Thanks for welcoming me, Wendy. Gardeners are the best! This swap is going to be fun. I've saved the most seeds ever this year and can be easily convinced to purchase others!

My plan is to have my family help me finish up some previously planned projects (& not create new ones!)
-Trellises & pillars installed for vines & rambler roses
-Load & spread manure on vegetable gardens
-Finish edible fruit area near backyard patio
-Edging re-cut along front yard mixed borders & rock path (maybe line with 2 layers of bricks for a mowing strip)

I can spend all day in the garden & though physically tired I'm energized. I'm trying to learn that though I need help to do what I'd like to do outside it doesn't mean my son & husband have to do it that day.

My 2012 goals are to grow:
-new to me varieties more suitable to organic growing & my cool summer climate
flowers: snapdragons, calendula & viola
vegetables: Stupice & Amish Paste tomatoes, oriental greens, & shade tolerant veggies
-enough to preserve more for winter & early spring
-winter sown transplants instead of purchasing vegetables & annuals
-smarter not work harder and actually enjoy the garden by resting in it more!

Then I have some other gardens ... year-round interest gardens at the Christian camp where we live & island home of grandparents where there is full sun, wind, deer, rabbits, & drought especially interested in plants that are blooming May - Sept. when they're in town.

When I write it all down it looks like work, but it will be fun, fun, fun when the warmer temperatures return. I love sunny days!

Looking forward to sharing seeds,
Corrine

Dan ~ don't be jealous, we're finally getting some colder temps this week. Mon/Tues highs in the mid 60's - Wed - Fri highs in the mid 30's. Talk about a drop!

Corrine your plans sound awesome! :)

Happy New Year's everyone! Hope everyone had a nice time last night. We'll be taking advantage of our last warmer day by getting out into the yard and getting some stuff done!

~Wendy

My name in not 'Jose Imanez' (anyone remember him?)
I'm ZEAK

lol, well, hello ZEAK! :)

So... is it cold enough for ya?!?! Brrrrrrrr!! Last night was our coldest night yet this winter.. makes me long for Spring even more! But the heater is keeping my toes toasty, and the coffee is brewing and a HUGE pot of chili is on the menu for tonight's supper.. so we will get thru it! :P

3rd day of a blizzard hereabouts... YUUUUUCCCCCCCKKKKKKKKKK!!! Hopefully it'll stop before I return to work tomorrow. I'be been indoors sewing and keeping warm mostly. I did have the new snowblower out this morning though, and I am ever so glad I've got it!

sassybutterfly_2008,

Because I'm new I want to make sure I have it correct & I'm eager to get started on gift.

Is this what I do for this swap?

I package up & mail (whatever box or envelope or carrier USPS, UPS, Fed Ex I choose) 3 types of things by the Jan. 20 deadline.
*5 varieties of seed packets (@ least 1 variety from wish list)
*plant markers/stakes/ideas or helpful garden tool
*token gift of your choosing - garden related of course

Is this correct? Anything else I should do or know?
:o) Corrine

Corrine, packages are mailed via USPS because you can then get a delivery confirmation number. This way, in case something happens and the package doesn't arrive, not only do you have proof that it was sent, but then it can be tracked to the last place it was scanned by the post office. Otherwise, you've got it down pretty good! Congrats
Dan

p.s. If you'd like to add more to your package, you can if you wish, but you don't have to, that's up to you. Just send a package which you wouldn't mind receiving, and you'll do fine.

I haven't done an exchange for a few years now and would love to do a couple this winter. Count me in for this one, please. Sounds like fun!!

I am getting my new greenhouse finished this week and have big plans, just like everyone else around here, it sounds like :)

Andrea

Corrine ~ yes, you are correct and as Dan stated we generally use usps - bubble envelopes if what you are swapping fits, if not, a swap may designate a flat rate sized box. I'll be posting the partners on 1/12 and at that point and time you will contact your partner for mailing info and to just get to know them. :)

Dan ~ I dunno how you drive around for your job in all that snow. I just want to hibernate! lol

Andrea ~ Welcome to the swap! We're happy to have you :)

*off to feast on SPICY HOT chili.. that oughta warm us right up! :)

~Wendy

I'll join in on this one.

