Vina, so sorry Taylor and Billy have been sick. I hope they are getting back to normal and I'm glad you liked the package.

Margo, so sorry to hear about Mona. I know everyone there will miss her, but at least her suffering has ended. I'm keeping all of you in my thoughts and prayers.

Jeanne

Just received word that our friend Mona passed away last night. A blessing for her really as she has really suffered the last month. Still hard to comprehend how that all went within five months. So sad.

Shirley, uhm sure that all fit in the envelope. It was a big card. LOL

I'm sorry I failed the challenge. You have done a great job of hosting. I did have a hard time keeping those suckers in the envelope and I believe I must might go to Kroger and get a bag for myself for Halloween. :)

Margo

Evening, Everyone!
Well, I had a great three days off, no sandhill cranes, unless you count the flocks up in the sky that disappeared by the time I got the car off the road. Some great scenery shots tho!

Annie, your Opposite Envelope is on the way! The Post Office Lady said it should be there on Thursday!

Sorry to hear of your friend, Mona, this must be so hard for all of you who worked with her.

Today was the last day to send out your scrambles. Melinda, your list wasn't in my emails, but it might be in my junk mail. Will check it when I'm done here and let you know. I will post the winners for the game tomorrow, running a little behind here!

And here's an update on the swap:
1. Nicole will send to Jeanne/Cookbook swap;

2. Jeanne will send to Vina - SENT/REC'D

3. Vina will send to Peggy/Cookbook swap;

4. Peggy will send to Jayeanne/Opposite swap;

5. Jayeanne will send to Melinda - SENT/REC'D

6. Melinda will send to Erica - SENT/REC'D

7. Erica will send to Heidi - SENT/REC'D

8. Heidi will send to Margo - SENT/REC'D

9. Margo will send to Shirley - SENT/REC'D

10. Shirley will send to Annie - SENT

11. Annie will send to Alana/A Feathered Feast swap;

12. Alana will send to Katie/First Swap; and,

13. Katie will send to Nicole/Snowflake swap.

Let me know I missed anyone!
Shirley!

Margo, I'm glad you enjoyed it! Yes, It all fit in one envelope. As you can see, I'm the kind of cook that likes the packaged seasonings so that was my cookbook shortcut for you.
I had no idea you only drink lemonade Koolaid. It just looked refreshing!
Can't make any promises on those coneflower seeds because they came from hybrids, but the way I see it...I keep planting the seeds because I imagine even the parents were good looking plants and we can always cross our fingers and hope!

I'm sorry to hear of Mona's passing. I'm glad she's in a place with no pain and that brings comfort to those still here. Be sure and let yourself grieve. I keep finding myself having these conversations with a variety of people and telling them they're allowed to grieve in their own way-write a poem, light a candle, plant a flower in memory and it counts because you're doing it in memory and honor of the person. It has great value and is so healing.

I have to tell you all of my wonderful find. I bought 16 plants for 51 cents yesterday. I got some kind of perennial in a quart pot that was originally $4,99, marked down to $.50 and then the cashier took 43 cents off that (7 cents!). The 15 mums were much more expensive--19 cents apiece. I used my coupon and only paid 51 cents cash. Then I did the flower dance to the car! I even got them planted and watered so they can buckle down and come back next spring. It's so crazy the things that excite us, isn't it?!
Heidi

This post was edited by xiangirl on Mon, Oct 20, 14 at 22:03

Heidi -- I think you just made us all a little jealous!

Shirley, I sent the list yesterday morning and again, maybe you will get it this time.
So sorry to hear about Mona, I know that is hard.
Great deals Heidi! I would have been doing the flower dance also!
Have a great day! Melinda

OMG Heidi, I would do a summer sault if I found those deals. I get excited to find 1.00 deals @ lowes. Great deal! I love deals :)

Have a great day everyone!!

Thanks everyone. Mona was such a nice person and we were already missing her since she had to quit in July. I do know she is in a better place.

Can you believe my husbands retirement job is at Lowe's and he hasn't been checking the plants? Silly man.

Shirley, someone told me about a place around here that the sandhill cranes congregate at but I haven't check it out yet. Not sure why I haven't.

Off to work. UGH

Margo

Margo ~ I don't know if the Lowes he works at has a clearance section of plants. The one I go to in Pico Rivera, CA, they have a clearance section of 1.00, 3.00, and 5.00. I usually pay for 1.00 and 3.00, if i really want it, I get the 5.00 but these plants are wilting so I feel like I am rescuing them hee hee.

