Hi Julia Feeling more cheerful now, knowing that rescue is near at hand Please bring lots of snaps (preferably the brandy kind, although perhaps I could ask some fellow smugglers for dunking rights to a keg of brandy). I was not looking forward to dining on skinny rats ... and the Keeshonds and puddy tat are great news, as at times the rats seem to look at me in a hungry way that was quite worrisome. And some lonesome nights here have definitely been two dog nights. btw soggy brandy snaps have been know to droop and plop off ... is that worse (decolletage-wise) ? I know of nothing worse tea-wise than to see a slowly sinking piece of broken off dunking . . . . Ed