Dan, I read in the paper about your weather and I wouldn't want to be dealing with that.

We just got back from a trip to South Carolina last night and had to travel through snow flurries most of the way back. The roads got bad at one point and there were several cars off the road. Crazy. We did enjoy the great temps while we were down there. I enjoyed sitting out on my sons deck listening to the birds and soaking in the sun. I even wore my flip flops most of the time. Loved it.

Hope you are staying safe up there Dan.

Margo

Forgot to mention my garden changes.

I am hoping to add several new gardens with some devoted strictly to tomatoes, peppers, sunflowers, and then hopefully get the lavender garden started. We hope to put a huge lavender patch out front. I am so thankful my husband loves to dig me new gardens each year.

We have a graduation party to plan for the Memorial weekend and a wedding for my daughter on June 13th so not sure if I will even survive this summer.LOL

Margo ~ sounds like you're going to be BUSY!! I, too have a graduation party to plan for Memorial weekend, my 15yo's birthday party, and I'll be starting back to college either Summer or Fall quarter.. haven't decided for sure, which, yet..

This has been a super busy year for me so far.. and it's only the 5th day of the year! lol

~Wendy

This swap sounds simple and alot of fun.
Count me in on this.
Faye!

Hello Everyone! The weather has settled down and I'm about 98% recovered from a bout with the flu since I was here last. I hate getting sick! I've got some great babysitters though, so it wasn't too bad. We've still got temps attempting to break the 30s, and the snow has melted a bit, so I went out and purchased a couple of miniature greenhouses to do some of my wintersowing this weekend. They each hold 72 plants, so I think one will be devoted to coneflowers, helenium, and the like. The other one will hold some veggies, melons, and maybe a few marigolds. I can't believe I'll be "planting" some of my garden on January 8th, but it's true! I swear! LOL!

i am having a rough financial month and am going to have to back out this month :( hopefully next month i can play again!

Wendy, I'm going to have to back out also. I'll keep lurking if I can though!
Dan

Welcome Faye! Glad to have you!!

Rose ~ I completely understand!

Dan ~ I'm sorry to see you go!! But I wish you luck on your planting this week. I've been coveting those lil greenhouses for awhile now. Please drop back by and share some pics w/ us when you're done. I'd love to see them!

I'm typing from bed today... took my 17yo to the drs last week for a sinus infection and now I am apparently experiencing a full blown episode of it as well. Sinus pressure, headache, icky nose and sore throat. All things that require a nice big pot of chicken noodle soup - with lots of cayenne to get things moving..lol. If only I felt like getting up and making it! :P Maybe later today...we'll see.

Meanwhile, I hope everyone has a nice Sunday and that your upcoming week is a great one. Remember ~ Sign-ups continue til the 10th and partners will be posted this week - on the 12th!

~Wendy

sign me up wendy!really enjoyed the last round robin you hosted!
peaches

Welcome peaches! :)

Today is the last day for sign ups so if anyone's still lurking, jump on in! :)

~Wendy

Oh, Wendy,... hope you're feeling a lot better now.

Have you ever tried a neti-pot? It really worked well for me when I got a sinus infection after a surgery a few years ago. My tip is to watch yourself in the mirror & keep your chin down. Also a rice bag or damp washcloth slightly warm & held on the face soothes & helps it flow.

I'm so excited for this swap & finding out my partner, so I can go shopping. He, he!

Corrine

Corrine ~ yes, ty I am feeling much better, today is probably my best day yet! I haven't tried those, but I have family members that swear by it... they scare me tho..lol. The thought of putting water up my nose.. ON PURPOSE.. ugh! I guess I'm just a scaredy cat..lol

I'll post partners LATE this evening so check back late tonight or tomorrow morning for your partners list. Thanks for playing!

