If you have space, Alchymist is sublime and was very cold hardly for me in central Ohio. Westerland is only semi-double but wonderfully fragrant; it does get some BS tho. I also love Erfurt, a healthy shrub with beautiful stamens on showy blooms 4 inches across. Cubana blooms and blooms; it's a 2001 shrub that really deserves to be better known; it is very BS resistant and a nice shapely plant. Lavaglut is wonderful as a garden plant, big sprays of deep red blooms that last forever on or off the bush! Eutin is another of his floribundas that could be listed as a shrub, just a great garden plant; color is not as pretty but it is the more resistant of the two. Caramel Fairy Tale is very showy and vigorous, and I absolutely love the color. All the Fairy Tales are big sprawling bushes here where I live now, in coastal SE Virginia. Lions Rose and Elegant Fairy Tale have more delicate colors; Brothers Grimm is more in-your-face bright. Lions is by far the most BS resistant here. Folklore, Kordes Perfecta, Kardinal are all hybrid teas I will always love. These are older varieties so may have BS issues in some areas, they were OK in Ohio in full sun. I don't order a lot of new roses these days, but this year I ordered Beverly, Eliza, Dark Desire, Pink Enchantment and Savannah. All are taking off with wonderful health and vigor. Um, looks like I didn't order anything that WASN'T a Kordes rose.

Awww, how sweet are they. We have a lot of the too and there are a couple of places near the house where they nest every year and it is so cool to watch them playing when they are young Thanks for the pics

Thank you all for your good suggestions. They are all thoughtful and sensible. I wish I could take your advice. I hate to sound like I'm just whining and not willing to try but there are reasons why some things won't work very well. Coolmama, we do have three sweet dogs and they are very dear to me. They are outside dogs and that's good for them because they have lots of room to romp and play but they are not close by like a house dog would be. They are supposed to be guard dogs but they are a little too quick to make friends to be really good at it. I don't care because I love them anyway. Close1972, I would be happy to talk with a counselor but I'm afraid I just can't afford it. My insurance wouldn't cover it and I don't know when I would be able to make an appointment. Do those people work on weekends? The same applies to the cleaning service, Monablair. My job doesn't pay very well although it is the best I can hope for in this area. Since I've been working there I've gotten a raise of 35 cents an hour but my health insurance premiums have gone up about $25 a week. So I'm gradually working my way out of a paycheck. I don't have any retirement plan and will just have to work til I can't work any more. There isn't any possibility to retire for me. I'm just glad that my husband could. He has worked even longer than I have starting with picking cotton and potatoes when he was only 6. I am really glad for him to have the chance to play a little although it would be really nice if he could see that it is hard for me to carry so much of the work at home when you think of my heavy work schedule. At least he isn't one of those husbands who complains that I don't do more! Most work nights I don't cook. We just snack if we are hungry. He is a good cook but he doesn't get around to it and I'm usually so tired by the time I get home that I am not hungry anyway. Thank goodness for that. If I had to stand over a stove after the days I put in I would really get upset. Popi, I'm sure exercise would be good for me. I do better in the summer when I do more in the garden. In winter my arthritis really gives me fits. Exercise would be good for that, too, though and I should do more. We live WAY out in the country so there isn't really any neighborhood to walk in. I don't like to even go outside the fence to the mailbox on account of stray dogs and such but there is room inside the fence to take a turn through the woods. I'm lazy I guess. I just hope housework counts as exercise. You are right about getting down on account of dwelling on this problem a lot. I try to fight it but I do get blue when I think too much about myself and how things are not the way I thought they would be at this time in my life. I have had a hard time with depression in my life and sure don't want to get there again. In a way I guess it is a good thing that I have such a stressful job that keeps my mind completely busy so much of the time. At least that's eight or nine hours a day when I'm not thinking of myself. As for your questions, Popi and Monablair, I've been with my husband for about 15 or 16 years. We have been married for 13 years but we were friends before that. We used to spend a lot of time together and had a lot of fun. I honestly thought we would always be like that. We both worked in the yard or on projects in the house. We cooked together and made jams and candies and all kinds of things. We used to go out to eat often or to listen to music or see movies. It's been at least 5 years since we went to a movie. But I am completely committed to the marriage. I would never cheat on him and I don't think he would cheat on me. I promised to stay with him in good times and bad so there is no reason for me to quit just because things are not as I would like. I'm sure you are all right about trying to find ways to make friends and have fun things to do sometimes. It is just really hard to find time and money to do that. I can't see to drive at night and it's such a long drive to town that I don't even do that every weekend. And weekends are so filled up already. I do thank all of you for your suggestions. I need to think about them some more and try to figure out some way to make some of them work.

I've found that "Volunteering" is a bit like having a "Hobby". Best to find these before you retire, after which you can devote more time to them -- if you wish. I think it's difficult to find *meaningful* work as a volunteer. One thing DH has enjoyed is called Grand Times. About sixty Seniors volunteer in township high schools. Teachers request help with all kinds of things, and the leader of Grand Times matches volunteers to meet the needs. DH is usually 'at school' for a few hours twice a week on some assignment. He's worked with the same kids in a remedial English class for two years. It's sometimes one-on-one; sometimes he's working with a 'team' of kids on an assignment. He feels useful, and the kids seem hungry for help. He also helps judge presentations for the marketing classes and helps with senior essays -- nice mix of lower and higher achieving students. More schools could avail themselves of the Senior talent lying fallow in their communities. "Volunteering" needn't be primarily serving the entertainment or time-structuring needs of retirees with 'make work' assignments to keep them busy. What have some of you found to do in retirement that uses your experience and talents?