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!

Actually we are fat because of the fat fairy. Remember when you put your tooth under the pillow and got a quarter? Or nickel? Well, that winged (^(^((&&*&%$%$ takes the teeth and grows them into fat cells. When you are sleeping happily with all your adult teeth she sneaks in and glues it to your butt and thighs, and anywhere else she can. And uh, I kind of roll around in the dirt too, it sure makes me happy to be all dirty in the garden! Tally Ho!

Some of you guys underestimate the strength of raptor birds, including the red tailed hawk. I am from Albania and all my life was in contact with birds. I breed canaries, pigeons,chickens,rabbits and other animals. Several times we had to experience episodes involving birds of prey which were a permanent threat to our birds and animals. Once we had a lamb that disappeared and only days later we found parts of the carcass about three kilometers away (about 2 miles). Not far from there was a nest of turkey vultures. We concluded that it was the vultures that had killed the lamb. The lamb weighted about 8-10 kilograms (about 20-24 pound). It was summer time and we knew that it was not a wolf because they never (almost) kill lambs in that time of the year. Now you do the math; the lamb was at least 3-4 times heavier than the vulture. In another episode a hawk took a pigeon almost from my hand; I was holding the pigeon when all of a sudden a hawk was plunging toward me and I released the pigeon because confused and scared. In matter of tenths or hundredths of a second the pigeon was under the hawks claws. Several other times we had pigeons or chickens killed by birds of prey. I am not proud to say it, but I had to kill several hawks over years. I was young and only saw it as a threat and I believed that it was my right to kill them in order to defend my birds. In another occasion we captured a hawk and kept it for several days in a cage. It refused to eat for 4-5 days, and after advice from my father I released it. Anyway, my advice is for all of you who have animals weighting under 10 pounds to not underestimate the strength of birds of prey. They can carry up to 4 times their body weight. Be careful guys

I wouldn't start apologizing until you need to--some people will take that as a sign of weakness and try to walk all over you. How far is the kitchen from the bedroom? It may not be that much of a problem at all. I'd wait until you hear. And until you've actually lived in this place and have some idea of what noise will travel. If you can hear the neighbor's TV pretty easily through the floor, but a quiet walk to the hall outside their door tells you that it's not traveling through the door, then you know the floors are thin, and noise might travel. If you don't hear much, then you can not worry so much. I also find that, since I sleep in the bedroom and my bedroom is under my neighbor's bedroom, I don't hear what goes on in the living room. She can HAVE her TV going at night as long as it isn't really loud; I won't hear it. She can have a conversation in the dining room or living room, it doesn't come through the floor and travel over a room to the bedroom. Of course, since everything is quieter, noise seems louder at night--so you might find that a low stereo and a quiet conversation are safer. (maybe no stereo, but you won't know that till you're there) (my new downstairs neighbors live jazz-band practice does bleed into the living room from the bedroom 2 rooms away, though) (I *think* a solid food processor is less loud than a blender, though there's no way to not be loud if you're chopping ice) (and you could decide to drink whisy source instead of frozen drinks.