Rob abd Iris were in Boston and we had a mini GTG at Similans. Iris gave Beth some flowers for our cats to eat and we crawled through downtown traffic to go to Cambridge. We had Na Tang, spring rolls, pork with green curry, Brown Sugar Duck and crispy Pad Thai. All were delicious.

The conversation flowed smoothly. Their next Asia trip is to Bali and we discussed the wonders thereof. Somehow, they're both from Aberdee, Scotland and Rob has a strong accent and Iris has none. They've lived in canada for 30+years, so she speaks Canadian. he does not. It was lots of fyun and reminded us how much Fodors has enriched our lives, except for meeting Bob.

Your cats eat flowers?

My cats eat flowers too! For some reason they ignore flowering plants (African violets, orange trees, gloxinia,etc.), but they LOVE cut flowers. MP and I ask each other, "Why do people keep little animals in the house?")

Wow that's interesting as my dogs like to eat lemongrass and then throw up. Must be some kind of a natural medicine that animals knows about. Smart dogs, their breeds are foreign to Thailand and I'm sure they don't have lemongrass where the breed originated.

Sigh, lots of cats eat flowers. Cheryl brought home a big bouquet of tulips last month and Olivia, our younger cat, demolished them in short order. I used to have a cat whose only flower vice was babies breath. He would carefully pull apart any flower arrangement with babies breath in it and eat each tiny flower. We do keep "kitty grass" (wheatgrass) in the house for the cats, and they like that.

Ah, Similans! Ah, dinner with Gpanda & Beth! Ah, Rob & Iris! A few months ago, Rob & I exchanged a few e-mails about being Canadian, since I am a dual national. I had the pleasure of meeting Rob & Iris at an "official" Fodors Boston GTG a few Octobers ago. They're great folks.

Hanuman, our vet had told us that when dogs have upset stomachs, they do eat grass (our dog used to just eat the stuff in our backyard) as an emetic, and according to him, they do it semi-routinely. I used to see the dog doing this and think he had some kind of cow complex!! Well, at least we never used pesticides, so the dog was taking a natural, herbal route to feeling better.

BC

Iris and I had a great time with Andy & Beth last night.

I'm afraid to report that the treatment that Andy has been undergoing has greatly changed him.

Last night he was kind, thoughtful, considerate & charming--now all of you who know Andy will realize what a shock this was to us--He did not even attempt the muscle trick!!!

We had a very pleasant dinner and as Andy has stated the conversation flowed smoothly--at least the three of them understood each other--I managed to interject at times with my unintelligible accent.

All joking apart I would like to commend both Andy and Beth for the way they are handling a very difficult situation with such dignity and even humour--Canadian spelling!!

As I told Andy last night we hope to see them at the Boston GTG unless I am in Scotland visiting my parents.

Thanks for the info bookchick. It surprise me to see American Golden Retrievers eat lemongrass. We grow other vegetables and plants but they only eat lemongrass!

PS. The boy dog is call "Bob"!

Iris must have typed robmac's last reply; I could understand it.

At one point, Rob and Iris refered to the pattern of a MacPherson kilt as if Beth and I would have any knowledge thereof. Starngers in a strange land. Pandas would never be caught dead in a kilt. Why hide all that beautiful fur? Why learn a bunch of useless kilt patterns? They barely speak English. During my time playing rugby, I came across every possible type of accent from the Commonwealt. Scots were by far the most difficult to comprehend.

Nonetheless, dinner was wonderful. Rob gave me a cuban cigar that may not live out the day.

Yep, some of the Commonwealth accents can be undecipherable. The people from Springfield and Agawam, they might as well be speaking French for all I can understand.

Ahem...for the edification of Gpanda, a clan's tartan is a <b>very</b> important thing. If you see a MacGregor clan, for example, you can deduce the wearer is a member of, or affliated in some way (perhaps by marriage) with that particular clan. Think of it this way---Pandas are black and white. If a Panda sees another bear, one that is all brown, for example, they know that it's a bear, but is certainly not a Panda.

Rizzuto, dear, I rather think we've had this conversation before. As a Midwesterner with Canadian roots, I fully object to the concept that the word "idea" is pronounced as though it ends in the letter "r", because, simply put, it does not!

BC

bookchick, chérie, this is actually a slightly different conversation, about commonwealth avenues.

but speaking of asia, my porch in the last hour has become as hot and esp humid as Hong Kong in April. Blecch.

Why do they bother with porches in Billerica? It's not as if any residents actually want to be outside.

The cigar is history. Very nice. It gave me the opportunity to watch several neighbors working away in their gardens. better them than me.

Historically, when did the British come up with the idea that they had a Commonwealth?

Gpanda, as soon as they were kicked out of Boston and someone opened up the Commonwealth Hotel where our Lcuy stays sometimes, please do try to keep up. Rizzuto can tell you what language is spoken on that part of Commonwealth Avenue.

I know what you and Rizzuto mean about the hot weather and watching others do yard work, though. I could watch it all day from the air-conditioned comfort of my home. Being unemployed has freed up my time to research local beaches and when the public pools in Ann Arbor open for the season. So little time, so much to do...and all on an "unemployment paycheck", can you imagine?

BC

Andy,

I smoked my cigar at the Mohegan Sun on Sunday--it was very enjoyable.

By the way, I won enough at the casino to pay for the whole Boston trip--sweet.

Thanks for helping make Iris' and my trip so enjoyable.

We may have been smoking at the same time. Glad you won some American dollars. They must have been giving it away.