The plant I linked on the other thread (tagged H. aulica-traubii), if I understand correctly, is a hybrid that would be more properly tagged H. aulicum x traubii. It might even be H. aulicum var. stenopetalum x H. traubii forma doraniae, which is also pictured in the IBS gallery. I know nothing further about the cross. I cannot tell you if it occurs naturally or not. Some taxonomists place H. petiolatum as a var of H. striatum (H. striatum var petiolatum.)We would have to see the foliage to identify it as petiolatum. But I can tell you I do not see anything to suggest a connection to striatum in observing the flower, and therefore no need to see the leaf. I do see a chance that puniceum is involved in a possible hybrid cross.

Gifted myself a tabletop easel (Sorrento) and some brushes. Already have lots of Ceramcoat paint from when our local Beverley Fabrics store closed in Placerville (that was before we moved to So. Oregon year before last). Yesterday I went to a free intro class on tole painting, and plan to sign up starting next week. I have read lots of the earlier posts here, but it is awfully quiet, isn't it ... have a question, will post a new thread in an effort to breathe a little life into the forum. Delina

I know next to nothing about HVAC and am looking for some pointers. We bought this house last year in Feb/March. The house has a room above the garage which was an add on. It has one vent through which it gets both heat and AC (all the rooms in the house have the same set u, one vent which supplies both AC and heat). I am almost certain that last year everything was working fine. For the past few months though, the heat wont work, works in all the other rooms, One day we had a warm day and switched to AC and it worked Ok, we got cold air coming in. Anyone know what the issue could be? Thanks a lot!

I was lucky to find a General Contractor for my first kitchen remodel who is qualified to do all of the basic trades. He is a perfectionist. He knows his limits and will tell me that I need to hire someone to do something he cannot handle. He has moved walls, put in a skylight, added electrical circuits, wired new cooktop and downdraft fan that he installed, removed soffitts, added a soffitt elsewhere, moved a load-bearing opening, installed bath fan where none had been, including adding the roof vent for it, installed front door systems and patio door, designed and installed front ramp, installed flooring, kitchen cabinets, kitchen appliances, interior doors, designed and created a six-step stairway, and created a dog-washing station based on my design. Since I met Jim in 2003, he has done almost all of the work I have needed done in the two houses I have owned. He is licensed and insured. I realize that I was lucky to find someone who is qualified to do so many different kinds of work. Not many are like this. But they do exist. Jim works mostly on his own, though he hires assistants when he needs them. On occasion, he hires his kids when they are not in school. Once, when he was doing my first backsplash, and I was using a glass tile as the secondary tile in a pinwheel pattern, I assisted by back-buttering the glass tiles and handing them to him to be placed. Jim sweeps up his work area at the end of each day. His van has built-in storage for all of his tools and he can easily find anything that he needs. "Meticulous" may be his middle name! I knew I had the right guy to work with me when I was interviewing him and he listened to my ideas for my first kitchen and pulled out his tape rule to measure and said, "Yeah, I think that will work here." He added his own ideas, told me "no" when I needed to hear it, and simply talked to me like a person instead of giving me that condescending treatment that so many men give to women when talking about technical or mechanical things. I knew I could work with him from the first interview. I was referred to him by asking for recommendations at the contractor's desk at the local lumber supplier. I was looking at kitchen cabinets there, so went to the desk and asked for some recommendations of contractors who seemed to know what they were doing. Jim has been working on a commercial building for the past three years. He says that he hated the boring work, but that he could not turn down the good pay. I have been waiting for him to be free to do my bathroom gut and remodel. I won't have anybody else if I can have Jim by waiting!