The Dutch book I have with the nice big map that actually shows Breda does not have a legend, so I have no idea what the scale is. Grr. Though Lonely Planet's map will do in a pinch, plus they have a good description of the countryside. As does the lovely stack of books from some Dutch museum I happened upon at a library sale a year or so back. Lots and lots of pictures, with text in several languages, so I can pick up a little more Dutch as I go.

All in all, I have a rough estimate of how long it will take my people to get from point A to point b, and it doesn't look like I'll have to add much more in the way of connective tissue. Which is very good for me.

Finally have my writing space back, and it's glorious. Most of today has been taken with the above research, getting through the email my brain was too overloaded with weekend stuff (not a relaxing weekend, but we all lived) to handle. Tomorrow is new writing for sure. I feel more grounded now that I know how much travel time (no, Vicki, not time travel) we're talking about. That excuse gone, I can push on forward.

Also reached a Sims milestone...successfully posted two families to the exchange on the official site. Will work on getting my favourites up there in case I have to yank everything out when I get Vacation. There is a chance it may arrive in the birthday loot, and if not, still affordable. Sims2 does look interesting, but that would need to be on a better computer, so I'm sticking with the known quantity for now.

Woohoo -- one of my uploaded Sims families has been downloaded eight times, and the other one once. Ah, community. It's a good Monday.

In a very good reading groove with the Colleen Faulkner book in my purse, and the second book in Beverly Lewis' Abram's Daughters Amish series as my bedside book. After a stressy weekend, I knew I *had* to slip away to the peaceful plain community of Gobbler's Knob for a breather. Umm, peaceful if you don't consider secrets and murder and affairs of the heart, both the good and the bad kind, peaceful, that is. I will read anything Beverly Lewis writes, and know it's great.