Poirot mysteries Agree about P. G. Wodehouse Nonfiction: Elizabeth by Sarah Bradford I listened to it after watching The Crown to learn more about her life. Informative and interesting without feeling like I was being bogged down with details. I sometimes find junior fiction quite comforting. Going to go look up the Darling Dahlia series now! Always love hearing about something new.

Vanilla ice cream

I also read Miss Manners in my early 20's when I realized I had huge gaps in my social intelligence. I still make stupid mistakes, but it helped tremendously. Joan Didion's A Year of Magical Thinking is a unique book that may also be helpful. She writes about the grief she experiences when her husband and daughter die within a short time span. Reading it showed me how to be a gentler person around those who are suffering, and as a consequence, how to be a gentler person overall. I suppose any book on grief from a first person/personal experience perspective would do the same.

I have family working in the health care system in Steinbach, Manitoba (Canada). She has said that they often have young South African doctors who rotate through for a few years and then move on to greener pastures. I assume they're coming for the work experience and money...

Body on Tap shampoo I ate a lot of Frankenberries and Booberries cereals growing up. It's really a wonder I don't have diabetes. I also have memories of Mom putting Sloan's liniment on my leg when it would get sore at night. The lid had a wire wand with a cotton pom-pom at the bottom for swabbing the liniment.

How exciting!! You will love it. General Thoughts: I would watch Rick Steves shows and read his guide books for starters. His style of communicating is clear and basic, and the books are organized nicely. That will give you a good sense of what you may want to see, plus inform you about bits of travel that will be helpful. Also do a lot of looking on the Google Maps Earth view to get a sense of where things are. I would NOT recommend doing one of those "hop on hop off" tours. You will spend so much time in traffic, plus a long time waiting for the bus to pick you up to head to your second/third site that you won't get your money's worth out of the deal. Perhaps if you use the bus to get to your first place and then just use the Underground for transportation and the card for admission you could make it worth it... The Underground is easy enough to figure out, and is economical. It's quite crowded, there are lots of escalators (elevators also), and people move very fast, so it may be a bit of work with a one year old. Buy and Oyster Card (pre-paid Underground card) at a train kiosk once you're there. Most (all??) of the big museums and galleries have free admission. Eating out is not cheap. If you end up at a VRBO or Airbnb with a kitchen, you'll save $$. The grocery stores all have a pre-made meal section, and we found them to be more than passable. Even the little convenience-sized grocery stores had a very good selection. The cafes in the museums and historical sites all have real food. Not just hot dogs and fries. You'll get stews and chicken and roast potatoes. It is not cheap, but you don't feel as bad about paying when it's not pre-frozen, deep-fried junk. Things to see: I've not seen the zoo, but hear it's good. I've heard that Sky Garden has an amazing view of London. It's free, but you have to book ahead. It looks beautiful, and I'm sorry we missed it. Apparently it's waaaay better than doing the London Eye. A lovely walk would be to start at Westminster Abby, go along Parliament (enjoying green spaces and statues along the way), walk across Westminster Bridge, turn right (so you will eventually end up where you started) and walk along the Thames (stopping at the Florence Nightingale Museum if you want, and noting Lambeth Palace), cross Lambeth Bridge, and you're back at the park that is just beside Westminster. In a way it's a low-key walk, but there's just so much to take in. Another nice walk would be to start at the Horse Guards Parade, meander through St. James Park, and come out the other end to see Buckingham Palace. Westminster Abby (not free) is well worth seeing, and I recommend the audio tour. I've not been to St. Paul's (not free), but have heard it's also beautiful. The Tower of London is great. It's better to catch some sort of tour, even if it's the free ones the guards give, because there's so much to see and it's hard to figure it all out. I'd say, catch a tour at the beginning of your visit, and then afterwards you can go see the other bits that interest you. I would not miss the Imperial War Museum (free). It is so very well done. They have a boat from the Dunkirk evacuation, a bit of the Berlin Wall, air raid shelters, etc. It is well laid out and the interpretation is excellent. After that, I'd go to whatever museums, etc. suit your fancy. They're all amazing. Other things worth seeing, depending on your interests: The Crypt Cafe at St. Martin's in the Fields Camden markets Hamleys on Regent Street The V & A Museum has an enclosed outdoor cafe. There's lovely grass, fountains, lots of tables and chairs. If you want to do something really touristy, go on a "Tea on the Thames" tour. Day trips to many cool places...Bath, Stonehenge, Oxford (actually, not a lot to see there unless you're a Lewis/Tolkien fan...but even then...meh), Windsor Castle, etc. Happy planning!!

