Pat - My envy was mailed today. Postmaster said to look for it on Tuesday or Thursday. With the holiday mailing frenzy, that seems fast to get from MN to TX, but then last Sat I mailed to FL and my friend got his envy on Tuesday morning.

Everyone - Wishing you All a Very Merry Christmas!

Sandy

I just wanted to say I am running so freaking far behind on my swaps, Pat I wanted to get mine in as early as possible but this month has been a doozy. I haven't had time at all to get anything done with the big swaps I am in.
I have had so much going on, I am so sorry I haven't been able to send it yet. I will try my best to get going full tilt on these after Christmas, looks like that is going to be the only time I have to work on them.
Don't know if anyone knows anything about Kefir Water but let me assure you when the warning is start out drinking it slowly and a little at a time and only a certain amount until your body adjust to it, HEED the warning!!!!
If you don't know what it is it is a probiotic flavored water if you choose to flavor it with fruits on a second ferment. You have to have water kefir grains (not grains like wheat and such) to make it, it sits for 24-48 hours and then you remove the grains and add your fruit to the water, let the set for a 24-48 remove the fruit and bottle up.
You are only supposed to drink 4-8 oz. a day well I drank about 20 oz 2 days in a row, DO NOT DO THAT.....

:)Aqua

pic is of Orange Watermelon and Kiwi water kefir and the pic is kiwi with a tad of orange watermelon liquid add to it, it's pink because I used the grains from blueberry water kefir to make it.

Three packages came in today's mail:
Julianna (sorellina)
Alicia (LullabyF360)
Jeff (vajeff)

The mailman is set to pick mine up this afternoon. For the last couple of weeks he has been here after 5 pm, poor guy.

Glad to hear mine didn't get lost in the holiday mess!

Sandy (sandysgardens), your package came on the 24th just as we were leaving town for Christmas.

Katie (kchd), your package finally arrived today after a very long and crazy journey!

Alana (poisondartfrog), your package also came today.

Hopefully the mail is getting back to normal and delayed packages will soon find their way here.

Pat - Glad it made it in good time

Sandy

Today I received a package from Morgan (molanic). It took it ten days to make the trip, but it did arrive safe and sound at last.

The mailing deadline -- January 6 -- is just a little over a week away. I know several are planning to mail early this week, and I hope everyone else is making progress!

Mailed my package today, thanks for hosting! =) FUN!

And they're off! Thank you, Patricia, they are on their way to you!

Jayeanne and Kim, I'll be looking for your packages later this week!

The mailing deadline is January 6 -- ONE WEEK FROM TODAY!!

Pat I am packing seeds. I am going to try my best to get finished later today and get them in the mail to you by post office closing today!!!
I need to check the for your address and check what the postage requirements are again because I have confused myself with too big swaps at the same time (I KNEW not to do that but oh well, here it is lol)

Aqua, I just sent you a copy of the e-mail with my address and the postage info.

Patricia~Seeds are on their way. DC 9405503699300189896455

Yes ma'am Miss Pat, I just had to check it. Because I didn't write it down before lol.

I've sent an e-mail to those who have not told me when they are mailing their seeds. Just don't want anyone to forget that the deadline is only 5 days away! Mailing on Monday, Jan. 6, is fine. If you are caught in an ice or snow storm and can't get to the post office safely, e-mail me. If you have power, of course. I don't want anyone to risk life or limb to mail seeds. I hope everyone is warm and enjoying the start of the new year!

Today I received packages from Kim (drippy) and Jayeanne (pinkiris).

Finally I could send my package today. Thanks for hosting the swap. Happy New Year to all.

Yay! Thanks for letting me know, Patricia.

MAILED finally lol.

:) Aqua

Thanks, Jasmine, for letting me know. I'll be looking for your package in a few days!

Thanks, Aqua. I'll be looking for your package too!

Two more packages arrived today: one from Janine (jaynine) and one from Debby (Debby_1). Looks like the mail has recovered from the Christmas overload and even delivered those two a day earlier than expected.

