The time difference can be a help or hindrance. An online time converter is worth checking before deciding on workshops or concerts.
Excellent point, Lois! People sometimes don't think of these things.
Taking care of other living things like plants is good medicine for the soul, plus it's just plain 'good karma'. :)
When I was a kid I couldn't get enough taking care of little pets, plants, insects, etc. I think it helped make me into a kinder human. It's also a wonderful way to learn cool stuff about nature and science!
I'm glad this year of quarantine has re-inspired my interests in indoor plants. Several of my indoor cacti/succulents I've had for 13 or 14 years, and a couple of them really deserve a repotting now. I have 16 plants in the house right now, and plan to revamp a couple of window areas to accommodate a few more, especially in my little upstairs office.
I've had many houseplants during my life, but this is my first monstera deliciosa. I'm so impressed, I've decided it should be crowned the Queen of Houseplants. It's majestic. 
The white-variegated monsteras like the one shown in Lois' article can actually sell for hundreds of dollars these days for a good plant with lots of white patches or half-white leaves, and just a clipping of a good one can cost $50 or $100 or more. 
Luckily, I really like my all green one, I find the all green to be more visually serene and jungle like. Today it unfurled its very first leaf that has four splits on each side . (the leaves they produce will have more splits as the plant gets older... the baby monsteras often have no splits showing at all yet) Up til this new leaf, my plant's 'splittiest' big leaf had four on one side and three on the other. I still have to name this monstera. I think it's good to name the plants that are either big or have lots of character.
Just got my 2nd covid vaccine the day before yesterday. I can't wait for two weeks from now when i will feel 'safe' enough to go to the big garden store. (in a mask of course)
I really want to repot several of my larger older house plants, and I need certain soil mixes and some bigger new pots for them.
For a whole year I have not gone shopping anywhere except for essentials like food or getting my car inspected, etc. Soon I will feel safe going to a store for something fun! 
During this year of quarantine I have learned to appreciate the smaller things in my life that bring joy. One of those things has been a new appreciation of the living plants growing in my home. 
If a teenager's room looks more like a rainforest cafe than a landfill, I'd say you are really really lucky. 
A truth: If any sunlight is coming in through a window and landing on any horizontal surface- the floor, a chair, a table... there will be a cat on it, rolling around or 'meatloafing'.
I'm very grateful to those of you who have made a contribution. Believe me, it really helps. 
Oh wow, Dusty- I bought two large plants a month ago- one a dark burgundy rubber plant, and the other a big monstera deliciosa (common name is split-leaf philodendron). The monstera seems to be the "it" plant this year, replacing the fiddle-leaf fig in top popularity.
The good news is that being a philodendron, the monsteras are pretty adaptable to varied conditions. The biggest danger is in not having a well drained pot, which will cause root rot. If it drains well, the plant will tolerate low-to-high light, and varying amounts of watering.
I have not fed mine at all yet, and it has produced several large new leaves in just the first month. I can see this plant is going to grow FAST. They tend to try to vine and you can either stake the branches up as they get long, or chop off sections to root in water and give to friends to plant. :) These are large tropical plants that are very gratifying to watch as they unfurl giant new leaves!
Here is mine in my office, right next to me as i type:
Hello dear FOTMD members.
FOTMD has been an active mountain dulcimer social network for 11 years now. So far, I've always been able to pay our server/site expenses with the donations from thoughtful members. We've managed to cover costs and usually have about $30 surplus by the end of the year. It's not making much profit, but then my goal has always been for it to simply pay for itself.
After going over this past 'covid year' expenses, I'm finding that donations have dropped enough so that they are no longer covering site costs. Since I already invest considerable time keeping the site running, I would prefer not to also pay for its cash upkeep out of my own pocket.
Yes, this is a call for donations! I'd like to see a few new folks make a donation now and then if they can, rather than the same handful of members who always seem to step up. We also have a couple of members who very generously maintain a monthly automatic paypal donation subscription of $5 or $10/month. There are also a couple of members who send FOTMD $100 every once in a while. These donations are all extremely generous and appreciated! Yet it is not quite enough to cover costs.