~Wendy

Alright everyone ~ Partners!!

gardenerz and andreaz6wv will swap with one another
beautifulreddahlias and peaches0104 will swap with one another
flowergirl34 and corrine1 will swap with one another
smitties and nottougly will swap with one another

Everyone please email your partners and tell each other a bit about yourselves if you don't know each other already. :) If anyone has trouble reaching a partner please post here or email me directly and I'll help you out.

Just a reminder : Packages should be mailed out no later than January 20th.

Thanks everyone!
~Wendy

Oh Faye, I hope it is ok I get to send to you again. I was wondering if your seed list is up to date as I am not sure what seeds I sent to you last time. Obviously too, I have your address:).

Would you by chance like a little kitten. LOL My husband was at Panera with his buddies this morning for their usual bs morning meeting and some lady came in with a box she found down in a walkway. It had this small (about 6 week old) kitten in a high box and they had written "please take me home" on the inside of the box. My husband called me and we decided to take her in. He does have one friend that is going to talk to his wife about taking her but most of me hopes they don't. She is so loving and sweet. Goes from me to my husband back and forth and crawls all over our shoulders loving us and purring. Sometimes she falls asleep there as well. This is the tenth kitten we have either found a home for or taken in since we moved out to the country five years ago. Therefore we named her Tenny.

Will start on my package tomorrow. Margo

Margo~ Sorry! I didn't realize you two had swapped recently! Your newfound kitty sounds so sweet! I wish the man would let me get another (or 3...lol) But we have one cat that is insane enough all on her own... she was a wild kitten that was abandoned under our old house.. we had to bottle feed her to keep her alive and she has never been particularly 'loving'.. merely puts up w/ our human presence in order to receive her food and warmth on cold nights..lol. Her name is Crazy Daisy. :)

~Wendy

flowergirl34 - I sent an email yesterday afternoon with some questions about shade & vegetable gardens to help select seeds. Did you get it?
I'm going to the post office today & can ship if I can get it together in time. Otherwise, next week.

Corrine

Yeah ~ we connected and I have an excuse to go shopping. I'm so excited to share from our gardens here in WA state across to NY where I've never been.

For this cold winter day, here's a lovely Crocosmia 'Lucifer' summer photo. Use your imagination for the hummingbird because it was too fast for my finger.

Corrine

Can I still join? This is not the 12th so I understand if you say no.
I am still filling in my cottage garden, wanting more red flowers, and wanting to redo the veg garden. More earley spring and late fallveggies.
Thanks
gmom
sharon

Wendy, no problem as long as Faye is happy. I have some ideas that should work.

Corrine, that crocosmia is so pretty. I planted one two years ago but it did not come back the following year. I was extremely disappointed and afraid to try again.

Tenny the kitty is doing very well although does a bit of sneezing at times so I hope she is well. No eye or nose drainage and a great appetite. Poor thing is so scrawny. We don't think she was left outside for too long as the box was completely dry and there was a find mist falling. She keeps herself curled up on my shoulder whenever I am sitting down. She is also great at using the litter box. The kitten that we had run out of the field next to us this past summer was a problem for us with the litter box. She had a favorite corner at first in our hallway. Grrrr

Light snow and strong winds today. Cold too. I am mad because I noticed finches all over my feeder so I put another one out there yesterday and filled them both. One fell down over night and the winds completely emptied the other. (The only down fall with living in the country where all around you is crop fields). That darn food is too expensive to have blow all over like that.

Hope everyone has a good weekend. Margo

Evening all!

Corrine, got the email...sending you one back :0). And love the photo! AAAHHHH SUMMER! :0)

I'll be shopping this weekend and mailing this week.

Happy Saturday!!
vina

Margo, I'm jealous! I miss the pitter patter craziness of having a kitten in the house, and I know Stella would be a great mother to one or two, but there's just not enough room in the house for a 3rd cat. Thanks for sharing your new one's antics, you took me on a quick trip down memory lane. Bump used to watch tv with me when he was a kitten, sitting on my shoulder and rubbing his head up against my ear, purring and putting us both to sleep. Then he'd curl up beneath my chin when I was in bed, and all felt right with the world. Now he likes to drape himself over my legs and demand to be petted while I'm watching a bit of television. When I'm reading in bed he comes in, knocks the book or kindle to the side, and demands to be petted. I love it!

