#1: Gitte Olesen (granny40) on Oct 28, 2006

I have a curious mind, and looking at users names in here makes me even more interested. Have you ever wondered where people are from?. Which country I mean... How far from you, people puzzle in here....
I`m from Denmark, and because of time zones, when I log in for example 2 pm (in Denmark), it appears I did log in 8 am. So I`m 6 hours ahead of this site. ;-) Funny.

Ann Arbor, Michigan, which is about half an hour west of Detroit. Ann Arbor is the home of the University of Michigan.

I live in Ann Arbor too, and I am a student at the University.

(Mark is actually the only active user of this site who I know at all. He's a good friend.)

I live in Colorado Springs, Colorado, in the shadow of Pikes Peak, which inspired the writing of the song "America the Beautiful." The sun shines 300 days a year and it's a great place to live.

I live in the high mountain desert of Santa Fe, New Mexico. It's also a great place to live with a unique blend of cultures.

Sounds like Tara and I are neighbors - I live in Colorado Springs too. I knew we were in the same state from the Magpie puzzle comments, just didn't know we were in the same city.

I've been to Colorado Springs, but only for a day once long ago when I used to work for Hewlett Packard.

i live in chocolatetown usa...a.k.a. hershey, pennsylvania.

I'm from Montreal, Québec

I'm from Argentina. My english is not so good but I enjoy doing this puzzles. There are no pages like this in my country.

Hi, I'm from Sweden and I have been so busy solving puzzles that I just discovered the forums. Wow I need a social life lol.

I live in Pacifica, California. I'm about 20 miles south of San Francisco along the Pacific coast. Our current weather is as Mark Twain described: "The coldest winter I ever spent was a summer in San Francisco."
Who needs a social life judy, when you have webpbn?

Bendigo, Australia - any other aussies out there?

Hey, another Aussie, G'day, how are ya mate? Hi Gen, I live at Toukley, on the Central Coast of N.S.W. It's good to know there are some other Australians using this site, I was feeling a little lonely. I have never been to Bendigo myself but my sister went there once and she loved it so much she almost moved there. I wonder if there are any more Aussies out there? :)

Marz there is two kangorou but their typing is awfull.....



:)

My daughter Zohar is now almost 6 months in Australia. She is now in Cairns, QLD. She currently works on a schooner both as a "deck hand" and as a dive instructor.
It's not all fun, but certainly worth the effort.

Hey, Bend, Oregon in high desert where one really can have clear blue sky, 320 days of sun and very little rain.

I spent several lovely summer vacations in Takilma, Oregon, which is not close at all to Bend. However I can attest to the stunningly clear and beautiful blue skies. The night skies are equally spectacular! I'm so jealous! Please say hello to all the stars and moon for me.
And welcome to webpbn Linda! :)
You're gonna love this site!

I've been on the wpn for a couple of weeks now and just keep stumbling on new features completely by accident. I'm in the low desert of Indio California, where we get more moisture from a cat sneezing than in a year's rainfall. I've been here only recently, spending the last year in Waterford MI, and then the bulk of the time before that on the shores of Lake Michigan in Indiana. Go Bears! Hi to my ex-neihgbors Jan and Mark, and hello to all my desert country comrades. Also great to hear from all the people across the various big ponds! PBN is truly an international language.

LOL J.C., sounds very dry! I've been near your new hometown. The most obvious is Palm Springs. I was only there 2 days. Not long enough to acclimate to the heat. I drove through Thermal but that doesn't quite count as having been there! I have family in Santee, (whom I have visited). The desert can be lovely, especially the night sky. :)
So nice to hear from you. Welcome!

LOL J.C., sounds very dry! I've been near your new hometown. The most obvious is Palm Springs. I was only there 2 days. Not long enough to acclimate to the heat. I drove through Thermal but that doesn't quite count as having been there! I have family in Santee, (whom I have visited). The desert can be lovely, especially the night sky. :)
So nice to hear from you. Welcome!

Well, now that I can finally post to this (thank you Jan)...

I'm originally from Croatia, currently in the Cleveland area of Ohio, and soon to be in Los Angeles, California. I'll (hopefully) be staying there for the next few years, and then... who knows?

It's really amazing to see that there are members from all around the world here

So nice to hear from you Z Trn. May I ask what name you would prefer to go by here? And, nosey me, what wonderful adventure has you moving around?
Very glad you're here! ^>^

What part of Cleveland? My uncle lived in Lorain, I went to school with a guy from Parma. Use to go to poetry readings at Junkstock in summers in Cleve-rock-town (as they used to call it)

Well, the reason my family moved from Croatia was a bit less than wonderful - Croatia was one of the six countries of former Yugoslavia, and the one that started the war. My reason for moving to CA is quite a bit nicer - I'm going to join my boyfriend (who moved there last year) and look for a job in animation (or pretty much anything else ^^)

I should have probably said earlier, but Z Trn is fine to call me. May I ask what Gypso stands for? It reminds me of gypsy, which is part of my heritage.

To J.C. I'm from Lakewood. Did you go to Cleveland all the way from Indiana? I never knew that Cleveland was fameous for its poetry readings.

I'm glad that you and your family were able to safely leave Croatia. I can't even imagine what you've been through. Very happy that you will soon be a fellow Californian! I welcome you in advance. I hope that you will love it here.

What part of the animation process are you interested in? My youngest son's (Jacob) girlfriend (Adria) just graduated from the Art Institute of California, SF. She is also looking for a job. Her dream job (like many) would be with Pixar. Her area of interest is modeling (still in animation, not runway!). I never knew how many sub specialties animation had! I've watched her work and have been dumbfounded. Best of luck with your job search.

Awhile back, JC asked the same question about my name and I couldn't remember which puzzle it was posted to and couldn't get into the topics, just like you. So my apologies to JC. I wasn't ignoring the question. My name is not as exotic as gypsy. It's a shortened version of Gypsophelia. To all you purists: I know. I know it's supposed to be spelled Gypsophilia with an "i" not an "e". It's the Latin name for Baby's Breath which is a tiny white wildflower used mostly in floral arrangements. It looks quite different fresh. My Mom nicknamed me this when I was 12. Said that it fit just right. She was sweet! I shortened it to Gypso in the early 70's. Picture this: early 70's, San Francisco bay area, waist length hair, long skirts and beads, girl called Gypsophelia. Yep! You got it! Teachers rolled there eyes and snickered and not many wanted to hire me for summer employment. Although I did get backstage to many a rock concert! Even my stepson at age 3 was a critic. He used to call me Gypsophooee (actually that was cute :)).
May I ask you what Z Trn means?

So was your grandma who did the filet crochet also from Croatia? Just like these puzzles drawing people from all around the world it's also amazing how the "needle and hook arts" are a common language between cultures. Just lovely!

Z Trn, I would say the readings were more infamous than famous, a distinction I would clarify were your English not so flawless. Cleveland really isn't all that far from where I lived (just over the border from Chicago). Wait 'til you get out here where you can drive all day, and still not cover more than a state and a half!

Gypso, thanks for the explanation. Does that mean your mom dubbed you before or after your son was born?

JC, right before the delivery room. Afterwards I left the hospital and caught a Starship concert at Speedway...

Ah-HA! I think I have found what is a fatal flaw in your alibi, er, story. Correct me if I'm wrong (and I'm sure you will), but I do believe, I do believe, I doobie-doobie-doo believe, based on your prior statements that Graff was born thirty years ago. However, the incarnation of Starship was not until a few years later. I know this, having seen Jefferson Starship two (or was it 3) times in 1981 and '82. It is common knowledge that THAT group had what little dignity was to remain of the original Jefferson Airplane, and that anyone who had truly seen them would make the distinction between Jefferson Starship and that sad, muddled mess who built some lame city on rock and roll, named merely Starship. These latter geriatrics even made "rock'n'roll" a three syllable enuciation-fest. Therefore, Madame, J'accuse! You grand prevaricator! You never saw Starship at Speedway after being named Gypsophelia and then giving birth, No, you were in the Living Room with Col. Mustard and the candlestick, weren't you?!!

We've been watching a lot of old sherlock holmes lately...

Yes, yes, I do agree with your opinions regarding the Airplane versus Starship. Although you have to admit "Have you seen the stars tonight?" was pretty sweet.

You have also correctly pointed out a conflict in my timeline. Perhaps this discrepancy arises from postpartum hormones on my part. Or, I suggest, the CAuse of you being unable to remember whether you saw Jefferson Starship 2 "or was it 3" times, may have also altered your timeline.

Either way, I now believe that I left the hospital to meet Marty Balin at his house in Marin. It was an awkward visit which could very well account for my confusion.

