forgot to mention that in the subject line

They really do look alike, when going off pictures online. I never really thought about it before, because they aren't plants you would confuse in person. This was a fun case of mistaken identity. :) It's not really unusual for a Hoya to not do anything for 6 months or a year, right after it's been purchased and moved to a new home. It just takes some of them a while to acclimate and once they have, they really get going. If your curtisii is in a bad spot, of course you could move it to better light. And of course it won't hurt it to repot it if you prefer a different medium, but you may end up setting back its adjustment period again. Just a thought. Some Hoyas are more/less fussy about being disrupted. I do think it took my curtisii about a year to settle in with me before it started growing, but after that it was really reliable.

I would love to have you send me the floor plan of this home! Its perfect! I printed off the original but I like your final with the 3 car garage! I as well have 3 children and live on 10 acres. I love that the home is all on one floor and has a room for entertaining and bathrooms the kids can get to with out running through the house with there muddy boots! Please send to joniconner@Hotmail.com. Thank you!

Normally if a local store is not competitive, there are one of two reasons: 1) The store owner has not adapted to current market conditions. Quite simply, as the profit margins move downward - and they have - they have not revised their business structure to capture sales that would otherwise go to out-of-area dealers. Some store owners insist on adhering to a margin-based price structure and will not adjust. The smart businessman NEVER lets a customer walk out to do business out-of-area. I know a number of store owners who are hard-headed and won't adapt. Its up to you, their local customer, to bring in a price quote and show them that they need to match it or you'll go elsewhere. If enough customers do that, they'll get the message. But if you never tell them, then they don't know. 2) Some furniture makers have a 2-tier price structure. Small stores don't get as large a discount from the maker as larger ones do. Typically its based on dollar-volume sold, or number of pieces put on the floor. So there is a chance that within a certain brand line that you local dealer is paying more for the goods than a larger, out-of-state discounter. This happens to me with Southwood Furniture as an example. My cost basis is 10 % less than the big store in the next county because they do more volume by accident than I do working hard at it. Still they get the volume price and I don't. Nevertheless, I adapt (being a savvy dealer!) and match price or go under them everyday. It results in thin margins, and it does not exactly make me want to invest in a lot of their product for the floor. Personally, I think it a bad policy from the makers as it tends to keep the little guys small regardless of how hard they work for the brand and limits floor exposure for their dealership network. Walk your best price into your local dealer and tell them in no uncertain terms they need to beat it. See what happens! Keep in mind however, that local sales tax is not something that your hometown store cannot waive and should be factored out when price shopping (the flip side of this is that these taxes do come back into your community infrastructure when you buy locally). Duane Collie