Good picture! Cameras with a delay are no good for taking pictures of animals. Yesterday I took a picture of one of the cats climbing the Christmas tree - except I didn't; she left and all I got was a mysterious shot of a piece of tree!

Great smiling Dogs! So adorable, Toni!
Love their sweaters, too...

My haul from the wonderful nursery in El Cajon:
Koko Loko (which was blooming like crazy last week in Coronado rose garden! huge blooms)
Ketchup & Mustard wish I had bought one for my dad. He would love this. Forty-Niner was one of his favorites. He also goes for roses with funny names.
Grande Dame Carruth 2011 scarcity of thorns and strong scent on this one earns it a spot by the door.
Pearly Gates climber, sport of cl. America CLOVE scent, my favorite!
Tequila Supreme 2011 floribunda orange pink blend
Tangerine Streams 2011 floribunda, salmon-orange blend, parents are Bill Warriner x Honey Bouquet, which are two of my favorite roses.

I had packed these in a big microwave box and duct-taped it shut and checked it. The TSA pulled me aside and searched it both times I went through security. The box was in rough soggy shape by the time I got home, but the roses look ok. Rain was pouring on the luggage as they loaded and unloaded. i had two different flights that had mechanical problems, and one was so bad they unloaded and waited for a different plane! I had shopped at Ikea and found out that lingonberry jam is considered a liquid and can't be carried on...and that the cool LED light string i bought also looked suspicious, and the kitchen tools probably, and I was wearing a big black cape over my winter coat (in Houston!) so I was kind of regretting all the Ikea purchases. Luckily all the jars made it ok because I had bubble wrap that had been around the roses. The succulents I brought home were pretty bruised, but they'll recover. That nursery was awesome. We went there on Monday and it was raining cats and dogs and the owner told us she couldn't sell us the roses because they were still in the boxes, having arrived that morning, because her workers don't work when it's raining!!!! It was still raining Tuesday, but on Wednesday I decided to go back out there and beg. We called her first and she had them all out and wrapped up by the time we got there. She picked nice big ones for me. I'll for sure go back there next time I'm out. The timing was perfect, though. Dormant bare root is all I can buy this time of year, and this weekend, the temps will be 55 here. It'll be in 40s the rest of the week, and I'll mulch good, so I think they'll be fine. Ground won't be frozen until January, most likely.
whew...sorry so long. I'm just so excited to have these! oh--that nursery does ship, too! Now or later. here's their website: http://www.kniffingsnursery.co...

Oh, boy, Cindi!
They'll be so beautful!! can't wait to see them!

Sounds like a great haul -- congrats!

I just had a bit of excitement here. My carbon monoxide detector went off. I reset, it went off again. I changed the batteries reset and off it goes again. I call the fire departmart and tell them as I don't know what else to do. They arrive with 6 guys and two trucks. Check everything out with their meter and thank goodness no carbon monoxide. I was just afraid to ignore it just in case their really was anything wrong. I really didn't want to call but I was afraid to just decide that it was probably all right. I feel bad making them come out here for a false alarm though. They said they always come out with the resue truck. No one to resue thank goodness. I only needed one guy with one of those detectors. Oh gosh. Plus the fire deptment here is all volunteeer.

That is scary, Rita. I'm actually glad they send out the rescue truck out just in case. The symptoms of carbon monoxide poisoning sneak up on you, and for all they knew, you could have collapsed after placing the call. I'm glad everything turned out fine.

Hi Rita, I'm a first-year gardener and fairly new to ATP. I've been lurking in the rose forum for ideas and inspiration.

I just had to write in and let you know that I think it was a smart thing what you did! I know a family that passed away from carbon monoxide poisoning; they most certainly would have been saved by a detector. I bet the firefighters prefer these calls over an actual carbon monoxide poisoning!

btw, those pink roses are beautiful! What a gorgeous shade of pink! Are they easy to grow?

Rita, is your garage attached to the house? If it were me, I would park the cars outside for the night, just in case there is a problem and your detector is real sensitive. I would also have the furnace checked out, and buy a second co2 detector. I wouldn't call that a false alarm, either. You either have a malfunctioning detector, or a ventilation problem. Either way, it's something worth checking out.
Household appliances such as your oven, range, dryer, water heater and the fireplace can all have issues even if they seem to be working normally. Snow blocking vents can cause problems. The firemen who responded to our CO alarm said the alarms themselves need to be replaced every 2 or 3 years. The sensors wear out and that sets off an alarm.

ssgardener, welcome to the forum. I didn't feel like I could go to sleep without calling as carbon monixide, even the possibity of carbon monixide is too dangerous to ignore.

Zuzu, I just didn't expect two fire trucks and six guys. I was really embarrased after it turned out to be a false alarm.

Cindi, My garage is not attached to the house, I don't own a dryer. The firemen did actually tell me it was best to have two Carbon Monixide alarms but I just hve only one.

You may have been embarrassed, Rita, but I'm sure the fireman were happy. They see too many tragedies in their work and I'm sure they're greatly relieved when something turns out to be fine.

How do you live without a dryer? Do you send everything out to a laundry? Am I being too snoopy?

Well, I do have a wash machine and do the laundry the old fashioned way. I hung it out on the line for my mom when I was a kid and still do hang it out on the line to this day. I see no reason to change anything.

Well, more power to you, Rita!

Our rainy season lasts for months and sometimes the rain doesn't stop for days and days on end. That would not be an option here.

I do have some clothes lines strung up in the basement for when the weather is not so nice. At those times I just hang the stuff up inside. But especially if I have something like sheets then I really want to hang outside if at all possible as it makes the sheets smell so clean and fresh. In fact I had sheets hung out on the line yesterday overnight and just brought them in this afternoon.

In some ways I am truely old fashioned, see no reason to change. I don't have a dish washer either. Don't want one. I just wash my dishes in the sink the way it must have been done for ages. On the other hand, I don't know how I ever managed in the days before microwaves. I can't manage without my microwave these days.

I also love my microwave. I don't have a dishwasher either and -- talk about primitive -- I don't even have a car.

Well, I could never manage without a car. I have been driving since I was 16 and I am 64 now.

My family never had a car. We lived in Asia, where no one needs a car, and then we moved to San Francisco, where no one needs a car. I did drive for about 10 years after I started teaching night classes, but I sold my last car more than 30 years ago and I've never missed it. It all depends on what you're used to, I guess. We never had a telephone until I was in high school, and the only phone I have now is still attached to the wall by a cord.

Can't live in suburba without a car. And I have lived around here most all my life.

Christmas Lights! Yay!!


Can't live w/o my van.. seriously. Didn't really go further than 20 miles from home yesterday, but put on over 120 miles. Closest grocery store is 2.1 miles 1 way, closest Walmart is about 5 miles away. I'm in a "food desert" (most of the D-metro is), but that's OK, I *love* driving. Only weather I don't like driving in is hail.. otherwise I'm all good.

Rita - Were the firefighters at least cute? The one time I called the fire dept to report the smell of smoke & they came out (extreme drought a few years ago) they sent out a truck & the guys *were* awfully cute..

Toni, I am 64 years old and way past thinking about if guys are cute or not. But I sure did notice the first guy in the door and the one I was talking with was so young that he looked like a teenager to me. Geez, I am really getting old here!