Peachy, I only had mine for about 4 or 5 years, so I can't speak as to its losing rebloom "as it gets older," as you say. One thing I did learn about its rebloom is that it matters a great deal how you deadhead it. If you cut into the stem below the bloom back too far, it won't rebloom, but if you cut just below the bloom, it does. It is not a fast rebloomer, but I found it to be steady. Test it yourself and see what happens about rebloom. I like this rose a lot and hope it does well for your mom. As it gets larger deadheading becomes quite a chore, though. I trained the canes around a deck painted soft grey and loved the color combination. The petal fall after the spring flush onto the deck was worth the price of the rose and dealing with its thorns. Anyway, for whatever that is worth to you... Gean

ML, I have had no experience whatsoever with subways. I read about them being traditional, but have never seen them in anything but a modern setting in person, unless they were in an actual subway. That may be because I have only ever been in 1950s and newer houses with tile! To me they feel modern and very "in" and overused. I figured they have to go "out" sooner or later! However, I do respect your opinion. I thank you for your insight. I had not thought of whether the 6x6 effect looked MCM or not. The sink definitely has a pre-MCM vibe, as do the med cabinets. I suppose the lights do, too. And the dresser is definitely older. So square tiles came along in the MCM era, huh? Bummer. I avoided 4x4 tiles because that is what my 1978 home already has, I thought that by going bigger, I would avoid the era. Phooey. So I need to do subways to be in a 1940s and earlier vibe? Okay. Is the 4 x 6 you suggested more period than the 3 x 6 that are so easy to find everywhere now? BTW, as time passes, I am more and more inclined to go with the Carrara-looking trim, rather than the black. Then there is a part of me that says that I like color too much and that it is just hanging out on-line that has gotten me loving the Carrara look (because it is so loved on the kitchen forum and bath forum). I also am drooling over a mother-of-pearl tile to use as a listello between two rows of Carrara. Then again, if a beauteous tile becomes available for a great price on Craigslist, all bets are off on color! I am considering heating the floor. It will also help it to dry if it gets wet splash-over from the shower. Things like Carrara-looking tile and heated floors became more of an option when my SSDI came through. The Swanstone ADA floor with the trench drain is so new that I have not found a picture of a real consumer using it. The link below will take you to a PDF that shows the new shower floor and wall system. The shower floor is on the cover, but it does not show the whole shower. I will be getting the New Construction floor because we have to pull up the subfloor due to rot. I will get the 96" walls seen on the right on page 8/9, but in the color "Ice" or "Glacier". "Ice" is shown below, it is the closest they have to Carrara. "Glacier" is just white, but the surface looks like snowflakes, sort of. The shower looks way too skinny, but I keep telling myself that the shower looks skinny because of the drain taking some of the floorspace. It will be the same size as the bathtub, without the bathtub sides getting in the way of my feet. I keep saying that, but it sure looks skinny! That is why the floor outside the shower will be as water-proof as a shower would be. Here is a link that might be useful: Swan Shower PDF see Page 8/9

LL, the circumstances were not good with my now ex-husband and I decided to go back to school and that I may need my family's help, in Michigan. At that time my kids were 8 and 10 years old and I hadn't worked full-time for a while. So, although I hated moving back, it was the best decision I believe so I could get through college. I miss the mountains - we also lived in Colorado for quite a while and that is where my sister moved and still lives, she couldn't take all the gray days. She lives in Boulder and that is beautiful too.

You are all wonderful! So much good advice. Since I have been home sick for the past week (lots of coughing, so don't want to spread it to other teachers!), I have been doing little jobs, spot by spot. I gave DS and his sweetie a set of lovely sheets and some practically new towels, so that freed up some space. I have a pile of older towels to take to our animal shelter tomorrow. I have also started a box to donate to the vets after going through clothes-even threw some out! Added some pots to the box, too. I think I will offer some old evening gowns to the local school's theater department. They took a bunch of stuff we brought from my parents house when we cleaned it out. Mushcreek, cleaning out their house made me want to get ours cleaned out for the same reason you cited. I do not want our son to have to clean out a packed-to-the-gills house either! It really makes it easier to look at what we really use. So much stuff is just extraneous, isn't it?! Anyone need a baked bean pot that Campbell's gave away as a promotion back in the 50s? My elderly neighbor gave it to me several years ago. He was so pleased to give it to me after his wife died. He really thought of it as a treasure. So sweet. It is going out with the donations! So, I am feeling that I can use your suggestions and maybe, over my winter, spring, and summer vacations, I will at least get my stuff sorted, organized, cleared out! Thanks to you all. Hope you had a marvelous Thanksgiving.