Diane - thanks, Diane! :) I'm excited to see how Living the Dream (healthy, too) does next year. I think it will be a great bloomer. It's a Bedard rose...Carruth's protoge. Stainless Steel didn't bloom much this year, but it was new last year. Light Years Away, right now, has a big cluster of buds. Great rose and very fragrant and healthy. :) Thanks about my dahlias. :) I'm going to cut them back after they freeze and keep them in their pots in the garage. I'm going to put them in a different spot next year where they'll get more sun. Yeah, we love our Teddy. :) He's really slowing down. Worry, worry. Hopefully he has a few more years. Our foolish, confused trees. lol Yes, Ashley does the lavender really look well. I'm so glad to see your pics of Ashley. Hulking Beast Bess with wondrous flowers. :)

Kitty - Yay for your Cream Verandas having another go at blooming. :) Thanks, Kitty!! I wish my camera had shown the correct color for my Purple Aura, which is more like a plum color with flashes of Munstead Wood's purple. It has a clove fragrance which I really like. Thanks about our Teddy. I've been doing physio exercises for my arm, and I have to lie down on the ground, and Teddy helps me down and up. He's a good boy. I think that Pop Art and Living the Dream would look pretty next to each other. Thanks about them. Yeah, I love Stainless Steel's blooms. It's Don's favorite of my roses. I'm still having raspberries and peas every day. :) I have 4 other Dahlias that haven't bloomed, but they do have buds, so I'm hoping they open. I know, bizarre Lilacs. They have been tricked by Mother Nature. :)

Otterbon - thanks about my Stainless Steel. :) :) I love all of your roses, and your De Colores is a stunner!! Gosh, I love the blooms!!! Good idea to save that opening bud from the weather. Great to hear that it's strongly fragrant. Mmmmm...I need a lemon scented rose. And you have even more De Colores blooms. Gah!! I love them!!

Jim - thanks. :) :) He's like a giant Gracie. lol We were a lot warmer than you were today. We were 26C/79F, and we'll be 21C/70F Tuesday. The weather then starts to get cooler. We're down to 12C/54F on Friday. Rain on cool days isn't fun.

Diane - Ugh, 91F...that's just too much. You've endured more than enough heat over the summer. I am begging the weather gods to be nicer to you and your area. Boo to those locust trees. Hang in there. :) lol about the Twilight music.

Trish - well, it was, and it wasn't a good summer. We had a ton of cool weather and rain. It confused the lilac shrubs so much that they didn't bloom. My neighbor had the same problem with his lilacs. We could have used more sunny days. But at least we had no problem with hot weather. Awww...thanks about Teddy and his smooshiness. :) :) Living the Dream makes me so happy when I look at it and smell the blooms. It's a cheerful rose. :) Thanks! Rose of Rosalie is a Jalbert rose that is new this year. I think it's going to be an over the top bloomer. Waterlily dahlias, oh, I guess you mean the Anemone style. :) I like the ball type better, although the one I have has much smaller and less showy blooms. If they survive winter and do well next year, I may start collecting them. Oh, I can't, though, lol. I don't have enough room in the garage for more of their pots. Although I guess I could store the bulbs/tubers/whatever they're called in a paper bag if I decide to go into crazy collect them all mode. lol Oh, I didn't know your son and his girlfriend live on your property. lol Did you take pics of your Skylight blooms now that they're fully open? They're huge at 5"!! Oh, you tried to post them here, and they wouldn't post. Drat. And don't you hate it when the pictures don't show the true beauty of the blooms? :)

Kitty - EEeeee!! What a surprise, you sneak, you!! :) :) Woo hoo!!! With your energy and drive, you'll have this manor house to your liking before you know it. And with your personality, you'll make a great hostess for a B&B. Maybe we'll all come and stay at your place. lol. You'll have a bigger yard. Yup, I know all about summer not starting until July, lol. You may as well move here as Seattle, except that you were going to be closer to your kids there. Mmmm...it sounds great with real woodwork, marble, etc. So now do you wish you had kept your grand piano? Drat. Although moving it would have been expensive. And the fenced backyard you were talking about for Anastasia is this property. lol. The front yard looks perfect for roses...it's tiered so you can have two rows of beds and it'll look so impressive. I'm really happy for you!!! The zone 6 didn't clue me in at all. So it's a warmer zone than you're in now? I think you're zone 5. I was worried about the amount of rain you'd get in the PNW. Now you'll have lots of sunshine. How long will it take to drive to your new home? Go, Kitty, go!!! Vroooom....

Trish - I love the colors on your Mango Tango!! I love popping colors. :) Skylight reminded me of some kind of dessert, but I couldn't place it. That's a pretty bloom. I can't wait to see your Souvenir de Louis Amade blooms open. They're going to look great with the blue blooms next to it. Nice placement. Dang about the possum. I hope you can figure out how to deter it. I looked up the differences between possums and opossums. They look very different.

Kitty - yes, you'll have fun making your house into the home you want. You're very capable and have tons of energy. :) :) Please bring us along by providing before/after/during shots. :) So good that there's a park nearby. Is it an off-leash park? No bears/deer where you're going!! Excellent!! Phew!

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Carol, summer starts this Thursday when it will hit 93F. More later. Diane