Zyperiris, I grow about 30 Of the Austin roses over here near Seattle. Mine were going downhill over time until in frustration I build two raised beds elevated 16" and filled them with 3-way garden mix and compost. In the 2 years since they have greatly improved in health and vigor! The only one I Can think of that I got rid of was a pale pink one that grew very tall and always balled from the moisture...will think of the name soon I hope (Geofrey someone?). Oh yes, I put my beloved Abraham Darby in a back corner because he just DID NOT show off well on the arbor down the center of my garden. His foliage was ugly and the flowers never last long then hang like old gray tissue. But when he is gorgeous he is phenomenal, and adore his pink grapefruit scent! At my previous house he climbed up into a flowering crabapple and was a traffic stopper! Jude the Obscure has done fabulous in the raised bed. and his color is much more yellow then when growing in our native soil. William Morris is a MONSTER...He wants to be at least 8' by 8' even when cut back hard! And the flowers do not last at all as cut flowers nor to they have a fragrance...but he sure is pretty when in bloom! Queen of Sweden is coming along now in her 3rd year. Munstead Woods...I Am WILD about the flowers on this one! Its one of my newest. Love Tamora, Sharifa Asma for their fragrances. Lady of Shallot and Lady Emma HAmilton were both pretty this year for first bloom then dropped their leaves and are regrowing them now. THey are both still settling in.So is Claire Austin. Her stems are pretty droopy still, but the white flowers are beautiful. I think in another year or two she will be a favorite. Graham Thomas, Teasing Georgia, And Windrush are other beauties for me. I really love Windrush when she blooms. I got rid of Othello this year...loved the fragrance but they nearly always had Vegetative centers and diseased leaves. I have other older ones I have lost the names to (Probably all pink ones) and especially since moving them wonder what the heck I have! Oh yes, I can comment on James Galway. I put him on a back fence and kind of ignored him and then am struck by the beauty of the roses when they bloom. THey shade from pale on the outside petals to deep rose in the middle...a lovely effect. Ugly leaves though. I do not spray any of my roses unless Hubby hits them with copper spray when he does the peach tree in late winter...didn't happen this year. Some have diseased leaves but are not planted in prominant positions. I visit them, enjoy their flowers and then move on. Benjamon Britton is another one who's flowers light up the landscape, a lovely deep coral raspberry. CHarles Darwin look a bit like yellow kleenex drooping on the branches. NOt sure it will be a keeper for me...maybe one more year to prove its worth.

The movie is worth seeing for Streep's performance. She accurately captures the endearing goofiness of Julia, even down to the awkward body language and that weird voice that sometimes would drift into an unmodulated screech. Stanley Tucci is excellent as well. I found the structure of the movie a tad strained, though. Putting those two stories together--well, the parallels seemed artificially strained at times, or at the very least unbalanced. The portion of the movie dedicated to the lives of a couple of struggling NYC yuppies just isn't as interesting as the story of a diplomat and his feisty wife (who will soon revolutionize American cuisine) living in postwar Paris. If the Streep scenes are fresh figs and Sauternes, the NYC scenes are Fig Newtons and skim milk. And, when the movie drifts away from cuisine into some political/social commentary, it does so in Hollywood's typical preachy hectoring tone. But that's a minor cavil. Fred Astaire movies weren't known for consistency and logical plots, either, but they were enjoyable. Have a glass of decent bubbly before the show and enjoy this confection. As Julia would say, "Bon..." oh, you know the rest.

That looks like a great show! (It is Julie & Julia, btw) DH & I go to the movies together quite often - but we have a $2 theater in our little town. I bet Julie & Julia will come to our theatre - that is just the kind of movies that they show.

I read the book before I saw the movie. I absolutely hated the book and the author along with it. She's a miserable person, imo. I envy those of you who didn't read the book because, unfortunately, that ruined the movie for me. I know that the movie was quite different from the book and the character was tempered (Julie, not Julia), but it was still ruined. I love, love, love Meryl Streep and she was delightful in this movie, as always. But if you want to continue loving the movie, my advice is to not read the blasted book. (Can you tell I really, really dislike Julie?).