Sorry Norm, I thought Id give you the benefit of the doubt and call it a Ten! Barb came in behind you and spotted us a Twenty anyway. :-) Our location is, has been and always will be free. I think that everyone will agree that thanks to Jan & Jim we have had one of the most beautiful locations imaginable for the last seven years and Im sure that you will all be thrilled with the new one as well. We dont spend any money on the luncheon as far as food or drink is concerned unless we see that there is going to be a shortage of something needed. Our Guest Lecturers are not paid (except for Captain Compost, who more or less screwed-over Jan & Jim but thats another story). Supplies are the real killer. Plates, cups, napkins, forks, knives, spoons, tablecloths, trash bags, pencils, pens, magic markers, name tags, notebook pads and legal pads for 200-300 people every year (and I know that I'm forgetting a bunch of other stuff) all adds up pretty quick. Just the plates, napkins, cups and utensils alone will run us a minimum of $150-200 a year at Costco because Lavonne refuses to buy the cheap crappy stuff. We normally over-buy too just to make sure that we dont get caught with our pants down. Now multiply that by 14 swaps or seven years worth. I have no idea what the attendance numbers are at other swaps but our spring swaps usually have between 125-175 folks and the fall swaps normally are around 75-125. That doesnt factor-in my Ms. Cheap debacle where we had in excess of 400 (which I take full responsibility for my screw-up there) so were probably looking at between 1,800-2,500 that have attended the MTPS since its inception. I doubt that any other plant swap in the country can boast those numbers. Obviously if our attendance was a third or a quarter of what it actually is then our out-of-pocket expenses would be far less. Rest assured that nobody has ever made any money and no one is paid for their hours of time, service and effort; all Im talking about is straight-up financial expenditure for supplies only. Im sure that Ive burned $100 just in gas running down to HHSP and back in the last few months to scope out the new location, make decisions on that location and meet with the principals insuring/confirming the location and working out the logistics but thats strictly all on me and I dont expect anything for it. Hey, Id be more than happy for someone to come take over the financial end of this if they could do it for $100 a year!!! To think that we could pull off what we do with the MTPS for $50-100 a year is actually pretty laughable. Ive even given money to folks that didnt have enough to buy gas get home from the swap. (Not Norm though, Id make him walk or thumb a ride BTW, that joke about the cop and the tickets was hilarious dude!) Bec has to rent her server space, she had to register a domain name, setup the server, do all the programming and graphics, she does all the updates and changes, the site hosting and the artistic logo creation for a 12-page website with a ton of different links. Ive searched the internet a multitude of times and seen dozens of plant swap websites and NOBODY in the country has a website that even comes close to equaling the MTPS site. All I want is to make sure that she gets is what she is out-of-pocket. BEC HAS NEVER ASKED FOR A DIME but Im not going to have anyone spend their own money and not be reimbursed for it even if it means that Lavonne and I have to foot the bill. She has done this out of the kindness of her heart and her love for the MTPS. Bec is donating her time, expertise and efforts just like the rest of us but the difference is that this is her occupation. There is no way that we could pay her normal pricing and service fees for what she has done for us for free! Its not even fair to try and equate what she has done for us with the MTPS site to anything else that is out there because there just isnt anything else out there equal to it and shes not even finished yet! When I look at what she has done for us it makes my piddly little excuse for time and effort look fairly lame in comparison and I was embarrassed when I realized that Ive been unknowingly stiffing her. So. I. Again, Im not complaining one bit about anything but I did want to remind everyone that (A.) we do need those donations for the time being, (B.) we need to help out Bec whether she wants it or not and (C.) that Im adamant about NOT charging an admission as long as it is my decision to make. My post wasnt about beating everybody over the head and demanding more money; Ill eat the $200-$300 a year myself if that what it comes down to and never give it another thought. II. My other concern was that as we continue to grow then we are going to want some nicer stuff and to make everyone aware that about all we are able to do right now is to break even. I understand that some folks will throw in a Twenty and some folks cant afford to donate at all; Im fine with that and always have been! But if everyone does want new, more or larger signage then its going to cost more money. If we want a nice banner or two its going to cost more money and right now we arent getting enough to pay for that stuff at all. Its entirely up to you guys, Im not suggesting that everyone has to drop more money in the donation jar either. I just wanted to make everyone aware of the situation. III. Thats why I mentioned sponsorships by local businesses; Id eventually like to completely do away with the donation jar all together so that none of us have to be out any cash at all and we may actually have a surplus to buy stuff with! IV. Ill gladly share the total donation amounts versus actual expenditures to anyone that has any questions about where the money goes! Ill even have Lavonne start keeping a ledger sheet and we can post it on the website. Geez Louise, this is why I hated to even mention it in the first place but Im not going to have Bec and Doug footing the webpage bill because it isnt fair. So thats all Ive got to say on the matter and I wont bring it up again. Anyone having any further questions can email me directly or give me a call at 615-310-4155. If you read this entire post then I'll give you a dollar. Ill be happy to answer questions that you can throw at me other than questions pertaining to the air-speed velocity needed by a five ounce swallow to carry a one pound coconut from a tropical climate to a temperate one or the air-speed velocity of an unladen swallow in any climate. (Birds just arent my thing.) The Characters and incidents portrayed and the names used are fictitious and any similarity to the names, characters, or history of any person is entirely accidental and unintentional. Signed RICHARD M. NIXON Including the majestik møøse Sorry, now I'm punchy and reverting back to Python

Third Saturday Jan! So that'll be Oct. 17th. phalnellie, if you aren't there then you'll be kickin' yourself again! Joseph where are my Pergola plans and when are you coming over to help me build it? :-) Steve those are sweet pics! We need to hook up and wet a line!!! You've got mail.

columbia: That's a possibility. I'm sure I could get a ride from there to the MTPS. How far away from the MTPS site is it (If I remember right, it's only about 1/2 mile, if even that, but i'd still need a ride for that 1/2 mile, if I had stuff to bring to swap)? I don't get off work Friday until 6-7, so it'd be a stretch to get someone (from my family) to drive me there, then come back home the same night. I could probably swing leaving work a tad early, but no earlier than 5 & would still have to have 30-40 mins to get home & get stuff ready to bring. Heck, jim6b even e-mailed me saying he can't make it & would love to give me his 6 plants he wanted to take (lambs ear & 5 lemon balm). I could take those & do some swapping for him too, if I was able to go. I would be willing to ride along with someone from GW/here on Friday who could drop me off @ The Inn at the park, then pick me up to go to the swap the next morning (How much are the rooms there? I don't need anything fancy...cheapest possible would be fine, i'm sure). I don't know who'd be able to though. I know a lot of people would like to help, but have already made their transportation plans & stuff. It's not looking good right now for me making it there. I'm still picking at my father-in-law to see if he wants to go with me, where he would drive & i'd give him gas money & buy our food item we'd be bringing, but I don't think that's gonna happen. I really would love to go, too. :(

Cindy - You have to go to the original forum page - the red one with the lovely picture of the lady with the funny hands (we had a whole thread on this once), and there at the top you'll find the "Post a Message" link. Just click on that and off you go. If you still have problems, email me. I tried emailing you but yours isn't enabled through gardenweb.