Dear All, It was about a year ago that I posted about getting and planting Lovely Lemon, and I decided I owed everyone an update on her progress and my very steep learning curve. During the late summer and fall I didn't get any new growth, perhaps because the days weren't long enough and hot enough by the time she got settled in the pot. We did fairly well over the winter. It was a slow start, and we lost some leaves in the transition so she was looking rather thin, but very cute, around Christmas. But then we got lots and lots of blooms. It was fantastic. Then late winter/early spring I started to get a lot of lemons. That was even more fantastic. Oh, but then came summer. That was quite the rough patch. I transitioned her outside too late and too quickly, it seems, and we lost a lot of leaves. Then I was gone for three weeks during which we got a ridiculous amount of rain and my well-meaning landlord didn't follow feeding and watering directions. I got home in late June to a very sick and sad looking little tree. The lemons were still growing, but some of the leaves were yellowing and I had lost blooms, on top of the leaves already lost. Then a roofer working on the house dropped a large rock on her from two stories above. It was very sad. But I committed to coaxing her back to health after moping around for a week or so. I knew what creates happy and healthy trees because you guys have proved again and again what works. So I got to work. I pulled off all but two of her lemons, increased the FP for a few waterings, and then the Massachusetts weather started working in my favor by giving me some hot, sunny days. She stopped losing leaves and I got some blooms, which gave me some hope. Then the last week I've been seeing flushes of growth! New leaves! What I've been waiting a year to have. It will take a while still to get her even back to where she was when I got her, but she's on her way. This post is one part update, and one part thank you to those of you who ask questions and those who answer them. I'm still learning, but you got us through our first year alive and growing. Hope all of you are well (hi Mike!!)! Cheers, Incunable

You haven't said anything about colors, textures, fabrics or anything, so I won't get too specific either. Your kitchen has such strong horizontal lines that I would want to play up the vertical. To do that, I would think about taking your window coverings all the way up to the bottom of the crown. In the kitchen, I would probably do a valance only and/or a panel hung on the left side only to balance the cabinet on the right. Either way, I'd want something with some shape and a bit of drape, points -- something that comes down so that you don't have another strong horizontal line. That probably requires a fabric treatment, and I think I'd like to see some color and pattern in there. Fabric would give you that also. In the dining room, I think I might do full length panels on either side with a sheer or light filtering shade to soften the view and provide light control. They could be the same fabric as the kitchen. If you want the dining room to be more formal, you may want to use coordinating fabrics but dress up the DR a bit more.

So, after using it for a few years, here is my take on the MC, keeping in mind, of course that YMMV. I want to start by saying that I just *had* to have the MC because I was sure I would get tons of use from it, especially because I have arthritis and I have had some close calls with moving heavy pots of boiling water. So, in that way, having the MC is very nice bc it does drain the boiling water and eliminates the need to move a heavy pot full of boiling water. The downsides, though, are that it does take some time to get the water to a boil ( I would say about 15 minutes or so) and then there is the clean up, which is kind of a pain. You have to wait for the unit to cool down enough to take it apart to clean it well; otherwise, it tends to get icky. Coincidentally, we seem to be eating less pasta these days *sigh* so when I do make pasta it is in smaller batches and I usually do it on my induction hob which boils water in under a minute. I do love my MC for keeping items warm and for steaming veggies. In those instances, clean up is super easy, it's just draining the water and then I leave the lid off all night to air dry. To speak to your oven choices, I really do love having my warming cupboard, I use the heck out of that thing! I almost think I would give up the MC before the warming cupboard, especially with an induction hob that boils water so quickly for pasta. So in the end, maybe the question is...how MUCH pasta do you prepare at one time? Is it smaller batches, for say a family of 4? Or is it regularly for 10-12? In which case the MC might be very useful for you. I hope this is helpful and not more confusing!

Yess!!! It sure does look like a carrot, doesn't it? loll!!! I'd love to say I had plans for this plant, but I do not. Other than developing a nice root spread, (or not) I'm so pleased with it...all it has to do is NOT die, in my care I'm pretty confident though, I've had adenium that my interest has waxed and waned over the last few years & they just wouldn't give up the ghost. I might try a ratio of bark vines to pumice in a few of these Walmart specials, as I see Chris, of Durham Botanicals reccomends as such... I've neglected mine at home during winter months, though under flurescent lights, I grow them really hard.