Furthermore, I have no knowledge of the aforementioned Col. Mustard. I was, in fact, ironing my scarlet dress in the conservatory. Er, you did mention that the candlestick was the murder weapon, correct?

Was "enuciation" above intended to be enunciation or a comment about eunuchs/Jefferson Starship. Either way pretty funny.

Who plays Holmes?

Yeah, the space/time continuum could have been negatively altered at said venues. The awkwardness could be caused by anemnia, you know, loss of blood. That's why it's called anmesia when you forget things. And yes, it was a burning candlestick -- speaking of burning, was Miss Scarlett wearing the dress while you were ironing it? We know it wasn't the knife, because no one in the house at the time of the murder could cut the Mustard.

I did mean enuNciation. I will never drop an "n" again without thinking of the possible consequences -- I mean, just because I didn't like the music doesn't mean they deserved THAT!

One person who will NOT get the role is Hugh Laurey. After all, a House is not a Holmes.

Lol You and the mustard! No silly, I am Miss Scarlet.
Lack of an "n" gives new meaning to the word "unification" don't it?
Jeremy Irons (was that his name?) did a great job on the PBS version.
Still searching for Strawberry Alarm Clock...

Frankfurterly, Miss O'hara, I don't give a spam. The others will just have to ketchup if they want to join the converstation.

Jeremy Irons in the version of...believe it or not, i've lost track. I'm clueless. Really.

LOL You leave me speechless JC! Fortunately I can still type...
Your focus astounds and the manner in which you brought about the completed circle was masterfully done. Truthfully. And very fun even considering the spam joke.
Jeremy Irons (? still uncertain) as Sherlock Holmes in the PBS series. A mind like yours is far from clueless. ^>^

I'm in Lompoc, California which is about 1 hour north of Santa Barbara. (Central Coast California)where we have beautiful weather year round.

Wow, we've got quite a west coast cotillion!

ya..you'ld think that being on the west coast we'ld have more exciting things to do with our time.

Nah. When the high of the day is ONLY 113, and the humidity is dropping into the thirty percent range, a lot of outdoor avoidance is excused.

When the fog tumbles in at 53' and the cat outside is shivering and damp, indoor sports are required.

Hello fellow Californian! I'm up north of you a piece (well, several pieces) in Pacifica which is 20 miles south of San Francisco. Nice to meet you and welcome! I go by my login name, Gypso. What do you prefer to be called? Please forgive me if you've already answered that question. My new excuse for not remembering is: I probably haven't read that yet. ^>^

Sorry, Gyps, that one never worked in school with the teachers.

I can either go by Nancy or Naneki (my name in hawaiian). Guess the weather is much better here, tho we do get alot of fog (not far from the beach)! our high rarely get above 80'- Sorry JC, I don't envy your heat, I used to live down in it, San Bernardino..YUK!!

SB, just a 3 wood and a nine iron from here (to use the local parlayance). Naneki is a very pretty name, that's the one I vote for. Which island are you on?

Thank you. My father was born & raised on Oahu. I've only visited (bummer)

Naneki Welcome to Pbn. How long have you been on this site? If you've only visited Oahu, where is it that you get a lot of fog? Almost sounds like the Pacific Northwest!
Nice to know which name you prefer. Thank you! What does it mean in Hawaiin? ^v^

Boy, I've been printing puzzles from this site for what seems forever..just never visited the forum. Figured it was time to find out who else was addicted to these puzzles. Most my family (& I have 6 siblings)thinks I'm nuts. maybe I am! Too logic minded I guess.

As for the fog..here in Lompoc it comes in almost every evening & out every morning. We always have lots of wind too.(can't wear a comfy flowing dress). Lompoc is in the Pacific Central Coast.

Naneki mean Nancy

I'm a dunce Naneki! Of course you're from Lompoc! How many times do you have to tell me? I'm so sorry. It's not like it wasn't (your location) far from view (#36)! I even welcomed you as a fellow Californian! Duh! Me! Luckily you seem to make up for ditzy Californians like me! ^>^

Gypso - not to worry .. I to have age under my belt

Hello! I'm an east coaster, living in Rhode Island currently. Originally from Niagara Falls, NY.

Hello nieboo

hi nancy

Welcome Nieboo. What would you like to be called? I go by Gypso. Glad that you're here on webpbn!

Welcome to PBN and the forums. Looking forward to getting to know you.

Thanks! Nieboo is fine. Or just Nicole.

Nieboo/Nicole too many choices! My niece is named Nicole and she tolerates just about anything except Nic. Beware, there are people here who like to shorten names! And again, welcome East Coaster!

I don't mind Nic. The only thing I hate is people who spell my name like Nichole. There is no hole in my name.

Thanks. I've never actually seen the Pacific Ocean. All I know is the east coast...being an Oceanographer, that's weird.

NIc, how many brothers and sisters do you have? And I'm the guiltiest of name shorteners -- but I still address Jan by his full name.

JC how big time you are to take the time to put all 3 letter of Jan name. In a couple of day its going to be : hey J you know that Q he is always making fun of me what can I do J

lol

I have one sister.

If I start going with the text messaging one letter per word then you can let me haveit.
Nic, I just asked because usually its a brother who puts hole in Nicole (of teh nicoles ive known)

I live in Missouri. I grew up in Wash DC but Home Sweet Home is Colorado. My husband is from LA.

Hi Sarah! You must travel a lot to keep up with your family.

Hi Gypso! It's worse than that :). My mother is British. When I saw your name, I thought you might be a gypsy; I read your explanation last night. It's a cool name.
I like hearing about the other PBN people's lives. We are so worldwide and different yet are connected by these great puzzles. Then when we start talking about our lives, there are times and places where we criss-cross each other's paths -- I'm not explaning it right but it shows how we are all connected .... or something like that LOL

Sarah, I understand what you mean. It can be kind of spooky how close some people's lives have crossed and then they meet here. I think that I like the topic discussions as much as the puzzles.
You said that your mom is British. Does she still live there? You must have other relatives there as well.

Hi Sarah, I'm live just a hop, skip & a jump from where your hubby is from & I have relatives in Mountain Grove, Missouri. I just turned 50 in July, I have a daughter in SLC, Utah, A son stationed in Nebraska(air force)& one more daughter still at home. I have 2 wonderful grandsons.
Welcome to our Family...

Hi Gypso - My mom lives in Maryland. I have more relatives in England and South Africa that I do in the US. I rarely see the ones in England and have never meet the ones in Africa. Thank goodness for email.

Aloha Naneki, I love your Hawaiian name. I have been through Mt. Grove several times. Your son must be at Offutt AFB, the land of HOT summers and COLD winters. Has he had to serve any time in Iraq? Hopefully not. I am a disabled vet. I am very pro military and very anti war. This probably isn't the place to say it, but our young men and women need to come HOME!!

Amen Sarah! Is it too personal to ask the nature of your disability?. Are you receiving the care and/or physical therapy that you need?

This seemed like the right place to tell you this. Jane Butcher (jane-o)'s puzzle #814 has a link to an album of photos taken near where she lives. These photos are stunning and must be seen to be believed! Don't miss them.
The puzzle is very good as well ^>^

Hi Gypso, I have a 50% service-connected disability - mostly a bunch of aches and pains and some Post Trauma Stress. The VA hospital here is great! I'm at a whining stage right now because I tried to go to work recently and can't do it. On the bright side, I do have a lot of time for puzzles!! :) I'll check out Jane's album, thanks.

I'm so sorry Sarah. I'm glad that you have a good VA nearby. For someone like you who sounds like you've led an active busy life, it must be such a difficult adjustment. As a nation I believe we must do much better by our wounded veterans. In general we need to do much better with health care but that's another topic.
You have a happy attitude though. I'm very glad that you found Webpbn. It's a very unique site. Chronic aches and pains can get to a person, so it is nice to have a happy place to go.
I think that you'll love Jane's photos! ^v^

Hi! I live in Estonia, Lääne-Viru county. And I know for a fact that at least 2 more Estonians do these pbn-s from time to time, because I introduced them to this site and they're my sisters :D (of course, they're not as experienced as I am, lol)

Hi Merili in Estonia!

Gypso, you're a genuis! You made me realize that I have a need to talk to other disabled vets! You're right about vets not being taken care of. I served 14 years and my husband, a Vietnam Vet, served 24. So many promised benefits taken away, or never received, I guess we expect little or nothing ... but now it's puzzle time!! Hooray!! puzzles!

Hello Merka! Who are your sisters? Tell them to come on by the discussion topics. It's so fun when a family puzzles together. Since I knew of you first, you will always be more experienced than them. ;-)

I'm not a genius Sarah I just know a few Vets. You might want to start with a local VA group. Locally we have a group called "Swords to Plowshares" (I think it may be spelled "ploughshares"). I don't know if they are national but you still could get info from the group in San Francisco. One of their guys spoke at a Veteran's Day concert we had last year and was well informed and very moving. Keep enjoying those puzzles!

