Jane, and all orchid friends,

You gave me some ideas especially the octopus lamp you have in your living room. I went and found one in Home Depot. Do I need to have some special bulb for the lamp? It has 5 arms and how many hours a day and what is the distance from the plants to the lamp should I have the lamp on? As I posted before, my room is facing west and from now until next spring, there's no sun shines in but it is still a bright room for at least 5 hours a day. I have no idea how much light I should have for my orchids and that kind of things. I went on Internet and look for information, I got more confused by the term of "1000 foot candle.. 1500 foot candle..and so on... " I have no idea what and how much light is equal with those terms... Any advice from you experienced orchid growers especially in climate like mine would be much appreciated. Thank you!

Tanie