There are a jillion rose books already out there. (And I have a lot of them!) Personally, I can do without another book on how to plant a bareroot rose and how to prune in the winter. If I could create a rose book just for me, it would be an annual that had pictures and profiles of all the newly released roses. Such pictures and profiles would be taken and written independently from Jackson & Perkins, Weeks, Meilland, Austin, etc. I would also like to see each of those roses put through standardized tests regarding various features. You could have a blackspot benchmark, a powdery mildew benchmark, a last-in-a-vase benchmark, a fragrance benchmark, height reports from various parts of the country, etc. It would be like a Consumer Reports evaluation for roses. With a book like this, you could actually make a more educated decision prior to purchasing. It is my understanding that roses that are chosen for commerce still have to be grown for several more years in the fields in order to have enough to distribute. Somebody in the know should get a hold of them for long term evaluations. - HershiGrl

It isn't that I'm so wonderfully organized, Pam, I require some help in remembering what I want to do. Sometimes I come inside and remember that I had a wonderful thought about adding something to a certain spot, but I've already forgotten what it was. I can't remember what bloomed in April as compared with May. Sometimes when I read my notes, if there isn't a photo with them, I am not sure what they mean. Today I looked at a file with nicotiana and lilies together and a note about purple nicotiana that I don't remember at all, and it is only a month old. If there isn't a note with the plants I'm about to plant, they'll go in the wrong places when I get distracted. You all can feel free to worry about me at any time. If I kept all my plans 'in my head' they would rapidly leak out. There's just too much to remember it all. Nell

Trailrunner, I hear what you are saying about the value of work, & how it contributes to lives, to society, to who we are. We are interdependent & couldn't get through a single day without the contributions of 100's of people! Isn't that a humbling thought? The efforts of so many are simply vital! One week without trash pick-up illustrates that reality beautifully! We really are all connected. We also live in a world where WORK is given so very much attention & adulation for all the wrong reasons! What people do to earn money (& of course how much they earn!) often defines them to an extent that I personally find bizarre. I know you know what I'm talking about! That is why I care less about how people earn a living than with other features of their humanity. What interests me the most about the people who have impressed me over the years, is a certain "quality of attention" they give to a task, no matter how grand or humble it may be. That presence, that "flow" as it has been called, is being fully human, & is strikingly beautiful. The way someone who is mindful & present sets a table, prepares a meal, interacts with a child, speaks to strangers, can mesmerize me. We can witness life in it's fullest, most whole, complete & beautiful, by seeing even the simplest thing done with great care. But, moments like that can easily be overlooked & or seen as meaningless in this world so obsessed with career paths & success strategies. Still, indeed, I well agree that a person can perform the work they do for a living with the care, attention & presence I am referring to, & when that happens, we are all made better! (Actually, you, your dh, your son & his wife (at the restaurant) impress me as fine examples of people who live like this!) You nursed the sick, you sang opera, you ran the trails. You have seen others nurse, sing & run as well. I would imagine that you did all of these things attentively, lovingly, mindfully, but certainly you have witnessed these tasks performed robotically or in a "check list" sort of fashion. For me, it is not the "what" but the "how" that leads to completion, wholeness, fufillment, whether we are "working" or not. Whatever we are doing, matters little in the end, but what could be sweeter than to feel content with "how" we've done things, no matter what they were, no matter how small or insignificant? To live with true quality of attention, to do our best, no matter if anyone is looking or a paycheck is in the mail. With this approach to life, when one "retires" the habit of living mindfully & being present has enriched the heart & mind so fully that a "deficit" or void of any kind is not perceived. Life in all of its fullness continues to surprise, delight & offer rich rewards, even without the job, title, paycheck & all the status & approval from others that those things confer.

About 25% of the book. Though there have been occasions when I have enjoyed the book up to the halfway point and something then happens that totally POOFS! the magic feel, and I will fasforward to the ending. This is mainly for closure. If the ending is just horrible I then toss the book, but if it is intriguing, I will go back and skim to the finish. Woodnymph, I have both Hilary Mantel's novels and am having the same problem as you. These are books I should enjoy but somehow I'm missing the bus. I havent given up yet though. Re: Garcia Marquez - I really x3 tried with One Hundred Years of Solitude, but was just baffled. I hated it. It was for book club so I did manage to get through the whole thing but decided that this type of magic realism is not for me. :)