Hi everyone,
Im from Sweden.

Whats the average age here? Seems to me like most of you is older than me since you got kids and stuff :)
I havent even lived for my self that long. Moved away from home in january to study..
Well...

Im 21 by the way :)

Hello Elin! What name do you prefer while on this site? I go by Gypso. I'm 51, but so far I think I'm one of the oldest ones. At least of the ones who will admit their age!
I don't know the average age but Topic #43 "Dreaded Question" would be the best spot to find out peoples ages.
I hope that your studies are going well. Where did you move away to? ^>^

Hi,
Elin would be fine. :)
Ok. Thanks, i will go there and check it out.
Yes theyre going fine. Or at least I think that, I have a test (Hmm cant find a better word) this Wednesday. Thats when I know for sure :) Hehe..

Right now I live in Umeå. Way up north in Sweden.. :)
But Im born and raised in Sandviken, its a city 200 km north from Stockholm. Umeå is hmm, I think 700 km north from Stockholm. Hope you get it :)
Do you know anything about Sweden at all? Do you know where Stockholm is?

Very little Elin. Most of what I've learned has been from M2. That is Judy Olsson(mercy, mercy). Yes, I can find Stockholm and will look further into where you are. Thanks for the info.
Good luck on the test Wednesday! ^>^

Ok.
Where did you come from? I guess i read that but I read all the comments at once so I cant realy remember which one came from where.. I cant get that sentence in a good way I think, hope you get it :)

You wrote it just fine! I never remember either. Information is spread out all over the place too, so never worry about asking. :)
I come from a small coastal town called Pacifica in the state of California, USA. We are about 20 miles south of San Francisco. I have the best of both worlds I think. I have all the cultural advantages of living so close to a large city and still the benefit of semi-rural living. If you google Pacifica it marks my town at a pier. That's almost the half way point of town. I live at the southern tip of town. I'm up against the coastal mountains in a valley. We're surrounded by land dedicated to open space and our zoning laws have pretty much halted new building.
Our population is at about 40,000. We're a town full of surfers, social activists, thespians, artists, poets, animal lovers, war protesters, military moms, coffee shops, organic markets, a weekly farmer's market and much more. This weekend was our annual FogFest which has become more like a human zoo, but many people love it. We all support each other (with the exception of small town gossip drama) and are so grateful for each other and for the privilege of living where we do. Can you tell that I love my home town?
Thank you for asking! ^v^

Wow Elin! You are far from your home town now aren't you? I couldn't zoom in close on Sandviken, but from a distance it looks much less urban than Umeå. How was the adjustment for you?

Hej Elin, wilkomen!
Actually I don't speak Swedish, but my mum's very good at it. She even works in Swedish :) And BTW, although I have 2 kids, I'm only 2 years older than you ;)

Gypso, my sisters' names are Anneli and Siiri. They come here really seldom and only to do some puzzles. If I'm not mistaking, Siiri has done less then 10. And now that she's gone to college, she really doesn't have any extra time. The addiction just hasn't struck her as hard as me :D

College, smallege! I go to college, and teach, and I spend LOTS of time here. Tell your sister to get her priorities straight!

Or maybe I'm the one that needs to...

Okay, I'm going to bed now!

lol

Gypso: yes I can really see that you love your hometown :) Thats great!
Im about 500 km from my hometown. So its pretty far.
Actually Umeå is a bigger city than Sandviken. Umeå has a population of I think about 90.000 and Sandviken just have 25.000. Or so I think. I dont have the exact numbers :)
But here in north of Sweden its a lot of forest when you come a bit from the city. So it doesnt suprise me that Umeå seemed to be more urban.
I didnt have any problem with adjustment since almost everyone here moved here for college so my friends are from other places..

merilinnuke: Hi! Thanks! :)
What does she work with if I may ask?
Hehe ok.. How old are your kids?

My mom works at Hilton reservations. In Tallinn. She's the Swedish operator.
My son is 3 and daughter is 1. They're both born in April (23rd and 13th) so actually I should say 3,5 and 1,5 :)

..make that "one of the" instead of "the"..

Ok. :)

Hmmm...I just added an item to my to-do list. I think we need user profile pages, so people can put up info about themselves and you can see it when you click on a name in the forums. That might help keep track of everyone better.

I think that would be a great idea :)

Thats a great idea Jan :)

That is why we ended up on MySpace.

Elin... Jag bor i Kaxås ca 7 mil från Östersund. Skulle vara jätte kul att träffas. Om du åker till Åre nån gång kan du leta upp mig :)

Jaha okej.. :)
Min pappa bor i Mörsil som ligger precis vid Järpen så det är ju inte så långt. Dessvärre var det flera år sen jag var där sist. Vi brukar träffas när han kommer till oss. Men om du rör dig i rikting Umeå eller Gästrikland så finns jag där, för det mesta i Umeå :)

Har varit i Mörsil många gånger. Vi kanske ses.. tills dess får vi träffas här och kanske hålla oss till engelska i framtiden. ;)

Jo det är väl snällare mot de andra :)

Thank you Jan! That would simplify matters greatly. As it is I'm backtracking on topics only to remember that the information I sought was in a puzzle comment somewhere.
It would be wonderful if you could create a user profile page.

I want to live in Gypso's town! That is my kind of place! Sweden would be fun but it's too cold for me. I like the way Swedish looks written; English doesn't have any cool accents like circles. How boring is that!!!

Jan's to-do list is probably overflowing but a user profile page would be great!!

The profile idea sounds really good except maybe I should mention that I am a big fat liar, most days. Just FYI.

sarah: if you like swedish I can give you some lessons :) hehe..
For me its the opposite, swedish its not that big of a deal, english seems cooler :P
And whats Barnes and Noble? :)

Yeah, I'm lying too, Twillis. I'm really an 80-year-old transvestite ex-stripper.

Arduinna, transvestites never stop stripping.

Sarah come on down to my place. We'll make a space! ;-)

Hi Elin - how do you write in Swedish: Great puzzle. Thanks. That would be good to know! But my keyboard doesn't have those cute little accent circles.
Barnes and Noble is a big store with books and music and a coffee shop and it's one of my favorite stores. They are usually at the shopping malls here in the US.

Twillis and Arduinna - I'm sure you can lie on your profiles.

Gypso - I'm on my way. Have to bring my 19 year old -- he and Southern rural life are water and oil. He's a mix of rebel without a cause, artist -abstract watercolor and cartoons, sort of goth, almost vegetarian (difficult here -limited supply of tofu), funny and very misunderstood.

Well more the merrier Sarah!

I think Swedish and Danish and probably Finish are the happiest looking languages. They sound cool too. I'm with Sarah on all the fun curlicues. Also when I try to pronounce it (please take no offense to this) it nearly always comes out sounding like "turtle flarf".

I think the most beautiful written language is Thai.

Sarah: Bra pussel! - great puzzle.
Then you also can say roligt - funny :)

Hi, I'm katydid, and I live near Boston, Massachusetts. I've lived in Amsterdam, New York, Missouri, California and Okinawa (from most recent to least). Thanks, Jan, for this site - I had run out of pbn books and was getting really tired of waiting for each Games magazine to come out for another puzzle fix!

Hey Kate! I live in Rhode Island. Finally someone close to me. :)

Nice to have you here katydid! Your life sounds adventurous. How long have you been near Boston?

Hi Katydid. Wow, you've lived all over. Boston is such a great city. Amsterdam must have been great. When I saw Okinawa on your list, I wondered if you were military? Or perhaps you had a really great job? Or perhaps you're a gypsy?

Well Sarah I'm finally answering your #66 (little late in the game I guess, been to busy creating, lol) Yes my son is at Offutt AFB, and no he didn't have to go to Iraq, he's in ithe spy section, watching over us all & protecting us (shh I'm not suppost to say) I to am very pro military and very anti war.

PS: where's your picture??

Very smooth Naneki how you slipped that picture question in. ;-)

I'm with you there Nancy! It's not as much of an issue nowadays, but I used to get accused of being anti-military or un-patriotic because I was against the war!

I teach at a Junior college right next to an Air Force base, so I get a lot of students trying to get college credit between deployments. I really have nothing but respect for those guys and the sacrifices they make.

Here Here!

hello! I'm originally from Oregon, spent time in Washington, Georgia/Alabama, and Virginia, currently living in Korea.

World traveler! Were you east or west of the mountains in Oregon and Washington? I had a friend who lived north of Seattle, and I thought it was one of the most beautiful places I'd seen, despite the rain!

Arduinna - he's in the Army..

I'm sure I read that, but I can't keep everyone straight! I still forget my students' names and the semester is over in two weeks!

