I'll guess 1030

And ditto on extra stamps = use them as you want.

WOW! That's a lot of seeds! Umm...I might be on the high side...but I'll say 1985 seed packets total. Is this going to be like to Price is Right...if we go over are we out of the game?

My guestimate is 2011

My guess is 2002

I gues 2326

Great guesses everyone! Keep 'em coming. I'll take guesses up until 12/23 at midnight. The prize will be mailed to you after Christmas!

1/2 of the swap packages went out in the mail today. I had hoped to do them all but had to leave and take my son to the ER this afternoon. He was having sharp pains in his chest area. Everything seems ok, he has to go back again next week for another xray..

Sooo the remaining 1/2 will go out tomorrow. I just hope the usps manages to get them delivered in time for the solstice!!!

Thanks to you all, you did a WONDERFUL job and made my job pretty easy with the wish lists and gifts to eachother! I hope everyone is very pleased with the selections you receive I tried really hard to make sure everyone had items from their wish lists or at least as close to the items as I could find. I dipped into my own stashes more than once to share a bit of something special, and those of you that sent in REALLY rare seeds might have had the packet divided up among several members requesting that seed. I figured you'd all be happy even with just a smaller amount of something you really want than only one member receiving it. :)

I'll send out more updates soon. Please drop by and let me know when your packages have arrived!

Thanks, it's been a pleasure!
~Wendy

Wendy, I am sure you did a fabulous job. How do you get such a short turnaround time? - I never could pull that off as a swap host.

Hope all is okay with your son; "having chest pains, Mom" are not words a mother wants to hear.

Yikes, hope everything is ok with your son...

You are doing a great job with keeping us all updated (and excited!).... My guess would be 1100.

Wow wendy you have been busy!!! Hope everything is alright with your son. My guess 1285.

I hope everything turns out ok with your son, Wendy!

How'd you sort through all those packets so fast?! What's your trick? I try sorting into different groups and then small piles (perennials: shade perennials - sun perennials, etc) but I somehow manage to get everything mixed up and forgetting what I have in the end.

I'm almost ready for the solstice! Grabbed some MG yesterday, but I found a Fafard retailer nearby. And the best thing? I thought Fafard mixes were expensive in comparison, but this nursery is selling for $5.99/2.8cu ft bag (I know... I better call to double check before I go up there to get some tomorrow). The problem... is that they only have the 1P mix and I'm worried about the wetting agent in it causing the soil to be too moist. But I guess MG has wetting agents too and lots use that, so idk... I wish I could find the coir mixes. What does everyone else use?

Thanks for hosting this swap, Wendy!

My guess is 1348.

Can't wait to get seeds in my mailbox! Thanks Wendy!

Jeff, it's very expensive in Virginia Beach. Fafard's potting mix is
14.99 for that large bag at Mcdonald's nurseries. The Fafards
seed starting mix is 16.99 for large bag.

I called the Virginia Beach nursery to compare the prices and double check. Turns out I was told the wrong price at the Chesapeake location. Good thing I called before going out there. Ah well, should've known it was too good to be true.

I can't wait! It will be the best present!

Thank you Wendy! Thank you everyone!

How is your son Wendy?

Good morning everyone!!

My son is doing much better, now, thank you for asking! He's on strong antibiotics... it was a collaboration of screaming tonsils and bronchitis but after another dr's visit yesterday we seem to have it under control.

A few have asked how did I sort and send so quickly? Well... My biggest goal was to TRY to get packages back to everyone by the Solstice for those of you that wanted to honor that planting date. But with extending the deadline and packages not arriving til later that put a bit of a deadline looming in my head..lol. So I just put on a big pot of coffee... turned on some music and did 2 days and nights of nonstop seed sorting with a few hour power naps in between. I started out by putting all the seeds into a rubbermaid and then sorting then alphabetically. Then I entered the entire amount into an excel spreadsheet so if someone says I'd like armeria.. I could just go to the spreadsheet and say ok, someone sent that in and I'd go pull it. So I would mark that one taken and each of you had your own individual spreadsheets of what you sent in, your wish lists and a 'sent' list so that I could cross-reference everything. It sounds like a lot.. but I love data entry and spreadsheets from my days in Administrative positions so for me it was actually enjoyable..lol. :)

I don't know how the usps will deliver the packages being so close to Christmas but all I can say is that everyone's pkgs have been in the mail a few days now so HOPEFULLY they will all arrive before Christmas at least. I might make a few changes to deadlines next year tho, I'm thinkin'..

