We are pushing the limits of good sense here in north Texas planting out our tomato transplants last Sunday. (Surely these plants will be 'blessed' because we put them in on Sunday????) They certainly enjoyed the multi-inch rain on Tuesday and the mild temps since. One of our first projects was to re-do the small water feature near the back porch. The old one developed a leak and had to be replaced. The new container is in and the fountain is splashing merrily. It needs the rocks fussed with and fresh mulch, but it sounds and looks good. We've scraped up the old mulch path in the white garden....ummmmmmm good mulch. And replaced with fresh pine bark nuggets. The swing in that garden got stripped and repainted as well. Today I put in a few white petunias and the area looks so good. We sprayed our home-made bunny-be-gone on some potential munchies....now the new growth on the daylilies will last longer than a day. Every time I go outside I want to take photos of the red tulips in the front yard. I've already taken photos, but the flowers are so bright and fresh, I want to take more. LOL See the tulips on my blog, linked below. Happy spring everyone! Here is a link that might be useful: Creative Soul

My old kitchen definitely didn't look bad. The only thing about the old cabs that wasn't bad was the doors. The boxes were total garbage, otherwise I would have done a reface on some of them. CEFreeman - You're right! I hated that weird cabinet! lol It stuck out into the room and created a weird traffic pattern. Good riddance! shappy - I can't imagine anyone liking that sink! The biggest problem with the darn thing is that the middle bowl isn't recessed into the sink. Being an over mount, that middle bowl is the same height as the outer rim. Wash anything and you have to rest it on the edge of that inner bowl and water runs out the front and back of the sink. Took a bath every time I used it. If they had just recessed that middle bowl . . . . . . In hindsight, I should have taken a sledgehammer to that darn sink and bought a new one for the people who took the kitchen. Would have been good therapy. lol Meanwhile I am LOVING using the single bowl utility sink in the laundry room. After trying to decide between single vs. double bowl, I know I made the right choice to go with a single. Can't wait to use my new one. This is my temp kitchen/laundry room.

The entire section from MIA Page 8 linked above: 14. ALLOWABLE REPAIR Stone countertops in need of repair require competent, experienced artisans to achieve the desired results. Repairing stone is permitted when the refurbished region is not in a structurally significant area of the countertop, and when it can be accomplished skillfully so that the repair is consistent in color and texture with the rest of the slab. Fissures occur naturally in many stone types. A fissure is defined by the American Geological Institute as “an extensive crack, break, or fracture in the rock, which may contain mineral-bearing material.” The term “fissure” is used commercially in the stone industry to describe a visible separation along intercrystalline boundaries or the voids between mineral crystals. This separation may start and stop within the field of the stone or extend through an edge. A fissure differs from a crack in that it is a naturally occurring feature in the stone. Cracks occur in stones as a result of mechanically induced stresses during handling, fabrication, transport, or installation. When cracks are detected in slab material prior to fabrication, the best method is to simply avoid them during the layout process. In stones with lesser soundness properties, this option may not be practical, or possible. When working with such stones it is common practice to repair cracks by cementing them together with epoxy or polyester resin, either with or without dowel reinforcement. Cracks that occur as a result of handling-induced stresses are often more difficult to repair, as they commonly include chipping in addition to the crack. Repair is frequently performed by injection of a penetrating resin adhesive, which may be dyed to match the stone, and then rebuffing the area after curing of the resin. In many cases, the entire stone must be repolished to make the repair unnoticeable. If the repair is attempted but unsuccessful, Chips can occur in stones either as a result of sawing operations or handling and restraint devices. Particularly in the igneous stone varieties, the exiting portion of the diamond blade will create many small chips. A small chamfer, called an arris, of approximately 1/16" x 1/16" (1.5 x 1.5 mm) can be used to eliminate most of these small chips. The use of an arris will make the seam appear wider than its actual dimension when filled. Larger chips may be repaired with epoxy or polyester resin if the completed repair is consistent in color and texture with unrepaired areas of the slab. In many materials, the resin used in the repair will appear more natural if it is not dyed. Pitting of the countertop surface, particularly in granite material, is a commonly seen characteristic on natural stone. Granites are made up of several different minerals, each mineral having a different hardness. Granites contain quartz, feldspars, biotite, amphibole, ferrous titanium oxides, and other mineral combinations. On the Mohs Scale (see insert on page 7), diamonds are the hardest mineral, with a rating of 10. Quartz and feldspar have a hardness of 6.5 to 7 and are very durable. Biotite (also known as mica) on the other hand is very soft (2.5) and flakes easily. All true granites have biotite in their composition. Because biotite is relatively soft and flaky, the first few layers are removed during the polishing process, causing pits throughout the slab. Some granites have more biotite throughout their composition than others. The higher the biotite content of the stone, the more pits it will have. Most polished igneous rocks will have varying degrees of pits, depending on the amount of biotite, muscovite, and phlogopite in their composition. The pits do not make the granite less durable or otherwise inferior, and do not in themselves qualify the slab for replacement. Pits are common in all granites and should be expected when dealing with a natural, polished stone containing several types of minerals of varying hardness. It is usually best to not attempt repair of pits, as most repair techniques will not cosmetically improve the countertop.

I believe your problem isnt so much your lights as its your temperatures and the fact that the plants are right next to a furnace ^^. Im guessing your haworthias don't have a chance to absorb the water that is given to them, top that with extreme dryness and warmth that might be pushing the plant use up its reserves of water causing the sinking leaves syndrome. Transpiration 1) An increased rate of evaporation due to a temperature rise will hasten the loss of water. 2) Decreased relative humidity outside the leaf will increase the water potential gradient. Drier surroundings gives a steeper water potential gradient, and so increases the rate of transpiration. Haworthias IME flourish when days are 60-70 and nights 40-50F. They really appreciate that temperature drop and cool temps. What are your average day and night temps? I think that will be most telling.