YEAH - Deb's joining us!
So here is an update of our victims - err, I mean participants in this month's swap!
lindaruzicka - Linda
jaleeisa - Kathy
proudgm_03 - Becky
dan_the_mailman - Dan
ejmoore510 - Joan
mommyto2 - Monica
veeja11 - Carol
dirt_under_my_nails - April
greenthumbgrow - Tammy
nikkineel - Nikki
gypsysparrow - ??
markcase1964 - Mark
debbya - Deb

Did I miss anyone? To all you lurkers, we'd love to have you join us!
Already asking for partners Linda? (taking a sip with my mouth full) Anyone else vote for early partners? This is the "Hurry up" swap ya know?!?!? I can be persuaded.... Nik

Hi everyone! Just popped in to see what is going on.

I started a new job yesterday and don't have much internet time now : (

Deb, Good luck to your Mom for Monday, you are both still in my prayers! Please keep us updated.

Kathy, I'm glad you got the box I sent, we didn't want you to be left out! : )

Your gardens are very pretty!! And so are you! (I snooped through you're album) Tell Cliff I'm not buying the "tough guy look" in his cowboy hat! lol : )

Sorry to hear about the van, I guess we all new it was going to happen! I don't think they can hold the miles over your head because you've had it in so many times for the same thing. That is probably why they didn't fix it right last time, thought they could pull that crap on you! You go get em girl, I sure hope the lemon law works!

diene, believe it or not, I miss the acorns (and pine cones) from my house in MI! But NO, I don't want any! lol

Hello to all you newbies!! You are sure to have fun this month, you've got a great hostess! And great group of people here!

Dan, could you mark some of those sunflower seeds for me please, I'm making Zack a giant sunflower garden next year! I'm still working on the others for you.

Well, off to check the other threads!
Have a good night everyone!

Vic

As much as I'd like to see the partner list, I'm thinking we should wait until at least Saturday. That'll give us some more time to work on those lurkers who know they want to join us in the mayhem! hehehe Sorry Linda!

Vic, I sent out some seeds to you today, and I'll mark some of these sunflower seeds for you too! I got tired of packaging seeds before reaching the halfway point, and had almost 30 packs of seeds (25 per trade, 40 per swap packs) and put the rest out for the birds. And that was just from one flower head!

So, anyone have some advice for me on the pampas grass? I don't want to lose the seeds to the rain/snow and wind!

and now... back to Saw III........

Thanks for the compliments, Vic! Did you see the wedding pictures? That was an absolutely blissful day! And amazingly, the ones from then til now have only gotten better :)

Goody! Deb's joining in!!!!!

Wendy, I've got them out aside for you, hon. And no, it's not going to be real until you get moved and settle in. It won't hit while things are so hectic. It's going to hit after ya'll move in, everything's unpacked and life seems to be returning to "normal". When that time comes, hon, cry, call me and you'll be alright :) I'll email you my number.

As far as the van, well, Cliff got about a third of the way through his route today and those "30% life left" brakes went metal to metal. I know he has a long route- 56 miles from PO and back to PO, but supposedly those brakes had about a third of the pad left! Thankfully it happened out in the very rural part, rather than the subdivisions. He parked and they brought out an LLV to him to finish. They can't provide one for tomorrow, but he's having to take the day off and take the van to the dealership here and go ahead and pay the $150 to have the pads replaced. Apparently this van is still too new for Autozone or anyone to have the friggin' pads! So, we're going to be out the money, plus his days' pay and mileage. Along with yesterday because he doesn't have any more personal days (we took them for our honeymoon).

We started the process yesterday to make the claim under the Lemon Law. So, along with all of that, we're getting the PO to put together a report about how many days he's missed due to the van being down due to this problem to use in the arbitration. So, the saga continues :(

But getting that box and package yesterday is still a bright spot for me!

Monica, I got your info. I'll add it tomorrow when I actually have a brain and I'll email you to confirm it. :)

So, our life is in upheaval again. Getting everyone to school and me to work is uncertain, and Cliff being able to get to work is a null effort until we get the brakes done. Thankfully we both got paid today and the only bills coming out are rent and car insurance.

