~ma to d and d's mom. Hope you're able to get over to France!

Ring stuffs: we bought my ring (a sapphire) together sort of on a whim. I loved it, it was on sale, we thought, "why not?" We were not, however, engaged at that time. The ring sat in its box (with both of us trying to sneakily take peeks at it thinking the other didn't know yet) for a few weeks, until I asked Tom to marry me at the Leap Day Pub Quiz O' Destiny. He said yes. At that point, we were engaged.

I am sort of in ita's mindframe about engagement rings- I don't quite get why I get one and he doesn't. But I do love my ring, and I will often zone out on it and think about the lovely but freezing cold day we bought it on Newbury Street (where the owner sighed, "yes... I supose that could pass for an engagement ring"), and the Sunday afternoon flushed from a few beers and nervousness when I asked him to marry me, microphoned, in front of the entire bar, and just general awesome memories. And it's pretty, and I catch Tom zoning out on it too sometimes. My wedding band exists solely to complement the engagement ring; it would be a bit weedy looking on its own. Both are white gold.

HOT DOGS! My favorite weiners were at that place that is next door to the beer place on Haight Street in San Francisco. I have also found a german sausage place in this area that has some cool brats and frankfurters. Also, I like having 2 hot dogs at Fenway park with ketchup, mustard, relish, and onions.

Vacation news: things are pretty good here in Imagination Vacation land. We're just sort of chilling out. I made chicken stock yesterday from a stewing hen that we got from our farm; it's one of their egg laying hens that stopped laying. Older birds like that aren't so great for eating (a bit tough) so I bought it for the express purpose of making stock. I sort of like the symmetry of knowing I likely have eaten her eggs as well. I am addicted to farm eggs and cannot go back to buying supermarket eggs anymore- we were able to get a supply through out the winter from the farm as well. Mmm, fresh eggs.

Whew, lots of talking, you can tell I've been chilling out with minimal stimulation. Today we will drive up to Rockport for a lobster dinner in the rough.

Susan, I'm sorry about the twists and turns of D's job pursuit. I'm holding out hope for you guys that it will twist back into what you were wishing for!

I have Friday the 13th, Part III on my second monitor while I'm working.

Have you been playing "spot that actor" ND? I know Ft13th,3 has Crispin Glover, and Kevin Bacon was in the original (and of course, Johnny Depp was in the original Nightmare on Elm Street, and gets memorably eaten by a bed). I always wondered if anybody else turned up who went on to be famous (or in Glover's case, infamous).

I have also found a german sausage place in this area that has some cool brats and frankfurters.

Hey, is that Karl's on Route 1? You finally made it over there - good to hear it is good (if that indeed is what you are referencing).

ION the snotmonster is eating my BRAIN!!!!!

My favorite weiners were at that place that is next door to the beer place on Haight Street in San Francisco.

Rosamunde - really very very delicious.

Yes, to both Frank and Hec- Karl's on Rt. 1 and mmm, Rosamunde. What's the name of the bar again?

I could have a lost day in San Francisco without leaving that building.

What's the name of the bar again?

The Toronado - the place for beer in the city. They support all the local microbreweries and get the best imports.

The brewpub I took you to, Magnolia, has a sister place called Alembic which has very tasty food and a fancy mixologist approach to drinks. Huge selection of Scotch and every other liquor.

I am on the phone with USAIR trying to use my frequent flyer miles to go to France. Hope it works!

Good luck. I have over 100,000 Delta miles that I can never seem to use when I want to. Domestically, you can usually get a first-class ticket, but I've been trying for France for ages.

I heard, somewhere, that the freshness of an egg is indicated by how high the yolk sits above the white when you break it (as well as the nice, rich, gold color).

IIRC, the color of the yolk is determined by what the hen eats. I remember reading that it was possible to get eggs with entirely white yolks by only feeding the hen white corn.

Best way to judge freshness is the put the egg in a glass of water. A perfectly fresh egg will just sit at the bottom of the glass. A not-as-fresh egg will roll a bit so it's kind of standing on end. A rotten egg will float.

Like witches!

Burn them!