I've taken the Den keiki out of the baggie, placed it into a small clay pot with some bark, and left a couple of strands of moss loosely bunched at the root area... I've got the clay pot set in a clay saucer, and under that is a plastic saucer with a little water in it. The whole thing is sitting on a heating pad under grow lights. I hope this covers the light, warmth, and a bit of humidity. I'll watch it closely, and add water as needed. I really wish our greenhouse was up and operational right now... it will be a while before growth appears on the Coelogyne without that advantage! Everyone is seeing new growth on theirs already... everyone except me! The pbulb is quite wrinkled, but it's still green and the leaves are both still hanging in there! No sign of new growth yet, but I don't have the advantage that a greenhouse gives. I must say... this is all so exciting and suspenseful! Regardless of the outcome, I look at this as a wonderful opportunity to learn, and to hone my skill at growing! Now I'm wondering if I should do anything different with the Coelogyne? Should I move it into more light? Dare I put it into a clay pot with bark? Or am I just freaking out?!

I'm always amazed at how far those tiny guys can travel if they get a mind to. You're doing exactly the correct thing by not messing with them. When I clean my containers, I take out all the leaves, shake the container gently over a paper towel to remove the loose fras, and wipe the bottom of the container with a slightly damp paper towel if there is still lots of fras left. Then I just put all the leaves back in, plus some fresh. As the leaves get eaten and dried out, you can eventually tell which are too dry or old, and which they're still eating, and remove the old. Just check the leaves carefully for any strays that might still be resting on them. If they are, I either put the whole leave back in, or trim the excess off and just put the cat and a small portion back in. If you have lots of cats, it can be painstaking work when they are small. Martha

Those are all good ideas. I already have some experience with keeping track of various papers and with filing systems--I have "my own" filing areas for the kids, for family health records, for my hobbies, and when each of my parents (who were divorced) developed health problems and dementia, I kept all their accounts, papers, mail, sales of homes, etc in "my" study. And I have some idea of how I would set up a filing system for all of this other stuff if I were doing it all for me. What is a bit more difficult is first, getting to the point where I can help and second, trying to see whether "we" are setting up a filing system that works for him, or me, or both. Meaning, what's a bit new in my thinking is whether ultimately he might never be able to keep up any system and so I take over more of the system and the filing and then tell HIM where stuff is, or whether he would collaborate and let me be "the consultant" so if h e wants labelled shoeboxes instead of files, that's fine, etc.--what I am trying to go to a new level on is, how to "feel out" the situation as to whether he is overwhelmed and will never ask for help but really wants it, or whether it is some line I can't cross. So I'm moving into being more pro-active but trying (very hard for me, sometimes!) to keep saying to myself, remember the big picture, the long haul, and not instant gratification, and also, bite my tongue when I'm tired and cranky and feel like saying something that is accusatory. Since he almost never asks for help, with anything, we all in our family probably think of him as invincible, and I'm kinda hopeful that he might actually want help if it's done right. harrietthehomeowner, I don't think outside help is right for him. But again, what will help me most in trying to do something now is to focus on family needs--that clearly I would never be able to take over, or even help out, with our papers and stuff if anything happened to him(illness or other) and I'm hoping even he can see that that would be a bad situation for our family. Whereas, if it's the guy's toolshed or hobby shop, you could just shut your eyes. cocontom, great point about the electronic conversions--he is actually the most "on line" person in the family and is probably receptive to doing more--mostly we have the busy-syndrome, where you have to make yourself carve out time to do things that will save time in the long run. One thing that is obvious is that I will have to find an extended period of time--don't have that until later in the fall--to actually start the project physically, but could be planning what types of shelving or filing equipment needed. I'm free to play around with floorplans on my own! This is one of those things where, since you can't move in the room, you need to haul everything out and say, what goes back in? It's like, you can't really sort through boxes of stuff until you have alternative destinations for each category. Here is one more interesting point that may test how committed I am. When we moved to this house, "his study" was to be this destination financial stuff, tools,etc, and "my study" was the combo guest room, photo file repository, various family-use items, and whatever I wanted, I guess. So I have guest linens, out of season decorations, hobby supplies, gift wrap, family mementos from my parents, and just "stuff" of mine, pretty well organized. And folks can get and use stuff from there, or I can get it for them. So--and wonder if folks can relate to this--I have a tendency to think I am using my space "well" for the family and he is not. You know how as the DW, you tend to think that ultimately all spaces are yours--it's hard to view any areas as sacred and off-limits to your organization and cleaning and meddling. So, if it somehow turned out that he could not "share" this filing concept, but said, well, if you're going to take over, do it somewhere else than my room, I don't know if I'm big enough to sacrifice my space to put all of it--I would have to completely re-do how my space is organized and would not have room for some of the fluff and stuff I have. I don't think that would happen, but I just wondered.

Thank you both for your good wishes. Thanks also for the advice about Crema Marfil. Good to know it doesn't really take much upkeep. I absolutely love the look of it. And I found a great picture of what I think is Crema Marfil with Typhoon Bordeaux, so I think it would work. (Photo link at the end, since I don't know how to post someone else's photo here.) The other tile for backsplash that makes my heart sing would be an onyx -- either honey or white onyx. Same questions about upkeep. KItchen is now a big empty space, only the fridge remains. We are "cooking" in the study (microwave, toaster oven, Cuisinart Griddler) At least we have wine in the fridge ;-) Here is a link that might be useful: