moneterey to see Cannery Row and the aquarium.

Speaking of which, I have to get going on my Steinbeck to prepare. My roommate claims Cannery Row is much better than all of the 'boring' Steinbeck books they make you read in high school but since I never read any Steinbeck in high school this will be my first foray. I'll have to start a new Steinbeck post this week. :)

You are much closer to Paula than me-I live about about a 1/2 drive north of Sacramento.
I haven't been to the Sunnyvale, Palo Alto area for years. I had a dear friend who moved there from here and ended up in Portola Valley for a long time, then she moved to Scots Valley & is now in Santa Cruz - I haven't seen her in years because the traffic in the Bay Area is soooo bad!
It used to be easy to get on a bus here, get into SF by noon, she would pick me up and we spent the day shopping then she would return me to the bus depot at 5pm for the trip back.
It has been a couple of years since some friends drove us to see an exhibit at the Place of the Legion of Honor-a fantastic exhibit of Illuminated Manuscripts, most people I know refuse to make that drive any more-as beautiful as the city is!

Pat

In the spirit of this thread, I just wanted to let my friends here know that I won't be around for the next couple of months - very busy time of year. I will be back. :-)

You'll be missed. Where are you going, Janalyn? Bon voyage....

I seem to remember that Janalyn is a fervent gardener...

Anyanka, thank you for noticing I was gone. There was some sort of change at Gardenweb and my login would never stick, so I left for awhile. I think this also coincided with a rather slow period on the site so I would only come read infrequently. Also, I read a lot less than I used to, so I don't really have anything to discuss. I think I haven't even finished a book this month, which is very strange for me.

Hi Venusia, I hope your reading rate recovers soon! I always enjoy your contributions.

Pat, I actually work in Portola Valley. Beautiful place to live if you have a few million dollars lying around to buy a house with!

I noticed the traffic when I went to Tahoe earlier this year. I was told, "It's always this bad." Why is that? It's too bad the transit system doesn't seem very good here. It would probably be quicker if you could take a train here.

Zoenikos, have you been to Mountain View yet? On Castro Street you will find a new book store called Books Inc, and next door a huge used book store called Bookbuyers. I spend a lot of time there. Head up to Palo Alto for another used book store, Bell's Books on Emerson. They have an especially good collection of garden books, but their children's books are also good. When you go to Menlo Park for the locally famous Kepler's, you will be one block from Feldman's, another used book store, one that wanders around and back through a little outdoor space like a labyrinth. My last recommendation is some distance from the others, since it is in San Jose. It is called Recycle Books and it is on The Alameda not far from the arena where the Sharks play.

I just had an idea. Would you like to go on a field trip? I could take you on a book store tour. As Pat mentioned, living in Cupertino I'm very close to you. Pat, if you want to drive in from Sacramento, you could come too. This would be fun, We could make a day of it. We just have to wait until after my classes are done in May. If anyone else is in the area and wants to come too, let me know. My car can take four easily.

Paula

Paula, that sounds like fun! I'd love to go on a bookstore field trip. Just let me know when you have some free time. It seems like there was at least one other poster in the bay area besides Pat, maybe we should post a new thread when we plan the day in case they haven't read this one.

I have been to the Castro St. bookstores. My roommates discovered them soon after we moved here. I keep meaning to go to Bookbuyers and sell the trunk full of books I've been driving around with for weeks but they have this complicated system whereby you have to go early on Saturday morning and then come back later the same day at a prescribed time to pick up the books they don't want.

I think I've seen Feldman's, is that the one on El Camino? But I haven't checked it out yet. I'm most frequently in that area for work and the 5-year-old I take care of is not amenable to being dragged through bookstores. :)

It has been months since I visited this Paradise. I've missed it, but was and still am without reliable access to the Internet. It will be a while until that changes (reading some messages above I realized I am not alone in this, even if we are in the 21st century), but hopefully this will be the year. I'm still a Reader, but not In Transit anymore. I have relocated to the Pacific Norhtwest, and there are still days--like when it rained for 27 consecutive days in the winter--when I still miss sunny Florida, but the bookstores here are great, especially the second hand bookshops. I'm glad to see a lot of names that I recognize. Hello to you all.
I may not be a regular for the next couple of months, but hope to eventually be back for good.

Hi Reader-I hope you are able to come back soon-where are you-in the Seattle area? I have found some neat bookshops up there when I visit my DD.

Pat

The wonders of free wireless at hotels -- I am typing this in Chinle Arizona. In less than an hour we're going on a guided tour of the Canyon de Chelle which is a very beautiful spot. I love the colours, the red sandstones, bluish and bright green vegetation. The leaves on many of the trees are just opening.
I wanted to say thanks to Chris for the geology book recommendation and others for their tips. The Grand Canyon deserves all the cliche adjectives, I was overwhelmed how vast it is.
Beautiful weather! The temps are just right and while the Grand Canyon was busy, there are very few people here in Chinle.
Gotta go!

Janalyn --

Ok, it's official. I am now green with envy as I read your posting. I'm in my office looking out at a highway. One of my colleagues is in Mexico this week. Yes, I'm green with envy.

