Chelone, you can slam things around. That is what I do when I am having a crabby day. It must be something going around. I got up this morning just plain angry! And I don't recall having a bad dream that brought on the anger either. Saucy, I sure know what you mean about "getting the furniture presentable" before taking pics of anything. I have an additional problem....most of it is so surrounded by other items that I cannot get a clear view to take pics. I have several pices of furnishing I would like to add to that thread, if it were not for the above drawbacks. It will be fun hearing the name of the new member of Marie's family. One of the couples in our congregation have a very large family, and new great grandbabys arriving frequently. The latest is a boy, and I cannot remember the unusual name that the poor child will be living with. I am seeing a nickname in his future. Oh my! Mary, what a bummer. My sister is prone to having Strep throat almost with every cold. I do not recall ever being diagnosed with it, although it used to be thought a forerunner of Rheumatic Fever, and I 'was' diagnosed with that. Sister was not, so who knows? Thank goodness there are great antibiotics now that nip it in the bud. I hope you are already feeling better. I hope Scarlet Fever is not going around. Our Tim was telling me about a bout that he had with a "blazing red face", etc., just a week or so ago. LOL, V ! An Agave preparing to devour you! It does look rather menacing. :-) Ah, taxes...that is one perk of being in the financial condition that we are in. Filing a tax report has been a thing of the past for many years now. I certainly do not miss attempting to make out Nolon's self employment taxes. I would literally get sick every year that I did it. He was very bad at not keeping good records of any of his work and income. I always feared we would be audited and I would be hard put to come up with proof. I was very careful to err on underestimating our deductions and depreciations. After putting out extra bucks (only once) to pay for the filing, a good friend (my former employer) taught me how to do it myself. Julie, my mom was the neatness freak. If she saw us so much as to pick a piece of link off our clothing and drop it on the floor she would admonish us to " Pick that up and put it in the coal bucket"! Her house was never dust and debris covered like mine has become. :-( Part of mine is the hair clusters (like Chelone frequently speaks about). :-) And then there is all the residue from the wood stove, not to mention plant debris, and tracked in stuff from both of our shoes. I must sign off and tote in the firewood for the day, before getting ready for my Tuesday's trip to town. Marian

Sherry, I have always enjoyed your posts even though I don't respond too much anymore. We had two horrid summers in a row, and my only goal has been to keep my roses alive. I am quiet in a way, yet I have no problem teaching in a large high school. I simply need to have a common ground with people. Our rose society meets at 1:00 or 2:00 on a Sunday afternoon. There are so many older people who have trouble driving at night that this is the best time for them. That time slot is when I am deep into gardening. The member in our rose society are very friendly, and interested in anyone who attends, but they do not grow the roses that I love. Their guest speakers are experts in spraying, exhibiting, propogating, etc. A leader in the society knows about old roses, but promotes more modern ones. I am automatically an outcast. I have even suggested that we form an organization within an organization for those who grow older roses, and do not care to spray. The subject meets a friendly nod --- period. I love it here. This forum is so large, but has such a great collection of rose lovers. Even if we have disagreements, we know how to back off, and still remain involved in what is important. I really appreciate your contribution and that of everyone else. I have belonged here for many many years, and just love it. I do hope that this year I will be able to grow roses instead of just saving them. Sammy

John, I had a pretty good year here. French Canadian is on her third flush with another to come if the temps hold. I think it is just that way some years, I had one like that a couple of years ago with no rhyme or reason. I figure they should be allowed the odd 'off' one. :) I say this for any and all zones.... improve your soil and plant them directly into the ground so you do not have to fertilize or water so much. A good root system will give you a good plant and good flowers. I fertilized mine for only the second( and last) time this year the last week in August. That is really my only 2 'secrets'.

Shirley- thanks for the information-I traded for six years on a few sites but none of those names seems familiar. I took some time off, [ still planting of course] but didn't do any trades, except with family and friends locally. I really miss trading with online friends as I learned so much and received varieties I had never even heard of. It was a great experience and much fun. I don't post all day everyday as I work a lot of hours and now I have a grand baby that I try to spend my extra time with. I will watch for the April exchange. We have unseasonable warm weather so I have the itch early. I didn't do any winter sowing, now I regret it. I was organizing my seeds al day yesterday...it sure was fun. I am looking forward to getting to know and share seeds/plants with you~