But mostly, I want seed from this plant. It is so tenacious about living, that I want some copies next year. I'm worried that it's too late in the year, but I'm going to try and grow this one out far enough to get some seed. **** with those blossoms and you being in Atlanta it shouldn't be a problem to get mature fruits. But I do hope you get some single blossoms b'c with so called megablooms you can get fusing of the fruits and then there's a greater chance of getting crossed seeds b;c of the possibility of different blossoms in that one megabloom being independently X pollinated and then the several fruits becoming one. And I noticed you weren't bagging blossoms but perhaps this plant is far enough away from others to help ensure no X pollinations. OTOH seed for Big Rainbow is readily available at many places. ( smile) Carolyn

These are some great stories. I'd like to share mine, since I think that it's pretty interesting. I met my husband over the phone. I was working at a new job after being unemployed for 8 months. I worked in the order dept for a very respected publishing company, taking phone orders. Since I was so elated to be working again I tended to be extremely pleasant and helpful in those early days so when I received a call from StonyBrook University's bookstore inquiring about one of their orders instead of transferring the call to customer service ( as we were supposed to do) I checked the status of the order myself & told the guy on the other end of the phone that it had shipped out about a week ago. Since Stony Brook Univ is about an hour away from our distribution center I was a bit baffled as to why they hadn't received the books yet. He asked how the books had been shipped and I replied "by armadillo?". He howled with laughter. We spoke again a few more times in the course of the regular order pool, then he started asking for me exclusiveley and after hours of conversations at work (it's a wonder that my co-workers never ratted me out) we started calling each other at home. Now, these marathon phone calls took place over the course of a year. The subject of appearance never came up, nor did the fact that both of us were currently involved in long term relationships (I was dating the world's biggest loser- gorgeous as anything but the "honey can you bail me out of jail 'cause I've got two simultaneous warrants for my arrest in two different counties" kind of loser.) So after a year and countless hours on the phone I was going out to Stony Brook to visit a dear friend and my phone pal, Bill, suggested that we meet for a drink. I offered to stop by the bookstore to find him. I had a vision of being able to spot him immediately in spite of having no idea what he looked like. I was crazy about this guy already and was convinced that I would just "know. Well. For starters once I arrived on campus I couldn't find the bookstore. Nor could I find anyone that could tell me where the bookstore was. Panicked that the store would close before I could get there, I found a payphone & called. I told Bill where I was, he told me to sit tight & he'd come find me. You need to picture this. It was 1992. I'm sporting an impressive black mohawk, multiply piereced ears, skull buckle boots, head to toe black. In strolls the early 90's equivalent of James Hetfield from Metallica, complete with long hair & impressive fu manchu moustache. SO not my mental image of my phone pal and so, so not my "type". I was devastated. You have to understand that at the time I was very, very superficial & most likely would never even have spoken to my now husband, much less dated him. Still, the evening went well once I got past his looks (I was such an idiot) and I figured that I wouldn't hold that against him (a pompous idiot). We went onward to my friend's house...who had just taken a home pregnancy test & greeted us waving the urine dipped stick. It was positive & she was delighted. Bill never batted an eye at the antics of my delirious friend, just took it all in stride. So I called him about a week later at home. I figured that there was no reason he & I couldn't continue our friendship even though he wasn't my type. He was very odd on the phone, very distracted & almost disinterested and it ocurred to me...much to my horror...that maybe he had a problem with MY appearance! How dare he! I was livid. I found out later that he was so distant over the phone because his GF of a bout 2 years was there, wanting to know who he was talking to, who I was, etc. A couple of months later he calls me at work & we pick up as if we'd never stopped. The marathon phone calls resumed & when I'd go out to visit my now very pregnant friend, he'd stop by her place as well. Still friends, still chatting, nothing else. By this time we had both shed our respective (in)significant others, though. We had our first real "date" in July...a friend's wedding in Buffalo where Bill told me that he never wanted to get married & I said I had no intentions of doing so either... & he asked me to marry him on Christmas eve. We'll have been married 13 years this March and I thank God every day for how lucky I am. The funny thing is that I come from a very, very old country Italian family. My father died when I was very young but my mother is very traditional & old fashioned. She is anti long hair on men, anti tattoo and definitely anti motorcycle but thinks that the sun rises & sets on my husband. After years of her absolutely forbidding me to learn to ride a motorcycle she was delighted when I got my license after Bill & I got married & thinks that it's wonderful how the two of us share that. I'm convinced that after the parade of freaks I brought through her house she was so ecstatic to see me end up marrying someone that was intelligent and respectful she didn't care how long his hair was. But she adores him as he does her and I'm very fortunate for that as well :-). Nina