And, by the way, I officially detest Halloween now. Today I spent another 9 hour day doing nothing but zoning and cleaning up the Halloween section, trying to put costumes back together, repairing torn packages, etc. I had TWO, yes, that's 2 carts FULL of costume parts! What in the world do they do with them?!?!

On a good note, though, I found the ONLY set of 2 two foot gothic fence pieces we still have and am gonna buy them tomorrow for my goth/gargoyle bed :) We're gonna check the other two WalMart's here in Edmond this week for a couple more sets to fence in our Goth Garden! See, I thought we had already sold all of ours and was disappointed that I'd not gotten the ones for my bed!

Alright, I'm finished rambling/ranting and am gonna take my peppermint schnapps and go take a warm bath with candles :P~~

Kathy - toddling off with her much needed drink drink :P

Hi gang! Just popping in for a quick visit.

Sorry Dan, I can't help you with the pampas grass. I would guess just snip them off and bring them inside and start disecting a small bit to experiment on. That's what I do when I haven't got a clue. You can always visit the seed collecting forum. I'm sure someone there will have sound advice.

Nikki, you're doing a great job! Did you receive the spreadsheet and are you able to open it?

Kathy, I'm sorry hubby's truck is still having trouble. I wish you luck with the LW complaint!

Wendy, just take your time with your house. Live in it for a while and start making whatever changes feel right. Maybe wait till after the holidays. Celebrate them as if she were with you as one last tribute to her and then start the New Year fresh as you feel ready. You will find yourself ready when things are more calm. Relax and enjoy being home again.

Hugs,
Tracy

Hello Dan;
I tried to find trudi's seed forum from a few years ago. It is buried somewhere either in GW or at the winter sowing website. www.wintersowing.org. She had lots of plants listed with what their seeds looked like and how to harvest and propagate (sp?).
I will continue looking and if I find that will share with everyone.
diene

Hey all - ltns!!! Life has been crazy and keeps getting in the way of my gardening plans - how rude!! Just popped in to tell all hello and that I hope to eventually get back here. Miss ya'll!!

Have a Happy Halloween!!
Em

nikkineel,

oops, sorry should have told ya my name!

gypsysparrow=Celina

Thanks!! :)

Okay, I contacted trudi and she responded with a link to the seed site I was talking about. It has wonderful information for newbies and those of us who are not newbies.
It is part of her website which is a must visit for anyone planning on winter sowing. Trudi is the founder and queen of winter sowing.
diene

Here is a link that might be useful: Seed saving list

We got the brakes done on the van. Wasn't the $150.00 they said.. it was $379 because the drums and rotors had to be replaced as well. There went all the Christmas money we had put back. We've talked to our representative in the arbitration for the Lemon Law claim and he feels that we should be able to get that refunded to us. We'll see.

I'm really depressed now.

Kathy

Aww Kathy :-( That REALLY sucks!!!!!!!! I know how that is.. to work so hard to save and something always seems to happen! I'm sure you will get that $$ back tho, just keep super careful receipts and log EVERYTHING!!

BIG hugs to you!!!

~Wendy

Diene and Vic...THANKS! I checked out that link, and it was super-helpful! Now, if I do everything right, I should have some young pampas grass colonies I can share in the spring!

Kathy... That just plain sucks! I know how you and Cliff are feeling, losing not only the money to pay the repair bill, but also losing the days' wages from not being able to run the route. Hugs and a few beers for both of you! It soounds like you'll be able to get that money back eventually, which is a good thing. But, waiting on it to happen isn't all that great, is it? Bump says if you need him to, he'll come scratch out some eyeballs for you! All he asks for is good directions so he can find his way home again.

Linda, have any more of that special cider? I've got some doughnuts here, they're homemade, with a few of my own ingredients. Gauranteed to make us all have a good day! Anyone want one? They're glazed, and so will you be, once you've eaten one or two!

