Hi All, I also love reading about the differences among countries. We sure need window screens in Vermont for most of the bugs mentioned by Lynn. I was surprised when we spent the night in a hotel on the Oregon coast and had no screens. They didn't have any bugs! Very nice! I suppose there were some at the fish canneries in a nearby town but the ocean breeze blew them away from the hotel.
I walk everywhere. I did when I lived in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (big city) and I do now in Brattleboro, Vermont (population 12,000). I love walking and I was thrilled to find out it's good for me too <G>. My bone density is fabulous! I'm so amazed how many people drive everywhere even when they could walk. Two years ago I worked for 8 months at a place on the other side of town (2.5 or 3 miles from my home). That was a bit much for a round trip so I'd walk to town (3/4 mile) and take the bus to work. The bus was erratic about time in the afternoon so often I'd walk home. I realize that is a tiny commute for most people! When I first started that job I drove for two weeks before the car broke down. I hated it! I'd get home and jump out of the car to take a walk. All the worries of the day were still with me and I hadn't seen anything of nature on the way home. When I walk the worries fall from my shoulders and I look at the flowers and birds and talk to the cats and people I see, much more to my liking! We also used to have many, many neighborhood grocery stores in town. I've lived here 30 years and in the last 20 years they've been closing. They are more expensive but I like talking to the people who work there and it's more convenient. I can walk there instead of driving! Now I do go to the big grocery store every week or two but usually buy at a smaller place. Recently a large convenience store closed in town to make way for a big parking garage! That store was used by everyone who lives downtown, especially those in the Senior housing across the street. However there was good news last week. We have an Indian restaurant downtown and they had a small grocery behind it. The grocery has now moved to a more central location and they are adding milk and other items to the Indian specialites! It will be nice to be able to pick up a few things on my way home. As Tamara (I think) said, cars are smaller in the US than they used to be! I went to Italy and Greece in 1967 and I remember seeing a Citroen (sp?) and it looked so big! Also an American car somewhere, maybe in Rome, which looked very out of place! Now it seems the vehicles are getting bigger again. Jane in Vermont, USA where it's partly cloudy instead of totally cloudy - an improvement! [EMAIL PROTECTED] To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line: unsubscribe lace-chat [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
