dimitrig, I am beginning to question where I picked up the meaning of UP! It could not have been in elementary school because of course we learnt many place names in Swedish. I remember now that Lake Superior was Oevre Sjoen (Upper Lake) in school so at first I didn't connect when I heard the English for it. I may have read about UP in a newspaper when I spent 6 months in Madison, WI, in 1981. Pasties are Cornish and not known in Sweden at all. I've tried them once in England under the name Cornish pasty and will not order any again, too bland. The Finns have a similar pasty, Karjalan piirakka, an open rye dough pie stuffed with boiled rice, and eaten with egg butter (soft butter with chopped hardboiled eggs and dill leaves). Salmon may be added to the rice for a de luxe version. Climate zones in the US and northern Europe are not comparable but I put my zone at 5b after the lowest average minimum winter temperature. We have our own zone chart with 8 zones but it is concerned only with tree hardiness and was originally made for apple growers. The Gulf stream affects the climate in the whole of Scandinavia, most of all in Norway, of course. The most important difference is that summers in northern Europe are much shorter and cooler than in continental USA, mainly because you have your long wonderful autumns and summer heat. Some roses don't grow well enough in summer and succumb easier when struck by cold in the fall. Our winters are not quite as cold as in Wisconsin and southern Ontario, the only areas in North America where I've spent winters. I live exactly on the 59th parallel, 50 miles from the Baltic coast. No sea influence but we have a fairly large lake in the village that makes some difference in the fall. Last night was the coldest yet this winter, -26C and it will be as cold again on Friday. Now, at 2 pm it is -11C, bearable but still too cold for me who don't have to venture outside. It's great to be retired! The garden is completely covered in snow, only trees and taller shrubs and ornamental grasses are visible. We had a thaw recently so it's difficult to estimate the depth of the snow cover but I guess about a foot, more in shade where the old snow still stays, less in areas protected from the wind by trees. I've just looked out of all the windows of the house and noticed that Sutter's Gold is dangerously exposed. Perhaps I should shovel some snow over it. I guess I will have to cut a lot come spring. I hope this gives you an idea of our climate? Marianne in Sweden Here is a link that might be useful: Karelian pies

Hey Al, first of all, if you are going to alter a quote, don't provide an easy link to it. I beileve it says 1/2 ppd NOT 12 1/2ppd and it says the 1/2ppd is what the action level for radon in the home provided by the EPA is equivalen to, not exposure from granite countertops. I consider any study you or the SSFA provided samples to, or in any way contributed to, to not be reliable due to your bias. Nor do I believe the MIA should be funding or contributing to a study if it is to be considered unbiased and reliable. WITHIN the scientic community, readings are sometimes taken at face value until proven otherwise, because reputable scientists should adhere to professional standards. You are in no way a part of the scientific community and about as biased as they come. Your readings carry no weight with me. Neither would the MIAs. Even within the scientific community, results must be reproducable before they are give too much weight. Those scientists have said they WILL publish. The thing about peer review journals, though, is that it not just up to the person who does the study. It has to have been conducted in a reliable enough way to pass scrutiny by the peer review board and accepted for publication. Saying you are going to publish doesn't make it so. I hope they do, though. That would mean at lest that others in THEIR scientific field feel that the study was significant enough to share. Then, if others in that field desire, they will conduct their own studies to determine if the results are reproducable. If not, the entire debate starts again. If they are, then we have a starting point. That is a long way from you shouting from the roof tops in forums that Shivakashi should be banned or that one guy with Lung Cancer of unkown type and medical history got it from his countertop. I certainly don't have any reason to believe you would find a single hot stone and submit as many elevated samples as you could get from it that would make it seem like you were right in your calls of the sky falling, any more than I would have reason to believe the MIA or others in the industry would hide hot stones. But it really is better if you guys have no connections to the studies at all. I am sorry Al, this may be your bread and butter, but I don't plan to make it my profession. I left that one and have made NO to attempts to go back. I disliked working with and against biased people who only want to promote their own interests. I do not sell, fabricate, mine or do anything else having to do with rock, granite, solid surface or any other type of countertop. I am a nurse. I refuse to spend my day following links from the SSFA or the MIA. If there were any independent studies from peer reviewed scientific journals linking granite countertops with cancer, I am sure you would have posted to them directly by now. I did do a quick search at one time from Pub Med and could find no studies linking granite countertops to radiation or specifically to radon exposure. I did find articles noting that radon can come from building materials in general, including cement, drywall and granites, but I mentioned that myself at one time. My impression from your reaction then was the same as it is now, that your only interest in radon or radiation exposure and health risks are if it is in granite countertops. Do you also warn your customers that most elevated radon levels come from the soil, not countertops, and that radon can also come from other building materials, and that they should test their homes and act if they find elevated levels even if they purchase solid surface countertops from you? Do you only sell and install "no VOC" cabinets and carpets and adhesives? If you have a direct link to one or more scientific journals that report on radon measurements from granite countertops in buidlings, or exposure to radon or radation from granite countertops, please provide links and I will be happy to look at a couple (not even 10 so please don't provide 50 and expect me to wade through and find a few lines that you can extrapolate into something). These are specifically studies in peer reviewed scientific journals that AT LEAST test granites of the types being used AS COUNTERTOPS. Please don't waste my time by linking to articles in publications by the SSFA or MIA or any other trade journals. In my opinion, relying on studies about granite funded by the SSFA are akin to relying on cancer studies funded by tobacco companies. I have called you strongly biased, I don't recall calling you a liar. I do have some ignorance about radiation reading and testing, it simply isn't my area of expertise any more than it is yours. However, I don't consider you any more of an expert on it and I do tend to be choosy about who I let "teach me" about any subject. No insult intended but I wouldn't consider letting a guy with a kitchen business teach me about the measuring of radon or radiation or the health effects of radon or radiation any more than you would let me teach you about how to install cabinets. I want information without the "spin". I really don't expect to ever get it from you. Sue

