If you have space, Alchymist is sublime and was very cold hardly for me in central Ohio. Westerland is only semi-double but wonderfully fragrant; it does get some BS tho. I also love Erfurt, a healthy shrub with beautiful stamens on showy blooms 4 inches across. Cubana blooms and blooms; it's a 2001 shrub that really deserves to be better known; it is very BS resistant and a nice shapely plant. Lavaglut is wonderful as a garden plant, big sprays of deep red blooms that last forever on or off the bush! Eutin is another of his floribundas that could be listed as a shrub, just a great garden plant; color is not as pretty but it is the more resistant of the two. Caramel Fairy Tale is very showy and vigorous, and I absolutely love the color. All the Fairy Tales are big sprawling bushes here where I live now, in coastal SE Virginia. Lions Rose and Elegant Fairy Tale have more delicate colors; Brothers Grimm is more in-your-face bright. Lions is by far the most BS resistant here. Folklore, Kordes Perfecta, Kardinal are all hybrid teas I will always love. These are older varieties so may have BS issues in some areas, they were OK in Ohio in full sun. I don't order a lot of new roses these days, but this year I ordered Beverly, Eliza, Dark Desire, Pink Enchantment and Savannah. All are taking off with wonderful health and vigor. Um, looks like I didn't order anything that WASN'T a Kordes rose.

"I'm a 45 yo female with no job skills really" THAT is your real problem. Without employment potential, you will always be one man away from disaster. But it's not too late - look into some short term programs at your local Community College, and see if you can get something going for you, training-wise. Most places have a Career Center or a women's center. Avoid those pricey tech schools that advertise on daytime TV - they are not good. Ask about financial aid for tuition if you need it. There are programs just for women your age who need job skills. Be your own best friend here. What are you going to do: 1.stay and suffer 2.beat the bushes for another man who will support you 3.clean houses or wait tables for a living? You can't take control of your life until you take control of your income. The rest follows.

I have been away for such a long time -- it's not the company. I have been a care-giver for a friend I used to date, who just died of cancer. Which reminds me: Asolo, how is your Mother? Gladys: Yes, I have been interested in the Master Gardener courses. I actually did that when I lived in Atlanta, but want to do it again because I've moved to the West and gardening is very different out here. I had the good fortune to discover a community garden, and I'm very active in it and serve on the board. I love it! coolvt: I have dated a few fellas who had no apparent money constraints -- some I met through my profession and a couple of others through a singles group at church. But two of the best guys I've dated were very mainstream economically. I discovered a long time ago that the old saying "Money can't buy happiness" is very, very true. I would rather go to McDonald's with someone I really enjoy being with, then the fanciest place in the country with someone who's boring or otherwise just not for me. I hope you're meeting better prospects than the one you described. Sounds like "good riddance."

Hey Pashan! Congrats on moving into the new house. Sounds like you're up to your eyeballs in home improvement work. It's so fun ... but time consuming as well. Have fun making the house YOURS! How's the RE career going? I bet you're off and running by now. Yes, things are very quiet on this board. Don't know why. Maybe everyone was busy taking end-of-the-summer vacations and then gearing up for school. Things are OK here ... my SD is expanding her horizons every day -- we enrolled her in gymnastics, which she just loves. She's making new friends at her new school and seems quite content there. Her Mom has only called once since she moved two weeks ago. Strange, huh? What's even weirder is that my SD doesn't ask about her Mom often. Mentions her now and then, but doesn't seem to be going thru a traumatic stage of missing her.