December 28, 2005

Privileged

For the first time in 18 months of blogging, somebody tagged me. Thank you, Xoloitzquintle. It is an honor to be tagged.

I already was egotistical enough to write 100 things about myself, so this should be a piece of cake:

Seven things I plan to do before I die:
1. Indulge in my urge to reproduce and have a baby
2. Live at least 2 years on every continent (North America and Africa being already taken care of, that leaves Europe, Asia, the Latin Americas and Australia.)
3. Have a UN passport
4. Write one good article relating to international current events that will be published by a serious newspaper
5. Make a difference for one child in the world
6. Show Dave that I love him, and if possible, live with him for a good long while (whether N.1 is fulfilled or not)
7. Spend time to get to know my friends again.

Seven things I can do:
1. Read Zola in French
2. Write blog comments in very bad Spanish
3. Speak Woloff (ok, just a little bit. How much Woloff do you know anyway?)
4. Count to 100 in German
5. Play Beethoven (but on a real-size piano)
6. Sing Scarlatti
7. Set up a home based network

Seven things I can't do:
1. change a spare tire
2. bungie jump, or stand at the edge of a cliff, or anywhere that's very high for that matter
3. run for more than 5 minutes
4. eat raw meat
5. touch snakes (or even stay in their vicinity for that matter)
6. listen to racist or hateful discourse and stay silent
7. prepare a full course meal only for myself

Seven things that attract me to another person:
1. honesty.
2. curiosity (for ex.: how was it in South Africa? How are the people, and the food, and they culture?)
3. intelligence
4. culture (for ex.: to know what Apartheid is)
5. humility (for ex.: to be willing to learn)
6. generosity (for ex.: to dedicate time to help people struggling with HIV-AIDS )
7. sense of humor (though awful things are going on in the world, we should take a moment and laugh about how ridiculous we can be.)

Seven things I say most often:
1. Crap ! (as in Crap! I forgot to...)
2. Oh well...
3. Anyway...
4. What ever!
5. Hmfff (or Arrf, grmmf, or any other unintelligible sound a beaver makes in the morning)
6. I miss you (my mum, my friends, my boyfriend)
7. I love you (several times a day to the same blessed individual)

Seven people to do this little blogger game:
1. Liquidplastic
2. 007 in africa
3. Siti
4. Anya
5. Salt Water
6. Saurkraut
7. Qalamana


The Beaver

My guest map is wonderful ! And you'd all be wonderful to post, all of you lurk mode readers!
Thanks and may the winds of Fate blow your way !

December 26, 2005

Beaver-centric

The most successful wireless provider in Montreal, Fido, owes its success to its smart use of dogs as advertisement icons.

Since then, Telus followed and has been using all sorts of animals, with their most recent addition being the HIPPO!!!

But now, beavers are invading Montreal's scene.... The new Bell Canada campaign uses .... the Beaver :)



I have finally been heard !!!

The Beaver




My guest map is wonderful ! And you'd all be wonderful to post, all of you lurk mode readers!
Thanks and may the winds of Fate blow your way !

December 23, 2005

Season's greetings / Voeux saisonniers

Isn't he cute? He probably feels as lost as I do. Cricketina, Library Bitch and007 in Africapointed it out quite well: in this day and age, it's a real problem to figure out what to wish at large during the holiday season.

I feel pretty much the same way as this dog: what mess am I getting myself into by posting holiday greeting ? So here it is:

May this time of year bring you joy, love, hope, wealth and health. May you spend this special day (every day is special) with you loved ones.


N'est-ce pas qu'il est mignon? Il se sent probablement aussi perdu que moi. Cricketina, Library Bitch et 007 in Africa l'ont bien dit: a l'ere du politiquement correct, c'est tout un probleme de determiner quel souhait on peut dire a un public pendant la saison des fetes.

Je m'identifie donc au chien: dans quoi est-ce que je vais m'empetrer en publiant des voeux saisonniers? Enfin, les voila :

Que cette periode de l'annee vous apporte joie, amour, espoir, richesses et sante. Je vous souhaite de passer cette journee speciale (toutes les journees sont speciales) avec vos proches.


The Beaver

My guest map is wonderful ! And you'd all be wonderful to post, all of you lurk mode readers!
Thanks and may the winds of Fate blow your way !

You pay peanuts, you get monkeys!

