Thanks for posting this. She's certainly an inspiration for this 60-something Grandma!

Quirk, this may seem obvious, but I think most of the people who are in this forum ARE interested in meeting someone they can identify with. Otherwise, why call it a single forum? This is my first day of getting acquainted & reading different postings. I just like to know who I'm talking to. And by the way, I've read a lot of postings talking about on-line dating. Don't tell me there is no interest in meeting someone you can relate to on this forum. If I'm out of line, tell me & I'll stick to the Garden Junk Forum.

Annie, did you ever hear the medical old saw that someone isn't dead until he's warm and dead? Meaning that life signs can be hidden by the cold? Same is true with starter. If you think it has died in the fridge, it probably hasn't if it had any legs at all. Pour off the hooch (brown alcoholic liquid) and use a spoon to remove the darkest of the gray part. Feed the rest, let it sit up to a day until you see a bubble. Feed it again. By the time it's warm and had a couple of good meals, it should start burping its thank-yous and showing rising signs of life. Feed it a couple more times in the warmth, until it doubles volume in 12 hours (8 is better) and you can put it back in the fridge to hibernate. Once a starter is established, it's really a resilient little pet. You can also dry your starter and wake it up a few days before you want to start baking...

kathsgarden, as you may know, almost anywhere in Europe is safer than almost anywhere in the US. Most especially cities and towns and most are much safer than here. The safest places in Africa are much more dangerous than the most dangerous places in the US. And the dangerous places there are everywhere. South Africa, one of the more modern of African countries (in some respects and not in others) has terrible crime and violence problems, even in its major cities. Everywhere else is much, much worse. Hotels have armed guards and enforced perimeters and tourist transportation often has armed escorts. I agree with not sitting home and being scared. Doing something foolhardy and ill-advised like driving across Africa is at the far opposite end of the spectrum, believe me.