I would have forgotten too but I just chatted with him this morning

This explains the time difference and my difficulty catching you on chat Ben! My first born's godfather was raised in Korea. I hope that your experience can be as positive as his. (I'm holding out hope Ben).

Arduinna, my 21 y/o son just reminded me of an English teacher he had in 8th grade named Mrs. Hall. I flat out can't remember her. I was a stay at home mom who volunteered for every conceivable job at school from bake sales to lobbying the state capitol. I worked on site from 8am-4pm daily. I knew everyone on a first name basis. These people called me on weekends for advice and brought me food and flowers at home if I missed a day. I looked after their kids when they had to bring them sick to work. I can't imagine Mrs. Hall's face much less her name. There was only one of her. What's my excuse? Teachers have too much pressure. I sure wish my kids could have you as a teacher!:)
They would have to move out of state first though. :D

Aww,thanks, Gyps!

I always know when one of my ex-students finds me. Whenever I'm out shopping and someone calls me Ms. Richardson, I know it's one of them. If I don't remember them at all, I usualy just go with, "hey! How are you? Are you still in school?" I don't know if they think I remember them or not!

lol it is quite fun to meet a teacher who pretends to remember you! Especially if it is one you didn't like. hehe..

I was along I-5, so West, though I only ever made it up to Seattle once, excepting trips to the airport... which is closer to Tacoma anyways!

They ALL like me! ;)

Hi! I go by the name of Micki and I'm also an Aussie, from Melbourne. I have also recently discovered this forum and now I'm losing even more time each day! Ah well! That's life!

Join the Club..we are ALL Addicted!

and with a new Aussie it can be good for our working schedule

Hello Micki! Welcome and so glad to have another Aussie! I go by Gypso. :)

Who else comes from Australia and whereabouts?

Just wanted to let everyone know-It's Australia Day today!!

Happy Australia Day!

Woo hoo, Australia!

I wish it was summer here...

It's very hot and humid here today - I'm waiting for a cool change !!

Come to California Micki!
Happy Belated Australia Day!

Thanks..I dream about traveling to all these places I've heard about so often. California sounds as good as any of them. Maybe one day......

If you ever come to California, you can stop & see me too! Gypso & I are not to far from each other. You could make it a California coastal holiday.
Australia is one of my dream locations to visit.

Then I also extend an invitation in return for you to come and visit -I'll show you my very favourite place to unwind. It's called Apollo Bay and to get to it you travel down the beautiful coast road called The Great Ocean Road -magnificent and rugged -you just need a beach towel and a book!! My dream is to retire there -if I win some serious money...

Hi! I live in Dexter, Michigan, which is just northwest of Ann Arbor. I've been on the site for several months. I spend most of my time on puzzles by Marz, granny40, Gypso and naneki. I think I've solved all of JC's. It's amazing how you come to know people just by all the comments found on this site! Maybe one day I'll try to create a puzzle of my own.

Hi Jenny, nice to meet you..it would be great to have you join us in the puzzle creating side. we always need more puzzles.

Hi Jenny! Nice to meet you! Are you keeping warm in Michigan? Jan made it very easy to make puzzles. It's fun to play around with. Hope to see a puzzle from you!
Welcome. :D

Cool. My brother lives in Dexter. His kids just finished graduating from high school there. I get out to Dexter a lot.

It always a little mind-boggling when people from far-flung parts of the world show up here, but, in a way, it's odder to have people from my neighborhood show up here. After all, there are only about 500 active users. If they were uniformly spread over the world, you wouldn't expect so many to show up near me.

We're following you Jan. ;-)

Thanks Gypso. It's really cold here today. Good thing I've been doing quite a bit of work around the house to keep warm. I bet if I was even a little artistic I would try sooner than later to create puzzle. My engineering mind just can't put picture to paper! ;P

#143: Hello everybody. My name is Liliane Van Looy , but you can call me also luna if you want. I have 2 childeren and a greanchild en I love them all. In the meat time my younghest doughter is also a member van pbn. It's a little bit difficult to find my way in this site , but maybe there are people who can help me.
so I am 40 years young ;) and I live in Belgium , that little peace of land on the blue planet. Sorry but my english is not so good , maybe there are people on this site who speaks dutch of flamisch. greatings to all of you, and thanks for solving mu puzzles

Yay Luna! Hello and welcome! I'm so happy that you posted here! I am hoping that there are Dutch or Flemish speakers who can explain better than I can. lol Your English is very understandable.
How old is your grandchild? A boy or a girl? I enjoy your puzzles very much. I'm glad to know more about you. :D

Welcome Luna! Your English is good enough for us. We can understand you fine!

glad to meet you, don't worry about your english, we too mess it up :)
it's always nice to meet new people, glad to have you.

Thankw arduinna , is very fun you meet some people here from diffirent country's.

Well Gypso , my grandchild is born on the first of january 2008 and it's a girl. So she's very young. But I love her like I love my own kids. She's lovely.

thanks naneki..... and I enjoy makings some puzzles. And in the mean time I learn my englisch ;)

OH!! A baby girl! How fun. Congratulations on becoming a brand new Grandma! :D

hello everyone ! I'm Kimberly , but call me wathever you want hehe , like Patricia here , she calls me Pron by my last name ... i'm ok with that .
wel i'm the daughter of Liliane , so i also live in belgium and speak dutch and flemish,, english ...(i do my verry best) hope you can all understand me a litlle bit ..
also wanne thank everybody for posting such sweat en lovely comments (if you don't like it please say that to )i enjoy creating puzzels and stuff like that here,but right now i'm all out of inspiration ... greatings to my lovely mam ! hope she knows she's really the best mother in the world !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! love you so so much ! bbye

sorry made a little mistake pIron** is my last name ;)

Lately for some reason I keep getting boggled by people's ages, like how I'm nine years older than Liliane, but my youngest son is younger than her granddaughter. I'm clearly living my life backwards or upsidedown in the twilight zone or something.

Oh, never mind.

Welcome Kimberly and Liliane!

thanks jan ;)

I love it when people make puzzling a family affair! Welcome to both of you!

Hello Kimberly! Sorry about calling you by your last name. :(
From here in out Kimberly it is from me! :)

I had an inkling that you were Liliane's daughter. (But now I'm confused because I thought she was Luna...).
Whatever I call the two of you, I am sooo pleased to meet you and delighted to see another family puzzling together. :D

no no patricia , actually i like it that you call me by my last name , normally in real life i hate that because i don't find PIRON a beautiful last name , but when you say it ,it sounds a bit funny hehe really !! i don't mind at all ! so what can i call you ? ;) greatings

Please feel free to call me Gypso, Kimberly. :)
I was really wondering if you went by Charmed? That's such a lovely login. Then again so is Kimberly.
As you also know, I am fond of your last name too! ;)

ok Gypso . what does it mean actually? :)xxx

Your last name Kimberly? I don't know but I'm sure something very pleasant! What does Piron mean? :)xxx

I wanna react at Jan Wolters (you're mail # 153 ) It's funny that you're son is youngher than my granddaughter. But I always say "It's never too late to have children , for me it's the most beautiful thing in the world." And I'm proud of my two daughters. Like you are proud of you're son. greatings

no no my first name is kimberly and last name piron but i asked what gypso means? xxx

LOL Kimberly! That was one of my funnier misunderstandings. haha
Gypso is short for Gypsophelia. It is a nickname my Mom gave me when I was a teenager. Gypsophilia is better known as Baby's Breath, a small 5 petal flower used in many floral arrangements. It is usually white but also sports blue and rose varieties. It grows as a wild flower.

Interestingly, I have discovered that there are 2 bands by the name of Gypsophilia. One is a jazz band from Nova Scotia and the other is a country band from Hungary. I never knew the name was so popular. :)

wooow that's a name with much explanation ! but you can call yourself popular gypso !!! lovely name by the way !

Kimberly, puzzle 1090 [SPOILER, SORRY!] is gypsophelia. Actually, all Rebelcat's flower series are awesome!

Kimberly, I second Arduinna's recommendation of Rebelcat's (Meg Tayler) flower series. They're not only beautiful but very fun to solve. :)
Thank you btw.

Hey Nancy, we are so pleased that you want - to do that - to draw a picture of us. greatings

my e-mail is in Topic #65

getting back to the topic at hand... I'm from a small town just North of Houston, TX

Hello Ceci, welcome to the family :)

Hello everyone... My name is Francesca and I live in Ypsilanti, Michigan which is actually about 30 seconds East of Ann Arbor. I'm glad to see there are other Michiganders out here. :)

Hello Francesca, nice to meet you!