Thanks, everyone! This is a small town, and the loan officer at the local credit union did seem to think that national banks might be more lenient? Of course, the credit union's fees are much lower than the banks I've tentatively looked at, and I had wanted to work with them because that's who I've gotten loans from in the past, always paid on time. :( Bill: The loan officer's fees were separate from the closing costs, in addition to them, and labeled as loan officer's fees. All the usual fees were also listed. The problem with living in a small town is there is not a lot of competition around, so fees are hiked up for EVERYTHING just because they can be. This county, incidentally, frequently has the highest price of gas in the continental U.S. It's just like that for everything - but it is a gorgeous place, very mild climate, surrounded on one side by the Pacific Ocean and pristine forests on the other, so people get really attached to this place despite the hassle. The credit history thing is really frustrating. I've even paid rent that was higher than the cost of this mortgage at the credit union (if I had qualified by being in business a few months longer). I have a phone appointment w/ Bank of America today - I'll see how that goes...(We don't even have a local loan officer for B of A, apparently)...

Two stories: First, a story of an old friend of mine. She lived with a guy for two years in college and they got along well. They got engaged. He was wrong for her, but she said she loved him. "Mom" immediately began planning the wedding for just after graduation. She took on a second job. The wedding got a life of it's own. "Mom" was going to create the wedding of her dreams for her daughter. She was in charge. The morning of the wedding, her daughter was sick in the bathroom. Came out and said "Mom, I'm sick. Should I cancel the wedding?" Mom jokingly laughed and said "I'll push you down the aisle in a wheelchair". Mom thought it was jitters. Her daughter was telling the truth. Mom had worked so hard for the wedding, daughter went through with it. Guilt wedding number one. Groom lost his wedding ring the week after the wedding. Couple was separated after a month and got a divorce. Second story, my cousin married a guy that was similar to the guy in this story. He was a jerk. She had low self-esteem. "Mom" made the grand push to create a big wedding for her daughter and didn't listen to the signals that something was wrong. Girl got married. Mom-guilt, again. Divorced after a year. To me, the moral of the story for me is, if a girl has a relationship with someone that it's doubtful that it will work out, I'd leave it alone. I wouldn't get excited in either direction. I'd WAIT until SHE starts generating wedding plans. I'd ignore the subject completely. Especially since there isn't an official date nor are specific plans being made. After all, it's HER wedding, right? Then she has to take the helm. I've never understood weddings that get thrown by parents like it's a kid's birthday party. If she's adult enough to marry, she's adult enough to manage the process. Not do all of the work, but be the conductor of her own symphony, so to speak. I feel that mothers are there to support the process, not run it. And if the girl is in charge of it, then she won't lose face if she backs out. All of it gets to be her decision. And if she brings concerns over time, listen. Tell your own truth about what you've learned about marriage, adulthood and life. One thing that I've told all of my grown nieces contemplating marriage is that "this is as good as it gets"...As in..The state of the relationship BEFORE marriage is what it's perfection looks like. Once children and life pressures ensue..Once the couple lets down their guard, they won't try as hard. It's the nature of the beast as marriage isn't one big long date. It's a LIFE. We all can't be "on" for decades. Ergo, if the situation is 'great', then there are things to look forward to and a mellowing. If things are not great, they won't get great with a ring. It's preferable to have this conversation in the abstract and not involving a current boyfriend. Less likely to be taken personally. However, if it's stated like a life law of physics and not like an accusation, it's easier to deal with. I prefer to make statements like that in a neutral fashion without an expectation of a response. Sort of like, take this for what it's worth, but this is what I believe. No big emotion. No fire. Sort of, this is your life and your decision. Like you would with another adult that is not your kid. That allows the person to walk away with it and think about it, as opposed to setting up a situation where someone has to fight to not be wrong. Be yourself. Tell the truth over time. Act like you trust her to make the right choice for herself. She's going to need that if this guy really is wrong for her. She needs to know that she can go to you and talk about it, whatever it looks like. And if at any time, she acts like she wants to balk, but is confused? I'd tell her to spend some time thinking about it, that it's her choice on her timeline. But that it's better to back out before the complications of shared homeownership and children...And that there is no law stating how and when she is to marry. It's her choice. Her life. She's the one that has to live it. More than once my own neutral mother dropped a oneliner piece of truth in my lap that I couldn't have said thank you for at the time, but that I thanked her for later. And when the emotional drama is removed, all that is left is the truth. Just my thoughts on the matter...