Howard... bear in mind that you are equating July with summer heat. That didn't happen in my area. barely reaching 70 June & the first 3 weeks in July. If someone is growing indoors and has the a/c on, it's the same issue; lack of heat and temp flux, although I am not convinced that is the only issue here. Even with proper light and heat I still have spikes holding. I agree that 2 23w cfls are not enough for an oncid SB, especially at 8" from the plant (much closer Larissa) however, I have my oncids including SB outside in all day sun and they are holding. Started in the Spring. Twinkle has been holding Since about May. Outdoors, acclimated to full sun. Been in the 80's since August with a few cooler days. Still no "pop". There was a recent thread about Twinkle's holding spikes. It was not a zone confined problem; z-9 to z-4 (outdoors) had the same issue. So I contacted OHG. This what I got as a response: "Be patient. Many varieties send out spikes (or sheaths) prematurely, well before blooming season. The Twinkles bloom usually between Thanksgiving and Christmas, so it is way too early to expect buds at this time. Keep the plants on the cool side at night to provide some temperature fluctuation, and give good light. And don't stress out about it - " Larissa, I have not been able to find a housing that "properly" fits a 42w or 85 w cfl. The bulbs stick out. You don't want a skinny fixture. It traps heat and fries the bulbs. What I did was I got the 10" silver disk work lights, and made them look cool by hanging them in a row. That was as deep as I could find. They still stick out but have some "directionality". I don't use the clamps, but rather got a plumber's bracket from HD, strung the cord through the U shaped clamp that I screwed into the celiling and let the fixture hang, kind of like the modern kitchen/dining room lights. When they are in a row, they look nice. I've also hung 1 in a small window. A Nieghbour thought it was "cool" and didn't realise it was a cheapie HD shop light I suppose you could krylon/rustoleum the outside if you wanted to add colour to the fixture. (wouldn't paint the inside) I haven't been able to find anything that has been able to accomodate the monsterous 42's or 85's. I am not really sure what the intended use is for an 85w cfl is. :-) and what people are screwing them into. Clara

I would also love some advice. We purchased a Miele a year ago (Model G2000Vi -G2470SCSF for $1,699.00) and I just assume that it wasn't a very good dishwasher. But it seems to be getting worse and now I'm wondering if something is blocked or not working. We don't have cloudy water, but it does not do a good job of getting food off. Any food gets enameled onto the dishes, and worst of all, any glasses put in the upper rack get bits of dried food baked onto them. It's as though all of the food particles in the dishwasher just wind up drying hard onto the glasses in particular, and it is harder to wash them when they come out (and they look disgusting) than if I just washed them by hand. I'm pretty sure it's not our water, because when we moved in, we used a 30 year old dishwasher that was already there for two years and our glasses came out great. Is there something blocking the spray somehow do you think?

Thank you kitchendetective. I initially purchased a LC knockoff from Walmart that I believe I saw on Cook's Country; however, it stained on first use and the edge rusted so I returned it. It had the light interior and my immediate thought was this is not for me although I would certainly rather cook with a light interior than a dark. I was going to say I thought the Staub was lighter in weight than LC but I have never actually cooked with LC, only held it in my hands drooling over it in the store! I am going to try another stew for this evening and see how it goes. Surprisingly I have not burned anything and the pan is very easy to clean; however, I have not developed that browning (fond?) that I so desire. They certainly are beautiful pans but I have a small kitchen so I have limited space and need highly functioning tools and all I really want is to end up with delicious tasting food! Happy & Healthy New Year!

Andrea, I didn't see the thread, or maybe I did not sure and I often post on backsplash issues as I'm a tile nut. But a couple of things turn me off and perhaps these have been issues for others, not sure. People post links without the hyperlink in text. And they do multiples. Those need to be pasted into the browser. So to look at those is a big PITA because there's a back and forth and an in and out of the thread and GW sometimes and then you sign in again (or at least I have to) and you get the picture. So first post clickable links. Even better is posting photos. Go to photobucket and open an account. It's super easy. Upload your photos there. Copy the center coding under the photo and paste it into your post. When you preview the photo appears. You can post more than one. I bet you'll get way more response.