My sincere apologies for not surfacing earlier, but I've been digging out from under a mountain of email messages and orders since the sale began and only now am starting to see some daylight. A few answers to your questions. These are not the bare root roses you're used to ordering, which are usually dormant plants that have been stored at cool temperatures. These are mature roses, dug from the garden while actively growing. They're cut back, soaked, the roots are washed and then they're carefully packed for shipping. Total labor from start to finish has been averaging nearly an hour per plant. Reports from all over the country are that these roses start to grow as soon as they're planted in pots or in the ground. For those of you who might be worried about it being too hot in your area, in 2006 I moved my entire garden from the low desert to the new location in the high desert. We started the move in August, with daytime high temperatures above 110 and often above 115 degrees. Roses were dug from the garden and planted in pots (we weren't ready to plant them in the ground), and out of 5,000 roses, we lost very, very few. Don't worry about payment. Invoices are prepared after I know the actual shipping costs. I'm preparing invoices when I can grab a minute or two and have set up a mechanism to pay by credit card via the website -- or by check. Are there great roses left? For sure! While the response has been terrific, with 1000 roses already in new homes in 37 states, that means that there are still 4000 roses in the garden, and many (most?) are truly incredible, and a significant number of them are quite rare. I'm now sending out updates with the names of the varieties still available, by type of rose. The first of these updates, on hybrid perpetuals, went out a few hours ago. Please know that this is not, nor was it intended to be a source of great income. In fact, given how labor and time intensive this is, we lost money on all of the potted roses we sold and we just about break even on the minis and minifloras from the garden. The overriding purpose of this sale is to save these roses and to ensure that they will have good homes. I'm maintaining a database that includes the name of each rose shipped along with contact information. This way, should there be an interest in commercializing any of the roses in the future, hopefully the new owners will be willing to provide cuttings. Thank you all most sincerely for your patience and understanding, and for your support. Cliff

Are there any occasions that would come up over that time period that you would need b-day presents, cards, gift wrap etc.. maybe a few standbys.. When I had surgery back in September I started some major cleaning/purging... Why I felt compelled to do this.. I don't know, probably nerves and it kept my mind occupied but it made me feel better to know that it was done. Pick up extra stamps/envelopes. Post notes over washer/dryer of how you like things.. for instance, my girls don't like certain things put in the dryer so it's posted for everyone. Do the same for other parts of the house. Also make list of recycle days, garbage days, etc on your list. Get a big desk calendar and write every dr appt, playdate, activity etc and leave out for everyone to see. Tell kids to always reference that before making plans. Possibly put laundry basket in each room so when someone is doing laundry they don't have to guess who's it is.. We have 3 teenage girls and they each do their own laundry. I don't have to figure out what socks/underwear belong to who. Maybe sign up for Blockbuster or Netflix during this time, will give everyone (mostly you) something to do that won't require inconveniencing anyone, kids can order online w/ you.. make the list before surgery. Have a couple hundred dollars cash somewhere, kids always need $$ plus you will have for people when they run errands. Pick up some extra nighties/bathrobe/sweatpants. Assuming you won't be very mobile you will have something new to wear. Get extra bandages, I didn't have what I needed for my incisions so someone had to run out and get some. Stockup on ibuprofren/cold meds/vitamins.. etc.. Do you like puzzle books/crossword puzzle books? But in the end your houseguests WANT to help you.. so even with all your planning and organizing and cleaning they are there to help you.. No doubt they will appreciate all your prep work but they are there to do all of the things that need to be done. Leave cleaning supplies in each bathroom so there is no guessing to what you use or like done. Leave a couple rolls of papertowels under each sink. Your caretakers will appreciate that you have taken the guesswork out of what you like. Does everyone know where the clean sheets are? Towels? Good luck to you!

