Gee, I wonder how many pounds of batter, gallons of milk, pounds of butter and gallons of syrup we'd need for 400-600 pancakes? Ya know I was just thinking that I really don't have enough to do in the next five weeks and especially the day of the swap and was wondering what in the World I'm going to do with all that excess time on my hands. Maybe YOU would like to organize that for me! I REALLY do appreciate your interest in it and for bringing it up!!! Maybe you and I can discuss that at length in person on the 17th. Doug sayes that you are the QUEEEN of pancakes and would love to handle it for me. I heard that your moniker in Knox County is Mrs. Bec Butterworth and Aunt Jemima Holder. In the meantime... the park has a very nice restaurant that starts serving Breakfast at 7:00 am! There is also The Country Diner and Becky's Family Restaurant right up the road in Chapel Hill. Remember to tell them that you are with the MTPS and that in October Bec will be making pancakes for the MTPS and everyone in Maury & Marshall Counties at HHSP!

Guys I really appreciate the kind words! Trust me, we are going to get the fall MTPS turned around and back under control. I'll be contacting several of you soon for some serious planning. Lavonne and I are still pretty much wiped-out but we're recuperating little by little so thanks for your concern. Hold on to your hats and relax..... Now that I've had a couple of days to reflect here's what I came up with. Ok this is like me, pretty long-winded but here go my props: First and foremost to Jan and Jim: You guys are so gracious to let us hold the swap at your business even though it takes away from your ability to fully operate that business and costs you additional finances and labor for a weekend at your own expense. I doubt that any of us will ever know or can really appreciate the actual tangible cost that you two incur because of us. Thank you, thank you, and thank you!!! I cant say enough or show enough appreciation to you for what youÂve done for all of us over the years. You are uncommonly wonderful generous Christian people and we love you very much! I only hope that the debacle Saturday might garner you some additional business revenue in the future. Maybe some folks in that mass of humanity Saturday will go back to their congregations and suggest a weekend outing for their group at Buffalo Canoeing! Now there is some advertising that you canÂt buy!!! ;-) (BTW if your church group, school, Scouts or club are looking for an enjoyable day in natureÂs splendor, call Jan and Jim at Buffalo Canoeing and show them that you REALLY do support them for what they do for us!!!) Chef Ziggy: Way to go dude!!! You pulled double, triple, quadruple-duty all day with the photography, setting up the signs, being my eyes and ears for everywhere else that I wasnÂt at the moment and for eating dirt all day doing traffic control. IÂm sure you did more but I didnÂt get a chance to see most of what went on Saturday because I was usually several hundred yards from the Swap. My hats off and I owe you Bud. Thanks to Kathy and Judith for letting you work like a dog, totally ignore them and not help them with your table either. What a cool family you guys are! Love yaÂll! Lavonne, Marianne, Renee, Martha, Cindy, AprilÂ.How could I possibly thank you guys enough for the job you did grabbing the bull by the horns and taking over registration, logistics, organization and control of the "lower end" traffic of the Swap where all the action was? I canÂt believe what a disaster you averted by your hard work!!! When I think of how easily this could have turned into an ugly mob scene without you guys it makes me cringe. No way could this have gone off as smoothly as it did without yaÂll. You are all strong, intelligent and capable women that I love and admire greatly. (One of you more than the rest!) ;-) Marty: Great job! Even I didnÂt fall asleep. As expected you provided us with and, effortlessly commanded by your presence, the most organized; controlled; informative; relaxing and enjoyable part of the day. Duh! As if we anticipated something else? YouÂre just freakin awesome! We all needed that. Norman and Barbara: How could any of us have a good time without you two? I know that it makes the whole day worth while for Lavonne and I when you are there. You two will always own a very special place in our hearts! Robert Holt: What a kind and thoughtful man! For a "first-timer", like Martha, you guys exemplified the true spirit of what this whole thing is all about. I still canÂt believe that yaÂll were so helpful. We are all better people for meeting you and we are very happy to now count you among us. Mary Hance, aka. Ms. Cheap: Now thatÂs what I call REAL publicity! Even though there was something lost in translation between me, you, the article and the readersÂWow! What a statement it makes for the readership and strength of your column!!! We really do appreciate the pub and it sure did get the word out to folks that never knew we existed. We will benefit from this growth pain and become better and stronger because of it. I generally need a good swift kick in the pants and I sure got it! Thanks a lot. Many peopleÂs lives will be touched for the good by coming to the MTPS so before we get too wrapped up in the few negatives of the day letÂs remember to put things in their proper perspective and focus on the positives in this big picture that will surely come as a result of it. I know that I saw several others that helped with dinner but like I said, I didnÂt see much of the Swap Saturday. I know that I also spied countless others picking up the slack and busting their humps by taking on different responsibilities as they arose. IÂd sure like to name each of you personally but my memory is still a little blurry about the whole event! I realize that IÂm forgetting the names and faces of many who dared to roll up their sleeves and jump into the fray and I apologize for that but you do have my most heartfelt thanks. Suffice to say that this was a HUGE group effort on a lot of peopleÂs part and I thank all of you from the bottom of my heart for carrying this Swap and me on your shoulders. To everyone that attended: Everybody from the "old guard" to the "first-time newbieÂs", thank you for coming and sharing your plants, food, wisdom, advice, hospitality and good will. We can all agree that this event is about people that have a common bond of growing stuff and sharing it with others. You are one incredibly diverse group that comes together crossing all lines and every type of stratification just to be generous to each other! You are all the most selfless and magnanimous folks around. Where else can so many different people and backgrounds meet under one umbrella and kick off a day that is so cool for EVERYBODY? If your heart and spirit arenÂt lighter and uplifted by the fellowship with these, your swapping buddies, then you need to check yourself and look hard into the mirror. For those that couldnÂt attend because of circumstances beyond their control: To Mona and David especially (we love you so much) but no less to Doug and Bec & the kids, Cheryl & the kids, Ann Bell (who donated tons of stuff) and all the scores of other regulars that really wanted to be there but couldnÂtÂ.you were sorely missed. We benefit from your presence and are diminished by your absence. Did I miss anybody? IÂm sure I did. A big "Thank you so much" to all of you for your support, thoughts and prayers. IÂm sure youÂre sick of hearing it but this is why I always say (over and over and over and overÂ.) "YOU GUYS ARE THE BEST" !!!!!! Jeff

I'm so excited! I received my seeds today! I didn't think I'd see them until the end of next week. I received one or two I'll need to look up, some wants, some things I was curious about and a few things I didn't even know I wanted! LOL! Dh & I are trying to determine if we like turnips! Thanks so much for coordinating this Tod!

We had a wonderful time today. Considering the amount of people, I think trades went very well. My goal, as usual, was to find homes for a truck-load of plants, and I just about accomplished that goal. I think most of us were pretty satisfied with the results. The morning started off with rain, and I think that may have scared some of our potential attendees away. By swap time, the rain was completely gone, but the cold started moving in. Within a few hours it started getting just plain uncomfortably cold! Some people had brought appropriate clothing; I arrived in shorts and a t-shirt...brrrrr. All together we had at least 15 attendees (below average, for sure). Some left early, some arrived late. Seven attendees were first-timers. I know of a few regulars that were unable to attend due to health or family issues, but I still think we were missing too many. Maybe the weather was just too bad for some. Lunch was grab-and-go, mostly because everyone was getting too cold to sit down and eat. The conversations were interesting and fun, and I think everyone had a great time.