I've had better luck growing orchids than I thought I would. I like to say they are just more "exacting" in their requirements than say, a dracaena. But admittedly, I have loads of sun here - over 350 days a year) I've had 40+ orchids for about 5 yrs. now, and have stopped trying to grow the more difficult types. But the oncidium family seems to do well for me. So do the Miltonias and hybrids of those. Catts also have done well. I can't grow phals for very long, as they always seem to rot sooner or later (usually after I've had them for 2-3 years, and am attached). Paphs can be temperamental too. I stopped concentrating mainly on orchids and have "branched out," so to speak, to other house plants, (even though I've had common house plants for the last 30+ yrs) and am finding it rewarding. I'm sorry I picked up six Rex begonias a year ago, as they are just now starting to decline. They did so well until now. But its summer, and the humidity is so low, even though I have pebble trays and mist a lot. I've been trying to stick to the easier plants, because when I get a reward (blooms, new growth, etc) I am encouraged to keep trying. Its what keeps my passion going. Yesterday morning my little LC orchid presented me with a bloom! It was a tiny baby when I got it, so this was quite a pleasant surprise. Toni talked me into trying a hibiscus, and boy. . . I never expected what I got! It opens a new bloom almost daily this time of year, and really does bloom just about year round. In winter the blooms aren't quite as frequent, but the plant has been a joy. I also got my first plumerias not long ago, and am trying morning glories too. There are so many possibilities out there! And you never know if you can grow something until you try it! Randi

I am interested in your Ruth Stout book. I have a list of books I have to trade at www.freewebs.com/kathy547. Click on Books I have to trade. I don't have a chance to check my email often so I may take awhile to get back to you, just don't think I'm ignoring you!

I can still post today! And for those of you who may have wondered, all that trash was dumped effortlessly into the garbage truck and whisked away to the landfill. Now, one of my most important stretches of kitchen countertop is clear, that is the nearly six feet between the main sink and the back door/garage area of my house. Formerly, that spot had been loaded, and I mean fully covered and stacked, with papers, hair doodads, ballet shoes, Boy Scout patches, files, coupons, receipts, bits and pieces of small toys, playing cards, etc. Cleaning off that counter space has finally given me a landing pad for groceries or other gear that is carried in from the van. So now, when I grocery shop, I don't unload bags onto the kitchen floor, I have the counter. This is so much easier on my back and we don't trip over the bags until they get unloaded. In order to clean this countertop, I threw away as much as I could, then I asked my teenage daughter to simply stuff everything else into a milk crate or I moved the papers to the kitchen table. I asked her for help because I was burning out (I worked on this counter for the better part of the weekend in-between everything else) and had the goal of finishing the job by Sunday dinner. When I got to the point where I simpy could not stand to look at another tangible sign of my inability to get it together, she willingly stepped in. She couldn't dejunk a whole lot, but she could move it to milk crates and the kitchen table (we eat in the dining room). So, of course my table is unusable. Today I've got to tackle my kitchen table. I have stacks of papers from the three different schools my children attend, in addition to receipts, recipes, books, magaizines, church bulletins, etc. So that's how I'll spend the better part of my morning. To celebrate my "new" counter space, I found a lovely white embossed decorative pot (in my closet), and bought some cheap silk white geraniums and pale yellow roses for the pot. Now that arrangement sits in the corner and it helps me keep that place clean. It has been clean for about a week. My laundry room is now at the point where I have a clutter free place to put my laundry-sorting totes (I have nine of them; one for each member of my family, plus a tenth for linens and towels), that place being the top of the dryer and across my freezer. So.... I hope to fold and sort laundry in the laundry room as it leaves the dryer rather than toss it on a sofa (where it typically sits for days on end). My laundry room is also my office, I'm sitting here right now on my computer at the conter height desk we built as a part of our remodel. Anway, Talley, my son had a friend coming over yesterday and that burst of cleaning has left my house neater than it has been in months, thanks to slow but steady progress with dejunking. And D.A.Y.Y. I agree 100% about consumable gifts. And what a great idea about making the card special, that's the perfect way to demonstrate the feelings behind the gift. And Talley, I got rid of my stackers. They were in the laundry room (the only place I could set them was on the dryer, and I need that real estate for my folding) where they basically stored papers. I need a better way to deal with the vast amount of paper I receive in any given day. Using a calendar faithfully will help immensely. But letting go of all of the precious things my children bring home is what I need to do. Childhood is so fleeting, I want to treasure each thing each of my children does, that is sit down with them, talk about their work, shower them with praise..... but of course that doesn't happen. Anyway, that's all the news that's fit to print. I'm heading for the kitchen table! Thanks again for all of your encouraging replies. ~Cindy

2 things cause the price to go up: 1 - Inflation (how long ago, and were wood products also cheaper back then?) 2 - DEMAND! Like I said, it IS renewable, but it grows very slowly, so only so much can be harvested each year. Therefore, if people buy a whole lot of it the price must necessarily increase until an equilibrium between price and demand is reached (at $5 a bag it will sell out and the harvesters cannot produce anymore, at $50 no one will buy it; at $15 ($10 in NY) the price is right and demand meets the supply). It is a commodity - just like corn or soybeans - the prices rise and fall based on demand and supply (affected by the environment or political actions). The increase in price is good for the environment (my main argument in my first two long posts), because it forces consumers to opt for more RAPIDLY renewable soil amendments. My argument above (and why I support regulated, responsible harvesting of peat moss) is that the "politically correct" "peat moss is non-renewable" argument can have a detrimental effect on the environment because it may cause DEMAND to FALL until the PRICE DROPS to meet lower demand, which in turn actually will INCREASE DEMAND at the lower price (if peat moss becomes substantially cheaper than rapidly renewable sources). It is what I call the Walmart Effect - prices fall so low that consumption increases above necessary levels. For example, if quality nurseries stop carrying peat moss for political reasons, then big box stores will buy it up even cheaper and even more people (the masses who shop at box stores and do not care about renewability) will demand it and even more will be sold overall. Normally, without such unnatural interference in the Free Market, the price will find equilibrium. That is where it is now ($10-$15 a bale). Peat moss harvesters have invested too much capital to just stop harvesting when prices fall, so to make up for any shortfall caused by lower prices they will harvest even more (perhaps illegally) to make up the difference. This is why a lot of crops in the USA are destroyed - to keep prices high (this is the government's fault for paying farmers when they lose money). Right now demand meets (the sustainably harvested) supply, and at that level the cost per bale is $10-$15. It sounds like you were using a ton of the stuff in the past - that is actually very bad for your soil and plants; using wood products and compost is much healthier. Peat moss DOES have a legitimate use, just not as the MAIN ingredient of any soil mix.