As far as swap winners, I need to make some announcements regarding the various games:

For the "Get to Know your Fellow Swappers Game"(previous thread):

'Onedaylily' was the winner and she won the following tomato goodies:
'Anna Russian'
'Black from Tula'
'Depp's Pink Firefly'
'Fantome Du Laos'
'Cherokee Green'
'Golden Queen'
'Pineapple'
**Your prize is going out to you today in separate package**

For the "Word Find Game":
Caroleapony was the winner of this game with a whopping 11 pages FILLED and emailed to me..way to go!
I have placed an order for some of your prizes this week so whenever they arrive I'll be mailing that out to you !

For the "How MANY Packs of Seed Game":
The total was a whopping 1,826 packs!! Now, some of those packs that were jam packed were divided into smaller packs to share with more people, too... but the total amount SENT IN was 1,826. Which means that.....Indiana.Matt YOU ARE THE WINNER!! You won a bonus 3 seed packs (that have also been recently ordered) so when those come in I'll get those out to you!

Thanks to everyone that participated. I will be offering up newbie packs in January of the leftovers, as well as offering some up to the wintersown project. I hope everyone enjoys their selections and don't forget~ please post here when your package arrives!! ...

Thank you wendy so much for hosting all of this,, we are getting freezing rain tomorrow I am in NY,, right near the canadian border,,no snow yet but bitter cold,,now I can give my poor mail man the look,, he says are you expecting seeds,,and smiles I said yes I am,,we laugh..thanks and a very Merry Christmas
Lisa

How exciting! I won! Can't wait to get all my seeds. I checked the mail box today with great anticipation, but nothing yet.

Merry Christmas to all!

Thanks again Windy,
Matthew
Indiana.Matt

1826 packets of seeds, that is amazing! Wendy, you are amazing! Thank you for being such a great swap mistress. Oh dear, that is probably not the right term but anyway, thanks.....

Whistle, whistle, clap, clap! Well done, Wendy! Now sit back and enjoy that eggnog!

I got my seeds today! And what a package of seeds it is!

Thanks Wendy!

Matthew
Indiana.Matt

A dreary, rainy day here, but the slog to the mailbox was rewarded by a beautifully abundant package of seeds! And not only seeds, but a Christmas card from Wendy too! You are amazing. Thanks so much to you and the sweet people who sent gift seeds to me as well (pumpkingal and onedaylily, thank you!). Merry Christmas and happy sowing, everyone!

Wendy, thank you, thank you, thank you.

Seeds arrived and I have done a quick once through and will spend the rest of the night playing and planning. Thanks also for the kind gifts of onedaylily and pumpkingal.

Wendy you have really filled my wish list!!

Wishing you and your family a Merry and Healthy Christmas and New Year in 2012.

Donna

The Advent candles are lit. I have a cup of Whittard of Chelsea black tea (sent by my daughter from the UK). I have done my spiritual reading (daily Bible readings, and daily reading from The Celtic Spirit by Caitlin Mathews). A lovely, thoughtfully chosen package of seeds arrived on this Winter Solstice evening. At this time, this moment, life is perfect.

Thank you, Wendy, and my fellow swappers. You are all wonderful. Happy first day of Chanukah, blessed Solstice, and a merry Christmas to all.

Yea! Just in time for solstice. Received a terrific selection of seeds today - Wendy, you did an awesome job. Thanks to everyone for generously sharing your seeds and a special thank you to pumpkingal, snapdragon36 and molanic for the thoughtful gifts.

Merry Christmas to everyone and a very happy new year in the garden!

Margie

I'm so happy to see that some actually made it before the solstice! :) I'm also relieved you are each pleased with your selections.. I was hoping! lol

Thanks so much for joining in the swap this year! I really enjoyed being the hostess for you. :)

~Wendy / sassyb.

