Aimeekitty, Congratulations on selecting the GW Rose Forum for help with your self-discipline issues. You can always count on us for help. It is just part of our nature to help new members make wise choices which ensure that the proper number of roses are squeezed into every available space. I will summarize the helpful posts above: 1. There are thousands of Teas, Chinas, Polyanthas and Noisettes that will thrive in your area. 2. There are thousands of appropriate roses that you don't have yet. 3. You do not need a lawn. 4. You don't even have a pot ghetto. 5. You don't need fancy clothes or even food. 6. Buying new plants is a great way to cope with stress. With this kind of help, I'm sure you will be able exercise the appropriate level of restraint.

Karia, I would second motion of possibly canceling your order- those are not rare plants you ordered and their deal is not "a deal" Waiting for clearance sale at Bluestone perennials last weekend of May will get you much better selection at similar prices which sends very healthy plants and stands behind 100% on all their seedlings. RE: plant swap that my neighbor and I host in Skokie does not have any special rules as it is open for all kinds of gardeners- "newbies" who only starting and "oldies" who has plants coming out of their ears ;) in a couple of weeks I will post info on Winter Sowing forum about what I have to offer and other people who coming will join in- this way people can prearrange their exchanges as many of gardeners might have plenty of something but do not want to go into trouble of digging it up if there is not much interest in it. All based on being fair basis there is no rule one plant for another plant of same size etc,. Newbies, who very new and have no plants to share might want to bring a plate of cookies or give couple $$ donation to the cause if they feel like "they can't come empty handed" we also have separate table for anything garden related- old magazines, pots, tools, etc. people bring divisions, seedlings, cuttings, veggies, perennials and annuals. Usually we have crowd about 50 people or so. Preference is for plants to be clearly labeled and possibly potted few days earlier so they have time to adjust to transplant shock but sometimes things happen. I could recognize majority of plants even if they not labeled. ;)

A few years ago we purchased some "Schoolhouse" chairs from Pottery Barn. Two arm chairs and six side chairs. The printed catalog and the web site both stated very clearly that the chairs are made in Italy. On the web site there was even a video of the man who makes most of them; with scenes of his woodshop, etc. So, since I'm Italian, I thought it was really neat that we'd be getting some chairs that we like from a country that I love. Imagine our surprise when the chairs were delivered, to see Made in Vietnam on the boxes. The web site and catalog were still saying all of the Schoolhouse chairs are made in Italy. We've never even opened the boxes. For all I know, furniture made in Vietman could be really high quality. But Pottery Barn committed a violation of California Civil Code Section 1770. We're still in conflict with Pottery Barn's legal office. But hubs is an attorney, so we can wait it out. We won't pay for the chairs until we get what we ordered -- chairs made in Italy. And Pottery Barn no longer sells the Schoolhouse chairs. As for products that are made in the USA: Men's shoes -- Allen Edmonds. Made in Wisconsin for 90 years. Men's suits -- Hart Schaffner Marx (since 1887, I think); as well as Hickey Freeman (not sure of their date of origin).

Thanks so much for all the responses! Here's my specific situation: I'm the bride-to-be. Fiance and I live on west coast, immediate family lives on east coast, extended family lives all over the country. In a perfect world, we would have a ceremony immediately followed by a reception with all of our close friends and relatives. The logistics of distance, young children, elderly parents, expense of travel, etc, are going to make this nearly impossible, so we've decided on what's really important to us. Fiance and I are thinking of a very small ceremony on the east coast with my parents, his mother, and our brothers, sisters and children. Maybe 20 people at the most. To us, these are the people we most want to share this occasion with, and it's more practical to have the ceremony take place where everyone else lives than to expect everyone to travel out west to our home. Then within a month or so of the wedding, when we're back home, we'd like to have a party with our close circle of friends, simply to mark the occasion and share our happiness with them. We wouldn't expect our east coast parents, brothers or sisters to attend, although they'd certainly be welcome to. I like the rituals of the reception (toast, dinner, dancing, cake, etc) but feel a little awkward having all the rituals at the west coast party without having had the actual wedding ceremony there. But a big party at our home sounds like fun, with perhaps the only wedding ritual a formal wedding cake baked by a friend who's an expert pastry chef. And perhaps some toasts by friends who have been asked ahead of time. In our case my soon-to-be-hubby & I would be hosting the west coast party. No family (except my teenage sons) would likely be attending, although all east coast relatives would certainly be invited. So it sounds like just throwing a regular party, with the general knowledge that we'd just gotten married, is the way to go. On the one hand I like the idea of having the party invitations omit references to the recent marriage because my preference is for no gifts. On the other hand, I feel it's awkward to throw a big party and include some of the reception rituals (well, the gorgeous cake anyway) without letting people know ahead of time that we're celebrating our wedding. A related question: since the wedding will be very small and won't include extended family, and since the extended family won't be invited to the west coast party (they don't live nearby), is it proper to send out wedding announcements to extended family? Alternatively, is it proper to not send out announcements to anyone not at the ceremony or the party, and assume that extended family will hear of our wedding by word of mouth, annual Christmas letters, etc?