JUST A FEW
observations on our re-.
cent car trip.

I printed a complaint .
about the Holiday Inn in
Great Falls, Montana,
remarking that every time 1__
plugged-in my hair dryer a
fuse blew. A reader who had
the same problem elsewhere
in Montana suggests that the
problem was a slight varia-
tion in voltage, causing the
safety switch in the dryer
itself to trip. Come to think
of it, something similar hap-
pened to me in Europe when
I was operating the same
dryer on 220 volts — it seem-
ed to be a little hotter than
normal and then it quit. Any

electricians have an explana-" 3

tion?
If anyone notices that Tm -

not wearing any rings lately, |.

it has‘nothing to do with my
heaving my ‘wedding band in
the Truckee River. Soap!
Public washrooms often

carry a very strong detergent ©

product that irritates the
skin, particularly in between

fingers where it can. callect ~ q

under a ring. The rash -
created weeps, itches and.
cracks. Takes. quite a while’ -
toclearup. .

. We ‘always study the .
licence plates of other cars:

when driving in the-USA, ..

- From. the. time: we left’ :
Medicine Hat until we were
north of Seattle, we saw.not |
one B.C: licence plate and
very few from Alberta. That
was true even for Van-
couver’s southern suburb of
Reno. There, though, they
would be harder to spot as
Nevada plates are the same
blue and white as B.C. and
many states have Alberta's
yellow.

DEAR BARBARA: My hus-
band left me and our
children a few months ago.
I'm still not over the shock
and desolation that being
alone after 20 years brings. I
know it’s early to start think-
ing about Christmas but I'm
dreading it. I just can’t see
myself going through all the
motions from putting up the
tree to carving the turkey by
myself. I'm sure I can raise
the money to take the
children away for Christmas
but I can’t decide if it would

be a good thing or not. Also,
where to go? Can you give
me some suggestions.

. ANSWER: I had quite a bit
of difficulty ‘deciphering
your letter. It appears to me
that you would be wise to

seek s professional help |
“shock and desolation”.
Travel with children requires
* @ parent who is in control.
Have - you discussed the
idea: ‘with your. “kids? Many
parents are surprised to find
‘that Christmas. ‘at. home,
even - with ‘the’ ‘distressing
absence of one parent, is
-preferable. to being. ima
Strange ‘place.: A. com-
“promise may be best — have
you considered |
Boxing ‘Day?’ That: would
give you something to look
forward to without uprooting
your family completely.
As for destinations, what
do you and the kids like to
do? Consider Hawaii for sun
(I hope!) and surf, a ski
resort in cither Canada or
the U.S. or even a dude ran-
ch. Arizona has all sorts that
I've seen and the air service
is good into Phoenix.
Mexico has
governing = travel

single parent'so unless you're
prepared to cope with red
tape, you'd be wise to
choose a_ destination in

either Canada or the U.S.

with —
children accompanied by a’

Remember, you're not
“alone”: ¥ou'll find that your
will participate. gladly in
both Christmas preparations
and holiday planning if you
give them a chance. Good
luck! .

QUESTION: We are going
to Europe for a month,
. Visiting Austrja, Germany
and Switzerland. Our first
stop is Frankfurt. Should we
purchase foreign currency

‘here before - departure? ,

Would we be wise’ to carry
our. money in American
dollars or Swiss francs?

We've heard that prices in

From a money-saving stand-
Pe best currency tor caren

you plan to visit. ore tee.

one ‘country. Youll get
Straight exchange in
Switzerland which is a saving
and a convenience but cur-
rency fluctuations im the

other two countries will be.

the same — strictly up to
chance. ,

Ive travelled with Swiss
francs once and I'd probably
not do it again. ‘Why?

Because my arithmetic is: |

a { Since Canadians are

to calculating America
‘money in terms of Canadian,
it’s easier for most of us to

| WAIKIKI *379
__Air Only

WAIKIKI *479
8 Days, 7 Nights Air & Hotel

LAS VEGAS *229
5 Days, 4 Nights, Air & Hotel

RENO 3255
5 Days, 4 Nights, Alr & Hotel

MAPLE LEAF
TRAVEL

736-3555,

Rug. Agua 157-3

SIMPLY SCANDALOUS!

hee Macnee Santa eh we?

carry our money ina familiar
currency. .

The only prices I can com-
ment on are those in Ger-
many. Hotel prices are high.
Food, i in modest restaurants,
is. reasonably priced —
cheaper, and often better,
than the Canadian
equivalent.

I found, too, that con-
sumer goods. in shops were

RENO BUSES
‘Special
‘fr.119a0.

(DISNEYLAND

, 2

up to ,

35

Order Stock Sizes and Save

priced, slightly lower than
ours for average quality and
slightly higher for luxury
_items. For’example, a good
quality men’s two-piece

® super price

% on verticals

eg. Patio Door 72x84

Custom Made Price $234.00
Stock Size Price $127.96

% on venetian

eg. 48 x 45 long

Custom Made Price $112.00
Stock Size Price $68.76

-

INSTALLATION
AVAILABLE AT
EXTRA COST

" Eateblished 16 years

* super soft, Sible lather
* brown, burgundy, black

reg: $225 . 7 ‘

Bring in your own
sizes and save up to

3050 Mountain Highway
988-1525, 988-1220

track suit was selling for $50
(Can.) while high. quality
leather was about 20%
higher than our average
prices.

ON LEVELOR
ABBEY _
JACKSON
KIRSCH

Mon. . Fri. 9:00-5:30
fat. 10:00-5:00

Vancouver