veilchen: yes in general it is milder here, because of the costal location (We have the sea all around us ...so it takes longer time to get cold here (water takes longer time to cool down than land surfaces) than places with inland climate) and as long the the west wind blows and we have a constant stream of low pressures coming in from west it is mild here 34-45 degrees most of the winter. But every year a high pressure builds up and the bitter cold from east and north comes our way and temps drops below -16F- -10F or more for weeks sometimes months. And then it is certainly a zone 5 here and I choose roses accordingly. Only push the zones in sheltered locations and south facing walls. (Last winter was more like a zone 8 winter ...never seen that before here!!!).I always hope the winter is going to be mild ... At the end of winter in February and march we see very low temps since the ocean has become so much colder ... but yes a zone 5 with inland climate is much colder for longer time than here since the cold are more constant and comes earlier than here where we see great fluctuations. I love Papa Meilland. For me it is the quintessential red rose. Dark red, with a sheen like velvet! And a very, very strong perfume. Perfume Exceptional as Meilland says... It may not be an easy rose to grow (very mildew-prone here) and the plants are very small and barely hardy here. I have a few groups with 3-5 plants in my garden and a row of 12 in my cutting garden so I can cut one of these wonderful red roses many times during the season. There are many better HTs out there that are more disease resistant and hardier than this and looks better as garden plants...but that exceptional strong rose perfume and the velvety petals make forgive the flaws this rose have. And sometimes I am lucky enough to capture the beauty of almost perfect flower like this one... I really do like all classes of roses ... but I prefer roses with a very strong scent. Yes I also like the glowing colors on the Autumn picture. It may not be very sharp and a bit out of focus, but it did not make the impression worse since it captured the essence of Autumn some of the places I go fishing (Another one my hobbies). I sometimes make large prints of some of my pictures and frame them. I have really bought better cameras and lenses and hope you will enjoy some of the results next season. And no I do not Hibernate ... These days I really try to get in better shape so I can handle working harder ... making gardens for my clients (which takes good strength, especially a strong back and stronger shoulders)... I swim, do Pilates and work out with weights and work on better and healthier eating habits. I have lost 45 pounds during the last 15 weeks. I also need to take some courses so I can make some good homepages. One for my garden design business and one about the joy of gardening and roses. And another one about flyfishing and flytying (I am one of the best fly tiers in Northen Europe and have won many awards for my innovative designs). So I certainly do not have time to hibernate. Soon the holidays are coming and I am visiting friends in Chicago and Iowa. Hope to get to meet Foghorn Leghorn and maybe Aliska? Take Care all of my rose friends on this forum. Niels

"Gary, out of sheer curiosity, what wholesale HVAC warehouses did you look into around our area (though I believe you bought it in PA, didn't you?)? Is there one for Trane/American Standard you checked out (do you think you could somehow get equipment from them?)? I think I recall you saying you priced an American Standard system for around $3k and was curious where this was." Ryan: I did indeed get an A/S quote "back in the day" when I first started looking. It was a Heritage 13 3-ton (don't think the air handler was v-s) with 15 kw strip heat for $3600. It was from Northeast Plumbing and Supply. They weren't too happy that I called them for pricing as I am not a pro. I wound up geting a 14 SEER, 12 EER, 9 HSPF Goodman. Copeland scroll, and a full 36,000 btu cooling and 35,000 btu heating. I went with the 3-speed air handler and TXV. Also got a hard-start cap, bypass humifier, filter/drier, sight glass, and condenser mounting pad. Paid $2500 for everything from DESCO, over the MD state line in Hanover PA. I picked everything up from their warehouse with a tow trailer. They provide the 10 year parts warranty. My wife works for a Property Management Company so I paid one of their pros $1200 to install it. 2 guys, 8 hours each. He had to fabricate 2 custom duct pieces for the installation. $3700 total for the new heat pump. So far so good with the Goodman. Take care.

