I'm just dying to see what the Datmansia bloom looks like. I wonder if the flowers will have the same smokey peanut scent that the foliage has? Linda I'm wondering if my Halo Peach is marked wrong. I think I got it from Willy (7servant7) but am not sure. I looked for pics online and they did look kind of pink so maybe it's correct. Linda if mine is labeled correctly I'll send you a cutting in the fall. It's not one of my faster growing brugs but I have it in a fairly small pot and need to repot or get it in the ground. Karyn

This thread, which I didn't catch the first time around, made me think. In general, I cook to eat and feed my family. However, I do enjoy baking for special occasions. I think that if I didn't work outside the home I would cook more...and be more adventurous. But, I work and have a long commute so by the time I get home I have to make fast meals with little time for creativity or major prep work. So, we eat a lot of frozen veggies--as is out of the bag, pre-cooked meats warmed up, pasta, soup, occasionally waffles/pancakes/eggs, potatoes, etc. I.e., for the most part things that I can cook fast. One up side to this is that our meals haven't changed that much w/o a kitchen since we do have a MW, Toaster Oven, and hot plate to cook with! One very big downside to this, though, is that my children are not learning to cook like I did from my mom. Back on topic... After finding this site and reading about zones, I realized that one thing that I really wanted was a baking center. So when my kitchen was being designed I had it in the back of my head that whatever we ended up with had to have an area I could designate my "Baking Zone", preferably near the ovens--with room to roll out dough, spread out cookie sheets, and have cookie cutters spread out all at the same time! The other thing I got from this site was our window...having the window down to the counter (OK, not cooking-related, but a very important design element!) Our very first plan that our KD came up with had input from us...but a very naive/ignorant us! (Before GW...BGW!) Then....I found this site.....and the changes began. Actually, I posted that original plan and asked for help (and also asked my KD to start over w/no island) Many, many people here helped me come up with a plan over several weeks (months?). We finally came up with a plan that has changed little since then. Interestingly, when I took away the island "must have", my KD came up with a plan very similar to what we came up with here. The only 3 differences were (1) no mini peninsula, (2) a 36" pantry cabinet rather than a corner pantry, and (3) no separate Message Center cabinets. My KD wasn't completely happy w/our differences, but she, wisely I thought, told me to go home and mock up what I wanted to see how it would work (same advice I got here!) Well, the mock up was great! It proved that I did indeed want the mini peninsula (I liked it so much I left the mock up in place until demo and used it!) When I told her the results, she didn't argue, she accepted it telling me it's my kitchen, so ultimately it's up to me. So in the end, my design was/is based on what I wanted, not what the KD wanted. [If only someone else had measured my kitchen and she was given more authority, I think a lot of subsequent problems would have been avoided.] Our kitchen isn't done yet, but it's close...so I can't yet tell you how it is going to work for us...but we are so...

Wow! Thank you so much for your replies! @ arthurm Oops! I meant a 15 degree difference in temperature. I'll definitely check out the FAQ some more. @ adamharbeck I'll try to order the book. It would be beneficial for me to have it. @ shavedmonkey (Love your screenname lol) I do intend to expand my collection which I'm sure will include some local species. I actually do have a brassocattleya type orchid as well, but I'm not sure about the name of it since it didnt come with a tag and it wasnt in bloom when I got it. There is a local orchid society that I will be joining. Then next meeting is the first week in January. @philpet Another yardie! I'm so glad to have found a fellow Jamaican orchid grower/lover here. I live in Kingston. Over 30 phals?? Wow...my dream collection. I will get there someday soon. My next acquisitions will be some catts and oncidiums. I'm relieved to know that there should be no issue with my phals blooming as long as they are healthy. When I think about it, there are MANY people living here who grow phals successfully in our climate so I really have nothing to worry about.

I am not a seasoned traveller to the Caribbean, but even my middle class friends who travel told me that when going to an all inclusive, never ever go to less than five stars. They say that will only guarantee a bare minimum of cleanliness and amenities. I didn't really care for what I saw of Negril and wouldn't hesitate to stay farther out in the countryside again. I would REALLY like to get to Cuba before it opens up a bit more. I would just like to see the culture before it changes. As for the negatives, we rented a bare bones b and b and I would take care to rent better, more professional accommodation and hire a well-recommended driver (I did really like our driver and he really made the trip for us! In fact if you stay near Negril I would recommend him for sure). If I had done these two things, I would have been fine. Our last day was the 'get the money out of the rich people day' and I was asked by locals to pay school fees, adopt children, leave my tablet with them, etc. etc. (adopting legally from Jamaica is almost impossible btw). That was a little uncomfortable and made the last day a lot less fun. I think being asked for stuff is not uncommon when you are a relatively rich person visiting a poor area. I do wish I had thought to bring more stuff to give, like antibiotics and ibuprofen. Everyone we met had enough to eat but some people definitely lacked for basic medical care. The real downside is that our host was just sketchy. His business partner quoted us $10 a day each for suppers and he tried to charge us each $50 a day! He said it was because we were big...not THAT big! He was also hardcore hitting on one girl in our group -- and although this was my first trip to Jamaica, I spent a lot of time in dancehall clubs in my wilder days so, although I'm an XL girl and don't get hit on by white guys that often, I am quite familiar with being hit on by Jamaican and Caribbean guys. This dude was well over the "being forward" line into sketch territory but trying to make that girl feel like it was "just" cultural differences when it was well beyond that. And he was not like a young handsome guy either, just pushing his luck. That said she could have been a lot ruder, but also that's problematic when it's a person with a key to your room. I didn't mention that part at the beginning because I am somewhat familiar with Island guys and felt this guy wasn't representative (he was the worst person we encountered on our trip and maybe the worst person I've encountered on any trip, but I've been lucky while travelling and haven't run into many horrible people!). I have never been to Cuba but all the people I was travelling with had been. They preferred Cuba for the most part but felt the food was MUCH better in Jamaica. The scenery was extremely beautiful in Jamaica. They said the animals are much better off - Cuban cows, according to them, all look on the verge of starvation and the Jamaican cows, dogs, chickens and goats I saw all looked fat and happy (unlike Cuba, most dogs belonged to someone and a lot were fixed). My friends all were comfortable driving scooters around Cuba where they preferred having a driver in Jamaica between driving on the left and the potholes. Some of my friends had pretty sketchy nightclub experiences in Cuba and certainly sketchy nightclub experiences were there to be had in Jamaica although our outings were quite tame. There are a lot of rules and a lot of police in Cuba and they occasionally had to pay bribes. One friend had been arrested in Cuba. I didn't feel like that was going to happen in Jamaica although according to our driver he felt the police were "in general a very corrupt bunch." You can get by with English in Jamaica: although you may not understand everyone, they will certainly understand you and the signage is in English. I suspect the same cannot be said for Cuba although I have never been.