Brandy--(my sisters name is Brandy btw!) I haven't yet heard back from the previous owner but I checked my aol email and it shows she hasn't yet read the email. I very well may have an old email that she does't check anymore. I could go to her new ranch, its just a ways up from me towards the next town but I didn't want to just show up on her porch uninvited :) I'll be able to get a hold of her eventually, and will make sure I do so before my husband needs to start moving things for the renovation/remodel of our farmhouse. Jeri (from this board) has been in touch with me and she is wanting to come out sometime in the next few months to check some of the rose bushes we have here. I sent her a TON of pictures on email, poor thing! She's been very friendly and helpful. I haven't been able to answer this post because I've been camping at the beach with my kiddos and although I had access to internet I tried very hard to just sit back and enjoy the quiet time with my kids :) Yes, I'm familiar with the Mojave desert, we camp there all the time during the cooler months (desert camping is usually from about Oct-April for us!) We take the dirtbikes out to California City in the winter and we spend the summers at the lakes or the beach. I'll keep everyone updated as I find out information. Jeri gave me some possible names of the other roses we have, I have no idea if they are anything special (my gut says they aren't but I dont know a THING about roses LOL) but she says she saw enough that she still thinks its worth a trip out to our ranch to check them out. So I'll be in contact with her about that. Thanks for everyones interest! Sammy--I wll have to check out the Dainty Bess, the Natalie Bloxham, Arcola Gardens and Seil roses to see their resemblance to mine. I'm still not sure anyone (or even Jeri?) is convinced its a Kathleen but she sent me a picture of the Rancho Camulous Kathleen out here near where I live and it does look eerily similar. So...we'll see! Tam

Hey Julie, I was through Lewiston just yesterday on my way home from New York. We are in a similar growing zone, although yours may be a little warmer, depending on the wind. Ruth Ann, in Burlington Ontario, is a wonderful expert in our area in the growing and wintering of brugmansia. Hopefully, she will add her comments as well. You mention that you have 8 brugs (ecuador white) and that it is now getting into the 40's here at night. When it gets cold here and near the freezing/frost point, I always take mine indoors or at least cover them for the night. Tonight, it is supposed to be close to freezing here, and clear, so I have taken most of mine inside, and covered those that I want to keep that I have not yet brought inside. These I put into my garage, and have started to trim off the leaves to force dormancy. I will be washing them several times to get rid of bugs, and spraying them as well. I keep most of mine in a cold cellar with no light, but it does not freeze there. I usually also take a few cuttings, ....just in case. These I keep in my basement under florescent lamps. I do have to watch these for spider mites, and spray often to keep the mites in check. You mention that your garage can get quite cold. If it freezes, and your brugs are in there, they will not survive, so you must be aware of what you need to do. They should be brought indoors. Try to get some 4 foot florescent lamps from a recycle shop or some other economical source ( friends?) It is not too difficult to wire them up to a timer for the winter. I usually cut the foliage off, even if I take the plant indoors. They will drop the foliage at any rate because the intensity of the light is different from outside. Your question about the coolers is an interesting one. Personally, I think that the closed coolers may set up a humidity problem and mold would set in. In my mind, that would surely be detrimental to the health of the plant. You mentinon that your basement is heated. How hot? Is there a cool spot? I found a space in the corner of mine that is good for my brugs. You asked if you should try bring a few of those 5 down to the basement anyway. I would. If you make a few cuttings, and get them going, and all survive, you will have extra to make plant trades in the spring. That is what I do anyway with my brugs and also my dahlias. Before I bring my plants indoors, I always give them a good blast with the hose, then spray with an insecticide of some sort, and then blast again with the hose. All this AFTER I have removed most of the leaves. Remember to wash your hands after trimming the plant. Better safe than sorry. An interesting question about the roots in the pots. If you have some pots that are just a little bigger, feel free to repot. However, if the plant goes dormant, then repotting should not be necessary until the spring. If they are only 1 gallon pots though, I am concerned that they might not be large enough. So many factors are dependent here. The temperature of the place where you are going to store them, the amount of light you are going to give them. IF you are going to take them indoors and try to keep them alive and growing in the north-west light, then I would definitely repot them. Of course space is a factor as well. If you have any variegated brugs, I have found that they do not take well to going dormant. I always keep mine going throughout the winter. They are in larger pots though. When I put them outside in the spring for their summer residencey, I usually just sink the pot into the ground. In the fall, I clip off the roots that have gone outside the pot, and then trim the leaves back, take to the cold cellar (non freezing), water once every 3-4 weeks sparingly, and then start them up again in early May. Best of luck.

I"m having a Twilight Zone moment; I responded to two posts on my original Decorating Forum thread I found linked on another thread here in HE. But it's not showing up on the Decorating pages - must mean it's scrolled into cyberspace. Anyway, here is what I wrote: Sorry. No pictures left on Photobucket. DH is out of town with camera, but the panels are leaning on the DR wall at the moment anyway - TV went black (not even 3yo!) and we had to remove them to send TV to shop. The guys who made the sliding panels for me came to remove them. I found out they used very large drawer glides. They used 28" glides on the double panel side and 14" glide on the single panel slide. Hope this helps.

Christine -- I am very happy to hear that part of the burden has been lifted for you. I am always impressed with your positive, can-do attitude. Please talk to a qualified tax professional about your 2012 taxes. While cancellation of debt (COD) income is generally taxable, there are exceptions. The following is from the IRS website: "Is Cancellation of Debt income always taxable? Not always. There are some exceptions. The most common situations when cancellation of debt income is not taxable involve: Qualified principal residence indebtedness: This is the exception created by the Mortgage Debt Relief Act of 2007 and applies to most homeowners. Bankruptcy: Debts discharged through bankruptcy are not considered taxable income. Insolvency: If you are insolvent when the debt is cancelled, some or all of the cancelled debt may not be taxable to you. You are insolvent when your total debts are more than the fair market value of your total assets. Certain farm debts: If you incurred the debt directly in operation of a farm, more than half your income from the prior three years was from farming, and the loan was owed to a person or agency regularly engaged in lending, your cancelled debt is generally not considered taxable income. Non-recourse loans: A non-recourse loan is a loan for which the lender�s only remedy in case of default is to repossess the property being financed or used as collateral. That is, the lender cannot pursue you personally in case of default. Forgiveness of a non-recourse loan resulting from a foreclosure does not result in cancellation of debt income. However, it may result in other tax consequences." These links will give you some basic information: http://www.irs.gov/individuals/article/0,,id=179414,00.html http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cancellation_of_Debt_(COD)_Income http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p4681.pdf Here is a link that might be useful: IRS Pub 4681