Susan. 74..hey you're still a young chick..:) TKR, you've got it. You must have ESP, lol. Truthfully, I firmly believe it's more of an insurance issue than age. As soon as one of three MRI's were diagnosed, my doc said it was kneed'ed, lol, pun intended, even if corny. The specialist agreed. Suddenly, I'm too young... I had two, unsuccessful surgeries, 'not TKR, however, the same area,' 2000 and 2010. Don't plan on a third. After the doc gave me the news, I asked if there were other options. His reply, 'yep, live on pain meds!' He wasn't the first doc who came to this conclusion. When is your surgery scheduled? Have you done research? All I can say is prepare for horizontal hobbies. Seriously. Since you enjoy reading, stock up on books. Writing, keep several note-pads, paper, pencils, markers, and a laptop handy. Sewing/knitting, whatever..keep items nearby. I've read some people are ordered to total bedrest, as long as 10 months! For me, lying in bed for one-month is impossible. Not with 4 birds, 2 dogs, and 350-400 plants. 'My son is grown, Susan..no other children.' My BIL had TKR done last year..he said he never felt better, wish it was done sooner. I wish you the best of luck and good health. You'll be in my prayers. No inclination or time. Besides, I cannot tolerate rejection...after opening an envelope, unfolding a clean, type-written sheet of paper, then reading, 'Thank You, but,' I gave up. Don't get me wrong. I have plenty ideas, 'but,' :) Susan, after all you've accomplished, your foot is in the door..now all you have to do is open, and step inside. A novel is nothing more than several short stories blended together. A bunch of adjectives, nouns, pronouns, etc... :) Who knows, after surgery you might conjure the perfect, Alfred Hitchcock, Steven King, or Grimms'. You wouldn't feel comfortable in my house since you're a minimalist in decor..lol. The only rooms without plants..a back bathroom...reason, no window..bird room, reason, birds like munching greens, and closets, obvious reasons. It's funny you said your 28-yr-old friend is a virture, regarding your book. Lately, several authors mention and describe numerous plants unrelated to the story. Have you read Wendy Staub, Nora Roberts, Lisa Jackson or Sue Grafton? If you enjoy mystery/suspense, you'll like the above authors. Of all four, Staub really gets into plants. Over the years, a few people have been to GW inquiring plant info. Said they wanted to learn, add to their MS. Wonder if these people were published.. Susan, I enjoy talking to you, too, and wish you the best. Keep me posted about surgery. Or any other topic you wish to discuss. Toni

FPT. It's too bad your marginata had/s Scale. Unless your other plants have bugs, scale/eggs were probably on the plant when purchased. BTW, did you isolate your marginata? I don't know if you want to spend time ridding scale, return or replace with variegated marginata. ???? People here have different methods ridding insects. Some work, some do not. There are two things I do to prevent/kill insects. I dislike chemicals, avoid using as much as possible. Therefore, my plants are sprayed w/a home-made insecticide. Since your plant has scale, I'll explain what I do to rid and avoid those brats! lol Did you ever hear of Fish Emulsion? FE is an organic fertilizer, high in N. It also works, as an insecticide, by spraying foliage. Kills Scale, big time. The owner of a Citrus Nursery in FL once told me they spray their trees w/FE as a Scale preventative. Because my plants never had scale, I half-listened. lol. Then, in 1999, I ordered an Olive Tree. On Day 2 while misting plants, I noticed a brown bump on an olive leaf. I approached the Olive, and discovered, not one, but hundreds of brown bumps. That's when it hit me...SCALE! I immediately phoned the Citrus nursery owner, asking the proper dossage of FE and water. (BTW, olive was purchased elsewhere.) She said, one capful of FE to approximately 16oz water. I mixed FE and water in a 16oz spray bottle, shook thoroughly and sprayed away. 1-2 days later, all signs of scale were gone. A week or two later, 'can't recall,' I applied a second application. FPT, I swear to God, since that day, my plants never contrated scale again. Ever. 2. Every 2-wks during winter, my plants are sprayed w/natural ingredients such as garlic, hot pepper, citrus rind and a few other things. Once a month FE is added to other ingredients, then sprayed. Works like a charm. Forgot to mention. The Olive tree sat between two Citrus trees. Citrus closest branches were loaded w/scale. The morning I sprayed olive tree, neighboring plants were entirely sprayed, too. Can't hurt, right? And, while spraying leaves to rid insects, the plant is also foliar fertilized. The only con about FE is an odor. It has a fishy smell that lasts 2-3 days indoors. There is an odor-less type, but I've never used it so can't comment. Fish Emulsion cost is about 7.99 for a 32oz bottle. Good luck, Toni

Hi Greentoe: What constitutes a good reflector? These are just my opinions for what it is worth. Many times you will see a reflector advertised as increasing your light 100-300%. I believe the advertising should really say "this reflector will utilize almost 100% of your bulb" instead of claiming double or triple the output. You cannot increase your light output beyond the wattage of the bulb. You can increase your light levels (by what you had before) using a good reflector. Most people are trying to get more light down to where they want the light, using a reflector. Good reflectors are based on the shape of the reflector, material used for the reflector, and the position of the bulb in relationship to the reflector (bulb/reflector spacing). Restrike, which reduces light intensity, will also be a factor. A common problem with reflectors is their shape (e.g., flat top reflectors). Most of the light being emitted from the top of the bulb is being redirected and reflected back to the bulb. Also, any light that is reflected 'up' at other angles is being reflected back to the bulb. This ties into another important factor that needs to be considered; the temperature of the bulb when in operation. As the temperature of a t5ho tube rises, the overall light output is reduced (that's why a lot of fixtures have fans built in). Restrike will increase the temperature of the bulb. IMO, good fixtures will use one individual reflector per individual bulb. One of the better materials used for a reflector is polished aluminum. One of the better shapes for a reflector is parabolic. Some of the poor performing reflectors have flat backs, and/or are very narrow where the bulbs are too close together so there is no room for light to travel around the back of the bulb. Here is a picture of a 2-tube reflector that has worked out well for some of my applications.

The confusion may lie within various interpretations of the common names. There is confusion about solid green Pothos (botanical name Epipremnum) sometimes being mistaken for or called Philodendron (botanical name IS Philodendron.) Both are in the Arum family but they are different genera. Many Pothos pics at the link, which can be variegated or solid green: http://garden.org/plants/view/76418/Golden-Pothos-Epipremnum-aureum/ There are also several cultivar names for various distinct styles of variegation. Heart-leaf Philo vine can be solid green: http://garden.org/plants/view/226495/Heart-Leaf-Vine-Philodendron-hederaceum-var-oxycardium/ And the style of variegation on that kind of Philo, as seen in the pics in this discussion, is the cultivar 'Brazil.' http://garden.org/plants/view/131990/Philodendron-Philodendron-hederaceum-var-oxycardium-Brasil/ Other cultivars of this exist also, like lime leaves and 'Micans,' which has an almost fuzzy feel to the leaves. The analogy that a dog can't have kittens/cat can't have puppies is great!