Thank you. Nice to meet you as well. I've been amusing myself by reading everyone's comments. I've been on the site for at least a few months now and figured it was time to make a comment of my own.

glad to have a new voice, I hope you are enjoying yourself with all the wonderful puzzles on this site.
Tell us a little more about yourself

forgot to ask...Are you a country music fan?
(?George Jones?)

I have no idea why George Jones was the first name to pop into my mind when creating an account... I just knew I didn't really want to put my full name on there. But I do like country music... all sorts of different music actually. I graduated from Eastern Michigan Univ. almost 2 years ago with a teaching degree in math, but unfortunately haven't found a job yet in that field... But I love these puzzles and it keeps me happy for hours on end :)

Well you can't beat George Jones!
What type of math are you looking to teach? & what age bracket?
If you can't find a job out there maybe you should go west :)
California is pretty awesome!

High School math is my preference... but I can teach anything from 7-12 grades. I've had experience with Algebra and Geometry... and I'll take any job I can get right now :) I thought about relocating, but my fiance and I just bought a house here... so I'm stuck for a bit.

Hi George. I shall call you George..cause it's awesome..and I probably couldn't spell your real name. Glad to see a new person commenting! Takes the attention off my dumb ol comments. :)

Now now... there are no dumb comments are there? Or was it that there are no dumb questions... my mistake. George works... though it may take some getting used to :)

Ah, a fellow would-be teacher. I've found lots of jobs (teaching college English)-- yep, lots and lots of part-time jobs. Welcome, George. And good luck with the hunt. By the way, what does faranda mean?

If you get tired of being called "George" you can change your name to something else on the "settings" page. Maybe setting it to just "Francesca" would work for you.

Anyway, howdy neighbor! Good luck with the job hunt. It can be tricky when you are stuck looking in this area. I've known other teachers with similar problems. With two universities with big education programs in the area, and lots of graduates who, for one reason or another, don't want to move, there tends to be a bit of a glut of teaching talent around here. Still, there are lots of opportunities too, including lots of independent and alternative schools, and the glut of good people means that once you do break in, you get to work with good people. Best of luck to you.

faranda is just different pieces of my actual name put together. And the only job I can find with teaching would be subbing... if I want to get harrassed by unruly children all day every day...

I expect subbing isn't much fun. At my kid's school (AALC) they have regular subs, and the kids seem to know and like them. There are little fun things that the subs do that the regular teacher's don't (reading certain silly books, etc) so having a sub can be a bit of a treat for them. I think the subs get treated OK by the kids. But still, they don't really have a long time to figure out each kid, what they're issues are, what they need. So they really can't achieve much more than to hold things together until the real teacher comes back. It can't be very satisfying work. Of course, you're focused on higher grade levels than my kids are at. I don't know if that is better, or worse.

I have done all of my subbing at Ypsi High School... and the students there will try and push the limits as far as possible. The only time I have actually liked to sub was when I was a long term sub (almost 6 months in the same classroom) and that is probably because it was basically my classroom... I wasn't just keeping everyone busy for a day. But alas... that is over now. So I'm stuck at a job I hate (but pays more than subbing does...) to pay the bills.

I miss George. Just because you changed your name, doesn't mean I won't still call you George. :)

nieboo..your so funny :)

Lol... well if you insist on calling me George I can't guarantee that I'll realize you're talking to me... you may have to remind me

Ok, I'll be like...George....*ahem*...GEORGE

Hello Francesca! Glad to have you here! I now realize that the whole "George" business had to do with your previous login/name. I'd like to say that I am no longer confused but I think that just might be my nature. :)
Which name do you now prefer? Francesca (gorgeous and beautiful name btw) or Faranda (exotic and spicy sounding)?
I have a dear friend who subbed in HS for several years. Students at that age push the limits in all aspects of their lives. A substitute teacher walks into the classroom with a giant target pasted to their backs. Good luck. Have you considered renting out your current home and moving short term to another area? It's not ideal but just considering it might open new doors of possibility. :)
Welcome to Webpbn!
Gypso

I prefer Francesca... for some reason I just never was one for nicknames... As far as moving short term, my fiance doesn't want to go anywhere. He has a job he loves in the area, so I'll stick around until some miracle occurs. That is life I suppose...

I won't call you George Francesca.... :(

Oh now don't be sad... This should be a happy place :)

If my name were Francesca I wouldn't want a nickname either. :)
Expect that miracle. You have nothing to lose.
You are a wonderful addition to this motley crew. Welcome home (as it were). ^>^

Bionerd will eventually get over not being able to call you George. Just promise that you'll NEVER keep a goldfish in a bowl, okay?

Hehe, Gypso knows me so well.

:)

I'm almost afraid to ask about the goldfish in a bowl... but I promise

Nothing to fear Francesca. As long as you don't do it that is.

Hello everyone. I'm JoDeen Mozena from Iowa City. This is a university town (University of Iowa), home of the Hawkeyes. It's a gorgeous spring day here today. The crabappletree has already bloomed, the lilacs have been out for a couple of weeks, the breezes are blowing and my garden is growing.

For people from other countries, Iowa is close to the center of the United states. It's the only state bordered on both sides by rivers, thus our nickname of "The Land Between Two Rivers" (Mississippi and Missouri rivers)

We can get as hot and humid as Florida in the summer...and lots of snow and cold temperatures in the winter, sometimes waaay below zero!

Our family spends lots of vacation time in Disney World in Florida and also weeks and weeks in Washington DC and Williamsburg, Virginia the last two years.

I love this site and have been enjoying getting to meet all you fabulous puzzlemakers!

I was born in Los Angeles and also spent several months in San Francisco in 1970, although I grew up (and have lived most of my life) in Iowa.

We have six children, the youngest of whom are identical twin girls. They are graduating high school this Saturday...so what am I doing on this site? Yikes! We are also leaving for three weeks in Florida (driving) Saturday night! lol...lots of fun!

So, you're going to have an empty nest, huh? Are you looking forward to it or not? ;)

Have a great time in Florida! I love road trips but the hubby does not!

Have sort of been dreading the "empty nest", although I travel all the time and have spent weeks at a time away these last five years. Husband David flies in and we have a couple of weeks during the Food & Wine festival in Epcot (six 1/2 weeks for me). Two years ago this August we took the girls out of school for a year and traveled the east coast having all sorts of adventures. Then Elise went to Germany for several months as an au pair and Valerie spent her time with a friend horseback riding in Florida.

They came back to do their senior year last fall and are off to college this fall...pretty proud of them, complete merit scholarships, full rides (straight A's etc...actually, Elise received one B+ her freshman year, first trimester in German lol)

We will miss them, but are so excited for them to enjoy their college years. This vacation will be lots of fun for us all.

long time,no see , how's everybody doing? sorry folks my pc was broken but i'm back again. missed you al !

Kimberly, did you ever see the puzzle I did of you?

JoDeen, so nice to get to know more about you. Also very nice to have you here! Congratulations on your daughters' awesome scholarships and accomplishments. Sounds like you and your husband gave them a terrific start. Good for you! :D

Have fun on your trip to Florida. What part of San Francisco did you spend two months in? I'm from Pacifica which is just south of the city along the coast. Depending on which route, Pacifica is 15-20 miles away. Did you happen to travel south?

Hi Kimberly! Is everything alright with your computer now? Missed you too! :)

yes everything is alright with my pc. and i did see my your puzzle nancy ! i love it ! really , you do great work. if you need some inspiration go look at

http://cremekoekskeyoshi.spaces.live.com/ thnx :-)

Very cute Kimberly! :)

I second that :)

Im from denmark odense (its the 3. biggest city in denmark)
I love the way some of you americans think everybody knows where that and that city is. I cant do all european countries sow im a long ways from american cities.

That's what Google Maps is for!

I'm American and I can't even tell you where some US cities are. In fact I ended up in a different state because of this.

Welcome Rea! I'll be making a google map visit of your city soon. Is there anything I can bring you? ;-)
I wonder if you live near Gitte?

I live in Pacifica, California, USA. It's a small coastal town about midway up the (or down) the state.

Jen, what state did you end up in and which state did you intend?

But you're still assuming everyone knows where California is.

Well, probably most of the world does, but this was put into perspective for me a bit once when my family visited my grandmother in Germany. Some of the neighborhood kids were lurking around hoping to get a look at us, and found us a great disappointment. They had expected us to be black, not because they thought everyone in America was black, but because they had mixed up "America" and "Africa" (which sound as much alike in German as they do in English). A nice reminder that America is not the center of everyone's world.

Oops, posted twice. I should fix that bug.

I was in New York and I was supposed to stay in New York but ended up in Pennsylvania. I was with my friend and we saw signs for the Pennsylvania Welcome center. We were hoping that there was a city of Pennsylvania in New York State (There's a city of Florida in New York State) but that didn't work out for us.