Sorry to hear about Mona. I don't understand why we have to pass away. Can't we live forever and not age? My condolences to your coworkers/friend.

Alana, I will probably send your feathered feast out on Friday or Monday!!

Shirley, looking forward to your opposites!!

Failure or not, I love what everyone is sending!

Happy Tuesday!!

Annie

I know I am a day past sending, but did send the original scrambled names in time. I resent them but still don't know if you rec'd. I will send them via regular email and hope I'm not disqualified. I really did send them before the deadline. Sorry you aren't getting. Just let me know if you get them or if I didn't send in time Thanks, Melinda

Melinda, sorry I didn't get back to you last night. I got your list, both, and you were in time!

I'll be back later,
Shirley!

Oh, thanks! Hope everyone is having a good evening. I just finished watching my grandson practice football again.
They won the championship on Sat. for 5th/6th grade football. They won all 8 games and didn't lose once. Now they took the top boys out of 3 teams and they will be going to Mt. Home about 2 hrs away and playing other towns around for 2 days. And then the next weekend they'll do the same at Huntsville and play other towns. It will be exciting for me, but long days!
Melinda

I'm BAAAACCCKKK!

Melinda, are you watching Stormy play football? How great is that!?

As promised, here are the winners for the Scrambles Game!

Erica wins First Prize, I think she sent them the day after I posted them! And they were all correct! Way to go!

2nd place goes to Katie, all correct, and
3rd place goes to Nicole, also all right.
Melinda wins the "Right in under the Wire" prize, for being last,
and Jayeanne wins for the most answers wrong, which was three!
Congratulations, Ladies, your prizes will go out before the end of the month. Thanks for playing!

And in other related issues, Margo, I got your email, that was a Painted Lady! And when you have time, figure out where those Sandhills are!! Please!!

Off to finish clearing out/organizing my closets and drawers - need to be able to get in that bed tonight!
Have a great day tomorrow,
Shirley!

Thank YOU so much, I love to win prizes. I am a kid @ heart!!

OMG osh! LOL!! I got 3 wrong! hahaha thanks for the FUN Shirley! =) Cant believe I won a prize for the most answers wrong! lol I thought for SURE i had them ALL correct! LOL I have never been good at these things (as you can tell, lol) thought you might enjoy this photo....hahahahaha

Have a great evening all.... I too have been 'trying' to organize and rearrange a few things.... so far not so good, LOL Thanks again Shirley - I sure appreciate it!

Night ladies!
Jayeanne

Yay! Thanks for the prize!

Whoohoo, congrats Erica. Yay, I'll take 2nd place! But best of all is Jayeanne, especially the hilarious chicken photo. I laughed out loud at that one.

Finally... I am getting close to having Nicole's card ready to go. I am slow this month... This is my first week back to work. Just the simple act of penmanship; oy vay! I've informed my dear husband that for once, his handwriting is better than mine! Y'all should see me cleaning seeds, one-handed, with my left hand :P I just went ahead and burned all my bras.

Melinda, oh my, are you really going to get us started on football? Annie, sorry about the Notre Dame loss. The final call was lame and lost them the game. And now...Please allow me to gloat about my Bulldogs being #1 !!!

Katie

You know what? I think Melinda's grandson's name is Stony.

I'm so confused!

Be back later!
Shirley!

I received my super-duper card from Alana today! And I am not exaggerating... Ladies, this jack-o-lantern card is life size, measuring at least a foot tall and almost as wide! Inside, she included the 2015 Harris' Farmer's Almanac (in true Scrambled form)! I've only flipped thru a couple of pages so far, but this is really cool. I've never used an almanac before, just went by local tradition, so this will be a treat. I see there is also a skywatching section and dates for the coming year's meteor showers, too! (speaking of which, we just had the Orionids yesterday but you can still see some tonight). Also included were seeds of 2 fantastic wildflowers she enjoys and I will too: Hibiscus coccinea alba and Achillea millefolia. Toothache plant is a medicinal she included to go with a related article in the almanac. And, since it is a Farmer's Almanac, it wouldn't be complete without an edible: Old Yellow Candy Stripe tomato seeds! Thank you, Alana, this package is awesome!

Nicole, I got yours packed up and will be mailing it out tomorrow!!!

bra-less Katie

Good morning!!

Peggy your package is on the way. I failed miserably at trying to get them in 1 envie, lol. I do not have a tracking number, so sorry. Hubby took them for me to the po, and he didn't save the receipt!! It should be fine...I hope, lol.

