I am here, just nursing a sore back. DD's room is done and put back together, but not without some pain! I stepped on a stool to tape off the ceiling and misjudged where my foot was. The stool tipped over and somehow smacked me full force on the leg. I have a black and blue mark that measures (yes, I measured it-lol), 6" x 4". And DH informed me that I have more black and blue marks on the back of my leg too. Even capris won't hide these bruises. It hurt like h*ll yesterday, but today it just feels like any other black and blue mark. And all the twisting and turning to trim/paint the room didn't do my back any favors. Sitting seems to tighten it up, so I am only on the computer for a few minutes. I want to head off a full blown back ache if I can. Can anyone call Maddie and see if she has read all the suggestions? I would sleep a lot better if I knew she had taken some action on BJ's advice. DeeMarie - do you have her number? All us mother hens need to know she is alright. I haven't stepped on a scale for awhile, as I knew I had slipped up during May. Too many sweets. I am doing much better and the intense cravings seemed to have passed. But I know exactly what you mean BJ, about the scale having so much control. I have read studies that say that people who weigh themselves regularly do keep their weight levels more constant and/or keep their weight off. But I want another week of no sweets and sensible snacking under my belt before I step on the scale. I have been eating whole wheat pretzel rods, almonds, Triscuits, string cheese and fruit for my snacks. Today I craved grapes! Much better than craving cookies. And I love frozen grapes. They really hit the spot on a hot day like today. Well, I have been sitting for long enough. I just wanted to check in and see if Maddie had posted. Have a great weekend!! Marci

Wild Swan is probably my favorite book on China - fiction or non. The stories of her grandmother, mother and herself read like good fiction, and I came away with a much better understanding of modern Chinese history and culture then I had before. I agree - I don't think you can really make any generalization about any country, but esp not one so big. Yes we export some of our most glaring stereotypes for all to see. But its so very different between regions, states, rural/urban/suburban, and so dependent on class, race or nationalities. Rather an interesting mix, actually. Im in a website that has a language forum, and people from all over the country pop in with their favorite regionalisms, and comments on others. Makes me remember how really diverse this huge nation is, and makes me wonder how in the world we managed to all stick together for so long!

Georgia, there is a 3 volume history of Henry of Navarre by George James and Queen of Hearts: Marguerite of Valois by Charlotte Haldane, both in English, although I haven't read them so cannot say how good they are. Have just ploughed through The Forge and the The Store by Thomas Stribling and Lawdy Ladwy I'm all dun tucker'd out with 'Flaunce' Alabama and its down-trodden black population, its failed white planters in their collapsing 'manors', KKK members, elopements, po' trash, lynchin's, less than virtuous Southern Belles, Baptist preachers . . . as Stribling won the Pulitzer prize for these books I presume they paint an accurate picture of the South during and after the Civil War. These Foolish Things by Deborah Moggach. I always enjoy D M's books. She is one of those writers who can cover a range of subjects/characters and always comes up with a good 'story'. This one is about a group of 'pensioners' who, unlikely as it may seem, decide to leave England and take up residence in a Home for Elderly people in India and how the quality of their new lives in such a outwardly poor country is changed, sometimes for the better. Full of interesting well-drawn characters. It might be a bit too English for US readers! Nobody's Child by the BBC correspondent Kate Adie. KA was adopted as a baby and this is an interesting look at the history of 'foundlings' in Western Society and the early attempts to deal with the problem in London (Coram's Foundling Hospital), Paris and later New York. The huge number of deaths of these children when in 'care' and later attempts at adoption and the hurdles placed by the various religious bodies are well recorded. Although the book is inclined to ramble here and there it would be a fascinating read for anyone who was adopted or maybe who's ancestors (up to WWII) were sent 'out West' from east Coast USA or to Australia from the UK. I am on the point of giving up on The Sea by John Banville. I suppose as it was the winner of the Booker Prize I should have known better than to start it. The author looks back on a childhood holiday at the Irish 'sea-side' and his relationship with a family visiting the area. I don't enjoy reading about school boy erotic fantasies especially over-written passages describing female smells and find I don't care what happened to him when young or his failed relationships as a middle-aged man. I shall look out for something more wholesome to read.

"I'm glad the lady had the means to live a full life and have some adventure." Did we read the same article? "Too poor to retire and too young to die" is not a tale of the bohemian adventures of a free spirit. She's not living a full life; she's living a desperate life. She's an old woman who has to take jobs where she's on her feet 12 hours a day, and lives in an RV that's on its last legs, without the means to make necessary repairs. She's hanging on to the memories of a former life when she could afford to indulge in little luxuries, in denial that her current situation is far more dire. She's one illness or injury from being hospitalized long enough to have her RV impounded, and will then be without a home or transportation. (She couldn't afford a speeding ticket, much less impound fees. There is no buffer in her life.) She may likely spend her remaining days in homeless shelters. The article spoke of no relatives or friends who would take her in. Yes, she's trying to make lemonade out of lemons, but she can't afford the sugar that could make it drinkable. I fear for anyone's future to end up in such a sad, lonely, desperate place.