Thanks gypso. Something you may about where i am is that its the birthplace of Hans Christian Anderson. Famous Author of fairy tales.

Jen that sounds like a fun tripe. lol.
im sorry i have never been to america but there is still time i guess.

It was a fun trip.
It's ok that you've never been to America because I've never been out of America, in fact I've never even been off the east coast of America.

My husband's family ended up split in two because when his grandfather (or maybe great-grandfather) told his brother to come to his city in America, the brother wound up in a city of the same name, but in South America.

Lol That's pretty funny Twillis. :D

Jen, google map me and you can say you've been to California. :)

In that case I've been to a few places.

Our world traveler! :)

I was actually preatty close last summer. I was on the Acorian islands (i think it is called). It is a part of Portugal (a country in Europe). The islands a close to midtway betwin Europe and America.

You were closer than I was to you! Good for you. :)

This summer (in about a month) im going to Malta (island country in Europe). To bad I don't seem to be able to get taned.

I had neighbors from Malta. Hope you like delicious fish dinners! They were a lovely, generous family. I remember that she always ironed her sheets and heated there house by wood burning stove. Not a speck of dust either.
Do you have family there? Have a fun trip!

Pale skin is happy skin-- at least that's what I keep telling myself. I don't tan either!

Gypso no i dont have family there.

Hi hi Arduinna ill have to remember that

My only colors seem to be white or red. I don't tan, I fry. I try to keep the sunscreen on but some days I'm just too lazy.

sounds like me... sometimes i can grown a kind og light redish(its a word (or it schould be)) grey after hours and hour of sun and then only on my hands and face.

If I spend a LOT of time in the sun, my freckles intensify. I have a theory that if I freckle enough, they will all combine together and I will look quite tan, but I'm not willing to test the theory!

I don't freckle that much anymore and then only in the face and they sort of melt in with the reddish grey color.

Doesn't work Arduinna. The freckles just keep getting darker and darker, but they don't combine. I WISH! :)

nope..won't work I'm working on 50 years of freckles & there is STILL white in between :(

but according to my Grandma, freckles are angel kisses...So I am LOVED by the angels :)

Hawaii

MONKEY WAR!!!!!!

Hey Twillis...long time...how you doing?

Watch out Monkeylover, Naneki is coming to Hawaii soon. You might have a monkey standoff on your hands. ;)
Nice to have you here! :)

OK, that was weird... the Monkey War comment was meant for a previous topic. Not sure how I managed that.

I'm OK, naneki, been busy with the Farm lately, lots of chores this time of year, so I have not been visiting webpbn has much as I would like.

Yesterday I managed to fall out of one of our mulberry trees, and have some lovely multi-colored bruises to show for it.

That mulberry wine better be darn tasty, that's all I have to say.

I'm glad to that your alive :) sorry about the bruising though

Mmmmmm... I hope you don't drink wine (from last year, I guess) before climbing the trees-- that might lead to more falling.

Glad you're ok! Wish you could share the wine!

I like bruises. They aren't THAT serious and yet can look sooo painful. It's good to show off.

One of the bruises is awesomely three-dimensional.

Also, in a nice bit of symmetry, the colors of the bruises match up the the various stages of ripening mulberries (green, pink, red, purple and purple black).

And no, I did not have wine before, but I definitely had some after!

hopefully quite a bit of wine to take away the pain :)

I wonder if it's possible to do a pbn puzzle of a bruise?

LOL Nieboo! I've never thought of bruising quite that way. I have a new appreciation now!

Well, Merili, we have green, red and black and blue but are lacking in the purple and brown department.

I end up bruised all the time. I had to be very careful these past few weeks because I didn't want to start my new job with all these questions about why I was bruised.

And I don't know about you Nieboo, but my bruises are always very painful.

Well of course, but there are worse things than a bruise.

I don't know Bionerd, how about a bruised heart?

aww.

Beats a broken heart.

Ya, my heart is bruised all the time...but luckily I haven't had it broken in a very long time

Bruised is definitely much better than broken!

Agreed. Bruised is better then broken, or cut, or sprained...

Yeah, a broken heart stinks. It gets all hot and itchy in the cast.

LOL

hi, I reasonly moved to Santa Barbara, Ca. I am originally from Hawaii (I miss it)

Hey Keilana! And welcome!
You live near Naneki, another monkey lover who also has a connection to Hawaii.
Hmm.. the plot thickens.

thank you...I noticed that you & her are both north of me..don't know much about california yet but Im learning

Yes! And welcome to California Keilana!
(Where are my manners?) :-D

What name would you prefer to be called?

monkeylover is fine

Hey - I work in Santa Barbara

Taryn from Allentown, PA (About an hour north of Philadlephia and east of Chocolate-town (Hershey). I used to do these puzzles years ago (I say that like I've been around forever, but I'm only 30) and then the site I was using just went away. So happy to find a new wdbite to do these... BTW you can call me either Taryn or Hermes...

hi & welcome to this site :)

I'm originally from Caracas, Venezuela.

Jota, ¿entonces hablas español?
¿cómo te llamas?
¿Cuántos años tienes?

Me llamo Maria Jota, mis amigos y familia me llaman Jota.
Es correcto preguntar la edad a una dama?

¿Correcto? Tal vez no. ¿Será algo que a veces hago yo? Sí. especialmente porque me parece que eres el tipo de persona que tal vez me contestaría.

LOL

No quería ofenderte, te lo juro.

No me ofendes, pero como tu no das informacion sobre ti en ninguna parte, ni a nadie, yo estoy tratando de ser misteriosa tambien.

Entiendo completamente lo que me dices, y tienes todo derecho a no contarme nada. Me gusta como eres misteriosa, aunque aparentemente no te caigo bien por alguna razón.

Tu siempre piensas eso de todo el mundo, a mi me caes bien, aunque he de reconocer que eres un "fosforo". Donde vives?

looks like a private conversation going on

Not really monkey lover, just practicing spanish.

Yes, like Jota said.

Hi. New kid on the block. Right now I live in (near) Rapid City, South Dakota. I am originally from Springfield, Massachusetts. I recently retired from the Air Force (2005), and have been to the Phillipines, California, Korea, and Okinawa (Japan). I'm married with 6 horses (and a foal due this coming spring), a dog, two birds, a snake (boa), and a bunch of cats that came with the house we live in (and they've committed incest since). That is my history in a nutshell.
Question. I've noticed that when I post my puzzle the time difference is like a world away. I'm wondering, where is this web-site based out of?
Also, Monkeyboy, where do you get the upside-down question-mark?

WOW You married 6 horses and only have 1 foal coming ? (JK)
Jan the father of the site lives in Michigan, South Dakota is not a world away, just Wisconsin and Minnesota, something is wrong.

Welcome, Joseph. LOL Jota!!!
I have Spanish installed onto my keyboard, and I can switch between English and Spanish depending on what I want to use. Try holding down ALT and typing 168 at the same time.

¡§•

Actually, the clock doesn't depend on where I live, it depends on what time zone the webserver is set to. I think it is on pacific time, but I'm not sure. It could have been messed up by the server company. Or there could be a bug in my software.

I'm East coast and the clock is fine with my time, that's why I thought you had it there.

Ola, guten tag, buenos dias, aloha, bon jour, shalom and hello.
Don't really speak all those languages and I'm not about to let on the one that I do know (besides english).
I'm a native Californian - born in San Francisco, went to high school in the East Bay (El Cerrito) and college in Southern CA (Thousand Oaks). However, I've live the last nearly 2/5s of my life in the midwest, Minnesota to be specific. I live about an hour North of the Twin Cities.

Tucson, Arizona is home to me for the past 30 years. Born and raised in Denver, lived in Wisconsin for 5 years, but that was just too darned cold for me. I love living in the desert. Would prefer living in the dessert, but it's kinda hard to solve puzzles while eating pie - I tried.

This is so fun getting to know everyone. Interesting nicknames some of you have. So, Martin/Byrdie, which name do you prefer? And tell us teh origin of your nickname, please.

I'm partial to Byrdie. Goes back to my BBSing days when I also had and bred birds. I used to be asked for advice so frequently that when it came time to decide on a handle to use on the BBSes, I used "Birdman." When I finally met some of my fellow BBSers at a GT, they didn't know my "real" name so they called me Birdy. A little later, there was a BBS network that required people to use their full name to post messages. The sysop of the local hub of that network knew I had a problem with releasing my full name to a national network (something that is now regularly cautioned against) and he let me use "Byrd Mann."

Pretty boring, eh?

Not boring at all. I love to hear each person's story. Reading the forum messages is kind of like solving a pbn puzzle - a little is revealed at a time, until you get enough of the big picture to put a personality with the name. It's a real bonus when we get a portrait created by Naneki. The one she did of Gypso was phenomenal.

