Hi Parma, She also said that the owner of a loan company told her that there's a law (and this is where it gets stupid) saying that you can go to your mortgage company and demand they lower your rate if you can show your home has lost a lot of its value. He said he did it with Countrywide, (our lender, also). He also said that they will try to do something else but if you stick to your guns, they have to lower it. Urban legend? Either urban legend, or a broker full of beans! *IF* your loan was sold to Freddie of Fannie, you *MAY* benefit from the upcoming Homeowner Affordability Modification Plan (HAMP) or Homeowner Affordability & Stability Plan (HASP - refinances.) More details here (go to my SECOND post inthis thread for good links); http://ths.gardenweb.com/forums/load/realestate/msg0314583220481.html?3 Homeowner Affordability and Stability Plan The industry is awaiting clarifying details from the Fed... due either April 1st, or (more likely) May 1st, at the earliest (depending on who's rumours are to be believed.) Anything already accomplished (i.e. with Countrywide or other lenders) was an open market Loan Modification negotiated prior to Obama beginning to tease us about the issuance of federal guidelines. Once the trickle-out of fed guidelines, pretty much most (or all?) of the servicing companies have frozen all negotiations while we wait for them to discover if they'll get more sugar by awaiting the government plans. Luck! Dave Donhoff Leverage Planner Here is a link that might be useful: Homeowner Affordability and Stability Plan

I think you're prices are too low. You'd be lucky to make a profit on somethings. I just bought 2 peaches for $3 the other day. If you're making fruit pies and cobblers, I would definitely charge more for those. And,if your cookies have chips and/or nuts and butter, you'll be lucky to break even. Plus, you may have to plan on some stuff not selling. I would take preorders for the pies and cobblers (even cakes) and sell them whole for twice of what you paid to make them. People like being able to take bigger stuff home to other family members. If it's a fundraiser and a good cause, I would pay a lot more for homemade goods. I would price any individual item at at least a dollar or more. And, if you put enough fluffy icing on a cupcake you can charge big bucks for it! Just make sure to price stuff so that you're actually making a big enough profit to make it worth the effort. I'd hate to see you slaving and baking for 3 days to come out $7 ahead. How about doing some big iced cinnamon rolls one morning (or some other breakfast - bakery good)? I would bet you could charge a lot for those. People love eating with their morning coffee and will probably pay a little more for a treat then since it seems more like a meal instead of just a snack. Good luck; let us know how it goes.

The Fed Prime rate is a cost of funds for short term loans and credit, including consumer credit. It will immediately reflect in credit cards, car loans, and even home equity lines of credit. The longer a fixed-term on a loan (especially with mortgages,) the more the lenders hedge them against longer-term instruments, such as 30 year treasury bonds, and cross-hedged futures positions. THESE instruments do not directly correlate to short-term interest changes (especially artificially manipulated changes, like those by the Fed committees.) Think of it like this; The Fed is a monstrous ship... like the Queen Mary. It doesn't change direction (rising rates, or falling rates) very quickly, and once it chooses a course it generally stays on that course for a while before turning again... very slowly. NONETHELESS... it raises a "wake" along the way, and the wake turns into waves that lap up against the beaches and consumers immediately see & feel the waves. ALTERNATIVELY... the long-term credit markets (i.e. bonds, and mortgages) are more like the TIDES. They move to certain natural rhythms, not exactly perfectly symetrical & regular, but not altogether unforeseeable either. The tides rise & fall even more gradually, and a dropping tide doesn't care whether a passing ship raises a few waves or not... the tide continues what it would be doing anyway. The captain of the Fed ship is guiding the boat as he is reading the tides... the financially-unaware public often thinks that the ship is CAUSING the tides to rise or fall, but it is actually the exact opposite... the ship is navigating its course at cause OF THE TIDES.... and in fact is completely submissive to the long-term financial cycle tides. Cheers, Dave Donhoff Strategic Equity & Mortgage Planner

Here is an older post on the subject of "Deep watering for heavy feeders" In my past row gardens I used 3gal. buckets (placed in small depression on top of the soil) with holes (size of a nail) drilled in the side near the very bottom. Though more labor intensive than soaker hoses, I found I used less water and felt I was getting the water where it was needed. I use rain water. Example- with tomatoes spaced 4ft each way T ... T ... B T ... T T=Tomatoes B=Bucket I can see buried bottles getting clogged (the buckets did) and just holding the water for the rest of the summer. I used a nail to unclog but that is a pain. Experiment with the size hole to drill. Larger hole won't get clogged as easy but once drilled you can't make it smaller. So start small. Hints: Drill all holes directly below where the handle attaches so you know where to find it when unclogging or placing bucket (they are ALL the same). I also marked arrows to point out holes. They do get dirty. Drill one hole or one on each side of handle or directly in bottom. I like the side so I can see if water is seeping out. Mark the bucket so they can be identified. Make an many as you can. I moved mine - one side today, the other side tomorrow. I could see how much water was going into soil. I think 5 gal. might be a bit much but would use whatever I could get free. You don't have to fill completely. In fact marking the inside may help to give measured amounts. Clean out buckets good, including bottom. Use bleach. I might go back to a few soakers since buckets may be difficult inside the SFG. But will likely use buckets outside the frame since roots travel a good way. Lugging buckets was/is an exercise routine for me. Last year, I tried coiling up a soaker before planting corn but the corn was uprooted by a few skunks as soon as they sprouted. I got discouraged and didn't have much in the way of corn. They didn't bother the seedlings I transplanted but the sprouts went fast. Apparently they like the seeds on the sprouts. Planning to use more rain barrels this year and will likely attach a few soakers and let gravity do the work. There goes my exercise plan. Will likely take longer. I think watering is a bit uneven this way also. Buckets - back to buckets. Maybe even coffee cans (inside frame) using the same concept. Bottles have such a small neck opening. Mulch after the soil warms but before the weeds start. Then mulch, mulch, mulch. Mulch goes along way to keep soil moist, keep the weeds down, and attract earthworms to digest the mulch and feed your plants. Hope that gives you more ideas. If I used bottles I would keep them on top to save digging them back up to unclog. Guess you could always use draino (just kidding). Good Luck, Gumby The entire thread can be found here - http://forums.gardenweb.com/discussions/2155180/deep-watering-for-heavy-feeders-growing-on-upright-trellises?n=5