Talk to you later!
vina

Alana, your feathered feast should go out tomorrow. The "envelope" part could be a problem........I have to decide whether I am going to follow Shirley's rules or fail the challenge...LOL!

Happy Thursday!

Annie

Hi Ladies, sorry I didn't make it back on last night, but my computer was making "whirring, squeaky" noises and I thought it best to shut down, before anything really horrible happened. Just turned it on, no noises, I'll make this quick!

Katie, that sounds like a really creative way to meet the Challenge, way to go, Alana!

I haven't read an almanac in years.

Ladies, please don't worry about not meeting the Challenge, it's not like I'm going to kick you out or be mean! I had to take my envelope apart, then stuff everything back in it, and tape it shut, sure hope it makes it to Annie all right.

Our weather here in SE MI is getting warmer, supposed to be in the mid 60s this weekend, which is good, because I REALLY need to finish up outside!

Have a great Friday,
Shirley!

Real quick....

Alana your package went out today

Shirley, I received your opposites yesterday...love it!
*Blue socks with stars and stripes, a right sock and a left sock...LOL!
*Girl (pink) and Boy(blue) stickers
*Host seeds bronze fennel and nectar tithonia
*book marker-paint chip palate blues on one side and browns on the other
*a very nice card Autumn card

Thanks so much Shirley!

Annie

Glad you liked it Annie! The stickers were a poor substitute for what I had planned. I tried making my own, but between me and the printer, they just didn't work out. Thank goodness I got the blanks for half price!

Hope everyone has a great weekend. I'm finishing up outside tomorrow, rain, snow, sleet, mud slides, wild dogs, doesn't matter, by Sunday, it's going to be all cleaned up out there!
Shirley!

Greetings from Boise.... Hubby and I are on a mini vacation visiting my niece and nephew. Today we canned 15 pints of salsa and looks like we will do the same tomorrow. We brought the tomatoes and peppers from the garden. Our garden may be hit by a freeze while we are away. (badnews/goodnews). I have been pulling together "opposite" items but must admit that it is not an easy task.. but I will succeed!!

Canfan, sounds like you are having fun. It's always nice to get away. Sorry to hear about your freeze and I hope that forecast is wrong. We have had a frost here enough to kill the produce growing but a lot of the flowers are holding on strong. I even have a second bloom on a columbine. Go figure.

Have fun Shirley and I hope you accomplish a lot with the nice weather today. As I told you in a email, I messed up my shoulder and thankfully I am right handed cause it's my left one that is in so much pain. I can't garden unless I do it all with my right hand and I know I will be tempted to use my left so I am staying out. I did go out and right handedly picked up the garden ornaments and tucked them all away so at least that job is done. Sadly I might add. I hate to see the end of the season as it seems it just started.

Everyone enjoy what nice weather you might be having because you know it won't last. Margo

I love surprises and today I received my card/gifts from Katie. The cover of the card is funny but inside is even more funnier!!.

I am looking forward to researching about these seeds you gave me and planting them!! Thanks for the Christmas tags. It will come in handy during the holidays!!

Hi Everyone!! Happy Saturday!!!

Roflmao!!!! What makes that card even more funny is that it's from Katie. If you've been following her posts, you'll know what I mean.

Greetings All!
The back and side yards are 99% cleared and cleaned up for fall, and everything that can be stored, is! What a relief! Took me the better part of both Saturday and Sunday!

Thought it might be time for another update - we've had some really great Challenges sent and received, what a creative group we are!
1. Nicole will send to Jeanne/Cookbook swap;

2. Jeanne will send to Vina - SENT/REC'D

3. Vina will send to Peggy - SENT

4. Peggy will send to Jayeanne/Opposite swap;

5. Jayeanne will send to Melinda - SENT/REC'D

6. Melinda will send to Erica - SENT/REC'D

7. Erica will send to Heidi - SENT/REC'D

8. Heidi will send to Margo - SENT/REC'D

9. Margo will send to Shirley - SENT/REC'D

10. Shirley will send to Annie - SENT/REC'D

11. Annie will send to Alana - SENT

12. Alana will send to Katie - SENT/REC'D

13. Katie will send to Nicole - SENT/REC'D

The swap is progressing quite nicely! And we still have until the end of the week to finish up! Please let me know if I've missed posting anyone, okay?
Have a great week, and as Margo said, enjoy the nice fall weather while it lasts!
Shirley!

