I had to think about this for awhile. I hope for the best from my roses but I try to have realistic expectations. I feel like I never really know a rose till I've had it at least 10 years and have had to move it at least twice. Those that have proven themselves over time are no longer a surprise. I came up with the following although some are young and not all are antiques or Austins. 1. Comtesse du Cayla- This will be its 4th summer here. Like all my Chinas, CdC loves the east-facing bed. True, the blooms last only a day but it flowers almost constantly and heavily and has been disease-free, continuing to grow well after a major move. This rose is never orange for me but a bright fuchsia and yellow blend. It blends well with daylilies and annuals and could fit into a garden with a more modern color scheme as well as an old-fashioned one. 2. Bermuda Spice- This will be the 3rd season, but only the second in the ground. Others have already spoken about its health and charms. It well deserves its Earthkind designation. From the day I took it out of the box it has done well even after I had to pot it up after planting it in the ground and wait several months till I was able to replant it. This rose is so nice with so little effort, it would be easy to take it for granted. 3.Sweet Chariot- Supposedly a mini, it grows and looks more like a weeping shrub/polyantha. I've had it 20 yrs, +/-. It's growing in too much shade in a terrible spot where it gets little or no extra water. It has become a once bloomer with a heavy spring flush and a small scattered bloom. But what a flush! The small mauve flowers cover the bush till it hides its leaves and branches and they have a fragrance that wafts. The color, form and even the scent of the flowers and shrub blend perfectly with antiques although it's a 1980's Ralph Moore creation. I should move SC but I don't know what else to plant there that would do as well.

Hahaha. The other thing Dave said that I thought was a bit odd was when he said his then-future wife had contacted him a while after they'd first met and asked him if he remembered having taken a photo with her, and he said something like, "and the *only* time I've ever lied to her..." Then he elaborated and said that he'd taken "like 200 photos that night." Yeah, right. If it had been the only time he'd lied to her, he would have simply said something like, "and I said that of course I remembered her" without mentioning how many other people wanted photos with him. I, too, like it better when all three contestants are in it until the end.

I think I would do badly as a contestant, because I would probably be incompetent getting my buzzer to ring in fast enough, lol! Typically I do well with categories about Literature, Medicine, Geography, Movies/t.v. shows, and North American and European History (not knowledgeable enough about history of most other Continents.) Music and sports depend greatly on the era, regarding my knowledge level. I do okay at the 'Before and After' categories, but I'm downright horrible at categories connected to Mythology, Opera, Religion, Art History and Science Fiction. But oddly enough, even if I do pretty badly during the general game, I seem to have a weird knack of getting the Final Jeopardy response correct, which accomplishes nothing, if one doesn't accumulate enough money beforehand, to win the game!

They showed replays tonight of (at least) the second and the third days shows. I originally missed the second days show, so I was glad to see that one.. But when the third days show came on, I found I remembered nearly every answer from Thursday, except the category on writer's that start with "I" and two or three that came on while I was out of the room. The rest I knew, even faster than the three contestants, and remembered many before the clue was even revealed, and many times even remembered things like: "this one James misses and Ken gets the right answer", or Brad gets both Double Jeopardy's and comments "You're welcome" to Ken. Or Remembered both Ken's wrong answer for Final Jeopardy and the correct answer.