Blog

I don’t usually make political statements, but it is May 1, which seems to fit the day. I heard a progress leader say today in a show about May Day that today the libertarians protest by working an extra 4 hours, rejecting the leftist idea of an eight-hour workday. That is funny. Happy May Day, “Workers Unite!”

Going backward, I am tired tonight and stayed home and cooked dinner and watched videos about World War 2 and a summary of the current Ukraine War (The Armchair Historian), plus more updates from Battleship USS Texas repairs (Battleship New Jersey and Battleship Texas). I ate dinner while watching.

I watched the May Day show of The Young Turks, a news and information channel that is a paid subscription. I have not decided to join yet. I like it, but they are a little more progressive than I am used to. I will watch some more free shows before deciding.

I made pasta with a sauce from a jar. I added pan-fried mushrooms and meatballs. The meatballs are from a bag of frozen ones. I bake them until they start to brown in the oven, and then slice the hot meatballs and fry them on the stove. I mixed that all together and then overate–it was good. I put the rest in glassware (thanks, Gene and Glenda, for the glassware) and will have it as leftover the week.

I managed dinner as I finally found time to grocery shop. I wrote out a list; it was two pages! I slipped that in today between meetings and seeing Susie. Awe was my checker, a kind man from Iraq. We have been friends for years and ask after each other’s family when we see each other. I saw only a few masks, and I did not wear one. I did keep my distance. I had five bags of mostly food and invested more than $230 at Safeway. It was nice to see the shelves full.

Later I learned I forgot the first items on my list.  I will be back on Tuesday for a short stop to get the items I missed!

I was ten minutes late for the 4:35 call as the process of finding most items at Safeway and buying them took more than an hour. I am still not used to this process as I usually order them delivered, but lately, I have not been that organized to supply an extended delivery window. I followed along all day at work and knew they did not need me, but I like to attend the meeting even when my shift ends at 4PM. I was able to catch the last few minutes.

Moving back further in the day, after lunch at the Volvo Cave, I drove to see Susie at the hummingbird house in Portland (Tigard) at Allegiance Senior Care LLC, 9925 SW 82nd. Ave. Portland (Tigard), OR 97223; phone (503) 246-4116. The traffic was light, and I crossed Beaverton without involvement with Beaverton’s Finest or losing any paint on Air Volvo.

Aside: Yesterday, I had a motorcycle go about seventy down 185th between the cars with a tremendous noise (obviously modified to make a lot of noise and to go fast). The bike noise startled me. Never seen that in Beaverton. Also, the traffic at 3PM was terrible as school was ending and folks were on the roads, picking-up kids and grid-locking Beaverton. I was surprised to take two or more lights for many intersections; ugh.

Returning to my visit, Susie was sleeping in her recliner in the shared living room space. Jennifer, the weekday nursing aide, told me that Susie was having issues with pain in her right upper leg and that the current Tylenol dose was not removing the discomfort. I needed to contact doc for more painkillers and get an order for that. I sent a message to our doctor on MyChart. Doc sent an order before I headed out for a larger dose of Tylenol.

(Susie in her recliner with flowers I cut from what I have blooming at the Volvo Cave. While tulips are not the best for cut flowers, I wanted to share the new tulips with Susie. The yellow ones are huge, and I love the shape of the red ones–they remind me of Turkey!)

Susie, despite the pain, was delighted to see me, and Jennifer transferred Susie to her bed in her room. It was still only 60F (15.5C) and gray outside–no park today. So there I set up shop, as I have started to do on Monday, Friday, and Sunday with Nike’s laptop and my Apple laptop. While watching the animated version of Mulan on Disney+ with Susie, I read emails, Slack channel updates, and news updates. Susie and I both miss China when we watch the film (Susie has been to the Great Wall on two trips, once with me and once with her former Olympic-level ice skating coach, Norma).

I was there for more than two hours but had to head out for the shopping mentioned above and meetings. Susie was disappointed, but I put on M.A.S.H. for her when I left, which made her happy. I left with a kiss.

Moving to the start of the day, I was up at 2AM with my colon deciding not to wait until the morning to empty. I then slept until the morning until 7:30ish and did have a second round with my colon thinking it needed to empty. This happens now, and I think it is because I no longer detect the need to use the rest room and everything needs to unload at once then. This often happens when I am busy for days. I try to be more regular, but I get distracted by life.

