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!

Sara, Much cooler-but I had forgotten just how humid it is out there. And green, it was a jungle! I always laugh when I hear folks here speak of the "humidity". Certainly it is alot more humid than Colorado, Arizon and the rest of the southwest. But it is actually much much drier here than the east coast. It was usually between 68-72 degrees F in the mornings during my trip, yet I was dripping with sweat from the humidity. Oh well, there are weather issues no matter where you are, just got to learn how to deal with it. My tomatos all died while I was gone, yet I was able to start a new crop of squash for the fall, certainly couldn't do that in the northeast. Oh,and I emphasize it was "usually" humid during my trip. The 1st day I was there it was 75, dry, with a slight breeze-of course that was on the coast while wading in the surf at Rye beach. Sigh...

Hi, This is Daniel. I want to say thank you for all the great seeds that were sent to me. I'm all finished organizing them and ready to plant but I have to wait for my mom and dad to make a space for me. My favorite seeds are the black nightfall beans. They look so cool. I cant wait to plant them. Daniel Hi everyone, Okay now I know why he wouldn't let me see his stash...he got two black tomatoes that I don't have lol. He has been clutching them in his little palms and wouldn't let me see them lol. Okay I'm jealous!!! Well not really, I know he doesn't eat many tomatoes, so mom will get seed next year ;) Out of curiosity, one of the black tomatoes is a Black Maur (I think that's what it says...it was tough to read as it ran under my nose very quickly lol) I have a Black Moor. Is that the same type or are there two different ones? Toni

A fun candy to have ingredients on hand & pull out when you have a group of people hanging out together. When my kids were younger their friends loved to make this & take some home to their family. Of course, eating mistakes is part of the fun! Christmas Pretzel Reindeer Recipe *fun for kids of all ages to make & eat! You will need: Pretzels (2 inch size work better than the ones that are dollar coin size.) Melted White Chocolate/vanilla almond bark (your glue) M and Ms Whole Almonds To make a reindeer: 1. Melt some white chocolate according to directions on the package 2. Lay the pretzel on a sheet of parchment paper 3. Fill the three pretzel holes with white chocolate using a teaspoon. 4. Place matching M and Ms in the two smaller holes for eyes setting on white chocolate. 5. Place a red M and M just below the eyes, in the larger space, for the nose. 6. Put almonds for ears above the eyes and a little to the outside 7. Break pretzels to form antlers and set then between the ears. Let it set up & store in an airtight container. I couldn't find a photo of it this morning, but found one on someone's blog. The angle of the antlers make each one slightly different. Here is a link that might be useful: photo of reindeer treats