h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Yes I read about that weather system. I have Yahoo Messenger & there's a window that pops up when you sign on(that include a few current news headlines). Hopefully you escaped the worst of it!

I'm looking forward to having a good look at their selection of gelato & stopping to have a sandwich. The is somewhat of an attraction too, I must admit. The pistachio canolis that the bakery at The Italian Centre makes are great, but they do wonderful baking overall(had a Really delicious layered, creamy mocha slice-oops talked myself into a craving.

Hmm postcards with bags "my has just arrived in the post along with various correspondence". Possibly so that you can sit sipping as you read the postcard ...the peculiarities of free enterprise...

Yes, I also am familiar with Yahoo Messenger's little pop-up, but somehow I've set it so it doesn't come up, which is nice.

Funny thing, what's happened to me. About a year ago, I ordered the book Starship Titanic from Barnes & Noble. However, it disappeared about 10 minutes after I got my shipment (I had ordered some other various books and CDs). I haven't found it. So a few weeks ago I ordered a new copy, this time in hardback. I am planning on starting it this weekend, and hopefully I don't lose it (although, knowing me, I will)

As far as or anything goes, I'm on the border of having none . I just ate a few dark chips, but other than that I've had none for quite a while. I haven't been eating too well, though. It's hard to when the missus (<wink&gt is in the hospital for most of the week. But now that that's over I'm sure to start back up again.

Hope the weekend treats you well. We're having a big music festival this weekend, and one of the local high school's jazz bands are playing, which is sure to be fun. I'm trying to decide if there's really anything else I want to see, but I know I'll hang around for a while even if there's nothing of interest.

See you!!

Actually, thanks to hootoo I have somewwhat of a passing acquaintance with a handful of Americans, so it's kind of nice to get a 'heads up' on things south of the border. Even if it's just 4 news items...usually one political item.

Hmm more 'funny ' than 'funny '. It seems the Titanic has sailed(or like the original ship...)or the Starship has left the galaxy or something. As far as reading I'm kind of mired in the past-on both sides of the Atlantic. I'm about 2/3 of the way through a about Cortez & his interpreter. But I kind of put that aside when I started one on Renaissance Italy & I found a great 'followup'. That first (Leonardo's Swans)yes, involves Leonardo da Vinci & his whole environment. I'm about 85% of the way through it & he's just starting to work on The Last Supper. Which is the topic of the second http://www.thesecretsupper.com , which I just bought Wed.(& have just barely started reading). So although the two are by different authors, they involve the same primaey characters-probably characterized differently, but...*shrugs*what do you expect-different authors & it Is historical fiction.

I bought an 85% dark bar earlier today, made by a Canadian company http://www.laurasecord.ca ...it's not on the site, but it's packaged like the French Mint & Toffee bars. I've tried the little individual French Mint s & they're .

An outdoor Farmers' Market http://www.marvelconcept.com/_city_wp opens Sat. & I definitely plan to go. And the season finale of The Simpsons on Sun...otherwise nothing too special. Oh speaking of The Simpsons, a university on the west coast(north of Seattle)has a Sociology class based on the TV show http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/westcoastnews/story.html?id=02529117-34ec-4fda-89a1-c0a9e8a96498 & ending onthat note,

have a good weekend & see you!

I had to take my sax and oboe into the shop today and won't get them back until next weekend. Luckily that will give me time to catch up on things with my guitar and on the tennis court!

I'm gearing up for summer, although the weather will always be subject to sudden change.(for example) This morning it was bright and sunny so I picked up some basil and parsley (our other basil was caught by frost...which backs up my point) and by the time I got home it was raining and quite dismal! Overall, though, we are experiencing the change from cold to hot, so things will even out eventually.

Well, I think I'm going to take advantage of the weather (which has suddenly become more favorable for outside activity) and get my bicycle out. The books you are reading sound fascinating (DaVinci was a genius and it would be interesting to see how the two different authors portrayed him) and the 85% always helps

Have a good weekend!!

