Mostly I've been reading forgettable mysteries. I read Robert Parker's The Professional and it was pleasant but, well, anemic. Listened to The Lost Symbol and was greatly disappointed. I kept falling asleep during the lectures. In short, the lecture to adventure ratio was too high. I expected to enjoy it. Daddy was a Mason and I grew up with lots of old Mason stuff around the house - mostly clocks. We had a huge blue Mason's Bible, the last half of which seemed to be about Egyptology (could have seeded my early interest in archaeology) and had lots of discussion of symbols so none of this stuff was really new or exciting to me. Just now I'm in the middle of Nevada Barr's 13 1/2

I read 61 books which is a record for me. It helped that I was on maternity leave for part of the year and disability for a while, too. My rating system is on a 1-10 basis in the little book journal I keep. My goal for 2011 is to read more books by authors who are not American or Western European. (10) The Curse of Chalion by Lois McMaster Bujold On Gold Mountain: The One-Hundred Year Odyssey of my Chinese-American Family by Lisa See North to the Orient by Anne Morrow Lindbergh The Financial Lives of the Poets by Jess Wlater The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer & Annie Barrows Behind the Scenes at the Museum by Kate Atkinson Cold Sassy Tree by Olive Ann Burns (9) Good Omens by Terry Pratchett & Neil Gaiman Back When We Were Grownups by Anne Tyler Little House in the Big Woods by Laura Ingalls Wilder The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins Looking for Bapu by Anjali Banerjee Nation by Terry Pratchett Grace (Eventually) by Anne Lamott Paladin of Souls by Lois McMaster Bujold The Girl Who Played with Fire by Stieg Larsson Room by Emma Donaghue The Whistling Season by Ivan Doig (8) Atonement by Ian McEwan Before We Were Free by Julia Alvarez The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest by Stieg Larsson Nemesis by Philip Roth Pippi Longstocking by Astrid Lindgren The Help by Kathryn Stockett Paddy Clarke Ha Ha Ha by Roddy Doyle Captivity by Debbie Lee Wesselmann Growing Up Local: An Anthology of Poetry and Prose from Hawaii ed. by Eric Chock If I Stay by Gayle Forman Waterland by Graham Swift Knucklehead by Jon Scieszka The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater by Kurt Vonnegut Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins The Girls with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson (7) The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay by Michael Chabon The Cardturner by Louis Sachar Here on Earth by Alice Hoffman I Was a Teenage Fairy by Francesca Lia Block Shadow of a Bull by Maia Wojciechowska Small Steps: The Year I Got Polio by Peg Kehret Evensong by Gail Godwin Hey, Nostradamus! by Douglas Coupland Archer's Goon by Diana Wynne Jones Dragonhaven by Robin McKinley This Is Where I Leave You by Jonathan Tropper A Reliable Wife by Robert Goolrick The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein Tithe: A Fairy Tale by Holly Black A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead What's Bred in the Bone by Robertson Davies The Unfinished Angel by Sharon Creech (6) Enchanted Night by Steven Millhauser Twisted by Laurie Halse Anderson The Dark Days of Hamburger Halpin by Josh Berk The Penderwicks by Jeanne Birdsall (5) (4) Any Place I Hang My Hat by Susan Isaacs (3) (2)One Day by David Nicholls Stories of Your Life and Others by Ted Chiang (1) As You Wish by Jackson Pearce

