I pruned the branches of out Rose of Sharron that went over the fence and into my neighbor's yard. She does not like the mess that it causes when the spent flowers fall off into her yard, so I went ahead and cut off everything that went over the property line.
After I finished I went to the rose garden and did my winter pruning of my roses. I usually do a winter and then a spring pruning of the roses so that in case we get a bad frost and it damages the roses there is still some more to prune. Pruning again in the spring also give me the opportunity to shape the rose plants a little better once I see the direction the new buds are taking and also prune off the winter kill.
After I did that I went into the house and gathered up the large garbage can that I had been putting to scraps left over from the bathroom remodel and put it into the garbage can to take up front for pick up on Tuesday. I separated out the wood and put it into a separate pile outside so that I could give it away for firewood.
By the time I got everything done it was after 1400 and I was getting hungry so I went inside, cleaned up and made myself some lunch. I heated up the last of the mashed potatoes and Swiss steak that I have had for four meals already.
Then I went through the mail that had come while I was at my meeting this morning. We got one of our bank statements so after putting my dishes into the dishwasher I went into my office and balanced my checking and savings account for the bank statement that came in the mail today.
The rest of the day I did not get much of anything else done so I though that this might be a good time to include a few photos that I have been wanting to publish.
The first on is of a rose that I cut from one of my roses last week in a Waterford crystal vase.
The second one is of our Christmas cactus that started blooming earlier this week...just a wee bit early but beautiful none the less.
Then next several are pictures that my cousin Sue Fletcher sent me last week. They are some she took from my Uncle Ben' desk after he died a few years ago. Some are also from some that Dainne Truaring sent me a while back. The first on is of Gram and Pop Roush and their four children when my Dad was home on leave in 1941. From left to right Aunt Max, Uncle Ben, Gram Roush, Pop Roush, Dad and Aunt Betty. The picture was take at a park not far from their home on Florida Avenue in Kenmore Ohio. Dad and Ben were about the same difference in age as my brother Brad and I are, six plus years.
This is a family photo of my aunts and uncle when they all lived in Florida, this was taken several years after my Dad had died. From left to right are Aunt Max, Uncle Ben and Aunt Betty.
The next picture is of Ben and Sarah's family taken after Ben died.
This is a picture of my cousins and their mother Sarah. From left to right are Nancy, Sarah, Dianne behind Sarah, Sue and Ben.
This next photo is of my cousin Susan Roush Fletcher and her family.
This next photo is of my cousin Dianne Roush Trauring and her family.
This last photo is the last photo that Ben sent me of his whole family before he died. The photo was for their 2002 Christmas newsletter.
