faithann I agree with everyone above. I have been either buying seeds directly from Europe or having them brought back for me by friends for some time now. There are some really wonderful small seed producers with things you'll never find here. I haven't had any problems. If you're only buying tomato seeds, they're so light you can easily just mail them back to yourself. A friend who went skiing in Switzerland a few years ago brought back tomato seeds that I have really enjoyed growing from a company called Mauser. You can now get seeds directly from some companies in Europe over the internet. I wonder if it's getting easier for them. Two of my favorites are Le Biau Germe and Kokopelli (terredesemces.com), both on France. I buy beans, lettuce, etc. and the packages are marked with the names of the seeds and something like "garden seeds". Tomatsidan.se is a small company in Sweden that has some really interesting tomato varieties, particularly short-season types and lots from Eastern Europe and Russia. Some of these have become my favorites. Michael Anderson who runs it has charged me two dollars for each variety and just sends them in an envelope as you would a letter. As far as Italy, you can buy a huge variety of seeds directly from growitalian.com and italianseedandtool.com. I'll be curious to hear about what interesting varieties you find in your travels. Best wishes. Lou

judie, maire cate, geogirl & work, Thanks so much for your helpful replies. I know I sound kind of dufus-ish asking this kind of question--I can hear it said in a creaky old voice "so gosh, what kind of contraptions are the young folks using these days?" : ) We're thinking of the laptop as being used for note-taking, primarily, rather than research like the school computers would be. Geogirl, your point about most kids still using regular notebooks is exactly what I was looking for. I do wonder what will happen if she's got nothing but pen and notebook, though -- I'm sure DD isn't the only one of her age to be better at typing than handwriting! When I hear her type I think how strange it was that I worked my way through college because of my typing speed--10 years of piano study didn't go to waste after all LOL...but today that ability is completely taken for granted. She could have asked her friend (who's a sophomore) a couple of weeks ago at camp, but she got shy and didn't (I think she's got a complete fear of coming across as a clueless homeschooler). Maybe this will be a good time for her to overcome her embarrassment and let her friend be her 'big sister' in a way...or maybe I'll call the office and ask myself. work, that's really interesting about not shopping for supplies until after school had started--makes sense. So all these 'back to school' sales where we used to get all our supplies (10 notebooks for $1 - ahhh...one of my favorite weeks of the year : )) are really jumping the gun for public schoolers, I guess? I know they had lists for elementary school kids, but I didn't remember whether there were some for h.s. kids too. This has all been incredibly helpful. Thanks again!

DH laid it in the back floor of the car and then forgot about it. He moved the seat back and squished it (the screen was against the seat and the actual computer part was "possibly" protected since the screen was between it and the seat. I may just have to invest in a hard side case instead of a soft side one. So far I have gotten everything off- still need to dig out the internet bookmarks. I am actually using it right now to send this. The right side of the screen scrolls very quickly by itself (think old B/W TVs where you had to adjust the connected rabbit ears) then there is a giant white section and then the left 1/3 of the screen works but has black sports the size of a silver dollar. I just ran my statistical software and the analysis is coming out like it did this morning. This is a snapshot of the laptop screen (I added the red square to show that is supposed to be my desktop. When I do an "Alt+PrtSc" and save it as a picture, I get the whole desktop (hope I do not offend anyone with my pic, it is from LOL-Cat and so cute!) I just used my level and it appears to NOT be warped... tried it on the desk and the floor because the house and desk are both over 100 years old and not that level, themselves... but the button in the level appears to be in the same spot where it is sitting directly on the desk or on the laptop sitting on the desk. Since the alt-print screen show everything and the software appears to be working, am I fairly safe that the computer is okay? What else should I do to check the hard drive? THANK YOU!!!!

@Ron - I don't know where you are getting your information and I don't want to get off track but I briefly googled and Code requires that all of the appliances I listed required a dedicated circuit and I needed a new panel in order to fulfill that requirement. I really doubt that my licensed reputable GC, my designer who is well versed in Code requirements AND the licensed electrical firm were all in a conspiracy to "steal" money by lying about what was required per Code in order to install the appliances for my remodel. The addition of the panel was discussed between all of us because it also entailed moving the panel because the actual size of the panel increased and it had been on a smaller wall. If all these people wanted to scam me, there were much more lucrative opportunities - for starters they would have also indicated that my wiring was also sub-Code. Appliances That Require Dedicated Circuits Here's a list of the typical appliances that require dedicated circuits. In addition to these, your local building authority may specify additional appliances or equipment that need a dedicated circuit. And the National Electrical Code, which is revised every three years, may also periodically add additional appliances to this list: Refrigerator Freezer Electric range (also cooktop, oven) Electric water heater Furnace (also heat pump) Washer (technically a designated circuit) Dryer Microwave Dishwasher Garbage disposal Sump pump Air conditioner (room and whole-house) Bathroom heater (including vent-fan heater units) Laundry room receptacles (outlets) Another source specific to Los Angeles - bolded are requirements for dedicated circuits and my old panel did not have sufficient circuits for this as well as the washer/dryer I added (since these were Bosch units and the dryer plugged into the washer I think technically they needed only one designated circuit). All 15 and 20 receptacles installed within 6 feet of a kitchen sink or wetbar shall have G.F.C.I. protection. Receptacles in a kitchen used to serve counter tops should be supplied with at least two 20 amp branch circuits, for small appliances. Each fixed appliance (refrigerator, stove, dish washer) shall have its own dedicated circuit. On counter tops 12 inches or wider a receptacle shall be installed so that there is no more than 24 inches between outlets. Receptacles outlets installed to serve island counter tops shall be installed above, or within 12 inches below the counter top. There shall be no more than 24 inches from center line of counter top. No receptacle shall be installed face up on a sink counter top.