Not all soils drain thoroughly enough to allow you to water according to that plan w/o severe limitations being imposed on the plant, but ideally, we would all be using soils that DO allow us to water correctly w/o our plants having to suffer for it. I'm about to retire & will be busy for the weekend, so I wouldn't be able to pursue the conversation with you, but I'll leave you some reading, in case you have interest, that will bring to light how important soil choice is to your ability to consistently maintain your plants in good vitality. This is a link to an overview that will help you avoid all the common pitfalls you're likely to encounter. And this is a link to information that explains how important an appropriate soil is to your plant's well being. Saving them starts with allowing the soil to become almost but not quite completely dry before you water. I'm sure Josh (the guy who posted above your post) will help you further if he's available. Al

Hi Howard, I refer to the phenomenon that you have described as a continuous spectrum. If we're thinking of the same item. The best example of this phenomenon that I've ever seen is a webpage demonstration by lord high god of spectral light Jerry Zhu. This guy took an extremely technical topic and made a cereal box explanation of it (both figuratively and literally). This guy rocks! Check out his webpage. Tom Here is a link that might be useful: Jerry Zhu light spectrum

Jade.d, on the kitchen side of things, directed me to http://www.thomaslighting.com/infocenter/tips.asp?tid=16 . Using these guidelines, I revised the plan: I'm still concerned about lighting over the oven area and over the 16" of counter on the dining side of the cooktop. Also, these should be 5" cans, shouldn't they?

I've been reading this thread since it was posted with trepidation, waiting for the "good ole days" comments and general bashing of current parenting methods; guess I didn't have to wait too long. My early childhood, we played outside all the time, including with the neighborhood kids, or at least I did as much as I was able too. All the kids in our 2-3 block radius were boys my brothers age or older. While I wanted to play, I was seen as the annoying kid sister so I was frequently left playing by myself. When I was 9 we moved into the "country", an established neighborhood 30 minutes outside of town. Everyone lived on a few acres and there were only 2 other "kids" in the entire neighborhood, 2 teenage boys who would hang out with my brother on occasion, but I was still mostly left in the lurch. We were allowed to ride our bikes to the general store a few miles away or go hiking in the canyon, but only together, we didn't really have other playmates. Now, as a mom of 4 kids living in the same neighborhood, I eschew "play dates" but encourage my kids to be active and outdoors. The neighborhood has 2 other families that have children close in age to ours but both parents work and the kids are in daycare/babysitters. My kids playmates are, by and large, each other. Chisue brings up a good point about stay at home moms and sheilajoice added important points as well. Women's lib movement made it possible for ANY woman to accomplish ANYTHING she wanted and I am eternally grateful for that BUT....with it came a flooding of the market with both men AND women capable of doing the jobs. Supply of qualified workers increased and demand didn't follow suit which basically means you've got 200 people qualified to fill these 100 positions. Basic rules of supply and demand means that more workers than jobs drives wages down which means everyone has to work twice as hard. Most families these days don't have much of a choice. Both parents must work to meet ends meet. If the mom stops working to be a SAHM she loses her career advancement. If she (or he) becomes a stay at home parent and the marriage dissolves, they can't just jump back into their career. It isn't about material goods, its about being able to support yourself. I'm taking a "huge risk" in my friends eyes by relying on my husband and believing our marriage will continue to work because, "what if?". How will you support yourselves and the kids?!? Also, my parents, your parents and I suspect most of you when you were parenting young children, did not have to deal with social media, the internet, etc. Very real issues that almost all parents must deal with these days. I'm the "curse" on our elementary school because, as far as I'm aware, I'm the only parent who has said "no, I do not authorize my child or their works to be displayed on the internet." There are different challenges presented to today's parents, and we are doing the best we can in an ever changing world. Here in 20 or 30 years we will get to listen to our kids complain and/or we ourselves will opine for the "good ole days" the same way every other generation has but the bottom line is, we are just like you. Doing the best we can with what we have.