Yeah Dan, there is something calming and relaxing with the love from a kitten/cat. I really don't mind her on my shoulder, where she is right now, but she takes time to settle and quite often sticks her little behind right in my face and my chest looks like a field of red poppies from all her scratch marks. Have to wear a high neck to work tomorrow.

Too bad you couldn't use a third because I know she would be in a good environment with you. Our plan is to keep her but all our cats are outdoor cats, (although healthy and happy and in the garage every night), because we have caged birds. I am going to try to get her really hooked to my hubby in hopes we can come to an agreement to make this little one an indoor cat. She can go in the basement when we are not home to watch her. Just depends on how interested she becomes in the birds. Our little kitten that we adopted this past summer is in the house for five minutes and then jumps up on the birds table. Too curious for my comfort.

Margo

Good morning everyone! Just checking in to see if everyone has gotten in touch with their partners? Does anyone already have their pkg in the mail?

Who has snow right now? Our temps have been up n down, up n down... 40 one day and 64 the next, 50 at night and 28 the next.. the plants are SO confused!

~Wendy

I'm here! :)
I'll be mailing tomorrow. We have some snow, but mostly bone chilling COLD! And 40 mph winds...so C O L D !!!!

Dreaming of spring!
vina

Just finished getting my shipping label on my package for Faye. I won't mail it until tomorrow but here is the DC #
9405503699300380718570

Light snow today but lots of wind. Traveled two hours north to visit my mother and there were several accidents along the way including one involving a jack knifed semi that forced another off the road as well as a car involved. JUST SLOW DOWN. Coming home, the sun was shining and the roads were clear. Tomorrow evening we are due about 3-4 inches overnight. Bring it on.

Margo

Hello Margo.
Your package is in the mail for Saturday. It would have been in todays but my husband came home from working out of town for a few weeks so I did not get it done. If you know what I mean.
I hope you enjoy everything. The DC# is:
9405 5036 9930 0381 2650 73
Your gardening friend,
Faye!

Happy to see some packages on their way!

We are having the most absurd weather.. I can't make up my mind when to WS... we have so many spikes of warm temps intermixed with the colder days... The daffodils and crocus are blooming. They don't usually bloom for another 2 months! 2 days ago it was a high of 40 and 20's at night.. today it's 69 degrees. I'm not COMPLAINING..lol Just hard to know when to plant.

What a storm we've had here since Wednesday! We had some snow on the weekend & it was cute and all. The forecasters warned that we had several weather systems coming our way with some punch, but I had no idea what was in store when I went to bed Wednesday night.

When things return to normal I'll have pictures to tell the story. For now, we're on generator power & internet was just restored this afternoon and I'm tapping away on my son's laptop making more typos than I want to admit. There's no way I can figure out how to get the SD card to load here for posting pics & both he & hubby have gone over to my dad's to work there. Without power the sump pump wasn't on & the battery back up didn't work either, so they're cleaning up some flooding in his basement because my parents are in sunny AZ for the winter!

The heavy snow was lovely on Tuesday night into Wednesday, but the ice storm that followed caused widespread tree damage to our entire camp & surrounding area. We were awakened at 2am to snapping sounds as 25' sections of treetops snapped and fell to the ground knocking down other trees or limbs on the way. Snap, snap, snap... all morning, day, night, & into Friday afternoon. I held my breath as I'd hear the snap & wait for the boom of the landing tree trunk or limb praying all the while that it wouldn't hit us in our beds in the night. Two nights of restless sleeping with all those popping sounds and last night was only windy, so not as many fallen trees & limbs. I hope to sleep better tonight as it's calm now.

