'Tropical' for your zone could be plants such as Serissa. You might also use a 'Jade Plant' which develops a satsifying trunk quite quickly. (You mentioned you were cactus-confident, so a succulent could be a starter - and would be kept indoors over winter.) Before buying books - make good use of the search engines. There are several different expressions of bonsai. The formal Japanese styles are just one form. As you look at what people of various countries have posted on the Web you could find yourself drawn to one or several of the methods and ways of growing small trees artistically in containers. As you look at the pictures you might want to take the time to ask 'I wonder how they did that?!' Then, when you are reading through directions for wiring, or pruning and pinching, or in-ground growing there'll be a mental picture and it will make a lot more sense. Expensive: it can be but doesn't have to be. Those gorgeous pots and elegant stands aren't needed for growing on young plants. In fact, it's probably better to wait a few years until the tree is leaving its gangly juvenile phase and is developing character and style before looking around for the perfect pot to show off your artistry. If you are 'handy' you can quite easily make up wooden pot forms for use, or buy durable plastic bonsai pots, or make your own from hypertufa. The plants don't mind (except for maybe maples and satsuki azaleas in a new 'tufa. Let the cement weather out first.) Tools and wire. Ah, yes. You can definitely spend a lot here - but you don't need to. For example - root rakes. Get an old screwdriver with a comfortable wooden handle and shape the blade on the grindstone before putting it in a vise and bending the shaft to suit yourself. Snippers and loppers - ignore 'stainless steel' - its so hard to put an edge on them and keep them sharp. Go for a steel that will take an edge and that you can keep clean with rubbing alcohol and a touch of 3-in-1 oil. If you have an urge toward forming elegant 'dragon's eye' calluses on the trunk then investing in knob cutters may well be worth it. Chopsticks are excellent for putting earth in around the roots when you're repotting. And they're generally cheap. I personally prefer bamboo ones because they take on a pleasing and useful shape after being used in gritty mixes over time. Something about 'the patina of age' ;-) From what you've said you are already confident with plant care so the annual repot for young stock will find you prepared with mixing bowls, work surface and watering devices, plus mesh and 'copper butterflies' to hold the mesh over the drainage holes. (You can also use plastic mesh.) And an ancient toothbrush, fairly firm, which is most useful for cleaning unwanted moss from trunks without causing harm. If you aren't doing zillions of plants then quite small containers for graded grit and additives, plus any fertilisers you choose should be plenty to start with. Sometimes at my local club there is a "True Confessions' session where the older artists mention their favourite tools - and the ones they bought in Japan which they keep for show and never use! When it comes to special soils - you might want to, and budget accordingly, but many people grow bonsai very well where those mixes are either unobtainable or not permitted as imports. You've already been warned that this is an addictive hobby. Enjoy!

Thank you all. :) I feel like she was sent to us for a reason and we love her so much. She hasn't snapped at me in almost a week. LOL She still doesn't care much for our pug kids but we're making tiny steps in the right direction. I took a chance on her level of trust in me and cut her hair earlier. She done very! well , much to my suprise. Healthwise, she's on a roll in the right direction. Finally putting on some weight (she was 9 whole lbs @ her vet checkup :( ) , her hair is growing back and her owies are healing. I hope on hope there's a special place in hell for the person that treated her so badly and the more I work with her and learn , the more I hope that person goes there. That isn't neccessarily the right way to think but from my experience and in working with her , I've figured out she was absolutly loved , pampered and trained by someone in her former life and then for whatever reason landed in the wrong hands. I took her to a public event and she socially gravitated toward older gentleman and not even knowing them , sat ever so gently next to them at their feet. I really think she was owned by such a gentleman and then he met an unfortunate fate of some type (i.e. nursing home, facility or worse) and whomever was supposed to care for her in a way he hoped, sure failed her miserably. She lets me work with her , love on her and care for her BUT she truly thinks the sun rises and sets on my husband so she certainly puts more trust in men than women. Lucky for her , he loves her as much as she does him or she'd be in trouble (or I would...LOL). Anyways, that's the Honey update. :) Have a safe and happy holiday weekend everyone!!

[ooooh, can I enable Red once again?] Red, you know I had to be a bit skeptical about all this! [Mr Vix remains skeptical blah blah blah nothing wrong with old one. Has he showered at home vs gym since I installed? No!] Neatitems does have a return/exchange policy that seemed fair, so that helped me get off ye olde caboose and just choose. Let me tell you, the Danze soaks my also-thick, nearly shoulder-length hair VERY quickly -- and thus gets out the shampoo/conditioner much faster. Honestly if I weren't in there lingering my showers would be speedier. If you want rainshower, you might want to take a look at the Aussie showerhead too (I've seen it on other sites, but NI does sell). It's the same spray intensity, and it comes in 3.5" and 6" and has a lot of testimonials there. I just liked the vintage vibe of the Danze a smidge better! If you want mega-powerful, the Giessdorf 6 or 8 Jet may be your best bet. [I think you need a strong shower arm for them, though -- I got the 6 for use on half the strong dual arm and that sucker is HEAVY!] IME Christina's great re: emails so if you're wavering, I'd say contact her. Feel free to tell her a now-happy Oregonian sent ya. Let me know if you enter the Blissful Shower Zone, ha! Here is a link that might be useful: Neatitem's shower spray comparison chart

Okay. Once again, let me post this, copied and pasted from my website: This is a subject that's very hotly debated within the industry. It seems every manufacturer has a thinset that they say can be used over resilient flooring (sheet vinyl) or vinyl tile. The problem with that is twofold. With all the different types of vinyl flooring out now, it's tough to know which ones can, and which ones can't be tiled over. Cushioned vinyl's are out. They can compress, causing voids under the tile, ultimately causing failure. Also, not all sheet vinyl is glued solid to the floor. A lot of times, vinyl installers will only glue the edges and spot glue in the center, and if you thinset the tile to it, it won't stay very long. In my opinion, vinyl tiles are out, as well, due to the fact that the thinset bond is only as good as the bond of the surface under it, and I've seen vinyl tiles ( especially peel and stick) let go way too easily. The same is also true for sheet vinyl. The second problem with tiling over vinyl is the underlayments used for vinyl installation. Normally, in woodframe construction, there are one of several underlayments used-- luan, 1/4" particle board, 1/4" plywood, and sometimes even MDF (medium density fiberboard). ANY of those in a tile subfloor is a guaranteed failure. 1/4" plywood has a nasty habit of delaminating (the layers come apart). Luan has the same problem, plus it can compress to 1/2 its original thickness from normal residential foot traffic (I've seen this happen). Particle board (as well as MDF), just from humidity, can expand enough to pop tile loose. Any of those can cause failure, and unless you pull the vinyl, you don't know for sure whether the vinyl installer just went over the existing subfloor, or added one of the underlayments mentioned. All in all, it's an extremely risky installation, and my question is why, when spending the money it costs for a tile installation, would you want to gamble on it? It's next to impossible to say for sure, without tearing into the vinyl, whether or not it's safe to tile over. Your ONLY recourse is to play the odds, and the odds are against you.