I have Direct TV and don't even have HGTV programed in My Favorites anymore. They don't have enough good shows to keep me interested in watching. Scripps only has one show left that I enjoy now, Good Eats on The Food Network. I just don't care much about the rest. I used to watch The Victory Garden , on PBS, every week and now they have messed it up. They're mostly about landscapes and ornamentals now. It used to be more about vegetables and gardening techniques , but not so much now. I'll go look for the list of addresses and let them know what I think.

Dave, I apologize. I am fairly new to the GW and do not know all the ways to post or where. I was hoping the OT would signal to everyone the intent of the post and seeing it multiple times, one would just ignore it. Some people go to only a few favorite forums so I thought this would be a way to inform most. I must apologize a second time, as I think I may have replied to you in an email. Sorry for the intrusion.Truly. Elizabeth

Ha, postage size yards... that would be me. I live in New York City, proper, so this is a big yard comparatively. It's roughly 30x30 feet in the back. We have about 16 roses in the back, and 3 on the side. This is their 3rd year in the ground, so just starting to get to a good size. I do a 2 step cleanup for the roses, the first cut is usually late November. Just enough for good measure for winter, usually once most of the leaves have dropped, and I'll do another shaping in early march. I put mulch on after I've done any requisite fall bulbs. But we have such a small space, I garden very intensly, I've dug a lot of organics in, made somewhat of a raised bed with rocks I dug out of the ground, so the point in relation to the pruning, is that in a good year, these roses get gigantic, even though it's North facing (in summer it gets full sun 12 hours a day). Most are hybrid Teas or similar high maintenance, particularly because they are so close and get drip irrigation, there's always plenty of moisture. The first cleanup takes about 3 big garbage bags after I've tied up the stems and cinched them tight in burlap so they won't cut through the bags. It takes me most of the day with other various cleanup tasks. We're looking to start a family and get a larger house with yard, so I'd be taking most of these with me, and revert it back to grass or similar low maintenance plants. I love the roses, but I need more space for them. You can see the progression over a year in the pictures below. Each picture links to a collection you can see more pictures at that time of year. The pictures are "roughly" March, May, June, September. Each link goes to the collection. I've ommitted the July-August picture, because honestly with the veggies, you can't even see the roses! It's so overgrown... June is the prettiest month, nothing else has caught up yet.

Hi Everyone, Enjoyed a lovely dinner last night and cards with our dear friends. I ate Shepherd's pie (crustless type), biscuits and ice cream. Yes I went over my daily limit but I am not worried. I do the WW program and actually just used up my weekly freebie points or calories. Today and tomorrow I am in recovery mode to compensate. So what does my day look like? Cottage cheese 1%, home made barley soup loaded with veggies for lunch, apple for snack and dinner will be a full plate of steamed zucchini, squash, onion and a cooked egg. I will literally load that plate and put a spoon of margarine, salt & pepper. Of course water, water, water today. Why am I telling you this? Because you can deal with a meal event. I faithfully logged how much I had last night and noted the points/calorie values. I know where I stand. I am not deterred at all. I continue. Did I have a large serving? Yes, honestly and honestly two biscuits. Today I am quite happily puttering away at little jobs around the house and enjoying my healthy food choices. So don't despair when you have these moments. You dust yourself off and carry on. If you know a meal event is coming - plan a head. Reduce your calories a day or two ahead and then a day or two afterwards. Don't beat yourself up. Don't regret, feel bad - just do your best and keeping putting one foot in front of the other. You can do this. You can persevere through these moments in life. That is part of living a healthy lifestyle. Just be honest with yourself. Over the coming weeks I want to talk about planning ahead and then staying the course. There is a major meal event/weekend coming up in November for those of you in the US and I'd like to open the communication lines on how to deal successfully with it so you can enjoy your friends and family. Focus on the joy of the fall season. We'll get through that time together I promise and you will continue with your goals. That's what I wanted to say today to everyone, even those silent friends we have out there reading but not posting. I'm reaching out to invite you to come back and read our posts, share our journey. You don't have to share on here to be a part of our journey together. Just come back. If we can help you stay true to your dream then that is all I'm trying to achieve. Lets have a wonderful day today and tomorrow. Cheers, Peggy