I agree totally with jandey. I always water mine enough in the winter to keep the root balls from shrinking. For my 'garaged' plants, I usually check them about every two weeks. Since your plants are in warmth (what about light?), the chance of them rotting from water in the soil is a bit less. But to be on the safer side, when I water, I try to water around the perimeter of the pot rather than right at the base of the trunk. I would make sure they get some light - maybe add a cheapo flourescent if you don't already. Keep it at less than 8 hours. Last winter I watered too much and the garage got too cold for some plants (low 40s for prolonged periods), so I had some major rot on both stems and below the soil surface. This year I am watering a bit less and keeping the temps in the garage at between 53 deg. and 60 deg.F. They all look really good and some new inflos are starting to develop! 55 degrees seems to be a magic number for a lot of tropicals. It keeps them dormant, but they don't get overly cold. And bugs are not a problem. In the house where the temps are between 60 and 70, I don't worry quite as much about watering. I feel down about an inch into the soil. If it's bone dry, then I'll water a bit around the perimeter of the pot. Many of the indoor plumerias still have leaves and are pulling up water. Also, keep in mind that warm house areas are usually very low in humidity. Heck, even with our whole-house humidifier, I can't seem to get the humidity any higher than 40%. So that dryness will act to descicate the plants even more. In the South where they bare-root store them in garages, there are frequent warm-ups AND much higher humidity, which helps preserve the dormant plants, in my opinion.

To me, there's nothing wrong with mixing "high end" and lower cost, functional good-quality kitchen components. More important to me is to avoid the waste implied in buying things that will not last or that will certainly become unfashionable. I live in a working class neighborhood, mostly little 1950s houses with lots of retirees, including myself. Although our lot is on a lake, this property will NEVER command top dollar because of the settlement pattern of the community. The recession has really hurt home values here; I thought our house was $275,000 to $300,000 because of previous improvements, but I believe that it's now $220,000 and that was before we launched a major addition, geothermal, and new siding, etc. No matter what we sink into the house, it's for us, not for resale or peer pressure. We have decided to retain the 30 inch refrigerator we bought last year (an emergency purchase) but to put it in a position where a larger unit could some day fit. No wooden housing around it. We are keeping our old electric range, but are adding a portable induction burner that can be set out on the countertop to increase functionality. There is room for another oven on a wall outside our new G shaped kitchen, but I don't think I will be the one to buy it (unless my grown children move back to live nearby); a portable roaster oven will suffice to augment the baking and roasting for large gatherings. We use our outdoor gas grill in all seasons for grilling. My husband enjoys the ritual of being the griller and he shovels the access space before dinner parties. The broiler in the old range suffices if he doesn't want to venture outdoors. We are retaining our existing dishwasher. Our big innovation is to add a second sink to the kitchen. All sinks and appliances are white. My muse is the idea of a "workshop kitchen." I am not trying to reproduce any particular theme, unless it is a farm kitchen that processes a lot of food in season. I do hope to make the kitchen work as a functional, welcoming space for myself and husband now that we're empty nesters and for events when we have visitors, whether large or small groups. Laminate for countertops is sufficient and my ego does not require anything more dazzling on the countertops, although there will be slabs of butcherblock on either side of the stove. Hubby decided to go with hardwood floor and install it and finish it himself, although I was ready to order the vinyl. We have found a local cabinetmaker who said he would meet the price of a sample plan of readymade cabinets from the Big Box home stores. Now, we're adding custom touches to the cabinetry plans, not in decorative features but real utility features, such as tapping the space that was wasted in "spacers" between boxes. All materials are American made, or American harvested. Except for the old siding and walls and flooring, very little is going to the landfill. Furnace went to the scrap metal guy. My own eccentricities will add all the "pop" and pizzaz that this kitchen will need. Fabric, color, laminate choice, color of stain, art, displays of collections-- a creative outlet without a high end price tag. We have splurged on a bank of windows and a few light fixtures (No, we're not putting in "cans" because the ceiling feeds to an attic where we're fighting heat loss.) We are working very hard to live within our means, following the requirements of good sense and ignoring consumer manias. When I get myself too fired up about making a more upscale purchase, I remind myself that the photos, the ad copy, the home shows and the open houses, are all there to facilitate SELLING, not living. Here in Minnesota, where granite is quarried, I know that some of the rock countertops are fairly reasonable, but as I have declared elsewhere on this forum, I refuse to purchase anything that is sold with a "how to care for it" bottle of something and some warnings about how to protect the finish. In many ways, by definition, I am free from the pressures that other posters feel in order to keep up with the neighborhood, to make a kitchen that defines a house value, or to prepare for the brutal house market. I don't envy the young and broke. But I was there once and I not only survived but thrived on it. The original kitchen in this house was painted baby blue without concern for the cathair? gobs in the paint and the kitchen 'table' had a hinge so we could access the refrigerator. My hubby and my carpenter father and a different local cabinetmaker came up with a sufficient re-do that we have appreciated since right before the Bicentennial. I raised two sensible daughters in that modest kitchen. This doesn't mean I'm not agonizing over choices today, though. "Leave me alone, I'm thinking!" is a common mantra right now. Today's musing: Do I want to order fancier cupboard doors? It's always something. Enjoy your day. Florantha