Good morning everyone!

Jeanne ~ I am mailing out the card today. Hope you like it :)

Hahaha, glad you enjoyed your Snowflakey card, Nicole!!

Hey Everyone, hope you all had a good Monday; it was 73 here today! I had to be at work at 8, and it was VERY cold, so I wore my boots, gloves, etc, and then felt like a real ditz on the way home tonight, with temps in the 70s! Carried most of it home but still.....

Katie, how is the elbow? Are you doing PT yet?

Thanks for posting, Nicole, hope you have enjoyed your first FOTESS swap!

Off to pay bills and address Halloween cards,
Have a great day tomorrow,
Shirley!

Shirley-
Checkup tomorrow. If all looks well on the xray, PT will start!! I wonder how many cuss words they will get out of me?!?! I have a high tolerance for pain, but I think that's because I vent it through another outlet.....

It's been in the high 70s the past week and the yellow leaves have looked like they were on fire. Today our high was 55 with a stiff breeze and I think there are 5 leaves in the entire state still on the trees. ha
Good luck with that PT Katie. You might have to start swearing in latin flower names. I can just hear you yelling, "Aquilegia! Scabiosa! Solanum lycopersicum!"
Heidi

lol Heidi!

I received my "feathered feast" from Annie yesterday. She may have failed the envelope challenge, but she met the fun challenge. She sent a feather. I tried to ID the bird, but can't. It's a gray and white feather with a thick quill. Dove of some kind?
Colorful bird stickers depicting parakeets, lorakeets and small parrots and relatives were colorful and eye catching. I was tempted to eat the homemade suet "cookie" she sent for my local feathered friends. I almost succumbed to the smell of peanut butter, but could not get past the unshelled sunflowers. :). I'm going to put this in a tree in a few days when temps are predicted to drop from 80 to 50 degrees. My birdies will love it! And she did not leave me out. Once I finished admiring the peanut butter creation I noticed a package of Halloween candies por moi! Thank you.
And best of all, the pretty card with sunflower she sent contained more sunflower seeds, but best of all seeds for a favorite tomato, "Stump of the World." I can go mark that off my wish list.
Thank you Annie. I loved it.
Alana

Alana,

Oh come on, you did not even take a little bite of the feathered feast. I did sample it but picked out the black oil seeds....LOL!!! Some of my birds like this recipe, but there are a few who will not touch it. The feather, I have no clue which birdie it came from. But we do have lots of doves.

Stump Of The World has been a super winner for me...my favorite!! I will never be without it.

Happy Fall!

Thank you again Shirley for Our October anniversary swap. Great fun!!

Annie

Hey..... I got mail!!! My "cookbook" challenge arrived while I was vacating in Idaho. Thank you, Vina! My "taste testers" immediately offered to sample the chocolate :) Of course it was fabulous! We will be enjoying the spiced cider drink mix, too. The kitty cookie cutter and recipe will be decked out and dressed up for the holiday! Thank you for all of the super trick's & treats!!

So I was going to go to town to mail off my package to Jayeanne.... but instead we "got" to chase our horses and cows who decided that they wanted to go for a fall outing. I PROMISE!!! it will be mailed tomorrow!!

So to share a bit of the countryside that is a part of the 7 hour trip to Boise... here is a picture of the Wallowa Mountain Range...

Peggy! What a stunning photo! Thanks for sharing!

Thanks for posting, Alana and Peggy, sounds like great challenging envelope were received!

Good Grief, are we just about done with the Anniversary Challenge Swap? I think so, here's the list:

1. Nicole will send to Jeanne/Cookbook swap;

2. Jeanne will send to Vina - SENT/REC'D

3. Vina will send to Peggy - SENT/REC'D

4. Peggy will send to Jayeanne/Opposite swap;

5. Jayeanne will send to Melinda - SENT/REC'D

6. Melinda will send to Erica - SENT/REC'D

7. Erica will send to Heidi - SENT/REC'D

8. Heidi will send to Margo - SENT/REC'D

9. Margo will send to Shirley - SENT/REC'D

10. Shirley will send to Annie - SENT/REC'D

11. Annie will send to Alana - SENT/REC'D

12. Alana will send to Katie - SENT/REC'D

13. Katie will send to Nicole - SENT/REC'D

The nettle rash is still bothering me. Itchy and very red. Would you believe the only thing that relieves the itch is my hand sanitizer? Yeah, the cheap one from the dollar store. I'm just a little afraid to use it again, well, until the itch gets horrendous and then it's: whatever works.

