Tamara wrote: >70-85 minutes to get to Clay's house; 65, if I don't get stuck behind a > logging truck or a flatfoot, which is people from the States which have > no experience of driving in the mountains. The road to Clay is 55MPH > all the way, but *suggested* safe speed is 15-35 most of the time. I > *like* to take it at 30-50 (and 65 on flat <g>), depending on > conditions.... > But it sure as heck *varies*... :)
Boy, I'll say!! When MY son was in college in Tamara's town, and HAD to be back by a certain hour or he faced disciplinary measures, I managed to drive that winding road in 45 minutes once or twice. Lord knows I'd not want to do it again!! But I had a sporty little car with a lot of pep that hugged those curves. Now, I drive a big old SUV that is begging to be replaced with something more earth-friendly. The good news is that I've learned how to drive something OTHER than a sports car, and I am old enough to know I'm not invincible. ;) Clay [EMAIL PROTECTED] > [Original Message] > From: Tamara P. Duvall <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > To: lace Arachne <[email protected]> > Date: 1/31/2005 11:39:28 PM > Subject: [lace] Re: Lacemakers getting together > > On Jan 30, 2005, at 14:35, Noelene Lafferty wrote: > > > This thread is so interesting, from the point of view of actually > > learning how others live! > > Indeed! I grew up in a big city and "apartment environment". Which > ranged from 5 people living in 5 rooms (plus kitchen, plus bathroom - > with *bidet* yet!, plus toilet room, etc), to 5 people living in 1 room > (plus 4x6' kitchen, plus bathroom/toilet the same size. No room for a > sink, even). The only people I knew who lived in a *house* were my > village relatives. Much more room, but no running water (till '00) and > no electricity (til '64), so it was "even steven" <g> > > Things have changed in Poland, and some people in the city now own > their houses, while the people in the village now have puters, and a > shower when they're done e-mailing for the night... > > When I came here (US) in '73, I was amazed at how large the rooms (in > private houses) were; even the ones that weren't used much. By the same > token, when I went to UK in '98, I was amazed at how *small* the rooms > were; it's quick and easy to get used to better conditions :) > > In my house, I have a "train arrangement" (ie, you can pass from one > room to another) between kitchen - dining room - living room - music > room. With the exception of the living room, all have good-to-excellent > natural light, and lots of electrical outlets to supplement it. The > dining room could sit, easily, 4-6 lacemakers, 8 in a pinch. The living > room ditto, and the music room another 2-3. All that without > discommoding the DH, who spends most of his life between the kitchen > and the basement (where he has both his smallish study and the large TV > room. That's also where I have my - fully equipped - laundry room, and > where we share a toolroom. And a toilet/sink arrangement, off the TV > room). If the ground floor guest room (which has a full en suite > bathroom) is unoccupied, it provides the second toilet on that (ie > kitchen, dining, living, music) floor - better than what The Lace > Museum's classroom can offer :) There are 4 sizeable bedrooms upstairs, > one with a bathroom en suite, the other 3 sharing the second > bathroom... Space is *definitely not* a problem in small town US :) > > I agree with the Brits, regarding having lacemaking gatherings in > private houses; I've been to some of the middle class "castles" in UK, > and some of our *trailers* (immobile "mobo-homes" of so-called "trailer > trash") are more commodious... :) We simply have more room to swing the > cat, even in states other than Maine. I've given a lecture and a 3 > pillow demo to a group of 20 in a private house, and we all had lunch > after in the dining room and kitchen; can't imagine doing the same > thing in a UK house of people on the same income (middle) level... At > the same time... :) "A tailor cuts as the cloth permits", and Jeri's > right - for US, if not for UK - an informal gathering, based on the > word of mouth, is a distinct possibility in US and preferable to > nothing at all. > > Though, personally, I'd still favour a paid-for "hall" (church, > library, school) over a private house, for all the reasons that Devon > has mentioned (and Jeri implied): > > 1) a public place is open to *everyone*, not just the cronies of the > hostess. I've heard from too many lacemakers who'd moved, tried to make > contact with an ongoing group in their new domicile, and been snubbed > (either no answer at all, or no reply after the initial "interview". > "Interview"???), to be sanguine about the "friendly" arrangements... > 2) an "open" proposition can be advertised, on a regular basis, among > more people than just those who'd been "pre-approved", thus gathering > more members and momentum. That's particularly valid in small towns > (US), where demonstrations (a good "catch" for newbies) range between > rare to none. > 3) a "hall" is, essentially, thief-proof. A mischief-bent newbie may > leave the water running, the lights on, and the sink scummy in the > bathroom... If she's really childish-nasty, she'll pull out yards of > toilet paper, and leave them on the floor... :) But that's about the > limit of the damage she *can* do, unlike in a private house... :) I > open mine to all lacemakers, but it's always been one > -stranger-at-a-time, so I could follow strangers to the lace-library > (aka music room). Anything else of value in this house is furniture... > And anyone who can, single-handedly, walk off with a sideboard which > takes 4 people to move 10 yards, has my respect and blessings :) > > Re the Brit "used to be/is no more" as regards the "teaching of > abstruse"... I'm "definitely on the fence" on that one :) > > While I hate our current government (US) for trying to strip us of > *all* security (while telling us we can make better choices ourselves), > I equally hate my previous (communist Poland) government for trying to > strip us of all free will, replacing it with "cradle to coffin" care in > every aspect of our lives... It may be my Libra talking, but I don't > see anything wrong with exercising one's mind *some* :) And, to me, > *basic* things - like medical care and relatively comfortable old age - > ought to be guaranteed by the government. Definitely. > > But, government-guaranteed pursuit of *hobbies*??? Like my Mother used > to say: "next thing you know, and every sprig of parsley is > nationalised"... > > > 40 minutes to go 7 miles! > > Here, it varies, mostly depending on the number of lights (and whether > they go "for" or aginst" you), but also on the number of lanes (*can* > you pass that tractor in front of you, which is put-putting at the > horse-frightening speed of 15 miles per hour?). And on the gradient... > > It takes 10-12 minutes to navigate the 4mi distance to the highschool > (from my house). It used to be 6-8 minutes when DS was attending it, > but there've been two stop lights put in since. > > 12 minutes to get through the 8 miles to the - many-times-sold - > "college" in the next town over, where I used to teach for a year > (unless it snowed and my part of the town has not been cleared, in > which case it could take as long as half an hour) > > 40-50 minutes to cover the 35 miles to my car mechanic, depending on > the traffic (I hit the same lights as I would trying to get to the > highschool, but they're less significant in a larger scheme of things) > > 70-85 minutes to get to Clay's house; 65, if I don't get stuck behind a > logging truck or a flatfoot, which is people from the States which have > no experience of driving in the mountains. The road to Clay is 55MPH > all the way, but *suggested* safe speed is 15-35 most of the time. I > *like* to take it at 30-50 (and 65 on flat <g>), depending on > conditions. "Flatfeet" take it at 5-20, which is the only time I lose > my cool to the point of f"lipping the bird" (I hope foreigners are > paying attention, and learning all the US slang <g>)... Most of the > time, I keep my hands to myself, having learnt that hand signals did > *not* help my Mother any, when she talked on the phone with friends in > Denmark and Sweden... > > But it sure as heck *varies*... :) If I have to follow DH to *his* > mechanic (Charlottesville, 75 miles), it's 90min. When we come back > (and I know my way home), it's 65 min for me, 100+ for him. He obeys > the law *always*; I add 10% and figure I'm safe, even if I'm no longer > pretty (it used to be easy to sweet-talk the men in uniform, when I was > 18; not the same thing at 55 <g>... > > -- > Tamara P Duvall http://t-n-lace.net/ > Lexington, Virginia, USA (Formerly of Warsaw, Poland) > > - > To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line: > unsubscribe lace [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to > [EMAIL PROTECTED] - To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line: unsubscribe lace [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
