I agree with several other posts that my Heirloom bands have taken off and at least equal other bands, and even hold their own against the gallons. They've been nicely rooted with pretty substantial canes. I used to have to add a year to the growth expectations of Heirloom bands vs. any other company, but they're big enough to plant directly in the ground as any other rose, at least for me. Seil - I don't know how they'd grow in pots, but it might be worth a try if they have something you particularly want. Sandandsun - I expect they do ship in the fall as I recall sales all last fall (nice 10% and 20% off roses in their collections), but I don't know for sure since that would be the kiss of death in cold zones. You lost me on the question about the back 40 - do you mean photos of my yard? If so, there are some from last year I posted that are still current, and for this year the spring flush is still a good 2-3 weeks away from hitting its stride. Let me know if I'm missing something (not an uncommon occurrence of course!) Cynthia

I suppose I could have thanked Bob for his attempt to cheat me, I wasn't feeling very charitable at the time though. I do feel sorry for the guy, but he has no idea how to judge risk, my electric air handler is the least of my worries. As you say, kitchens are much more dangerous and as I mentioned, cars are deadly. Why someone would try to stop DIY work on HVAC when 25000 people are killed in cars each year is beyond me. You are welcome, I don't recall the lecture but if it helped you then I am glad of it. Can you tell me what you meant to say in this post? 8 is the most you have sent to the hospital, were you the installer, the paramedic, the police chief? Why are you sending anyone to the hospital, I never have. Am I to assume that this was a kitchen installed by a DIYer? Odds are it was a professional job and it was dangerous, are you arguing that professionals are not competent to install kitchens? I am not getting the point of this post. I'm am also not getting why you and Bob keep talking about poison and explosions when I am talking about an all electric air handler, where do you suppose the CO is going to come from? And what part of the electric coils are going to explode? I can not answer the question of what you know. You might know quite a bit, you might not, there is no way for me to tell. If you know quite a bit then you might find it uplifting to share the knowledge. I was really surprised at the outpouring of negativity that I found on this forum, I think some people feel threatened by DIYers. The DIYers of this world pose little danger to the jobs of the competent professional HVAC technicians. I would be willing to bet that many pros started out as DIYers on something, probably their cars, enjoyed it and found a profession that valued that kind of problem solving ability. Anyway thank you for your concern, I will install a few CO detectors. And thank you for your permission to continue with my DIY projects. As I write this I am listening to the gentle hum of my air handler and enjoying the soft currents of warm air moving through my house. No doubt I will be dead by dawn tomorrow, but I will enjoy my warm fool's paradise while I live.

I popped in to tell you that I have Brookhaven and am very happy with them We came down to Brookhaven of Medallion and decided we really wanted the frameless (Brookhaven has both, Medallion has only framed) and we were more comfortable with the people at that dealer. We looked at Dynnasty and Omega but never got a quote from that ddealer -- never even returned out calls, actually. We didn't get very far with exploring that option. Fomr what I remember of the displays, they were nice, but I think Medallion and Brookhaven have the nicest finishing among the semi-custom lines. Now, that said, if you think you are happy with your kitchen, I would not go looking at new cabinets and ripping out the current one. I knew I hated mine and the process still stunk. I wouldn't go through it unless I knew it had a HUGE payoff. Make sure that some simple updating won't do just as much for your need to make new before you take a bigger leap. If it ain't broke, don't fix it.

Aww thanks for the wishes! This is really a special group of people who became friends. My DD asked my today if she thought we would ever all meet and I told her that I thought we all probably would. We seem to be that type of group. What fun we would have! The town would not be same! NOW...DeeMarie's gifts were WONDERFUL and perfect! The first gift I opened was a BEAUTIFUL scarf that looks great with my black jacket. I wore it today. The next gift was a small red purse. I LOVE IT! Once again, DeeMarie you were right on. I would have picked out something like this for myself. The last gift I opened was two books about ITALY! Now I really need to go and visit. The photographs were gorgeous. Thank you DeeMaire...your gifts were great. I had a great birthday as I am entering my last year of the 40's. I was able to have all my children with me today. My DS came in from CA and my other DS came home from school and ofcourse DD was here too. I have not had all of my kids with me since I moved to Chicago. It was truely a memorable birthday. The SO is planning on buying me a brithday gift that will cover this birthday and next. We have been looking at very sparkley things...Has anyone ever been a Movado store?? They are well known for their watches but OH MY GOSH they have the most beautiful jewelry too. I really like jewelry that you don't see in every jewelry store. I like white gold or platinum and they have 18kt white gold. I was drooling..so we shall see what happens. So thank you again for your birthday wishes and words...BJ you have a way with words...thank you! Catch you all later and thank you! Gretchen