We have a lot of work ahead just to be able to walk or drive around at camp, but I'm thankful that all of our backyard animals made it through safely & we didn't have major structure damage here. Only fences, chicken coop runs, cold greenhouse roof, raspberry trellis, rain barrel, etc. to repair. Some camp buildings and volunteer staff RVs have damage. Our roads are down to one lane until we can get equipment to help move the trees properly. Live power lines are crisscrossed across the main road in & out of camp, so the mail has not been delivered, though our UPS driver drove right over them.

I'm not, but my family is working hard to try to get the camp cleaned up enough for guest groups to come stay as well as the high school that leases some buildings here and our before/after school school-age daycare to open on Monday morning if at all possible. The power crews have said they'll work here on Sunday & Monday, so the road is closed until then. We're across the creek from the main camp and our power comes from the nearby neighborhood with underground lines, so we have no idea how long of an outage is ahead. Main things are restored first & since hundreds of thousands are without power we're not going to be a high priority like public schools, stores, etc.

The package Vina is taped up ready to go when I get out to mail it! I would have posted earlier, but we've been without service since the storm. I can't wait for the debris, ice, & snow to be out of the way for the mail carrier to come again and me to be able to drive to the post office!

Corrine

Hey all!

Corrine, your bubblie went out on Friday. DC# 0311 1660 0001 9243 3897
So sorry to hear that storm hit you. I saw it on the news. Hope your staying safe and warm :)

Talk to you soon!
vina

Hopefully everyone's packages are in the mail!

Here's where we stand so far:

gardenerz and andreaz6wv will swap with one another
beautifulreddahlias and peaches0104 will swap with one another
flowergirl34(SENT) and corrine1(will mail when the town unfreezes! lol) will swap with one another
smitties(SENT) and nottougly(SENT) will swap with one another

I'll email the rest of the participants to check on the progress.

Corrine ~ wow! That's some crazy weather! Still haven't seen any snow here, but today is extremely stormy and rainy. blech. :P

Spent 8 hours working at our gift shop alone. Very slow and very boring. I found jobs to do that probably haven't been done in years. Fortunately, I came home to my fabulous box from Faye. She included the following which was more than simple. LOL

Lots of great seed packages.
A mini box of Russel Stovers candy, yum
A cute little frog figure which has center stage on the window ledge.
A dish towel which I need as my are all cruddy with use.
Mini seed planter which is going to come in handy for sure.
Plant markers made from mini blinds and a sharpie to mark.
T label markers.
and a twist tie dispenser which I might add that mine has come to an end so I needed more.

Thank you Faye for the generous swap box. I will definitely use all of it. I hope your box arrived today.

Margo

Sounds like a wonderful package Margo! :) I do love coming home and seeing packages on the porch, don't you!?! :)

I've emailed the others, but as Zeak mentioned andreaz6wv's email address on GW is not valid... does anyone else here know her or know if she has another email address? I'll try posting a 'looking for' post on the RR forum I guess and we'll give her til Friday to show up. If we don't hear from her then I'll take her place and swap with you instead gardenerz / Zeak. Sound ok to you?

Hello all,
I received a fantastic box from Margo today. It was just great. I will use everything in it.
Margo included some metal spoons that she had flatten out and then engraved with the name of the seeds that she had sent. This had to be time consuming but it is a fabulous idea for garden markers. I think they are great. She also sent a journal for gardening progress, hand lotin with a great looking nail file (which I have already used) and miracle grow singles, which I was out of. She had to have read my mind because I just realized the other day that I was out of miracle grow. Way to go Margo!! I loved the contents of the box.
Thank you very much for all of it.
Faye!

Faye ~ what a fantastic box!! And Margo!! I would LOVE to know your secret on how to engrave the spoons... (and how to flatten them out! I am in love with this idea! :)

My internet came back on tonight off & on, but hope this goes out okay. Gusty winds in forecast tomorrow, so likely I'll be out of touch for awhile again. C'mon spring. :O)

Sent the package off to Vina today - confirmation # 0311 0240 0001 9717 2688

Corrine

My son gave me some of the photos he took to give you an idea of what went on this past week around here. Fortunately, our family & animals all remained safe during the storms.