BTW, speaking of Gypso, where IS she??? Anyone know? I haven't even had a real conversation with her yet, but already I miss her presence.

I'm assuming that I'm the most eastern American on this site as I come from Lyman, Maine.

Hey people from all over the globe, let's feel the LOVE in WC # 23. You'll be rewarded with a kiss from one of the judges (your choice).

That's even tempting ME, now! :-)

no Adam you won't get anything from me....don't even try to think about it

lol

ROFL !!!

Dang it!!!!

I have to hurry and get back to judging...with kisses & all

(wink wink)

I'm from Denmark :)

hello im in Coeur d'Alene Idaho

Have you been to the Dock Side, Amber? I LOVE it!

i have im addicted to the gooeys!!!! especially the huckleberries lol

visitor to the area or local adam?

What "area" are you referring to?

coeur d alene or surrounding lol you knew about dockside so i assume you have been to the area was curious if you were in the vicinity or had just come for a visit?

Oh yeah, that's right. That's what I get for not rereading my previous comments, and just responding to your question.
No, I am not from there, but I visited there once.

did you like it? did you stay at the resort then? im curious as i work for a hotel in town....

No, I had family I was visiting. I stayed there. I just went there to eat. This was many years ago, and I don't recall all the details. Sorry.

Jumping on the band wagon, late as usual. I'm the the Denver, CO metro area.

Hey, Dee, that's where I was born and raised.

RE: #303 What part, Teresa? I lived in Lakewood most of my life, & live in Aurora now.

Dee, I lived in Wheatridge as a teenager and in Arvada as a young bride. Right next to Lakewood. Lots of good memories.

Only a year late on this reply, but in regards to JoDeen (post 199) I was born and raised in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. After a stint in the Air Force, I ended up in Colorado. I like the mountains, job opportunities, and climate here, so I plan on staying here when I retire (getting closer, but not close enough for my tastes - now if my retirement savings would just stop going the wrong way). Anyway, a belated welcome to a fellow Hawkeye!!

Welcome back, RK. I have heard a lot about you (all good, of course). :-)

My time on this site was cut back when the firewall at work started blocking it, and then I had a long absence when I started playing WOW. I quit playing WOW recently, and all of a sudden I have time for jigsaw puzzles, online logic puzzles, and even talking to my family!!

Talking to your family?!? What kind of nonsense is that? :)

LOL

Wow is the absolute time stealer

HEY people if Irish descent !!! Give us a WC entry NOW.

Hi everyone!! I'm from Miami, Florida. I've been puzzling on here for a few weeks and I love it and I finally decided to chock out the forums.

Did I mention that I LOVE this site :))

Yo, I'm from Lansing Michigan, and it's cool to know I live so close to the game designers!

I'm from Holland!

Nice to see so much people from Michigan. I've been there once. My family lives there and ohh...with all my heart I want to go back once..

It's springtime in Michigan. Lovely time to visit. Well, maybe wait just a few weeks more...the weather forecast is talking about snow and hail.

Well, springtime weather is over, summer has arrived here in Arizona. Today it will be 95 F - time to crank up the AC. Too late to send me the chocolate trophy, it would melt en route. Sigh.

Hello, everyone. I'm from Louisville, Kentucky. I've been playing "paint by number" puzzles for over a year and a half now, but only at this site for a few days.

Welcome!

Well Jan, if you give me the ticket ;)

I've been there in october, many years ago and it was beautiful..All over the place lovely squirrels and the lake off course was amazing. In Holland we have little waters and not much more of that..;)

I'm in the vicinity of Houston, Texas, but originally from Denver, Colorado. I have to say Houston is underrated. I resisted moving here for a long time because it has a bad reputation for behing dirty, hot, and generally unpleasant. Well, the freeways ARE ugly because there are no zoning laws and hence way too many billboards, but my part of the metro area is gorgeous, dense with Loblolly pines taller than any tree I ever saw in Colorado. It's like a steam room in the summer with the heat index commonly topping 105 (that's over 40 Celsius). I loved a lot of things about Colorado, including the sunny weather, but I just don't miss the cold winters at all. And I think never having to drive in snow again is worth the torrid summers.

Robyn, I was born and raised in Denver. I also don't miss those awful icy roads and the cold winters. I'm in Arizona now, and I love the heat.

So funny to read the last two comments. I grew-up and lived the first part of my adult life in CA. At the age of 31 I moved to MN and never looked back. While it's true that the Winters are starting to feel a bit longer, I still wouldn't change it and have no real desire to move back.

I love winter, living ihe the North East I get plenty of it and wouldn't change it either.

It seemed like most of the people I knew in Denver couldn't wait for the first snow. They loved the beauty of it, and they also loved to ski. I felt like a minority!

I'm from Colorado Springs, Colorado. (I'm a different Linda Martin than the #18 post on this topic page) I lived in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania from 1966 to 1973. Lived in Clearfield, Utah from 1978 to 1979. Lived in Pueblo, Colorado from 1979 to 1980. Springs is my home and my deck has the most beautiful view of Pikes Peak. The weather here's capricious, which makes Colorado Springs a very interesting place to live.

Hi, Linda. Welcome to the best puzzle place on the planet. My son (the independent one "youngest cub") lives in Colorado Springs, and I was born and raised in Denver. Piles Peak is awesome. The Rockies are beautiful, but Colorado is too cold for me. :-)

How about participating in the WCP from where ever you are?

2 Linda Martins... one nearly at the top of puzzles solved, and the other near the bottom. LOL

Welcome.

Whoa I just stumbled upon this topic, cool idea even thought I'm about 3.5 years late heh. So I'm born and raised in New Jersey, moved out at 17 for college in Virginia (go Hokies!) and lived there for about two years after graduating.. and now I live in Stuttgart, Germany. Sort of a big leap from Virginia but it's amazing out here.

Born and raised in Arizona

Moving "up" in the world! :-)

Another Zonie here, but this one is staying put.

Now in virginia.

Welcome back.

Thanks Martin. Nice to see your name popping up when going through a years worth of comments.

Welcome!!!

Hello! I currently live in SE Louisiana, about midway between Baton Rouge and New Orleans. I was born in TX, grew up in AL, and my son Christopher was born in Kalamazoo, MI.

Hi Kirsten!

Hola,
Soy Tejana. I live in Texas, but I've only been here 40 years and that doesn't really make me a Texan. One must be born here for that. My neighbors explained many years ago that I am damnyankee which is 1 word- and once one is a damnyankee one is for life. I am originally from Cooperstown NY and have lived several places, including Jefferson County Colorado. I travel a lot with my job- mostly within 700 mi of north Texas- and for vacations- mostly lots more than 700 mi from here.

I lived in Jefferson County for about 10 years (Arvada). Good place.

born in texas, grew up in fresno, ca usa, moved to granada hills, ca usa, then to ventura, ca usa, currently in bocas del toro, panama. oh, there was a stint in eureka, ca usa and one in clarksville, tn, usa in there.

Interesting. Excepting Granada Hills, you mention several of my favorite places in CA.

byrdie: yes? which? and why?

I don't really know Granada Hills but, in the order you list them -
Fresno - Shot several times at the Fresno Safari, did some hunting around there, can't remember the specifics but I think I spent some time at a convention there.
Went to college in Ventura County and spent some time in Ventura and surrounding cities.
Eureka - I grew up in the SF Bay Area and many Summer vacations were spent around Eureka: Fort Bragg, Mendocino, Willits, Yreka, Mt. Shasta. I've even been to Weed.

Northern Alabama (born)
Middle Tennessee
Dallas Suburb #1
Dallas Suburb #2
Southern Louisiana
Dallas Suburb #3
East Tennessee (current)

what a small world, byrdie! I've been to several of the places you've vacationed. some on vacation, some on geology field trips. great fishing up north in CA.

Sometimes it's so much smaller than we realize. Let's hope it stays together a little bit longer.

Hi all! I'm Lilly. I am having a really enjoyable time on this site. I've been here about a week. I come from Maryland. All of the season are quite defined there. Spring: lots of flowers and rainy. Summer: HOT! Fall: Crisp, and too many leaves to rake (I have a big yard). Winter: fair amount of snow; it varies a lot. It's really neat reading this page about all the different places and origins people come from.

Welcome, Lilly. Are you close to DC? This is a really fun bunch of people (most of the time). I learned a lot by going through all the forum topics when I first arrived. I am enjoying your pretty puzzles. You catch on fast. :-)

Thanks for the welcome, Teresa! Is that what you like to be called? Somebody probably asked you that, but I can't remember from this forum. It's pretty long! I'm a bit less than an hour drive from DC.

