I DO love bougainvillea...but I do not neglect mine...this past summer I had over 20+ inches of rain in July and Aug. and part of Sept was very wet also...and my pot stayed wet for weeks on end and all the leaves dropped...I thought the plant died...but, I changed the pot and repotted it and luckily it's growing again and is blooming again... Very Nice TC Kris and Mike!! For me it would have to be my Jades and Succulents and a couple of my very large Hoyas that get neglected the most... Rhizo, that Hoya story is hilarious!! You must have had either Lacunosa or Carnosa, one of those I'm not thrilled about the smell of the flowers either...it always reminds me of hint of a dirty litter box,lol... This picture is from January 2013...when it was looking pretty good. Doesn't look as good as it did then but its coming back :o)

I tend to disagree with some of the advice in that link: sand for play boxes is usually too fine, it is specifically good packing sand to make sand castles and sand cookies and similar...if it was coarse, it would not stick together. So that info is, IMO, incorrect. You need to find what is referred to as Horticultural sand - much grittier, with bigger particles. Most of us do not use sand at all (very few ppl do, and they have lots of knowledge and experience with growing succulents). You would be much better off reading info on this forum: ppl giving advice grow (and many, like Jeff above), have been growing succulents for years. Our goal is to keep plants healthy, and #1 is usually drainage problem: mix needs to drain fast/well, and soil with fine sand will not provide drainage. Perlite is available to most. It is good idea to sift or rinse it, to get rid of dust. Pumice is anorher excellent substrate, not always readily available. Chicken grit/small granite gravel, is another ingredient excellent to use. There are many more inorganc ingredients that could be used. MG bagged potting soil is considered not good enough and many will not use it (including me). You could make much better draining mix by using just sifted perlite and Cactus&Succulent soil in 1:1 ratio. If you already have MG soil and want to use it, I would suggest to add even more perlite (60-80%). If you have pumice, use it instead of perlite. Or mix it with perlite, and use much less soil. Adding grit helps a lot. Grains of different ingredients should be approx. of same size: 4-6mm is good. It could be tad smaller, but, IMO, 2mm or less is too fine. Over 6mm gets to be too large. Many succulets do not need very large pots. Try to find out where some grow naturally: most in very 'rocky' areas, with literally no soil (or very little), and many on and in-between the rocks: tight spaces. So size of the pot is not always a problem. Bigger is not neccessarily better :) Repoting is usually not needed every year, and if repotting, it is better to go up just a bit - if plant needs it. Succulents could be grown in large pots - but drainage is even more important. Lots of water retaining soil that will fill up large pot will take very long time to dry up and cause lots of damage. If you provide good drainage (and have space for it), you can grow tiny plant in a wine barrel.... There is ton of info here, from good and experienced growers. Not like on some blogs, that offer incorrect info (at least partially) - often not based on experience, but incorrect info passed down. ETA: I just re-read blog you posted link to: here is contradicting info offered within 2 or 3 paragraphs: ..."The type of sand I buy is just the stuff they sell for use in a sandbox (I buy it at either Home Depot or Lowes)"... ..."Just don’t use sand from the garden, the beach, or a sandbox (you never know what nasties will be in that sand)"... Do not use play sand - either from the bag or a sandbox... Anything will work for short period of time. But if you want to grow succulents for a long time, keep them healthy - try to provide good drainage and good light.

The has been a slow accumulation over the past year to two years depending on when the cactus was potted. Those pots are usually bone dry. I think we have hard water here because it leaves deposits on the shower walls after a while too although im not sure if these things are related.

Both of my grandparent's homes remained the same from way before I was born until they passed away (I was an adult with children for all)⦠even though my paternal grandfather owned a furniture factory (burned down before I was born) and furniture store. They could have had the newest, etc but kept the same furniture for decades. I think part of it was that generation did not feel the need to keep up with the Jones' and/or they were more easily content - not influenced by what was new each year. They were savers, not spenders, but had the money to do both. Their homes were cleaned and maintained. My father owned furniture stores for several decades, yet never replaced their original furnishings purchased after they married and restored a condemned home (late 1950s). Furniture there went to the next house (1970) and more was added (much larger home). Yet when they built their current home (1985) the original upholstered pieces bought in the 1950s came with them, and were recovered. Some things were sold that did not fit the house (DR and MBR) and replaced with then new that they still own 29 years later. Both just turned 80yo and things will stay as is until their deaths. Their house is far from dated, unkept or not taken care of (couldn't find this referenced in the other thread). DH and I started going to antique stores when we first married (33yrs last week) and were in our first house just over 20yrs. We still have (and use) everything purchased then and since. I tend to buy pieces that can be used in various rooms/in various ways. That said, I also tend to not move things around once I get them where I want/like, but this came in handy when we built 8yr ago. As far as empty rooms, we have only ever had one of those. When we purchased our first home we had two very small children, then added a third baby. When she was 1yo, we furnished the LR, so for the two years prior they got to ride toys and play in there when it was raining. But we stayed completely debt free, so it was worth the short wait. I don't know what changed in our world to make so many of the newest generations watch trends, change their homes more often, etc other than more access to the ever changing decor (trends) via TV, magazines and the internet. While I don't have any of our original upholstered pieces and my taste has changed from being a newly married early 20s yo to mid 50s, I would never want to or even think about getting rid of everything to start over. I believe my final taste/style was acquired 15 years ago and isn't going anywhere.