The front yard bird bath on Wednesday afternoon during a calm moment.

More snow kept falling & here's the view out the living room window across our yard to the neighbor's house.

Thursday morning's view of the backyard from near the deck & kitchen sink window. There are gardens and paths underneath all those branches. Yes, there are shrubs there, but they're flattened under the heavy snow, ice, & branches. Red huckleberry bushes over 8' tall were touching the ground, but recently freed by Matthew so that they may survive. Both kids had selected their own bushes to nurture, so they're kind of nostalgic to me to keep them growing.

We had freezing rain for over 24 hours coating everything with a thick layer of ice.

Matthew's ski rack

Just one of the trees encased

... a bit of sword fern trapped in ice...

Now for some of the damage from tree debris. This shows what's left of our chicken coop run made from welded wire, not chicken wire. It's hard to even see the fences much less the gate to the left of the coop front.

The snow & debris piled up over 6' in the run making it impossible for the chickens to move about much less us clean up until it thawed further. It is amazing the amount of fir branches out there spread about the yard now over 1' deep now that they used the chainsaw to begin to cut it all up for removal. When I walked out to the chickens today it's high stepping all the way to make it the 50' out there to go collect their eggs.

The coop took some hard hits from 6"+ diameter tree tops that snapped off in 25' sections and landed in the wire run. My dad built this coop for his chickens many years ago. When it moved to our backyard over 10 years ago our little kids wanted a shiny red barn, so we painted several good coats over his mahogany barn. More than paint held this thing together keeping the chickens safe inside. We didn't let them out for 2 days because of the ice that fell all day Thurs. & Friday.

Sadly this is just one of the punctures to the greenhouse roof. The good news is we can either patch it with that greenhouse tape or replace the roof with some clear polycarbonate if that's better for deflecting tree limbs. For now hubby covered it nicely with a brown tarp, so my fuchsias and other overwintering perennials are safe.

To end on a funny note here's our little laughing tiki torch guy we recently bought to replace our old ones since the mosquitoes were back biting our foreheads while soaking in our hot tub.

An amazingly stuffed full priority mail bubble envelope arrived yesterday, so after dinner I sat down to dig in & giggled with delight as I pulled out so many fun things that Vina had creatively packed up & sent.

She must know my mind or something because everything was perfect!
_Butterfly card lavishly decorated in gold, 3 dimensions, & colorful along with friendly sentiments and a happy face!

_2 recent Garden Gate magazines that make flower gardening looks so lovely & easy. I flipped through & will definitely use that tip to scarify seeds by putting them in a jar with sandpaper & shake, shake, shake! Perfect for those Sweet Peas.

_an entire package of Godiva dark chocolates in an assortment of flavors. I won't tell how many I've eaten already. There's still some left. He, he.

_Grow Ums Herb Garden that contained 8 coco pellets & labels along with 4 types of seeds (basil, cilantro, oregano, & parsley). Looks like fun to start them this way & I have lots of pots to make a nice display. There are 20 seeds in each packet, so there will have plenty for several pots and I can share with my daughter because she also loves the fresh herbs.

_12 packets of seeds from her garden all labeled & sealed in tiny ziplocks. Not one stray seed! She sent me just what we'd love to try here. My hubby loves all the daisy type flowers like blanket flower or especially coneflowers that are big, bright or bicolored.
The generous 12 she sent me were:
1. bee balm Marshall's Delight
2. Clematis Jackmani (I have several empty trellis here & just received two cedar ones from a friend who is moving in 3 weeks.)
3. Clematis Arctic Queen
4. Coreopsis Jethro Tull
5. Coneflower Ruby Giant
6. Coneflower Milkshake
7. Dianthus Siberian Blues
8. Nigella Love in a Mist all blue (I want to plant these along the row of raspberries provided they survived the storm as the trellis is down & there are tree tops & limbs on them.)
9. Gaillardia Fanfare
10. Rudbeckia Indian summer
11. Sweet Pea, everlasting (by the way someone told me these are great for improving the soil like other legumes, so plant away in new garden spaces to make way for vegetables or other perennials)
12. Yarrow Cerise Queen

If all of this germinates & grows I'll have lots of plants to fill in the holes left by the storm!