I like to wear long, loose-fitting tops. If they comes down to mid-thigh, I can still get away with leggings for pants when I'm at home. I wear them with flowing skirts or linen pants if I need to go out. For example, google "Best Exotic Marigold Hotel" and "clothes", "style", or "Judi Dench". You'll get some ideas.

A great holiday if you love being outdoors. Lots of nature. Great golfing. Lots of spas. Roads are wide enough and well maintained. Canmore is outside of the national park boundaries, and therefore is a bigger town. It has proper grocery stores with food at normal prices. You will want to stock up here if you end up staying in Banff. Restaurants can be a bit expensive. You will really want to prepare for packing lunches/snacks/water. It's a lovely place to wander around, and there are plenty of hikes (and shops). Best hike close by is Grassi Lakes. Canmore Nordic Centre is a neat place if you like sports. Banff: Downtown does have a free/cheap parking lot...be aware of it if you need it. There is a great little rock and gem shop on the main street. Don't miss it...it has something for everyone. The Sulphur Mountain gondola is fun, but expensive. The Cave and Basin National Historic Site is neat in a low-key sort of way. Snoop around Banff Springs Hotel. Tunnel Mountain is a good hike. Lake Louise is beyond beautiful. There is a tea house that you can hike to from the lake...Lake Agnes Tea House. (It's been a while, but I'm sure it's still overpriced! They've got to get in all those supplies.) Between Louise and Banff is Johnston Canyon. Another great hike with three stages...first one is easy...second a little more work...third stage is a real commitment. It's very popular (the first two stages...not many do the third). Kananaskis country could also be explored if you like to go for drives. Most helpful books: Canmore & Kananaskis Country: Short Walks for Inquiring Minds (Gillean Daffern) Walks and Easy Hikes in the Canadian Rockies (Graeme Pole) (A lot of hiking books are for very serious hikers...not useful if you just want to go for an hour or two.) If you go, be aware of the Calgary Stampede...first couple of weeks in July. The city is insane, and you will have a hard time finding a place to stay in Calgary. Hope that helps!

Cul de Sac comics by Richard Thompson. Gentle, family-style but funny. My twelve year old boy loves Pearls Before Swine.

Just checking this out now! Very interesting show.

Also on YouTube are clips from The Catherine Tate Show. Depending on your sense of humour, "Office Workers", "Posh People", and "Lauren Cooper" may make you smile. And Flight of the Conchords is pretty goofy...goofy songs (best on YouTube, it's a show, but the songs in isolation are the funniest parts)

Community-some episodes are a bit random, but all in all it's a great comedy Jim Gaffigan (stand up-pretty clean and very funny) John Pinette (also mostly clean, funny stand-up)-I'm not sure if he's on Netflix, but there are many bits on YouTube

I guess that didn't answer your question...you were looking to describe the ladies. I guess ditto what Laurie said in post #4-traditional (Martha) and non-traditional (Mary).

Here is my answer, more or less summarized from N.T. Wright's book Luke for Everyone: In this culture, men and women didn't mix company in homes. The men were in the "living room" and the women were in the kitchen. So the fact that Mary was in the men's space had Martha in a tizzy...it was a huge cultural no-no. Also, the "sitting at Jesus' feet"-learning from the rabbi was something only men did. Jesus affirmed Mary (it's ok for women to learn too). It's a bit of a different interpretation than what we're used to, but I think it's an interesting one that also makes sense.

I second the Oratory of St. Joseph. The signage in the church itself is pretty bad...you may walk some circles, but it's an amazing place. The Pointe-a-Calliere is a really neat museum in Old Montreal. Part of it is an archeological dig. Again, good luck finding your way around! With luck and persistence, you will see the whole museum. (Part of the problem is that it consists of a number of floors/stories, some of which are deep underground.) The Stash Cafe is a Polish restaurant in Old Montreal that has great food, if you like that sort of cuisine. I don't remember it being terribly expensive, but not cheap. There was a guy playing the piano. It was neat. We didn't have the kids though...that makes for a different experience. But it's been over a year and I remember that restaurant.