Susan's schedule is probably best for you. Leave them in the shade for about nine days (but at least a week) if the weather is predicted to be mild and not windy. (I tend to err on the side of caution for hardening plants off.) Diffused natural light without a filter has a great many more lumens than any light we give them inside. That shade may seem tame to you, but to seedlings, it's heady stuff that won't burn them! Then on the weekend when you're home, move them into the early morning and late afternoon sunlight. Finally, expose them to full sunlight all day until you can transplant them. Then you should be able to plant them out without fear of their sun-scalding. And there's another way. Trudi of Winter-Sowing reputation recommends setting the seedlings outside all day under a laundry basket that has holes in the sides large enough to allow diffused light to come through as well as air circulation. You could also use one of those to shade your seedlings if you don't have a shady spot. You could leave them all there for a week to nine days, and then remove the basket and let them toast in the sun. Either way, just make sure you keep them watered and bring them inside if it's going to be windy or too cold for them.

'Sombreuil' has been a tough and reliable rose for me in coastal zone 6 for the last 8 years. Last winter it had no die back at all. It makes a rather stiff and thorny plant that is hard to train along a low fence. I have it on a 4' picket fence and it is just too low. In my zone it would be much better as a pillar or trellised against a wall. The flowers are very double and come is sprays that open over an extended period. It blooms several times throughout the summer and the constant new growth ensures that even if it drops some leaves there are always new ones on the way. I have this rose in a very prominent place as it is a favorite. 'Compte de Chamborde' is one of the most charming of the OGRs and deserves a place in any garden devoted to them. My fourteen year old own root plant is still small with thin wiry canes to a couple of feet, but it does acceptably well in a mixed border of iris, catmint, and daylilies and is at its most charming when surrounded by the tiny daisy like flowers of feverfew.

I think the Trend Micro (Avanquest) Antivirus (Fix-it) is one of the better products out there. Any of them will slow things down as the antivirus and malware data files grow. You could turn off some of the automated services and do them manually but IMHO, it kind of defeats the purpose. Although there are some who will disagree, I strongly advise staying away from Norton. I personally think it's a space and resource hog. I have also used SPYBOT and find it a very dynamic AV/AM program. What's even better, it is free. As with the others, if you want speed, you'll have to turn off some of the automatic detectors. Another word of caution....if you use Outlook, you will find some of the email antivirus programs will cause Outlook to fail when opening and you have to turn off email protection in order to allow Outlook to open. Trend Micro has resolved that problem with their product and I just tested it today and it works!!.

I love the tile! I took home a couple of samples, but none of the colors worked with my countertop. I didn't pick up a 70s vibe, despite my sensitivity to that era (although my memories of people and events are quite happy). I think it might overshadow, literally, your marble, but that's your call. Anything that coordinates with cats is A-OK in my book. But hey, you got your kitties at the Sonoma County Animal Shelter? I got mine last summer at the Sonoma Humane Society. We might be neighbors! I'm in Santa Rosa.