I purchased these for $5 for all three. Yes, there is indeed a small hole in the base. I checked before I purchased them. I had never thought about it getting blocked. For the mix I will use either the 5:1:1 or Al's gritty mix. I need to look at the size of bark needed in the gritty and see if I have it or can find it. I looked on both the Violet Barn and Meehan's website and I am thinking about a mini violet for one, and maybe X-Codonotanthus �Sunset� and a succulents that resembles stones for the other two. I will have to wait till the weather is a lot warmer to order anything online. I did see some tiny pots of Baby Tears at my local grocery store. Purple, I have been following the small plants discussion and that is why I even considered buying these pots. I love the photo there of the mini African Violet. Tapla, I have always loved your picture of the hen and chick in the tiny jar. I might have to try one indoors and see if it would make it. I have many different hens and chicks outside and I miss them during the winter. I have a bright green one that stays very small no matter the amount of room it has to grow.

If comparing lamps of similar quality the MR11 is just smaller, has the 35 watt limit and has less beam angles available. There is also an MR8.

That may be the difference, I have never had a purebred before adopting this supposedly 11 year old, Mini Dashchund! All have been mutts. The sensitive digestive system may come with the limited genetic diversity. I know that my genetic disorder has affected my GI system terribly and am very happy to say I have not passed it on by having children. In your breed, this may just be something you have to deal with. The Dalmatian AKC Club has FINALLY allowed the dogs bred by Dr. Robert Schaible to be included in breed registrations. In the 1970s he bred a single Pointer to a Dalmatian. He did that because all Dals carry a gene for urinary blockages that primarily affect the males. No Dalmatians anywhere were found that had the version of that gene that would produce low acidity in their urine, which would make them free of this disorder. If no Dal had the gene for low acidity, then all Dals would continue to suffer from this disorder. Dr. Schaible figured that if he could out-breed a Dal to a Pointer - a breed of dog that was used to build the Dalmatian breed originally - maybe he could re-introduce the good low-acidic gene back into the Dalmatian breed. He was successful. That one Pointer back in the 1970s passed a gene for low-acidic urine to his puppies. Those puppies have been bred only to pure Dalmatians. For ten generations, these dogs have been bred only to registered Dalmatians, and it took until 2011 for the AKC Dalmatian breed club to allow them to be registered as Dalmatians. These are the only Dals with the gene for low acidic urine and, therefore, do not get urinary blockages. Because the high acidic gene is recessive, some of the Dalmatians in this project DO have the "bad" gene, but NO Dals that were not born from that out-bred experiment have low acidic urine. Here is a nice discussion about how and when the breeds were formed and why out-crossing was a valid way of solving this problem in this breed. http://www.dalmatianheritage.com/about/nash_research.htm For some reason, the dog fancy world has narrowed their idea of what a breed is to exclude the possibility of bringing in beneficial genes by out-breeding to a closely-related breed of dog, or even to a breed that helped to establish that breed. Sometimes, for some breeds, getting that genetic diversity could really help. I have no idea, of course, if this has anything at all to do with your dog's need to stay with one food. Maybe I wish some ancestors of mine had not passed on my connective tissue disorder that makes MY digestive system so sensitive!

Congrats on your new home. Not a pro. Just some thoughts: In a small or relatively small place, a free standing stove rather than separate cook top and oven(s) would be -- would have been -- worth considering -- and not just because that would be a space saver and because that way you might have been able to open a space in that half wall to create "an island" and have two points of entry/exit from your kitchen (versus entertaining dead end) but because you could take a free standing stove with you if/when ever you move, making it practical to invest more in it.. Stainless steel is a good look for appliances -- or white would work in a small space. Do hope you choose a deep double stainless steel sink and are able to put it against that half wall so you're not looking at the wall while you're prepping or cleaning at the sink. Do choose a faucet with a high arc and levers rather than knobs. Even if you choose dark colors for below the countertop level, seriously consider white or at least light colors above that -- dark colors will visually shrink any already small space. Don't buy stuff you don't actually need -- clutter visually shrinks a space. Unless dusting is your favorite pastime, be "frugal" (as to numbers of items if not budget) with regard to decorative items. Such things really can wait until you living in the space a while, giving you plenty of time to do a lot of browsing and window shopping so you don't need to settle for something just to fill a space. Do invest in tall storage -- get the most storage possible for the footprint/floorspace any cabinet takes up: choose a storage ottoman rather than a coffee table; choose a chest of drawers rather than a dresser; and, choose cabinets for beside the bed and beside living room seating rather than tables: you might even consider short lockable wood or wood look (perhaps even fire/water resistant filing cabinets (2-3 drawers) so you will have a secure space to put any personal and financial documents and/or expensive camera equipment and/or your more valuable jewelry away from the prying eyes of the kinds of visitors that search people's medicine cabinets while using the facilities -- there seems to be on in every crowd. Consider choosing a tall glass front cabinet with shelves that could even double as a chi9na cabinet and curio cabinet -- perhaps with a bottom drawer or cabinet door. Best of luck. Do keep us updated and post pics.