Skyler certainly adored his trip - and well should have! He was spoiled at every turn. They (the Make-a-Wish Foundation) gave him presents every evening, trips each day, limousine service everywhere, food at all times and even was put to bed by a different Disney character each evening. Free everything at the hotel and miniature golf too. (I'd hate every moment!) But, he did get an outdoor tour thank goodness and got to hold a baby alligator and see nesting birds. For this Sarah is greatly pleased. Chelone, I think all babies look like old men. This one just happens to be particularly sweet. ;)

Girl in Hyacinth Blue Susan Vreeland grelobe-your title really worked quite well following mine, as Seabiscuit was a champion racehorse! We've had absolutely to-the-minute simultaneous postings-those can get very comical! But it is all in the time of post-computers see no seniority-or mine would behave better for me than it does for my DS...and sometimes he has to come in and make it behave! ;-) cece

Vee, one of my English landladies in the 1970s was quite proud of the courgettes (zucchini) she grew in her back garden in London! The '70s must have been unusually warm and dry (I seem to remember they were but I can't swear to it), because I had to warn her to watch out or the little devils would take over. She didn't believe me, but sure enough I came home after a few weeks in France to find baskets of zucchini all over the house and my landlady miffed that she couldn't give them away to anyone and everyone she accosted. She grew larger marrows too, and treated me with a gigantic one with bread and mushroom farci). I was the only one of her tenants who appreciated her effort, I think. Whoa, that's a shame about the salmon. They used to have lots in the rivers of Brittany, too; but the last I heard they were sparse, although the Department powers were trying to reestablish them. Somebody got the idea to ship salmon to the Kerguelen Archipelago, just about the most isolated islands in the Indian Ocean. That was in the early 1980s, but the salmon introduced there actually started coming 'home' to Kerguelen. I haven't kept up with the experiment so don't know if the antipodean salmon are still doing it. Anyway, I wonder why the Severn/Wye salmon haven't been reestablished...must not be a priority. I had eel pie, not knowing what it was, and thought it was quite tasty. I don't mind the elvers but the adults are rather scary. I can just imagine you with your net and creel. :-) We in the US are quite spoilt with good citrus, with three prime citrus-growing locales (California, south Texas, Florida). We won't put up with lousy fruit unless there's been a horribly devastating freeze (thankfully rare). I'm especially fond of Texas Ruby Red grapefruits from 'the Valley' of the Rio Grande. The season for them runs from October through March. I got to Texas at the tail end, but my ever thoughtful brother got a twenty-pound bag for me so I've had a grapefruit for breakfast everyday for the past week. Where is the citrus you get in England grown? I've had Spanish oranges and can't say I've been impressed, but Spanish lemons seemed all right. You should know better, Vee, than get me started on food and food production.

Suddenly Sixty and Other Shocks of Later Life, Judith Viorst