Susanka, From the looks of your orchid you aren't doing too shabby :) Most people here will admit to having killed their first orchid very quickly, so getting yours to bloom is an achievement. It's leaves are a little too dark green so I would give it a little more light, but not too much as that may burn it. Slowly (over the course of a few weeks) move it over to a brighter spot and monitor to make sure that leaves aren't getting warm to the touch. Since the orchid has been in the same pot for the 5 years is is certainly due for a repot. Here is a website that describes how to repot. You should be able to get a new orchid mix from your local Home Depot or Lowes store. They usually have an "Orchid Mix" or "Phalaenopsis Mix" consisting of Bark, Charcoal and Perlite. Either one of these mixes would work. If you say that you've been overwatering, it's possible that all the roots inside the pot have rotted away, in which case when you repot you should tuck the aerial roots into the medium. Don't move to a larger pot unless there are lots of roots in the medium, orchids generally like to be a little underpotted (you want to fit the roots not the plant). As to fertilizer, most HD and Lowes stores have an Orchid fertilizer. However any balanced fertilizer around 10-10-10 will do. Make sure you do not over fertilize as orchids can only take in minute amounts of nutrients. Many people fertilize with 1/2 or 1/4 the recommended dose with every watering, aka "fertilizing weakly weekly". Once you start fertilizing you want to make sure to flush the pot at least monthly with clean water from the faucet to make sure that there is no salt buildup. I know that this is a lot of information, and you certainly have more questions, so I'm also going to refer you to our FAQ. However, please don't hesitate to ask further questions if they're still not answered. Also, many people here will recommend that you buy a beginner book on orchids such as Ortho's Orchids. These are also usually available at HD and Lowes as well as Amazon, etc. I hope I've helped and welcome to the forum! Best, Jem

Mike, hey, Mike!!! Good to see you, friend. Your ears must be burning- Kristy and I were talking 'bout you yesterday, about how much we miss you. I knew you had a good reason for being gone but sorry to hear the circumstances! Glad the pinkie is going to be okey!! And yes, welcome to the joys of home-ownership- it all falls on our shoulders! LOL! ............... Wait! That's not funny! Well, what a difference a year makes. You have made it your own and it is just beautiful. I love what you've done! You have alot to be thankful for. So do your neighbors! :-) Your puppy sure has grown into a magnificent lady! Waiting for Xena and First Belle to bloom, seeing them has kept thoughts of you close to me! Look forward to seeing more of your gardens! Wow, I can see why Angel's Exotic is special to you. Salmon Perfektion does the same, for me! ~Brenda

Hey Pattie Ann and Cynthia!! Good thing I get the notices when someone posts! One of our son inlaws has moved the majority of my hosta barrels (still planted--can you believe that!!) and many, many of the others in pots and bags to our new place--in a HUGE truck from where he works with an electric lift--thankfully! I already love the effect at the new place though I've done little more than plant 7 trees (in addition to the many 'maples' surrounding the place' and now I've purchased 7 Althea Lucy Rose of Sharon bushes and 3 Nikko Blue Hydrangea bushes (big ones). The bushes are yet to be planted, though!! We're still waiting to find a concrete guy to help us get started on transforming the 2 car garage into our bedroom and then build another garage on the end of the original! The prices we are getting are HORRENDOUS!! Praying for someone to be discovered who will do it for a more reasonable amount! We've built my 'grocery store' in the basement for food storage and several large shelving units to hold the many crates of things I'm bringing over! Meanwhile, there are still lots of hosta to be dug and divided to leave some here and take the larger portions with us! Hubby keeps telling me to take it all--and if I did there is still so much going on that the yard is very woodsy and you can hardly tell anything is taken. I will post pix someday, I'm sure! I just wish I had taken some 'before' pix of the new place sans the hosta barrels and pots!!! We come home late everyday and we collapse very soon after we get home. I get on the computer long enough to check the mail and do a little researching and maybe a short 'game' to relax and then off to bed! Thanks for asking Cynthia and thinking of me! Pataan--definitely remember that evening we were together at that place and Steve and I speak of it often! Talk about a potentially much worse situation after backing into that guys' bike----!!! Whew!!! I was anticipating a HUGE BIKER DUDE coming out and slamming Steve up against the van! LOL Not funny--really if it had turned out that way but I can laugh now that it didn't!!! hahahaha Oh, and Phil and his wife, Diane, stopped over in Dayton Tuesday evening (coming from N.C. to Michigan.) and we met them for dinner! we really enjoyed being with them again. They left the following day to be at Ken's by noon! I do hope they made it in time to spend enough time rummaging through his gazillion hosta and still get to Diane's sister's in time for dinner!! Hope to see pix when Phil gets back!! janice

