Hi all; I would like to introduce myself, too, although I'm afraid my story is more of a lab notebook entry than a fairy tale. I am a newbie in this forum, although I have been growing African violets for a few years. I have always liked the green and yellow ones, but most of my collection did not survive moving across the country 4 years ago. After that, I was content with my three survivors (Blue Dragon, Blueberry Splash, and a trailer that I grew from a Park seed packet). I enjoyed them, but didn't really feel like getting any more. Then I read this interesting book called "The Botany of Desire." The main premise is that just as plants and insects co-evolve, shaping each other's characteristics, we have a powerful effect on plants, and they have an effect on us. Offering something that people want, like fruit, flowers, or bioactive natural products, is a good evolutionary strategy for a plant. However, the downside of this comes when everybody wants the same thing - the huge genetic diversity of the ancestral apple tree is ignored because everyone buys red delicious apples. This made me think about my African violets, and how a lot of them have been selected to make a flat, symmetric rosette for showing, and I started wondering what other interesting things lurk in the African violet genome. And then I discovered the David Senk plants. I'm a huge fan. So far, I have a plantlet of Say What, and two leaves of Merlot. I can't wait for Merlot to produce plantlets. It's so weird! Longfolia, bustles, a little bit of variegation, what could be better? I also thought it would be nice to check out some of the older varieties, so I picked up Blue Tail Fly and Celery. Hooray for eBay! Anyway, it's nice to (virtually) meet you all -seems like a good crowd. Rachel

I don't disagree with anything above. That said, in over fifty years of dog ownership, I've never had a dog that required dental care, to include cleaning. I have never brushed their teeth. Always fed a quality kibble and for decades have not fed any "treats" other than a few pieces of kibble. Many of the years I had dogs the breed was (English) Bulldogs. Arguably, their teeth do not lend themselves to even contact with hard kibble as their teeth are generally not "straight." I currently have but one dog - she is a 6 year old Greyhound that I got from the track in Tampa, Florida. I've had her for 1 1/2 years. Greyhounds right off the track are notorious for having bad teeth as they had been fed an exclusively soft diet while at the track. (My girl now gets a quality kibble with no treats,as described above.) For the first time, I have added to steps to my dog's regimen as re to dental care. Once a day I give her a large Greenie, which she chews on vigorously for about 5-10 minutes. Cost like a buck a day! I also have been adding a "splash" of a liquid additive called, Tropiklean Fresh Breath. Cost like peanuts a day. With this dog I also have been adding Solid Gold Seameal (It's seaweed) to her kibble. Cost maybe 20 cents a day. I do this only because I found a Brit Veterinary Study that suggested seaweed fed to dogs may reduce dental bacteria by killing it. The only reason I am posting is to share my concern for my current dog's dental care because of the total lack of support that she received for the nearly five years before she came to my home. I am NOT advocating a course of treatment, but did want to mention that as seemingly important daily cleaning may sound, that there are people that do not do that and have had a positive result - in my case for over half a century.

Thank you all! I keep going back and forth on like and not sure. I think after I learn how to fix it my way where it will look a bit messier and less wiggy I'll like it just fine. My son said he thought it made me look a little older. Yikes! So, that is haunting me. I do think it just needs a little rebel Terri touch. Annie you are so lucky to have that hair! PLF, my mom had pretty gray hair. I'm not ready yet but when the time comes it will be nice not to have to put chemicals on my head.

Fact: Vanilla prices may drop but they will still be on the high side. 1. Vanilla comes from an orchid NATIVE TO MEXICO. 2. You MUST pollinate the orchid on the same day it blooms you only have ONE day 3. Any vanilla grown outside of Mexico MUST HAND POLLINATED, (gotta love those bees) 4. The largest producer of Vanilla, Madagascar, lost 30% of its crop in 2017. 5. Which equals to a loss of 25% of the world's production of Vanilla. 6. It takes 3-4 yrs to grow a Vanilla orchid that will bear fruit and 9 months after pollination to be mature. Then your process them thru a sweating. Fun Fact : At one point last year Vanilla was more expensive than Silver Sources and article explaining the situation on Vanilla Precious as Silver, Vanilla Brings Cash and Crime to Madagascar ... Will the 2018 Crop Bring Lower Vanilla Prices? Vanilla fever: Fear sours the sweet scent of Madagascar’s success The real price of Madagascar’s vanilla boom