CONSERVATION is another good reason to root rosebushes. Just a few years ago the American Rose Society was going to claim that the Pernetiana named "Ambassador" was extinct, so that the name could be used again, when Phillip Robinson contacted them to say that it was not. One "Ambassador" rosebush was growing at that time in the Pernetiana section at the Oakland Rose garden, now named Morcom Park, in Oakland, California. Since then that rosebush has died but it is of great comfort to me that it is available now again in commerce, because someone took cuttings of it. I especially like to root cuttings of roses that I haven't seen sold in commerce for a few years, because I know that commercial extinction, when a rose is no longer available in commerce, is the first step on the road to total extinction. Luxrosa

Northspruce...ROFL..I thought the same thing about the "domestic help"...Very interesting...I'll remember to use DW...beacuse she is dear and like all of the spouses, thinks' I've lost my mind about gardning...oh, she loves the finished product...but thinks I'm nuts..(a debatable topic) Why I like this forum....there is a spirit about those of you in the far north I don't see elsewhere...I can't explain, sorta frontierish but more like resourceful..self reliant and innovative......I'd take the summers if I could do without the winters...then again, today I got bitten by fire ants, a real problem in the south...and every time it happens I SWEAR I'm moving to say...ORegon? Certainly not far north...but a 2 day trip away perhaps to Souther Canada... Anyway, I hope some of you continue to put up pics...I really enjly them. I spent all day planting things I got on sale for $1 at Lowe's, Salvia Greggii, some other salvia's, Tennessee coneflowers, and even some sad looking zinnia's...a good snip, some fertilizer, and they'll be blooming in 2 weeks...sure was hot today....90's...I';ll make you a deal,,I'll send up some warm if you'll send a bit of cool...of course, when the cool weather gets here, it means you guys are under snow...so I'll be patient! Sierra...batting eyelashes is no fair and against the rules!!!! ( even my daugher's now figured that one out...."Daddy"...flash flash....oh, the camera thing....shame on me, I have an nice (now old and not enough pixels) video with a still feature, I lost the download cord, so there it sits...so now I use an Easyshare 3.1 MP, bought it for my daughter...works for the most part.....and very handy...I'd like something that is simple to use, easy to download, and no fooling around with photo editing programs....and some good closeups.....and I just can't imagine what it looks like when cars go by....

Thanks for all the responses, he has me reassured a bit now, which is nothing new, we've gone back and forth so much lately. We went out of town with my family for several days to see my son on leave from the Marine Corps. Oorah! I was nervous about having some incident in front of my parents/son, but we had a really nice time and drove 6 hours home just he and I, talking about "us" all the way. We talked about the possibility that his unhappiness might be more due to his thinking, than me. I asked him about the possibility he could be having sugar/health (he drinks way too much Dr. Peppers) issues or even a mid-life crises of sorts. He said it was possible, he said again he really does love me. We talked about pressure at work. He's torn to either move on for more money or stay with his boss of 26 years who helped get him here. I let him know it was okay with me if he wanted to stay where he's at (which I think he wants) I also told him I trust him, and if he wants to move on, I understand it's risky and things could go bad fast at a younger newer company. We we're able to discuss these subjects and more fairly calmly, very unusual for us. I would say he was alot less defensive. Maybe I was extra careful of the way I put things. I noticed often he interupts me with a reply that isn't really applicable to what I was trying to say. I think lots of times he gets so defensive because he thinks I'm attacking him, he reads things in to what I'm saying. This time I didn't respond to what he said and then repeated what I said. It seemed to help, and we stayed on subject better. He said one thing he's never said before, he said maybe he's just immature, and when he gets mad he can't stop himself from saying the very thing I asked him not to say anymore. I wasn't a total wimp with him either, I made it clear something had to give, because he was convincing me he didn't love me. It can't be drugs because his job requires regular testing, when I said mostly on wknds I might have thrown yall off. I meant it seems like when he's confronted with the idea of spending the day with me ie: mostly wknds. Although I don't see him in the morning during the week. And throwing around the D word, I would say is not new, but gradually became more and more often until now every disagreement turns into something huge and ends with it. Being so emotional is new, reacting over the top is not new either but him seeming to be out of control is new. I do agree it's emotional abuse and have been doing some reading. Part of the long drive we talked about what emotional abuse was, he almost got mad but then seemed to understand and acted ashamed. I told him he was forcing me to prepare for my future if we divorce. He adamantly claimed he didn't really mean it, doesn't want that. I really think maybe he's just hurting too. Here's some background I know is pertinent. He's 48, I'm 49. Both of his parents were alcoholics, his mother drank a fifth a day. His father drank everyday but worked as a welder, changed jobs often, he was a little guy, infamous for being hard to get along with. He was very domineering over his wife too, she could be extremely violent when she drank, she died when she was 54. His father moved in with us when he got cancer of the larnx, we cared for him 8 mos until he died 7 yrs ago. It's all so sad.... and obviously left scars on my husband. He doesn't drink at all, never has. There's more that's probably pertinent. He was previously married for 14 years, had a son, and says thought they were happy. They had a nice home. He says he kissed her good-bye one morning to go on a wknd fishing trip and when he returned he called the police to report he had been robbed by the "moving-company burglers" he'd been seeing on the news. The cop told him to check his closet. His clothes was all she left.... She moved in with her boyfriend who she's married to now. We married 5 years later, it's been 12 now. Lol I read what I've wrote and wonder "What the #@% was I thinking!" I'm kidding sorta...... I have my share of baggage and issues too, I'm just tired of typing now.... how convenient right? Although I think these things should'nt be and don't have to be, a part of him/us, they are.

You've got some great advice above. 14 year olds are little hormone casseroles and I'm sure they must feel terrible about themselves when their emotions get the best of them. Just give them some slack on the little things and choose your battles wisely. Like others here, I was very consistent when my kids were young, in fact, I found out later that my sisters used to talk about me behind my back because they thought I was too strict with my son's behavior. None of my sisters had kids at that time and later one of them told me that she used to think I was too strict but that she realized how well my kids listened to me because they knew I meant what I said. I didn't give my kids warnings over and over. I told them what behavior I expected and if they didn't follow it, we left or stopped what we were doing. Sometimes I felt like I was punishing myself because we'd have to leave stores, resturaunts, even grandpa and grandmas house. It was exhausting, but so worth it. That said, I thought 14 was the toughest age with my DS. He seemed to think that because he was now physically bigger than me, that we were equals. WRONG. There were a few times when he spoke disrepectfully to me, thought he was smarter than I am and was just a pain in the butt. One thing that worked for me my son was disrepectful to me is my husband (his dad) made it clear to our son that not only was I his mother and it was wrong to speak to me that way, but my husband would not tolerate anyone speaking to his wife disrespectfully, he said "don't you dare speak like that to my wife, I will not allow anyone to speak to her like that and if it continues, you will deal with me" Now, my husband isn't mean or scary or violent or anything like that but it made quite an impression on my son. 14 was a struggle but the rest of his teenage years were mostly alot of fun. Teenagers are such interesting people and its so fun to watch the little person you nurtured grown into a wonderful young adult. It really helps to keep your sense of humor through this too.