;-)

Great to hear from you, Janalyn!

BTW, whatever happened to Larry of OZ who used to post here?

Dynomutt - you're lucky you're anywhere near a window, even if you're looking at what we'd call a road....I can SEE a window, but it's a long way away.

I'd LOVE to go to see the Grand Canyon. My boss is going to Sicily tomorrow for a week. Count me green as well.

I haven't posted on this thread even though I've been following it. Now I just want to jump in and wish Jan oodles of get well wishes, or rather, glad you are well wishes.

Janalyn, have a super trip, a safe time with many adventures and expereinces to share with us.

I'm at home, waiting for the school bus. The dogs by my side are waiting for the school bus, too. With fuel prices these days, it's a good thing I like to be at home! Lots of windows and a lovely spring breeze and a short bike ride to the library so all is the same, but all is well.

Thanks to all of you missing RP-ers for chiming in. I hope you are back to stay now. I often wonder if some of the still MIA RP-ers lurk here and think about posting but decide not to but almost hit the keys and then change their minds.

Anyway, I think I hear the school bus so I am off.
PAM

jan, so glad you are enjoying yourself! And yeah, we have had an unusually mild spring, so the weather has been lovely. Enjoy your tour!

PAM, come to the UK to find out about high fuel prices.
After a swift calculation and conversion of litres to US gallons and a check of the exchange rate the price of 'petrol' over here is roughly $8 per US gallon.
Of course a huge % of that is made up of tax.
How much do you pay for fuel in US, Canada, Australia etc?
If someone can chime in from the UK and say the DH's sums are all wrong, I'll still claim ours is too much!

Petrol is a quid a litre. So that's about $1.80 a litre. 3.8 litres to the US gallon, so it's actually a little under $7 per US gallon over here.

Still a lot!

Well, here in Ottawa the gas prices range from $1.109 per liter to $0.902 per liter. And that's in Canadian dollars!

(I still remember when it was about $0.50 per liter ......)

Saw long lines at the gas station near our house yesterday-$2.89! A bargain! I immediately filled up.

I need 93 octane and just paid $3.25/gallon! That may be low in comparison to UK prices (yes, veer, I'd love to come back over!) but it's wayy more than I am used to paying!

PAM

Hmmm........ gas STILL sounds cheaper in the US. I just did some quick conversions and, assuming I did this correctly, gas here in Ottawa is between US$3.74 and US$3.04 per US gallon. And that's REGULAR unleaded gasoline.

Hmmmm...... maybe it's time to move to Alberta .....

Here in PA, some people I know run over the line to Maryland to buy their adult beverages-so much cheaper, not that I have personal experience, mind you-
Will the same thing soon be happening at Niagra Falls?
Customs Official- "the purpose of your trip?"
Driver "cheap gas."

You forgot the other two reasons to go to Niagara Falls -- "cheap booze and cheap smokes". ;-)

Sounds like the "booze cruises" we have in the UK. Booze is a LOT cheaper in France, so people get the car out, take it across the channel on a ferry, go into the nearest hypermarket and stock up. Oh, and on fags as well.

There was quite a cause célèbre in this area of England a couple of years ago concerning a group of females who regularly drove to Dover (quite a tortuous journey in itself) and took the ferry to France and loaded up with fags and booze.
After a few visits HM Customs stopped them and claimed they could never smoke or drink all the stuff themselves and that they were obviously planning to resell it ( a recent NO NO since the Customs no longer charge 'Duty' on these items). Although the women claimed smoking and drinking were their favourite vices and no-one else was involved the Customs confiscated their goodies plus the car.
It must have been a very long walk home but the women appealed against the Customs, the case went to Court and amazingly they won and were given their stuff and car back.
As with the US Customs, HM Customs have amazing powers . . .far more than the police and it is pointless trying to argue/bribe/wail/plead because they have you by the short and curlies. The drink and fags can be disposed of and the cars either sold or crushed.

Hello Sherwood38,

Yes, I am in Seattle (where else could you have 27 straight days of rain?). And, yes, the bookstore are neat. There are a good number of independent bookstores, and a few of the big ones; not that many of those, at least not in the city itself. Just last weekend was the booksale of the Seattle Public Library. It is huge, people go with boxes or suitcases. I got some good books for $1 or 50 cents (their condition varies), and on the last day (Sunday) everything is half price.

Janalyn,
I was to the Canyon de Chelly a few years ago, and found it more beautiful than the Grand Canyon, though less imposing due to its smaller scale. I was working in central Arizona, and drove to the Canyon de Chelly through native American reservation roads. Absolutely deserted since it was Thanksgiving Day. Enjoy!

