Yes, Dido--I am familiar with that poem and have taught it many times in the past--but strangely enough, had forgotten it. Thank you for reminding me. Impressive imagery. It chokes me up--the old lie! Since we are on anti-war poems, here are a couple more that I used to teach along with Owen. The Jarrell poem--WWII-- leaves us gasping because it is pure horrifying image with no commentary. The shortest and maybe most realistic war poem I know--and a fitting postscript to Owen: "The old Lie: dulce et decorum est/ Pro patria more." The second one--WWI poem--, with its repetitions and wandering, circling thoughts that take us no where but leave us caught in an endlessly pointless repeating maze, also leaves us gasping with its final pointed question--what are "patterns" for? The Death of the Ball Turret Gunner By Randall Jarrell From my mother's sleep I fell into the State, And I hunched in its belly till my wet fur froze. Six miles from earth, loosed from its dream of life, I woke to black flak and the nightmare fighters. When I died they washed me out of the turret with a hose. Patterns By Amy Lowell I walk down the garden paths, And all the daffodils Are blowing, and the bright blue squills. I walk down the patterned garden-paths In my stiff, brocaded gown. With my powdered hair and jewelled fan, I too am a rare Pattern. As I wander down The garden paths. My dress is richly figured, And the train Makes a pink and silver stain On the gravel, and the thrift Of the borders. Just a plate of current fashion, Tripping by in high-heeled, ribboned shoes. Not a softness anywhere about me, Only whalebone and brocade. And I sink on a seat in the shade Of a lime tree. For my passion Wars against the stiff brocade. The daffodils and squills Flutter in the breeze As they please. And I weep; For the lime-tree is in blossom And one small flower has dropped upon my bosom. And the plashing of waterdrops In the marble fountain Comes down the garden-paths. The dripping never stops. Underneath my stiffened gown Is the softness of a woman bathing in a marble basin, A basin in the midst of hedges grown So thick, she cannot see her lover hiding, But she guesses he is near, And the sliding of the water Seems the stroking of a dear Hand upon her. What is Summer in a fine brocaded gown! I should like to see it lying in a heap upon the ground. All the pink and silver crumpled up on the ground. I would be the pink and silver as I ran along the paths, And he would stumble after, Bewildered by my laughter. I should see the sun flashing from his sword-hilt and the buckles on his shoes. I would choose To lead him in a maze along the patterned paths, A bright and laughing maze for my heavy-booted lover, Till he caught me in the shade, And the buttons of his waistcoat bruised my body as he clasped me, Aching, melting, unafraid. ...

I agree with the thought of buying cookbooks. Can't do without a classic like "Mastering the Art of French Cooking" by Julia Child, I think there's two volumes (her biography is good too). The Martha Stewart Living cookbooks are incredible, I've never had anything out of those books not turn out fabulous. Cole's "Cooking A to Z" is an awesome technical book that any novice can follow and learn from. The Foodnetwork stars cookbooks are popular, but they tend to be faddish so I don't know how long they would stay current in circulation. The best in my opinion would be the ones by Paula Deen, Ina Garten, and Giada DeLaurentis, following them is Tyler Florence and Rachael Ray who are very popular with the younger crowd. If you like Louisiana style cooking Emeril is for you, but I'm not personally fond of his recipes. Other non-foodnetwork cookbooks I love are by Sarah Foster and Nigella Lawson (her "How to Eat" is the best one). Of course we can't leave out the "Cook's Illustrated" cookbooks, they possible have the best test kitchen in America and the cookbooks are fabulous. I forbid you to buy any cookbooks by Sandra Lee or Robin Miller, those aren't "cookbooks".

I'd like to echo what Sylvia said. I know many teas don't stay within your size range, but try Faith Whittlesey if you like perfect white roses that stay perfectly clean. It is a frequent and heavy bloomer, one of the heaviest of my roses that aren't polyanthas. For me, this rose stays 2 ft. or so because it is tender and I suspect I'm on the edge of where it will winter over. I do grow other teas but this one is tender even for a tea. You shouldn't have any problem in zone 8 losing cane to cold temps but I don't think this rose is ever going to be huge. I'm not sure how they are as cut flowers because I rarely cut my roses. No blackspot even when everything else is spotty and I do grow no spray. I don't have mildew or rust so can't comment on those. Fragrance isn't its strong suit most of the time. To me it smells like tobacco. However, in early fall it will sometimes pick up a wonderful fragrance- maybe like ripe fruit. I'm bad at describing scent but that's the best I can do. BTW, while I'm not z8, I grow a number of the other roses on your list. Everything is own-root at this time. I'm probably one of the few people on the planet that struggles with Quietness and Julia Child and Bolero is only so-so. Easy Does It is doing well. This is it's 3rd season but the first one out of a pot. It's healthy mostly and not shy about blooming. I don't remember its scent. I gave up on Austins. They just aren't happy here with my climate and soil and being grown no spray. Most died or were given away when they were struggling even in a pot. Exception is Munstead Wood. He's an odd thorny duck but his flowers are fragrant and he grows acceptably no-spray for me. Distant Drums does well for me. Occasional blackspot but grows past it. This rose benefits from being grown like a tea for me- full sun, excellent drainage, especially in winter, and sheltered from cold winter wind. Flowers are really wonderful and smell nice but do have a hint of myrrh. I can grow everything from the SdlM family and currently have Mystic Beauty, Souvenir de St. Anne's and cl. SdlM which is only about a yr. here. All are clean for me and most would rather bloom than grow. Flowers are memorable. Scent is a bit like grandmother's old-fashioned face powder to me. Hope this helps.

You have so many on your list that I’m expecting this Spring so I have to say you‘ve got excellent taste. Lol! I’m a newbie this past summer to roses so I can’t comment on overall longevity and health but I did a LOT of research when choosing my roses. I’m, personally, I big fan of Marchesa Boccella/Jacques Cartier and bought her this past late summer. I got two beautiful blooms out of her. They smell incredible and open very quickly. They don’t last a particularly long time though. I’m also a very big fan of Munstead Wood and planted 2 own-root this past summer with a grafted one ordered for Spring. I really wanted Lady Emma Hamilton but all my research turned up that she just doesn’t do all that great in cold zones. Bolero and Earth Angel smell incredible! I’d give Bolero the edge though...she really pumps out blooms. Her form is more along my taste also. Short stems though so maybe not the best for cutting? Earth Angel has the longer stems. I have PCdM and Emily Brontë coming this Spring, as well as (hopefully!) Eustacia Vye. I’m really looking forward to those. PCdM has rave reviews from so many enthusiasts...I can’t imagine anyone would regret planting her. My Bolero, from FGL. She was so tiny when I planted her in late August. Still had large blooms!