I am so happy someone asked this, as I also LOVE yellow roses and since I am very new at growing roses in general I am always looking for new suggestions for yellows. I have both Shockwave and Julia Child, and it is extremely hard to choose between them. To me it honestly depends on which is more important to you, vividness of yellow, or scent. The color on Shockwave is an amazingly vivid Crayola-yellow, the color doesn't fade until right before the flower blows, they last surprisingly long on the bush, and it seems to produce buds continually. They aren't the most fragrant yellow, there is a pleasant mild fragrance that I definitely enjoy, but Julia has it beat on the fragrance side of things. Shockwave also seems to have more of a hybrid tea habit, it is much taller and skinnier than my Julia (but she's still young yet) Julia is my newest rose and hasn't really had the chance to show me what she can do in terms of volume of blooms, but the few she has had so far have been very lovely, they are a much richer butter- yellow color, fading to soft yellow and eventually to white as the flowers age. So far the flowers seem to last a little longer on shockwave, but I think it's too early yet to really tell. My Julia has a decently strong licorice fragrance that I have heard will only get stronger as the plant ages. I can't wait to see her in full bloom, about 12 buds popped up out of nowhere in the last day or so, and she has only been in the ground for about 2 weeks! That HAS to be a good sign :) I have a midas touch HT that is growing up from a bare root I planted this spring, it seems to be growing fairly slowly, but that is probably my own fault because I had to move it from the original planting location (shame on me for my incredible indecisiveness) It seems to be finally putting on some more growth, hopefully it will continue to do well, I will update as it comes along. One more thing, my least favorite yellow award has to go to Happy Go Lucky, although the blooms are beautiful, and the foliage is a lovely bright glossy lime green, the flowers both loose color very quickly and don't last long on the bush at all. When it blooms only the inner half of the rose is truly yellow, it starts turning white from the edges in before the flower is even halfway open. It does flower fairly continually, so I will probably keep it around for a while, but it certainly isn't my favorite. I took a chance on this one, it was a new rose from Weeks this past year (I think) and I couldn't find any reviews on it anywhere, and I bought it on a whim. It was described as being a rich non-fading yellow, but certainly does not live up to that in my garden. Oh well, maybe she will get better with age. I think if I really HAD to choose, I would probably go with shockwave, purely because I LOVE that bright lemon yellow, it just puts a smile on my face. BUT, I am super glad I don't really have to make that decision, because I'd much rather have BOTH. I don't know if I really helped with your decision at all, but I hope so! I'm sure you will fall in love with whatever you end up with! Jessica.

It's a simply wonderful Windsor child's rug cutter rocker....really terrific! Hard to tell the age...because they have been making them like that since colonial times and have continued. You can buy a wonderful new hand made chair just like that today....but it'll cost you!!! Notice the wonderful shaped seat! The bamboo style turnings, the saucy rake to the legs, and the rug cutter style rockers. It's great! Linda C

I was abused by an obviously narcissistic father who had drug and alcohol problems and obviously highly favored my younger brother over me. I had watched my mother be abused many times in front of me. My father came home drunk or high almost every night and would beat my mother and I, but never laid a hand on my brother. We were only 2 years and 10 months apart and my mom only had my brother because, she thought it would make it easier if my father got the boy he had always wanted. I was an unplanned child born out of wedlock off of a drunk one-night stand at a college party during my mother's last year of college my mother was only 22 while pregnant with me and had me 2 hours before her 23 birthday. I was her first child and she had no clue what she was doing, but loved me anyway. My father however made no effort to be there while I was born and instead went out with his friends and called my mom a whore and a worthless slut the whole time. Telling all his friends he now had a slutty daughter to take care of too. That night he got arrested based off of 2 charges with a DUI and he was involved in a bar-fight. My mother had to leave her newborn baby who was born sick in the hospital to go bail him out. Then they got married to please his parents who were christian and she thought the abuse might get a little better, but sadly that wasn't the case at all. When I was 3 he started blaming everything on me. Like his drug and alcohol addiction, marrying my mom, his parents being mad at him, his arrests, everything was somehow my or my mothers fault. He used to hit, kick, slap, punch, burn me with cigarettes, throw things at me, and lock me in the closet for hours at a time. My mother moved us into her room and kept a knife under her pillow. Eventually we moved in with my grandparents who also had my aunt and uncle living with them too. Even here my brother and I never slept alone. We kept our windows and doors locked tightly, we had knives under the pillows, in drawers, under the couches, in the bathrooms, everywhere, and my uncle who had a gun license kept a gun either on him or near him at all times. My grandparents are very wealthy people as they own multiple companies and we had moved out when I was 4 and lived there until I was 7 when my mother finally gained full custody of us. My grandparents fired my father who had been working for them and we were able to move back home. While we were still living with my grandparents my mother had started going out with my uncles best friend. My mother had known him for almost her whole life and trusted him. He moved in and gained love from my brother and I slowly, but surely. My mother still loved me very much, but had started favoring my brother not as much as my father, but enough so it was noticeable. My mothers new boyfriend also preferred my brother to me. I was very hurt and couldn't understand then, but now I do. I realized that no matter how much she tried she couldn't get over the fact that I had caused all of this. Everything was fine for about 2 years then my 3rd grade year when I was 8 it all changed dramatically. My now step-father proposed, they got married, we moved to a new house, they started talking about having a child together, and then the worst of it came my father came back and tried to get visiting rights to my brother and I he was deemed fit in court as he had being seeing a psychologist and had a job, but still drank and smoked he no longer did drugs either. We were forced to go kicking and screaming all the way there was still mental abuse but no longer physical. He was dating a woman who could not have children of her own and clearly wanted to take our mothers place, but we wouldn't let her and she would get angry and leave for weeks at a time which my father blamed us for even though we were only there every other weekend. He even confessed that the only reason he wanted us was to stay with this wealthy woman and her parents. She knew I was a tomboy loving sports and I hated dresses and loved hanging out with the boys, but she forced my brother and I to fit her picture perfect American family mold that she had become obsessed with. They got married 3 years later on New Years Eve during my 6th grade year. In the summer of 4th grade my mother and step-father announced that they were having a child. A baby boy to be exact and my brother and I started to lose more and more attention as if we didn't exist anymore. Then they had another child a 2 and a half years later. Another boy and my parents started to forget about me and even my once favored brother ceased to exist. It's still like this. I love my mother with everything I have and I know she loves me. I adore all 3 of my brothers who are protective of all hell even though they might be younger. And I love my step-father very much as well, but can't help,but think he likes his own boys better still. Thank you for listening venting helps me and have a great day/night!

Well, grieving is natural so you are going to do it. I know since my mom died, I never feel as happy as I did before, even when I am doing something where I should be enjoying myself. I'm not a Negative Nellie though, that isn't considerate of others around me, but I am way more subdued than I was when I had not lost so much and so many. My mom had a joie de vive and died rather tragically so the irony of it hurts. Some people walk around acting half dead, but when those who are so full of life die, it just doesn't make sense to the brain. My strategy is to keep busy and keep involved with helping others. I can't bring back the dead, I can only busy myself making life less miserable for the living, which is what I try to do. Those who have lost loved ones will appreciate your company and memories. Service really helps me heal. In particular, I often dedicate my service and charity donations to those I have known and love who have passed.