I've been growing LAMBERT CLOSSE for 4-5 years now, and have somewhat mixed feelings about it. It's a really good re-bloomer--which is nice--when the rest of the garden is taking a rest, I can usually count on LC to give me at least a few blooms. Bloom color is attractive--med. pink/light pink blend. Unfortunately, the bloom can look rather muddled at times--not "shapely" at all most of the time. However, if you put the rose in the background where it is not usually closely examined, the blooms still look quite attractive. So far, I'm having trouble with the overall shape of the bush. Either it is just simply a rather shapeless bush, or I haven't figured out the correct way to prune it in the spring. Right now it is suddenly putting out some rather long canes--maybe 7-8 ft long. Before that it seemed more like a 4-5 ft bush--or maybe my pruning kept it at that height. When I bought it, I did not think it was supposed to be a taller shrub--but maybe I was wrong. It's got good disease resistance and no hardiness problems here in my Zone 6. I have no plans to get rid of my LC, but am glad I moved it towards the back of my property where I most often enjoy it at a distance. Kate

I agree with Cyn, set rules in your own house and enforce them to make your life easier and to let her know you believe she is totally capable of being responsible. Kids will adapt to different guidelines if they are clearly explained and consistently enforced. My children have chores and are expected to be responsible for their school work. Of course under this umbrella there are times when they need help staying focused. Clothes, pets, dishes, wood, bathrooms, and garbage fall into their work load. I work at my children's school and I firmly say every year to my child's' teacher that "their" relationship at school is between them, I will not hover nor will I be running home at lunch if they forget their homework. My colleagues seem to appreciate this even though I do cringe a bit when homework is forgotten but hey- any teacher worth their weight knows responsibility must also be taught. Many of my friends go crazy helping with homework, organizing backpacks, studying etc.and then complain because their kids won't do it or can't do it without them...HELLO, of course not! Chores too, can take a back seat for many families because it does take a lot of energy for parents to enforce them in the beginning. My own opinion is they don't want to deal with the hassle, but surprisingly once kids know there is no way around it the grumbling is minimal. Perhaps being with Elementary students everyday slants my perspective Mona, but from what I see, very few parents hold their children responsible for anything from homework to their behaviors,it is a great disservice.

The evaporator coil didn't necessarily have to be replaced with the furnace - maybe they wanted to make it easier for themselves (at your expense) to have a coil mount flush on top of the new furnace. You'll want to replace the evaporator coil with one designed for R-410A refrigerant and one that is an acceptable match to whichever brand equipment you chose to have installed. Carrier makes good equipment, and most brands are comparable these days. So you could have a Carrier coil over the furnace - the furnace is just responsible for moving adequate airflow over the coil (which should be adjusted when the new a/c is installed). Your C26-41 Lennox coil indicates a 3 ton nominal capacity rating, so I'm guessing that may be the size of your outdoor unit. Yes, 100k and 3 tons sounds like quite a bit for the space you're trying to heat and cool.

I do have a lot of thoughts about this, probably because both my kids walked away from their main activities that they poured years of their lives into (and thousands of our dollars). My kids both had very good reasons, and I understood, but still it was hard to watch. So off the top of my head, and perhaps I'm wrong, here's what I think. I'm just somewhat concerned with his decision because this kid lives and breathes football! I have never pushed him into doing any sport, but he has a natural aptitude for FB and I'd be sad to see him walk away from it and regret it later. On the one hand, yes it sounds like he has an aptitude for football, and it's been his passion for years. On the other hand, He's a decent, solid player, great on the line, but definately not the "star" player due to him not putting 100% in most things he does. He definately has the abilities. Sounds like football's not the passion it used to be. I've seen many kids at the point where it sounds like your son is, not just in sports but in music, academics, etc. There comes a time for many kids where it's just plain gut check, hard work time. If they want to up their playing level to run with the big boys, they have to up their work ethic. I've seen many kids drop out of their main activity around this age, because they just don't want to put 100% into the activity. I think that's a valid choice - it's one I hated to see my own kids make, but it was a reasonable choice. Your son may have lots of reasons for quitting rolling around in his head. The issue of moving may definitely be a factor - is he moving to a more competitive district where it would be harder to start? If his passion for football is starting to slip, perhaps he is looking ahead to when he has a job and less free time. There's that old joke about boys this age - it's the age when the "fumes" get to them - you know, the per"fume" and the gas "fumes". Driving and dating, jobs and girlfriends start to take over their lives. My husband always encouraged Boy Scouts to get their Eagle before the "fumes" hit. Unless you think the teasing is just way out of line, I wouldn't worry about that. In my experience that's just the way of boys, particularly boys in sports. They're very competitive, and yes they're going to rag on a boy who they know is not giving 100%. Your son has probably been seeing that kind of teasing for years, and may have even dished some out himself. It sounds to me like the bottom line is that your son could lay it all on the line, give 100%, work hard and have a shot at the varsity. He's not doing that. Either he's afraid to try and fail, or he doesn't want to work that hard. Either way, it's something he'll have to decide for himself. My husband is a big fan of pushing kids to give 100% and stick with something they're good at. I'm not. My opinion is this with my kids - as long as your grades are good and you're responsible, doing your chores and doing what you should do, then your free time is your own as long as you're doing something "good". I think these young years are golden times for kids to explore their passions and try new things - now before they have full time jobs and families to take care of. The only thing is that if my son was in your son's position, I'd hate to see him quit football because of the moving aspect. If your son is moving to a new school district where he doesn't know anybody, it would be good for him to step into a sport. He'd have a niche and a good way to meet people and make new friends quickly. But then again, keep in mind my son went to a high school with between 3 and 4 thousand kids. Finding a niche in a big school like that is important - it helps keep kids from getting lost in the crowd. If your son is moving to a small school, that may not be as important. I know you must hate to see your son quit the activity he's worked so hard on, particularly now when these next 2 years "should" be his glory time. The best you can do is to do what you're probably already doing - emphasize that exercise and fitness are lifetime goals, and when you quit one form of exercise you need to take up another. Help your son look for lifetime fitness hobbies - biking, swimming, running, weight-lifting, tennis, etc. Make sure he's substituting healthy activities for his football time. Make sure he's not quitting because of hazing, or some other bad reason. The only other thing I'd keep in mind is this - my kids distanced themselves from activities and people that I was very surprised to see them avoid. Years later I found it was because those kids were getting drunk, or doing drugs, or acting cruel to other people, or the culture that group was fostering was arrogant and rude. I wish you and your family the best, particularly your son. I moved out of state my junior year of high school and it was tough. It wound up being wonderful for me in the long run (I would never have met my husband if we hadn't moved), but it was sure hard to do. I hope your son makes wonderful new friends when he moves, and I hope you love it there, too.