When I first moved here, the yard was an unkempt mess of weeds that were 2 feet high. Because the yard had been neglected for so many years, the weeds actually naturally composted down into the clay soil so the soil wasn't that bad. There were a lot of weed seeds, so we solarized it by covering it with plastic bags. I tried clear plastic and black plastic, and the black plastic worked. The clear plastic just had a green house effect, and did not work. The heat of the sun killed off the seeds and living weeds. This took 6 months. Then I dug up the soil, about 1 and a half feet deep, and added Kellogg's Amend. That was two years ago. I have only added mulch to the top of the soil, and the red cedar decorative bark. The plants are thriving, but I want to make sure the soil doesn't get too dense, since it's been a couple of years since I've amended it. I've been adding earthworms that I find under plant pots, and that seems to help. I am hesitant to use kitchen scraps or anything else that would attact vermin or pests, because I live across the street from a school that has giant cockroaches. I also have rodents and opossums.

I totally disagree. Unless you buy a refrigerator for under a thousand dollars, an extended warranty, which covers the whole unit minus the incidentals you mention, is very much worth the piece of mind. Buy anything cheaper and you should be going into the purchase thinking it's disposable anyway. The Maytag man, lol. I wonder how many people were actually influenced by that advertising? I don't feel that the manufacturers reputation regarding mean time between failures of the appliance should come into play when considering the extended warranty. It should come into play well BEFORE you plunk down your good money in the first place. Buy good appliances, like you did, then protect them. What should come into mind when deciding to purchase an extended warranty is the ratio between what you paid for the appliance and what the warranty costs. In other words, is the unit disposable? Additionally, you need to consider how much a typical repair for that specific appliance could cost, how long the model has been in production and how many things can break down. I know readers in these forums grumble when you use a car analogy, but even the best car manufacturers take a few years to iron out bugs in new models. The same holds true for appliances. If you decide to go with a warranty, contact Maytag first. You'll probably get a better deal through them and it makes things easier if you do need a repair. The third party warranty company must go through them anyway. You might even be able to get a full replacement warranty. If you do go through that insurance company, make sure they don't have complaints against them. BTW, thats a nice refrigerator.

In responce to the original posters question, there is a very low cost way to improve the house, and most importantly it's a cheap way to use a large amount of solar energy. I've seen passive solar designs that can supply 100% of the building's heating needs, but unfortunately they were very strange looking and expensive. However, you can still supply a large amount of heat by adjusting a more conventional house design to use passive solar. Apparently, just rotating the house design so that the wall (normally front) that has the most windows is in line with south can reduce the heating requirements by 10-25%. Using different percentages of glazing for each angle, and even different types of glass can also bring large savings. You can certainly get much more in depth, but this gives you an idea of how it works. Implementing these simple passive solar techniques shouldn't cost anything, it's not about adding new materials, but instead placing things you would allready be using like glazing and roof eves in specific places. A number of people believe that passive solar homes will be great in the cool weather, but then overheat horribly in the summer. Thankfully this isn't true, the angle and direction of the sun changes with the seasons, thus you can use the correct percentage and type of glazing for each facade to collect heat in winter and reduce it in summer. A well designed passive solar home will reduce costs and increase comfort all year round. Passive solar homes also need some other small modifications, starting with thermal mass to store the heat. One of the cheapest and most effective options is a well insulated slab on grade foundation. Thermal mass will absorb the radiated heat from the sun and release it in to the building, and it also provides some thermal buffering as it collects heat during the day and releases it overnight. Extra insulation is also important for passive solar, but generally it's not a huge expense and will save energy for the entire life of the building. This insulation will retard the transfer of heat both from inside and outside the building. In the winter it will retain collected solar heat longer in to the night, while in the summer the internal heat gain as the sun goes up will be much slower than it would in the same building with less insulation. You don't need any expensive or complex solar systems to use solar energy, the very building itself can be a solar collector for minimal extra cost. And it will never break down, need replacing or servicing, it will just keep working as long as the building stands and isn't altered.

I don't make salmon patties, but I often make crab cakes, which are pretty similar. I use seasoned bread crumbs (Panko is good, too) and incorporate them into the mix, rather than use them as a coating. The containers of crab meat are sold in small and large containers, but 8 oz is not enough and 16 oz is too much for DH and me. Therefore, I buy a pound of crabmeat, make six patties, serve four of them, and freeze the other two cooked crab cakes to be POOF'ed at a later time. The frozen patties can be reheated quickly in the microwave, so I don't thaw them first. With any fish or seafood, I wouldn't want to keep them in a bowl for several days; they lose freshness fast. Sue