Hi - thanks million for everyone’s feedback.
Val’s #wrapper does not parent the contents of the page, only the upper part
Yes you’re right there. My web host tech support who accidentally in pursuit of another problem sent me that wide-screen image, then sent me this of the header alone. As you can see, it’s contained exactly the way I mistakenly thought my entire page was.
http://goo.gl/dO78Fi
and here again is how the rest of the page looks on widescreen:
http://goo.gl/oRXYKC
So all this time my wrapper has been addressing only the head part and nothing else!
Yes I would also just add max-width:1200px to the body and the problem should be solved.
Thank you Paul & Ron. Please can you confirm that this:
body{line-height:1;font-size:100%;margin:2% auto;background:#e5ffbf;}
#wrapper{width:97%;max-width:1200px;margin:0 auto;}
@media screen and (max-width:330px){#wrapper{width:auto;}}
must be changed to this:
body{max-width:1200px;line-height:1;font-size:100%;margin:2% auto;background:#e5ffbf;}
#wrapper{width:97%;margin:0 auto;}
@media screen and (max-width:330px){#wrapper{width:auto;}}
I have taken to using em for things like max-width and media queries, as it copes better with font-only zooming.
Should I rather use em and if so, what is 1200px in em?
it is easier (and less prone to error) to assign the max-width to one outermost element than it is to assign that same max-width to several almost-outer elements
Should I now delete max 1200px wherever it appears in the css? Since I now plan to place it on body?
If you use the dev tools in Chrome, you can show a zoomed out display of a larger screen
I DO use Chrome. I click on that screen icon and it just shows mobiles. How do I get widescreen?
Here’s an image of the icon I click on in chrome, it’s second from right:

drag your browser window to the full width of your 19" monitor screen
I do have 19" monitor, and that image I showed you is the full width of my screen. I can’t drag the window any wider. I’ve got the 19" monitor plugged into a laptop. The laptop has black space on the left & right of the window but no way for me to drag it wider.
I’m so grateful I caught this, and for your help in solving it. I had no idea my page was displaying so crazily different from how I’m seeing it – making the lines far too long on wide screen, for comfortable reading.
thank you! Val - http://greensmoothie.com