Mara

Yes, my neighbours turned out in masses to vote and that alone is simply wonderful! And their choice has me thrilled - not just for the people of the United States but for ourselves here in Canada - yipee!!!

Thanks ever so much for that link,RandyL. It's enough to make me weep - but then I do each Remembrance Day. I silently cry for all the young that are now old - for all those who were young and never got to become old because they gave up their lives for our freedom. For those that still have to fight because our world has never truly known peace and good will to all mankind. Huge sigh. And Plastic Nev, which one are in in the photo, please? Brass bands, Scottish Bag Pipes or simply people standing at their local cenotaph - all wonderful. "Lest we Forget". May we never.

Wow, who would have dreamed there was so, so many fears! But then again, after reading the lists, have decided that only being scared of snakes must make me mentally healthier than I'd imagined - gentle smile.

Hope you are having the most wonderful of days, Maynard!! Happy, happy birthday!

Thanks so much, Wolfeymole - truly appreciate you letting me know about nasties waiting should one try to load both XP and Vista on one computer. This is honestly a wonderful site and the knowledge and kindness shared - thank you!!!

I'm still smiling about the gold chains - who knows, maybe they will once again be the 'in' thing :) I'm from the warmest part of Canada - British Columbia.

Okay, no t-shirts :) - and what a great idea re books! Bet if I 'beg and grovel' our local bookstore may sell us gift-certificates at a discount. Don't know what type of jewelry to get young men - ideas? (We raised a flock of girls thus my being constantly stumped for ideas re teenage boys - grin). That's truly is wonderful, Saxon, as most food banks are like ours here right now - keeping their doors open by the skin of their teeth!

Thanks so much, Saxon for your great kindness in sharing the geese - I'm sure those receiving them are delighted! And buying that extra food item for the food bank is terrific, too - yipeeee!! Have added razors, blades and shaving cream to my list for teenage boys ... and wonder if most boys would be pleased with plain guy's heavy cotton t-shirts?

And we have the same type of 'Adopt a Family' here too, RandyL - and the first year we did it, I nearly wept when reading their 'want/wish for' list. You're so very right, many are lacking in even basic food supplies such as flour and sugar, let alone the treats most of us take for granted each holiday season. And the gifts asked for will always stay in my mind: 10 month little boy - the Mommy asked for 4 new baby bottles (the ones she was using had cracks in them) 4 year old girl - a doll. (Any doll because each year Santa has forgotten to give her a dolly). 6 year old twins (one boy and one girl) - both wanted a teddy bear The mommy - she asked for nothing for herself. The daddy - he also asked for nothing. And under the 'general section': The parents only wish was for each of their children to receive a toy under their Christmas tree. And having a can of ham, if possible, would be wonderful to celebrate with on Christmas day. When we picked up our 'slip' telling us of the family's needs, the kind lady handing it to me said that the young daddy has cancer and lost his job on the date their baby was born. Santa never let them down. We have some lovely friends and when dropping boxes and boxes of food, clothing and gifts for all (anonymously on the young couples doorstep), must confess we peeked from behind some parked cars. We all trundled home to share hot cocoa together and admit that being selfish is a wonderful thing sometimes - for, while the family gets the goodies, we get to be thrilled that in a small way we got to touch someone's life.

Not too sure where to put this, so hope this section is the right one? I love my computer (Sony Vaio with Windows XP) but even though I clean the dust from it's 'tummy' every month, I know nothing last forever - and I thought I'd better ask this question now, while I can access our site. If I have to buy a new computer with the most recent OS from Windows, I know so many of my software programs will no longer run (some are created for Windows 98 - but I love them). And buying a new computer and dumping the newest OS and replacing it with my trust XP software would be foolish - if only because eventually my XP will no longer be "supported" and I wouldn't be able to use the latest security programs,' Is there such a thing as buying a computer capable of having 'two brains' (sorry, I don't know the proper terminalogy) ... one to run the latest OS with all the newest security programs ... and one to run XP and all my software programs on? If so, could I please have the information needed - I'll print it out and keep it handy to take to the store with me when 'the time comes'. Thanks ever so much, Mara

