LOL, Ducati makes some good bikes. Even when I owned Harleys and rode with outlaws I usually rode Triumph. Every time I got a Harley built to ride... some rich kid would offer me so much money for it I had to sell and start building again. When I moved to Montana... I sold the Harleys and the Triumph I had. Only kept one bike, the one that fit me and was the most fun to ride. It is a 1981 Honda CB900. I ride to suit myself not fit someone else's image :) All my riding partners ride Harleys and they tease me a little. They always want to swap bikes for rides too. Oh, Deb likes the Honda best too. It is so quiet, comfortable and smooth. That helped make the choice easy. The fact it is a rocket doesn't hurt either. Living in Sacramento for 30 years gave me time to find some good rides out of that area.... you ride up 50 to Lake Tahoe. Take 89 over Monitor and down to 395. Head south to Lee Vining (Mono Lake). Go up over Tioga to Yosemite. Take 49 north to Placerville and back to Sacramento on 50. That was Deb's first ride with me. I warned her I liked long rides :)

Stanc, my HD had Belle de Crecy! Also Sombreuil, Mary Rose, Coquette des Blanches, Edouard de Rothchild and hybrid teas/floribundas like Intrigue, Royal Highness, Apricot Nectar [which I would have bought except have one coming from Regans]. I didnt get Belle as she is a once bloomer, and I am under the impression they need a colder climate than I have to do well. These roses are in 1 or maybe its a 2 gallon peat pots, they look very healthy. Called "Magnificent Scents". There was a poster on the rack that listed many other of their roses - I really want an Alchymist - and am hoping they will get in more. Our stores are just now getting roses in. I have bought this brand of roses before, and have been pleased. Have an Orange Ruffles that is lovely. Would like to get another of those too.......Good luck getting your Belle! These roses were $11.99. Allison, good to hear from you! I have planted these 3 in good soil - they will get mostly sun but will be shaded from the brutal afternoon sun by my horse barn, so hopefully will do well. That bed behind the barn seems to be a good one - all other roses thrive there, so hopefully these will too! They are planted in a row along with Barbara Worl/Grandmothers Hat, and Outta The Blue which is a huge shrub, and a Russelliana on the end. Judith

"I wonder if this is a sign of our times." Actually, what's a real sign of our times is the expectation that a house for sale should show like a model. Twenty-five years or so ago, sellers didn't stage their houses and they didn't run around cleaning everything when a showing was imminent. Back then, you might have expected to see unwashed laundry in the LAUNDRY room without being horrified because, after all, you weren't buying the dirty clothes. And I can't remember being overly bothered by kitchens whose owners had failed to replace the cabinet hardware with the latest thing. And we weren't so insistent that the kitchen sport cabinets of the trendiest wood species. Wood cabinets of any kind in good condition would have done. I guess we buyers just understood that houses for sale had real families living in them who did not devote themselves full-time to making their homes "show like models." Yet, sellers manged to sell these less than perfect houses. I don't really think housekeeping standards were lower back then. It's just that the bar has been considerably raised for sellers. It's gotten much more stressing to sell a house than it used to be because of much higher buyer expectations that whatever they buy must be spotlessly clean, updated to current fashions and have everything in perfect working order. While this standard of perfection is great for the buyers, it inevitably comes back to bite them when it's THEIR turn to sell and have to jump through more and more hoops. It used to be that you expected to fix up the house AFTER you bought it. Now you must do it BEFORE you sell it. Progress? Not really . . . more like moving sideways.

Thank you also. I do love the Asian look in all aspects. I love the pot also, but have been told if I keep the plant in it too long, I will never be able to get it out of the pot, due to the shape. But I am not ready to repot yet... I really love the looks of the trunk on this variety...seems to look different from other jades. I have had it a few years now, not sure how many, exactly. Good luck with yours. Christopher