It's Bill Cosby in Himself. My favorite. Dad is great, give us chocolate cake! "Bill Cosby: Now you've got to go. So you come into the bathroom, close the door; now, don't forget: you owe this to yourself. You've worked hard all week. It's come to this: [Kneels beside the chair and pretends to lift the lid on the john, then starts moaning] Bill Cosby: "Ahh, Jesus... Oh, God... If You get me out of this, I'll never drink again as long as I live..." [groans again] Bill Cosby: Now you are ready to put your face in a place that was never built for your face." Michelle, you and potty humor? NAH, you dont' say. Stirring poetry, man you kill me! Here is a link that might be useful: Bill Cosby quotes

Hi again Garden2garden, I have copied from wikpedia some info on thatching (see below). I'm afraid the palms don't have anything to do with thatching in England but maybe in tropical areas they were used for roofing of some sort in the past. My husband & I stayed in this beautiful cottage for a night, it is a B&B near Yarmouth I think. "Thatching is the craft of covering a roof with dry vegetation such as straw, water reed, sedge, rushes and heather, layering the vegetation so as to shed water away from the inner roof. It is probably the oldest roofing material and has been used in both tropical and temperate climates. Thatch is still employed by builders in developing countries, usually with low-cost, local vegetation. By contrast in some developed countries it is now the choice of well-to-do people who want their home to have a rustic look." Thanks for the rose names Jon, Roger had added 2 of them in the comments section on Flickr. They are roses that I have not heard the names of before so unlikely to be found in Australia although they are often known under other names so I will do some research. The photos of Stourhead I was very pleased with. I had visited there about 23 years ago in September I think but loved it and was very keen to revisit. I am so pleased that I was able to visit in May this time in 2004 as the azaleas etc were in massive flower. So many beautiful colours and stunning trees and the lake and the follies..I could wax lyrical but I need to go to bed. I'll add some more of the gardens I visited to Flickr in the future. Cheers Debra

Thanks Bboy: Might be some dull weather in about 7 or 8 days. Will wait and see. Doesnt look like it will flower this year anyway. Will give it a little bit of "root booster" to help it along. In its new location the roots will be shaded till about 4pm and mostly only the top will get full sun. ps-did have Jackmani clematis in that location and they went really rampant!! Have moved it to a location where rampant is okay-lol In that scenario I made the mistake of putting 2 different kinds of Clematis in one location, with 2 different pruning times, and it was impossible to prune cause they became intertwined.What a mess that was!! Thanks again for your help.

Was gonna post this last night,...-sigh-...but,...once again I fell asleep at the keyboard. Sometimes this dang chair really is just way too comfortable. LOL! - Anywayyyyy,...sorry. Ahem,...now, to continue. Okay, so two days ago I received two more fantastic seed laden Christmas cards,... From tbbgardens (Trudy): A really nice, snowy card with a pair of Cardinal birds (my MIL's feathery fave), and YEAH,...Back Pearl Pepper seeds (another Wishlist BIGGIE!!), also Scarlet Creeper Vine (We have lots of chainlink fence here at our new place just begging for vines of all kinds, plus we also have an arbor out back), Hoya (Pretty! Flower stars!) and Anise Hyssop (From what I've read, this is one heckuva perennial herb! Great looks, great scent, and leaves for tea)! Never tried any of these, but now I'm sure gonna!! Thank you so very much Trudy, for the beautiful card and seeds, and for all the helpful information! :) From ruthz (Ruth, of course): A cool "Let it snow" card with a plastic window featuring simulated snow and a view of a jolly snowman, and no less than three more selections from my Wishlist!! Lemon Drop Pepper (Yessss!), more Black Pearl Pepper (Lovin' it!) and Eupatorium rugosum ‘Chocolate’ (Tallish, with purple-bronze leaves and white flower clusters - Niiice!! Thank you soooooo much, Ruth!! :) Cards and seeds received yesterday... From wishdesign (Jean): A cute "Share the joy of the season" card with a plush-toyish-looking reindeer offering symbols of the season as gifts. Now,...for the seeds (O Boy, O Boy, O Boy!!), first off, more Lemon Drop Pepper (Genetic diversity rocks,...who wants inbred peppers?! The more the merrier!!), Goji Berry (Majorly doing the Happy Dance!! Yeah baby!! Definitely a SUPER BIG TIME want from my Wishlist!!) and Indian Ginseng (Aswagandha - A medicinal herb for folks with insomnia, and the berries can be used as a substitute for Rennet in cheese making...totally rippin' cool!!). Thanks bunches, Jean!! Oh,...and the little red zippies, uber nice touch!! :) From missmojo (Lisa): A cool, handmade Christmas card, stamped with an image of holly and "Happy Holidays!", with purple Balloon Flower seeds (Yip-yip YES! My SIL only has blue,...guess who's gonna be wanting whose seeds now!! He-he!) Thanks a bunch, Lisa! :) Today's card... From dirtdaddy (David): How totally cool! An Elvis card! Could easily be the cover-art for The King's Blue Christmas single (if there ever was such)! - Ahhhh, now for the seeds! Man-O-man! More Black Pearl Pepper (Enough is never enough!!), more Lemon Drop Pepper (Like I said for Black Pearl), Thai Red Hot Pepper (Yeah! It's cold outside, stoke the fire!), Dr. Wyche's Yellow tomato (From the late Dr. John Wyche - Oooo, a real good one, to be sure!!), Jimmy Nardello Pepper (Sweet and light when eaten raw, classic Italian frying pepper, a favorite non-hot. - Hmmm, methinks a bit o' culinary experimentation is definitely in order), Bush Moon Flower (White Datura? We have Moon Flower vine, Morning Glory type.) Thanks loads, David!! :)