I can personally vouch that a Maytag A906 top load washer in the house I grew up in, made circa 1969, was still going strong when my folks moved out of their house five years ago. (for some reason I still have the owner's manual in my file cabinet which is why I know the model number). They built the same basic machine until roughly a decade ago, although their reputation took a deserved beating when they started buying out other companies and rebranding their appliances as Maytags. Then the company nearly failed and the remnants were bought out by Whirlpool and the old, unprofitable Maytag plant in Iowa was shut down. Modern "Maytag" appliances are mostly rebadged Whirlpools. Your old Kenmore was probably made by Whirlpool. Their basic top-loaders were reliable, but performance-wise were lacking IMO. The old ones (up to mid-'80s or thereabouts) were notoriously poor at extracting water in the spin cycle due to low speeds, thus requiring extra time and electricity to dry your clothes. Later models spun slightly faster, but trash your clothes because the agitator posts twists unusually fast in an attempt to make up for not being able to twist much to either side. I had one at my old apartment, and most of my clothes didn't survive being washed in my Whirlpool unscathed. It's especially bad if you have larger or bulkier items, which always got ripped to shreds by the fast-shaking agitator. Also, it doesn't spin when the water drains, so the gunk floating atop the water gets re-deposited on your clothes. Speed Queen made (and still makes) good, basic, reliable machines, which is why it's the most popular brand in laundromats. In stark contrast to Whirlpool's washers, they have a slow-moving agitator that still cleans well whilst being gentle on clothes because it can twist in a 210-degree arc. Many Speed Queens have durable stainless-steel tubs. Until the late '90s, Raytheon owned both Speed Queen and Amana, and the latter were nearly identical to the SQ. After then, Amana changed hands about four times and wound up being one of Whirlpool's low-budget brands. My xgf had a mid-1960s Frigidaire that was terrific, and is still working today. Any Frigidaires made when General Motors owned the company are first rate (that's true of all their appliances, not just washing machines). Unfortunately, they're getting hard to find, being pre-1980. But they're built like tanks, and they do a great job both cleaning and extracting water after it's done. These machines will have a reference to GM on the control panel and have porcelain tubs. Post-GM Frigidaire top-loaders, though, are awful, as are other brands that got bought out by the (no longer extant) White Consolidated Industries (White-Westinghouse, Kelvinator, and some machines made for other companies). These can be identified by white plastic tubs, which are usually scuffed by now. GE (and their low-end subsidiary Hotpoint) was fairly reliable through the mid-90s, though not everyone loves the filter you need to remove and replace each time you fill or unload the washer. That design is good if you have old or problematic plumbing though. In the mid-90s, they ditched the filter and went to larger plastic tubs (or stainless steel on the high-end models) instead of porcelain. These are less reliable than the older ones in my experience, but still reasonably good. The good news is that old top-load washers are all but given away on Craigslist every day. You may find a free one; they rarely go for more than $150 if they're more than 10 years old. Whirlpool and Whirlpool-manufactured Kenmores seem to be the most common, followed by Maytag and GE. Fisher & Paykel not common enough for me to have reliability info. Their machines wash well and have a high spin speed. So basically, old genuine Maytags and Speed Queens probably the best combination of common, cheap,and reliable. Really old Frigidaires are best if you can find one. Whirlpool/Kenmore are reliable but mediocre performers (avoid the newer "Calypso" models that don't have agitator posts - they're lemons). Avoid post-GM Frigidaires (with plastic tubs) or White-Westinghouse. Newer high-efficiency top-loaders without agitator posts made by LG, Samsung, or Whirlpool/Maytag probably still too expensive used, and long-term reliability as yet undetermined, but I'd strongly consider one if I found one for a good price. They have huge capacity and some of them can heat their own water, and they usually have high spin speeds for faster drying. I'm probably forgetting some brands - i'm sure someone will chime in here; there are some seriously knowledgeable old-appliance experts here, and I don't count myself amongst them.