LOL, Dan! Cliff said "Give that cat some directions!" Yeah, it really does suck, but hopefully they will get all this taken care of and they actually will refund that money... would be nice if it's in time to shop for Christmas gifts for the kids, but we don't expect it. Between the loss of pay and mileage for the day, as well as the others he's had to miss, and the outlay, it's really sucked. On the other hand, we were very thankful to have the money on hand.

Wendy, we're hanging on to EVERYTHING. Everything is documented, we always get and keep the work order and started making them put in the order how many days the van was down each time.

Christmas just won't be quite as nice, which is a shame because the kids have been really understanding about so many things this year. But, they will still enjoy what they get, that's one of the great things about large families. They're use to not getting all the newest expensive stuff and are thrilled with everything they get.

In other news, I received two GREAT packages yesterday! One was from Melissa with lots of candy and "relax and pamper Kathy" things. LOL, Melissa, you should have seen the boys light up over those jelly beans! They adored them when they first came out after the Harry Potter movies! As for the pamper me things, she sent Sweet Cinnamon Pumpkin hand soap, Midnight Pomegranate deep cleansing hand gel in pocket sized bottle (which will be great for me at work! My hands get so dry and chapped!) a little Gold Canyon (she knows I LOVE their candles!) Caramel Apple candle! You can really smell the apple beneath the caramel And the cutest little scarecrow with pumpkin pants and holding a flower! He's going into my create bed after Halloween when I turn it into a harvest patch too! Thanks so much Melissa! I adore it all!

From Tracy I received a Halloween Hanging Decoration- it's SO adoreable! It has these pockets that she filled with bulbs! Blueberry Ripple Tulip - now this is GORGEOUS!!!!!! Cliff said "WOW!" We cannot wait to see this one bloom! Purple Sensation Allium, Mount Tacoma tulip, Parrot Tulips - Pink and White, Melrose Tulip - Another gorgeous one!, and Queen of the Night tulips! hank you SO much Tracy! I am so excited about getting more bulbs! And these are gorgeous! And I adore the hanging! Those pockets are just too cute!

I'm gonna add pictures to the link for my fall gardens and goodies for those who want to see :)

Kathy

Here is a link that might be useful: Updated Photos- Fall Gardens and MNF Oct

Kathy, I am so happy that you like the tulips! I love the Blueberry Ripple and the Melrose the best, I am so glad you do too! If you stuff the pumpkins pockets with tissue you can plump him up and he looks really cute, or use those plastic grocery bags for hanging him outside.

Happy Halloween!
Tracy

Okay, here you go. One of my cousins sent me this website today, and I had a great chuckle when I checked it out. So, here it is so you all can do the same!

http://www.idodogtricks.com/index_flash.html

Enjoy!

p.s. Okay, y'all taught me how to post pictures. Now, how do I post a website so it's active?

Cute website Dan! I wonder if he could teach my dog to do that?

Dan - that website is so cute, I told him to sit, beg, bark, and shake = He knew every one of them. Did yall find any others? Too cute.
Kathy, I hate that your van is still giving you all this trouble. Boy, when you get finished filing and win, you are gonna have some nice reimbursement money. (Thinking positive thoughts...) How nice that you are receiving such a nice bounty from the October trade. Isn't even better knowing that you are so appreciated? Does my heart good:)
Tracy, I received the spreadsheet and I can open it. Filling it in may be another story. I'll let you know if I need help. Give me a chance to play around with it before I go hollerin for help.
Diene, Thanks for finding that site. I am so new to collecting seeds. I just figured out how to harvest moonflower, hollyhock, black-eyed suzi vine, and sunflower seeds this year. Oh and I did save what I think to be flat leaf parsley seeds. I can't wait to see if they germinate. I hope to harvest more next year - still learning.
Em, Thanks for stopping by. I hope to see you around more often!
Sassy, How's the move going? I know it must be very surreal. You are in my thoughts.
Ok lurkers, one more day to join us! Don't ya wanna trade some bulbs and seeds? You don't even have to dig up and pack any plants for this one. Come on, the more the merrier!
And the current list is:
lindaruzicka - Linda
jaleeisa - Kathy
proudgm_03 - Becky
dan_the_mailman - Dan
ejmoore510 - Joan
mommyto2 - Monica
veeja11 - Carol
dirt_under_my_nails - April
greenthumbgrow - Tammy
nikkineel - Nikki
gypsysparrow - Celina
markcase1964 - Mark
debbya - Deb
Have a great halloween everyone. I will have a houseful tomorrow night. Our neighborhood is usually a happening place for trick or treaters. Nikki

