homefry....It's easy to tell you are a professional, and a honest guy as well. I think your prices are more than fair. It's easy to see what kind of time and effort you put into your display, as well as your product. You will never be able to please everyone. I say as long as you have a clear conscience and your covering your bills, that's all that matters. I took some bhut jolokias to a local produce stand located at a "flea market". This is similar to an organized yard sale where people rent tables and sell whatever they please for you guys who have never heard of "flea markets". I spoke to him a few months ago and he expressed interest in selling any peppers I had left over. I had no intentions of trying to get rich, I just thought if I could pay for my soil and ferts, that would be nice. He's giving me $1.50 a lb for my habanero, chimayo, red savina, and Numex Twilight.When I took him some bhut jolokias, I suggested $1 a pod. He snorted and said he wouldn't be able to sell them for that much. I left him 18 and he said he would try to sell them 2 for $1. I don't really think he knows exactly what they are. I have more than I can use and maybe someone will be able experience something they otherwise would never have been able to. I won't find out if they sold or not until I call him on Friday. Tim

This is the meal plan I've followed for years and perhaps it and the others I've posted will help you out a bit to build one for yourself. I like it because I can switch days or leave them out completely if necessary. Many of the basic foods are prepared in advance and portioned in the freezer in serving sizes (2 people for us). That would include spaghetti sauce, freezer mashed potatoes, soup/stew/chili, taco meat, etc. You could easily rearrange the choices to work best for you. I don't like to work out a "perfect" menu, but I like the guidelines I've set out for myself. I know if I have a few simple ingredients on hand - shredded cheese, lettuce and other fresh veggies, and a well-stocked freezer, no meal is very far away. MONDAY: Big Meal Includes a large cut of meat that will also serve as leftovers, possibly sandwich meat, base for stir fry; and served with all the "normal" side dishes that go along with that type of meat. Usually there is enough leftover to freeze a portion to use later. Baked chicken or roast beef also get used to make soup. Occasionally when I don't have time to make the whole meal from scratch I'll use whatever has been waiting the freezer (leftover roast turkey or beef, etc.) TUESDAY: Leftovers It may take on a completely different look than what was served on Monday - your choice. If you don't like leftovers the next day, use them on Wednesday instead. WEDNESDAY: Stir-fry If you prepared vegetables on Monday or Tuesday that can be prepared in advance to include in this meal you'll save time by chopping enough on the previous days. Use a combination of fresh and frozen veggies. Almost any kind of meat can be used for stir-fry - both raw or pre-cooked. Serve with a side of rice and fresh fruit for dessert. I might take a large amount of meat (chicken or steak for instance) and cook it and portion it for the freezer and used later for more stir-fry meals, or used as the meat topping on a dinner salad, or used in a wrap on sandwich day. THURSDAY: International Usually something Italian or Mexican using spaghetti sauce and some kind of pasta or taco meat (which are already portioned in the freezer). Both meat bases can be used in a plethora of things. FRIDAY: Vegetarian A great way to save on our most expensive food item - meat. If you don't have time for a traditional breakfast, it could be a good time for pancakes or crepes. Something egg, cheese or bean based. SATURDAY: Soup and/or Sandwich We're always busy on Saturday, so instead of eating out, having the freezer stocked with homemade soup and fixings for sandwiches on hand (as well as wraps and other sandwich-type things) saves time and money. SUNDAY: Homemade Pizza or a Dinner Salad Homemade pizza is a good way to use up small amounts of leftover meat and clean the vegetable bin. When the weather is too hot for baking pizza, or the garden is in full swing, those same meat and vegetable ingredients make a great dinner salad. All meals include nature's "FAST FOOD" which are fresh vegetables of some kind and fresh or canned fruit for dessert. The freezer is stocked with homemade tortillas, homemade burger and hot dog buns, homemade dinner rolls, cornbread (all wrapped in foil in servings for one or two) ready to reheat. ------------------------------------------------------ Here's another eating plan I jotted down from a book I read years ago: -Meat on Sunday and Wednesday -Casseroles/Leftovers Monday and Thursday -Pasta - Tuesday -Fish, eggs, cheese - Friday -Soup and or Sandwich - Saturday -------------------------------------------- This one I read on-line: Monday - Pasta Tuesday - Soup, salad, and/or sandwiches Wednesday - Stir-fry Thursday - Crock-pot Friday - Pizza Saturday - Something new Sunday - Something easy -Grainlady

I think the flea med you`re looking for is called Promeris. I haven`t tried it. I use AdvocatePlus(now called Advantage Plus) on my 5 cats and 1 dog with great success!! Three of my animals stay outdoors and I live in south WI, where it gets very hot and humid in summer (lots of fleas and mosquitos). It does a LOT more than just kill fleas. Here`s a list of what it does: -kills and prevents fleas and flea larvae on the pet and in the pet`s surroundings, -prevents heartworm, -controls intestinal worms, -controls both sarcoptic and demodectic MANGE, -contols ear mites and lice and -reduces Flea Allergy Dermatitis!! Not only does it work great, but it`s pretty cheap too. A 3 month supply for cats is $27-$28 and for dogs it`s from $35-$44, depending on size of animal. I order mine from PetCareChoice.com and get free shipping for a year. Hope this helps!

Zoe, to be completely honest, I probably wouldn't have taken your cat-scratching-post couch either, because it costs a fortune to have things reupholstered to look halfway good (and as chisue found, you may not even get halfway good out of it)! I've been watching Craigslist for furniture and thought I had come across a few decent things... until I found out what it would have cost to have them reupholstered, even with cheap fabric. Shocking! Even slipcovers are expensive too now - if you want something that actually fits and stays in place for more than a few minutes without being mostly sweaty, itchy spandex, it can cost as much as a complete reupholstering. (Let's not even talk about how many Craigslisters are completely delusional about what their worn-out, ugly furniture is worth. If you bought a couch from Billy-Joe's Discount Furniture and Bait Shop for $750 and let the kids and the dog jump all over it for 5 years, it sure ain't gonna be worth $250. It's very debatable whether it's worth $50, or really belongs out on the streetcorner for the scavengers.) BTW, with the upswing in bedbug and other infestations, some charities in my area are refusing upholstered items entirely. I also found out the hard way (and they may have gotten burned by this as well, thus rejecting all pieces with any cat damage at all) that an upholstered chair that had "a few cat scratches" had had a lot more "cat activity" on it than that! It was out of a storage unit in winter so I couldn't smell anything but as soon as I got it inside a nice warm apartment - whoooeeeee. Fragrant. As Frances points out, it's all very nice to recite the mantra that "everyone should buy only 'quality' furniture" (huge pet peeve: using the word "quality" when you mean "good quality"!) but let's be realistic. Most people of ordinary means can't come up with what "high quality" furniture costs these days. I went shopping for a sturdy, not fancy but reasonably nice-looking wooden bed frame year before last and got quite discouraged at the outrageous prices - but having something made was even more bruising to the checkbook. (Frances, I'm curious, does that $250-300 worth of supplies include the tools required to make a nice piece of furniture? If so, I'd very much love to know where you're buying your tools!) dabunch, I go to Dollar Tree every few weeks. It's a great place for consumable stuff like greeting cards, paper towels and baby wipes (for the dog), and they have some great knockoffs of pricier products. I don't see why I should pay $4 for a pint of Plax mouthwash when 1 1/2 pints of an identical product in a less-attractive bottle is $1.