veilchen: yes in general it is milder here, because of the costal location (We have the sea all around us ...so it takes longer time to get cold here (water takes longer time to cool down than land surfaces) than places with inland climate) and as long the the west wind blows and we have a constant stream of low pressures coming in from west it is mild here 34-45 degrees most of the winter. But every year a high pressure builds up and the bitter cold from east and north comes our way and temps drops below -16F- -10F or more for weeks sometimes months. And then it is certainly a zone 5 here and I choose roses accordingly. Only push the zones in sheltered locations and south facing walls. (Last winter was more like a zone 8 winter ...never seen that before here!!!).I always hope the winter is going to be mild ... At the end of winter in February and march we see very low temps since the ocean has become so much colder ... but yes a zone 5 with inland climate is much colder for longer time than here since the cold are more constant and comes earlier than here where we see great fluctuations. I love Papa Meilland. For me it is the quintessential red rose. Dark red, with a sheen like velvet! And a very, very strong perfume. Perfume Exceptional as Meilland says... It may not be an easy rose to grow (very mildew-prone here) and the plants are very small and barely hardy here. I have a few groups with 3-5 plants in my garden and a row of 12 in my cutting garden so I can cut one of these wonderful red roses many times during the season. There are many better HTs out there that are more disease resistant and hardier than this and looks better as garden plants...but that exceptional strong rose perfume and the velvety petals make forgive the flaws this rose have. And sometimes I am lucky enough to capture the beauty of almost perfect flower like this one... I really do like all classes of roses ... but I prefer roses with a very strong scent. Yes I also like the glowing colors on the Autumn picture. It may not be very sharp and a bit out of focus, but it did not make the impression worse since it captured the essence of Autumn some of the places I go fishing (Another one my hobbies). I sometimes make large prints of some of my pictures and frame them. I have really bought better cameras and lenses and hope you will enjoy some of the results next season. And no I do not Hibernate ... These days I really try to get in better shape so I can handle working harder ... making gardens for my clients (which takes good strength, especially a strong back and stronger shoulders)... I swim, do Pilates and work out with weights and work on better and healthier eating habits. I have lost 45 pounds during the last 15 weeks. I also need to take some courses so I can make some good homepages. One for my garden design business and one about the joy of gardening and roses. And another one about flyfishing and flytying (I am one of the best fly tiers in Northen Europe and have won many awards for my innovative designs). So I certainly do not have time to hibernate. Soon the holidays are coming and I am visiting friends in Chicago and Iowa. Hope to get to meet Foghorn Leghorn and maybe Aliska? Take Care all of my rose friends on this forum. Niels

Happy Friday!!! TIGIF for sure. I am hoping to get my two fields and lawns mowed! That is if it doesn't rain which it may. It's a huge project and I should have been doing a little each night this week but I didn't. I also hope to get some gardening in. My tomato plants are on the porch hardening off now but I won't be able to plant them until the end of this month. I can put my lettuce, spinach, carrots, beans, etc in. Seriously, just last week we got a foot of snow in northern NH!! Casey has a major swollen eye this morning. Not completely swollen shut. It was so windy the last few days - really high winds she probably has some sand or something in there. I will go check her at lunch and if it's worse I need to call the vet. Poor girl looks like she got slugged. Tikanis, sounds like you have a nice full and fun weekend ahead. Maddie, I know you aced your finals. It's s done deal you got A's across the board! Maddie, I used to ride a bike with Mark until I got horses! Mark has a Harley of course and my bike is an old Kawasaki that starts every time....unlike the Harley which I call flipper because of the cute little noise it makes when it doesn't want to start. For this trip we are renting a full dresser so we will be riding in comfort. I am getting excited about this trip. Donna, thanks for the info on Philly. We are going to stay at Penn's Landing. Seems like we will be able to see a bit there. We are only there for the night so a nice room and a good meal are going to be our main priority. I am sure we will see enough but during my research it sure seems like a really nice city to visit and spend some time. But if I can't bring Sweet Pea I don't want to go usually! LOL Marci is going to Florida to spend mother's day with her kids! Next??

Riesling Poached Pear Frangipane Pie Directions: Crust 1 9-inch Hannaford pie crust Poached Pears 4 cups water 1 Tbsp. lemon juice 6 pears, ripe but not soft 2 1/2 cups late Riesling wine 1 1/2 cups Hannaford sugar 1 lemon slice Frangipane Filling 1 cup blanched almonds 1/2 cup Hannaford sugar, divided 1/4 cup Hannaford flour 6 Tbsp. Hannaford unsalted butter, softened 2 large Hannaford eggs 1 tsp. Hannaford vanilla extract 1/2 tsp. Hannaford imitation almond extract 1 Tbsp. reduced poaching syrup 1. Bake pie crust according to package instructions for pre-baking an empty crust. Cool. 2. Prepare poached pears. In a large bowl, combine water and lemon juice. Peel, core, and halve pears, and place halves in lemon water. Set aside. 3. Combine wine, sugar, and lemon slice in a heavy saucepan and bring to a boil over high heat, stirring to dissolve sugar. Once this syrup mixture boils, reduce heat and keep it simmering. 4. Drain pears and discard lemon water. Add pears to syrup. Poach for 5 minutes, turn pears over, and continue poaching for an additional 5 minutes, or until pears are tender when pierced with a knife. Remove pears from syrup and place on paper towels to drain. Continue simmering syrup until reduced to 1 cup, about 20 minutes. 5. While syrup simmers, prepare frangipane. Combine almonds with 1/4 cup of the sugar in a food processor and process until finely ground. Add flour and pulse until combined. 6. In a large bowl, use an electric mixer on medium high to beat butter and remaining 1/4 cup of the sugar until fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, beating until well incorporated after each one. Beat in vanilla and almond extracts and poaching syrup. Reduce speed to low, add ground nut mixture, and mix until just combined. 7. Preheat oven to 350°F. Spread frangipane in pre-baked pie shell. 8. Slice 1 pear half into slices 3/8 to 1/4 inch wide without separating slices. Slide a spatula under pears to transfer without separating. Fan pear half by pressing on stem end. Slide fanned pear half on to frangipane slowly so you can place it correctly. Repeat with additional pear halves until frangipane has pear fans evenly spaced over it, with space in between. Place pie on a baking sheet and bake at 350°F for 45 to 50 minutes, until frangipane is puffed, golden, and solid to the touch. If crust edges start to brown too much, cover them with foil. Cool on a wire rack. 9. To serve, slice remaining pear halves in half. Place a quarter pear on a plate, drizzle with poaching syrup, and place a slice of pie beside pear. Extra poached pears may be refrigerated in an airtight container for three to four days, covered with any remaining poaching syrup. APPROXIMATE NUTRITIONAL VALUES PER SERVING: 450 CALORIES, 62G CARBOHYDRATES, 6G PROTEIN, 19G FAT (7G SATURATED), 60MG CHOLESTEROL, 100MG SODIUM, 6G FIBER

True to form I am late to the party....damn dial-up! LOL Sounds like you're having a great day, PKguy! Sorry you didn't win the big jackpots, tho! Maybe next year.......For now, enjoy the rest of your day! Linda