Frank, I agree with Josh... you do have a right to be disappointed if what you were shown is not what you received. You did pay good money for the bulb, after all. But looking at it another way, the ending is happier than any of us might have imagined... and a whole group of people get to enjoy the beauty that is Naranja! It also gave us opportunity to talk a little, and to get to know each other better. I found someone who can sympathize with what I go through, and I can sympathize with his situation. I didn't know before this thread that Josh has MS. And before this season, I didn't know what a great person you were, Frank, and what a wonderful sense of humor you have! You always make me smile, and more often than not, laugh... you have a unique way with words! :-) Having nursed my 73 year old Mother through leukemia, I know how difficult it is to care for an ailing parent. I wish you and your Mom the best, Frank. You're at a difficult crossroads in life. My Mother was almost lucky that her cancer was acute... she didn't suffer long. I'll always miss her, but reality is what it is. It was her time, and we were fortunate to spend several very wonderful months together before she got really sick. I'll always treasure those memories. Life has a way of throwing those curve balls at us, and we can either stand tall and take the pain, gaining strength and wisdom from it as it adds to our character... or we can curl up in a little ball and miss out on the beauty and all the little things that are mixed in with misery, pain and hard times. Every day I want to curl up into a little ball and cry... but where would that get me? Nowhere fast. And so, I put on my big girl shoes and face whatever the day has to bring. Some are good, some are great, and some aren't... but that's life. Today, I got to see that my common Red Lion has pushed its first scape past the neck of the bulb, and it won't be much longer until those lovely red blooms start to show themselves! And, I dug out two books that I haven't read yet, so I'm looking forward to sitting down tonight with some hot coffee and my reading glasses... Certain Prey and Chosen Prey, both by John Sanford, await my perusal. Oh, and we had some excitement today as one of our water hydrants burst and started spraying water all over the sidewalk and garage! Another project that was doled out to some local idiot claiming to be a professional... because the owner couldn't wait for my husband to get to it, moving through his long list of projects that need doing. Apparently, the guy didn't set the inner rod correctly, and it broke the outer casting. I don't know... I'm no plumber. My poor husband is out there as I write this, waist deep in a cold, muddy hole... playing with hydrant parts and piping. He's less than thrilled, as you can imagine. But I digress... Frank, you did a great thing bringing that bulb to the home for your Mom and her friends to enjoy... it was almost a blessing in disguise that you weren't happy with the color saturation. So, you see... things always have a way of working out... I call it karma. :-) Do not be a bit sorry you began us on this journey! It's been both fun and a learning experience... and I always enjoy a chance to share a little more, and learn a little more. And, Josh... in life, we have choices... and we can choose to take what we've been given and make it into something good. It all depends on how we look at it. My disease and injuries have given me something I never would have thought... a chance to slow down and truly look at and enjoy the wonderful little things we never notice when we're so busy, and we take life for granted. For example, during growing season, I force myself to rest often... and I see tiny little hummingbirds building a nest, or drinking nectar from the flowers in the garden. I watch praying mantises hunt, and I enjoy the scent that hundreds of different roses make when they're mixed in a garden setting, and a breeze brings it all to my nose. At night, I see bats against the moon as they hunt their prey, and I hear the pair of giant owls talk back and forth in the woods across the road. I'm very lucky. Really very lucky. If I had a different life, I'd never get to see or hear or smell or enjoy any of those things. I'd be too busy rushing through my days, barely noticing what Nature tries so hard to show me. As I get older, I realize how short life truly is... and how little time we actually get to be here, in our lives. I don't want to ever regret my life. I don't want to miss the important things, or the beauty, or the love and friendship being offered all around me. Nobody ever said any of it would be easy... but... it doesn't have to be as hard as we sometimes make it, either. So... take a deep breath... and be glad you were given the opportunities that you have, and the ones that await you. Life is sometimes ugly, and messy, and hard... but it's just as wonderful, and just as lovely and joyful.. as long as we are willing to give a little in order to receive a little, and we take the time to let all the good in. Ok... my fingers are tired, and they hurt. I'm going to go pour that cup of coffee, grab my glasses, and I'm going to bury my mind in a good story. And lest I forget, the pictures offered by Josh are just lovely! Sweet Lilian is one of my personal favorites. And everyone else, like Donna, has brought interesting and wonderful perspectives to this thread. I'm glad to be a part of it. :-) And... I would love to go on a Clivia growing journey with you, Frank... I've got two mixed in with my bulb collection, and they are part of the Amaryllidacea family, if I've got the spelling right. It looks wrong, but you know what I mean, I'm sure. In case anyone is interested, I'm including my 2011 garden photo album... link below. If you go all the way to the last page and view it in reverse, you can see my year in sequence... as the gardens came to life and grew. For some reason, PhotoBucket tacks on new uploads to the first pages, and not the last. I don't know... Anyhoo... everyone have a great evening... I'm off to read! :-) Here is a link that might be useful: 2011, Jodi Style!

