Hi smithjm, Welcome to the world of orchids! What you have there is a Dendrobium orchid. These are sympodial orchids, which basically means that it grows laterally, putting out a new growth when the old one is mature. Each of those growths is called a pseudobulb and, in the case of Dendrobiums, a cane. Flowers generally emerge from the most recent cane, but the other canes are there as water and nutrient storage organs, so leave them together. Dendrobium is one of the largest families in the orchid world and has been separated into groups. Your Dendrobium belongs to the Phalaenopsis group, because its flowers look like Phalaenopsis (moth orchids). It needs bright light (some people in Florida put them outside), warmth and humidity to grow well and flower. From what I know about them, these orchids do not rebloom from old spikes, so you did the right thing to cut off the old one. Orchid flowers last a long time, but most orchids are not always in bloom. You will have to wait until the newest growth (looks like the growth on the right hand side of the picture is growing right now) has matured (gotten to the same size as the cane that has already flowered) to get more flowers. If you want to repot, now would probably be a good time. Be sure to use a pot that is just one small size up, since the larger a pot, the longer it takes to dry out, which can lead to root rot. To repot, remove the plant from its current pot, removing whatever is loose of the old media and cutting off dead roots (stringy, hollow -- good roots are firm to the touch). Clean it up in the sink. Keep all the growths together. Hold the oldest (smallest) growth at the edge of the pot and then fill in with orchid media. I'll let someone else give you a recommendation as to which media to use, since conditions in Florida are much different than they are up here in Canada. Clay is a good idea, as they are heavier than plastic, which is good as these plants do get top heavy when blooming. Clay does dry faster, though, so be sure to keep up on your watering. Have fun - as many of us here can attest, this is an addicting hobby, but oh so much fun. Julie

My husband passed and I immediately called my friends and asked for help. They picked me up the next day and went with me to make all arrangements having done the same themselves a few months before. I don't know how close you are. Does she have friends & family around who can help her get through the next week, going to the funeral home with her, making arrangements? Did she call you or did somebody else tell you about it? A friend lost an adult child last year. She called me so I knew that it was OK to step up to the plate. I immediately went to her house and made all the phone calls, checking prices and talking with her about it. She couldn't handle it alone. Is there somebody to do that for your friend? If she has somebody helping her with those things you can either ask that person, or just wait until after the service and visit and talk to her and her children. Next thing, buy her some healthy frozen dishes, preferably home made, for her freezer. Some Shepherd's pies or quiches for example. No matter what you do, I think the worst time is the months afterwards. When you offer to help make a suggestion -- drive the kids to their grandmother? Bring a dinner? I'm really tired myself tonight. I'll think about it.

It's certainly something you can start to do on your own, with the help of the Kitchen forum -- many of us here have done that. But to do that, you need to read through the link I posted before, https://www.gardenweb.com/discussions/5500754/new-to-kitchens-read-me-first#23482868 to understand how it's done here in the forum. It's also worthwhile reading through the archives to see how others have done it. Then, once you've done that, post pictures with more detailed measurements. Let us know how many people live in the house, how many use (or will use, if you have small children) the kitchen, what sort of cooking you do (do you just reheat takeout or love to bake or cook three meals from scratch every day), what are your sort of storage needs, what have you found difficult/awkward since you started using the kitchen last summer, etc. Also, what do you envision for the breakfast room space? How do you use your dining room? Do you like the dining room and living room set-ups as they are currently in your house, and do they work with your needs? Do you need a mudroom? Would it be better to turn the breakfast room into a mudroom area, keeping the wall that separates the space from the kitchen, and perhaps instead remove the wall between the kitchen and dining room? But whatever you, do NOT buy appliances next week, or you will have to plan around the appliances, rather than your needs. And do NOT skimp on the planning phase. Consider the time it takes as a great investment in a great kitchen that works for you and looks beautiful.

There's a reason that greige colors like Revere Pewter and Edgecomb Gray are so popular. LOTS of people have both warm and cool colors in their rooms. Few of us get to start from scratch and most people need to find a way to combine existing non-changeable finishes (floors, cabinets, countertops), plus furniture they already have. Often that's a mix of warm and cool colors. The greige colors look good with both, and when you add or remove something from the mix, it all still works together. You may find that with a new wall color that your existing trim, kitchen counter etc. look just fine.