'White Jacques Cartier' is available in Europe; a friend has it. I HAD it; a tiny plant he propagated that didn't make it through a tough spot and a bad summer. Odinthor's hints sound intriguing. 'Blanc de Vibert' came up recently on the Italian forum I frequent, and no one who spoke up in the thread had a satisfactory experience with it. My own plant is several years old, stout and healthy, but hardly blooms at all. It is however in a lot of shade. I ought to try again to root it and see whether I can't get babies started in better spots. I'll keep the iron in mind, though plants in my garden rarely suffer from chlorosis. I first saw 'St. Nicholas' years ago at Cavriglia and lusted after it immediately: it is a very charming rose. My plant has struggled along for years, barely alive; and I may have to get it again and do a better job with it the next time. 'Hebe's Lip' I have discovered grows easily from cuttings, I got them a few years ago in a swap, and now I have three plants spread around in the garden. I like this one too. I got 'Pergolese' a year ago and it's been sitting quietly since. I like both the Damasks and the Damask Perpetuals a lot, but I have a great deal to learn about growing them well. Melissa

I had my son when I was 17 (almost 18). My second son when I was 20. They are 2.5 years apart. Then I had my daughter at 21. She is 10 months after my son. Having two 10 months apart was like having twins most of the times, double diapers, bottles, etc. I am sure I didn't get to enjoy them as babies as much as if I had them further apart. But, they did entertain each other when they were small. Definitely no sibling rivalry when I came home from the hospital.. he was too young to understand. The older one was a 'helper' and he never once acted jealous in any way over either baby. He was always offering to help and loved to help take care of the babies. The boys, being 2.5 years apart was a little better. They all played together and I was able to work full time once my daughter went to school. (I only worked part time when they were babies) The toughest ages for the group was when they were between middle school and high school. That was when they squabbled most. (starting around 10-11 for the boys to start teasing their sister) but once they got into high school, they didn't bother her anymore. Then, they were more interested in whether her friends are cute, etc. I'm now raising my step daughter. She's 9 and my daughter is 18 so she's more of an only child and it's a lot tougher I think. She seems to demand more attention because she gets bored. When my kids were younger, I could say go play and all would play with each other, never a complaint. I tell my stepdaughter to go play and she acts like I told her to walk the plank. (of course there may also be differences in personality to account for that) but I think it was better to have all my kids close together. The other part is that they all turned 18 in three years and are now all college age. Unfortunately, my oldest did not want to go to college, but he's thinking of joining the military. My second son is in college and my daughter is thinking about it. They will both have to work to help pay for college because there is no way I could afford two or three kids in college. That is the down side for me. (I was a single parent so I didn't plan for college and/or have much savings) BTW, I'm 39 and all my kids are legally 'adults' and if I hadn't married my husband, I'd soon have an empty nest. It depends on you and your husband's feelings on it, but I had my first at 17 so I am looking forward to having an empty nest and being able to travel without a worry in the world (like babysitters).

Now if you had asked me say 35 years ago, I could've and would've had something to share with you. I now have no debt, severe or otherwise...a great feeling. Sue...who lived and learned

Shortly after we built our previous house in 1981, we installed a sun tunnel in our windowless bathroom. We used the Solatube brand. It was just what they call a daylight system. It did not have a light or vent added on. It was great. We sold that house quiet a few years ago but during the time we had the Solatube we never had any issues with it. We loved having the Solatube so much, that when my daughter bought a home with windowless bathroom, we had a Solatube installed in their bathroom as a house warming present for them. Theirs is also a daylight system. Most days you do not even need to turn a light on in their bathroom. At night if the moon is out you get a nice soft night light too. My DD's bathroom is only 76x61 plus the tub alcove area. She has 2 four inch recessed lights in the ceiling and has a 24" wide rectilinear bath bar over her vanity mirror. She does not feel the need for any additional light in her bathroom. Here picture taken during the day without any of the bathroom lights turned on The link below is for the brand we both used. Solatube