Ah - that is the exact cactus soil that I used. I started with some K. blossfeldiana that my mother gave to me. They did very well in that soil - for about 6-8 months. Then the soil got very hydrophobic and I could not get water to the roots and the plants began to fail. As I branched out to more succulents I remembered that soil getting hard. So I watered more often and rotted some plants. So I moved to the 50/50 perlite mix. In the end, that was still too soggy for some of my plants. Now I am strictly gritty mix, and that has worked well for me. I even fill the holes with gritty mix when I plant in the ground. Bear in mind that my experience may not mirror yours. I am in SW Florida and we are pretty soggy at least 6 months of the year. Good drainage is a must for me. I also don't have to transition my plants from inside to outside. Anyway, you are off to a good start. Don't be surprised if you need to change soils in the future. It's all part of the learning curve!

I haven't read all the responses but after reading Marian/Lovelyiris' post and ending up with tears in my eyes, I had to respond. I want to Ditto practically everything Marian/LovelyIris said. Especially the part about being older than the norm for a newbie who got bitten by the Brug Bug much later in life. Also the part about memory not being as good as it once was. But mostly I want to Ditto her feelings about the people here, on the Brug Forum. The people who post here on a regular or semi-regular basis, who give of their time freely, give of their very sound advice freely and offer cuttings for the mere cost of postage, really warms my heart. Ya see, at my age I've seen some pretty ugly things that humanity does to humanity, pretty much on a daily basis. Then while looking for information on my precious Brug I find this site and wow.....talk about reinstilling my faith in humanity, you've all done it ten-fold! I just want to make sure that all you regulars/semi-regulars know how much you are appreciated. Your love of Brugs, of Mother Nature in general ie: other plants, pets, the outdoors, etc. tells me I'm getting to know a spectacular group here....the pinnacle of great people here. As I told Marian in an email earlier today, I wish I had more than my white-to-yellowish Brug (I still haven't found out it's name) to offer cuttings to all of you, if just to thank you all for the wonderful information re; Brugs that you have shared with me through all your posts/responses. Although I told myself no more Ebay unless it was holiday gift related, I won 3 thick rooted stalks of Versicolor Peach and I'm proud to report they are all doing wonderfully! It's not a unique Brug for all you Brug pros but I had to start somewhere. LOL I am hoping that by this time next year I can come here and offer all of you who have been so kind a cutting or two...that's my hope. And to all you enablers out there...yes, you. You know who you are! For the last 9 days straight, practically my whole back yard has been uprooted! Yes, mud, rocks, trunks, empty clay pots, roots, pruning pieces, bags and bags of opened and unopened planting soils and amendments and you name it is all over my back yard...hardly can take a step without stepping into or onto one of the above mines. Why? I wanted to condense what I had in the way of plants to make room for what else? More Brugs, of course! I won't order any more Brugs until I have the areas perfectly cleared out and my other plants in new homes around the grounds but let it be known, after the holidays I'm going to be a Brug-Buyin' Fool! And it's all your fault...You know who you are! *evil grin* Anyway, speaking of ramblin on (Mike? LOL I do it too!), I just wanted to say a Big Thank You to all of you who have posted your links, pictures, advice and your daily antics and funnies of life. My days are much nicer now because of all of you. Amity What once was an 12 ft. Nandina in the ground is now an 8 ft. Nandina uprooted and put in it's own pot. Why? So that the area where the Nandina was, can be used for.... More brugs! LOL

Ok! Good thoughts, thank you. So I did already clean the sensor (i.e. that chrome equal-sign item in the drum) with rubbing alcohol. Tumbles fine; had a very clattery quarter in there the other night and I know that's working. :) When I had the dryer vent cleaned and the vent tubing replaced, the dryer vent guy sucked out the machine as well and checked it with clothes running and said I had good air flow. And yes, when I said vent tubing I meant that the previous installer had put in that chintzy mylar looking stuff and I had it replaced with aluminum flex. The vent goes out to the roof (2nd floor) and I think that is because the laundry room is in an awkward corner where the main part of the house meets an ell (pic below; laundry room is in the main part of the house to the left of the dormer). Interior vent pic attached also. I'm going to guess then that it's a coil or temp sensor or voltage problem then. Will report back.

Okay, so I gave it two more days. It purpled up about halfway before I decided it was too dangerous to leave it any longer - it was REALLY soft and starting to split at the bottom. Soft enough that I was afraid of holding it too hard, I felt like my fingers would go right through! I do bet I could have given it even one more day and it would have finished purpling but I didn't want to push it. It tasted good! The purple part was of course sweeter, but the whole thing tasted good. I've never tried a fig before so I'm not sure what it's supposed to taste like but I count it as a succes. Here is a pic of it before and after I cut it open!