Hello, it is me again. I started the thread. I'm sorry to have posted and then gone incommunicado, but I had a nasty motherboard problem. Eeeek! But I am now back online. I am very, very grateful to those who stepped in to answer questions. I hope you all don't mind if I do some quick clarifications under headings to save time, rather than respond to each individual. Therapy Dogs (TDs): Delta, TDI and Therapy Dogs Inc. are all great. The 14 point test on Delta's site is a very good example of what a TD must be able to do. If you want to volunteer as a TD team, you might want to get a CGC first. It is a good basis. If chapters of the above organizations are not in your area, please do not give up hope, but do a google search for Therapy Animal Groups in your state. There are smaller organizations, and some hospitals are beginning to start their own groups. I do advise joining a TD organization that offers training, ongoing support and, most importantly, insurance in these litigious days. Please don't try it on your own. We get huge enjoyment from our TD work. We also know we do good. We do both "social visiting" and "Animal Assisted Therapy". The first is just pleasant visiting, the second is working with a medical or educational team to achieve identified goals. So, we do regular volunteer visits at: an elementary school Reading Program, an Assisted Living, an Alzheimers Unit, and a residential facility for the severely Develpomentally Delayed. We also do Hospice on request. One of my dogs is a natural TD, and does most of the harder Animal Assisted Therapy work. The other I never expected to pass the test (!) but she has a huge affinity with seniors, and is amazingly understanding of those with dementia. She has totally exceeded my expectations and is enormously loved. Mental Heath Service Dogs: Autism and severe Anxiety Disorders have been mentioned above. Yes, and yes! Northstar is an exellent example of training service dogs for autistic people. I'd also add ADHD to that list. Sometimes petting a dog helps people to focus on the task at hand. Finally, Service Dog training: I did not mean to imply that there are not many wonderful training facilities for service animals. And the larger organizations provide valuable documentation. I do think that it is important to acknowledge that not all legitimate service animals have certification from *known* organizations. To date, there is no federally recognized training or certification for service animals. Some may disagree, and as I said it leaves things open to abuse, but this is a good thing IMO, for the individual who has a well trained animal bonding to them, and for smaller groups just starting up. Most people whose service animal is self-trained, carry a prescription from an MD for a service animal. That is usually accepted as documentation. In addition, most make sure the animal in question is well trained. Finally, Quirky and plasticgarden, I am very glad that you were joking. I did not find the jokes in particularly good taste, but that is because I work with and volunteer with so many disabled people. Possibly I should lighten up. But I would prefer not to. Quirky, and others considering it, best of luck with TD training. I'm sure you will all love volunteering. All the best.

Aww, thanks Mom2emall! That was a nice pick-me-up :) So, crazydyz8... Other posters have had good advice, and I'm just going to add in my story. My SS is now 10 and a half. He was 7/8 when I came into his life. His life was very unstructured and he spent time at four different houses each week - rarely spending more than one night in a row at one house. He had totally different rules and expectations in each house. I, like you, expected him to hit the toilet when he peed, take his plate to the sink, use nice manners and follow instructions. I expected a regular bedtime, regular healthy meals, and a bit of routine... Whereas at his BM's mom's place (his grandma's) he had no bedtime, no expectations on his behavior, no rules, no healthy food, etc. Yeah... It was a problem. So I started reading and researching. I got DH (then BF) on board with making a few subtle changes. My DH is a great guy, but honestly, he's not very good at problem solving or initiating change. Here are some of the changes we made... gradually and gently. - We got a digital timer. SS wasn't very good at keeping track of time. He'd "plug-in" to whatever he was doing and hyperfocus on it, so even though 30 minutes had passed, he felt like it was 30 seconds and would be an angry little minion when we told him it was time to stop. The timer provided a visual countdown for him to see that he had 15, 10, 5, minutes left and we could say, "A__, how much time is left for you to play computer before you need to shower and get ready for bed?" He'd "unplug" for long enough to answer us, acknowledge the time that had passed and prepare for the upcoming end. It