Thanks to Xoloitzquintle for this amusing idea :)


You are Rerun!
Take this quiz!


The Beaver

My guest map is wonderful ! And you'd all be wonderful to post, all of you lurk mode readers!
Thanks and may the winds of Fate blow your way !


December 22, 2005

Alive and buried under 5 feet of snow / Vivante et enterree sous 5 pieds de neige

(Version francaise a venir).

Je realise que je n'ai pas mis mon blog a jour depuis mon depart du Lesotho... desolee tout le monde.
I realize I havent updated my blog at all since I left Lesotho... Sorry guys.

A mon retour a Jo-Burg, Ze Big Boss etait la pour assister a la conference de sortie, ainsi que plein d'Autrez Big Bossez, et ca m'a tenue pas mal occupee. La conference de sortie a duree 4 jours intenses. Heureusement, a la fin, tout le monde a trouve un terrain d'entente. Pas besoin de le mentionner, c'etait audela de toute fatigue. (Nouveaux lecteurs, voyez l'entree concernant le boulot de Castor).
Upon my return to Jo-Burg, Ze Big Boss was there to attend the exit conference and so were plenty of Ozer Big Bossez, so that kept me pretty busy. The exit conference lasted 4 intense days. Luckily, in the end, everybody came to an agreement. No need to mention, it was BEYOND exhausting. (New readers, see the Beaver Job post).

Enfin, apres 4 jours de negociations intenses, mon Chef est rentre chez lui. Le lendemain, mes collegues et Ze Big Boss sont partis aussi, me laissant seule a m'ennuyer de mon cheu nous et de mes amis, juste quelques jours avant le conge de Noel.
Anyway, after 4 days of intense negociations, my Coach left for home. The next day, my colleagues and Ze Big Boss left too, so I was left alone to miss home and friends, just a few days from Christmas break.

Vendredi dernier, j'ai donc pris l'avion de Jo-burg a Paris et suis arrivee a Paris a 6 HEURES LE MATIN. Heureusement, j'ai reussi a dormir dans l'avion pendant le vol de 11 heures, et j'etais toute eveillee a mon arrivee a Paris. Ma tante et mon oncle sont venus me chercher a l'aeroport et j'ai eu la chance de prendre une douche (ahhhh), de dejeuner et meme de faire une petite sceance de magasinage avec ma tante avant de repartir encore, le meme jour, sur Montreal. Dommage que je n'ai pas eu la chance de passer un weekend a Paris comme la derniere fois.
Last Friday, I flew from Jo-Burg to Paris and landed there a 6 IN THE MORNING. Luckily, I slept in the plane during the 11 hour flight, and was wide awake upon my arrival in Paris. My aunt and uncle picked me up at the airport and I got the chance to take a shower (ahhhh - releif), have lunch and a quick shopping session with my auntie before I flew out again, the same day, to Montreal. Too bad that I didn't have a chance to spend a weekend in Paris like last time.

Le vol sur Montreal s'est bien passe, malgre le fait que mon ecran personnel ne fonctionnait pas. Alors j'ai passer 7 heures a lire, parler avec mon voision (coincidence, c'est un travailleur de l'humanitaire qui rentre chez lui de Guinee). The flight to Montreal was ok, though my personnal screen did not work. So I spent 7 hours reading, talking with my neighbour (who, coincidentally, was also a humanitarian worker flying home from Guinea).

A 6h le soir, Samedi, ma maman m'attendait a l'aeroport, avec un beau grand sourire, un calin chaleureux, et.... des bottes et un manteau d'hiver. (Arf - la perfection n'est pas de ce monde, n'est-pas?) At 6PM, on Saturday, my mum was waiting for me at the airport, with a big smile, a warm hug, and... some boots and winter coat. (Arf - nothing is ever perfect, is it?)

Je me suis installee chez ma maman et on a passe la soiree a jaser. J'aurais du voir Dave (voyez aussi ceci) ce soir la, mais j'etair AU DELA d'epuisee et on a remis ca au le lendemain. I settled down at my mum's place and spent the evening chatting and catching up. I should have seen that Dave (also see this) that night, but I was BEYOND exhausted and managed to reschedule for the next day.

