Thanks for your comments...and now to answer some questions. Ellie, yes that is Niobe clematis with Graham Thomas rose. I love the deep, saturated purple of it with the yellow. Mantis, the gold/yellow rose in photo #13 is 'Caramella'. Other roses: Photo #5/cream-colored rose is 'Rokoko'. Photo #8 coral-pink rose is 'Lafter'. Purple rosebush in photo # 11 is 'Charles de Mills' the old gallica rose. Photo #12 (pale pink) is 'Mayor of Casterbridge'. Next-to-last photo of pale cream rose is 'Windermere'. Thanks so much for all your comments everyone! Celeste

Last night was my experiment. I fully preheated the oven to 500 deg. I prepared my chicken - rinse, dry, salt, pepper, into a #7 Griswold pan - and let it sit at room temp for a good half hour while the oven preheated. Put it in the oven on the second lowest rack. That's all there is to it, right? When the breast was a beautiful golden brown I checked the temp. The breast was already at 180. I poked at the thighs a bit and found areas as cool as 140. Clearly it needed more time in the oven despite the breast already being overcooked. After another fifteen minutes or so (I wasn't paying attention to the clock during any of this) the thighs were just barely approaching 165 so I pulled it out of the oven. Immediately after setting it on my counter I noticed that while the top of the drumsticks were nice and brown like the breast, the majority was a flabby pale beige. Same for the entire thighs and most of the wings. While carving the chicken I took a bite of the breast. Predictably it was dry, but my wife seemed to enjoy it nonetheless. I chose to eat the dark meat and sadly peeled off the skin. It was flavorful and extremely juicy if somewhat undercooked for my taste. In hindsight I know I made one mistake. I put the chicken in head first, whereas the instructions make a point of saying legs should face the back. Given this, I will give the method another shot even though being in the back didn't help the wings out any. On a positive note, I'm convinced of the small-pan tip. The oven didn't smoke at all, and the splatters on the wall were minimal. Who'da thunk, "place in pan and throw in oven" could yield such varied results.

I used the attached recipe once. The turkey part of it was great. The gravy, not so much, although The Bitten Word Boys thought it was fabulous. Oh, I couldn't find turkey leg quarters, so I dismantled the turkey myself. I can cut up a chicken, how hard can it be to cut up a turkey? The answer is: harder than a chicken! Make-Ahead Turkey Cook's Country (October/November 2011) Serves 10 to 12 Check the label when you're shopping for turkey. If there's an ingredient list, the bird has been enhanced and will work in this recipe. If you prefer natural, unenhanced parts, we recommend brining. (Dissolve 1 cup of salt in 2 gallons of cold water. Submerge the turkey in the brine, cover, and refrigerate for 3 to 6 hours. Proceed with step 1 of Day 1, omitting the salt for seasoning.) Notes from Zach and Clay of TheBittenWord.com: Several readers have written to ask about the two turkey legs are used in the making of the gravy for this recipe. Are they served or discarded? The answer is that the legs are discarded along with the other solids after you make the stock, as the flavor of them has mostly been extracted in order to make a flavorful base for the gravy. INGREDIENTS 2 onions, chopped 2 carrots, peeled and chopped 2 celery ribs, chopped 2 garlic cloves, peeled 2 teaspoons minced fresh thyme 4 (1½- to 1¾-pound) turkey leg quarters, trimmed 1 (6- to 7-pound) whole bone-in turkey breast, trimmed 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted Salt and pepper 4 cups low-sodium chicken broth 4 cups water 1 bay leaf 1/2 cup all-purpose flour DIRECTIONS DAY 1 Adjust oven racks to middle and lowest positions and heat oven to 325 degrees. Place onions, carrots, celery, garlic, and thyme in large roasting pan. Set V-rack inside pan. Pat turkey legs and breast dry with paper towels. Arrange 2 legs and breast, skin side up, in V-rack. Brush turkey with butter and season with salt and pepper. Place remaining 2 legs in 13 by 9-inch baking dish and season with salt and pepper. Place roasting pan on middle rack and baking dish on lower rack. Roast until breast registers 160 degrees and thighs register 175 degrees, 2 to 2½ hours. Transfer 2 legs and breast to wire rack set in rimmed baking sheet and let cool to room temperature, about 2 hours. Transfer vegetables in roasting pan and remaining 2 legs to large pot, scraping up any browned bits. Add broth, water, bay leaf, and 1 teaspoon pepper and bring to boil. Simmer over medium-low heat until reduced to 5 cups, 1¼ to 1½ hours. Pour through fine-mesh strainer into large container, discarding solids. Let cool for 1 hour, cover, and refrigerate for 4 hours or up to 2 days. Wrap cooled legs and breast tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate for up to 2 days. DAY 2 Scrape fat from top of chilled stock and reserve 5 tablespoons. Bring stock to simmer in medium saucepan. Set aside ¼ cup stock. Heat reserved fat in large saucepan over medium heat. Add flour and cook, whisking constantly, until golden, 3 to 4 minutes. Slowly whisk in remaining 4¾ cups stock and bring to boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer until slightly thickened and reduced to 4 cups, 12 to 14 -minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Meanwhile, adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 500 degrees. Transfer legs and breast to carving board. Separate legs into thighs and drumsticks and arrange on wire rack set in rimmed baking sheet. Cut breast meat from bone into 2 single breasts. Working one at a time, remove skin from breast in 1 piece; reserve. Slice breast crosswise into ¼-inch slices and place on 18 by 12-inch sheet of aluminum foil, keeping slices together. Pour 2 tablespoons reserved stock over each breast and top with reserved skin. Wrap tightly and place on rack with legs. Roast until turkey is heated through and thighs and drumsticks are crisp, 20 to 25 minutes. Discard breast skin. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve with gravy. Here is a link that might be useful: The Bitten Word Make Ahead Turkey

I can see me now Bean. I have to have help to get up in a chair and the smoke alarm near the kitchen is in a stairwell. However I'm tall so might not need a chair. LOL I know what you mean by overly-sensitive...found that out when the dough ran over the side of a pan of summer fruit torte and caught on fire. I kid you not, it was in flames, and I could only laugh as I tried to put it out. jude