Know it must seem ever so early for a post like this, especially since Halloween isn't even here yet, but do hope no one minds. With the nasty financial crunch affecting most of us this year, not only are food banks down but hopes for toys for the needy are forecast to be dismal - drat! So, just some wee things to share ... If each person/family buying their weekly groceries bought one (just one) extra item - whether a box of pasta or a simple can of soup - each big shopping trip and dropped it in the Food Bank box on the way out of the store, our local food banks would be helped ever so much. And while most people can find money somewhere to buy a toy for the needy, it's the teenagers in families that are often forgotten and the elderly everywhere. May I please ask those that can to perhaps pick up a wee something or other while out shopping for their own Christmas list - it needn't be expensive, honestly. A pair of warm slippers or gloves ... a bottle of nail polish and/or nail polish remover ... sample size shampoos/conditioners ... box of hot chocolate mix ... cross word puzzle...etc. And I'd love to hear some ideas for gifts ... the hardest thing (for me, at least) is coming up with ideas for teenage boys - and this year I'm completely stumped. Thanks so much and with kindest thoughts, Mara

Apparently this software/program allows one to ... "Run Vista and XP simultaneously without needing to go through the complex process of dual-booting your computer. Rather, you can create a virtual machine on your existing computer. Then, you can install a different operating system on the computer. A virtual machine has many benefits. You won't need to restart your machine to run the second operating system. You can switch between them with a few mouse clicks. That's handy. Virtual machines also make it easy to share data between operating systems. File sharing is easy. And, you can share the Windows Clipboard between the operating systems. Of course, you'll need special software to create a virtual machine. Fortunately, Microsoft's Virtual PC will help—and it's free! However, you'll need to purchase any additional operating systems you intend to install". (Source: Kim Komando) Download details: Virtual PC 2007 Because I know no computer lasts forever (sob!), my biggest concern with moving up to Vista is loss of my ability to use so many of my software programs. Has anyone used the above - or just general opinions would be appreciated. Thanks once again.

Oh dod... I'd like to think these were a joke but suspect some of them may not be far from the truth - gentle sigh. Makes one wish it were legal to add birth control 'pills' to 'fast food'!

Beautiful! Love the new look - what incredible colours and design - bravo!!!!!

Hi Cathy, I've had wonderful success with a free program called 'ZIPEG' - it's really easy to use as one merely clicks on any .rar file you've downloaded and the program instantly pops up to open it. Zipeg - Got pictures? Zip thru JPEG photo archives (Gentle hint - don't forget to scan everything downloaded onto computer for both malware and viruses prior to opening. ZIPEG does the opening but it can't tell us if there's a nasty bug waiting inside or not).

Stunning! Terrific site and thanks so much for sharing it!

Somehow society seem to have it's priorities/sense of worth a bit odd. Surely police officers, firefighters, ambulance attendants etc should be valued for what they are - both essential and critical to our society and paid accordingly. (Not that a plumber isn't important but at $60 an hour nor an electrician at $80 an hour - but he/she doesn't risk their lives each time they head out to work.

Drat, I'm late with my birthday wishes too - but they are most sincere, late or not! Hope you had a wonderful, wonderful day, Moggie.

It doesn't say ... but apparently some homes, for example, built of styro-foam blocks (filled with concrete) are able to withstand some mighty storms ... and perhaps this building had one of these newer constructions. The one that really struck me was the oil slick after the storm - such beauty from such ugliness.

Hmmm ... mine (based on Vancouver to my computer - an hour's drive away) is: Speedtest.net - The Global Broadband Speed Test Have no way of knowing if this is what my provider 'promises' or not, though. Beats 'dial up', though - gentle smile.

The below site has photos - lots and lots of photos under each section - and I hope others may enjoy it too. The Big Picture - Boston.com

Oops, thanks again, Wolfeymole!

Thanks so much for letting me know, RandyL - truly appreciate it, especially since Sygate is, without doubt, the best one I've had.

I'm running Sygate V5.6 - and absolutely love it. A 'friendlie' has said that my Sygate is no longer effective because it apparently "no longer exists" and there will be no further updates, etc. It doesn't matter than no updates will be forthcoming (I like the version I have) - but surely it isn't true that Sygate is no longer capable of being an effective Fire Wall, please?

Double-checked, thanks to your suggestion, DSTM - it doesn't seem to be that. But since I've now learned that sound cards need drivers, thought I'd double-check to see if it's driver was out of date (although I tried the normal section and there were no yellow exclamation marks). Downloaded a program called 'UniBlue Driver Scan' which apparently does a thorough scan and not only lets one know which drivers are out of date but lets one download all the necessary new drivers at once. If someone could take a quick peek at the scan results below, under 'Sound, Video and Game Controllers' section, please, and let me know if this is a driver for my 'sound card'. Thanks so much once again. http://i35.tinypic.com/2rf3hq9.jpg