Hoov & Petaloid, both links were very cool and interesting! I'd heard of chimeras, but not the two different types with sports. I have two roses in particular that are all over the map with this type of thing: Orange Splash and the Hocus Pocus/Black Beauty/Frisco family. Ever so interesting, and constantly changing. Thanks for the links! Susan

The latest Had a nice day yesterday. Today I got the financial quiz. I had taken over Mother's checkbook and all finances several years ago because she would obsess over ever penny. She wants to leave the nursing home, but I have been advised that it would cost $12,000-$15,000 a month to provide a level of service that she gets at the nursing home, and with her insurance, she gets 100 days, no charge to her. So I can keep her apartment. I have always told her that she has "plenty" of money, and when pressed, I'll break it all out. But she is obsessive, and I have refused to go over the details every darned day. And she's been increasingly low every day, and I don't like to discuss this all the time. So why can't she return to her apartment if she has "plenty" of money? Well, I cannot predict how long she'll need care at $15,000 a month, and she does not have money for a lot of that, like years. So where she is right now helps conserve her savings. Who knows how long she will live? WHat happens when her money runs out? So she wants me to talk to a financial advisor and get advised about it all. I tell her that I have talked to a number of people. She keeps pecking away at me (no wonder we had such a rocky relationship all my life!) peck peck peck. SO I say, do you want to call Bob or John, my brothers, and ask them? They understand all this. She says, "did they advise you?" Seeing an out (I told them what I was doing, and they said fine!), I said, "Yes, they advised me to do this." "OK," she says, "then it's all fine. You can give up my apartment if you want." I feel like I've been beaten up. OK, what's worse, losing your mental facilities or your physical ones first? That's the question for the ages, I guess.

Our GE Adora washing machine has been a constant source of trouble for several years now. It cannot be "balanced" no matter what we do and now the front of the cabinet has "rips" in the metal from shaking so violently. The door leaks, the front control panel shorts out and the exterior cabinet is rusting through in the front lower corners. This washer has many "known issues" and GE refuses to acknowledge them. Since we're out of warranty, I'm not going to try anything else to keep this hunk of junk running. We use only HE detergent and when we add bleach to the dispenser, it simply runs out immediately on the clothes... Clothes are now being torn but we can't find anything obviously damaged in the tub, so we don't know what's tearing the clothes. We leave the door open when the washer is empty so we don't get the moldy smell that so many others have experienced. This is by far the worst appliance we have ever purchased and we'll never buy a GE product again...

My dry eyes and not being able to comfortably wear my contacts was one of the symptoms of Sjogren's syndrome. I was also having to drink a lot because of dryness in the mouth also a major symptom of the disease I have. I never go anywhere now with out a water bottle and I keep biotene spray in my purse. I have to have full medical ophthalmologist exams every 6 months also now. It is surprising how such a small thing can lead you to discover such a big diagnosis.