I have a couple. I have no idea what their names are. The red is my favorite. This big pink one, I was just talkign about yanking, because I didnt remember ever seeing it bloom. close-up The color on this one is more accurately a pale pink This shows the more truer color Tammy

Thanks so much for your kind comments and glad you like the swag.....I always worried about how many canes to take up but it seems that 3 trained around the post and then on to the chain works out best for me.....I used metal eyelets screwed into the posts to tie the canes to, long eyelets too, I thought it kept the roses a bit more off the posts and gave it more air circulation. I could have pruned those couple of long canes that grow out horizontally on each end but when I saw how many buds it had I didn't have the heart to cut them...:).....Next year I might just have the canes on the posts and chains and cut the horizontals but hey I was so excited about them long budded canes, I thought to myself, "I ain't cutting them things off"....:) Again glad you enjoyed the photos...Have a nice weekend. Paul

This is a most riveting subject, and a most interesting thread. I think there is a little bit of truth in many of the posts so far and I've changed my mind on this one at least five times. The actual print inside the frame gave me the impression of a photograph because of the fine white line like old photos get when they are damaged. That being said, one can take a photo of a drawing and parts of this picture are without a doubt hand rendered including the background and that could very well be a studio backdrop. My impression at this point is that this is likely a studio portrait and that it is in essence a composite with the facial features being the true rendering off a negative and the rest a lot of touch up and very poorly executed outright embellishment. If you'd like to see an example of a turn of the century hand painted studio backdrop, I can show you a large portrait of my great-grandfather and his brother sitting in a real chair, but with a very fake staircase behind them. LOL It was not an unusual practise, clear on up to the forties and fifties for some photographers to take portraits in black and white and hand tint and retouch them in the dark room. It wasn't because of the cameras not being able to, but the studios having the equipment to develop them. So seeing 'sketch marks' doesn't prove anything but the skill of the craftsman who took and developed the portrait because you're just as likely to see the editing on a real photograph as not. I have a portrait of my g'grandmother I'm inserting here because judging by her age it would have been taken about 1918-20. It has been hand tinted, and if you look at her blouse, it has obviously been hand retouched for detail and the bottom darkened out to extend the photo as much as possible to the paper to fill it. I think this is what happened to the boy's dress......it was probably enhanced by hand and the chair by imagination and lack of artistic ability. Even poor people scrounged up the money for portraits in the old days, God knows my ancestors weren't rich people and we have them to pass along. But they certainly were special enough not to be done on a whim. One portrait my g'parents had taken in the twenties was of my little aunt who was expected to die at birth, but lived until two years. So, they coughed up the money, even with ten kids, to have a portrait taken of her. I'm no expert and I'm not pretending to be but before I'd blow this one off as a fake, I'd have it checked out. Regardless of how it pans out, and even if it turns out to be a Cracker Barrel nostalgia shot..........it's a Jim Dandy and worth hanging on a wall just to see the mug on that kid.

Here is the "Original Nilla Wafers Banana Pudding." I still have this recipe that I cut from the back of the box of wafers many years ago. NILLA WAFERS ORIGINAL BANANA PUDDING 3/4 c. granulated sugar 1/3 c. all-purpose flour Dash of salt 4 eggs, separated, at room temperature 2 c. milk 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract 35 to 45 Nilla Wafers 5 to 6 med. size fully ripe bananas, sliced (reserve 1 banana and 10-12 wafers for garnish*.) Combine 1/2 cup sugar, flour and salt in top of double boiler. Stir in 4 egg yolks and milk; blend well. Cook, uncovered, over boiling water, stirring constantly until thickened. Reduce heat and cook, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes. Remove from heat; add vanilla. Spread small amount on bottom of 1 1/2 quart casserole; cover with layer of Nilla Wafers. Top with layer of sliced bananas. Pour about 1/3 of the custard over bananas. Continue to layer wafers, bananas and custard to make 3 layers each, ending with custard. Beat egg whites until stiff but not dry; gradually add remaining 1/4 cup sugar and beat until stiff peaks form. Spoon on top of pudding, spreading to cover entire surface and sealing well to edges. Bake at 425 degrees for 5 minutes or until delicately browned. Cool slightly or chill. If you have some kind of new sauce pan you can probably cook the pudding okay, but it will scorch easily. Better to use a double boiler. *I don't do the garnish, and I think the pudding is not complete without the meringue. Instant pudding ... no way! This is a classic dessert and should not be tampered with. Sue