Unless your 'Catus Orchid' is an Eulophia pertersonii which I doubt, it probably is an Epiphyllum which has nothing to do with orchids but makes spectacular, short lived flowers. Good luck with your new plants, sounds like you controlled your self pretty well. I have a couple of suggestions; Start a catalog of your plants, not now but eventually when you have a few hundred plants, you will tend to repurchase the same plants as you are attracted to certain types. Having a list of plants helps to avoid that. If you have a smart phone and can go on the internet, bring up potential purchases as some plants change names. Encyclias have been fragmented and go under several new names, the same thing will likely happen to Masdevallias. I have on several occasions bought a 'new' plant only to find out it was a synonymn of something I already have. The best times to go is the earliest and the latest possible times. Go immediately when the show opens as you get the best selection but also go 1/2 hour before closing as most vendors will drastically slash prices to get rid of stock. Don't be embarrassed to make a low offer on a plant, you will be surprised how often it is accepted at 4:30PM Sunday. Look for damaged plants. If you like a certain BLC for example and there are several available, one with damaged flowers, make a low offer on that plant, it will bloom again. Don't buy for the flowers on the plant right now but for the ones in the future. Flowers are of course important as it's your best guide to what you are getting but I have no problem with fading or slightly crushed flowers as long as the price is right. Buy the largest plant you can afford, it's very frustrating to buy a small plant because you like the 'Sample Plant' and then have to wait 2 to 3 years for your first bloom. Probably not now but once you are fully addicted, go to the show with a certain amount of cash and leave the check book and the plastic at home. Just like Los Vegas, a good orchid show will suck you dry so be prepared. In the end it's all good fun and there are centers for rehab if you ever want to escape the addiction. There also 9 or 12 step programs for recovered orchid addicts you can join in the future. Or you can fully immerse yourself and end up doing handstands for rare and unusual plants which you will never find at orchid shows but are obtained by scouring the far corners of the world. Nick

Roxana- PE Basic comes with a box, so that you can write your designs to the card. If you won't be doing any digitizing at all, then there is no reason to get PE Design. Having said that, though...most of the boxes run a couple hundred $$ or so. IF you can find a deal on ebay for an earlier version of PE Design, I personally think most people should do it. You won't be spending a ton more, and that way, if you ever do decide to do any digitizing, or some very creative editing, you'll have everything you need. The last couple versions of PE Design also come with Tru Type Font lettering, which means you'll have TONS more lettering options available to you for free. If you have any questions, please feel free to email me! Laura

Thanks FOAS! I will go look around to see if I can find the right type of microplane. Just a question... how do you catch the dead skin without a catcher? guess I can't do that in my bed any more. I do wear socks and slippers around the house but my heels still crack from time to time. The only way to prevent cracking is to apply Vaseline at night and wear my socks to bed. If I get lazy and/or become forgetful they will crack and I hate it! Al

I grew up in a good sized central Illinois town, and we lived on a block of big, old houses. An empty lot was next door to us, and the neighbor kids had worn away the grass at the home plate, pitcher's mound and 3 bases. There was usually something going on. In the summer we played kick the can and flashlight tag at night, telephone on our large porch, Mother May I on the sidewalk, and stickball or baseball or mumbly peg in the lot. We climbed trees, picked cherries and blackberries, and climbed the roof of the garages across the street and jumped from garage to garage. In the winter we played Duck, Duck, Goose; Fox and Hound; and made snow forts, snowmen and snowangels. I was a tomboy.