Hi Marleah! I'm glad you're enjoying your roses again. I'm sure your father would approve. There have been several nurseries lost the past few years but there are still many good ones out there. I'm not sure which ones you know of already so my apologies if I mention some of them here. I don't know which of these specialize in OGRs but here's a list of some I know of. Heirloom Northland Rosarium Roses Unlimited Palatine Angel Gardens Burlington Roses Regans Edmunds Pickering Antique Rose Emporium High Country Roses Rosmania I'm sure I've missed some so I hope others will chime in!

Awwww, thanks for all your sweet wishes, they are MUCH appreciated! Yesterday was a tough day, but I took your advice and brewed myself a pot of tea, read lots of posts, saw many great decs here and then took a long nap. DH got back here early and we drove down to pick up my car. The new battery was a no-charge, but the brake job ~just on the front end~ was over $400! Living here in the mountains, I can't scrimp on good brakes, but good grief, that's a ridiculous amount! (Sigh) what's done is done and my car (actually, minivan) is in great shape once again. Afterwards, DH & I had dinner at a favorite restaurant in town to avoid the rush hour traffic and relax a bit. We had a glass of wine and played Gin Rummy for an hour when we got home, too. That was a lovely way to end a crummy day! With the rest, I'm doing as you advised and taking it one day at a time. All this will pass . . . eventually! Thanks! Yachter: I'm keeping you and your family in my prayers. Please know how much you're liked and appreciated here on this forum! We miss you when you're not around here with us! Lynn

I don't think there's a 'one size fits all' on what will make your parents feel better. We lost our precious 10 year old poodle almost 3 months ago and it was the hardest thing I've ever gone through and I'm 66. He had not been well for 4 years but I'm an optimist and chose to believe he had more time left. DH is a pessimist and thought he was going long before he did. We both thought it best to make arrangements before hand and I'm glad we did. I ordered him a beautiful casket, almost like a human one, and we had our SIL prepare his burial spot and put a plastic container large enough for the casket to go in. Once that was done I felt no need to discuss it but DH would talk about it when any of our kids were here. I think it made them uncomfortable and I would ask him not to bring it up. Jett suddenly got worse @ 4:00 on a Friday. After getting his usual treats and meds he shortly got behind a chair where he had never gotten before and we knew something was wrong. We rushed him to the vet, he checked him and told us what had happened was actually a blessing. I secretly questioned his sanity but he meant that Jett was going quickly instead of long and drawn out. His lungs had filled with fluid and he had a tumor in his abdomen that DH had just discovered that day and he knew every bump on him since he held him pretty much the entire time he was home. The vet said we needed to let him go and I first told him I simply couldn't. He was concerned that Jett would get in trouble afterhours and he wasn't on call. I held Jett while he went to check who would be on call and to get him an injection for pain. When I realized it was better to let him go I made the decision right then to make it easier for him. I stayed with him to the end but DH couldn't. I'm saying all this to tell you that each person has to do things their own way. There's no way I would have left him though it was hard to see him take his last breath. I had always said I didn't think I would survive losing either of my 'babies' but somehow you go on. It was a horrible week, then the tears got farther apart. Now I tear up thinking about him but I know he's at peace and waiting for us. As for your parents not wanting to go anywhere, I totally understand. We didn't both leave ours for anything. Jett has a 'sister' 6 months younger and we don't leave her even though she isn't sick. While she hasn't verbally grieved (like our neighbor's dog still does after losing her partner 3 months ago) she just doesn't seem happy now. I don't know how to help her. I expected her to totally freak out when Jett left and had the vet give her a sedation injection. He also gave us meds to give her but she didn't visually get upset so I haven't given them. She has a cat to play with and doesn't seem to look for Jett but just seems sad. We also have her arrangements made, hopefully way in advance. I hope your parents have a lot of time left with him and that they can cope when the time comes. I would just suggest you listen if they want to talk about it and try to comfort them when it's his time. I have never let myself question if I did the right thing. We have to make decisions based on what we think is best and it doesn't help to torture ourselves with the 'what if's'. My thoughts are with you and your sister too.

Welcome back!! The quotes were very enjoyable. Sorry for your experience, but glad you are ready to "get back out there"! Nature and life march on. You have lots of empty space to fill (and nature abhors a vacuum). You don't have to fill it all at once, but do as little or as much as you feel like........on whatever budget you want and can afford. Show photos of what survived and is thriving. Gardening is good for the soul, although you get the occasional curveball thrown at you. My Hostas were thriving and I had some big beautiful clumps of 'June', 'Great Expectations' etc. along with some rare streakers I was propagating and multiplying. One winter, a combination of voles and just odd weather caused many of them to "Dissapear" over winter (and this included some BIG well established clumps). Actually I am not totally sure what happened...............it has been a few years and things are recovering nicely. Around the same time I had a couple years of SEVERE drought.....one summer seemed like EVERY storm went north or south of me. Even some big old trees in the neighborhood succummed to drought. I do have problems with a heavy soil and tree roots that is somewhat a battle. However we had fairly regular rain the last two-three years and things are doing really well again.