Thank YOU Vina for welcoming me in to the group & sending such a generous package that definitely brought me some winter cheer!

Here's one of my favorite shasta daisy pics from a few years ago. Grandma gave this chicken on a stick to our daughter when she was young & she liked to surprise me with it by moving it around. She had said she tried to make the chicken look like it was standing on the daisy flower.

Good morning everyone. I have done three swaps this month and each swap included the spoon plant markers so have received several inquiries as to how I made them so have been posting the following.

The following is a site where I found some for you guys to see what I am talking about. I love how they added the little plant stamps so will have to find out how they did that.

http://paperandplanes.files.wordpress.com/2011/06/dsc07503.jpg

I used new spoons I got on sale but have made some for myself from spoons I found at the Goodwill. My husband used a rubber mallet to flatten the spoon. I then purchased a steel stamping letter/number set. I just line these up on the spoon one letter at a time and bang them with a regular hammer about 25 times to assure they indent the spoon. We used a work table my husband has and placed a large garden border brick on that to bang on. When flattening the spoon, places an old towel over it so as not to scratch it up.

http://stampingjewelrysupplies.com/images/letter_numbers/il_430xN.157647088.jpg

These are very easy to stamp and I enjoy doing it. I plan to make many more for my gardens as these will last forever.

I hope some of you can make these for your gardens. It does take some arm strength.

Corinne, sorry to hear of all the ice damage but I am glad that you and your family were ok and that your livestock made it through ok as well.

Margo

Here's the latest:
gardenerz and andreaz6wv will swap with one another
beautifulreddahlias and peaches0104 will swap with one another
flowergirl34(SENT) and corrine1(SENT)(RECD) will swap with one another
smitties(SENT)(RECD) and nottougly(SENT)(RECD) will swap with one another

This is a bit unusual ... I have emailed everyone that hasn't checked in... I still cannot reach andreaz6wv... I haven't heard at all from beautifulreddahlias or peaches0104 since sign ups... and poor Zeak is waiting to find out if he has a partner or not. I guess I'll try emailing just once more for updates and we'll go from there. Most unusual indeed!

Margo ~ ty so much for posting all the info for the stamp. Definitely on my TO DO list for this season!! :)

And Corrine ~ WOW!! Amazing how something that looks so beautiful can be so damaging. I just love the ice encased branches tho.. very very pretty! Glad you're all ok!

~Wendy

Morning Everyone!
I received my bubblie yesterday from Corrine. Last night I finally had time to sit down and enjoy the contents :)
In my bubblie was:
~3 metal knives for the garden. They were all decorated with beads and wrapped in wire, and each was labeled Parsley, Hissop, Chives. Very CUTE!
~a pair of gardening gloves
~and seeds:
Parsley 2 kinds
Hyssop
Chives: Onion...all of these were for the markers :)
Petunia: Laura Bush Violet
BES
Japanese Pickling Eggplant
Basil: Italian Large
Squash: Scallop Bush Pattypan
Mixed Poppies

And a lovely card!

Thank you so much Corrine! I appreciate everything you sent. And I hope you are doing okay after that storm you had. So glad the chickens are okay :)

Wendy, I'm so sorry for all the confusion this month! Hopefully everyone will be contacting you soon. If it's okay, I would like to post for Feb. on Wednesday. I plan on keeping it sweet and simple :)

Talk to you soon!
vina

Vina - What a wonderful package you received! Well done Corrine! :)

and Vina, yes, that is perfectly fine. You go right ahead and post it.

I think we'll just call this one done and move on to next month's since it's already month end. Really odd to just not hear from so many people...I don't know if it was weather related or forgotten or what.

Zeak - let me know if that's ok with you - to go ahead and call this swap done. Feel free to join in February's swap that Vina will be posting in the next few days. Email me if it's not and we'll try to work something out amongst ourselves.

THanks everyone!

~Wendy