Propagating Roses

Have you ever done this?

I dropped by a friend's this evening to meet her sister and to see her backyard, minus 13 trees they just had cut down. Long story short....you know me, quick and to the point, she had the most beautiful rose bush growing near her deck. It is the old cottage style rose. I had to smell it, of course, and it smelled like a rose. Don't you hate when you go to smell a rose and it doesn't really smell like much of a rose? Well, not with this one.

I asked, "Do you know how to propagate?"
To which she answered, "No."
"Not a problem," I said, "I'll just Google it."
The first thing I did when I got home this evening was just that.
I think it is going to be easy....I'll keep you posted.

Links for later reference
Santa Clarita Rose Society
Propagating roses from cuttings
Berkeley Horicultural Nursery

Hannah turned 13!

Hannah turned 13 years old the beginning of April. I love all things party....I love planning the party, creating things for the party, getting ready for the party and actually hosting the party.
This year, Hannah's theme was: Springtime in Paris. We moved the dining room table into the living room and put the couch and coffee table in the dining room.

Decorations:
I found some $1/yard fabric for a tablecloth (I didn't have a table cloth big enough, since I added both leaves to my table). I found some silk fushia gerber daisies and placed them in glass containers with water. I had pink tealight candles and placed them around the table.
Activities:
Translate This - When the girls arrived I had strips of paper at each seat with sentences in French. They went around the table and read their sentences...they had fun listening to each other try to sound out some of the words. No one guessed what their sentences were, so I read the English version and they had to figure out which ones went together. I had funny sentences like, "I like to eat frog legs in the bathtub."
Cheese Tasting - I had 4 different types of cheese (Gouda, Havarit, Brie and Jarlsberg). For each cheese the girls noted the color and look, smelled and then tasted. The overall favorite was Gouda.
Canvas Art - I purchased a canvas for each girl and acrylic paints. Each girl painted on their canvas.
Food:
Turkey & Ham Crossiants and Grapes.
Eclairs with whipped topping and strawberries.

Hannah said this party was her favorite so far. It was fun to plan.....
Here are a few photos from the party.

Remember Me? *edited*

Despite all appearances and rumors, I have not quit blogging....Just took a blogging retreat. I still have peaked at friends and my favorite blogs, but haven't been inspired to blog myself. I guess I felt like I didn't have much to blog or I was too busy to blog.
Nevertheless, I'm back.

My suitcase received a lot of use this past month.
My adventures included: The Great Smoky Mountains, Panama City Beach and St. Augustine.

Today I'll share.....
This Spring Break our family drove up to the Great Smoky Mountains. We stayed in Pigeon Forge, TN. We packed a lot into our 5 day vacation. Michael and the kids rode go-karts for 4 hours one day on a really neat 3 story race track. I had fun taking pictures and reading while they rode until their right legs were sore! We walked around Gaitlinburg, TN. Hannah and Jacob had to have airbrushed t-shirts - so Aunt Ann gave them money to buy the shirts at one of the shops in Gaitlinburg. The kids and Michael rode the mountain on the Alpine Slide. I was too chicken to ride the skylift up the mountain, so I stayed below to take photos of them. We went to the Gem Mine and Hannah and Jacob sifted through sand to find gemstones. Hannah found a large amethyst and had a pendant and ring made from her find, for her 13th birthday. One day we drove over to The Smoky Mountain National Park and drove the Cade's Cove 11 mile loop. We counted the number of deer we saw - we scouted 97 deer. We were a little disappointed that the bears were still in hibernation. We'll just have to make another trip to Cade's Cove. Also, we went to a dinner show, The Blackbear Jamboree. My expectations were low, but I was pleasantly surprised with a really great show.