Have a great day tomorrow!
Shirley!

Just saying a quick hello and letting you know I will be posting the November FOTESS swap early next week. It's going to be super simple ... and FUN ... so watch for it.
Jeanne

Shirley, hope that rash goes away soon.

Thank you for a great swap and for your commitment to making so much fun for all of us. I really enjoyed it.

Hope everyone had a nice day today. Beautiful here again but it is downhill from here. The weekend is going to bring a big freeze so bye bye to the last of the bloomers that are still out in the garden. I still just can't believe the summer growing season is over already. Seems I was just putting the seeds in the ground.

Margo

Shirley, oh no! A rash from nettles?! Ugh. Have you tried rubbing alcohol or ice?

Margo, it is hard for me to imagine having a hard freeze so soon. I've had tomatoes still producing into Dec. before. Got a photo of DH eating a homegrown tomato in front of the Xmas tree.

Got my splint off today!! Started right up with the phys therapy. Also have PT tomorrow, Thurs. and Fri. Heidi, I opted for cussing in feral pig Latin.

Shirley, this swap was awesome. Simple and FUN! Thanks so much for hosting :)

Katie

Morning!!

Peggy so glad your package arrived :) Love the picture of the mountain range. It looks so peaceful!

Shirley, I get nettle burns at least once a summer. I use apple cider vinegar on it. Put it on a paper towel and let it set on them. It's very cooling and will take away the welts. :) Hope it helps.

Been so busy lately between working and kids and building our little barn I finally have today to clean up the veggie garden. So happy I have my two oat grass bales from the pond to mulch in today. The dirt...err, red clay...is horrible! I've been working organic material in for almost 2 years, and I still have a long way to go. Better get it done soon...they are calling for s~n~o~w on Saturday...YUCK!

Have a great day!!
Only 2 more days till Halloween!! :D
vina

Jayeanne.... Your envelope is in the mail and "should" be delivered on Saturday. I have the tracking number should it be needed.

Here is a poem about October for all to enjoy... soon we'll see November and its cold winter stay:

October's Party - George Cooper

October gave a party;
The leaves by hundreds came-
The Chestnuts, Oaks, and Maples,
And leaves of every name.
The Sunshine spread a carpet,
And everything was grand,
Miss Weather led the dancing,
Professor Wind the band.

The Chestnuts came in yellow,
The Oaks in crimson dressed;
The lovely Misses Maple
In scarlet looked their best;
All balanced to their partners,
And gaily fluttered by;
The sight was like a rainbow
New fallen from the sky.

Then, in the rustic hollow,
At hide-and-seek they played,
The party closed at sundown,
And everybody stayed.
Professor Wind played louder;
They flew along the ground;
And then the party ended
In jolly "hands around."

Canfan, were you near Idaho Falls? One of my BFF owns a wine bar there. I enjoyed your poem. Mary E.

Peggy - your Wallowa Mountain Range is just gorgeous! Ill be watching for your package, thank you for letting me know.
How is your seahawk knome doing this season? Is he still sitting in the bleachers located on the upper level of the entertainment center? lol That was really a lot of fun!

Katie - glad to hear about your PT - hope that all goes well for you!

Shirley! thank you again for such a fun swap!

Jayeanne

Just dropping in to say hello to everyone! The pic you put up Peggy is beautiful!!
Shirley, thank you for a great swap! I enjoyed it a lot!
You all have such good imaginations!
Have a great day, Melinda

Mary - Boise is near the Oregon border while Idaho Falls is near they Wyoming border. They are almost parallel to each other but separated by mountain ranges. Idaho Falls is a beautiful city with many recreational opportunities. You must see Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks should you make a trip to visit your friend.

Jayeanne - Mr. Seahawk Gnome has a front row seat near the tv for all of the football games. He is excited about the team and is sad when things don't go well for them. We remain hopeful that they will do well and make another huge impact in the NFL. :)

Canfan, thanks. I drove with her when she moved out there and I. got altitude sickness. She sees all those things and emails me pictures. Mary E.

Hi Everyone, did anyone else spend the last hour hunting up gloves, hats and snow boots? It is SO cold here and we are supposed to have snow over the weekend!

OH NO!!!

Vina, tried the apple cider vinegar, and it helped. Good thing it's cold and I have to wear long sleeves anyway, because this really looks ugly!

We need to start a new thread. I'll post it right after I'm done here - please post on the new thread.

Shirley!