I had a breakfast of oatmeal and liberal coffee. Then, I had meetings starting at 8AM that went on for a few hours of status meetings. I was carefully following along as I had multiple data conversions running on various environments, and complex breaks were being repaired, tested, software fixes installed, and restarted. So it was a busy morning.

I made a lunch of tuna salad on an NYC bagel (thank you, Joyce) with cheese heated to bubbling goodness in the broiler. I sliced onions and celery for this tuna salad for a more premium experience. It was as good as anyone else’s, and mine was cooked through, unlike what I get in some places.

I continued to finish April 2023 in Quicken and updated the house’s value, increasing to $464,000, according to Rocketmortgage.com (they hold the loan on the home). As I said before, I have all the accounts (except the 401K balance) automatically updated their balances and download transactions. I now use Quicken’s local version (I decided not to use the online version).

I did the dishes twice and did my usual laundry on Monday but did not feel up to putting it away. I will do that soon. I again wore a dress shirt and still liked it (with apologies to Katy Perry).

Thanks for reading.

It was 56F Sunday morning at the Volvo Cave (13C), and the house inside was 62F (16.67C) at 9ish. I was cold and had to close the doors and windows and start the heat again! I was comfortable again in just an hour as I stopped shaking while writing Saturday’s 1,400+ word blog.

Sunday started with waking to my alarm at 7, smelling the cold air in the house, and being surprised I was comfortable (sitting for hours made me cold). I found some cans of albacore tuna fish and made a tunafish salad with capers for breakfast. I had no crackers, but it was still good if an unusual breakfast. I made liberal coffee to go with this via a French Press.

My first meeting was at 8, Zoom, followed by another, and by 9, I was writing the blog and following along. There was much chatter on Slack channels and emails (no details here). The blog was long for Saturday, and I was done after 11AM. I had to follow along at work, which slowed my progression on remembering Saturday in words.

I heated a can of chili for lunch, showered, and dressed. After lunch, I packed up my Dungeons and Dragons 5E stuff and the laptops (Nike’s and mine) and then headed to Susie’s place at the hummingbird house in Portland (Tigard) at Allegiance Senior Care LLC, 9925 SW 82nd. Ave. Portland (Tigard), OR 97223; phone (503) 246-4116. Sunday traffic was light. The weather had changed to cloudy but dry.

Susie was waiting for me, napping, in her recliner in the shared living room space. Susie was delighted to see me. I had cut one of the medium-sized blue irises that have flowered near our mailbox and brought Susie the first flower from our home in 2023. She was thrilled to get the dark blue iris.

Anassa, the weekend nursing aide, moved Susie to her bed, and I put on a movie. I set up all the laptops and worked from Susie’s room. We watched the animated Little Mermaid, and both sang along with the music. I was replying to emails, reading Slack channel updates, and singing with Susie the Disney songs. Susie later had me play Under the Sea a few more times on Alexa.

The stress and hours had me nearly nodding off this afternoon. I am tired. I managed to keep going.

I have the beginnings of a sore throat and cough from the pollen. My eyes are red and burning. Allergies to pollen are challenging in spring without the rains washing it out of the skies. While I love sunny days, rain, please!

I left Susie at 4 and took the last status meeting, for me, in the car at 4:35 using my iPhone. Before this, I stopped by Barnes and Noble and purchased a copy of the latest Strategy and Tactics. I used to have a subscription, and every two months, I would get a well-written military history magazine and a board game built around one of the articles. Unfortunately, I never played most of the games, so I stopped the subscriptions. But this one had Timur in India and the French Indian War battles focus, which got me to buy it (no game in this version). I also like the notes about their board games and war games.

I stopped by Pizza Schmizza nearby and got a slice and a diet drink. It is excellent pizza.

Next, I drove to Cory’s house, where we played from 5:30 to 9ish. I was playing my 5th-level lawful good paladin of death in a spell jammer game run by our DM Matt (M@). We had the typical DM backstab, with the usual little old lady being the baddie and having to negotiate with pirates. This was followed by investigating a shipwreck with a severe battle to end the night. My paladin managed to remain standing, avoid the instant death trap, and fight to bad guys were all gone. A fun and relaxing finish.

I returned home and got a snack, and wrote the blog.

I also started to close the books on April 2023 as I do not want to have to do three months again. So I will try to do the months and close them out as they happen now.

