hi lollistranger, Welcome to The Seed Exchange! Since you don't have anything to trade, you might want to check out some of the many generous Seeds for Postage 'offers'. The link below has a lot of links to hints and tips, as well as to the forum instructions. hth. Sue Here is a link that might be useful: sticky: please read before posting! **Required**

Except for the spheres, most of the stone cuts are "cabochons". This collection is typical of what a lapidary hobbyist might assemble. He/she would shape and polish the stones and then mount those in commercial findings. To do that, the stones are ground to standard sizes. The medium green, rectangular stone with 2 small spherical side stones. Carefully look at these two small spherical stones. Those appear to be opals. If these are opals, treat them with care. Opals are soft, but highly desirable due to their exquisite iridescent color. Read up on the care of opals because these can 'dry out' and become brittle. However, the better opals are stable. Opals thrive on oil absorbed from the wearer's skin. The purple rectangular stone may be amethyst. A couple of other pieces may also be amethyst. Amethyst can vary widely in color. The very dark, red-purple may be garnet. Garnet is much harder than glass and is considered a durable stone. Glass easily scratches and dulls whereas garnet will hold its polish. There are 2 small spherical, translucent pink stones. These could be in the corundum family; Pink to red ones are called rubies. Conundrums are very hard and durable. There is a pale red/pink oval cabochon and it is translucent. I'd call this one carnelian. Again, glass and carnelian can be differentiated by hardness. Glass has Mohs harness of 5 whereas carnelian is 7. The findings with a loop on each end were probably intended to be chained/linked to form a bracelet or necklace. The findings with a single loop were made to hang from a bracelet (think charm bracelet) or from a necklace chain. On a hunch, these could have been birthstones. A mother would have worn a birthstone for each of her children and herself. Below is a list of birthstones. Note that a month may be represented by more than one stone. This came about due to preference changes in different time periods, but one strong driver was cost. Not every one could afford or wish to wear expensive stones for all occasions, thereby other stones were selected as stand-ins. Amethyst was considered a common stone in the 1950s, but in recent years, the supply of gem quality amethyst has dwindled and its price has escalated accordingly. January Garnet February Amethyst March Aquamarine April Diamond May Emerald June Pearl Alexandrite July Ruby August Peridot September Sapphire October Tourmaline Opal November Topaz Citrine December Tanzanite Zircon Turquoise - See more at: http://www.americangemsociety.org/birthstones#sthash.N5U7f0l1.dpuf

Yeah the photograph doesn't quite capture how strange it is. The leaves are very leathery. You could imagine it's a fern that quickly appears in the SW desert after rains and then disappears. Not sure if there really is such a thing or not.

Gardengrlz, here's the candy recipe: Zucchini Candy 10 cups peeled diced zucchini 1/2 inch cubes ( I use "worms" about 3 inches long and 1/12 inch thick and wide. The little dice would be good in muffins, though. 3 cups water 2 pkgs. unsweetened Koolaid 2 1/2 cups sugar Peel zucchini, dice, removing seeds. Mix the liquid syrup together. Add zucchini. Bring to a boil and them simmer for 25 min. Drain. Put on dehydrator trays. Dry 14 hours at 125 degrees. Turn pieces over and dry another 4 hours. This will feel dry and not sticky when done. Store in jars or other tightly sealed containers. If you dip in sugar when you turn them, they will be more like"gum drops" on the outside. And Sol's Zucchini Pancakes: Zucchini Pancakes ================== Sol's recipe 2 cups grated zucchini 3 eggs, lightly beaten 3 tablespoons melted butter (more for greasing the pan) 3/4 cup AP flour 1-1/2 tablespoons water 1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese Black Pepper and Salt to taste * 1/2 teaspoon grated nutmeg Serve with: 6-1/2 ounces double cream brie Roasted tomatoes 2 tablespoons chopped chives Preheat a frying pan over medium heat. Combine all pancake ingredients in a bowl, except for the water. Mix until smooth, then add enough water to make a thin batter. Mix until just combined. For 6-inch pancakes, add about 1/3 cup of batter to greased pan and cook 1-2 minutes per side. Serve with double cream brie (or your favorite melting cheese), roasted tomatoes and chives. *Add all the black pepper you like, but use a light hand with the salt, as parmesan provides some saltiness. I normally add 1/8 teaspoon salt, and find it's plenty. I often need more than 1 1/2 tbls of water as I like thinner "pancakes" to use as wraps. Use your discretion and make them as thin as you like. Annie