You should read a link that Tango posted on February 16, 2006 about a tutorial for newbies. It's a great, basic help about hypertufa before you start; tells about recipes, forms, etc., and you can take it from there. Maybe do a few smaller troughs until you get the feel of how wet, etc. the hypertufa needs to be, and how to pack it, cure it, etc. before you launch into something the size you have in mind. Don't know if you are thinking about making it outside this time of year, but in New York it is still too cold out -- it's not going to cure propertly with these cold winter temperatures well below freezing. I think that the best way to do anything is to just give it a try, but that being said, you may find a trough the size you are talking about for your first project a little more than you bargained for. That's a lot of mixing, sifting of peat moss, tamping and packing, and it's going to weigh a ton - you won't be able to move it without the help of 6 boys and a mule. Remember, you are going to have to turn it over to get it out of the Rubbermaid mold you are thinking about using (unless you are planning on destroying the mold). You might want to think about using Portland, peat moss and perlite instead of QuickCrete. You guys correct me if I'm wrong (not that I ever have been before :)... ), but I didn't think QuickCrete was the medium of choice for hypertufa. Happy learning!!

my experiance of 4 years with royal colors says they have the best quality bulbs,if we talk about sizes, colors, exact breed and all. I purchased almost all my bulbs online from royal colors (netherland) and they arrange for me even those varieties that they dont have. So far in Large flowering Amaryllis I got Red Lion, Apple Blossom, Show Master, Charisma, Clown, Herculese, Mont blanc, Picotte, San Remo, Benifica and Susan. In Double Flowering I got Dancing Queen, Red Peacock, White peacock, Jewel, Promise, blossom peocock, Nyph, Lady Jane, Celica, Elvas, Double dragon, Mary lou Others are Papilio Butterfly and Lemon Lime. They send me all top quality bulbs size 36/38 cm. These days I'm trying to increase my each variety through cuttage. I would rather go for 8 pieces of each bulb than 15 or 30 I purchase every year atleast 5 new varities but from today onwards I'm focusing on increasing my lot through cuttage I would never think about using seed propagation method. I can't compromise on colors and breeds. when I have top quality bulbs and mother plants why would I go for self polination when i have cuttage method to maintain my quality. when you have top quality flowers with high colors they look wonderful in a bed, catches everyone's eye. But when you have one bulb of dim color and low standard variety it ruin the beauty of entire bed. I wasn't satisfied with my growing medium I have been working on it for the past few years but a week back one of the top most grower of Amaryllis from Netherland made me a new potting medium and he transfered half of my bulbs into new medium. He made my potting medium with his own hands with Sand, coconut husk, leaf mold, cow's well rotted manure, and lake soil. P.S. In a few days me and my friends are ordering 275 Bulbs from netherland and each bulb gonna cost us Euro Â6 to Â7 along with airfreight shipping charges. Bulb size would be 36/38 Cm , all mother bulbs. I have a complete list and I'm directly in touch with Commerial growers of Amaryllises, Lillium, Gladiolus,Iris,Tulips, Orchids. They are from Netherlands & Holland yaaaaaaaaaaaay. Take care all & Happy Gardening Best Wishes, Ammar.

In rooms where ceilings are of normal height, I'm not a big fan of recessed cans and other downlights. Surface mount luminaires that reflect light off the ceiling have an advantage over them when it comes to the evenness of the room's lighting. You don't get this indirect lighting advantage with the type of fixture you're thinking of, either. So you need more of them to get good task lighting. I understand your concern about exposing the ceiling's imperfections. But how many of your guests will actually look up to notice them? (That is, unless they end up horizontal for some reason. :-) That said, I think I remember seeing an LED luminarire similar to what you're asking for at one of the big box stores recently (either the orange one or the blue one). IIRC, it had a brushed nickel ring maybe 3" high with a translucent lens in the bottom. You might check their websites. You might also find an LED disk light to your liking. That's a luminaire that mounts in a conventional ceiling box, but looks a lot like a recessed can. I've used a few of them where I had low ceilings. They're OK.

Hi Pat Flaherty Jr, Not sure who was the original manufacturer of that light fixture but our parent company, Lusive Decor, specializes in making fully custom light fixtures catering to high-end luxury hotels, casino's, resorts, and spa's. Many of our parent company's clients include The Marriott, MGM Grand, The Hyatt, The Wynn, Hard Rock Casino & Hotel and several others. All that is needed from you is a picture of the fixture that you like, such as the one above, and the dimensions desired and have it sent to LDSales@lusivedecor.com and a member of the Lusive Sales Team will be in touch with you to walk you through the process. Here are some similar-styled fixtures that our parent company can make: Liberty Chandelier Golightly Feature Pomodoro Pendant Russo Chandelier We hope this information will help you make a more informed decision on your home needs. Very Best, Tai Truong Elements of Design 3400 Medford Street Los Angeles, CA 90063 tai@lusivedecor.com www.elementsofdesign.com