Unless your 'Catus Orchid' is an Eulophia pertersonii which I doubt, it probably is an Epiphyllum which has nothing to do with orchids but makes spectacular, short lived flowers. Good luck with your new plants, sounds like you controlled your self pretty well. I have a couple of suggestions; Start a catalog of your plants, not now but eventually when you have a few hundred plants, you will tend to repurchase the same plants as you are attracted to certain types. Having a list of plants helps to avoid that. If you have a smart phone and can go on the internet, bring up potential purchases as some plants change names. Encyclias have been fragmented and go under several new names, the same thing will likely happen to Masdevallias. I have on several occasions bought a 'new' plant only to find out it was a synonymn of something I already have. The best times to go is the earliest and the latest possible times. Go immediately when the show opens as you get the best selection but also go 1/2 hour before closing as most vendors will drastically slash prices to get rid of stock. Don't be embarrassed to make a low offer on a plant, you will be surprised how often it is accepted at 4:30PM Sunday. Look for damaged plants. If you like a certain BLC for example and there are several available, one with damaged flowers, make a low offer on that plant, it will bloom again. Don't buy for the flowers on the plant right now but for the ones in the future. Flowers are of course important as it's your best guide to what you are getting but I have no problem with fading or slightly crushed flowers as long as the price is right. Buy the largest plant you can afford, it's very frustrating to buy a small plant because you like the 'Sample Plant' and then have to wait 2 to 3 years for your first bloom. Probably not now but once you are fully addicted, go to the show with a certain amount of cash and leave the check book and the plastic at home. Just like Los Vegas, a good orchid show will suck you dry so be prepared. In the end it's all good fun and there are centers for rehab if you ever want to escape the addiction. There also 9 or 12 step programs for recovered orchid addicts you can join in the future. Or you can fully immerse yourself and end up doing handstands for rare and unusual plants which you will never find at orchid shows but are obtained by scouring the far corners of the world. Nick

I had dial up for years.. what I would do is get a accelerator, load up the page text quickly that way, read the comments, after I clicked on the picture to download it at high resolution.. and even though I had dial up, I still left my pics fairly medium to large.. I would just start the upload to photobucket and walk away to do other things.. you kinda get used to doing that kind of stuff with dial up... We finally got high speed here, there is a fine line I think though.. Too small is just too small.. Its hard to really see the pic that way. I feel for anyone doing dial up.. again I had it for 9 years in rural maine.. Silverkelt

Yea! A new garden - always lots of fun. Are you using an existing plot? Soil preparation will be key. Take the time to do a soil test through the state extension office. Hopefully the weeds & grass will not be too much of a problem for you. The first year is always the hardest but as you eliminate weeds and grass, each year seems to get easier. Okay on to your actual questions ;) Tomatoes: I've grown mostly Roma tomatoes because I like them for both fresh eating but mostly for making sauces and salsas. But this year I thought I'd seek out a typical round variety. I wanted it to be a good producer with fruit that is not prone to crack or disease. I've settled on Better Boy - not an heirloom but predictable and a good producer with decent tasting flavor. It is recommended by the ISU Extension. For a list, google Iowa State Extension Tomato Recommendations. You'll find a link labeled "tomatoes" that will pull up a pdf file. There are a few other recommended varieties that you may want to look up. Last year was a horrible tomato year - very wet and cool. I'm hoping this year is much better! As for peppers: California Wonder have done very well for me. As have all the hot & moderate heat peppers that I've grown (jalapenos, serranos, peter peppers, anaheims). I'm adding a large orange bell pepper into the mix this year :) Onions: I usually buy the sets at Walmart. If you get plants through a supplier, they are supposed to produce bigger bulbs. Just make sure your getting the right onion - they are day light sensitive.

I do have an extension table...not as big as the ones on Clutter Gutter, but it was designed by Viking & that's what I have. It's better than nothing. I cleared off the table I'm using of debris, but don't have much room to set up any more tables around me...so I gotta make do with the room I got. I don't see myself pushing a Qn quilt through this machine. I think I'll send it out! I might try the teflon sheet if I can find one. The "Circles" I'm doing are actually straight sided hexagons & not true circles, but I'm pushing the fabric through like I'm doing a circle. I think it was the middle ones that really made me frustrated. Of course those were the ones I started on. The ones on the edges weren't so bad. 1/2 of each hexagon was easy (being on the edge) & 1/2 I had to wrestle with the bulk. The ones in the middle were wrestling with bulk the entire time. I did 11 before going to bed so far...no puckering in the back! My walking foot is installed properly with the "fork" attached to my needle position. I found that as long as I was holding the quilt scrunched up between me & the machine...it went through the machine pretty easily. I finally gave up on the quilt clips. And I do leave the needle down. However, I feel that I'm being rough on my machine because when I pull my quilt around with the needle down...the needle moves around. But I guess it's pprobably good that the machine gives a little Fran, I just might try the free motion foot on the purple triangles that are left between the hexagons. That might help because I will need to turn the quilt 3 times for each of those & maybe I can stitch backwards/sideways for those. ShirlUK, what kind of polish do you use? My machine is plastic. Can't stand gloves. Will only resort to those whem I'm desperate! When I put gloves on, I feel like I'm enclosed in a small box. It's weird. Wome advice from the experts & a bit of practice. :) Thanks all! Will post a picture when I'm done quilting.