I got him to roll over, play dead, give kisses, lick, along with the things already mentioned :)

I agree, Nikki, we're trying to think happy thoughts and to keep our sense of humor :) And yes, it's nice to know so many people think so well of me :) It's been doing my heart good as well! Especially after getting depressed over the van. And I want to thank those that have sent part of the makeup again :) I've gotten some wonderful decorations and blooms!

It's gonna be busy here tomorrow as well. I don't get off work til 6, so Cliff's gonna start getting the kids ready and I'm bringing subs and chips home from work. We're gonna eat and I'm gonna get ready, then we're off to trick or treat :)

We took the boys out for Chinese tonight. Devin actually wanted to learn to eat with chop sticks this time and did VERY well! He ate his whole meal with them! He's never wanted to learn in the past, so for him to pick it up so quickly was really cool! And he didn't take all night, didn't take much longer than the rest of us to eat :) We've decided that him using chopsticks more often might help strengthen his hand and help improve his handwriting as well, so we're going to get him a plastic set to use here at home :)

So, are we going to get to see pictures of everyone dressed up for Halloween? I know I'm going to be taking some and posting them :)

Kathy

glitter-graphics.com

It's going to be busy here today.Will try to post photos of the kids later tonight. Halloween is DH favorite holiday. He takes the kids door to door,but the houses are so far apart kids are going to be ready to drop when they return.Plus I haven't seen alot of decorations out this year either.So it might be slim pickings.
later..April/dirt

Happy Halloween everyone! I hope everyone had a great night and lots of fun! I'm off to watch the kids Halloween Parade at school and bring cookies and brownies for the party. Don't worry, there are none of the 'special' kind! lol!

Tracy

Happy Halloween, everyone! This morning I'm dressed up as a WalMart employee, tonight, I'll be a dark sorceress! Everyone have fun, stay safe, check all the candy! WooHoo! Partners tomorrow or Sunday!!

Kathy

Hope you all have a safe and Happy Halloween! I'm going to start getting my partners box ready this weekend. I'm still waiting on an order to finish. Got lots of goodies planned! Was there a place that listed special wants, likes/dislikes or restrictions?

Just poppin real quick to say we have 13 participants so far. Kinda halloweeny to have "13" people on Friday, halloween. BUT, I'd love to have one more so everyone could have true partners. If not, I'll go ahead and draw names for us. Hurry Up Yall! It's not too late..... Nik

whoaaaaa hanging on sliding N tooooo 14th place if its not to late:))
Suzi

Yeah Suzi - one of my favorite gardeners! We are just so happy to have ya! Anybody else???

Hope everyone had a great night. Only 2 trick o treaters (other than my 2). Here's photos of our pumpkins & Taylor & Brett. Brooke slept through the whole thing! She was wore out from being at Brett's party earlier today.I'm off to dig out some chocolate from the bowl!

later...April


{{gwi:560327}}

{{gwi:560328}}

We had about 40 people at our house including lots of kids, parents, grandparents, and even one great grandma! It was a blast! I'll try to post a pic of the kids tomorrow.
I forgot one major part of the information for the swap - Will everyone please post their preferences? Do you want plants, bulbs, seeds? Hows your wintersowing experience - expert, 1 year under your gardenbelt, excited about starting this year, or not interested at all? Anything else you may want us to know? Please let us know in a "hurry" so I can consider this with partners. Thanks! Nik

Here's a little Halloween fun for you.

http://www.cubpack81.com/images/carve_pumpkin.swf

I'm still open to anything- plants, bulbs, seeds... we're suppose to have a few more nice weeks and I have some more room to overwinter if I need to. I wintersow and am reasonable experienced.