Weather here has been this past while, although rainy the past day or so. It rained early(probably 6 or so)this morning &I was considering heading over to that outdoor farmers' marketabout 8:30 or 9. I got into kind of a lazy Sat. thing instead. I turned on/brought up my semi-usual Sat. morning listening, an archived Fri. night radio show from Australia- http://www.abc.net.au/classic/jazzuplate. After a couple s(well, lattes,1 vanilla & 1 mocha)I checked e-mail. And I decided to get an early srart on lunch, with in the background.

I did get out shopping after lunch, but just local supermarket shoppiing...including blueberries, blackberries & some yogurt. I didn't really even consider buying , mainly because there isn't usually that great of a selection at that particular store. Also because I had unexpectedly stumbled on some imported yesterday. It wasn't Totally unexpected...although it was a pleasant surprize nonetheless! One item was a decorative metal box of assorted-individually wrapped squres of-dark, milk & white Spanish Amatller - http://www.chocolates-amatller.com/eng.html (can't do much with the site right now!) The other purchase was a couple Italian dark(58%)bars with chili pepper- http://www.specialeitaliasrl.it -neat train sound/visual on the '...Italia' website.A bit too much vanilla & that in the , but not too bad. It pays to peek into http://www.winners.ca every now'n'then...apparently the company that owns them also operates numerous large outlets in the states(TJ Maxx, Marshalls, etc)-as well as TK Maxx in The U.K.. Click 'Our Story' under 'About Us'.

Too bad about the sax & oboe, but*sigh*maintenance, right? And yeah, nice to have tennis as well as guitar to fall back on. So you're somewhat of a multi-instrumentalist!

Things are going good, hope your weekend is as well, see you.

It's scorching here, and it's only 9:30 AM. I'm sure most of it's humidity. I really don't know how it's been, though, because I've been off my feet for a week with a virus. I just got out for the first time in days today to hang a dress on the line. I can't imagine what it'll be like in three hours.

I haven't had much excitement recently, except that I did happen to go to a confectionary in a surrounding town that had truffles . Now, I'm a sucker for truffles, but these were great. The three I got were amaretto (white with -amaretto filling, which was very good), russian (white with dark inside), and swiss mint (in this case the shell was mint and the filling dark ). Needless to say, I'll most probably be seen there frequently from now on . They also had fudge and plenty of other sweets, but I figured that the truffles were enough for one day.

I got my woodwinds back last Saturday, and they're both working like new! (well, my oboe was messed up when it was new, but you get the point) I had one chance to play each of them before I got too ill, and I was impressed. I'm used to mediocre repairs when it comes to woodwinds, but they got the job done. However, one of the sales people broke my sax case, so they're going to fix that and ship it to me. For the time being my sax is wrapped up in a beach towel laying on the floor. My guitar, Monty, and my piano have been my saving graces this past week, as, since I've been sick, I really haven't been able to play tennis.

Oh, and speaking of guitars, I've been keeping my eyes peeled for an acoustic guitar, as my electric isn't really appropriate for some of the songs I perform (and not to mention carrying amplifiers and cables everywhere gets cumbersome). Problem with that is that I need to find something with great sound and manageable aesthetics. I don't really care for the traditional acoustic guitar shape and so I've been trying to find something different. Add that to the fact that I have short little arms and I can't easily reach around regular acoustic guitars and play well. Well, I think I've found my dream acoustic. Have a look. http://www.guitarcenter.com/Gretsch-Guitars-G100-Synchromatic-Archtop-Acoustic-Guitar-517748-i1168019.gc A friend of mine had one of these except it was electric, and he let me play on it once and it was marvelous. In fact, I think the first review on that link is from him. It does cost about $600, and that is a bit of a dock on the paycheck, but I love it. Gretsch makes good guitars. I guess I just get cold feet too easily.

Well, I suppose I ought to go. I'll talk to you later.

