I didnt know the sweet potatoe vine actually produced a vegetable...thought it was similar to the name bradford pear tree which doesnt produces pears. Have you seen the purple and green veriegated sweet potatoe vine, its so pretty, it has a lot of pink in it, it is harder to find. I used to plant them in Charlotte, they would take over the flower beds....a little too much. They die in NC, I would pull them out in the fall but I never found a potatoe! Back to the green and white plant....I found the receipt from when I bought it at the nursery, they called it a flax plant. Recently I found it at Home Depot for a fraction of the price, the tag says variegated flax lily, dianella tasmanica variegata. There is a website on the tag...www.floridafriendlyplants.com. In my garden book, it looks similar to a plant called dacreana reflexa. It also reminds me of a spider plant, maybe its related. Only the spider plants my mother use to grow in hanging pots had smaller thinner leaves with tuns of shoots or babies. My new plants have not sent up flowers...yet.

My one non-negotiable item was the Pebble Sheen finish. I would've given up deck space, pool size, water features, etc. but not my Pebble Sheen. It is glorious to behold and so much cleaner to look at than our previous white marcite pool. Seeing all the little bits of dirt on the bottom of the white drove me crazy. With Pebble, the dirt doesn't show as much. Even the surface seems to require less skimming than my neighbor's marcited pool. So far, the Intellitouch remote control is pretty cool, too. But a total luxury as opposed to the Sheen which, for me, was a necessity.

Of course I want them to be pretty too, but my first priority is that they are good for actual task lighting. What style is best for that? A solid shade so the light is directed down? Clear glass so the whole area is brighter? Something else?

These were a few things available locally - and there is a Walmart in a close town so anything online (canada) is easily returnable. this is 13" x 20" w 4 60w bulbs 29" x 17", 22" tall (extendable for lower) 18" x 23" fixture plus drop chain - seems way too big right??