I got a note from eBay. I had lost the bid on an expensive stamped cover flown on the Graf Zepplin with a special US air stamp. I refused to spend a considerable amount and thought these covers were overpriced anyway. I received an offer from the seller to buy the item at my last bid (apparently, the winner refused to pay for the article), and eBay rules allow the seller to offer the item to the second-best bidder. This is the same way I purchased part of the RMS Olmpic–I lost the bid and was then offered the item at my lower bid. I will finish the Graf Zepplin part of my collection when the stamp cover is delivered. Excellent.

I have also found a company that makes stamp collector album pages, so I have ordered some pages I don’t have for US stamps. I have beer revenue stamps album pages coming. If they are good, I will order some more for other items. Leta bought me, a long time ago, my current Scott US stamp album, and I used the birthday money she sent me to pay for these new pages. Thanks again, Leta!

Thanks for reading!

You start to reach the point where you need AC in April; things are going strange in Oregon. It was a hot, near 90F (32C), day. I changed my plans as I was worried about the crowds, parking, and temperature in Portland. Instead of heading to the Portland Saturday Market, I did a sunny (blindingly sunny sometimes) drive to Woodburn and back.

Starting with Saturday (writing this between work emails and Slack channel updates), I slept well (unusual for a Friday, but the beers might have helped), and I woke just before my alarm to a sunny but still cold morning. I have turned off the heat (yeah!) and decided to turn off the fans to quiet the house and stop unnecessary wear on the furnace. The usual is to keep the air moving to keep temperatures the same throughout the building, but I decided to try to–so far, I am not having issues with cold spots. The heat will return tonight as we slide back into the 40Fs (4.4C to 9.4C). So I was less affected by this chilly Saturday morning.

Aside: I try to live in the temperatures of my area. I do not want to use heat when it is just cold and cool when it is warm. I use more conventional heating and cooling, so there is no cost advantage to keeping a stable temperature. While I grew up in the American Midwest, I like the cold, and it is hard for me to work and sometimes think when warm; the chemotherapy has made me more sensitive to the cold.

I started with liberal coffee with the intent of making breakfast but found the cold pizza in the frig and liked the craziness of pizza for breakfast–it was good. After that, I had an hour of Zoom meetings. I then headed over to see Susie, as most of the data conversions did not need me to watch; we were on-call support.

Air Volvo crossed Beaverton without issue (despite the hole installation process from The City of Beaverton), and the traffic was light which surprised me for the excellent weather. Unfortunately, Oregonians have a strange herd instinct that has everyone hit the streets about the same time and head in the same direction. Still, I detected that the herd was running late, so I could slide without traffic to Susie’s place at the hummingbird house in Portland (Tigard) at Allegiance Senior Care LLC, 9925 SW 82nd. Ave. Portland (Tigard), OR 97223; phone (503) 246-4116.

Aside: Grammarly removes unnecessary words for clarity, and I still find my Midwest accent still hits my writing, and Grammarly then steps on it. “And so,” “a bit,” “just,” “even,” run-on sentences, unnecessary “and” usages, and other localizations are flagged, and I remove them. After I finish, I am purified to Chicago-style (but I prefer NYT, but there is no setting for that–thus, I live with Oxford comma updates).

Susie was delighted to see me and ready for an adventure. I decided to go with the most conservative approach. Anassa placed Susie in Air Volvo for me, and we headed out for a drive. I did load the wheelchair in the cargo hold in case we needed to get Susie out of the car. We headed to Interstate 5. We experienced some herding (traffic), but mostly I had to remember to not open up Air Volvo to full speed (it is easy to drift up to 75 mph), and I did see, as this is an Interstate, an Oregon State Police car.

Aside: In the USA, we have Interstates that are for extended travel in the USA, with Interstate 5 starting in Mexico and ending in Canada. It is an odd number, and so it is North-South, and a five number suggests a significant road.

Air Volvo stopped at the public rest stops, as in Oregon, they are park-like and shaded with giant pine trees. I was surprised that the Jehovah’s Witnesses had a stand set up, and the three gentlemen were in suits or dress shirts, sitting in the sun on camping chairs, ready to supply anyone interested with more information.

There we called Leta from Air Volvo and took a photo. I was just stopping to enjoy the park-like and to break up the trip. Leta was happy to hear from us on our journey. We used my iPhone and FaceTime to see each other and had a friendly chat. After that, we returned to I-5, keeping the speed primarily legal, and enjoyed a sunny bright day. Susie nods off a few times.