Alors Dimanche, je suis allee voir Dave et je l'ai trouve plus beau, plus chaleureux, plus sexy que jamais. Pendant mon absence, il ne s'est pas coupe les cheuveux du tout, et maintenant il a l'allure d'un poete du 19eme. Apparemment, c'est suffisant pour qu'il s'attire des commentaire de son patron come "beaucoup de vent aujkourdh'hui, hein?" So on Sunday I went over to Dave's and found his handsomer, warmer, sexier than ever. While I was gone, he did not cut his hair at all, and he now looks like a 19th century poet. Apparently, that's enough for him to receive comments from his coach such as "lots of wind today, huh?"

Alors en ce moment, je partage mon temps entre Dave et ma maman. Techniquement, je suis installee chez ma mere pour ce qui est des bagages, mais je parasite l'appart de Dave depuis 4 jours. J'ai appele mes amis, et j'en ai vu certains. J'ai attrape un rhume(duh). So I'm now sharing my time between Dave and my mum. I'm technically settled at my mum's for luggage (remember Big Ben?) but have been squatting Dave's place for the last 4 days. I called my friends and saw some of them. I caught a cold (duh).

Je pense que maintenant, je suis vraiment de retour a la maison !!!
I guess I'm truely home now!!!

The Beaver

Thanks, Anya, for dropping by !!! Look forward to reading you again!!!

My guest map is wonderful ! And you'd all be wonderful to post, all of you lurk mode readers!
Thanks and may the winds of Fate blow your way !

December 21, 2005

My heart is in South Africa

Wonderful, beautiful, mixed up South Africa…

Zulus as sweet, strong, courageous people.
The young generation of Afrikaans is adapting to the new mind set of the country.
The indians bring color and fantasy to the Rainbow Nation.

Sandton city is insanely luxurious.
Soweto is full of hope.
Baphutastswana reminds us that the country has a long long way to go.

Wonderful, diverse, striking South Africa!!!

December 04, 2005

Youpi au/in Maseru (Lesotho)

Youpi a pris le temps de s'eloigner de ses obligations professionnelles pour m'accompagner au Lesotho, un petit pays enclave au coeur de l'Afrique du Sud.

Youpi took the time to leave his professionnal obligations to join me in Lesotho, a small enclaved country at the heart of South Africa.



The Beaver

My guest map is wonderful ! And you'd all be wonderful to post, all of you lurk mode readers!Thanks and may the winds of Fate blow your way !

Lesotho, The Mountain Kingdom / Royaume des Montagnes

Quelques details historiques sur le Lesotho, un petit pays que je visite brievement cette semaine.

- XVIème siècle : arrivée des Sotho dans cette partie de l'Afrique alors peuplée de quelques autres ethnies avec qui ils se mélangèrent.
- début XIXème siècle : Arrivée des premiers commerçants blancs dans la région (appelée désormais Basutoland).
- 1820 : le roi Moshoeshoe, afin de lutter contre les raids zoulou, unifie les tribus sotho.
- 1840-68 : lutte des Sotho contre les Boers (colons d'origine néerlandaise d'Afrique du Sud) qui veulent s'approprier leurs terres.
- 1868 : afin de se protéger des Boers, Moshoeshoe demande l'aide des Anglais qui établissent un protectorat sur le territoire.
- 1899-1902 : guerre des Boers et victoire anglaise en Afrique du Sud.
- début-mi XXème siècle : malgré la création de l'Union Sud-Africaine en 1910 et de la république d'Afrique du Sud en 1961, le Basutoland (Lesotho) demeure à part sous contrôle britannique.
- 1966 : le pays devient indépendant dans le cadre du Commonwealth sous le nom de Lesotho.
- 1970 : perte du pouvoir par le roi qui de fait n'occupe plus qu'un poste honorifique au profit de son Premier ministre.
- 1986 : coup d'état militaire qui redonne ses pouvoirs au roi.
- 1993 : après une période mouvementée, retour des civils à la tête du pays.
- 1998 : début de guerre civile suite à des élections contestées et intervention de l'Afrique du Sud qui rétablit plus ou moins le calme.

Courtoisie de Africa On Web

Some historical detail about Lesotho, the small country I am briefly visiting this week.

San (Bushmen), who were the region's earliest known inhabitants, were supplanted several centuries prior to colonization by various Bantu-speaking peoples, including those that came to be the Sotho and the Zulu. The Sotho are made up of remnants of ethnic groups that were scattered during the disturbances accompanying the rise of the Zulu (1816-30).