This site is for all members to enjoy. I would not expect anyone under financial hardship to make a donation, so my request goes out to those of you who are comfortably able to donate something. Remember, a $35 donation or above will earn you a "Patron" label under your name on your profile page for about two years. But ANY amount of donation is so much appreciated!- whether that's $10 or $200. Please consider a donation -especially if you have never donated before. Help keep FOTMD running and vital.
To donate, just click on the Paypal Donation button on our main page. (you don't need to have a paypal account to use the button, just a credit card).
Thank you all so much! 
Strumelia
Have you weighed it John? I'd be interested in knowing how heavy. I assume a box like that really needs to be placed on a table to play, right?
I do love the look of that one in poplar, John! It looks very 'old traditional' for sure, especially with the tin overlays.
That's funny Randy. ;D Yeah sometimes a subject will come up with plants or animals where i coincidentally just happen to know some exact obscure factoid that's being discussed... it can be very impressive, and so fun when that happens. 
True, Ken! Indoor plants are a tonic for the soul in the middle of cold bleak grey winters of non-tropical areas. I remember when i lived in Puerto Rico i did not bother much with indoor plants- it was far easier to just have them out on the 'balcon' or in the yard.
When i was a child in NYC, like most bohemians my mother would plant leftover avocado seeds and we'd marvel at our resulting two foot tall avocado 'tree'. I couldn't believe the gigantic avocado trees in PR! 
Lois, I know a little something about houseplants, but I'm certainly no expert. I know nothing about crotons. Misting is good for some plants and not good for others, so you'd have to look that up. I've found it soooo useful to punch up searches on Youtube like "care of philodendron", "care of rubber plant". You'll find great tips on caring for specific plants that way... plus some of the vids are fun to watch!
I do know that it's generally advised to not repot a plant for a month or two when you get it- to allow it to settle first from the shock of moving to a new location.
Ah, well the usual advice given for that double-pot situation is that you water it thoroughly like once a week or so, let it drain for a few minutes and then dump the excess water out of the outer pot... so that the potted plant is never in standing water. Think of the outer pot (with no hole) as simply a way to protect your table rather than being a water reservoir. Waterlogged soil is deadly to houseplants. I learned only recently that roots need air as well as water, otherwise they start to rot. Just like us I guess!
Yeah it's funny but all plants do have a life span. And it's amazing how you can make new baby plants from offshoots, splits, and cuttings.
@venni , that's impressive, good for you!
Many of us here never actually become highly skilled players, but hopefully we all do find joy in playing a humble instrument at home, even if we only play for our own selves. Music is such a tonic. :)
Lois good luck with your new croton plant! They are really colorful, especially if they get sun. Make sure its pot can drain any excess water so there's no chance of root rot. I think they like slightly moist soil but never waterlogged.
Here's a very little (2" diameter) Bishop's Cap cactus I've had for about four years now. It was crowded in a pot with several other succulents in a too-cool room with north light. Somehow it survived, but i just disassembled that pot and gave the little cap a new pot of its own and put it in nice warmer spot with more light. I hope it wont be too shocked by the change.
So cute the way it spirals at the very top like a dim sum dumpling...
Another detail- I notice you are both embedding AND attaching your image to a post. No need to do both- just pick one method or the other. 
@rojo, Ken is correct- when you are in the window where you select an image to embed in your post, on the left side there should be a drop down box where you can choose the size- the default is set to 800 xxxl or something... if you change it to the XL instead, the image will not be so huge. Try it again with one image here, and I'll adjust or delete it afterwards if needed. :) Maybe I'll change the default size to one level smaller as well.
Another way is to go ahead and post the embedded image as is, and then click the EDIT gear icon on you post to edit it, and in that window you can click the corner of the image and DRAG it smaller. Sometimes you'd need to drag it smaller several times to get it to the size that looks reasonable. Then save your edited post by clicking the "update post" button. That's what I did just now to make your last embedded image smaller, btw.
If you are doing all this from a phone's tiny screen, then it might be trickier to see or access all these options and menus... just sayin'.
Now you can simply call that plant "The non-astilbe", Lois. lolol If you could attach a photo of it here, I 'might' be able to recognize what it is.
Your mandevilla- if it's an outdoor plant likely needs to be semi dormant during the winter. If so, then don't over water, feed, or repot it until Spring. If it starts putting out lots of new baby shoots soon, then would be the time to repot it - maybe just into the same pot but with some fresh soil and a slight root trimming.
