Thank you for further opinions/advice. ashes_of_the_fire those roots are gorgeous! For most part I tend to slightly underwater my orchids, before the ailment that is (I always thought it was fine as they flowered and looked healthy) and the roots would be slightly thinner than yours. I am especially grateful for the step by step instructions. I will definitely need them as this will be my first repotting on my own! (mum refused to help as she says last time she got involved it got them to the current state). I have something by Westland called 'orchid compost'. It says it has organic matter, bark and wood fibre. This is the only thing suitable at the shop nearest to us (and that is 30 minutes away). There is another shop that is about 1 hour away in another zone that requires 2 buses. But I am not sure that one is much better. I think I'll repot the worst first (I will do it tomorrow morning when there is more light and might post photos in case I need advise of whether they are actually alive)... to see how they take to this compost. And order the following online: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Elite-Orchid-Compost-Range-for-Phalaenopsis-5-Litres-/261365464855 Does that seem like a good mix? Apparently one of the orchids is not actually a Phalaenopsis that mum owns (since it hasn't had flowers in years I did not know any better). Though she cannot remember its name. meyermike_1micha thank you for the tip ... I have been reading many websites and books about caring for orchids, but none actually go into any sort of detail. Something I read a year ago said that orchids can grow without any medium! in baskets but would require very frequent sprays. Wow! Maybe I need to do that to avoid the bugs. jane__ny thank you for the link! It is very helpful. As I said the books I could get from the library and some websites I came across weren't as helpful. Most of the books had various pictures and species, and talked about reproduction, illness and the fact that orchids depending on the type like various mediums including moss, bark, and something else. No one ever went into basics of how to physically water them (just state that you can spray or pour). Cloths were a strategy to get rid of insects. They have only been covered in them for about 3 months. These bugs are a pain to get rid of ... and one of the solutions is placing a layer of sand on top of the peat ... it cuts air supply to them and cuts their wings when they crawl out. I was a bit apprehensive of doing that (since who knows what the sand will be infected with!) So I saw someone's solution of placing denim to a similar effect ... break the cycle. Each fly lays many many eggs ... and the problem multiplies. Most of these I read were for houseplants ... as no one wrote about infected orchids. But the things is one of the orchids I bought was already infected and it was in bark! So it does happen. Probably not as frequently. I know most of the solutions I was trying were damaging the health of the plants, but as I mentioned these stuff eat roots ... and reproduce fast. So the fact that some of the orchids are still alive is pretty much a miracle. I do not wish this infection on anyone's plants. Oh and I place my stupidity/naivety to the fact that for many years that I have owned orchids they were healthy and I never saw what I have been seeing in the past 3/4 of the year. Thank you so much for your support! I also include the picture of the flies! (this was when the situation was improving too! before then you couldn't see the yellow ... it is a lot a lot better now). Just about 3 or 4 flies per sticker. Another quick question ... do I need to dry out the orchid compost completely before planting? (that is where I went wrong with the peat apparently) Lija P.S. Liquid Oxygen contains Hydrogen Peroxide. It was advised to me as it apparently burns up the larvae which seemed like a pleasant thought.

I totally agree that earworms appear from nowhere--and won't go away! I can awake in the middle of the night and there's a song playing over and over and over in my head. The ones I don't mind too much are hymns; at least I'm 'listening' to something uplifting.

First of all- they've made 2 service calls already. Call the store you purchased it from and speak with the manager. Our ice maker quit. Took forever for them to "find" the warranty, then they sent a repair man who replaced it and the control panel. Worked for about a week. Sent another repair man who said it was our water pressure. Since it had worked before, then with the new ice maker, I didn't buy it. I called and it was escalated to the local store. They ended up replacing the fridge (like yours, 3 years old), I upgraded to a counter depth, they price matched one on sale at Best Buy (plus additional 10% off). Walked out with a new fridge, delivered with another new warranty for $81- that included tax and a new stainless steel water line. I have NO clue how I got out of there so cheap- asked them 3 times if they were sure of the price- considering the 1st was about $500 cheaper to begin with.

I am going through the same thing. I went away on vacation and left my cat with my parents and their two dogs which my cat Bailey grew up with until I moved out. He often visits them when I go away. Then I took Bailey home and he started throwing up white foam. First it was once and a while, then it started picking up to 2-3 times a day. So I took the cat to the vet. They started with it being a hairball and gave me hairball lube as I call it. That made it worse. He started throwing up 6-7 times a day and stopped eating. I took him back 3 days later and they did x-rays and blood work and everything came back fine. They put him on fluids and Reglan, Carafate and Pepcid and sent him home $$$ dollars later. He was good for 3-4 days then went right back to throwing up. I was told to add gas x and baby food. The baby food made him barf just from the smell. He had an endoscopy yesteday and they found nothing visable. His biopsies were shipped to Cornell Veternary school befoe I even picked him up. (Haven't heard back yet). The doctor says that he really doesn't know whats causing it, but that once the results come back he may run lower GI testing and put him on steriods. The poor cat who had so much life in him (4 years old) all he does is sleep now. I haven't seen his eyes open since he came home. I rub him to make sure he is still with us sometimes. I really don't understand how a perfectly healthy cat gets so sick suddenly. I wish there was something more I could do while we try to figure this all out. I have to pick him up and move him to different locations. He's lost 3 lbs in a month. :(