I've heard from all but a few and am hopeful that everyone will be able to mail by Monday. Most of all I hope everyone is safe and warm during the winter storms!

My package has been mailed and should be there Monday.

Hi Pat ! Hi everyone ! I am determined to have my seed packing finished tomorrow but mailing out on Monday still makes me a Last Minute Lucy ;-( I do apologize Pat ! I hope everyone is keeping warm ... I am so over this cold weather and hope we have an early spring ! Sitting at my dining room table ( hopefully with semi warm sunshine streaming in thru the window ) and packaging the last of the seeds tomorrow will have me daydreaming of digging in warm dirt !

Iris

Thanks, Ruth, for letting me know that your package is on the way.

Iris, mailing Monday is perfectly okay! Packages have been coming in all along, and I am still busy checking off wishes and sorting seed packets that have already arrived.

Must have had a substitute mail carrier today! I just found four packages delivered to the chair on the side porch instead of right by the front door as usual.

Packages today from these participants:
Jen (jlee160)
Miriam (Mermaidinthegarden)
Aqua (Aquadragonfly)
Sharon (gmom2_6boys)

Two more packages today:
Jasmine (jas_il) and Ruth (ruthz) yours are here!

Wow, we have LOTS of seeds! I forgot to ask everyone to include a count, so I don't have a total yet. I've gone through nearly all the packages to marked off wishes and pull out excess duplicates and a few orphans, and I will count as I go back through each package and drop seeds into each person's sack. I work downstairs in front of the TV and fireplace while I am checking off wishes, but the final sorting and packing up for mailing takes place upstairs in the cat-free zone. :)

Hi Patricia ! I mailed my package today ! but when I got home I saw that one of the baggies had fallen out of the padded envelope so if its okay I will mail that in a small bubblie tomorrow ? I am recuperating from a bout of bronchitis and it was nice to sit at my dining room table this weekend and enjoy some seed therapy :) today it was rainy one minute, then snowing , then the sun come out all in the span of an hour or so ... Maryland has some crazy winter weather .

Iris

Of course, Iris. I won't start sealing up packages until the middle of next week. There are a couple of others who have had family illnesses and will be delayed a day or two mailing. I am glad you are feeling better and hope you are rid of the bronchitis. Not good to have anytime, but especially not in this weather.

Krystal (loveless), please e-mail me: pat46rob@gmail.com
It does not look like you are receiving the e-mails I have been sending to you.

This post was edited by patrob on Wed, Jan 8, 14 at 10:44

Seeds from two more participants today:
Jessica (ForeverRecycleReuse) and
Iris (rane_grow) -- Iris, both of yours are here!

Krystal (loveless), I need to hear from you!!!

Karen (primrose1x3), your package has arrived! It made a very quick trip!

Patricia,

So glad they got to you safe and sound ! I bet you are swimming in seeds right about now ? lol if you get a chance, take a pic ? thank you again for hostessing this, I know we are all excited to see the wonderful seeds we are all sharing with each other !

Eek! I'm so excited to see what wishes have been filled!

There's one more big package of seeds on the way to me, but I have had no response from Krystal (loveless), even though I have e-mailed her several times, sent a message through GardenWeb, and posted on the thread for her to contact me. I am assuming she has dropped out, so I'll redistribute the seeds that came in for her.

I'm still going through seeds and marking off wishes downstairs, but I'll be moving upstairs this afternoon and will definitely post some photos of the seed stash and sorting process. lol Bertoli, Marie Callender, and Lean Cuisine are going to take care of the cooking while I finish up the swap.

I'm still hoping to have everyone's package in the mail by the 20th!

Here are a couple of photos I took when I started sorting seeds into each person's bag. There is no chaos yet. lol That comes later, and I'll try to remember to take photos then too.

My desk is huge, so that stack of bags and boxes is really bigger than it looks! The count right now is 4438 packets, but we are still waiting for a package of 300+ and I have not added my own seeds yet as I am waiting to see what is still needed.

And here are the little bags I sort the seeds into before packing them up for the trip home. As each bag fills up, I have room to add another in front of it.

