Hi Michael,

 ML> > Just have to decide when to make the trip. Figure out finances, when
 ML> the > best time to go, etc., then take off. We renewed our passports
 ML> last year > in anticipation of travel this year so that's not a
 ML> problem until 2029.

 ML> Plenty of time. Who knows, though, what the state
 ML> of travel will be this decade.

It'll be quite different from 2019 and the early days of 2020. Sort of
like the transitions made after 9/11--inconvenient but accepted as part
of the need for increased security/screening but now we all follow the
rules as a matter of course. We've not flown in 3 years; we tend to take
the camper more places now. The biggest advantage of flying is that you
usually get to your destination in hours, instead of days. Then too, we
don't have a lot of deadlines to meet while on the road.

 ML> >  ML> Massachusetts Arts Council (or perhaps its
 ML> >  ML> predecessor) did a study that showed that the
 ML> >  ML> typical musician, artist, or dancer earned
 ML> >  ML> approximately 1/3 what your average worker did
 ML> >  ML> for a full-time equivalent.
 ML> > Not really a surprise.

 ML> That was at a time when the salary for a
 ML> rank-and-file Boston Symphony player had
 ML> overtopped $100K. Then there were those of
 ML> us scraping by by scraping away, averaging
 ML> closer to 5.

The rank and file symphony player earned about twice as much as Steve
did at his highest point in the Army. The player just scraping by earned
about as much as he did before enlisting.


 ML> >  ML> Priorities - I'd go lengthy periods on pasta and
 ML> >  ML> tomato sauce and rice and cabbage (my equivalent of
 ML> >  ML> bread and water) in order to afford those tickets.
 ML> > But in a town of about 800 people there weren't that many cultural
 ML> > events. School concerts, dramas, etc were probably the main ones.
 ML> (G) > The "big cities" that would have more events were an hour or so
 ML> away and > in the winter, more of a challenge over mountain roads.

 ML> Priorities - I went 215 miles on Amtrak and half
 ML> an hour on the subway and on foot for the
 ML> privilege, every month or so.

Difference being you were/are single. We didn't have Amtrak or anything
close--did have a bus line that stopped on its way to NYC in the
morning, on the way up from NYC in the evening.

(Yogurt maker)
 ML> > We saw a used one a week or so ago but passed on it.

 ML> It might have made sense back in the '70s when
 ML> yogurt was a specialty item, if you liked the
 ML> stuff, that is. Now, not so, as you can buy
 ML> Siggi's or Chobani or any number of reputable
 ML> brands for not much more than the cost of
 ML> making it yourself.

Basically what we've been doing for a number of years now.

(Induction cooking)

 ML> > Could be the difference between a stove and a single burner unit. We
 ML> > bought the single burner unit some years ago, an off brand which may
 ML> > explain the difference.

 ML> True that I've not tried her single burner for the
 ML> purpose - I use it only outdoors when fixing
 ML> something that stinks up the neighborhood, like a
 ML> blackened steak. If Lilli ate fish no doubt it
 ML> would get used more.

OTOH, we use the single burner unit quite a bit. For food that might
stink up the house, we'll put it on a side burner to one of our grills.
Did that last fall with a good sized stalk of collards. (G)


 ML> >  ML> how it was going, and she turned away and said
 ML> >  ML> "I'm not responding." Pretty much what happened
 ML> >  ML> in real life.
 ML> > Maybe some day she will turn back around.

 ML> She's always been pretty stubborn and is into
 ML> her 70s, so time is getting short for that
 ML> kind of reconciliation. I might be up for
 ML> something, if and only if she has come to
 ML> some kind of accommodation with Robby.

Sigh!

 ML> >  ML> In many settings, at a home or a restaurant with a
 ML> >  ML> smallish menu, sure. At a bakery, not so much.
 ML> > Unless it's a small town bakery and you know the owners. (G) The
 ML> people > who owned the bakery in the town I grew up in were parents of
 ML> one of my > class mates.

 ML> In which case you'd likely know what they
 ML> called it!

We didn't patronise the bakery that often--sometimes for a loaf of
French or Italian bread to go with spaghetti but never for baked sweets.
Mom did all of that kind of baking at home.

 ML> > We got 1.8" of rain from a passing storm last night and a 5.1
 ML> earthquake > about 3 hours west of here this morning. It rattled our
 ML> dishes but other > than that, no damage around here.

 ML> A substantial amount of water but not unheard
 ML> of where you are. The earthquake I can't
 ML> speak to - Lilli had one in the 5s in April,
 ML> but I was out east at the time.

We'd been thru one of slightly more intense (5.3) and closer when we
were in Pacific Grove, CA. Also went thru the one centered in VA in
2011--it was noticeable but not that severe here.

---
Catch you later,
Ruth
rchaffly{at}earthlink{dot}net  FIDO 1:396/45.28


... There cannot be a crisis today; my schedule is already full.

--- PPoint 3.01