Wow some great info here, thanks so much one and all. Colette is indeed very beautiful but alas not available to me...sigh. Fourth of July is available from Pickering, so it makes the short list. I don't mind the looks but it doesn't make me melt either. It's not fair to the rose to be biased but the blooms remind me of a rugosa and since they are hardy are already WELL represented in the yard. Was hoping for some variety in bloom form and fragrance is important as it will sit right outside the entrance and beneath our bedroom window. Altissimo is not available to me though Dortmund is listed at both suppliers. Dortmund is a Kordes which I have had very good success with in the past in the ground. Kordes stock (in many cases) was used for the canadian explorer & parkland series. Would rather not have a single but he makes the short list none the less. Laguna looks very interesting, bold colour, good fragrance, lovely form. I am smitten for sure. Compassion is an interesting rose, I have often seen it recommended as very hardy in some of my older books and some places I have done research. It has always been at the back of my mind to maybe try it in the ground some day. Ginger Syllabub, wow, what a stunning bloom, but then I love my A. Darby & Crocus Rose so I guess it makes sense. This rose is the wrong colour for this location but..... that bloom...and really fragrant you say???...humm Don Juan, High Flyer as well as That's Jazz were all on the short list as a deep red would work well with the brick colour. I know Don Juan seems popular here so he seemed a safe bet. High Flyer I have not heard too much about though, and there are no pics on HMF. That's Jazz was one I remember someone talking about and recommending as very good but not the volume of press given to Don Juan. thanks so much everyone, I really do appreciate the suggestions. cathy

I use Photoshop CS2 exclusively now, waited for years for it. I bought 2, one for myself and one for my gdaughter for $299 each from Adobe, WACOM had a promo w/my tablet and I used my Elements that came w/my cam to give to my gdaughter so she could keep upgrading. But starting with Elements is good. They may have more specials when you want the full power of Photoshop and where you can upgrade at the cheaper price. I started with Paint Shop Pro which is cheap, but Photoshop is what most of the pros use, the industry standard. I've read that Picasa isn't too bad, but somebody keeps sending me their photos from their website, and the quality is not too good, I don't know if it's because she doesn't know how to use the camera properly or Picasa resizes and compresses them too much.

Bean - I think I looked at a zillion Sonoma samples! I decided against bc the small tiles were too much $, but the standard size were in budget. Perhaps I should revisit. My tile shop gives the Sonoma samples out in a 2x4 tile and it was sooo small to get a good idea, but I love the look in your photo. If you have one that's slightly closer up feel free to post if it isn't too much trouble. Some of the crackles I decided against bc the crackle seemed "too much". But the Sonoma seems very nice in your photo. I second jpmom - it looks great with your cabinets!

The pool has cooled off, and last night we went in the spa for the first time in weeks. The pool was 86° (I prefer 87°), and we heated the spa to 103°, which was a bit too warm. Weather was in the 90s, and so it felt pleasant. Here's the new cabana jacket I made Since the pockets are lined with terry cloth, the pattern does not appear to line up exactly when viewed from certain angles - this was the best I could do with this pattern. Also, the pattern shifted slightly when I pre-washed it, but it's busy enough that I think that won't matter. I'll have to order more fabric to make the next one, and it will have thick terry cloth (for winter) like the first one I made. I do like the waffle weave terry cloth, however. This was easier to make than the linen shirt because this fabric did not shift around while I was working with it. For comparison with the linen shirt I made, I ordered at $22 linen shirt from Amazon, and while I like it a lot, I like the one I made better. The one from Amazon has a shirttail hem at the bottom, and I prefer the straight bottom that I made. The pocket I made is nicer.