count_d, I purchased my plant from Tony at ExoticPlantsPlus.com the home of Par O Bek Orchids! http://www.exoticplantsplus.com/ thespirals, I keep it growing up by using the metal chain of the hanging basket. By moving some of the leaves to the inside of the chain and letting the plant then rest against it, the plant grows more upwards. Once it gets past the metal chain I have large s hooks which I then use orchid flower spike clips to clip the nep vine to the s hook. You do not need to cut your nep. I do it when it reaches the ceiling which is 3 to 4 feet from the hanging basket. I would not cut it till you have new growth at the bottom of your plant which you say you do. My first time cutting the plant I was about 12" above the soil for my cut. Cutting the plant usually causes more basal shoots to form which will make your plant bushier, as they grow. Also usually a node below the cut will start to grow. Seeing the effects of cutting the plant from the first time, the second time I cut it was much closer to the soil, but I had several new basal points growing which were several inches tall by then. You end up with several new plants to trade away if you try to root your cuttings. Below is a link to rooting nep cuttings. This is the way I do mine and have great success, only have lost 1 cutting. Here is a link that might be useful: Rooting nep cuttings

Since we're discussing about SS pots & pans.... If you own SS pots & pans, I hope you have a bottle of Bar Keepers Friend for cleaning them. It cleans your SS pots & pans so well that they look new. Just dab a little and scrub it with a Dobie cleaning pad or similar. It costs much less than many SS cleaners. I use the powder bottle that resembles the Comet except it's yellow. It's less the $3 at Walmart in the cleaning product isle. I once brought my knives to cut up boxes and boxed of bananas for a community activity. By the time I got home, the knives had stained. I simply used BKF to clean off the stain. They looked as if never had happened. Basically, BKF works on all SS products, even on SS kitchen sinks. Warning: If you have granite countertops, be careful not to get on its surface. BKF is acidic and can ruin granite or any stone surface. If it gets on it, wipe off immediately. Here is a link that might be useful: Bar Keepers Friend

Thanks for asking Socks .... Had the surgery one week ago today. Got out of the hospital the next afternoon. I'm now home wearing a hard collar, bone stimulator machine and trying to stay off the computer. I'm only allowed on for 20 mins at a time. I was totally bed-ridden until yesterday... sleeping most of the day and night, so that helped keep me off the computer. So far the only real pain is my throat and left shoulder. Loss of voice is typical with this surgery. Mine finally came back yesterday afternoon. I was warned my shoulders might hurt after the surgery but was never told why. I might call the doctor and ask what causes the shoulder pain. Surgery ended up not quite what I expected. Instead of removing the bottom two fused vertebrae, the doctor cleaned the bone spurs off the fused verts and removed C5 instead. He cleaned up and realigned C3 and C4 and fused C4-C5-C6 with what's called a PEEK cage. From what I can tell, my range of motion is better than before and very little pain when I move. But I'm not going to be able to fully test it for a couple months. Because my throat is still sore from them moving the esophagus and other stuff aside to access the spine from the front, it's difficult to tell if my cough and breathing issues are gone. But I think they are. Just won't know until I'm fully healed. Jodi-

cpartist -- I'm still OK haulin' laundry. There's a lot less of it for just two Seniors, and we're on one floor in 2900 sq ft. I prefer to 'tend' the laundry in the back hall during the day. I've even ironed my sheets -- on the board that is stowed in the back hall closet with hanging space. Which is fine while you're still in the go-go years, but what happens once you reach the no-go years? Or what if something happens so it becomes difficult to haul the laundry? My mother's laundry was across the house too. In fact it was next to her office. She was so upset when she could no longer haul the laundry around because of being unsteady on her feet. I have tub, then FL washer and dryer (raised, left to right). How do people live without a laundry tub -- as a mop sink if nothing else? (Garden gear, boots, soaking a big pan, washing plants... and small dogs.) I have no laundry tub. Have never had one and don't miss it. I do have a slop sink in my garage though. I'd opt for one-floor living at any age. Senior friends with home elevators avoid them in daily life. The only reason I avoid it is because I'm slightly claustrophobic. However I designed it to be as open looking as possible and would have no problem using it if I needed it. Nobody likes to wait for an elevator anywhere. Let's see it takes less than 15-20 seconds for the elevator to go from one floor to the other. And that's only if it's on the other floor. There are days it takes me longer to walk up the stairs! New elevators are a lot more efficient and fast. If like us you're on a narrow lot and your choice is to either have smaller spaces or to build up, I highly recommend building up. Especially if it's two rooms that will rarely be used.