Lately, I've tried to get into the PD chat room but without success. All I get is a limited menu of 5 or 6 itams none of which deal with specific maladies. Am I doing something wrong? I make it a point to brush my teeth. comb my hair, dress modestly etc. before logging on

Lloyd

Hello Lloyd, there are only a few specific chatrooms because this place is still so new. No one has yet created a PD chatroom, but it is easily done. Click ADD and type in the room's name and a PD room will appear.
I enjoy the lounge, where you meet people from all the forums, though most of the time you only meet the same four or five people. The chat rooms are not frequented much, and even the lounge is often empty. The best time to visit is usually between 10 pm to 12 am EST.
I promise that you will be welcomed by the few but very pleasant chatters in the lounge.

birte

Thanks Birte for the information about chat rooms. I'm not much for chat but thought I would expend my horizons. I see from your posts that you have been downsizing. We are doing the same. I've been giving technical books to my students, science data to my colleagues. I have a friend who is in the book business and he has been a recipient of my giving. I still buy books, but give them away as soon as they are read.

All the best,

Lloyd

Yes, we have downsized by about half. We sold our summer house in Denmark, and are so relieved to have only one house to take care of. We had not planned to ever sell the house, so we'd gathered heaps of books in the 24 summers we spent there. It was fun to give boxes of books to family and friends in Denmark. We had a lot of art books that a very happy antiquarian book dealer in Ebeltoft bought, which payed for shipping home some favorite books.
My husband taught art for 28 years, so slides of student work and lecture slides and slides documenting techniques are what he has had to organize, and to find homes for in libraries and museums. It is a great relief to know they are in the right places, and not left cluttering up the basement, forgotten and unseen.
We did not downsize when we moved here six years ago. In a small town in PA a big Victorian is very reasonable, and we enjoy all the space - and all the stairs! The stairs are a treat for me. I go up and down all day with ease. On floors I shuffle and limp, except on lucky days when my feet decide to work. They always work on stairs. It is good exercise and a good boost to my confidence that I can at least still do stairs. I would not have that if we had been more sensible in our choice of a home for our dotage.
Re. chat: You do meet some bright and interesting people in chat, it is not always just chit chat.

All the best,
birte