As a newbie just receiving seeds back from my first ever swap...I am completely overwhelmed and so filled with gratitude at the generosity of you all. Nearly every seed that I had ever dreamed of acquiring arrived in my package, and then some! Tomatoes, beans, cardinal flower, monarda, herbs,cream of sask watermelon, I could go on and on. (because that was one big package of JOY) Going to be a tough act for the man in the red and white suit to follow on the 25th, my morning on the 7th is off the charts!!!! Thank you all so much! Nicky wasn't kidding when she told me to start planning a new garden bed, now I will have to!

The advantages of having kids and grandkids! Well, well trained ones, if you can get them! Even a SO will do in a pinch! If I had lived there, I probably would have been able to finish everything the morning after the party. Also, I spent quite a bit of time the next day dealing with an issue that came up with my elderly father, whom I am quasi caring for at yet another place. How I long for the stability of one home and one town that I live in rather than endless packing and being on the road. I can say from my perspective, one of the reasons china and other dishes that need to be carefully washed and stored are not popular now days is because folks are so busy, many working two jobs and trying to care for children and/or elderly parents and also many folks single and not living near friends or family, also moving around a lot to follow work or on the road commuting long distances, so just not having the extra time or energy. I know folks worked a lot in the past, but the constant moving I think has always been an impediment to having lots of nice, fragile things, as well as having the time to entertain. Back when mom entertained a lot, she was not working, she stayed home and enjoyed doing those kinds of things. But still, yes it was fun while it lasted, lots of fun and I so wish that kind of experience was more available to me. It used to be when I just worked full time one job and lived and worked in one place, I used to have dinner parties quite often, as some old timers on here will remember.

sam_md, thanks for posting the clarification. Nice uniform color on that 'Fire Blaze'. Also, according to these webpages (below) 'Fire Blaze' doesn't retain its leaves through the winter, and therefore the late winter / early spring flowers aren't obscured. http://www.scottarboretum.org/publications/HamamelisReport.pdf http://gardenseeds.swarthmore.edu/gardenseeds/2014/11/pw-november-10/ ,

In Northern California on vacation just now, I saw Icebergs in full bloom and my mother's Marie Pavie (a cutting from mine!) blooming away with such perfect form and scenting the air around her. On return home, everything is frozen, grey and brown. What a downer. At work people were telling me that they knew I was in a bad mood. Well, duh. I was snarling at everyone. So the start of winter is the worst. By January, I usually come to acceptance. It's the Kubler-Ross stages of grief every #*$&(*% year. Sigh. Denial: "It's not that bad. It won't be that bad. It's actually beautiful in the winter." (October) Anger: "I hate this f***ing place! Why do we have to live here?!" (November-December) Bargaining: "Can we just PLEASE move somewhere with a year-round growing climate? Please, please, please...?" (December) Depression: "Maybe if I just eat enough chocolate I will get enough phenylethylamine to get through." (December, and 20 pounds of chocolate later...) Acceptance: "Well I may as well get chores done and dream of beautiful gardens." (January/February...if I'm lucky). Then the winds come in March/April the new growth gets ripped to shreds, and I start all over again.