If you stop in San Jose, don't pass up the grounds of the Egyptian Museum http://www.rosicrucian.org/mus-plan/0-museum.html very near the Rose Garden. 40 miles south of Portland is the new Oregon Garden (haven't been there yet, but the photos in the newspaper article about the Grand Opening looked wonderful!) http://www.oregongarden.org/ Portland has a wonderful rose test garden http://www.parks.ci.portland.or.us/Parks/RoseGardens.htm A few miles north of Portland, across the border into Washington is Collector's Nursery http://collectorsnursery.com/ Friendly owners, unusual plants (specializing in dwarf conifers and shrubs) and a great display garden. In Tacoma, you might want to stop at Point Defiance Park. http://www.tacomaparks.com/ Click on 'gardens' They have a garden divided into several areas including herbs, natives, roses, Japanese and a dahlia test garden. There is also a five mile drive through the forest, with wonderful views of water, islands, and the Tacoma Narrows Bridge. Tacoma also has one of the three west coast (others San Diego and San Francisco) Victorian-style glass conservatory. Was just there yesterday - always a new display. East of Seattle in the city of Bellevue is a public garden noted for its perennial borders. http://www.bellevuebotanical.com/ And there is always Heronswood - perhaps the most famous Northwest Nursery. http://www.heronswood.com/ Don't forget Van Dusen Gardens in Vancoeuver. http://www.city.vancouver.bc.ca/parks/parks&gardens/vandusen/default.shtml But Buchart is still my favorite! It is a DON'T MISS!!!!!!!! http://www.butchartgardens.com/ Have fun!

boxers - I appreciate your input. I realize that there is no warranty against scratching. I did not ask the store owner or Mohawk rep to test the planks - it was their decision to do that. As I said, I do not expect Mohawk to conclude that the flooring was defective. However both the store owner and the rep did seem very surprised at the number and depth of the scratches and said that they had never seen this before with the Santa Barbara flooring. And the floor is a matte finish - which we deliberately selected to minimize the appearance of any scratches that might occur.

I guess we just differ in our definitions of "simple" and "sweet" when it comes to books-I don't find Hardy simple, either-but I am looking at the writing style and the plot lines, and the effort needed to read him! I think of sweet as something that makes readers go "aahhh" and smile. But the fact that we all have different responses is what makes this site so interesting. For instance, elsewhere, someone said she didn't like In This House of Brede because it was sad-I find that book exhilarating and positive.

Mollie, I don't think I can be of much use re.'coping' novels, although I'm sure that we could all write one ourselves! The type of books that deal with domestic matters, cooking, children, husbands etc are very unlikely to become 'literature' in the sense you mean. I read very few girlie novels, but have dipped into Judy Astley's work just as a light 'summer holiday' read. Her books are rather formulaic but entertaining and mostly centre around some middle-class woman, living in a pleasant London suburb . . . and then various themes. Straying husbands, bossy M-in-L's, difficult teenage children (and she really does modern English kids very well) holidays in Cornwall, hippy friends etc. She wisely write about what she knows and doesn't attempt for eg racial problems in Northern inner-cities slums . . .the sort of despressing work enjoyed by liberal-minded critics but not by the average 'punter'. Sheri, re your recommendation for Nancy Mitford and Mollie's 'domestic' theme. If you read Hons and Rebels by Jessica Mitford she mentions that the only housework the six daughters were ever expected to perform, under Nanny's watchful eye, was to fold up their nighties and put them under their pillows every morning.:-) Pat, I was 'introduced' to the works of Norah Lofts in the '60's when staying with friends in Suffolk. They knew her while she was living in Bury St Edmunds and her 'House at Old Vine' series was based on that town (to any US traveller to the UK a most attractive town with some beautiful houses and a Cathedral saved from the abbey ruins). Mollie, it is certainly true that many people over here don't cook 'proper' meals and rely on fast-food. Of course it must be said that supemarkets do offer 'short-cut- cookery' where veggies are ready washed/prepared, or chicken comes in legs/breast/wings etc rather than a whole bird and all this can be put together to form a meal. Perhaps this is just sanitised cookery, but at least it means, as cece says that my DD can come home from work and prepare a nourishing meal quickly. The first DS is now married to a Japanese girl so cookery has now become a Fine-Art in their home. Did anyone read an article about a cross US/UK medical survey which found that top white income earners in the US were less healthy than white bottom-income families in the UK, despite the $$$$'s spent on medical care by the 'privileged classes' in the US and the UK using the creaking National Health system. I was sent this info as a newspaper cutting by a US friend and had seen it in our English daily paper. Cindy I think Vera Brittan wrote on sad themes such as loss of her brother and men friends during WW1 and rather'heavy' Socialist stuff (her daughter became the well-known Labour MP, Shirley Williams). As to whether they went to Cornwall or not . . .! Here is a link that might be useful: Judy Astley