Ah you're back, I was getting worried! Virus, huh? They can be nasty, that's for sure. Certainly hope the worst is over.>Weather here has been reasonably cool, it usually warms up later in June with July & most -if not all of Aug. being the hot months. Speaking of 'hot months', we're on http://www.climatehotmap.org for the hottest summer on record(of course that's since they've kept records

I'm actually nibbling some as I type here. Terra Nostra 73% Intense Dark http://www.terranostrachocolate.com ...the company is headquartered on the Canadian west coast, but the is made in California or Oregon-the U.S. anyway. About a week ago I stumbled on some Spanish that I've had before-so I pounced on that! The company has been in business since 1797- http://www.chocolates-amatller.com -the little flowers are the truffles. These are decorative tins with artwork-that woman's face being some of it, I bought one of individually-wrapped assorted white, milk(32%) & dark(50 &70%) & one of the dark truffles(which have 10% Marc de Cava). I Googled & it's the Spanish equivalent of champagne-but as of EU ruling they can no longer use the term 'champagne'. Hmm, the with Amaretto might be ok...I'm not that fond of the amaretto-flavoring. The other two sound great though! Laura Secord(here)makes a French Mint that has a pastel-green mint shell over dark - http://www.laurasecord.ca/boxed-chocolates.php (hmm, click 'French & Frosted Mints')...they now have a F/M bar too.

Glad to hear that the woodwinds were nicely repaired!I guess the sax case is a minor inconvenience- at least they didn't damage the horn itself! Yes the guitar looks good & Gretsh is a very reputable name. (Hmm, Monty the second/Monty 2? Or 'Son of Monty'?)

*sigh*But I should get going too, see you!*waves*

Yes, I'm feeling much better these past few days! I'm headed for the river tomorrow...I do hope it dosn't rain . It rained a bit this morning but apart from that it's been wonderful, albeit humid, pretty much all week.

Since the chocolate's been gone I've been bereft of chocolate save for Thursday night--I went on a sugar raid and ate most of the in the whole house...

As for the Gretsch, I think 'Son of Monty' would be great. Thanks for the input! I'll pool ideas for a bit and see if anything pops out.

Right now I think I'll go and make last minute preparations for my day-trip tomorrow and go lie down! -My neck has been hurting all afternoon...I'll talk to you later!

*sigh*No at hand right now but it's out there ...Newget too I guess. A friend's sister-in-law markets a version of the Italian & nut bar(nougat), her product is pre-sliced though - http://www.newget.ca . I kind of like the 'Ole' with a mild chili but the 'Going Coconuts' with coconut is nice & I have some 'Berry Burst'(Blast?)somewhere-white chocolate(& nuts)with blueberries. I have yet to try her '3 Pepper Zinger'(dark I think)with a blend of 3 chili peppers. Good but the nuts & fruit or whatever just take up space where more could be! At least that's one opinion.

Hope that neck gets better & things go well at the river, ok. Talk to you soon(& have fun).

That does seem rather full, doesn't it? Nonetheless, I'd be interested to try it. and spice seem to go very well together. I'm not crazy about blueberries, either, but it looks good. The idea, too, of customizing your own bar is a fascinating and inviting one. I do have one question, though: How big is one bar? I read that each bar is $15 in Canadian dollars (which is slightly less in US dollars, of course), but it says too that each bar yields 45-55 pieces. That seems like an incredibly large bar...(don't get me wrong; with the bigger, the better )

I had lots of fun at the river, although I got quite burnt (or lobsterized, as a friend of mine would say). My shoulders are peeling to the point that I can genuinely sympathize with snakes now...

I'll talk to you later. Oh, and I am going on a bit of a trip this week, so I will be on hootoo Sunday at the earliest. See you!

I've never seen it sold by the bar(other than the original Italian product), it's sold locally-even at her farmers' mkt. booth/kiosk-pre-sliced in small cellophane bags. It's possible that whole bars are sold online...total suppostion, but I'd imagine one bar being equivalent to 2&1/2 or 3 bags. Hope the trip was an enjoyable one! Talk to you Sun., Mon...or whenever, ok.