The package arrived today. Just finished browsing through it, and I've got to say that I am very happy! Almost everything was from my wish list, and those that weren't were plants or varieties unfamiliar to me that I can't wait to try.

Thank you for the card, Wendy! And thank you to those who sent gifts! What a surprise when I saw those packages were addressed to me! Thank you all very very much. Today went from wet and dreary to [still wet but] joyous.

So many varieties, so neatly packaged. Thank you everyone for sharing your seeds. My first year of winter sowing is going to be a blast!

Happy Holidays and Winter Sowing (keep warm!),
Jeff / VaJeff

I got my huge package of seeds today and I am so amazed and overwhelmed. Amazed at how Wendy was able to juggle this whole thing, and overwhelmed by what to do next. Thanks for all the special gifts, it was truly unexpected and I can say that my seed wishlist has been fulfilled and exceeded. Getting the seeds is the easy part, getting them growing with a place to put them... not so easy. I finished 3 WS containers yesterday and not so sure what to plant next. Cut my finger in the process...ouch! Maybe some grasses or perenial flowers. Whatever, I'll have to come up with some more containers quick-like, maybe Starbucks will hook me up. Thank goodness I have a yard of topsoil to use if I run out of starter mix!! Thanks everyone.. you made my day.

Thank you thank you thank you to everyone, and especially to Wendy and those who sent along the special gifts! This is my first swap, and I'm so impressed with how neatly packaged things were and how smoothly it ran, thanks no doubt to Wendy. I can't wait to get to planting! I think I need more milk jugs....

WOW WOW WOW! I am just amazed by the package I just received in the mail! This is my first year participating, and I feel like I've just been blown out of the water :) So many seeds for flowers I've always wanted to grow. As I looked through seed after seed, my jaw dropped with the abundance...
THANK YOU to all of you wonderful gardeners!

I also feel determined to do an even better job next year, gifting items to people and sending in lots of seeds. What a joy to receive this package, it does seem like Christmas today!

And a huge thanks to Wendy, I can't imagine how you sorted so many seeds and read through so many wish lists! Thanks everyone for a great winterswap. Happy planting!

Of all the Xmas events...concerts, parades, Nutcracker, band concert, church program, tv shows, Arthur movie, parties, The Grinch movie, buying presents...this is so personal and fun. We're all sharing what's close to our hearts and lives and we spread cheer and joy. You're all encouragers in a tough world. You're living your faith and I have found this in the strangest places this Christmas season. Thanks for reflecting real love. I haven't received my seeds yet and that's okay. Just living on anticipation is intoxicating some days.
Heidi

Wow;; yes I got my wonderful big bag of seeds,, Wendy thank you so very much for all of this,,and your cute card too,,,Thank you for my surprise gifts,,sinbadsmom,, wow how did ya know,,love um all thank you...I got alot of great seeds,, let the planting begin,,thank you all,, A VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS TO YOU ALL,,,Lisa elf

I got my package today too and was shocked. From the seeds I received... this was more like the wishlist swap than just a wintersowing swap! Usually in a non-wishlist swap like this, more than half the seeds I get back I either already have or can't grow in my zone. Not this time! I'm keeping almost all these seeds to grow myself. I even got some that I was planning on ordering because I never thought I would get them in a swap. Now I don't even have to place the order.

Truly a great swap. You did an amazing job Wendy. Thanks to all the swap participants and gift-givers. You all are great and made my day. Happy Holidays to everyone.

Received my beautiful package today. Eeeeeek!!!! I'm so excited. Thank you for hosting this, Wendy, truly amazing!

Seeds arrived today and I did the happy dance all the way in from the mailbox! Christmas may be a few dys away but I feel like I've already received so many gifts! You did a great job with the swap Wendy, thank you.

Nancy

My seeds arrived today. Wow thank you Wendy for such a great selection so many that I was wishing for great job. thanks to everyone who shared thier seeds. Special thanks to you who send gifts. you all are so wonderful.
Happy holidays.
Debbie

What Molanic said and more. Wendy you did a fantastic job with this swap. I expected a much more generic return.
Thank you abundantly,
Alana

Received my seeds yesterday and was totally surprised at all the seeds that I've been wanting. A big THANK YOU WENDY for doing such a great job and thanks to everyone for your gifts!

