Thank you, thank you -- all of you. I am going to try to post some pics I took today. I am hoping they will be more revealing. Sorry that last one is so blurry. Berndoodles, thanks for the pics of leaf hopper damage. I think I certainly have that, don't you (referring to the pic with the lovely bugs)? I also found some webbing, so I think maybe I have spider mites. Oh, joy! And I also think I have powdery mildew. I would love anyone's advice. I sure wish I had a flatbed scanner. My daughter has one, but she is out of town. And I wouldn't mind if we had a Bug Man out here in Colorado. However, I took samples to my local nursery and the very nice rose lady there confirmed that I have several separate problems. She thought that the drooping rosebuds were caused by thrips and told me to go home and cut all of those drooping buds off and dispose of them. She thought I had powdery mildew, too, and also spider mites. She advised that I use Bayer All-in-One spray, so I bought that, but after reading the instructions, I decided to try Neem Oil because the instructions said not to use when bees are active, and they are very active on Ballerina, at least during the day, but maybe I could use it at night. I sprayed yesterday very thoroughly with Neem oil and will repeat in 7 days. However, since my roses are so badly infected, and with multiple buggies or whatever, maybe I will have to go toxic. Another problem with me using a toxic spray is I have large pots of herbs close to Ballerina, in fact right beside it. I think I could cover the pots with black trash bags or something. But I also have black raspberries whose vines are kind of intermingled with one of my New Dawn climbers. I'm not sure if I can cover all of them enough. Maybe if I used a hand sprayer rather than a hose-end sprayer it would be easier. So what do you think? Thanks again. Marlene

Yes Hans, my second batch of seeds are started on coco peat a few weeks ago. Out of 21 seeds, 9 has sprouted at the same time as the above seeds. I have a third batch of seeds that I planted in a Canadian seed mix (peat moss and vermiculite) mixed with some horticultural charcoal hoping to give the mix some air and preventing it from getting "sour" in the long run. All of these seed trays are under observation as to what will work best for my growing conditons here. I agree that coco peat does have a lot of advantages. Some growers here in US have shifted to using it in replacement for peat moss. Unfortunately, coco peat is not available here in my area. I can order it online, $2.49/disk (not including shipping), and will expand to 1 1/2 gallons. I have one "puck" of coco peat left and am eagerly waiting for my mother from the Philippines to come here in US in July. She will be bringing me some coco "bricks". These are manufactured there and exported all over the world. They are very cheap there too.

My kids used to spend lots and lots of time with my mother. She was, and still is, very active, has a pool in her back yard, etc. Like you, she spends way too much money on them. She still has lots of energy, she's the same person she was, but my kids don't spend nearly as much time with her now. As stargazzer says, they want to spend time with their friends. They rarely ever spend the night anymore, even though they used to practically live over there in the summers. I don't know what your budget is, how comfortable you are with technology, etc. One suggestion I have, if it fits your budget, is to get some kind of computer gaming station or something like that that your grandchildren will enjoy at your house (especially something they don't already have at their own house). You might look at something like a Wii(sp?), Dance Dance Revolution, etc. You might have enough energy to sit on the sofa and play those types of games with them - not dance dance revolution but some of the other games. Your 11 year old granddaughter should be able to set it up for you. The nice thing about gaming systems is that they don't make a mess, the kids love them, you don't have to always be running around after them. When my kids were as young as your grandchildren I limited their time on gaming systems, etc. But if you were my mom, I would surely make an exception so that you could still enjoy time with my kids. There are lots of things your son or daughter could do to help with this issue. Your son or daughter could once a month rent a really fun movie for them to watch, do something with them outdoors all day like swimming (so they are tired), and bring the kids and the movie to your house for a movie night. You could order takeout pizza, snuggle up and see a movie while your son/daughter has a night out with their spouse. The other thing you might do that makes things more manageable would be to have them over one at a time, not all at once. Here's my last suggestion, and again, you'd need your son/daughter's help. My mom lives in our subdivision, and I tried to teach my kids that it's their responsibility to help look after their grandmother. It's good for kids to be needed and contribute to the family. So if you were my mom, I would expect the older girls to come help you on a regular basis. The 10 and 11 year old could help you grocery shop, and their treat for helping might be to pick out some special food treat and have it at your house. My kids used to love to help me grocery shop, in fact they still do. They are old enough to "help" you by cooking simple meals for you. Sometimes when kids "help", it's way too much work for the adult. But if your son/daughter comes over at first and teaches them what to do, then your granddaughters will be terrific help. My mom always has something fun for my kids when they come help her - she bakes them brownies or something like that. Talk to your son/daughter and find some special treat you can get for your grandchildren that's unique to your house. If you are like my mom, you probably don't want to "put the kids out" by asking for help. But keep in mind that in the long run you are showing the kids how to be part of a close, loving family in good times and bad, and your grandkids will feel better about themselves in the long run. It's so much better for teenagers and young adults if they have a good relationship with loving grandparents. They need someone else to talk to when their mean old parents don't like their boyfriend, or is mad about their grades, or won't let them pierce their eyebrows or get a motorcycle. So don't feel that you are imposing by getting help from your granddaughters. My mother misses my kids terribly.

Thank you ALL for your responses. Each has helped clarify add'l thoughts I've had and brought up new ones! I THINK I've made a decision about what I need to do. As of this moment, I'm going to buy a 30" black glass induction cooktop - 4 burners. When I want to use one of my non-induction pans, I'm going to use a heavy-duty gas, 12,000 BTU portable unit that runs on Butane (1 hr. of continuous high BTUs usage; 2-3 hrs. for medium)! It's clear that my needs for those won't be often, but it WILL solve most of my issues that were bothering me and I won't have to give ALL of my favorite pans away that I so feared. And I'll still have access to BOTH induction AND gas (my original duel-fuel passion)! The reviews for this particular 12,000 BTU gas unit were outstanding and it's cost is less than $50 for the privilege. I was considering the Bosch Flexinduction or the highly praised (by reviewers) Frigidaire FGIC 3067MB. But, now I've noticed here the Bosch 800 being discussed for less $$ than the Flex if one doesn't need the flexible pods (which I don't, really). Frigidaire has about all the goodies EXCEPT individual burner timers at around $1100 or so with just terrific reviews on amazon - an amazing price point. Can anyone point out some detriments of these three that I may not have noticed or be aware of? What would all of us unknowing people do without all your input and kind help??