1627 is again the total number of cards mailed...You are just the BEST Elves/Santas I know !!!

Margo has gotten B-I-N-G-O , Congrats !! I will mail out the Angel Ornament to you soon.

I am wishing you ALL the best in 2012 and thank you for making my Holidays Special ..See you in December !

Woo hoo, I won. Thanks

I can't believe that total of cards sent. I am in total amazement at the number. What a wonderful group of people who did so much to send joy to others. I want to thank each and every one of you regardless if you sent to me or not for making this swap such a success. Most of all, thanks to Kym for hosting this. It must have been an awesome job to keep this all so organized. You did a great job. The best to you and everyone else in the coming year.

Margo

Iris, RANE-GROW - Thank you for the card and seeds I received in today's mail! I was super excited. I thought I was done receiving seeds!!! Woo Hoo! !!

Congrats to you Margo for getting the Bingo!! This was alot of fun and want to thank all of the wonderful gardeners who participated and to our hostess Kym for all of her hard work!

Wondering who's guess was closest to 1627 mailed cards?

I believe my guess was 1983...

I have been saving up the cards until I had a chance to get on and say some more thank yous. I have to go back to work next week�. (whaaaaaaaa!) so I probably won't be on again (and if I am I may not have time to actually write a post) until closer to spring.
I want to thank everyone who sent cards. It was really a highlight of my day to get "surprises" in the mailbox. Garden people are just the best. :-)

Now, specifically
Thanks to
risinsun for tendersweet orange and desert king watermelons, and sweet william seeds.
margarita10 for the pink and red/yellow columbine
habitat gardener for the columbine, tomato, striped maize and podding radish
onedaylily for the great white tomato, astilbe, echinacea, and blue fescue grass
jas-il for the amaranth and fennels
"iris h" - you didn't put your screen name - for the mortgage lifter tomato and columbine
flowergirl34 for the coreopsis and pancium virgatum
and
another "secret" unknown santa who sent me blue columbine and purple bee balm. I tried to beat the kids to the mailbox and keep my seed cards separate so I could say my thank you's but evidently they beat me to yours. The seeds were left in my seed card bin and I'm sure the card was put on the card wreath hanger with the other Christmas cards. I'm so sorry! Next year I'm going to keep a list so I will be better able to keep up with who sent what.

Thanks to everyone! Happy sowing!

Thank you xian girl for the gaillardia, I've been wanting those, how'd you know? :)
Thank you habitat garden, broccoli raab is my favorite vegetable and I've never tried growing it. I'll be thinking of you this spring.

Wow, words of wisdom. Post your rate and review thanks as you receive your cards next Secret Santa swap. I waited and have been typing away today as I post my rate and reviews for each card I received. I will know better next time. Margo

Can't seem to get my post to appear here. Try one more time.

Most sincere apologies for being so late in my thank-you's for the Secret Santa Swap. I think I have safely waited long enough to claim the prize of coming in last. But if anyone else is still out there procrastinating and feeling guilty but afraid it is too late, go ahead and make the last bid. If I can do it, so can you. I just couldn't bring myself to start sprouting these wonderful seeds without saying "Thank You" first.

The surprising thing for a newcomer to this swap is how much response and joy it has created. I am a simple dirt digger, and I suspected this swap was going to be a long way around the barn just to get a few seeds. What I discovered is that it was a lot of fun for an adult guy to watch for the postman to come every day (maybe we could space out the mailings a little to make it last longer). And surprised at what a virtual community has sprung up around this swap. Certainly not cut-and-dried seed swapping, but now I get it - that is the whole point! I will be sad to see it all end...but we will meet again another time another swap. Maybe next year?

Kym, I can sense that we participants were not the only ones who got a kick out of this swap. You obviously enjoyed hosting this, spreading joy and seeing you guests having fun. For a gal who can't garden herself, please know that about 100 people all over the country will be growing flowers and veggies with you in mind. (I will put up a seed stick with your name on it at the garden gate.) So really you are gardening big time. Thanks for your dedication and gifts to all of us in this holiday season.

I was surprised at how many cards I received, and what wonderful seeds. Many thanks go out to -

Faye from TN for the nice card and calendula seeds. ( Is there a picture of you posted? I mean, nottougly does stir one's curiosity...)

Tanya of CA (habitat gardener) for the hilarious card (LOL) and emerald okra. Will be sprouting it soon. Any chance you are a naturist who is into permaculture and sustainable landscapes? (My neighbor next door is Alexis Zeigler. We both talk to our plants, but mostly listen.) Happy solstice back atcha.

Vina from NY (flowergirl34) for the Texas card and white millet. Never tried that one before. Any hints on growing and harvesting it? What's a cowgirl like you doing in NY anyway?

Odin and Thor of PA (Oh, also Lois and Jeff the humans - aka "Lois") for the beautiful traditional nativity card and lemon balm. Did you post a picture of the hairy guys on GW yet? I would like to see who really sent me the card!

Annie out in Trabuco Canyon (canyonwind) for a card very reminiscent of the desert and for dill, anise, and kale. How do you get anything besides cactus to grow out there? Lots of stars at night, though. Wish I had a poetic screen name like that...

Alyssa another Lone Star girl (dbannie04) for the beautiful crabapple and wren card and for the marigolds, dill, okra and coneflowers. I have a bird feeder right outside my living room window, but I don't get to see any of the migratory west coast birds the way you do. Will love growing your seeds, thanks.

Margie in OH (onedaylily) for the gorgeous saw-whet owls (Sierra Club does the coolest cards!) and for the calendula and three distinctly different basil varieties. I will enjoy cooking with each one of them, can't wait. Also, I used to visit the Dawes Arboretum when I was a grad student. Lovely, isn't it?

Wrapping up now, special thanks and mention to the following -

Janine in CT (jaynine) for the cute card and the kale, calendula and hyssop. Very nice! Janine, your footprints are all over this swap and others. Thanks for returning the favor of the pumpkin stick seeds from the Canadian swap (hope there were some left for you). I'm sure we will meet again.

Grace in Jamaica NY (celeegra) for the beautiful art print card by Trento Longaretti, the famous Italian painter (I hope to frame it) and for the okra and lemon balm. And the coolest "forever stamp" I have ever seen. Auguri -- buon natale, buone feste! Muchas gracias y felicidades!

Heidi out in Cornhusker Land (xiangirl), who is an artist in her own right. I won't mention how special your card was, 'cuz I'm sure you couldn't have done this for everyone (or else you buy exacto blades by the case). But it was amazing ... I have it penned up on my bulletin board to remind me to do this again next year. Oh, and your seed packets are way better'n Burpeys. You are a commercial artist, right?

Finally, I have to mention actually receiving a card of thanks from Charles in WA (comfrey comfort), a fellow herbalist. I'll bet that fascinating postcard must have been from your visit to Italy and Sicily. What an architect's paradise, no? Not to mention art and music lovers. So to you, too - Buon natale! Buone feste! I will be sending you an email with suggestions for planting, harvesting, and medical use of the Passiflora incarnata I sent you.

(P.S. I sent Passiflora to several people. If anyone else would like the instructions, just send me an email.)

Guess I got a little long here, so I will wrap up. Thanks to everyone for such enthusiasm and generosity. What an online party this was!

Kym Amaral, we love you, we appreciate you, and we behold the Spirit of Christmas in you!

Rick Bayless