Well i spoke to a man at SBOE named wayne and i was told he was the manager so i spoke to him and i asked which variety did they sell, the one from the comoros or from madagascar he said he did not know and asked me if there was a genetic difference between the two? i said no i dont beleive. he said thats interesting and that he did not know they were in the comoros and that he thinks the ones they have are from madagascar. so he asked me what is the difference? so i said the rest periods are harsher and longer in madagascar and in the comoros its not that harsh or long. and then i asked what do you do? he told me that they in the winter grow them dry and when they start to show the slightest sign of distress he waters them. so i asked when the leaves look a little wrinkly? he said yeah and then in the summer when they just get a little dry. he advised that many look down-right ugly. he also said that they may even look that way in summer as well just because they are so thirsty. he said i believe that he said that you reduce to about half from regular watering. ill have to call and see if i can speak with him again. they both were very helpful!!!!!!!!!!! I ultimately bought leonis from cal because they did not have them in stock at SBOE. when i called i left a message and then called again and spoke with a woman(Lauris) and she said oh you must be sam looking for the leonis? i said yes i am!!! so she said that she only had 2 left(Lucky me) i was very dissapointed thinking oh well im out of luck thinking she was gonna say that she already sold them. To my suprise she said that she set one aside just for me and that it even has a spike!!! i started jumping up and down!!!!! i asked can is it too late to order it and it be here this weekend? she said no its not. I said can you hold it for me untill my mom gets back with the credit card(Im only 17 hahaha), she said sure but just order before 2:30. so i called back and she said okay and i asked how big are the spikes and she said not too big maybe 2-3 inches and i has one flower that had already bloomed, Wait it Get better she then noticed another spike emerging from the leaves!!!!! so now you'll have two spikes,and it has 7 leaves. the best part is It was 25.00$!!! hah i called at just the right time huh!!! you all will have to come back and check the posts for my pics this friday Okay you promise. ill be sure to describe the fragrance for you guys although MB youve probably smelled it before!!!!!!!!! Thank you all!!!! Happy Growing!!!!!!!!!! Samuel

Jay, I had the same problem last night after 9:30 p.m. with the Oklahoma Forum but Mo has had it for days and days and days, so I think her problem is something else, but don't know what. I don't know if any of us really has an answer for Mo or for Diane who's had similar issues the last couple of weeks. It's one thing for us to not be able to get onto the forum for a few hours here or there, but Owie has only been able to get on sporadically over the past couple of weeks, and Mo hasn't been able to get on GW at all. I did e-ail Mo a couple of suggestions from Brian but I don't know if she's had time to try them yet. Dawn

This was such a funny 'happening' with Jazz. When I was reading about the Raven on the Mantel, I knew exactly which one you meant..because I really liked that one and remember when you got it. I was also wondering how in the world did he do that and like Luvs said..w/o disturbing anything else up there. You almost need those surveillance cameras to keep an eye on him...or at least a 'motion detector' ! I've actually seen video on YouTube where people use the hidden cameras to see what their pets do when they're gone..lots of funny stuff that goes on - Can you imagine Jazz ?? jane

If you are doing a gut job, then yes, you probably need a GC. It is fairly common to have a customer that has decided on cabinetry, but it's extremely uncommon to have one that is assembling it themselves. (Are you also finishing it?) That's not a detail that the prospective GC's really need to know to be able to give you a bid on the other work. But, you DO need to figure out the scope of the rest of the work and describe it fully in a document that you give the prospective GC's in order to get bids. I think you're scaring them off with the wrong information at the wrong time. Just describe the scope of work, and if they ask about the cabinets, just say that you are working with a supplier than you have your heart set on and there won't be any further discussion about that other than a push or two to consider "their" guy. And you should consider them. Using local suppliers always cuts down on the chance of issues from shipping and long distance miscommunication. Let the GC at least get a bid from their guy if they want to. It will make the bid process easier for you, and you might find a local gem in the process. For the painting, you can just tell him that you can't make up your mind on that until the process is finished, so you'll DIY it, but don't take it out of the initial bid in the beginning. Your goal isn't to cause the extra work by not mentioning these things, your goal is to get an initial bid, and then the discussion about some of the elements withing that bid can begin. It's the same with the flooring. Just because you know someone doesn't mean that the GC might not have a better deal with a wholesaler. Let him bid the initial job with some of his "usual suspects" and see if any of them are actually better quality and cheaper than items you've already firmed up your choice on. More information and choices is never a bad thing. When you have bids from a couple of top contenders, then you can approach them with revising the quotes to deal with taking out the painting and flooring. However, don't be surprised if the quotes don't go down that much. You'd be cutting out an element that they receive profit on, and at the same time, you are introducing an element of risk and scheduling nightmare into the equation by directly hiring someone that they will have no supervisory control over. If you hire the trade, they aren't responsible for the work they do, and if they screw it up, it's your problem to deal with. If the cabinets or the flooring guys aren't available in the time slot needed for the project, it holds everyone else up and wrecks the GC's scheduling on other jobs as well. It's not a position that most GC's feel comfortable in and that's why you are not getting any callbacks. They view your job as a high potential for being a PIA with little financial rewards as you have shown that you want to interject yourself (amateur work) in the middle of the job. About 80% of the pros will just run the other way when presented with a job like that on the front end. When there's plenty of work, they just don't need the potential headaches that your job presents as possibly being.