AIR FLIGHTS TO CANCUN

More Last-Minute Knitted Gifts

When STC Craft published Joelle Hoverson’s Last-Minute Knitted Gifts in 2004, the response was over­whelming and today there are nearly 100,000 copies of this classic in print. Six years later, Hoverson is full of fresh, new ideas for beautiful gifts. So STC proudly presents More Last-Minute Knitted Gifts: an elegant collection of 30 projects organized according to the time it takes to complete them, from less than two hours to more than eight. Among the projects featured are sachets, bracelets, ornaments, mittens, gloves, hats, sweaters, baby blankets, and throws.

Understanding that knitters today love to personalize their projects but also need guidance along the way, Hoverson showcases many of the projects in several colors and yarn weights, and with optional embellishments and creative ideas for gift-wrapping.

This CHRISTMAS DAY the SFCRONCICLE reports that there are still passengers STRANDED at the airport in PARIS. This after over a week of horrible storms that shut down most of Europe's airports & transportation venues.



Luckily, ADDA was able to get out of that quagmire very easily.



So,what has ADDA bring out of such an experience? It pays to be thankful. As in, ADDA is thankful that he was thankful to the BRITISH AIRLINES ticket clerk who got him and his mom out of PARIS in a breeze.



Four days into the havoc, last Tuesday, for that matter, ADDA and thousands of upset travelers packed CDG airport. Some of those passengers were STILL at the airport for 2, 3 and FOUR days.



ADDA had to rebook his tickets, so he got into the shortest line and patiently waited for his turn. Oddly, it appeared once the stranded person in front of him made it to the ticket clerk, the passenger then proceeded to make demands upon the overworked ticket clerks.



So, after waiting about an hour in a 20-person line, which by the way increased to about 200 within minutes, ADDA walked up to the rebooking ticket clerk, and patiently waited a few more minutes before the clerk even looked up in acknowledgment.



When the clerk made eye-contact, ADDA's first words were,

"Thank you very much for trying to help me. "



The clerk didn't bat an eye, nor break her stone wall face. She took my cancelled flight ticket, and started to pound away at the computer.



Not once did I dare interrupt her mission.



After about 25 minutes, she looked up with a very, very slight hint of a smile, and handed me BUSINESS CLASS seats out of PARIS for THAT DAY.



The young man behind me, who overheard this incredible stroke of luck, reached over, pointed his finger at the tickets, and in a VERY loud voice said, "WOW! I need to get on that SAME flight! Book me on that flight!'



In which the ticket clerk's ever slight smile dissappeared, she turned back to stone, looked back down at her computer, and, then she COLDLY, and very s l o w l y, said with a slight hiss, as if she took extreme enjoyment of the sound of her piercing of her icy words,



"T h o s e.... w e r e ......t h e ....l a s t ......s e a t s."



With the hundreds who were still stuck in CDG from the previous four days with no hope for a flight, and with current reports that situation has not improved much at all, ADDA is EXTREMELLY thankful that I was kind and, well, thankful to the clerk...



Sincere gratefulness and honesty works!



So, if there comes a time in one's life when it appears that one is snowbound, stranded with no hope of an escape, and one is completely surrounded by anger & dispair; please remember to stay centered, calm, and just be thankful for all the things that you do have in life.



Things will get better....


ADDA would like to wish you and yours wonderful Holiday Season and a great 2011 ! Thank you so much for being a dear friend!



Big hugs,

MK lost her passport in Laos, we'd traveled with other Poi spinners through Laos for the previous few weeks, and that after spending a few weeks in Pai. Losing ones passport is unfortunate, but losing ones passport, all your money and bank cards as well as your paper airline ticket is really really bad. To make it worse there is no Canadian Embassy in Laos.

Over the next week we would spend 4 days shuffling between Lao bureaucratic offices, the tourist police and the Australian Embassy to get her an emergency travel document, a new entry visa and a new exit visa. This was all so that could leave Laos and go directly to Bangkok to get to the Canadian embassy to go through the process there of getting a new proper passport there. We cheated a little and after crossing the border spent one day with a family her sister had lived as part of an exchange program many years ago, but then we promptly hopped on an overnight train to Bangkok. We spent the day in Bangkok running between the train station, the Canadian Embassy, the Air Canada office and travel agents on Khao San Road. At 6pm that same evening we boarded an overnight bus to Surat Thani. A few hours after arriving in Surat Thani we got on a 4 hour ferry ride to Koh Phangan. Then a half hour cab ride across Koh Phangan on some of the steepest and most curvy roads anywhere, and finally a 15 minute taxi boat ride to get to Haad Tien Beach where we were to met other friends from Pai. A long search finally the house they were staying on...

If anyone ever deserved a swing hung from a coconut palm on a quiet tropical beach, she did... for me I got a nice long swim in that blue water...

For the record, the swing is actually on Haad Why Nam, the beach and cove next to Haad Tien.

The popular optics review manual, Last-Minute Optics: A Concise Review of Optics, Refraction, and Contact Lenses, has been revised and updated into a Second Edition. This unique resource boils down the overwhelming subject matter of clinical optics and refraction, helping the ophthalmologist cover the essentials in a single review manual. The content is based upon the practical experience of two clinically active experts who lecture on ophthalmic optics around the world.
This updated Second Edition by Drs. David G. Hunter and Constance E. West includes new questions added to selected chapters and a new chapter covering refractive surgery, as well as a key chapter that helps you evaluate patients with symptoms related directly to optical or refractive concerns. The complex concepts of optics are revealed in easy-to-understand explanations enhanced by simple illustrations.
Last-Minute Optics, Second Edition allows you to test your knowledge while increasing your understanding of optics. Designed in a clear, concise, question-and-answer format, this book allows for self-assessment and a chance to test your understanding before you read the answer.
Features of the Second Edition:
• Written in a light and approachable style to make optics accessible and understandable
• Unique question-and-answer format allows for self-assessment while studying to identify areas where more work is needed
• Perfect for limited study time
• Includes real-life examples that are clinically relevant
• Numerous practical tips to help enhance clinical practice
• Includes 223 questions and answers
Whether you’re an ophthalmologist, ophthalmic technician, resident or student, reviewing the optics facts and concepts is easier with Last-Minute Optics: A Concise Review of Optics, Refraction, and Contact Lenses, Second Edition.