After having driven 1100 miles in the states of Nevada, Arizona and Utah, and having had many discussions about the price of gas, here are our conclusions: gas prices (US dollars per US gallon)have ranged from $2.89 (Utah) to $3.09 (Arizona) and I guess we'll find out what the costs are in Nevada when we refill this rental vehicle tomorrow before returning it. The Americans have a flat tax on every gallon -- the federal is constant but the state tax varies.
In Vancouver we are paying about $3.70 US per US gallon. Our government scoops a lot of money from us at the pump. It's a percentage so when the price of gas rises so does their tax grab. The exchange rate is w-a-y better now for the Cdn dollar for those of us travelling to the US, so I bet there will be a few more Canucks going south for shopping.
As for our trip, it has been a fun, learning experience. Our tour guide at Canyon de Chelly was a Navajo who grew up in the canyon, his dad still farms there. He had a great sense of humour and didn't mind all my questions. We were comparing Navajo band experiences and politics with the native groups of my province, along with the Canyon history. We later visited Monument Valley where all those John Wayne western films were made, the Navajo Monument (more hiking) and walked barefoot through the Coral Pink Sand dunes. We crossed the Colorado river, followed an old wagon train trail, and hiked up a canyon viewpoint at Zion Canyon in Utah. I must have 250 pictures of rocks and rock formations. This may not be a good thing.... ;-)

Anyway, it's been a fantastic trip. Everyone we met has been friendly and at this time of year there were few cars on the roads we travelled. Great part of the country!

PS Our rental vehicle (full-sized) Chevy Impala has been getting over 30 miles per gallon. Not bad. Eased the pain at the pump.

PSS I suppose I should mention something about books. I read Tracy Chevalier's The Lady and the Unicorn last night and now it's back to Aztec which has more meaning after this trip. Those Spanish conquistadors were destructive meddlers.

Adios from Utah!

We did the circuit on the rim the evening before the lower canyon tour at de Chelly. We got to the Spider rock and I said to my husband and daughter that it reminded me of an old western that I saw when I was a kid called McKenna's Gold starring Gregory Peck. Don, the tour guide confirmed that it was filmed there. I'm going to try to find it at the library to watch again. Yes, de Chelly was beautiful and less imposing than the Grand Canyon. On some of the Anasazi cliff houses you could read the scrawled names of Spaniards from 1805, and soldiers from the 1870's and 1880's.
The month of January was dreadful, wasn't it? We have so much rain. Don told us that they have been in a drought now for ten years and the Navajo farmers are giving up on corn, they got so little last year and are instead planting alfalfa.
Goodnight!

Ok, some conversion gives Adelaide petrol prices as $US3.73 per US gallon ($AUS1.30 per litre). As with the rest of you, a lot goes to the government - about 40% I think. The most annoying thing about our petrol prices though is the up and down nature of the price. The price goes up on Wednesday to about $1.40/l and then gradually comes down. This morning (Saturday) it was $1.34/l - but I had a discount voucher from a supermarket that took 4c/l off, so really paid $1.30. I laugh at the drivers of big four wheel drive cars (I really hate them on the road - can't see around them, can't pull out of a park safely when you are next to them, and many of the drivers seem oblivious to other traffic) because it must be killing them to fill up.

Of course, comparing prices is only sensible if you compare wages too, but that is much harder to do.

Reader- If it ever stops raining (LOL!) and you want a nice day out-I highly recommend the town of Snohomish, it is a quaint old town-small but with lots to see including antique stores & malls. However the best shop (IMO) is called Upper Case Books which is at the top of the hill-it is a well stocked book store dealing with rare-out of print & used books. It is very clean and well organized.
Whenever I am up that way visiting my DD we always arrange a day there for me to browse the books and to pick up some imported English foodstuffs at one of the little shops on the main st.

Pat

Sherwood38,

How curious that you mention Snohomish. Since the weather improved the last 2 weeks (Thank God for that), I have been trying to get out of the city, and thought of going to Snohomish, since I had heard that it is quite charming. I checked the map to see how to get there, but did not find the town on it. I admit the map was not a good one, but now that you've mentioned it, I certainly will get another map or instructions how to get there, and will let you know how it goes.

In the meantime, I went to the Skagit Valley for the Tulip Festival, just 1 hr 15 min norht of the city. A big bulb company grows tulips and daffodils and you see field after field of color (one field red, another yellow, and so on). I went on a very sunny day, and the contrast of the field under a blue sky was exhilarating. If you have been here in the spring, you may have been there. As a bonus, not far from the bulb fields, I got to see large flocks of snowgeese in the sky and on fields on their migration north, and one bald eagle eating a small animal in other recently ploughed field. I felt I was in one of those nature TV shows.

Sherwood38,

Yesterday the weather was great, and since I was off work, I went to Snohomish (I found a good map at Barnes & Noble). Quaint town, too many antique shops (I can't do more than a few), but it is so sunny and balmy that I just walked around. The Upper Case Bookstore has moved to a bigger building on 2nd Ave. Nice bookstore, I have to go again to more time to browse. Yesterday was too nice to spend indoors. Thank you for suggesting this day trip!

I am glad you found it LOL!
Maybe the next time I am up visiting my DD we could meet for a cuppa at the Picadilly Cafe if you are interested and can make it!

Pat

I'm one of those who "come and go" - often I read but don't post. But I might go weeks or months without even visiting - guess it depends on what is occuring in my life at the time. However, I'm ALWAYS reading!

Sherwood 38,

That would great. I've never met any other RPer, so you would be the first! Just let me know ahead.
Where is the Picadilly Cafe?