We went trick or treating, we all had a blast :) I'll post pictures tomorrow. Gotta be up early for work and still need to shower off all the makeup and get kids to bed.

Hope everyone had fun!

Kathy

I'm still open for anything too!!Plants bulbs and seeds...bring em on.I'm off to bed.

later...April/dirt

HOPE EVERYONE HAS HAD A VERY SPOOKTACULAR HALLOWEEN NIGHT!!!

WOW!! Nikki you are doing an awesome job girlie girl! I am soo sad I won't be able to join ya'll in the fun this month, just too much going on here.

Kathy, I appreciate what you are trying to do but I'd rather just keep the info I have shared from the time I umm hmmm "joined?" nah, started with MNF's privy to those I have shared it with. I don't feel the need to extend my personal information to those I don't care to have it, regardless of the circumstances. I do, however, agree that (just from reading as a bystander) there have been alot of mishaps lately but I don't believe that having a person (newbie or not) give their phone number will solve that issue. (after all, whats a phone call going to do except harrass a person that either has made up their mind not to send or at that time cannot send?) I do agree that a person should not commit to an obligation if circumstances are unfavorable but that is not for any of us to enforce eh? The spreadsheet that Diene made and Tracy has updated should let the past, current and future host/hostess' know the status' of players in a swap.

I think (correct me if I am wrong) that the entire basis of "Make New Friends" is just that, we make new friends. Meaning we learn the good and the bad, we don't have a criteria except that everyone be friendly, diligent, open, honest and caring AND adbide by GW's rules.

Anyways, I hope everyone has a great night and I hope to be joining the fun again soon.

Smiles,
Pixie

Hey there everyone! Here's hoping you all had a safe, sane Halloween! I punk'd out for work yesterday and got a lot of smiles from my customers. Then Paula and I did the body outlines in the driveway to make people think we'd had some murders (I've got to remember to NOT step in the blood when I go to work in a few hours!). We had around 200 trick-or-treaters show up, and had a blast with them! A lot of kids got nervous when the fog-machine went off... hehehehehe!
Also, I got my order of seeds from Thompson & Morgan, YEEHAW!!! Sometime this weekend I'm going to go see the new SAW movie, but I'll have to do it alone. Paula doesn't go to "those kind of movies". Silly girl!

Uhmmm, let's see, for this swap, I'm open to seeds and bulbs, no plants please. I'm not doing any houseplants outside the aquarium because I don't want Bump to get sick, and the plants outside are all turning in for their winters' nap. And as for WSing, I'm a newbie and gonna try it for the first time this year. WooHoo!

Talk to you all later, I'm going back to bed!
-Dan

the only trick or treaters I had was my little next door neighbor...I live along a busy road and didn't really expect any. Lucky boy got the whole bowl!.."L"

I can do bulbs and seeds...I'm investigating winter sowing so I don't know much about it. I'm so new at that, my ears are still dripping!.."L"

Morning! I'm just sitting here with my coffee...waiting on the list....
glitter-graphics.com

Oh ....and keeping the kids out of the candy. Seems they thought that was what we were having for breakfast.Don't know where they got that idea from!(wiping Butterfinger crumbs out of my lap)

later...April/dirt

Good morning everyone!!!!

