Clematis look really nice with roses. I'm new to clematis, and after doing a little research on them, I ended up buying this clematis called,'Snow Queen. I'm really glad that I bought this variety. One of the buds opened up two days later since I bought it at a nursery. For some reasons, the flowers of clematis reminded me of how my mother used to make embroidery patterns for table clothes, and hankerchieves for me and my brother. The flower shape/texture has this 'warmth' feeling to it when I looked at it this morning. Now my interests are roses And clematis. I'm intending to add more clematis. For those who haven't tried growing clematis - I suggest you should give it a try. BTW... my opinion on osteospermum being a good companion plant has changed. Those African Daisies are Thrip magnet, and the foliage has this pungent smell and would not be a good idea to plant close to those light pastel color roses. I didn't get rid of the plants because they seem to be doing very well. Instead I had to spray them with pyrethrin, and cut off all the flowers in the hope those thrips would go away.

Hi Coysmum, If you are free this weekend there is an open house at the 'Covington'. :) I have posted the link to the listing. If you want to check out MLS#7084117 (you could use the same realtor site that I linked to), I believe that is the Leesville, but there are no interior pictures. The Great Room in the Covington felt really nice, but you do need keep in mind that the stairs are behind the fireplace so you will have a traffic pattern there. Hope that helps! Here is a link that might be useful: Listing for Covington

Thank you Westsider. Rice ice cream may sound a little strange to some, but rice ice cream is not new, The Japanese has it, the Chinese has it and the Italian has it. Here is a recipe for Italian rice cream, I used wild rice instead of Arborio rice. The taste was just as you said, "Luscious, smooth, creamy, rich, wild rice ice cream. ---------- I imagine that tastes creamy and vanilla-ish and wild rice nutty. Vanilla and pecans or walnuts or wild rice" GELATO DI RISO (RICE ICE CREAM) Serving Size : 8 Preparation Time :0:00 Categories : Ice Cream Italian Amount Measure Ingredient -- Preparation Method -------- ------------ -------------------------------- 1/2 c Arborio rice -- uncooked 3 c Milk 3 tb Granulated sugar 1 sm Piece vanilla bean 1 pn Salt -----CUSTARD CREAM----- 3 Extra-large egg yolks 6 tb Granulated sugar 1/2 c Milk -----PLUS----- 2 c Heavy cream 3 ts Confectioners' sugar 2 lb Rock salt The rice is quite crunchy and gives an interesting texture to the gelato. This ice cream is very popular in Italy now. Put the rice in a saucepan. Add the milk, vanilla bean, sugar, and salt and brig to a boil over medium heat, stirring costantly. Then simmer for about 12 minutes. Remove from the heat and let the rice cool completely (about 2 hours). Pour the contents of the pan through a colander and drain off the excess liquid. Let the rice sit in the colander for about 30 minutes. Meanwhile, prepare the custard cream with the ingredients listed above, following standard directions. Transfer the rice to a large bowl and remove the vanilla bean. Then add the cooled custard cream to the rice and combine well. Add the heavy cream and confectioners' sugar and mix again. Prepare the gelato, following ice-cream maker's directions. Source: Guiliano Bugialli's Classic Techniques of Italian Cooking -----------------------------------------------------------

Lukki, such a great idea for a post - thank you! This post got me to finally set up a Flickr account to be able to post pics, somethinhg I've meant to do for a long time. So, here's my motley crew, who keep my life interesting, oh-so-busy and never, ever a 'normal day'. The matriarch is a Siamese mix, Annie, who at 20 years is still going strong, despite failing eyesight and being nearly stone deaf. I've had her since she adopted us at about 6 weeks old. My beloved Chow Chih Nu, who lost her battle with lymphoma cancer at 13 (one of the hardest times of my life) - 2 years later and I still miss her every day. She was a treasured member of the family for 13 years. In memory of Chih Nu, a year ago we adopted Tuscon, a BMC, rescued from the kill list from a high kill shelter - this is her at 4 mos, curled up in a cat bed. And a recent picture of her at 14 mos., in a rare calm moment (she's a tremendously high energy girl!) So high energy, in fact, we decided she needed a 'sister' to romp with, so a couple of months ago we adopted 4 mos old Sierra, a Chow pup. This is her doing her impersonation of a calm puppy - trust me, it's just an act! These two have to qualify as the world's worst garden dogs - it's amazing the damage they've done to my garden while romping at full speed! But, hey - they're also sweet, loving and true clowns that make me laugh daily, so I look at it this way - now there's no reason to not hire out the mulching, because there's nothing the yard guys can do to my plants that these two haven't already done! And then there's my Yellow Naped Amazon, Coqui - he's at the very center of the universe, just ask him and he'll confirm it! He's 10 years old now, and I've had him since he was 6 mos old - he really, truly does think he's in charge, and is often heard telling the pups to 'stop, stop' when they're barking or romping in the family room. The final furred/feathered member of the family is Aradia, my 16 year old Persian mix. It's impossible to take a good picture of her because she walks right up to the lens, even of a phone. She's been battling hyperthroidism for the past 2 years, and even with twice daily doses of thyroid meds has dropped from 16 lbs down to about 4.5 lbs. Think of the "Grisabella, the Glamour Cat' song from Cats and that's a good description of my poor Rady-girl. She knows she's still beautiful, and so do we. So, that's my merry band of hooligans - the Koi don't count in this because they stay nicely in their ponds and are only demanding at feeding time. :-)