My seeds arrived today! I am grateful, excited, bewildered, fussed-over, pleased, honored, merry, mirthful, delighted, gleeful, enraptured...all the way to tickled to death, bubbling over and in seventh heaven. Thank you everyone. Kudos to the swap master.

Got my package today, wow! Thank you so much Wendy, and thanks to all of you who participated and sent such an amazing assortment of seeds. Special thanks to those of you who earmarked seeds, I can't tell you how wonderful it feels to know that someone wanted specifically you to get their seeds. Wow (again)!

Very happy to find my seeds in the mail!! I'm going to go thru all
of them tonight. Thank you Wendy and everyone who sent in seeds.
It's like a Christmas present...Ya!

Christmas started early here! The seeds arrived this evening and even the mail carrier lady (a gardener too) was grinning from ear to ear when she handed me the envelope. I just tore into it and I can't wait to start looking things up and planting in the morning.

Thank you Wendy, all the people who specially mailed seeds for me and everyone who shared their seeds. Merry Christmas everyone!

My seeds arrived yesterday and I've just gone through them while riding in the car. Wow! I don't have room in my garden for all the wonderful seeds I have to plant, now. Thank-you so much, everyone. And especially thanks to Wendy. You did an amazing job. I hope everyone is having a wonderful holiday.

Martha

Merry Christmas!!

I am so humbled and thankful for the appreciation and compliments. I was SO worried..lol. I tried really hard to find at least SOME things on wish lists and share other things that I had just a bit of. I'm just plain thrilled that everyone seems so happy thus far. Thanks to all of you for making this a fun and wonderful Christmas that I hope we can start a yearly tradition of doing.

OH~ and by the way, our dear Texaspinkie's seed package finally arrived after looking thru many many states...lol. I'll be talking to her after Christmas about how to proceed with getting these seeds out to you all. If you receive a card in the mail.. that'd be why :)

Merry Christmas to you all, may you find peace and joy in your gardens and in your lives in the coming year.

~Wendy

Merry Christmas to you, too, Wendy!

Seeds arrived on Thursday, Thank you Wendy and everyone who participated in the swap! Just wonderful! 10 of the 12 jugs I sowed on Christmas Eve were from the swap.

Great job Wendy! Again, thanks so much!

I love love love all my new seeds!!! Thank you so much Wendy - you are awesome! Spreadsheet. 1826 packets - how many lines on that thing? Wow.

I can't believe how many I received - and so so many from my wish list! I am sending you some extra postage Wendy, I didn't expect such a buldging package!!!!!!!

Thank you to everyone! I wish we all lived near eachother. What fun it would be to have you all as neighbors. It would be heaven, I know it would.

Hello - My nicely stuffed seed package arrived on Tuesday! Thanks to Wendy and everyone who sent seeds in - I'm a happy gardener!

I agree, it would be nice and sooooooo much fun having you all as neighbors. What a sight!

Wishing Everyone Great success in their Winter Sowing endeavors and Many Blooms this Summer!
Sandy

Hi everyone ! Hope this finds everyone getting started on wintersowing ?

Wendy, thank you so much , I received my package yesterday ! wow ! what a wonderful assortment of lovely seeds ! I am going to get started on planting some of them this weekend ! Thank you so much for hosting ! And thank you to everyone who sent me seeds ! My gardens will be beautiful and bountiful thanks to you and I hope every one's gardens grow lush and full of wonderful color !

Happy New Year !

Iris

I recieved my pkg on Christmas eve! The seeds are wonderful! Thank you to everyone...I have never looked forward to January with so much excitement before. I have 68 jugs sowed and more to go. Thank you again!

I know this is late, but I've been traveling for several weeks and JUST got home to my amazingly wonderful package of seeds!! I was absolutely bowled over by how many of my wishes were included. I'm soooo impressed with Wendy's thoughtful sorting! Thank you, thank you, thank you!

And I was really shocked to see several gifts for me -- as a relative newcomer, I never expected anyone to go out of their way to send some seeds just for me. Wow.

Thank you all so much for this wonderful swap. And especially to Wendy for all the hard work that this entailed.

Gretchen