I hope everyone had a good halloween. My dh, 2 boys and I went trick or treating last night and it was so much fun!! It was my 4 year old's first time and he was so excited! He endedup with so much candy that let's just say that we'll have enough until at least march!
I'm open to anything, seeds, bulbs, plants, anything. We have a few nice weeks left for planting and I also have a little greenhouse where I can overwinter plants.
I'll be waiting for the partner list to put my box together :)

Monica

Update on preferences so far:
Monica - seeds, plants, bulbs - wintersower?
Linda - bulbs, seeds, Potential wintersower
Dan - seeds, bulbs, new wintersower
April - plants, bulbs, seeds - wintersower?
Kathy - plants, bulbs, seeds - accomplished WS
Nikki - bulbs, seeds, new wintersower
Still waiting on a few people for preferences, partners coming soon!!!!

okay people, we need to give Nik the snail treatment..."looking under rocks"..

Forgot to say I do wintersow.

later....April

Good Morning All;
I just read Pixie's message and I think I agree with her but could not say it as well as she did. There is no reason to call someone who has chosen not to honor their commitment. It will only make you feel worse and obviously they do not care.
Save yourself the aggravation. Just remember for future swaps and personal trades.
Hope everyone had a great Halloween. Mine was a bit light, we had less than fifty kids when last year we had over two hundred. I was very disappointed and now have tons of candy left over.
diene

Monica - seeds, plants, bulbs - wintersower?
Linda - bulbs, seeds, Potential wintersower
Dan - seeds, bulbs, new wintersower
April - plants, bulbs, seeds - accomplished WS
Kathy - plants, bulbs, seeds - accomplished WS
Nikki - bulbs, seeds, new wintersower
Celina - plants, bulbs for shady area- not a WS

Half the preferences are in. I sent out a few email requests for preferences. I have an idea about the preferences of some of the folks who haven't responded but I'm gonna give them some time to respond.
DON'T yall start sending me those darn SNAILS! Vic taught me everything I know - LOL! Nik

(Passing Linda a towel to dab behind her ears)Hey sweetie, my first year winter sowing was last winter. I was very pessimistic about the whole thing but between Trudi's WS site and the WS forum I made it through with great results. I loved it so much and am doing it again this year.

The only little tidbit of advice that I would like to offer before you start is to make sure that you have at least 3 inches of potting soil in your containers because it does compact and the containers that were deeper last year did much better than the more shallow ones. Proper drainage is key along with having the tops off to keep the airflow moving, totally eliminates that whole damping off issue that you get with indoor sowing. I started with milk jugs and then moved on to 2 liter pop bottles when I ran out. I like the results with the pop bottles better, they're easier to split without that handle being in the way and I left a tiny portion uncut so I could just flip them open when they needed to be open for a hot day, flipped them down when it got too cold again, and finally snipped them off when the temps were consistently above freezing/frost.

I used bread racks to hold my containers and it worked great. Kept the jugs from blowing around the yard and allowed for the containers to drain nicely too. Karen/Kalena was my mentor and gave me all the tips I could handle. She was the best tutor and helped make it a blast for me!

Hey Miss Pix! All good points darlin! Missed you!

Hugs,
Tracy

Hello everyone!

thought I would stop by and say hello, been away from this group for a long time!

Hope y'all are doing well!

Frances

*Handing over salt shaker*
Here ya go Nik, this works wonders on those slimey little buggers! : )

Linda, I'm right there with ya, my first year ws too. I've not heard anyone say they didn't like it or that they didn't have good luck!

Preferences: seeds, bulbs, houseplants (only if already started, I don't do well with cuttings).

Last year was my first year to wintersow. It's a wonderful way to get plants that you don't have to pay an arm and a leg for. And if I can do it, anyone can.

Nik,
Anything is fine with me it all sounds good :)
Suzi

So the partners are in. First, let me say it was hard to match everyone according to preferences but I did the best I could! I know everyone is going to have a great time learning about their partners and hopefully "making new friends!"
And the partners are... Wait let me see

NOT FUNNY NIKKI!!! WHERE IS THE LIST?????

LOL!!!!!

later...April

I do not see the list... ??

I know my partner because he emailed me but how did he know? I don't see it?

Anyway. Me and Mark are switchin. I can't wait.

What exactly is winter sow?

...Newbie to winter sowing obviously....

Tammy

Started a new thread when I posted the partners.
Tammy, I sent you an email. Nik