They were rallied c.1820 by Moshoeshoe , a commoner who founded a dynasty in what is now Lesotho. Moshoeshoe not only defended his people from Zulu raids but preserved their independence against Boer and British interlopers. He also welcomed Catholic and Protestant missionaries.

Following wars with the Boer-ruled Orange Free State in 1858 and 1865, Moshoeshoe put the Sotho under British protection (1868), establishing the protectorate of Basutoland. The protectorate was annexed to Cape Colony in 1871 without Sotho consent, but in 1884 it was placed under the direct control of Britain.

When the Union of South Africa was forged in 1910, Basutoland came under the jurisdiction of the British High Commissioner in South Africa. Provisions were made for the eventual incorporation of the territory into the union, but Sotho opposition, especially after the rise of the Nationalist party with its apartheid policy, prevented annexation.

In 1960 the British granted Basutoland a new constitution that paved the way to internal self-government. On Oct. 4, 1966, Basutoland became independent as Lesotho. Following general elections in early 1970, which the opposition Basutoland Congress party (later the Basotho Congress party; BCP) apparently won, Prime Minister Leabua Jonathan declared a state of emergency and suspended the constitution.

King Moshoeshoe II went into exile but returned at the end of the year, thereafter serving largely as a figurehead. In 1973 an interim assembly began work on a new constitution, but the BCP, led by Ntsu Mokhehle, refused to participate. In Jan., 1974, Jonathan accused the BCP of attempting to stage a coup; the party was outlawed and hundreds of its members reportedly killed.

Armed clashes between the Lesotho Liberation Army (the militarized segment of the BCP) and the government were common throughout the 1970s and 80s. In the late 1970s, Jonathan exploited growing popular resentment of South Africa and its policies of apartheid. South Africa responded by organizing economic blockades and military raids against Lesotho. Maj. Gen. Justinus Lekhanya led a coup in 1986 that installed King Moshoeshoe II as head of state. After prolonged disputes with Lekhanya over power, the king went into exile.

In 1990, Moshoeshe II's son, Letsie III, became king but was reduced to a purely ceremonial role. Lekhanya was overthrown (1991) in a bloodless coup, and Col. Elias Tutsoane Ramaena came to power as chairman of a six-member military council. A free election in 1993, the first in 23 years, resulted in a BCP landslide, and Ntsu Mokhehle became prime minister. In 1994 fighting between two rival army factions unsettled the young democracy; the king ousted Mokhehle but was pressured by other S African nations to reinstate him.

In Jan., 1995, Letsie abdicated in favor of his father, Moshoeshoe II. After Moshoeshoe was killed in an automobile accident in Jan., 1996, Letsie was restored to the throne. In 1997, Mokhehle remained prime minister as he broke from the BCP and founded the Lesotho Congress for Democracy party (LCD), reducing the BCP to the opposition. Mokhehle died in Jan., 1998; new elections were called in May, and Pakalitha Mosisili of the LCD secured the prime ministership. Demonstrators charging election fraud staged violent protests in Maseru, causing severe damage.

In Sept., 1998, South Africa and Botswana sent troops into the country to restore order, and in Oct. the government and the opposition agreed to form a transitional body to organize new elections within 18 months. Elections were held in May, 2002, under a revamped electoral system designed to increase opposition representation in the parliament. The LCD again won the elections. The effects of a three-year drought led Prime Minister Mosisili to appeal for international food aid in early 2004.

Courtosy of Encyclopedia.com

December 03, 2005

Experiment gone wrong / Experience ratee

I was trying to test out the new comment moderation feature, and inadvertantly sent the wrong message. Let me reiterate to ALL my readers that I enjoy receiving comments and am always happy to answer questions. Unfortunately, time and connectivity don't always allow for timely replys... Please forgive me...

About posting pictures: I do what I can to post some pics, but I spend a lot of time in the office and the hotel - I felt that they were not really interesting subjects. I hope y'all can forgive the scarceness of my pictures.

A link to the side will take you to my FLICKR account, where more pics are available. I post pics on this blog as an ad to show that a new series has been added to FLICKR.

J'essayais de tester un nouvel outil de gestion des commentaire, et par malheur j'ai envoye le mauvais message. Je tiens a reaffirmer a TOUS mes lecteurs que j'aime recevoir vos commentaires et je suis toujours heureuse de repondre a vos questions. Malheureusement, j'ai parfois moins de temps pour repondre a tous les commentaires. Pardonnez-moi...

