The new template looks fantastic from where I’m sitting. Which reminds me, I’m now sitting in a different place entirely, or at least my blog is.  Long story, but I had to move in a hurry at the beginning of the month, thanks to problems at the old place.  So, it’s another new beginning, and another annoyance for those on my blogroll who have to change a link.  I’ll try to not do it again any time soon. I’m now at:  http://tametheshrew.blogspot.com/

I can totally understand why you’ve lost the urge to chat and why you’ve turned off the TV news.  I reached saturation point before you did.  It’s too much to take in after awhile and the feelings of outrage were affecting my life a little too much.  I didn’t wade into the lively debate on here earlier as it’s not my country and thus not really my place to say anything, I believe.  However, I always get a lot out of the debates between you and your readers.  But for the record, my silent outrage was pretty much along the same lines as yours.

It kinda looks like the Arial font I use for mail; I’m reasonably sure I have Trebuchet (I must have; I have everything else!), but I’m not gonna fight the small battles right now.

Kate, the template is wonderful. I never saw it from last year so it is new to me. It’s clean, legible and the graphics are beautiful. It reminds me of Hercule Poirot.

I too lost the incentive to post very much with the news we are getting out of Louisiana and Mississippi.

The link you put up: “World press: Katrina ‘testing US’” was very interesting. The world believes a lot of myths that we who live here know for fantasy.

Thank you for your great work on your web site.

Sweet-looking site. Your best yet!

Heal, and hurry back. The world is a better place because there are people like you, but you already knew that.

Hi Eleanor. Thanks for your new link. I was surprised to see your other blog disappear and checked your daughter’s site to see if there was a new link. And then I got rather involved in looking through her site. She is quite an accomplished young woman! Your new blog name is wonderful. That made me smile. Don’t ever hesitate to jump in on any discussions. I’m probably just as US-centric as those who argue with me from a different perspective. It’s good to have opinions from those outside the country.

Linkmeister, most of the fonts on the page are Arial, but the headlines and unit headers are best viewed as Trebuchet ms, which, *I think*, is a pretty standard font on both PCs and Macs.

Margaret - Thank you! I like the crispness, too. The other template started feeling kind of mushy to me. Not crisp and clean enough. Hercule Poirot? That’s hallowed territory there. I like it! With regard to the foreign press, perception is one of those funny things that may not always be accurate, but it’s a powerful force.

Pablo - Thank you! Glad you like it. I wonder how long before I get that awful itch to change it again. Yes, I do feel pretty low. It’s been more or less that way since 2000, but some events are obviously far worse than others. I feel as if our country is falling apart at the seams. I see so little cause for optimism that it grows oppressive. And then I have to remove myself from the nattering world and snuggle with a sweet little kitty and lose myself in books. It’s very therapeutic.