Ima,my mother in law made the complaint to myspace today. It was infact her fault that BM was able to obtain the pictures, and now all family members profiles and pictures are private. Yes, I know that once they are "out there" there is nothing I can do, I'm sure she has them saved to her computer and will always have them. As for her having to believe the things she says, it's more of a way for her to prove to her family out of state that she is who "they" think she is. We (my husband and myself) did in fact get it easy where gaining custody was concerned. Dhr/Cps was involved because of some health issues reguarding one of my step sons, with many DHR visits to the home she left them living in and her home, I was granted temporary custody per her request (dad had been trying for 2 yrs before hand) because of his job.A year later my husband and myself were granted full custody with no support and only supervised visitation from her on the first and third sunday of each month (she has never once followed through with a visit). It has since been ammended to no visitation and we have a protective order on her and her husband. My step kids were beaten, threatened with weapons and not fed for over a week the last time they were with their mother over 4 years ago. Not only do we have the protective order but our local ymca, ballpark and their school also have them. She has shown up numerous times and still continues to do so, to all of the above screaming they were kidnapped and are being held hostage. She has even tried to "kidnap" my youngest step son and my own son from walmart and they were in the buggy I was pushing. So in that aspect no we arent lucky as you tell me to consider myself. I know of the emotional damage a BM can do to a child, I see it daily times 3. As I said, I have a 9 yr old who thinks he should be a girl and a 7 yr old who vomits at will to not have to eat. AND FOR THE RECORD... I never in my post accused her of being a bad parent for giving up custody, I simply chose to post a FEW of the bad choices she has made over the years, but I will say now; I think she is a bad parent (not for giving up custody) for how she has emotionally and physically abused her children and allowed others to do the same. I think she is a bad parent because she still allows her husband to abuse her and their child together, instead of seaking help(and before you say I dont understand what an abusive relationship is like, I was in one for 7 years before I met my husband all of my teenage years and into my early 20's, eventually everyone knows enough is enough). Now, you asked why I wanted to contact a lawyer. No, not necessarily to sue her, she has nothing to sue for and she wouldnt show up in court anyways. To have it documented, yes. She shows up and causes enough trouble without aid of pictures at their school, ymca and sports activities ect. It does scare me to think she has updated pictures that she can wave around and them possibly have the chance of seeing. They know she wasnt there and Im unsure of what that could do to their stability, their mental capacities(they have alot to work through as it is) and their all around behavorial issues, even if it's only for that day or week. Do I think she will use them in that manner, yes. So again, no I dont want to sue her. I dont want to waste money we dont have to waste, energy I am completly drained of already or time that I never seem to have either. As for her myspace page, today was the first I knew of her having one and no I dont care to go back to it. All of my focus does now and has for almost 7 years gone into MY KIDS, I do love them and they know it and with their father's job I am 99.999% the only PARENT they have. I do also try and ignore her, I have only one other time fed into her pity party and that was her email, she isnt worth it. But yes, this makes me angry and I feel I have the right to be, as you stated you were doing the job of "your" BM, so am I. I have a myspace page, I dont post pictures (for this reason) of any of my kids, yet here she is posting them, ones she didnt take, from a holiday she was absent from and claiming MY son as her own child also, when she didnt want to be a parent to her own kids. No matter her reason behind it, I cant seem to want to let it lie. And your right, its not going to change or fix thing nor will it make them better, but I cant help how I feel. Maybe this is all too fresh having all happened today, and Im sorry if this post seems rude, but I didnt expect to be reprimanded or attacked for my earlier post and thats kind of how it felt.