A propos des photos: je fais mon possible pour afficher des photos, mais je passe beaucoup de temps a l'hotel et au bureau, et ca ne me semble pas bien digne de prises de photos. J'espere que vous me pardonnerez le peu de photos presentes.

Un lien sur la barre de cote vous menera a mon compte FLICKR sur lequel plus de photos sont disponibles. La presence de nouvelles photos sur mon blog annonce une mise a jour de FLICKR.

The Beaver


Salt Water, please keep commenting and asking questions. I will very soon address all of them in one development oriented post. I appreciate your comments, no matter how lengthy they are. Be safe on the road and take good care of Mother Helen! (Give a big hug for SW2 for me).

Zim Wizdom / Zagesse Zim

I dedicate this to Cricketina, and to anyone who has suffered from gossiping.
Je dedie ceci a Cricketina et a tous ceux qui ont soufferts de commerage.

Some wisdom from Zimbabwe :
Un peu de sagesse du Zimbabwe :

3 guys went out on a fishing weekend. Sitting aroung a pot of beer and some chips, they agreed to confess their worst sins.
3 types vont se pecher une fin de semaine. Assis avec de la biere et des chips, ils conviennent de se raconter leurs pires peches.

The first one, a marriage counselor, says:
- Guys, I'm in crap over my head : I cheat on my wife every wednesday at noon with my secretary.
Le premier, un conseiller conjugal, dit:
- Les gars, je suis dans la m.... par dessus la tete : je trompe ma femme tous les mercredi midis avec ma secretaire.

The second one, an administrator of a large entreprise, says:
- Man, that's bad, but it's nothing, I'm in serious trouble. I steal money from the petty cash at my job.
Le second, un administrateur d'entreprise, dit:
- Man, c'est grave ca, mais c'est rien, moi je suis vraiment dans de beaux draps. Je vole l'argent de la caisse de mon travail.

The last one, a shrink, starts shaking pretty bad.
Le dernier, un psy, se met a trembler tres fort.

The other two get worried and start trying to prye it out of him. Eventually, he admits:
- I have a problem, a bad problem. I love gossipping, can't help it. And now I have to go tell someone.
Les deux autres s'inquietent et commencent a essayer de lui tirer les vers du nez. Eventuellement, il admet:
- J'ai un probleme, un probleme grave. Je suis une commere, c'est plus fort que moi. Et maintenant, il faut que j'aille raconter tout ca a quelqu'un.

Bottom line is, gossipping is irresistible. Ugly, but irresistible.
La morale de cette histoire, c'est que le commerage, c'est irresistible. Laid, mais irresistible.
The Beaver

Travelling Beaver Advice / Conseils du Castor Voyageur

Pour les nouveaux lecteurs, je dois clarifier que je ne vis pas en Afrique du Sud. Je travaille comme Auditeur Interne (on nous appelle la "Paper Police") pour une agence de developpement internationale. Dans le cadre de mon travail je suis appeler a voyager 100% du temps, des missions de 6 a 8 semaines bout a bout. Je suis en ce moment en train d'auditer notre programme en Afrique du Sud, mais je quitte le 16 decembre pour les fetes a Mtl. Je ne retourne pas en Afrique du Sud en Janvier.

For new readers, I must clarify that I do not live in South Africa. I am an Internal Auditor (some call us “the Paper Police”) for an international development agency. For my work, I have to travel 100% of the time, which involves missions lasting 6 to 8 weeks. I am presently auditing our South-African activities, but I will leave on December 16th to go spend the holidays in Montreal. I am not returning to South Africa in January.

Toutefois, si j'avais quelque conseil a donner aux voyageurs curieux de visiter l’Afrique du Sud, je dirai:

However, if I had any advice to give travelers interested in South Africa, I would say :

- Prevoyez de passer une journee complete a Soweto: entre la maison de Nelson Mandela, l'Eglise Regina Mundi, et le Hector Peterson Memorial, il y a assez a voir et a faire pour combler une journee commencant a 7h le matin.

- Plan for a whole day in Soweto: with Nelson Mandela’s house, Regina Mundi church, and the Hector Peterson Memorial, there is enough to see and do to fill a day starting a 7AM.