Wow. You're probably the only person who could physically do this swap, Pat. Lol, seriously, look at all that shelf space and table space, and it's all full!

And look--there's my bag! *waving* lol

A picture is worth a thousand words and you said it all! Wow! Now, when you're done with this little project President Obama wants to know if you'd like to take over Healthcare, IRS investigations or Middle East Peace Talks. He's waiting for you to call him at your convenience! I'm totally impressed!
Heidi

Hahaha, those photos are awesome, Pat! I showed the photos to my husband. He has been curious about the inner workings of this swap ever since I explained to him how many participants, how many seed packs, etc. He says you should get a Special Prize for all your hard work!

I can't wait to see the 'chaos' photos.

lol Heidi, you did not see the rest of the room! And you won't!
I made sure all the stuff sitting around waiting to be refinished, reupholstered, etc., did not show. There are still some boxes of stuff from school waiting to be sorted, donated, or thrown away, and I retired nine years ago! Plus there are a couple of laundry baskets of things to sort and put up, things that were out downstairs where they should not have been and company was coming. I can hardly get into the room, but I cleaned off my desk and the bookcase for this swap. I am an extremely organized person in some extremely small spots.

I am going to adopt that phrase, "extrememly organized in some extremely small spots". That is me, too!
I have this itch to clean out and declutter, but I have too many treasures!
Now soldiers who do great things get Purple Hearts. We may have to come up with an award like the Purple Hibiscus for you! But you won't keep it in a box in your room!
Heidi

I am all too familiar with clutter. So acquainted, in fact, that I think most of it has become permanent features to the house. We have so much stuff now, we are having to move & build a bigger house. All of this "clutter" is actually things that we need & use regularly. We are just running out of spaces to put things. My husband & I each have our own hobbies that require a room all to ourselves to store everything. My plants have taken over the only usable guest bedroom, our closest shelves are on the verge of falling off the walls, his computer room can barely contain what he has in there, my art room you have to be an expert rock climber to get around in. I have always been one of those people who has the compulsion to hide things. I have things stuffed away in all cabinets through out the house, on top of the cabinets & refrigerator, stuff is under the beds, in drawers with clothes-if it can fit in a spot, I will squirrel it away. It helps keep my house looking nice & tidy.

I think our stuff owns us instead of the other way around. lol For now I just enjoy the spots I do have organized and pretend I will get there with the rest.

The last package has just arrived! Priority 3-day mail took a week to get here, but thankfully it's not lost as I was beginning to fear. I hope I can still mail everyone's package out on Monday even with this delay, but I'll update after I see how long it takes to finish up.

I have addresses loaded into the USPS website and am ready to print labels as soon as I am sure about the mailing date. I still have the 300+ packets that just arrived to check off wish lists and add to bags, a huge pile of substitutes to add to the bags of those who are short, and then I'll start sealing up and sticking on labels. Chaos is probably not far off. :)

Monday the PO is closed. It's Martin Luther King Day just in case you didn't know Pat. :) so you sort of get another day.

:) Aqua

Thanks, Aqua, I did not remember the holiday, and I can sure use the extra day. Tuesday I have to be gone from 6 a.m. until ? for out of town doctor visit, so Wednesday will be the earliest I will be able to mail. I have the shipping labels stored online, but not printed, so no problem there with adjusting the date. Hopefully everyone will still have their seeds by the week-end! Now back to the seeds.....

Whoa, another package that took a detour, got temporarily lost, and took a week to arrive?! And it's not even the holiday rush anymore. Makes me nervous!

Thank goodness for that extra holiday! I've been prepping milk jugs for winter sowing ahead of time. Whoohoo!

LullabyF360 we have a label for that. It's "carefully filed." That sounds so much better than tucked away or lost. I know if I could clean out my husband's stuff and he could clean out mine we'd be in better sahep, but those are our treasures! I got rid of 4 bags of stuff on Saturday!
Heidi

Haha, I often refer to our disarray house as an organized mess. We know exactly where everything is & what is lying around. Our issue is simple: we are out growing our house.