Yes, I'm Teresa from Tucson. Fasstar is my business name. www.fasstar.com

My relatives went to Arizona and they liked it a lot. I've never been there. :(

Hi Lilly. I just got back from Maryland; I have family in Gaithersburg. It was in the 90's while I was there. So hot!!

Hi Sarah. I live in Gaithersburg! Small world. :)

Wow! I was visiting my Mom at the Asbury retirement community next to the mall. I always go to Germantown to the bookstore and have coffee. I usually go to the Target there or that two-story Target just a few exits south on 270 but I didn't shop this trip. I got to know some of the other hotel guests and told them I lived in Missouri. One of the women asked why didn't I have a southern accent :) but I grew up in Bethesda.

It's so neat we can relate to the same places. Are you talking about the Target in Milestone Plaza? I love being at the bookstore also.

I'm not sure what the shopping center is called. There is a large Target and further in the parking lot is a Walmart. The bookstore is in a different section, close to where Starbucks is. It's a great shopping center. I just take Frederick Road (355?) towards Germantown. I only bought 2 books -- I usually buy lots. Then my Mom and I had lunch at the bookstore -- coffees and sandwiches which were good. Is that Milestone Plaza? There are lots of stores there. I usually go to Lakeforest Mall but this time I didn't go.

Yes, that sounds like Milestone. Actually, I was up in the Asbury retirement community today! My sister had a piano recital there. Did you ever go to the Joe's Pizza and Pasta that used to be up the street from there? I was sad when it shut down. They had an excellent buffet. The other Joe's locations are quite far, so I haven't gone in a long time.

My son and I loved Joe's! It was a have-to every visit. They served drinks in those little pitchers. How nice that your sister had a piano recital at Asbury. I know the residents really appreciate events like that.

Yes! I loved the drinks from the pitchers. Did you like the breadsticks and minestroni soup from the buffet? Do you go to that Trader Joes in the plaza nearby? My mom loves to shop there.

Trader Joe's is great!

Have you tried the Ficelle bread? It's so good!

I haven't tried it. I bought several bags of groceries for my son and his roommates but I didn't buy any bread as they are on vacation and I didn't want anything to go bad.

It's so much fun to just look in there and try out different things.

I'm in Florida, USA.

Welcome Nights! We here at Webpbn are loving your puzzles. I vacation in southern Florida sometimes. Are you upper, lower, or panhandle?

Lilly, I'm in south Florida. I'm glad you like my puzzles.

I'm another Michigander from near Ann Arbor. I just happened on this site while looking for this kind of puzzle. Was surprised to find out Jan is from Ann Arbor.

Welcome to Webpbn, Erythrina!

glad to have you with us, Ery

Humboldt County in Northern California is the place I call home. Sparse population (more critters than the humans) Mountains in all directions. Redwoods everywhere. Heaven on earth to me.

Home of the Redwoods! Sounds lovely, Nancy. Humboldt County is the title of a movie (2008) - ever see it?

No Teresa I haven't seen it but will look it up. thankyou

Denton, NC, home of the "Southeast Old Threshers Reunion". It's a farming community...Look it up! :) Now I'm near Morehead City, NC, close to Cherry Point Marine Base.

I last posted here in 2008 (#199 and #201)...thanks to Jan for tweaking the site so I can now find my old posts easily! I laughed and laughed when I saw we were talking then about empty nest syndrome...because the girls graduated from their respective colleges this spring and they've been home all summer as usual. This is turning out to be a very gradual empty nest. Elise is a Fulbright recipient and will be leaving September 8th for a year teaching English in Germany. Her sister wants to backpack and hostel in Europe with her boyfriend while Elise is over there too, so she has taken a part-time job driving school bus for the time being. She wants to be able to make some money but be able to leave easily and still be allowed to return to the job...until she decides whether she'll go on to graduate school or not. Both the girls graduated magna cum laude and joined Phi Beta Kappa. We are having a fun time with the last three kids who are still bouncing in and out of the house. (They have a brother a year and a half older who hasn't been back to live for several months...but I'm not holding my breath lol).

Magna cum laude? Wow! They must be a joy to have around. Enjoy them while you can. :-)

We're needing a 2013 entry here so . . .
- I was born in Minneapolis, MN but lived on a ranch in Hogeland, MT between the ages of 2-1/2 and 4. We moved back to the Twin Cities (MN) area where I attended school (K-12) in south Minneapolis. After graduating HS I went to work on a cattle farm in Dundas, MN for 3 years.
- After leaving the farm, I remained in southern Minnesota (Dunnell, Trimont & Jackson) where I drove semi, was a sales rep. and a service tech/trouble shooter.
- At the tender age of 25 I accepted a job in Richmond, Kansas and met a sergeant on the KHP (Kansas Highway Patrol) who suggested I apply. After about a year of written & physical tests, various interviews and a background check, I was accepted to the academy in Salina. 23 weeks later I graduated and was assigned to Parsons as my duty station in southeast Kansas in 1982.
- In '91 Tammie and I married and in '94 our son, Leif (Alex) was born. We've since added a miniature schnauzer (Jewels), a feral cat (Frank) and most recently Rico, an old street cat, to our numbers.
- Leif is a sophomore at KU (chemical engineering major but he wants to be a doctor), Tam supervises 5 probation officers and I'm going to be a retired trooper by the end of this year with 32 years under my (gun) belt.

Sorry about droning on but I'm fascinated by how life's fabric weaves each of us into it. I like hearing other people's stories but it would seem hypocritical of me to invite others to share their journeys without doing so myself.

I may be windy but I'm no hypocrite.

Thank you so very much. You seem to have led a very full and interesting life. Do you have big plans for after retirement? You don't seem to be the type to sit and vegetate. Maybe you would like to fish some of those wonderful lakes in MN.

I loved fishing in MN but there's actually pretty good angling near Parsons and, with the price of petrol being what it is, there won't be frequent trips to the "old country".

I've got 2 or 3 employment prospects after this year including the possibility of starting a small business however Tam is suggesting I "hold off for a bit" - TRANSLATION: We need to remodel the kitchen and bathroom, repaint the living room and both bedrooms and clean out the garage and basement.

Oh! FUN things. You're soooo lucky. These kind of projects can be pretty rewarding, actually. Good luck.

My dad was born, I think, in Bagnell, MO, near Lake Osark. But grew up in Eldon Mo. Not terribly far from Parsons.

Hi Everybody! I have been doing PBN puzzles in books and online for a few years now, but only found this site a few weeks ago. This is my first visit to the forums. I have lived in SE Ohio for several years. I grew up in New Jersey (I have big hair but not on purpose). And between living in those two states I lived in Missouri. I have a cat, and my housemate has a cat, 2 dogs, 3 chickens, and 2 horses. She's away for a few months, so I guess *I* have her cat, 1 dog (she took one with her), 3 chickens, and 2 horses. :)

Welcome Noodles - My wife and I live in Parsons, KS (about an hour west of Joplin) and I've been hanging around WebPBN for about a year and a half now.

Thanks Dave. I was in Kansas City, Kansas once for about 5 minutes.

hi everyone I'm a student at Allegany college of Maryland I found this web site a while back just wanted to say "SCHOOLS OUT FOR THE SUMMER" WILL BE PLAYING A LOT OF GAMES IN HERE

Glad to hear it Patricia. Happy summer vacation!

Kim here. Been working these great puzzles for years but never wandered into the forums before. I'm in a little island city on the east side of the San Francisco Bay in what's known as Northern California tho we're closer to the middle than the top.

Beautiful Jones Falls, Ontario, Canada but our greater municipality is actually California. I love telling people that I live in California

;-)

Ann Arbor, Michigan. Sadly, I only happened on this site after Jan passed away. I pass his walking group in the park sometimes.

Hi. I noticed that nobody has posted on this site recently. I have been doing puzzles here for years but only looked at this forum today. I currently live in Fernandina Beach, Florida. I mostly have bounced back and forth between Ohio and Florida most of my life but did spend 6 years in Kentucky where I picked up a couple of degrees and a husband. I've also lived overseas in the West Indies for a while. I made a bunch of puzzles once but they got lost in the server problem a few years ago and I never did any more.

Hi Sue Have you always have the same user name? All puzzles were recovered, but some are mis identified. Contact Valerie to see if she can help.

Hi Sue - As Jota said, the puzzles are back! Let me know what username you were using when you made them (or some other clue to which ones are yours) and I'll re-attach them to your current account.

Sue, I did a search through puzzle author names, and it looks like your puzzles already are reattached to your account. Here's what I'm finding that you have created. I think the first two were lost in the 2016 database crash and restored, and the other two are newer:

https://webpbn.com/25696

https://webpbn.com/25697

https://webpbn.com/30861

https://webpbn.com/30866

And one unpublished puzzle.

If there are others, please let me know!

Thanks Val!

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