AHH yes, I have red death clay , caliche and Marl (love that word) all within 30 ' of each other. I do not get a great deal of precipitation so the times of gunk or numbered. BUT when they are here, my husband is always on me for my shleppy oblivious ways of entering the home. Yes , I do have a sharp edge on some metal C channel on the porch that O use for the first swipe. . I am often let the shoes dry a tad and hit the shoe with a steel brush that my husband uses to clean lumber with before he machines it. He probably wonders how all those pebbles and clay get in that brush. I have been thinking of embedding that old hoe (whose handle rotten away) in a sunken pool of cement with the blade sticking appropriately up , But I would probably end up tripping over it and splitting my knee open. I am still thinking.

Certainly Radler certainly did not invent disease free roses. It certainly did help push things in that direction. As hybridizers watched him making huge amounts of cash with a fairly unsophisticated rose. I know the Parkland and Explorer roses were a disappointment too many of the breeders. They were not tested rigorously enough and many were susceptible black spot. The work that they are doing now is to be highly commended. I'm buying them when I can find them. The two that I have Emily and Campfire are wonderful roses here. Of the Svejda that I grew J P Connell, John Davis, Champlain, Henry Hudson, Louis Joliet, John Franklin and William Baffin. Only Henry Hudson and John Franklin could be grown no spray. Had many of many Parkland and Explorer roses that were shovel prune for black spot. Had I a crystal ball I'd have known that I would go no spray. Thats the way it goes. In the beginning Paul most of my rose purchased were based upon your advice on Old Roses and beyond. Then I'd look up their hardiness if good to my zone I purchased them. By the way I loved your articles and stories. The roses however are all gone they could not be grown here as no spray rose. I believe to spray or not is a personal choice. I could not do it any more and made a commitment to be more environmentally friendly. I did have all of your beautiful roses that were hardy here. I'm sorry to say that I could not grow them here without spray. I'm sure that others can in drier or hotter environments. So sad I'm sorry this was OT.

Since I have cats again, and need to keep floors cleaner between housekeeping visits, I ended up getting a Dyson V7 earlier this summer, which I really like. It took me a while to talk myself into spending that much, but I did get it on sale and it was only about $50 more than the Shark I was considering. After getting it, I've discovered that I really enjoy using it. It is much quieter than I expected, and I have yet to run out of battery using it, but I only do one room at a time.

I am planning to get a steam oven and feel I will still need some sort of microwave, but unsure of what to get. Super basic? Drawer? Pull down door? I'm thinking I would use it to heat up some leftovers like oatmeal (whereas the steam oven would be used for dinner leftovers), warming up coffee, and warming up butter. So, not used for a ton, but definitely used on a daily basis. If you love your microwave, I'd also love to know the make and model. Thanks!