LOL Nan - I'm not a sew-er either...but my mom is, and luckily for me, she *loves* to be helpful when possible. Mom's are nice that way, aren't they? ;-) I didn't stick to my garbage schedule last night - even though it needed emptying. It was -8°, and there was just no way I was going out in the cold anymore than absolutely necessary. Bah humbug. But DH and I *have* been doing our nightly workouts...only one at the gym, but we've been doing the rest at home, since it's too cold to leave. Imagine working out on a "power rider" (old piece of exercise equipment) with a fire going in the fireplace just 10 ft. away, and favorite shows on TV. Can't really beat that! LOL Keep trying, Nancy...you'll get it one of these weeks!! ;-)

I agree - the best recipes seem to come from church or service group cook books. After all, who wants their friends to think they can't cook well?? :) Patti - I'd love to post about new recipes I try! I'll start as soon as I have a night home to try a new one. ;) Tuesday night was craft club, Wed. was Bible Study, tonight is Birthday Club, Friday is Good Friday services (must include a fish fry afterwards!). MAYBE Saturday night I'll be home to cook. Sunday, of course, Easter....and then Monday starts it all over again....... I'd probably save money by going out every night! :( I always buy stuff with good intentions and then my week gets crazy like this one!

chaispice - I'm confused,,, there is no green shown in any of my above photos. Could you be more specific about where you are seeing the green? Also, the white was a pure white from Dulux Paints and it was an indoor/outdoor trim paint that my painters insisted we use. Had a wonderful and durable sheen. Here is a link that might be useful: Trim gloss

The ground has been dry under a few inches of surface moisture for a very long time and I think that's why I'm now seeing such an explosion of growth and bloom. After some time I will begin to study how much or little water the roses need, but at this point I think at least some of the roses have been short of sub-surface moisture for quite a long time and giving them more than necessary for a little while will not hurt them. Strangely, our water district actually has a surplus of water in its reservoirs because they've been importing water (don't ask!) so I don't feel that I'm causing any harm at this time, especially with El Nino coming soon. There will be quite a bit of fine tuning needed in the future to ensure we don't waste water but that the roses still receive the amount they require.