I have a few of David Austin's roses, some of which now seem hard to find. All here are own-root, and all came from Heirloom Roses. Abraham Darby -- many bemoan him, but for me he's rather nice, growing into a somewhat arching large upright shrub. For me, blooms come in a few waves rather than continuously. It will veer pink or apricot depending on the temperature. Mine gets some blackspot, but only in the lower 12". Golden Celebration -- mine got hit hard by blackspot in its first year, but now seems to have outgrown it, except for the bottom 12" or so. Blooms are gorgeous for the first flush, smaller in successive flushes. This one grows similarly to Abe, but a bit less upright and a bit more arching. Happy Child -- I heard it's "wimpy", but that worked for me where I put it. Right now, two years after arriving as a band, it's about 3' tall and almost 2' wide, with a generally upright bushy habit. Blooms heavily in the first flush, then lightly but steadily through Summer, with another big Autumn finish. The color holds well -- when I call it "lemon yellow" I mean that it's really the color of a lemon's rind, not the pale color of the flesh. It gets some blackspot, but for me not until about October. Jude the Obscure -- for me, this one gets hit hard by blackspot in July, then struggles the rest of the season. This year, I decided that after the first flush I'm going to cut it back hard, hoping that new growth will be more vigorous. If asked, I wouldn't recommend it for my area unless fungicides were used. The Prince -- where I put mine, I anticipated it to be "wimpy" like I kept hearing it'd be when grown own-root. Mine is about 5' tall now on three stiff upright canes, with shorter bushier growth at its base. I suppose I could cut it back harder and see what it does, but I kind of like that I just may have the world's tallest own-root example of this rose. The blooms begin a deep velvety red but finish dark purple like 'Cardinal de Richelieu'. Give this one midday shade to avoid crisped blooms. Prospero -- Jeri often says to treat this rose as a Pernetiana, meaning do little more than just dead-heading it. Mine got all set to put forth thick new canes a year after being planted, but then a squirrel decided to dig around its base and snapped those soft new canes. That sent it into shock, I suppose, and I am still waiting for new basals two years after that. What it has is one thick, stout, upright cane that's about 3' tall, with some shorter bushier growth at the base. That taller cane has branched quite a bit, so it doesn't look gawky. Give this one midday shade to avoid crisped blooms. Tamora -- this one shows its Rugosa ancestry in my garden by starting to sucker, but not far from the center. Right now, it looks like I planted three bands in a 12" circle. Growth is HT-like in shape, but as prickly as a Rugosa. I got it mostly because I wanted one "myrrh-scented" David Austin, and that it sorta resembled a Damask Perpetual in Apricot made it fit where I wanted it. :-) ~Christopher

This time last year, found myself digging & potting established garden beds next to the house in an intensive effort to preserve plants from a small crew tasked with tearing off & replacing our large & complex roof (storm damage). Some big roses & shrubs were protected in place with scaffolds for tarps. Several hundred plants, along with 60 or so roses, were parked on rows of landscape fabric pinned to the ground & the overflow tucked beneath trees for the duration. Planned to replant them come Spring, but an unusually wet & dreary season prevented working our clay based soil. A two week window of sun & drying ground allowed progress on that plan before unusually high temps struck & continued unabated from mid-June through mid-September. Back to the drawing board, basically ran a temporary nursery throughout the season. New experience for me on that scale with its own learning curve. Usually bring in more roses over the Summer to grow on in pots before planting out, and this year was no exception despite the exceptional circumstances. Seems my Rose Fever accelerated with the heat. So, along the way, I've doubled the number of roses with which I began. Within the last two weeks, these new roses arrived, with more scheduled for the coming week. From A Reverence for Roses, run by a delightful couple who send very well grown & developed bands that grow by leaps & bounds, judging by a prior order (2 Reve d'Or, Aloha & Belinda's Dream): bands of Cato's Cluster - Cornelia - Setzer Noisette - Mme. Caroline Testout, Climbing (2) - Pink Perpetue (2) - Rhode Island Red (2). Total shipping USPS 2-day only $16.65 for 2 boxes & sale 8 bands for $70. From Brushwood, who recently began shipping again: bands of Colette & Garden Sun ordered 2 months ago. From Heirloom's recent sales: gallons of Dancing in the Wind (2) - Double Delight - Highfield (2) - Lady of the Mist - Love Potion - Wedding Bells - bands of Joseph's Coat VID (2). From Northland Rosarium: bands of Colette - Rock & Roll (2). Shipping from A Reverence for Roses, ordered while sale was still on 8 for $70: bands of Aloha - Belinda's Dream - Cato's Cluster - Jaune Desprez - Papillon Rose (2) - Penelope - Pinkie, Climbing (2). In transit from Heirloom sale: gallons of Crepuscule & Portlandia (2). Haven't been this enthusiastic for many years. Succumbed to a now-or-never impulse. Here's hoping for an extended Indian Summer & great success to us all! Sue