I agree with everyone talking about moderation. I love the comment about if your grandmother doesn't recognize it as food, don't eat it, but that's probably best for people my age, cause some of today's grandmothers were at the forefront of "convenience" foods, such as oleo. Dcarch, what you said about populations that live the longest makes some sense. Of course, genetics plays a role, too, but what I think is going on in some other cultures is the variety of food they eat. I'm very bad about eating the same things over and over again, especially for lunch and breakfast. It's so much easier to do that, takes less thinking. DH and I went to check out a fitness program called Crossfit, which includes intense exercise and the paleo diet. the little the trainer told us about the paleo diet talked me out of it (The price of the program was the biggest factor, way too much $$$$). The paleo diet, from the little I know about it, which is very little, makes the mistake most diets do, in that it picks out a few problems that some foods cause, without looking at the whole picture. For instance this diet bans legumes because they increase the glycemic index. Forget about all the health benefits from eating legumes. That short sightedness drives me nuts. Other diets, or eating programs do similar stuff, banning some foods for being too high in carbs, or too high in protien, or too this or too that, without looking at the whole food and it's over all benefit. I guess I'm kind of channeling Michael Pollan right now. So, I guess I feel that eating a wide variety of whole, or natural foods, in modest portions, makes for a healthy diet. Actually following that plan is the tricky part. Sally

I'm glad to see so many people here chiming in about it being your party and you can cry if you want to. That's my feeling too. But I know there are plenty of folks who don't feel that way, who really do sniff at kitchens not being super-neat and spiffy and tidy in a way they expect, which seems to include nothing visible, including appliances. All I can say is this attitude really surprises me and is very cultural - not my own. It just still makes me shake my head. Years and years ago now I posted a "post" picture of my kitchen which was just a snap shot of life in a busy family. I think there may have been wet foot prints visible and certainly a lot of clutter on the counters. It wasn't ideal, I suppose but honestly, I kind of don't see it, certainly don't mind. But a firestorm of opprobrium erupted here. There *is* an aesthetic to this place and the folks who post and expect something here, so it's understandable why you'd be reluctant to suggest the heresy of emplacing a MW on the counter. So again, I'm happy that folks' heads are telling them that of *course* you can do what you want. Sometimes their hearts cry out differently but babysteps is good. Do what makes you comfortable. That said, for reference and possible interest, I've long been (personally) horrified by MW so I would want to hide it away just because I was embarrassed to get one! lol. I actually use it *all* the time and have decided to shelve that particular prejudice. I have a "speed oven" which is MW+convection and it works great for us. I highly recommend it, especially if space is tight. That did get built in and fwiw I'm happy with it. But if it doesn't interfere with your counterspace it's hard for me to imagine why it's anyone else's business what you do with it. OTOH if aesthetics is your business of concern, then perhaps your answer might be different. But if expedience and cooking-preference is your first order of business, then, well - it's your space!!! :)