I got my ginseng ficus bonsai in the mail a couple days ago. It was well packed and with tons of insulation, and only one tiny leaf broke off in transit, and it did not seem to suffer any frost. Amazing!
What funny little 'tree'. It's got bulbous ficus roots, with little branches from a different species of ficus grafted onto the roots (to make sure it has small leaves). Reminds me of those spooky Mandrake roots, or some fertility goddess. It's not technically considered to be a 'real' bonzai, but it's fun and easy for amateurs to keep alive. The upper branches and leaf canopy is what will grow bigger now mostly, and I'll need to give it a haircut now and then. The roots will grow way more slowly than the top leafy part.
It came planted in a very nice 8" long cream colored glazed bonzai pot. You're supposed to place the pot on top of a wet bed of pebbles to create a little extra humidity near the plant. I had a blue and white Chinese platter that seemed to do the trick temporarily. It's got a bunch of teeny tiny baby leaves sprouting out all over top, so that makes me glad. 
Here it is by my desk window...
...and: here's that discussion! :D
OceanD, that thing about "making the notes sound connected" is actually a big deal, and it's not all that common that people really think about it. It's sort of the equivalent of if you are playing penny whistle and making a separate blow out for every note, rather than doing sometimes two or three notes on one breath. Same with fiddling- some fiddlers make a separate back/forth stroke of the bow on each note. I find that becomes irritating to listen to after a while, like ratt-a-tat, ratt-a-tat....
With the dulcimer, it takes some conscious effort to sound more than one note per strum or pick motion. And it's not all about sliding. Lots of folks never get into such things because it's hard to change how you play once you've gotten used to something. The fact that you are aware of this and are taking technique workshops to improve your playing skills rather than to simply learn more tunes, is admirable!
I think maybe @dusty-turtle can say something here about players wanting to actually have some enjoyable conversational time with each other during virtual zoom festivals... Dusty?
Pondoro, maybe you could elaborate a bit on why the virtual festival experience does not feel satisfying to you?- such input might really help those who organize such events. :)
Lois, it occurs to me that a snake plant (SANSEVIERIA) sounds like it might be just the thing for your low-ish light counter. It's fine with erratic watering schedules, like to dry out sometimes completely. Loves the sun but survives just fine in low light too. It gets tall and elegant and puts out lots of leaves and 'pups' to give away, but won't take up lots of horizontal counter space. It's not very expensive, and there are many beautiful different varieties of sansevieria to choose from. Look up some google pictures of snake plant varieties.
I have a nice unassuming snake plant that loves it on my low light desk next to my computer- I bought it cheap at the supermarket about 6 months ago, and it's been putting out several healthy new spears:
I thought Astilbe and mandevilla were strictly outdoor garden plants, and get really big in size? They may need to be dormant during the winter, but I don't know much about them. Can you maybe take cuttings and root them?
I too have used aquarium water on my plants. I'm sure they love it! I've allowed my aquarium fish to naturally die off over time, without buying new ones. Soon I'll dismantle the (12 gallon) aquarium and take over that prime window spot for my plants. :)
My little ginseng ficus bonsai tree is supposed to come today. I'm both worried and excited, hoping it didn't suffer from any freezes during its 3 day fedex journey from Mississippi to me in freezing NY.
Yesterday I noticed several new leaf shoots emerging on my big split leaf philodendron (monstera deliciosa). I love how the bebe leaves on it are all tightly furled up like a green burrito. Then as it slowly gets bigger and unfurls each day you can see whether that leaf has splits or not. I look forward to it getting big enough for me to make cuttings to give to my two grown daughters. :)
Ken that's great news! It must feel so good to have your heart working properly now. 
You guys seem to have figured things out nicely, but one more little tip- whenever you do start a new thread somewhere, it really helps to give the thread a very descriptive title. An example: instead of naming a thread "Strings?" it's better to be more specific like "Help with string gauges for baritone". This enables people to zero in on discussions of interest to them while they browse the forums. It also helps people in the future who are searching the site for answers, maybe years from now. :)
Actually, my daughter worked in the honeybee dept during her studies at Cornell before I kept bees. But... it's true I kept a couple pet tarantulas at home before she went off to college.
