Hello Karen, Sounds like you had a good time..gatherings and visits with your mom. Is your mother any better? I hope so. 85-yrs is up there, 'even if she didn't have the disease you mentioned earlier.' Can she walk? She sounds like a real fighter, that's for sure. I wasn't planning on making a big dinner for Thanksgiving since Michael's appetite has decreased. I don't talk to my sisters or mother, and my brothers spent time with others. Wed afternoon, I asked Mike if he wanted turkey for Thanksgiving. He said he did. I ended up going shopping 2pm, got home around 7. Long day. Since there's just us three, and the dog who loves turkey, our T-day was quiet, too. Afterwards, I watched Christmas movies while Mike and Martin watched football. Mike watched in his room, dh in the living room. Yes, I posted on GW. Since my email only works 20% of the time, I can't check the box to receive emails alerting me when a new post is written. I didn't feel like talking plants before, especially since I'd been neglecting mine. For some reason, when I feel down and don't give plants the care they need, this is silly, but I feel like I'm cheating by visiting GW. IF that makes sense. Two days ago I finally got around to watering.. Also, my brother purchased succulents from China..'gifts to me. I couldn't find care on Google, so asked on C&S forum. Sux had been sitting in a box over a week. Regarding Mike. Details are long...We've been to the hospital and doctors several times since my last response. Last week, he had special urine and blood tests. They found Mike has a second cancer, but don't know the exact location..The doc said, 'idiot,' "The second cancer can be in the bladder, a tube?, or the thing that looks like a peanut? in Mike's kidney.???' I don't want shapes, I want names. The doc knows I research online. What the hell am I supposed to type? 'What's the thing in a kidney that looks like a peanut?' This doctor avoids questions and hesitated when I asked for test result copies. I swear to God, I wanted to punch his face. Okay, deep breath. He ended up giving me a copy of Mike's urine test results, which makes no sense. One would have to be a specialist to understand. If the test was regarding the spine, I'd understand 95%, but know nothing about kidneys or things that resemble peanuts! And which tubes??? Wednesday, Mike's having a test/surgery where they insert a tube, while sedated,' in his urethra..sp? A nurse from the hospital, unexpectedly phoned Mike today, told him to be there in an hour for pre-surgery testing. When he explained the reason she called, I thought, PRE-SURGERY?..the nurse told Mike whatever he's having done Wed's is considered surgery, not a test. I don't understand..maybe the reason is because he'll be sedated. Maybe, maybe not. I'm calling the hospital tomorrow for answers. The nurse told Mike he'll be given paperwork of the so-called surgery after the pre-surgery tests were done. He was given a generic form letter..it said, take b/p in the morning. That was the info she promised! I Googled docs name for reviews...found three..I'd bet all three were from the same 3 people since each site's reviews were identical. Doctors/IDIOT's name is Faramarz Eghrari... The urine report is from Genesis Clinical Lab, Department of Pathology, located in Berwyn, IL. Testing was done at Westlake Hospital in Melrose Park, IL. Karen, sorry for the long response, and thanks for asking about our Thanksgiving, etc. Bet you're sorry you asked... :) Thanks for listening. I've got a zillion things to do tonight, but feel like sleeping. My doctor up'd my anxiety medication because my b/p and pulse have been sky-high. Anyway, I'm happy you got to visit your mom..be thankful you have a considerate, good mother. Take care, hugs, Toni

Touch of Nature has a very good price for the red Lycoris radiata. (They are listed as one of GardenWatchDog's 30 top companies). I plan to order some, to establish in another part of the garden. Some of my red ones are just starting to bloom, some have finished, as have the white ones. The yellow-flowered ones are a"no-show" so far. Another member of the Amaryllis Family are also starting to bloom. The Oxblood Lily (Rhodophiala bifida). They have some foliage present when they bloom. Other fall flowers I am still waiting to see, are the Crocus and Sternbergia. Cyclamen hederifolium started blooming about 2 weeks ago. Rb Here is a link that might be useful: Touch of Nature - Lycoris

How long does a replastering of a pool last? I think the guy who is bidding that job on my pool suggested it could last up to 10 years. Does that sound right?

"I have noticed little clumps of webs. Not spun from leaf to leaf but more like set up as little houses on the under sides of the leaves. I have noticed that one of the plants the leaves feel very dry, not dead, just dry, and have yellowish patches on them. Is this spider mites? There are some little holes on the leaves as well." Sounds like classic spider mite sign. If you can see the webbing, you have a large amount of spider mites, and they are moving to the next plant! Take the plant AWAY from any other plant, and treat those plants as if they are infected even if you didn't see any visible sign. This is the organic way- Clip off the branches with the webbing, toss in a sealed bag into your trash. Wash each remaining leaf and stem by hand with a bit of soap and lots of water. I'd pour slightly soapy water into the pot, too, for good measure. Keep quarantined from other plants, and I'd spray leaves with soapy water every other day for a week, then every few days for another week. Or you can use neem oil instead, but it has a rather offensive odor inside. Good luck!