Those punk boys are idiots. I would have slapped my son silly if he treated a girl like that. I would still do it and he's 32! haha Can't stand Missy and Baylor. They don't deserve to win. I think the editing is purposely trying to make the guys look bad. Listen to what they say, DO SOMETHING! Lazy @ss girls aren't doing anything. Very soon they will start voting off the strong guys then we will be stuck with the likes of Missy and Baylor. Gag, they don't deserve to win. At least the idiot guys are doing something. I like Jeremy, ( did not like his wife, which would keep me from voting for him, I wouldn't want her to get the money, and you know SHE will get it.) I like Wes and his dad. That's about it. Well, I guess Natalie isn't bothering me as much as she did before.

I hosted Christmas Eve (7 adults, one toddler, one infant) and had a lot of fun doing so. Deep cleaning & decorating were done a week ago. All cookie & pie doughs were made on the 22nd & 'fridged. So the heavy lifting was over & done with. On the 23rd, I picked up a prime rib roast & did my baking -- two types of rolled cookies, one batch of drop cookies, and a huge pumpkin pie made in a 12" quiche dish. I adore pre-holiday baking and like to listen to classical holiday music while working in the kitchen. Such a beautiful time. Then I set the table & got out serving pieces in the evening. On the 24th, I placed the roast in a pan in a convection oven, peeled/boiled/mashed potatoes, made gravy, and fixed what turned out to be the surprise hit of the meal -- Brussels sprouts combined with baby carrots, microwaved & sprinkled with a touch of nutmeg. So easy! Baby carrots & Brussels sprouts are a good combo, and the hint of nutmeg sets off the flavors really well -- everybody kept asking why are the veggies so good, lol! So the meal wasn't anything complicated, just easy basics done well. Champagne, coffee, & desserts followed, and we had a grand time playing with our adorable grandbabies. My gallant DIL hosted Christmas day, bless her heart, and did a fine job with delicious foods & a pretty table setting. She works part-time in health care and has been having 12- 14 hour shifts as flu & colds season sets in. Plus she has two little ones under the age of two, and she and my son have awful commutes -- an hour at least. So my hat's off to her for organizing our Christmas day so beautifully despite the stresses she's under. She is amazing, and we love her dearly. I love to photograph my holiday settings. Sometimes I use the Friendly Village buffet plates, as shown here, sometimes a white Homer Laughlin earthenware set. Either are so festive this time of year : I bought the Smith & Hawken cast aluminum patio chairs for $80 each when S&H went out of business. Back then, my wooden dining chairs were beyond repair, & I got the aluminum ones as temporary replacements. They're so practical (light, strong, roomy) that I've just never replaced them with proper dining room chairs yet. I have a black metal chandelier & black iron curtain rod to kind of tie them visually. A bit odd, decorating-wise, but they sure are comfy. Oakley & lukkiirish, wishing you both peace and healing in 2017.

Roses with prominently displayed stamens, like the lovely Fire Opal, are supposed to be the best bee magnets, although oddly The Charlatan (Meilland) is not so much. Maybe they get confused by the fact they are pink: Last year was my first foray into Guillot roses and the jury is still out for me, with the exception of Versigny, so I’m eager to see Chantal and will definitely post photos and report back. They all got some black spot and can be inclined to lankiness and weak necks. Ventilo had petal-packed, intensely fragrant blooms but the whole plant was weak. wimpy and grew backwards. It remains to be seen if the two pathetically skinny canes left buck up, but wow, what a bloom! Notre Dame de Rosaire is already SP’d. It was the most vigorous, but I just didn’t like the lurid coral colour, the pancake blooms or the fact it spoilt badly in rain. It looks a subtler shade here than it was irl:

Schoolhouse, I was just coming here to say the same thing. It’s early, but man, TAR is boring me so far for the first time ever. Survivor is, too. I don’t really like or dislike anyone, or care which teams win anything. Maybe it’s just the monotony of the same location, same challenges, same three teams and one is always weak, too many ways to have immunity (or not), etc. I wish they’d mix it up and go back to two larger teams and somewhere besides Fiji. It used to be rough and rugged, now it’s like they’re at a resort playing games. From what I’ve read, it’s Fiji now due to tax breaks and liability. They’ve had some people in dangerous situations in the past and don’t want that to happen again. But it feels like Disney Survivor. :D I loved last season. It felt more like the old days to me for some reason. The contestants were interesting and a great mix of personalities.