I think it's super cool that your daughter is cultivating a plant collection in her room during the pandemic.
When i was a kid I wanted to be a naturalist when I grew up, but life got in the way. I guess that makes me a nerd. My older daughter does have a degree in entomology.. I suspect in part because i taught my kids to look under rocks and logs in the woods for bugs and spiders. :)
I was able to pick up a super cheap plastic spray misting bottle today while buying bread at our farm store. I misted my big split leaf philodendron 'Monstera'. 
Yes that's the same company (in tennessee) that my bonsai will be coming from Dusty. In fact, I had a hard time deciding between the ginseng ficus and the Golden Gate ficus they offer... they both look appealing. I decided i really liked the weird bulbous roots of the Ginseng one, though the Golden Gate definitely looked more like a real miniature tree. I like that they have a section on their website specifically for easy care/beginner bonsai trees, since no hobbyist wants to waste a chunk of money on plants that need expert care. Wow, your daughter must have been thrilled to get that gift from you!
That's interesting that both of you mention bonsai... because last week I ordered a little bonsai tree online, and they are supposed to ship it out today. This is the first time I've ordered a live pant online and of course I worry about the cold but apparently they pack and insulate it very well and hopefully it will arrive without damage.
Do you two know what kind/species of bonsai trees you got?
The one i ordered is a ginseng ficus bonsai. Technically, the gnarly root is a ginseng ficus, with branches of a smaller-leaved ficus species grafted to the top of the roots. So, the best of two different ficus species together. I find that fascinating. Apparently, "ficus" is Latin for the fig tree family, which i didn't know.
I've had one cactus-like succulent for 14 years now, and it has slowly grown huge. It's a Euphoria Ingens/candelabra cactus (really a succulent). I repotted it only once when i first got it, and my plan is to finally repot it once the weather gets warmer. It'll be a monumental job, because the thing weighs about 35 lbs now and is about 4 feet tall. It's pretty impressive now. I'll need my husband's help in repotting that one!
We're a year into this pandemic quarantine and it's really cold and dreary outside. Going a bit stir crazy waiting for Spring.
I've always had a few indoor plants- mostly cactus and succulents mainly because our cats leave them alone. 
Some of the ones I have now have thrived and grown for years, while others eventually went to the Big Greenhouse in the Sky.
It seems many folks have now discovered or rediscovered the joys of caring for indoor house plants.
Lately I've been repotting and pruning a couple of my older plants, and purchasing a few new ones as well. It's rewarding and peaceful to take care of some living green things while waiting out the pandemic!
Tell us about your favorite houseplants. Add photos if you like too! 
Our cat Sheba (aka BooBoo) carefully wrapped herself up in the top sheet like a burrito this morning, while I had the comforter and bedspread off being washed...
Of course the whole reason I had to take off the blankets to wash them was because 'someone' hurled up a big hairball on the bed when we weren't watching. Cats. This is why we can't have nice things.
BooBoo hiding her shame...
Great photos of the label! Sure looks like Lazenby's name to me.
Dewey you have a beautiful dulcimer that looks to be in perfect condition. How wonderful that it was your father's dulcimer. If I were you I would not hesitate to try and contact Bob Lazenby with questions about your particular dulcimer- I'm sure he'd be tickled pink!
Do join our Beginner's Group which is the perfect place to ask all your questions in figuring out how to tune, how to play, etc. 
Dewey, if you could get a clear photo of that label, someone on here might be able to tell you for sure if it was made by @bob-lazenby .
It sure is a beautiful dulcimer!
Here's a link to one of my blog posts that might be helpful in figuring out how to tune your dulcimer:
https://dulcimer-noter-drone.blogspot.com/2010/12/what-notes-do-i-tune-my-strings-to.html
In the blog post there's a link to a real online keyboard where you can HEAR the notes D3 and D4 for example. You'll want to e sure to tune to the notes in the correct octave so you don't break your string.
Some great points made, Robin!
Leny-sue, that's what is called "decay" of the note, and is normal. It tends to be more noticeable on strings at looser tension and also wound strings, and more so when the strings are plucked hard. Most of us pick the first part or middle part of the sounding note to tune by, not the ending 'decaying' tone.
