Since my husband was in CA all week, he missed both Valentines day and my birthday.....so....Bad person that I was, I went to the Dayton Orchid show today with the intention of buying ONLY Den. victoriae reginae, and Blc. Kodama "chocolate drop".....I ended up spending FAR more than I should have and getting the following: Bletilla striata--the variegated form, purply flower Sedirea japonica Aerangis luteo-alba var. rhodosticta Den kingianum (a healthy one in spike which is radically different from the little one I've been nursing along for years. Pot. Cameron's (it looks for all the world like Magestism...anyone got a better clue? I thought it should be Magnetism....) Sc, crystelle Smith 'BK Orchids' Lc. Mem. Robert Strait 'Blue Hawaii' Slc. Tutankhamen 'Pop' the batch of this really made me go over budget....sigh. and I had all the best of intentions. Notice: I didn't mention F--d, and this is actually ON topic. :) I also met WestOH and Newlyhooked. :)

There are some animated e-cards that I have rec'd from friends from the Jacquie Lawson series for the 4th of July and Valentines Day. They are beautiful and you subscribe to the service. But, you are right to remind me about the about the possibility of a virus. Me, I write hand-written notes for birthdays and times of stress. I really have stuff in my heart for those people and need to let them know. Can't stand sing songy cards that are sent to through the mail with just a signature without much thought of the message on it. Some sent to me have hurt me badly. For example: When my husband was in Vietnam for our first anniversary I got a printed card from his dopey faher's wife that said that this must be the best day of the year for me. When I had cancer I was told that it was operable and my chances were good. After the surgery I got a grim card from a neighbor that said "we are sorry the news is so bad right now and are praying that things get better. I thought everyone was lying to me about my future and became very isolated from my friends and family. Those taking care of me went to her and let her it. Her facts were wrong and she didn't read the card before she sent it.

Stephenei: What got me hooked was a section on home made cards in a Feb issue of either MM or CK magazine. And I REALLY got hooked! Card making has replaced (for the time being) scraping. As for ideas, I got some from the aforementioned magazine, some from looking at cards in card shops, and some from my own imagination. ItÂs amazing what creative creatures we can be when doing something we enjoy! One idea for an Easter card came from a quote I found onlineÂÂGive hugs, if you carrot at all! My sonÂs best friend calls me ÂAunt Carront, so I made a little card out of lime green card stock. I made three little carrots out of orange and brown card stock and cut thin strips of dark green card stock for grass. I attached the grass and the carrots to the front of the card with pop dots (for the 3D effect) and outlined the edges of the front of the card with thin strips of orange card stock. I made one large carrot for the inside to hold the latter part of the quote. It turned out to be a cute card and the idea came after seeing the quote. Other ideas come from looking through my materials and Âplaying with them,Âi.e., seeing what goes together. IÂve never scanned anything for use on the computer, but if you like, IÂd be happy to try and scan and post-to-you some of the cards I made to help you get started with ideas. I know what itÂs like to feel like...where do the ideas come from?! And once you get started, believe me, thereÂs no stopping!!!!!!! Also, some others have posted about tea-bag/paper folding which I have tried yet. As Sally said, when your scraping and stamping, the ideas just seem to flow. p.s. there are also books on card making and paper projects. My husband gave me one for a present and one was referenced in the magazine that I have been looking for but have yet to find. Hope this helps. karen

Hi Melissa, I can't comment on the OGR's since I don't grow any of the varieties you mentioned. But I am happy for you that you are growing them, and your garden plans sound great! I too ordered several roses from Lottum. I have to say the sloppy way they were packaged was a disappointment, and shipping to Malta was very slow. But this was right before Christmas so hopefully yours will arrive faster. In the end all of my Lottum roses are happily growing in their pots with no problems, so although it was a bit scary, I will probably order from them again next year. Their prices are hard to beat and the roses are strong. I love the plants you will be using as a hedge! Rosemary is so much more than a windowsill kitchen herb. I let mine grow as big as they want on the roof and right now they are covered in flowers that remind me of tiny orchids. Shrub germander and Mexican sage are wonderful too! Great choices! We've had very similar weather to yours this winter: torrential rain in November then almost nothing in December, January was totally dry and so far not a drop of rain in February. It is already 17 degrees here and I am honestly dreading the summer and how hot it's going to get this year. Off topic: As far as I'm aware, most rose trials tend to test for cold hardiness and disease resistance, but I wish there was something like an ADR for extreme heat and drought tolerance in rose varieties. Is there such a thing?