I'm back! I had a wonderful time, except that I got stabbed in the foot by a stick while running in sandals (perhaps not my most glorious moment)...and bugs

How has your week been? Hope it wasn't rainy like it's been here (although in some cases the rain was quite enjoyable).

see you.

No foot-puncture-type injuries are hardly moment of glory stuff! Years ago I was spending a week or so with a friend at his familys' lakeside cabin. One afternoon as we waded near shore, somehow I sliced or peeled back a rather large piece of skinon my big toe - nothing glorious about that either.

I assume the Newget is only available as bars online. From the sound of it, one bar being the equivalent of 3 small or 2 large bags. I mean I've never seen it sold by the bar, even at her little farmers' mkt. stand.

Weather here has been quite nice-just now, about 24 C or 75.2 F, at about 3:45 in the afternoon. We have had a couple nice sunshowers, some rathe spectacular rainbows & I'm expecting a very visual(lightning)storm after this warmer weather. If you're ever interested in my/our(like it's My personal possesion!)local weather, you can check it-or events in general-at http://www.canada.com/globaltv/edmonton/index.html ...their meteorologist Nicola is fairly reliable.

Hope that foot is somewhat better &*waves* see you!

Oh, on the side of things I'm just having the last half of a container of Ben & Jerry's http://www.benjerry.com Fudge Brrownie ice cream.

Something else I forgot! I was 'talking' to a newbie from Australia last week, who mentioned she plays 2 instruments. She(U12439848)hasn't been on in six days though. Possibly just very busy in real life. I thought I'd suggest that you introduce yourself...*shrugs*.

Ouch! That sounds painful.

We had some storms last weekend with very beautiful lightning, but for the past few days it's just been cool in the mornings (which is nice) and warm in the afternoons.

I've known Ben & Jerry's to put out good ice cream as well. They have some sort of a Stephen Colbert-themed flavor with bits of waffles in it that, although it might not sound too great, is actually very nice.

My thought for today is not about something I've eaten recently; it's about something I'm looking forward to. A bakery/bed & breakfast that used to have a wonderful little restaurant (what a mouthful) has a cake that I just adore. It has a bunch of little spheres in the middle (about 1 cm in diameter, i'm guessing) with a ganache chocolate icing. My birthday is this month, so I'm going to use that as an excuse to get one....

I will talk to the newbie ASAP.

See you!

Ah the sounds great! Certainly not a bad thought for the day...& a birthday is an excellent excuse to get one. Although I think I'd very likely be grasping at the flimsiest little excuse I could find.

Birthday, hmm...?

See you!

Ah...tomorrow I'm leaving for Massachusetts for a week, and I very much look forward to reading about your encounters upon my return. I hope to be having some of my own as well. I will be visiting Provincetown at least once during my trip, and there are dozens of fudge shops lining its streets ...

Do enjoy yourself this week.

Oh hope you had a Happy 4th! http://www9.regards.com/EGM.cfm/14671 And enjoyed Mass. too...a varied & plentiful selection of fudge is never a bad thing in my opinion! I had a really nice very filling fish'n'chips meal/lunch today(Fri. the 4th)at http://www.britsfish.com ...a reasonably good variety of . Oh even sampled a comlimentary small bowl of fisherman's chowder. Not an exceptional day, just nibbled a bit of Lindt. Ok correction, just remedied that with a bite of a Kerstin's Mad Almond bar, 64% Madagascar with roasted almonds.

See you when you get back!

Nothing too terribly new or exciting in the arena lately. I do plan to sample-in about 13 or 14 hours-a few varieties of an ethnic fudge - an East Indian milk fudge,(unappetizingly enough for some north americans called)Barfi.*sigh*I may have to look elsewhere for local/north american fudge though. The particular Indian restaurant also has a bakery & of course serves E/I chai, with milk & spices. I'm quite fond of that, so chai & nibblies it is! And more nibblies(including the barfi/burfi)to take home...definitely jalebi, if they have them!

http://www.ktca.org/donnasday/creative/recipe4.html or

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barfi

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jalebi

See you!