Greenhaven, in the Pacific North We(s)t, rain is a fact of life, and with it, comes Botrytis cinerea. You are right, some roses, are more susceptible. So, the rose umbrellas gives a degree of protection. But more importantly, for those of use who enter roses in shows, it's one more step to get those perfect blemish free petals the judges are looking for. I also use a lot of discarded styrofoam packing boards for the same purpose. We don't have JB's here, thank goodness, but I guess if you can find a way of sealing off the bottom, it probably will keep those out too. Blackspot? Yes, it does give the upper most leaves from some protection, unless the rain comes with winds. But I think the best part was the ice cream cake, on a hot late June day.

Thank you all so much for the kind words! For those of you who thought Jammer and I were already married....well, we were in heart. Now we are just doing the legal stuff. I have felt guilty ever since I made this post because I felt I didn't say enough about Tatum. It's just so hard to say how much she meant to all of us and how much we miss her. I have told stories here about her. She kind of reminded me of Marley in the book Marley and Me. She was soooo hyper and soooo big! She broke two of my toes on two different occasions just because she was running around me and I was barefooted. I quickly learned to always have something on my feet when around her! And when I took her on the leash, LOL, was like seeing a cartoon. Tatum trying to run and me being dragged behind! We didn't even use a typical leash, we used a horse lead rope. LOL She loved socks and we had to make sure none were laying around if she was in the room. One time she grabbed a thin black sock and then making sure she was just beyond my reach, she stared deep into my eyes and proceeded to swallow the sock. I could tell she felt so satisfied to do that. Anyway, she has left a big hole in our lives, but we have some great memories. As far as the wedding plans....we are getting married tomorrow in our church. Just Jammer, me and the preacher. I am still not feeling well and don't feel like being around people.

I see you have curry -- this is an adaptation of a Bon Appetit recipe. I have made it with chicken, pork (can't remember if it was a leftover cooked or uncooked pork loin). I think you could also use one or more beans for the protein and it would be yummy (black and garbanzo come to mind for some reason, but use what you like). I have pumpkin puree in the freezer but first made this with canned. Butternut squash comes prepped if that is easier for you -- or prep enough for several meals and have it already done. Pumpkin Shrimp (or whatever) Curry 2 tablespoons olive oil 1 cup sliced onion 1 tablespoon minced ginger 1 tablespoon minced garlic 1 plum tomato, chopped 1 15-ounce can pumpkin purée 2 cups vegetable broth 1 cup unsweetened coconut milk 1 1/2 teaspoons curry powder 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper 1 cup butternut squash, roasted and diced 1 zucchini, sliced (or baby zukes if available) 1/2 cup or more green peas (fresh or frozen) 1 pound shrimp, peeled and deveined 1 1/2 teaspoons fresh lime juice Steamed rice Cilantro Lime zest Heat olive oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add onion and ginger; sauté until soft, about 8 minutes. Add garlic; cook for 1 minute. Stir in plum tomato and pumpkin purée; cook, stirring frequently, until pumpkin is golden brown, about 10 minutes. Add vegetable broth, coconut milk, curry powder, and cayenne pepper; simmer for 20 minutes. Add butternut squash, zucchini, peas, shrimp, and lime juice. Simmer until shrimp are cooked and squash is warm. Serve with steamed rice. Top with cilantro and lime zest. Another good idea is to make a batch of marinara sauce and freeze portions you can put over pasta, something simple like stuffed zucchini (we're having it tonight), use it for pizza sauce. Meals in the freezer are a great way to maximize the benefit of your time in the kitchen and control cost. Even if you don't want to have the same meal over and over, roasting a whole chicken gives you a hot meal plus cooked meat that is ready when are. Veggies like pumpkin, butternut and other winter squashes are so nice to have on hand already prepped and they freeze well -- cooked or raw. When we had our kitchen redone, I cooked ground beef and froze it in ziploc bags. I seasoned some for tacos or taco salad and made sloppy joes with some. I had some cooked chicken and turkey. For me it was a good way to lessen the icky dishes I had to wash in the bathtub, but the same idea can make your time easier to manage with whatever proteins you use. Salads are a great way to eat this time of year -- some sliced meat, fish or chicken (a great way to use leftovers), beans or cheese with lettuce that's ready to go plus fruit or fresh veggies or not. Also things like a bean salad, pasta salad (can include beans, tuna or chicken), corn salad or other marinated salad. Most of those will make a nice lunch or casual supper -- but they don't freeze well, so you need to learn to make them with leftovers, what's on hand or other ways to keep the scale down. I tasted a bean salad at Trader Joe's today that was just 3 cans of different beans, a container of their prepared chopped veggies (broccoli, cabbage, red cabbage, carrots, radishes and celery in about 1/2 inch dice - easy enough to do yourself) and a bottle of Tuscan Italian Dressing. That and a Southwest Bean salad (made with salsa and lemon or lime juice for the dressing) are things I could eat a bowl of for a meal. If those appeal, let me know and I'll look up the recipes. Sandwiches and breakfast for dinner are usually both economical and on the quicker side. Also -- baked poatatoes, white or sweet. Athenian Stuffed Potatoes 4 8oz baking potatoes 1 6 oz jar marinated artichoke hearts 2 tsp olive oil 1 onion, diced 1 green bell pepper, diced 1 red bell pepper, diced (I've used mixed reed,yellow and orange too) 1 tomato, diced 2 garlic cloves, minced 1 c (4 oz) crumbled feta cheese 2 T minced kalamata olives 1 tsp dried oregano The recipe says to foil wrap and bake the potatoes at 375 for an hour, but knowing that you don't want a long hot bake, I will tell you that we have always cooked the potatoes in the micro and move on. Drain the artichoke hearts, reserving the liquid. Chop artichokes. Heat oil in nonstick skillet over medium high heat. Add onions, peppers, tomato and garli. Saute about 8 min. Add artichokes, 1 T of the reserved marinade, cheese, olives and oregano. Saute 1 minute more or until thoroughly heated. Slit the cooked potatoes, fluff with fork and scoop 1 cup vegetable mixture into cavity. If you have leftover filling and don't want another potato, the filling is great tossed with pasta and grilled chicken or sausage -- though not vegetarian. I had a large group to feed this spring and doubled the filling, added a can of petite diced tomatoes, tossed it with pasta and served it with sliced grilled chicken and sausage on the side so we had a vegetarian and a non-chicken option. I liked all three variations. Hope that helps.

I have lived with both a hoarder and an OC cleaner. My mom is obsessive about cleaning. My folks' house is like a museum. I have seen her take the plate out from under my son's fork while he is still eating. There is not a newspaper out of place or a spec of dust in their house - EVER. It is exhausting for me to visit for the weekend. You just can't relax at their house and it is a house, not a home. My mom worked FT while raising 2 kids in this environment. My exhusband is a hoarder - not jus messy but a true OCD hoarder like you'd see on tv. I lived with that for 23 years. I will take OCD clean over OCD hoarding any day! Bottom line is - both are uncomfortable to live with. I have a little more than a healthy amount of clutter right now and am working steadily to reduce it. I have gotten rid of 100s of pounds of clutter since DH moved out. I will never attain the level of spotlessness of my mom but that's ok. I do dream of the day my kids are grown and off on their own and I can move to a teeny tiny house and own almost nothing. Other people dream of retiring to FL in style. I dream of retiring to the mountains to live in a Spartin cabin!