Hi Phyl, With over 300 rosebushes (and growing) I don't limit myself to just the old roses, rugosas, Explorers, etc...although I do appreciate them for their ease of care. I grow many, many roses that should not be hardy here in zone 4 and yes, I do have to cut them back all the way to the ground every spring. They always rally and put forth new growth and I am content with plants that will never exceed 2 to 3 feet at the end of the summer. I just enjoy them for their lovely blooms and expect no more than that, always happy that they come back each year in spite of my nasty winters. The upside to these more tender roses is that since they will never get large, I can plant MORE of them since they aren't going to use up my precious rose real estate like the hardy ones which get huge. This winter we had record snowfall and I thought that would be a good thing, since the roses would be more insulated. It was good in terms of them not having much winterkill from the cold, but the weight of the snow busted them up so much that I ended up cutting even the hardy roses back severely because there was so much breakage. It was heartbreaking because even the tender roses came through with more green cane than usual. But already they are sending up shoots and looking vigorous. I never let it discourage me for too long, because giving them their annual "haircut" stimulates them to grow and bloom just fine. Its discouraging at times to live where there are so many obstacles to rose-growing (japanese beetles being my most dreaded foe) but my passion for roses is a greater force than anything Nature throws at me. I just deal with it, and love them all the more! Celeste

Last year my sister gave me one of those chopper thingies from PC. She swears by it, but I have yet to try it. I like using a knife too much! This year she gave me a bottle/jar opener. I suppose I'll try it if and when I come across something I can't open by hand. That hasn't happened in a while though. As for the garlic press, I have the OXO. I really like the fixed cleaner, but aside from that I'm not too impressed. A lot squeezes out the sides. One of these days I'll buy a Zyliss which has gotten CI's top vote for years. Generally I like OXO. I have a friend who used to have "parties" for a different company. Until she realized her friends, neighbors and fellow parishoners were avoiding eye contact with her for fear of being asked to go to another party.

If you buy the pizza pan, make sure it is stainless steel instead of aluminum, as aluminum can melt on wood/charcoal grill. If you are using a gas grill, you will not get a smoky flavor - unless you are adding wood chips - and so there would be no point. I use a pizza stone on my charcoal grill, and I still get a smoky flavor, and so I do not think the holes in the bottom are really necessary for the smoke to flavor the pizza. They might help, but they are not needed for flavor. However, all of my pizza pans have holes in them, and so there may be another function to them. I used to have five pans, but now I have four... I've never seen a Pampered Chef store, and so maybe they are only in the East. Lars

Hi all, I have 9 Pampers Perks points that I'm not going to use if anyone needs them (I know it's not a lot, but if you're close to a prize it may help!) Email me at brisbydog@yahoo.com and I can send them to you. Pam