Good luck with the car hunt. The last three I've purchased I found online via Edmunds Car Guide. Since the reports are online I would never go through an entire sale without test driving and getting a good look and smell in the inside (I am so averse to cigarette smoke, especially the stale smoke smell in vehicles). But it's a starting place.

What kind of "glints" did you find? I've spent time poking around road cuts and mine tailings picking up interesting minerals that are exposed from the activity.

I made the calls to my elected officials this morning; two went to voicemail, but the representative's office had a real live person. With notes I made my points and thanked the man for making note of my concerns. It is harder to call than to email, and having written it out ahead made it easier in a nervous situation. I'll alternate writing and calling from now on.

When making the bed this weekend I took off the top wool blanket but left it folded nearby, and last night put it on again. We had a noisy thunderstorm pass through at about 4am, accompanied by dog complaints in the hall. This morning I moved one of the dog beds into the hall bathtub, because that seems to be her shelter choice if I'm not around so she can hunker by my feet and trip me up. They have various types of beds for warm and cold weather just like me. This time of year I use layers instead of the down cover for that reason; there might be a week or two when down is ok, but it's not worth the trouble to unpack it for that short a time.