We end our short drive a Woodburns Shops Mall. A busy place with all the outlet shops and some of the usual tourist items (fudge). Oregon does not have a sales tax, so we get out-0f-state shoppers (literally, bus loads). We just drove through the parking lot and ogled all the shops and outlets. The drivers were fighting for the best parking even though there was plenty on the edges–looked more like Christmas shopping than a sunny spring day! It was fun to be a bystander.

We drove through Arby’s, and I got a regular roast beef (just as average as I remembered) and a shake to share with Susie. Susie got to try some mozzarella sticks and ate about 1/2 of one. Susie loves cheese and enjoyed carefully having a snack with the shake. We were both careful, and no issues–excellent.

I turned Air Volvo around northbound, and we headed back the way we came. We stopped at the other rest area (the areas are at the same place on Interstate 5 but do not overlap), and I left Susie for a moment to prove hydration. A gal was in a wheelchair panhandling, and she was having a good day sitting in the shade; her bowl of money was nearly overflowing with currency–she got a dollar from us.

Air Volvo delivered us, Susie was sleepy, to the hummingbird house. Evan was waiting for us there. Anassa took over, and I kissed Susie goodbye and arranged for Susie to sleep in on Sunday (I am working a shift on Sunday). Then, Evan and I headed to Portland, Rogue Brewery, on 9th SE Street.

We found the outdoor tables primarily full, but a well-lighted table was available indoors, with no AC, and claimed two tables to fit lunch, beers, and a board game. Scythe was Evans’s request. Scythe is a 4x steampunk 1920s board game with a Euro feel, as the most efficient player wins. Each player plays a faction, Poland (white) for Evan and Scotland (green) for me, randomly selected. I have seldom played this faction and so struggled to be as efficient as Evan, who knows Poland (white) well. I lost a relatively short game by more than ten points at the end but felt I had done well with a less familiar faction. Next time!

We drifted away from games and ordered lunch. Evan had amazingly looking beef tacos while I had Fish and Chips but with salmon, which was excellent. We had time for another game, so we set up a basic game of Vindication (I had Air Volvo loaded with games). Evan was pleased to beat me a second time by more than ten points, not quite a crushing defeat–but Evan was delighted with his play. I made some mistakes; next time!

I headed to Richard’s from there, and Kathleen, Shawn, and Richard joined me for a game of Grand Austria Hotel (GAH) at Richard’s house, and I felt bad a few times as I mangled the rules, but once we worked it out–the game started to flow. GAH is a resources management game with so many rules (including a punishment and rewards subsystem) it is hard to learn. Filling your hotel with guests while managing your waiting line for rooms, readying rooms, and providing treats for the guests is just fun (despite the endless rules). Richard won with my score, which was not even close to his; he had found an engine-like process and had good end-of-game scoring staff cards. Shawn was behind me at the end but broke out a few times and took the lead until the final scoring. I had filled almost the whole hotel.

(This is early in the game. The 3D treats are on my hotel card).

I drove Kathleen home after the game. We were still debating the play, and we all wanted another play of GAH and to include one or more of the Waltzing add-ons (I was in the Kickstarter and have the deluxe version with me adding the 3D items). I was home after midnight and managed to sleep well.

Thanks for reading!

I turned off the heat and air circulation, opened the office window and the sliding door (leaving the screen door in place, of course), and let the house cool and dry out with the fresh air. I did not open a window in the bedroom as 1) it was garbage day, 2) my neighbors are often up early, 3) and my allergies would not improve with more exposure to pollen. I woke, having slept the night, with my alarm at 7. Then I luxuriated in bed until 7:35. Finally rising and happy to not be coughing, and the cold air (56F) felt good (but the floor and carpet were cold enough that my cold sensitive feet (from the chemo) actually cramped.

My flannel robe kept me warm, and I did skip my exercises, mostly because I could not fit them into the quickly disappearing morning. Soon the sun was heating the deck, and my feet enjoyed the heat and stopped heating.

I had hours of Zoom calls this morning, Friday, but this is a work-from-home day, so there is no rushing to work in Air Volvo. I read the emails, Slack channel updates, and news. I updated my Quicken. I remembered to take my pills.

