I just add this message to respond to the notion of a rose sale or auction. Following the lead of Jeri n Clay, the Ventura County Rose Society put on major rose auctions of rare and unusual roses for about ten years; first, annually, then later every two years. As an educational device, the auction was a great success for those putting it on. As someone who started out as a contributor to the catalog that accompanied the auction and wound up writing most of it, I learned a lot. (Most of it had to do with commercial viability.) As a financial effort, it was also a great success. HOWEVER,it was every bit as labor intensive as the traditional rose show, involved enormous amounts of energy and time (gathering and storing of roses, mailing off winning bids to those out of state, etc.) and engendered some antipathy on the part of rose society members who did not want to be involved in what they regarded as scut work; (unfortunately, a lot of life involves doing scut work.) Eventually, we gave it up with 2011 being the last of the auctions. Over the course of the years we probably distributed over a thousand roses, most of which were OGRs or unusual and rare (Clark roses from Austalia before they became easily available, frix.) The only way for the enterprise to operate was to open up a national audience in order to find buyers for roses not well known--even if said roses were perfectly suited to the Ventura County climate--e.g. chinas, noisettes, and teas. The trouble is that the audience for OGRS and unusual roses tends to be spread out across the country in numbers not large enough to sustain viable commercial operations. I might add that the practices of many rose societies in permitting widespread use of cuttings from rose shows, celebrations and the like cuts down on the potential profit or even transactions. I am reminded that Frank Benardella used to dip his show roses in Round-up so as to discourage people from using his entries as sources for free roses... Jim D

LOL! I got my first little Brownie box camera when I was 11. I played with B/W film all during junior high. In high school, I worked on the yearbook and school newspaper--we did only B/W, but all our own processing and developing. Lots of experimenting and talking to other photographers...some workshops. Got the job as a photographer/darkroom tech at the college I went to...met my husband in the darkroom. GRIN (Yep, we've heard ALL the jokes.) By that time, my dad saw the potential of photography. He'd always wanted to own his own business, so he apprenticed with a local pro, then went into business. So...I was a photographer first, but he made it a business while I was in college. After college, and marrying my guy...someone from our church asked us to do some wedding photos...her maid of honor asked and so on...before long I was 24 and doing 50 weddings a summer. Whew. We joined local, regional, and national professional photographer organizations. LOTS of great educational opportunities there...I studied and learned and studied some more. Yes, I learned a lot about lighting. Photography IS lighting...then composition and feeling. It was a fun career. I closed my studio in my early 40's when we had an opportunity to move overseas for a while. By the time we came back, digital photography had swept in...I've learned just enough to do family photos for us. I keep my hand in doing portraits for a few select past clients from time to time. Remember...it isn't the camera, it's the person behind the camera who creates the art. Cameras can make it easier...but the artsy stuff comes from within you. Enjoy it!

Yes, about nutrition, she recommends the "plate method", divide a 9" plate in half. One half is to be vegetables, like salad, or low carb vegetables. Divide the other side into half (fourths). One fourth lean protein and the other fourth grain or carb. She said, with three meals divided like this, and 2 small snacks a day, it would provide about 1200 calories, without too much of any one thing. She also said exercise, exercise, did I mention exercise. The most important thing to help control pre- and diabetes is exercise, and lots of water. Dehydration is very hard on a diabetic. It really was a very informative class. She is a RN, diabetic specialist, and dietician. Yes, my doctor did say to limit the diet to 12 weeks, at which time I go back to recheck my numbers. The nutritionist said 12 weeks is entirely too long, so she will call the doctor and voice her concerns and will follow up with me once she does. Today my blood pressure was down to 88/57, which she thought was too low also. She is going to mention that to the doctor when she calls. She said it may be why I don't have much energy and feel sluggish. I hadn't even thought to check BP. Just a little recap, BG is under 100 (last 3 checks), BP is way lower than it was, weight is down exactly .2. Yes, that is correct point 2 in a little over 3 weeks. About the monitor and strips, my insurance covered mine with the pre- diagnosis, but I still had a copay of $30 for 100 strips, $25 for the meter. Walmart carries a brand ReliOn which sells for less than $20 and strips for it is less than $10 for 50. It would have been cheaper for me to buy those without insurance than the one I got with insurance.

A few low cost but not no cost ideas: Our local zoo and botanical gardens: We can buy a year long pass for $65 (now keep in mind there are 8 of us total), that is good for some special events, comes with a few free daily passes for friends, and allows free or reduced admissions at something like 200 zoos and aquariums around the country as well as as many times as we want to daily admission. For our family, even one trip a year pays for the pass. We bring our own snacks and liquid refreshment. Our local science center: $50 will get you the same daily pass for a year, with similar benefits as the zoo. In addition to the constantly changing exhibits. Our library has a summer reading program, free and good up to 8th grade. The state parks also have a year pass. For $30 a year, we can go to most state parks (there are 3-4 excluded) in our state free. That's swimming, some summer programs, beach (a lake beach, but the kids don't care). We take a lunch and spend the day. BBQ, it's great fun. Our town has "First Fridays" kind of a carnival the first Friday of the month. Then there's the museums, they have one free day per month. The colleges in the area have "dress rehearsals" that you can get reduced tickets to.... plays, symphonies, ballet, all kinds of things. The local military base has open air concerts (free) and a couple of carnivals (free to get in, costs only for rides and games) A nearby town has First Saturday. Music and exhibits (more for grown ups) Parades in nearly every little town, all summer long Movies on the Green: wandering outside movie (fairgrounds or golf courses) for about $1 each. (older movies) Also dollar theaters. Older movies, but still good for an afternoon's entertainment. Various fair things: Arts in the Heart (a crafts fair), Greek Fest, River race (a rubber ducky race for charity.... there are about a million of them... quite the sight!!), Dog Days of Summer (concert series), 4th of July on the River (fireworks etc...)... I can't remember the rest, but there are about 2 a month until the end of summer