A lot of other people have said their tomatoes aren’t doing well this year. Mine did GREAT for the first 3 months. They’ve really taken a hit from the spider mites and heat the last two. I’m actually getting ready for a fall planting–I’ve got two started and really should start a third one since the ones outside are doing so poorly. ii just haven’t gotten off my duff to do it!

BLUEBERRIES!!!! I wonder if my hd would have any? I need more like a hole in the head, but I could definitely be talked into the sunshine kind…they’ve done so well here…

Oooh, I may have to go shopping! I need dirt for the fall tomato plant anyway…no really!

I think my tomato plant is on its last leg as well. I don’t think that particular variety appreciated being grown in a pot on the patio–I think I’ve gotten a grand total of 6 tomatoes all summer. But they were good ones.

I noticed they were advertising blueberry plants at Home Depot…might stop by there this weekend.

I should have put a link to Aberrant Dream’s “bookstore” animation too:
http://www.hd-image.com/books.htm

I like the library one better at the entrance because there’s more action and the idea is so excellent (If you make it all the way to the end, check out the title of the book the ghost holds–there’s a bit of a long pause in there and I had to watch it more than once before I realized I was missing the end).

The bookstore one took me forever to figure out that you had to click on the books. It’s what I think they call an Easter-egg hunt animation, rather than one where the action rolls along like a movie. I think the guy with the newspaper should turn pages and look up now and then and point to the “eggs” so that it’s easier to figure out where to click…

I didn’t want to go to Spain at all when this whole thing started. The more I learn the more excited I am about the trip!

If you decide to go to Japan, let me know if I can be of help. I traveled to Kyoto (well worth visiting–probably my top city to visit in all of Japan) as well as Tokyo (several times) and up to the Nagano prefecture (mountains and some tourist towns.) I also visited a little island on the north side of Japan (foggy and dense, very mysterious setting.) I also visited Hiroshima–if you do go there, Pearl Harbor becomes a must. But this is a very sad place to visit–absolutely heart-wrenching.

There’s lots to see there, many temples (on just about every corner). Tokyo is a very modern city without losing many of the cultural things that make Japan what it is.

Japan stands out to me for that very reason: it is so different. I would just like to experience a little bit of the culture on that side of the world.

Yeah, like I said, Samantha isn’t much help in the planning department. I enjoyed watching most of the episodes of Passport to Europe–just enough of an overview to make me decide whether I wanted to learn more about an area or not. But her current series on the Travel Channel, Passport to Great Weekends-I found it to be a real bore.

Rick Steves is kind of geeky and his tv shows can be a bit “dry”, but I think he offers a lot of practical advice.

No doubt, researching a trip is at least half of the fun!

I had to go out and get dad back in (we were inside a protected bay). He said, ‘I kept swimming, but wasn’t GOING anywhere!) The whole “kick hard” and steer thing takes practice, especially with a life jacket on.

Mom and I swam together. I’d hold her hand and swim along showing her things. She can swim just fine, but she can’t steer worth a darn. She doesn’t remember to check her orientation to see where she is going and just heads for rocks or the open sea and then wonders how she got there!!!! We went to a nice little spot on the Big Island (Cooks) and swam along the edge. She really enjoyed the heck out of that. Getting her into the water deep enough and out of the rolling waves wasn’t that easy (she falls over, etc) but once we got there, she just had such a great time.

I’d go back in a heartbeat. When my parents weren’t with us, my husband got in and snorkeled too (he doesn’t swim either.) It’s just a great experience to be able to see the turtles and whatnot. Diving in some spots is quite popular–right from the beach. We’d see the divers heading out and then coming back in. All had nothing but good things to say.

I spent a year in Japan. I’m not sure that I’ll ever need to go back. I saw pretty much everything I wanted to see and although I have friends there, it’s a pretty different place. Lovely, of course.

You know, I’ve never really had a hankering to go to Hawaii. Western Europe was always on the top of my travel list. And Japan–I would love to visit Japan.