You're welcome! Before doing anything, you may want to take some canes you were going to prune off anyway, and use your budding knife or single edged razor blade to practice lifting the bark to expose the cambium layer. You can also practice slicing out the buds so you will have a bit of experience removing them from the rose you wish to replicate. You need cambium tissue on the back of the scion (bud you wish to insert into the stock) and on the surface of the stock for the scion to grow to. Once you see what it takes to have cambium tissue on both pieces, you are ready to move on. Preventing the bud from drying out is so easy, you'll probably wonder why you didn't think of it. Do you have any jar lids you're about to throw into the trash? How about small, shallow saucers you can put some water in so you have something to keep the buds wet until they are inserted? Yup, that's all it takes. Mel Hulse, who was the Volunteer Coordinator for the San Jose Heritage Rose Garden in San Jose, CA, used to keep them on his tongue until he inserted them. It works, but isn't something I would suggest for a variety of reasons. Not the least of which is, do you really KNOW what chemicals may have been used on the rose you are putting pieces of into your mouth? A jar lid or saucer works just fine and doesn't potentially expose you to any harmful products. I also like wetting the exposed cambium on the stock before inserting the bud, but I also live in a very hot, arid climate (inland valley, just north of Los Angeles, where it is to be between 100 and 107 F for the next five days). I've found by wetting the exposed cambium and the bud, they stick together quite well while I fumble with the tape I'm wrapping them with. As long as you have good cambium to cambium contact; you don't let the bud dry out prior to inserting it; it's tied in tightly to prevent movement and water loss before it knits; you don't let the stock dry out while it is knitting, you should see success in the three or so week period. The only caveat I can think of outside of this is, September may be a bit late for budding in your climate and particularly with your stock. I don't know which stock was used to create your standard, nor how long it remains suitable for budding in your climate. If the sap isn't flowing sufficiently in the stock, it may affect how well, how quickly, or even IF the pieces will knit together. Anything you can do to keep the standard actively pushing new growth during this period should help. If you can get the buds to knit to the stock, you might want to wait until next spring to sever the budded mini. I don't know whether the buds will push between now and winter on the stock you're using, nor whether you will be easily able to root the budded mini this time of year. The buds will successfully hold until next spring as long as they are knitted to the stock. Next spring, you can sever them from each other, the buds should begin pushing as the weather warms and the budded mini may be easier to root in the warming weather. Just some thoughts. Not that it can't work. I'm just not sufficiently familiar with attempting what you want to do in your climate. Good luck with them! It will be an interesting experiment. Kim

I was in a very similar situation a couple years ago. I wanted a midcentury modern home but it had to be in a specific area. Prices were still depressed at that time, but I knew they were bound to increase soon. I had been watching a home online that was built by one of my favorite 1950's architects. I had seen black and white pics of the house from the 50's and it was beautiful then. Unfortunately, the previous owners had altered much of the architecture. The price was much too high. When the price decreased significantly, the realtor and I went to look at it. It had also been abandoned for 10 yrs. There was major water damage EVERYWHERE. The ceiling ballooned out all over the place. The patio overhang and soffit had areas of rot. The carpet had water damage. The realtor and I walked out laughing that anyone would think they could sell the house for the asking price (which was still above my budget). We looked at more homes, but the bones of these homes did not compare to the damaged home. The home had walls of glass, amazing views of the city and mountains and in my opinion had great potential. When I wanted to make an offer on it, the realtor was shocked. He tried to talk me out of it. But I felt it was a matter of time before I was priced out of this area and despite the terrible condition of the home, it had other things going for it. Before making an offer, we had a roofer look at the roof. Like your roof, it had been replaced in the last 10 yrs. All I can figure is that no one had bothered to repair the extensive drywall damage. The exterior soffit damage was from condensation in AC vents (yes- they had AC on the patio!). After haggling with the bank (shortsale), I finally got the house. I remember that night thinking, WHAT HAVE I DONE? The house has taken extensive investment. It is not done, and because of the expense, I am taking my time with it. I did put in new floors, new roof, new electrical, new kitchen, drywall, opened the floorplan up, etc. The house just appraised for much higher than I paid. If I were you, I would have a roofer look at the roof to verify it is intact. Try to get a contractor out there also to give you his/her opinion on the source of the water damage elsewhere and his worst cost estimate. Think about the WORST possible outcome with the water damage and decide if you are willing to pay this for the house. I was fortunate that for my house the water damage, although it looked awful, was negligible for cost. If you really want the house, repairing the issues may be worth it. Dont forget that other things might need repair/replacing - HVAC system, etc.

I have not scheduled surgery yet and am ignoring the suggestion of having them both done at once. When I was a newly graduated RN I worked ortho for a year ( some disasters but hips have come along way) and my mom had a horrible hip replacement outcome, so I am putting it off for as long as I can. Don't wait so long you are too out of shape ... it's best done while you are still reasonably spry with muscle strength left for rehab instead of totally crippled and weak. And before you have wrecked the surrounding support muscles and tendons compensating for the pain and lack of mobility. (SO has a prosthetic knee, his brother has 2 of them, and another brother has a hip replacement he loves). Yes, it's come a LONG ways, even using 3-d imaging and custom manufacture of the prosthetics if needed. They can build a copy of the joint, figure out exactly how things need to be altered and dry-fit the prosthesis without ever lifting a scalpel.

UPDATE: Thanks to you guys here (and mostly thanks to Joseph Corlett's link regarding Silestone slab sizes), they agreed to do away with one of the seams. They kept insisting that they would not do a stretch of stone more than 110", and when I insisted that my color of Silestone comes in jumbo slabs of 128", they "did some research" and conceded that I was correct, and there is no need for two seams in my 150" stretch of counter. I'm updating here for anyone who may have the same questions and issues that I did. I spent countless hours researching and digging and arguing, so hopefully I can save someone else the hassle. You can check the Silestone website for the slab sizes in your color. There is no need for a seam to "prevent cracks"; Silestone is (allegedly) 4x bendier than granite, and if you wanted to put the whole damn slab down you could. Keep in mind though - if your Silestone DOES crack or chip at some point (and it will...it's notorious for chipping despite the durability claims) - you're on the hook for it. Their "warranty" does not cover cracks or chips. Hundreds of consumers have told their stories about bumping a water glass against the edge and it chips, with no damage to the glass, and Cosentino denies the claims, citing abuse of the counter or something. Same with random cracks, etc. Just be aware - these are issues that you will have to call Joseph Corlett to come fix, out of your own pocket. I love the look of mine so I'm willing to deal with those issues, but buyer beware.