Brenda, I STILL don't have it. (how about you, Marian?). I've given it several "breaks", too. I figure it's like the .02 discrepancy in a checking account... . The more you look for it the more it camouflages itself. How dense am I?! I've tried looking for patterns in the beans and have identified several... missing the forest for trees, or what? sigh... :)

Wow!!! I have the good fortune of having met Nathan (but not May! yet) and I already knew he was smart (and nice) -- but I didn't know he was a crossword constructor! The highest form of human life, in my opinion. I LOVE crosswords and I have enormous respect for constructors. Puzzles have gotten so good they are becoming a literary form, in my opinion. (This morning's NYT was very clever.) I'm looking forward to doing Nathan's puzzle. I haven't seen it yet -- I was too excited to wait to post! Congratulations, May!

Those are fun. I got it. You have to sorta keep back-tracking around.

Two.25 acres, I feel your pain. I should write a book about my MIL. She doesn't want gifts; but the one time I broke down and sent the minimal item she wanted, without doing the overflowing box filled with "stuff," she pouted and cried for ages. So, I listen to the "don't sent me anything" rants, and quietly fill a box with things I think she'll use. She always gets an assortment of teas; they delight her, thank goodness. Does your MIL drink hot tea? Would she use an electric tea kettle to heat the water? They are very nice. I add an issue of North Dakota Horizons (she reads and discusses it for months) and DH includes a copy of his North Dakota Hunter. It gives her lots of questions to ask him! (She lives in Maryland) I wrap everything. This year she's getting a subscription to the Horizons (4 issues). In the past I gave a subscription to the Smithsonian, but it made her angry. The articles were "too long," and the magazines came "too often" for her to read all of them because she had "other reading" to do. I think the idea of a subscription to her crossword puzzles might be appreciated by your MIL. My MIL lives on Excedrin. She calls it "Exxxxxxx cdrin." She says they perk her up. I tried to explain about the caffeine in them and suggested she try a B-vitamin supplement and strong cup of hot tea instead, but "tea is for mealtimes." She takes two Exxxxx-cdrin every afternoon, elevates her feet, crooks her head against the arm of the couch, twists her back in order to see the TV, and then angrily wonders why her back and neck hurt. I always wrap two or three large bottles of the Excedrin and include them in the box. Saves her a trip to the drug store. I give her a couple booklets of postage stamps each year. She gets in her car, drives 2-3 miles, and buys her stamps, one at a time, at the post office. Yes, she makes a trip to the Post Office every time she wants to mail one item. This year I'll add some 2-cent stamps for her to use when the postage goes up. So, a couple magazines, tea, stamps, and Excedrin are the staples. I'm adding a CD of Shirley Temple programs (her latest interest) and I'm trying to make a disc of our summer photos for her to play in her TV. I'll add some candy, and cookies, if I get them baked. I've made a couple friends promise they'll knock me off if I ever become as mean and hateful as she. Hopefully I will get old; I may get feeble. I'll be d@med it I'm going to become mean-spirited, spitful, and hurtful to anyone. I'm always delighted if someone gives my boys (dogs) a little "present." It can be a 25-cent sample of a dog treat, even if it's not one I'd normally let them have. One friend brings a couple tiny baggies filled with her dog's regular dry dog food. She lets them sniff it, and then puts it in their stockings (hung high near the ceiling) for them to "think about" until Christmas morn. This is such a wonderful present, for ME! And it does elevate their curiosity and "Christmas Spirit!"