My wife rides doing show jumping, show hunters, field hunters, eventing, equitation, and fox hunting. The hope is that she'll be a talented jumper with good scope and good form and good movement, with a calm, brave, accepting, can-do attitude, and will be suitable for several of the different type of riding my wife does. This is my wife at a field hunters trial about a month ago on her thoroughbred. He has a lot of "go" but not a lot of "whoa" :-)

Oh gosh, I'm so sorry I've not been over here to chat with you two! I came by a couple of times but seemed no one had been here so I didn't post. Belle, so glad you are home. What a blessing you are to your Mom and neice. That raffle was a great idea, I would never have thought to do something like that to help the family with all the expenses. So glad it was successful. Anj, the situation with your back sure doesn't sound good right now. You poor thing having to go through so much pain and your family is always so busy too. Loved that your friend thought of you and brought you those bins of wood cutouts, books and paints! Woo Hoo! I would have been green with envy too, but the most I've done with my books for the last year is look at them, so know I don't NEED more. LOL With that said, I did end up buying myself a late birthday present and got another Renee Mullins book. I haven't even painted the designs from the last one I bought, but I can't resist her cute designs. This one is little signs/banners painted on the Roc Lon that Belle had used. Belle, can you tell me where you bought yours? I googled it and got drapery lining sites and I looked at Hobby Lobby online because I have a gift card and nothing came up. Of course I know these can be painted on wood and other things too, just thought it might be fun to try the Roc Lon. Gosh, all three of us have Cricuts now. We are going to have to share pics of our creations with it sometime too. Belle, I haven't made much this past year, but I did make a few cards and was pleased with them. Still want to do more, although they do take a bit of time. Good way to make smaller things and use up scraps too. What do you use for words? So far I've just used some rubber stamps--but I always hold my breath hoping that I get it on straight and it doesn't smear! LOL I love doing the vinyl lettering on glass and I've made several 2x4 block sayings--those get pretty heavy if you put too many sets in one storage box so be warned! Anj, I bet your kids like using your's don't they? Will really come in handy for some of those school projects too. Belle, I want to go back and relook at some of the items you had made for the boutique. You sure did some cute stuff I remember. Anj, I'm surprised you remembered my little sign. It's still hanging on my side gate outside. Will be a cute design on a can. I can't wait to see all the neat projects you are making for the sale. We are doing pretty good here. February was the one year anniversary of DH's diagnoses. We've come a long way in that year. Was a real learning curve for me in so many ways, but with lots of good helpers and prayers, we are doing pretty good. Sort of settled into a routine, and as soon as I finish the rest of my organizing projects, I'll be ready to do some painting projects. Actually, I'm ready now, been thinking about it and wanting to for awhile, but just haven't gotten started. I do feel proud of my accomplishments though. Got the office/computer room rearranged, cleaned, and put a twin bed in there. I still have boxes of cords and wires in the garage to dispose of and a few more file drawers to sort through, but nearly completed. Then I sorted tools and kept only what I thought I might need and gave away the rest. Let son have first pick, then neighbor's nephew, the guy who helped with the motor home and my contractor neighbor on the corner all took some and I donated the rest. Now I'm doing the golf stuff. Kept DH's most recent bag and a few hats, shoes, golf balls etc. just in case he might ever wonder about them. (very unlikely, but makes me feel better to not get rid of all his toys) Have three of his golfing buddies coming on the 5th to see him and I'll let them take whatever they want then probably donate the remainder to one of the schools that have golf classes. DH had way more than he needed, five golf bags full of clubs, six pairs of shoes, lots of gloves, tees, balls, towels, hats, etc. Just no use in having them sit around unused. Anj, I saw the birthday greeting. Thank you for your kind wishes. This one made me officially Medicare old! LOL Mentally, I can't believe I'm that old--but there are days I feel even older! LOL I'll make sure I get by here more often this next week. Need to see Belle's answer about the Roc Lon fabric for sure. Luvs