Looking on Texas A&M, it says it is "Physiological Leaf Roll", caused by drought or other environmental stress. I will have to really watch my watering practices and calculate how much water I am really giving them. Maybe I thought I was doing a good job and really wasn't. -the seedlings were at about 65ish degrees. -I forgot to mention the small fan that was blowing on them... -the peat pots were small, 2-3 inches. The roots were not coming out of the bottoms. They were so tiny! I will not use these again. They dry out to quickly. I had to water them a lot to keep them evenly watered. I will use clean plastic pots next time. -I just realized I did a silly thing. I thought I had bought a bag of Fox Farm's soil less mix, but I just looked at the bag, and it is their Ocean Forest POTTING soil. It has sphagnum moss, perlite/vermiculite (there's a difference?), humus, and a little sand, plus the ridiculous proprietary things (guano, earthworm castings, blurb-blurb-blurb) that I paid too much for. pH of 6.5. -the planter boxes are massive. Made of 4x4s four high, rebar pinning them to the earth, lined with food safe plastic, weed mat underneath (which was stupid in hindsight, what weed in their right mind is getting through 2 1/2 feet of soil?) They are 4ft by 6 ft, and one is 4 ft by 12 ft. They are probably going to be there until I'm 86 years old. My husband does things very thoroughly. :) Our yard's soil is mostly rock and granite. I'm fairly certain there is a concrete and landscape rock cemetery back there; I'm constantly hitting something. -The Pioneer mix was delivered in a big truck. It grows grass wonderfully. - The seeds I got from Jung sprouted, but never really took off. They lost their first set of leaves, got 4-5 branches with nice leaves, but they were just not as robust as I've seen them. I was afraid to set them out too early, so I think I remember setting them out the 2nd week of May sometime to harden. I let them harden till the last week of May, letting them stay out for a few hours and then setting them inside at night. I was getting married the first week in June, so they had to be out one way or another by then. The store bought plants I planted when we got back, around the 3rd week in June. Too late? - The rooting hormone I used was a liquid mix that you dilute. Now that I think about it, I don't think it was a hormone per say, "Root Stimulator" was what it was called. I used it on my transplanted annual beds, just a quick water, or with my new dormant strawberry plants, soaked in a mixture and planted. I think it was just a 4-10-3 fertilizer to give a little boost. Does it work? I honestly couldn't say yay or nay. Maybe I was so stressed out with the upcoming wedding and planning that I didn't pay enough attention to the little things. I never saw any wilting, but that doesn't mean that the seedlings weren't stressed at some point and I didn't notice. This year I will be like a mama hawk! (I feel like I'm in a Sherlock Holmes chapter with all these questions! This is awesome!)

LITH and all others too~~ Thanks for thinking of me....it seems like an eternity since my beloved was taken home, but I am doing as well as can be expected, I guess~~ There is always something I want to tell him, and look at his empty chairs and wish I could talk to him one more time...but then there would never be enough time~~ As for the house....I was told yesterday that I have a "low ball" offer coming in.....$255,000 on it listed at an already lowered $299,900...I am hoping they will counter, but the realtor thought they were pretty set in their price. This afternoon, I am showing it to a husband and wife doctor team who are coming here....and I live only 1 1/2 blocks from their offices/hospital....so I am anxious to see if anything becomes of that. They wanted out by the big lake, but they have to live so they can be at the hospital in 20 minutes and I don't think they can get here that fast from the lake......oh who knows, but on the brighter side~~~~~ I was talking to one of the guys who live in a 4 plex, just south of my lot on the lake, and he said that he didn't know when it would happen, but the south unit of the 4 plex was coming up for sale. It is not as large as the middle units, but still a 2/2 and looks out on "my" lake~~~~ I called about it and she was driving, so I need to call her again this afternoon. The HOA fees there are $224.00 a mo., but they include the taxes, insurance, lawn care, snow removal and the dues. I could probably build a duplex for not too much more than that unit would cost, but heck, it is already built and I would not have the hassle of moving twice and the headaches of building by myself~~ I have not seen the inside yet, and if he was a smoker, it is out...I have a terrible allergy to smoke. Thanks again for your good thoughts....keep them coming...I read these posts regularly to keep up with you fine people who post on this forum.

There is another thread that may have some helpful information. I am not savvy enough to post the link, but the title is: diy venatino marble backsplash done - pics. Here is what jalsy6 said about his installation: I did seal it once before grouting. Then it said to seal it once after about a month...I still have that to do. I had kind of a panic attack when I was installing it, as I didn't realize that when the back of the tile comes in contact with the wet thinset it makes the marble look SOOO weird and splotchy! Luckily I did some harried research on the web, and it is normal, and once the thinset dried it looked fine. Just an fyi if you use these tiles. Make sure you use thinset for marble, not mastic.