- Si vous restez a Johannesburg, Sandton reste l'endroit le plus securitaire. Le taux de criminalite est tres haut, et les femmes sont particulierement la cible de viols a Jo-Burg. Si on combine ce riqsque au taux de prevalence du VIH-SIDA (presque 30%), ca fait peur.

- If you stay in Jo-Burg, Sandton remains the safest area. The crime rate is very high, and women particularly are the target of rape in Jo-Burg. This, combined to the HIV-AIDS prevalence rate (almost 30%) is very scary.

- Ne marchez pas seul après le coucher du Soleil.

- Do not walk outside alone after sunset.

- Donnez-vous une journee pour visiter l'Apartheid Museum.

- Do plan a day to visit the Apartheid Museum.

- Prevoyez une journee pour l'Africa Museum. Ce musee est situe a Newtown, il ya en face un resto tres sympa ou on joue du Jazz Live le samedi soir. La soiree Jazz, c’est a faire absolument, c'est vraiment tres tres sympa. L'Africa Musem est gratuit et absolument immense. Arrivez tot pour ne pas etre frustres de partir. Il y a aussi juste a cote les theatres ou on joue des comedies musicales sud-africaines (noires). Je n'ai pas eu l'occasion d'y aller mais c'est tres bien parait-il.

- Plan a day to visit the Africa Museum. This museum is in Newtown, and right across the street is a fun restaurant where live Jazz is played on Saturday nights. The Jazz evening is a must, it’s a lot of fun. The Africa Museum is free and absolutely huge. Get there early to avoid being frustrated from leaving. Right next door, there are the Theaters where South-African musicals are presented. I didn’t have the chance of going, but I’m told it’s worth it.

- Il serait une bonne idee de passer votre permis international avant de partir. A Jo-Burg, les distances sont longues et les taxis coutent plus cher que de louer une voiture. Par contre, il ne faut pas oublier : en SA, on conduit du cote croche de la route (et non du cote droit) !

- It’s a good idea to have an international permit. In Jo-Burg, distances are long and taxis are more costly then car rentals. Don't forget that people here drive on the wrong side of the road (on not on the right one) !

- Si vous avez des appareils electriques, prevoyez un transfo ou un adapteur comme pour la France. Les prises sont a trois trous mais on peut facilement trouver un adapteur sur place.

- If you have electrical appliances, do plan to have a transformator or adaptor as you would for France. Plugs have 3 pins here, but one can easily find an adaptor for French pins.

- C'est une bonne idee d'apprendre un minimum de langue africaine - le Zulu, Xhosa, Shona et Sutu sont repandus. Ca nous permet de bien nous integrer au Sud-Af noirs.

- It’s a good idea to learn a minimum of African idiom – Zulu, Xhosa, Shona and Sutu are common. This allows us to integrate well with the local black south-africans.

Zulu (J-Burg):
Sawubona = bonjour/Good morning ;
Kunjanie = Ca va?/How are you ;
Njaiapila = ca va bien / I’m doing well ;
Guiabanga = Merci / Thank you.

Sotho (Lesotho):
Me = Madame / Madam
Mtate = Monsieur / Sir
Quialeboa = Merci / Thank you
Ahholo = beaucoup / a lot of.

Afrikaans (Afrikaner):
Danki = merci / Thank you
Plaisir = bienvenue / Welcome.

- En Afrique du Sud, on peut trouver a peu pres n'importe quoi. Pas la peine de s'encombrer de shampoings, etc.

- In SA, one can find about anything. No need to cumber oneself with shampoo etc.

Si vous avez le temps, prevoyez quelques jours au Lesotho (100$ d'avion de Jo-Burg et pas de visa requis pour les ressortissants du Commonwealth ou les Americains). Le paysage est a couper le souffle et les attractions sont plutot hors de l'ordinaire (traces de dinosaures et peintures rupestres entre autres).

If you have time, plan a few days in Lesotho (100USD for an airplane from Jo-Burg, and no visa needed for Commonwealth or American citizens). The landscap is breath taking, and the attractions are out of the ordinary (dinosaur footsteps and cave paintings, amongst others).


The Beaver




Thanks, Kingston Girl,for giving me a link!

My guest map is wonderful ! And you'd all be wonderful to post, all of you lurk mode readers!
Thanks and may the winds of Fate blow your way !