Yes, S&H stamps were worth cash. Years ago Chicago had a trio of brothers who were infamous burglars. Pops Panczko was one of the three -- famous for being arrested over 200 times. I can't remember if he ever did serious time, but he could break into any safe. One of his memorable statements to the press was, "I'm a teef! It's what I do." Twenty years ago I knew a younger gal, Judy, through a service club. She was much younger than most of the group's members. One day the topic of Green Stamps came up, and some of us were reminiscing about them -- much as we are in this thread. Judy was all ears. "So *that's* what it was all about," she said. She remembered sitting at a table with her siblings, required to paste green stamps into booklets. It was endless. There were hundreds, thousands of the booklets. It was, "Don't ask. Just DO it." Judy's uncle was Pops Panczko.

Here's a chilled soup for hot Summer days that's really healthful, too. I've been making it for many years now and just made it again last night to go with our Lentil Salad and Caprese. Chilled Creamy Zucchini Soup Serves 6 1/4 lb. shallots, thinly sliced crosswise (about 1 cup) 2 TBS olive oil 1 1/2 -pounds zucchini (3-4 medium), cut into small chunks (I don't peel mine, but you can if you prefer) 1 green bell pepper, seeded, cored and cut into smallish pieces 2 strips fresh lemon zest ( (2"x 1 1/2") 1 tsp salt 1/4 tsp pepper (white, preferred) 3 cups chicken broth 2 cups water 1 cup loosely packed fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves 1 TBS finely chopped fresh dill 1 cup plain Greek yogurt Directions: In a 4-quart heavy saucepan, sauté shallots in olive oil over low heat, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 5 minutes. Add zucchini, bell pepper, zest, salt, and pepper. Raise heat to medium. Stir occasionally until zucchini is softened, about 5 minutes. Add broth and water. Bring to a simmer again and cook until zucchini is tender, about 3-5 minutes more. Allow zucchini mixture to cool to just warm. Add parsley and dill and puree in a blender, IN BATCHES, until smooth. Do not try and puree it while it's still hot! Allow to chill in refrigerator until cold. Before serving, whisk in yogurt. Ladle into chilled soup bowls. Top with a dollop of yogurt and sprinkle on a bit of dill. * By using Greek yogurt, you are ramping up the good protein in this soup, while keeping the calories and (bad) fat down. And, it really doesn't taste like zucchini.