Climbing Madame Caroline Testout is simply covered with buds for me right now, with one rose open and gorgeous. I have it planted in an all white garden, its pink being the only note of color. I'll bet it blooms for you in a year or two. Mine took several years to take off for me. If not, think of moving it to the warmest spot of your garden, ideally against a wall. I think roses of that background enjoy heat. I have always wanted Mrs Herbert Stevens but somehow it has never come my way. Oh, I just observed that this is an old thread. Somehow I was not looking at the dates.

For a change some pretty good news! We met today with John's transplant surgeon and he has decided that he will remove John's polyp. Dr Yoshita says he believes there is a 70% chance that John will survive the surgery so he can receive his transplant. Dr Yoshita is going to first get John on the transplant list and then do the surgery, that way, if his recovery does not go as planned and he goes into full liver failure, he can immediately be transplanted when the first liver becomes available. We understand his risks are very high (as in 30% he won't make it) but it is much better than 100% that he will not survive. As for our daughter-in-law, Shawna, she is going to have to have surgery to remove her ovarian tumor but the doctor is pretty confident at this point that it is not cancer based on the tests he performed. We don't have dates yet for either surgery but I am sure it will be soon for both of them. I told them I'm going to put them both in the same room for recovery and let them hassle and whine at each other. Anyway things are looking a little better on our end and I am sure all the prayers are the reason. Kim

That is does Shannon! I've come to feel that you have to do what's right for your own family and accept that not everyone is going to agree or approve of your choices. My son is finishing his program this week - actually he "graduates" tomorrow, so that's good news. To this day I don't know that he was a drug addict or alcoholic like most everyone else in this group - he was more caught up in the social scene of smoking pot and being the cool guy who could get it for others etc. But, through this group he has learned that he did have some addictive type behaviors and if nothing else, one drug can easily lead to another more addictive and dangerous drug. And mostly, he's learned how to talk about his feelings and express what he needs from people vs. just keeping quiet and always being the one who went along with the crowd. In a way, it's been a blessing because at a pivotal age of 18, he had to grow up pretty fast (he got arrested for buying pot), he was exposed to a world of people battling serious addictions and could see that this was not a road he wanted to go down. He could very well have just kept going doing the things he was doing and gotten into more serious things without us even knowing until it was a serious problem and then he would have been like most in this group 35-40 years old - trying to find their way and having lost the last 15-20 years of their life to drugs and alcohol. So, as a parent having lived through this, don't just let things go, and don't worry what people will think about your kid having to go to therapy or rehab or whatever works for them. If it makes them happier, more confidant and keeps them on a positive track in life, it's more than worth the social stigma or whispers or side glances when you or your kid see them at church or at the mall.

I agree its annoying. I also agree that I do love cats, and there are also feral cat colonies here and there. What I haven't seen mentioned is that there are leash laws, and by and large, those laws DO INCLUDE CATS. I know for a fact that my state (Tennessee) does have a statewide leash law and it does include cats. It's probably true as well that most people in TN aren't aware of that fact. I'll go one further and speculate that most people in southern states with a lot of rural area aren't aware their own states probably have the same law. You need to check your state leash law and see if it includes cats first off. Then its not just a matter of "inconveniencing" anyone. Then it becomes a matter of law. Now can you get someone to enforce this? (probably not). I will say however that there are a lot of people out there - specifically cat owners and lovers who let their pets run free and aren't fully aware of the consequences. Feral cats perpetuate FIV and feline leukemia. They can pass this on to the roaming family cat, who in turn can pass it on to her mates at the local groomer or vet. In addition, and trust me, I know this for a fact, there are people out there who go out of their WAY to trap and turn in roaming annoying cats who wander onto their property. When I worked at the shelter, there was one older lady who went out of her way to rent a live-trap monthly and bring in every stray cat she could catch (often baited with tuna). THAT wasn't illegal - but the roaming cat was. By the way, the other day, a contractor doing some work for us told me, "Oh I'm so sorry, but we let your cat out of the garage accidently." My response? "Umm... what cat? we don't have one." Apparently we've had a cat take up residence under our house. Lately sometimes at night, I can hear a good bit of screeching and yowling. I fear for the fellow or gal because I've only recently caught glimpses of him and we have no idea what he's up to in the neighborhood or what he's running into. We don't have feral cat colonies in our residential neighborhood, so I suspect he's someone's roaming pet who has decided he likes our basement garage. I've also seen him slip through the gate of my back yard. That's not a good idea for him since I have Boo and Ginger who roam at will back there (2 large dogs). That is not an end I want to witness.