I am near you - about 3 hours from Galveston in east Texas. I love my Tess. I have her on a huge fan shaped trellis - she has very healthy foliage and lots of nice blooms. Two of my favorite Austins are Carding Mill and Abe Darby. Wollerton Old Hall, new for me last year, does get really big, don't find the blooms fragrant like Austin says, but they are pretty. Sophy's Rose is a really good one - healthy foliage, lots of big pretty deep pink blooms. Bishop's Castle is good. Lady of Shallot looks to be big. I have quite a few new ones that are healthy and growing - they will do better next year. Great big for me are James Galway and Scepter d'Isle - like them a lot. I have Lady Emma and Munstead Wood planted where they get full sun until 2pm - hope they like it there. I really like Ambridge Rose too. Love the blooms on Jude......mine is very small though. I am getting another Young Lycadis - my chickens were scratching in that bed and killed it. The color is a different, brighter looking pink that I really like. Englands Rose was new for me last year - it started off looking and blooming fantastically.....then it starting dawdling around. Am hoping it will get going again in the spring - it was really nice. I want to try Princess Alexandra of Kent - have heard good things about it. Do any of you all plan to try the new Austins? I want Boscobel, The Lark Ascending.......not sure about the others. caldonbeck, the photos are fabulous! Judith

I agree, Malasian Monarch does hold its colore quite well, but spreads open so the throat really shows up. I received a single fan a couple of years ago, last year I planted it in a really poor spot so moved it in the fall. It has still multiplied pretty well. Others I received at the same time are still a single fan. I don't remember that it bloomed that long last year, but time will tell for me. Elizabeth, Jay is really an odd color to pinpoint. When the first bloom opened I thought it was red, then looked closer & there is a deep pink/purple color to it. Hard to describe. Tinkers describes it as a rose red with burgundy midribs, and I guess that does get it. The flower is a bit larger than I was expecting, & I like it much better than I had expected. I only traded for it because I have a family member named Jay, wasn't impressed that much by its picture I found on the web. Much nicer in person.

hello my name is mary. I only found out about the Annie's Attic doll patterns last week totally by accident when I found this website while I was looking for answers to ?s about the different doll Annies Attic doll collections. Any way I'm trying to find someone that would be willing to email me a copy of the ones they have of the ones that I need and trade with me some that I have that they don't have. To start with I'm looking for the rest of the Ladies of Fashion. There was a lovely lady on this website down loaded the ones she had for me and I'd like to find and get the rest to finish my collection and give her the ones back that she needs if at all possible. The following is a list of the ones in the Ladies of Fashion that I would like to find and get. I have the others and would be willing to share with others. 1. Dolly Madison. 2. Priscilla Hostess Gown, 3. Patricia of Nashville, 4. Renee of Baton Roque 5. Megan's Wedding Gown 6. Eliza Sunday Promenade 7. Rebecca's Party Frock 8. Cariss of Bainbridge 9. Deborah of St. Louis 10. Silva of Sacramento 11.Jasmine of Louisville Nanette of New York 13. Catherine of London 14. Nadine of Albany 15. Julia of Richmond 16. Susanna of Nacogdoches 17. Victoria of Rochester 18. Kimberly of San Francisco There is 27 more that I already have that I can share. Please if anyone can help I'd appreciate it very much. I am disabled and can't work outside the home because no one will hire me with my disability, so this is the only way that I can afford to give my 18month old granddaughter presents as she grows up and get into dolls and such. There are others in these collections that I'm looking to and planning to finish but this is a good place to start. Thank you to anyone out there that is willing to help. Mary.

RIT - loved your selection of EvonA quotes... I think you would enjoy the Fraulein book... (And yes, it's on Project Gutenberg and also Girlebooks - another free book place to read on-line.) I've been struggling trying to find a classic that I can keep with and enjoy... So far, I've tried "The Longest Journey" by E. M. Forster several times but I must admit defeat with that, much as it pains me as I usually like Forster's books. The search continues... I'm also working on improving my writing professionally speaking, so I've picked up a book by Lee Gutkind, the "godfather of creative nonfiction" which is a collection of award-winning nonfiction articles and am trying to be more of a discerning reader to learn how to write such articles. I've been wanting to do some more writing at work, and have read over and over that to learn good writing, one should do good reading. Taking that to heart. :-) And just finished up a short and beautifully produced nonfiction read called "Plain and Simple" by Sue Bender, Bender is an artist and a therapist who went to live side-by-side with a couple of Amish families to learn more about their life and culture. In doing so, she learned more about herself (sort of thing). I first read it about ten years and it really seemed to resonate with me then. This read not so much, but that's the gamble with something you reread. Not a bad read, but not as en pointe as I had taken it earlier. (Different time of life, one supposes.) I'm also reading a non-fiction called "The Secrets of the Middle-Aged Brain" by Barbara Stauch - fascinating science/medical writing. I'll chat more about it when I'm done, but I think some of you may like this. Here is a link that might be useful: What is creative nonfiction?