was quite a few months of the timer before we were able to progress to just the ordinary clock. But now, we can say "You have to get off the computer at 9 to take a shower and go to bed" and it's smooth and easy! There are no tears and no tantrums! - We began to switch the way we give instructions. Apparently an ADHD brain has a hard time reversing instructions. The example that was given to me was that if a kid was running on the deck of the pool, you might remind them "Don't run"... But for an ADHD child, that instruction only says what NOT to do, but doesn't tell them what they SHOULD do. So when an ADHD kid is running on the deck of the pool, you remind them "Walk". Does that make sense? So we say the "do" part of the instruction before the "don't" part. We still do this and it's extremely effective. - We are also very specific about what to do and not do. For example, if SS wants to play outside we give the same instructions every time "You can stay on this part of the street, but you can't go past the corner because there is too much traffic." Boundaries are important with any kid, but clear and consistent boundaries are extra important for an ADHD kid. So make the rules, keep them simple and make sure they are ALWAYS the same. - We made a routine. It's consistent and he knows it. He knows the expectation is that he will follow the routine. For example, on the weekend, at first the routine was just that he had to eat the breakfast that was left in the fridge for him and wash up afterward, as opposed to scavenging an entire box of crackers and wiping his greasy fingers on the couch. After awhile, once that was going well, we added in that he can read/play/watch TV etc, but no video games until 10 am. He has to have eaten breakfast, made his bed, brushed his teeth and be dressed for the day. The rule is always the same. There was resistance at first, but now it's great! - When talking to SS, he may not fully understand the instructions or even realize he's being spoken to unless you make sure you have his attention. So placing a hand on his shoulder and waiting for good eye contact before delivering the instruction makes a world of difference!! He can follow instructions if he actually hears them. Who knew? LOL! - PRAISE! For everything. All the damn time. Even if you think it's ridiculous to say "Thank you for turning the taps off when you were done washing your hands", reinforcing that connection in an ADHD brain is important. And don't be afraid to interrupt him for praise. If SS has been asked to play quietly in his room for 30 minutes, I pop my head in at 15 to say "Thank you for being do good and quiet so far! 15 minutes is done. You're being very quiet and that's great." Whereas DH would leave him alone on the theory that he's being good so don't disturb him. But his brain needs that reinforcement! - We made sure to only give 1 or 2 steps at a time. So instead of "You need to eat breakfast, brush your teeth, wash your face, get dressed in warm clothes, pack your school bag, and get your coat and mitts," we break it down to "The first step is to wash your face and brush your teeth. Can you do that, please?"... ... "How's washing your face and brushing your teeth going? Oh, almost done? Good."... ... "Alright, so now that you are nice and clean, it's time to put on clothes. It's cold out today, so you need a warm shirt. Please find a long-sleeved shirt and jeans."... ... "I see the long-sleeved shirt and jeans! Excellent!! Hmm, something is missing... Your toes will be awfully cold at school like that. What do you need?" "Yes!! That's right! You need socks! Good job for remembering."... ... "You look just right! Time for your backpack. Can you please go through the list in your bag, one item at a time, out loud for me?"... ... "Great! You remembered where everything is for your backpack. That's a very good job - you sure are organized this morning - I'm impressed!" I give praise and one instruction at a time until I'm blue in the face. So those are SOME of the things we've done. And we've seen wonderful improvements in how SS behaves. He's a totally different kid than he was three years ago. It's been gradual and subtle and a LOT of work... But so worth it! Those are only the things that have worked for us. And for everything that has worked, I bet we've tried 3 that haven't. We try something for a few weeks, and if it doesn't seem to work, we scrap it and try something new. There are a lot of really wise women here. They have kids and stepkids with all sorts of behavioral and neurological problems. So there's a LOT of good help and advice to be had here. Keep coming back, watch out for people who just want to tear you down (we do have the occasional bullying/trolling incident - as do all web forums), and PERSEVERE!! It is an uphill battle when working with an ADHD child, but the little victories are worth it :) I wish you strength and luck!