At noonish (I had dressed in an hour break between meetings), I boarded Air Volvo with my Nike and Apple laptop and headed to Susie’s place at the hummingbird house in Portland (Tigard) at Allegiance Senior Care LLC, 9925 SW 82nd. Ave. Portland (Tigard), OR 97223; phone (503) 246-4116. I called ahead that I was on the way but would find lunch. Jennifer, the weekday nursing aide, informed me that the top of Susie’s hands was red with a sunburn. I agreed to get Susie some sunscreen, and Jeniffer did not know, apparently it never comes up in gray Oregon, that Susie is allergic to the sun.

I believe we were sitting in the sun for about an hour over the past two days. I noticed my hands were darker, so it was more sunlight than I thought. I will be more careful (I believe that the Oregon sun strikes hard as the air is usually dry and there is little pollution; thus, the sky is darker blue as there is less to deflect the light).

I got some teriyaki chicken at a new place on the way. Then, I stopped at Target, just a few minutes from the hummingbird house, and purchased flowers, sunscreen, and some post-sun stuff (Jennifer approved of my choices). Susie was happy to see me finally arriving near 2ish.

I tried the Sunblock 50 on Susie’s hands and then took her out (after Jennifer moved her to the wheelchair). It was hot, 91F (33c), and I pushed Susie to the cool bench in the cedars. It is a perfect place on hot sunny days. There are no butterflies yet, but I did see two small white ones from the office at the Volvo Cave so soon. We sat there and enjoyed the shade (less risk of Susie just melting or going puff from the sun), and little dogs and people went by. Everyone was smiling.

We called Leta, Susie’s mother, and then Susie’s sister, Barb. They were both happy to see Susie in the shade near the cedars. The deciduous redwood needle/leaves are starting (I ordered one for the house–they grow in wet spaces; I have the perfect place for a redwood). We had an excellent talk with both of them and enjoyed the day, but I was still working today–so we were back at hummingbird house soon.

Susie was resting in bed, and I had a chair and a table to work on. I set up my Nike and Apple and continued along working. I put on Moana(2016) from Disney+ for Susie while I worked, but I must admit I like the movie and watched it too. I like the songs and the sailing. I cried a few times. Susie just watched.

I was still there for the 4:30 status meeting, so I called in from Susie’s room, and Susie said hello to the Nike folks on the status call. Susie nodded off as we discussed data conversions and timelines (so many jokes that I need to leave alone). Susie woke up as I was packing up, and I kissed her goodbye after getting her crash pad in place. Susie is a falling-out-of-bed risk (she fell once), so she has a crash pad and rails.

Traffic was stupid, and The City of Beaverton continued to put holes in Hall Street. As a result, everyone was going slow, blinded by the glare as few Oregonians have sunglasses in their cars in April–I do (Nike brand, I am sure you, dear reader, are not surprised to learn). I arrived safely in Air Volvo and found some new items for the board game Blood Rage (updated components) and a prescription.

I washed my face and then headed out again. I went to the local Sushi place, Sushi Zen, and enjoyed getting my dinner from the track. The place started to fill up, and have a waiting list by the time I had my last bit of uncooked fish. Always good.

Next, I drove to Wildwood Taphouse, sat inside (it was too hot and bright to write a blog outside), and wrote this blog.

Thanks for reading!

 

The sun is down, and a sunny, dry day with temperatures of 75F+ (24C) ends. We don’t get this weather except for the past few years. I remember my first few years here, we moved here in 1996, and there was no Sun until July; it was still cloudy and rainy for much of July. Then, we would see a few hot days in August, 90+, and then it would settle down again; the rains would return in late September, and by Halloween, it was raining every day–the kids were soaked in their costumes.

I read, sitting in a lawn chair tonight in my backyard with my bare feet in the thick grass; I got some new lawn chairs from REI (delivered) during the end of the pandemic–they were on special, and I could use my REI dividends to cover some of the cast. At the time, I ordered two, thinking Susie would like one and we could take them on trips. I have mixed emotions getting only one out. It is an excellent folding chair. I am sure Susie would want a pillow.

I turned off the heat and opened the sliding glass door and the window in the office. I will not open the bedroom window as my allergies will if they don’t kill me, make me wish I was dead. But I know better with all the trees starting up and grasses going all out. My eyes are burning.

The morning started with me thinking that I should just call in sick. I had read late until midnight and then woke a few times, proved I was hydrated, and then my leg decided to cramp. Finally, I slept at 5AM to be woken at 6AM, ugh. I managed to rise, stand, put on my slippers, and find the rest of the house.

