Yeah I think that member was from Sweden. The photos are under orchid growing areas in the Gallery section and they are the last set on the first page, a set of four terrariums side by side. The enclosures are not very large once you know the scale although some members have huge orchidariums. I just can't believe how professional the cylinder type terrariums came out and from such simple materials anyone can get at a Home Depot! I am going to leave this project for the fall or winter but I am seriously considering building something that can be automated with misters etc. for times when I am away, mounted plants don't like vacations. :( If you build it yourself it costs much less, had a medium sized one years ago but did not keep it when I moved because it was built too heavy and bulky and was not properly sealed to be water tight. Mike

It's something about human nature. Wave the term "sale" under people's noses and they are so enthralled they lose all sanity. A guy who used to work for me got a call from his wife the one day. He hung up the phone and got the funniest look on his face. He came over to me and said it just hit him what his wife said. They had been to a local store and saw a torchier lamp they liked (when they were in style) and wanted to get. It was "on sale" for $69.00. OK. Jim had stopped at Kmart for something and saw the identical lamp (same mfgr and model number) for $29.99. He told his wife and her response? No way. Why? "But that one's not on sale! He shook his head. And we have had a lot of laughs about it. Sad thing is she was dead serious.

"Personally, I've noticed that in affluent areas of the south houses are much more attractively decorated, more tasteful, and better maintained than in the northeast (no doubt in part due to land being more affordable in the south and the fact that more families can afford to have a spouse stay at home and fix the place up). So there are regional differences within the US." Or, it could just be you're witnessing first-hand how cheap some of us are in New England! (that's a joke, folks!) Seriously though...there's a large contingent of New Englanders that would never spend money to redecorate. Even in $1M+ homes you'll see 30 year old sofas & a mis-mash of furniture from several generations. It has nothing to do with land values. It's a mindset. The south has 'Southern Living' & New England has 'Yankee Magazine"! rofl New Englanders, in general, are quite wealthy by national standards. You might not know it though by looking at their houses. :) Here along the SE CT shore...you'll see many old ramshackle homes in dire need of maintenance sitting on $2M sites overlooking LIS with a $500K boat tied to a rotting dock & a twelve year old car in the driveway that hasn't been washed since May. Doesn't have anything to do with whether one spouse stays home, or not. As a lender, I've had many a laugh at my commercial real estate borrowers. Most don't even have a "Maintenance & Repairs" line item in their budgets & looked at me like I'd just landed from Mars when I suggested they add one! lol I remember one guy who owned two deckers side-by-side. He had $100/year in his "Maintenance & Repairs" budget which I found comical so I asked him what it was for. He responded, "It's for light bulbs but I never spend that much!" Yeah, it's a mindset. /tricia /t

Rose, how sad to see such a majestic beauty go down. It had to be done. Long story short: At the corner of the yard at the house my family lived in for many years was a tall, beautiful, perfectly shaped pine tree; the kind with those long slender cones. It shaded and provided privacy for the front porch. My DH died; years later I sold the house. I often wake up with a song going through my mind. One morning, a year or so after I sold it, it was the old song "They Cut Down the Old Pine Tree." I went to work that day and my boss, who lived across the street from the house, asked me if I knew the pine tree had been cut down. I couldn't believe it. I had to go and see. There was the stump. No sign of rot showing. Unbelievable! We knew the history of the house and knew when it was built and by whom. Also had met a lady who was born in that house. The house was built about a hundred years ago and that tree had "always" been there. You had no choice but to let your tree go. I'll never understand why anyone would cut down a solid old healthy tree. Don't understand how the mind works when I woke up with that song playing in my brain either. Your house shows more beautifully though. Sue