Several fuchsias have parentage from northern S. America- hot and humid, so you certainly can grow them. Look for the ones with long tubes and short sepals and often orange. 'Gartenmeister Bonstedt', 'Thalia', F. boliviana, ... Fuchsias are grown successfully in California, even in Sacramento, inland of San Diego and LA... If they are in containers shade them and water more often with good drainage. While we in the Pacific Northwest rest fuchsias in winter, in hotter areas rest them in summer. Grow them in fall through spring. Just reverse the seasons. I've always been puzzled why fuchsias aren't all over Florida, particularly by the water. Keep at it! Salli Northwest Fuchsia Society

Aloha everyone! I moved to Hawaii from CA in March 2003. I did not bring any of my plants with me due to the plant quarantine restrictions. However, check out www.hawaiiag.org for info on how to bring your plants with you. The site also has info on the animal quarantine if you have pets. Make sure you plan ahead!! I have found these online nuseries that WILL ship to Hawaii. Logee's Greehouse, www.logees.com Alohatropicals.com I have found that the plants that I have ordered from Logees have been much better quality and have had a better success rate than the ones from Aloha tropicals. Logees is in Connecticut, but there packing is stellar and the plants have all arrived in perfect condition. AND the shipping costs are reasonable.

I have this exact setup in my main bath and have had it since 1988. I bought a dresser from a known dealer in my area. I asked him what was on the surface -- he stated it was poly. I needed to know this cause I wanted to add more -- I did add more poly. A few years later it began to get surface cracks and chips. I redid the whole thing 2-3 years ago again because I was affraid the chipped off parts were letting too much moisture under the surface. This time I did it with 5-7 coats of standard satin finish varnish - hand buffed between coats with 0000 grain steel wool. Varnish will "flex" and "move" better than poly. While not as hard of a finish as poly the varnish will (and is) hold up as good as the poly-- especially with the multiple coats. Don't go looking for "standard" varnish at Lowes or Home Depot - as niether carries it. I ge mine at Sherwin- Williams paint stores. Good luck with your dresser -- Maybe I could post some picts if you want!!

DIY can be done well--others have posted "tutorials" on the steps they took. I would follow directions from GWers over a paint store any day--they just say whatever pops into their head and advice is always conflicting with the next guy! Personally, I would consider DIY if I were painting existing cabs but send them out if I were investing in brand-new cabinetry. Of course, we have all seen shocking pics of "professional" paint jobs, too, so do your research on the painters! They really need to use an indoor spray room suitable for oil-based paints, not doing it in their home garage with dirt and dust around to get stuck in the paint. I told my painters that I wanted to see brushmarks and they thought I was crazy!! I just didn't want it to look too perfect compared to the rest of the house. In the end, the touchup process created enough brushmarks on the trim work to satisfy me. People (especially men) really notice the paint job, which I think is funny. I think our cabs cost about 6k to paint. My friend just got quotes on painting her existing cabinets--small/med kitchen with golden oak. All came in 5-6K. (For on-site, but sending the doors out.) She is still undecided about whether to DIY, or not. It is definitely very expensive to have someone else do it, but requires so much time and patience to do it yourself! Hard to decide...so we put off another year, right? Wow, such a ramble but I hope it helps in your decision-making. (-8