Happy New Year!

The thumbnail photo is Rosa 'New Year,' a 1982 McGredy grandiflora.

Very appropriate rose! Hope everyone had a warm & safe holiday! We went downtown & watched the 9pm fireworks, was back home by 1030 & in bed by 11. Such the party animals...

I went to bed at 9:30 and watched the firer works from my bed room window !!! I loved it Chewy not so much LOL hes a chicken dog

I was watching a 'Doc Martin' marathon and didn't even notice when midnight arrived.

Ever since Wednesday when our county lifted the ban on fireworks necessitated by the drought, our neighbors have been shooting off fireworks as soon as it gets dark each night. Apparently they saved some for New Year's Eve, however; it sounded like world war lll at midnight. Zuzu, your neighbors must be quieter.

It used to be only the week of July 4th that you heard fire works but since thy changed the rules its one day be for ,day of and day after a major holiday i wonder iif that including St. Patricks day Mothers day gezz theres a lot of holidays

I closed out the year sick as a dog. We have some wicked flu virus floating around here....after a week of continually getting worse, you start begging your spouse to smother you with a pillow. Alas, I survived! Good thing, too...I have 8 roses coming in March....four from Vintage and four from Heirloom. Wouldn't want to miss that!

Katie - I can understand that! I sincerely hope that you're on the upstep! What roses you got coming in from Heirloom & Vintage?

Yes...I'm feeling much better, thanks! Just need to kick this awful cough, though! From Vintage I have Antoine Schurz, Duc de Marlborough, Mme. Eugene E. Marlitt, and something else that I cannot remember. My husband ordered them for me for Christmas last year, but they weren't due to arrive until this year. This Christmas he ordered from Heirloom: Josephine Ritter, Epoca, Acropolis, and Michelangelo. I'm terribly excited, but after hearing many bad reviews of Heirloom and even Vintage, I'm a little nervous.

Katie - A few years ago, I had the world's worst case of walking pneumonia and, after 3 weeks of a hacking cough that would keep me from sleeping, eating, resting, etc, I finally talked to the doc. He prescribed this really tasty cough syrup that was half codeine, half Robitussin. I was over the cough in 2 days... mainly because I fell asleep at about 730 on a Saturday morning & didn't wake up until almost 6pm the next day!

It is cold here so I don't have any new garden pictures. But at least once January comes around I feel we are really closing in on spring.

77 days till the first day of spring !!! not that I'm counting

Technically yes.. that many days... but Mother Nature always has a surprise or two waiting for us.

A few pleasant surprises would be nice.

but counting gives me some thing to look froward to

I'd love the pleasant surprise that Ohio weather miraculously becomes California weather. It's a lovely 11 degrees here this morning. I am SO moving to NoCal.

Katie - lolll.. 3.7deg this morning at 730.. "supposed" to go up to 36. I doubt we'll see above 20. Norms are in the 40s. We've got Feb weather a month early. Maybe that'll bring on the snow early too? I'd love to see some March snow right about now!!

You can have our snow!! We have lots....plenty to share!! Ok, I guess I shouldn't be complaining about the snow. It IS protecting the roses, after all. Hmmph.

Katie - Yea, I know, you got all our snow. We were hoping for a dumping & got a dusting. It's sooooooo dry.... :( But you can fedex all the snow/rain you want my way!!

Haha....snow is packed and shipped!!! Now I'm going to go take a nap, and when I wake up, it better be April.