I know several older folks trying to work out a similar scenario. Basically that they have saved enough money to move into their dream home out of the city (mountain home or horse ranch or waterfront small town), but then after many years they realize that there are several issues related to aging (in general): - Seasonal changes are more difficult to handle (as OP mentioned), have to hire folks to plow and shovel snow because it's just become too difficult, spring yard work to keep brush away from home (fire danger) more difficult, more frequent home maintenance (chimney cleaning, repairs, painting, etc) - Tied into this is general home maintenance gets harder, whether seasonal or not. Bigger house needs more effort to clean, bigger yard mean more clipping and mowing and such. The older folks in our neighborhood have to hire services for everything: housekeeping, yard maintenance, pool service, weed/bug/fertilizer service - it amazes me how many service trucks are on my street every day, and we are smaller homes in the city. - Out in the boonies, grocery & shopping may be more expensive and/or a longer drive. (My in-laws have to make a 1-hour trip every other week to spend a day shopping to be able to afford their lifestyle. And that takes good planning. Buying stuff in their small town is a budget-breaker.) - This all alludes to health and accessibility issues that occur as we age. Assistance and health care is further away and more difficult to get and get to (doctors, specialists, excellent ER care). Fortunately, mail-order pharmacy is easy. But getting help, or even a visit from family in case of any long-term health problems will be a hardship for them. How close is a friend or neighbor to come check on you if you are ill? - Transportation is more difficult, especially when one of the couple can no longer drive. There probably isn't a city bus that goes by your ranch, and you'd be extremely lucky if a small town has disabled/elderly transportation service. Those car trips to visit family get harder. You're probably a long way from the nearest airport to go on any long trips or for others to visit you (my in-laws are a 3.5 hour drive from nearest airport, which is a long drive in a rental car after a cross-country flight with a layover). Long trips may be more difficult anyway because you can't leave the house unattended for long periods, and neighbors are too far away to check on it. Horses will keep you stuck in your home, let me tell you. So I completely understand why folks move back into the city. I understand the appeal of a smaller home and smaller yard. Sure, the taxes may be higher, but you get a lot of great services for those taxes that you pay. Conveniences that make your quality of life better. And I understand why folks move into condos here in Florida. Although the condo fees seem high, at least the maintenance and insurance is a shared cost with all the other owners, and that's quite a chunk of change here in hurricane territory. "Settling"? Nah. It's making the right choice for your quality of life and values.

Well my goodness: I didn't know there were two 'Russelliana's. Looking at the photos on HMF I find myself wondering though whether they aren't confused in commerce, because the two varieties sure do look alike in many of their photos. I need to go and study the foliage on mine. I seem to be in the business, on this thread, of shooting down hypotheses. Here's another shot: the true Centifolias, all their various sports and forms, are prickly lanky plants and most definitely not thornless, as I know to my cost from working with them. By the way, in asking about the habit I had the parent plant in mind. I confess I haven't read this thread as carefully as I would need to to make thoroughly responsible contributions, but purplish old roses in my mental files fall into two main categories: the shrubs with some near or remote Gallica blood, generally shrubby; and the rambling purple Multifloras. In the first case smooth canes would lead me toward hybrid Gallicas and Hybrid Perpetuals, as others have suggested; the latter, well, I just said. I would read up on foliage. There may be any number of holes in this reasoning. P.S. I went to look at that purplish Centifolia through the link. I don't know it, and if it's a hybrid it could differ from the basic Centifolia style. I believe, though, that 'Pompon de Bourgogne' is a true Centifolia, that is, prickly.

All I can say is, it is not unusual even in intact families, for the firstborn or first son in particular to be slightly, under-the-table favored. Also, given the age of his first son, he has been around him more often and therefore has bonded more completely, fully with him. I'm not saying that makes it all OK, but something to ponder vs. it just being due to a 2nd family-type situation. However, it also sounds like you and your husband need to decide on joint rules for your household for both of your children. They should not be rules that are so specific and tight that, "No children after age 7 can call dad dada"! But, rules that you both agree on and are both willing to enforce. Thus, you are not left feeling like you have no say in your own household or marriage. It is now four years later, so this advice may be too late, but maybe you did make the best of it anyway, or it may help others in a similar situation.