I did my lesser workout and was happy to finish at about 6:30, giving me time to make coffee, liberal coffee, and some oatmeal with dried cranberries (I am out of walnuts). I read emails, Slack channel updates, and the news for the rest of the early morning. After that, I showered, dressed in another dress shirt–my fellow Nike folks all but roll their eyes when they see me. I then started Air Volvo and aborted the take-off (I never got off my street). I went back inside, took my morning pills, loaded the coffee cup with liberal coffee, and then reboarded Air Volvo.

The trip to work required sunglasses, and everyone moved and drove happily. Every driver was polite and signaled for lane changes, and seemed thrilled to be alive on such a wonderful morning and did not want to ruin it with an accident or near-miss with the usual angry gestures and comments. As a result, I was early for work.

I did start my two hours of Zoom meetings and followed along for various team and project meetings. I sat by myself in a conference room about six feet from some participants. The usual Thursday set.

I headed on this glorious day to Nike WHQ, which looked different under our slightly dark blue skies with no rain, water reflections, or clouds. No gray anywhere. The WHQ has vast lawns, and the grass was plugged and dethatched with farmer-sized lawn equipment. Impressive.

I met Scott at Serena Williams Building at Nike; we ate there in the cafeteria, getting a DIY salad from the salad bar. Then, we sat in the sun on the porch. We talked about work, projects, and family items. Scott and I have done many projects together; he works in the Trading Company for the biz. Some of this is the secret financial sauce for Nike–don’t look for any details here.

Scott suggested a trip to the newly renovated buildings, and we stopped in one and chatted for a while in the lobby sitting on a ring coach that went the length of the lobby. The building has been much improved since I saw it last. We did wave at and even chatted with a few friends who were happy to see us sitting there. The Nike WHQ is not like any other workplace–Magnificant. Scott is a Nike tour guide, and he had another group to do, so I headed out, thanking Scott for the mini-tour.

I walked to the NYC garage for fifteen minutes to cross the campus and then headed to Susie at the hummingbird house in Portland (Tigard) at Allegiance Senior Care LLC, 9925 SW 82nd. Ave. Portland (Tigard), OR 97223; phone (503) 246-4116. Susie was waiting for me in her recliner, napping in the shared living room. Susie was happy to get in her wheelchair (Jennifer put Susie in her wheelchair with an ease I am always envious of) and head to Metzger Park.

Dogs everywhere. Kids everywhere. The park was sparkling with care from the staff. The water fountains are now back, crushed graven for parking, the detritus from the storms and winter gone, and the paths ready for use. The English daises are still bright, and there are even more. I notice none in the main field, so the staff has been deliberate and careful with weed control. Excellent.

We sat in the sun and called Leta on my iPhone using FaceTime to see Leta so she could see us. We talk about her new deck, and she gives us a remote tour. She is looking forward to warmer weather to sit on her deck and relax in the sun. Soon!

I am rushed a bit, so we just do the park, and then I get Susie back. It was short but longer than many of my trips. Susie was disappointed I had to leave but was happy to get out and spend some time with me.

I return to work and follow along. Nothing breaks with the data conversions, and so it is the first quiet afternoon in a while. I do the last meeting as my shift ends and then head out. I upgraded my Nike laptop to a new version of Windows and discussed how that went with the Tech Bar person–feedback is good, as many co-workers will soon have to take the same journey.

I travel in Air Volvo to the Volvo Cave. I reheat the extra pork chop and leftover sides for dinner. I read some news while eating.

Next, I headed outside as I described at the start, coming full circle.

My fancy yellow tulips have bloomed, and my red Turkish-like tulips are still a splash of color.

The apple tree (not Apple but apple) that fell over and has been pruned back into a tree shape is also flowering.

My roses are all canes, thorns, and leaves. The one climber with some yellowing seems to be drying out and recovering from the wet spring that threatened to drown it. The other climber is bright green (and on higher ground) and growing fast in the hot sun (both are Wedgewood by David Austin). The Cardinal rose, Cardinal de Richelieu, looks a bit unhappy, but I hope the fertilizer I placed on it (and the yellowing climber) will make it happy. The other new rose, Souvenir Du Président Lincoln, is a bourbon rose (1865) and is growing fine (it is more fragile than modern roses), and the canes are larger now (it is grown on its own roots, unlike the grafted Wedgewood).

All the other roses look happy.

I expect I will have flowers everywhere soon!

Thanks for reading.

This took longer as I wandered on the Internet on pages on roses. So many that would look so nice. Oh my!