602-993-5540 retired Air Force lieutenant moonlights as painter, I was impressed with attention to detail. Hope this helpful

I got one from Penny's several years ago that works for us. Its a digital; runs on a 9 volt battery; one battery lasts for a year or more. The scale is about 15 inches square and 2 inches high. You tap it with your toe to turn it on; the display will cycle a few times while it waits for the vibrations to die away and zeros itself. When the display glows steady, step on and stand still. When it thinks everything has settled, your weight is diaplayed. Read it and step off. It'll turn off in about 3 seconds after stepping off. It seems to be accurate within 1 lb at 230 lbs. No tenths of a pound. Displays only to the nearest Lb. It has worked well for 10 years. It is a bit quick in automatically shutting off. You have about 3 to 5 seconds to step on the scale after the dispaly becomes steady. Go beyond this limit and it auto-shuts down. HINT: Weigh yourself soon after you get up and after you have used the toilet and before you slake your thirst. Weigh with no clothes. A good time is just before you step into the shower. This will be your minimum weight for the day unless you engage in extreme hard labor. Your weight can change by a couple of pounds during the day. Differenct in clothing weight can mask a trend. I have found this produces the most consistent measurement and that is important if you are graphing your weight on a daily basis.

This question comes up a lot! The two most commonly suggested books are Ortho's All about Orchids and the Sunset publisher's book on Orchids. Several forum members, including me, are also quite fond of Orchids Simplified by Henry Jaworski. FLAME 747 suggested "An Introduction to Orchids" published by the South Florida Orchid Society. Other excellent sources include: Taylor's "All About Orchids" (great pictures); Rebecca Northen's "Home Orchid Growing" Orchid Growing Basics (Schoser) Gardener's Guide to Growing Orchids (Ritterhausen) Orchid Growing for Wimps (Zachos) Jack Kramer's "Orchid Growing Indoors" In addition, Mary Noble has several good books for beginners: You can Grow Orchids, You Can Grow Cattleya Orchids, and You Can Grow Phalaenopsis Orchids." All are excellent for the beginner. If you want to know more about species, then The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Orchids, edited by Alec Pridgeon is also a good source. For a more detailed listing, and a suggested reading list for more experienced growers (intermediate level and advanced), check out Linda's Orchid Page at She has many good suggestions.

Netla, the first book that came to mind, though an old classic was Mary Barton: A Tale of Manchester Life by Mrs Gaskell, written in the time of those 'dark satanic mills'. Modern writers from that area include Val McDermid, popular crime writer and Jeanette Winterson Oranges are Not the Only Fruit; she has become an increasing angry lesbian so don't know about her other work. ;-( You will love both Durham and York, both small enough to easily walk around and with beautiful church and other buildings. There is The Story of Durham by Douglas Pocock which looks interesting (though pricey). The site below gives some eg's of books set in/about York. Loads of history . . . Roman, Viking, railways, chocolate-making etc. Whitby is also interesting. Look out for anything from Saint Hilda to Captain Cook . .. and Dracula! Hope this helps a bit. Here is a link that might be useful: Books Set in York