budgetmaven, I have the exact same question. What veggies do you want to plant? I also need to hunt down as many boxes, bins, crates, and buckets as I can for my tomatoes seedlings, and so far wood supplies seem to be the easiest to nab. Speaking of wine crates, I incidentally found a wine box (big enough for ONE veggie plant, maybe) the day before yesterday. I decided on a whim to go hunting for bins/containers of any sort, and one of the very first little streets in my neighborhood that I turned onto had a bunch of wood furniture pieces out on the sidewalk. Among these were some older wood play-kitchen "appliances," just a couple feet tall, if that. One even has a little plastic tub in the top for a "sink," which I figured I could use separately for seedlings/winter sowing as well. Not only exactly what I was looking for, but pretty adorable.

Jeff, the swap itself begins promptly at 2 pm, but I'm hearing many people are arriving earlier, some with food in tow. It is located at the Lake Cunningham Recreational Facility where I have reserved the covered area for the day. This park is on N McElhaney, right near the intersection of N McElhaney and Rte 101 (behind the fire station). Here are the original rules I established to help keep things from being totally chaotic: 1. If you bring one plant, you take home one plant. If you bring two, you take two, etc. 2. Houseplants, annuals, perennials, herbs, vegetables, shrubs, trees, vines (did I miss anything?) are all welcome. Seeds or cuttings can be swapped for other seeds or cuttings. 3. I prefer to separate the live plants into "swap rounds". Each person will put one plant into the "round", and numbers will be drawn to see who gets first, second, third, etc pick of that round. New numbers will be chosen each round so the same person doesn't always go first. If you brought only 3 plants, you can only be part of three "rounds". This may not be the way you have done it before, but I'm appealing to you to humor me and try it my way. 4. Since I don't want to keep everyone for hours, I'm limiting the live plant "rounds" to 6. We can swap seeds/cuttings in rounds after, if needed. 5. Please schedule your personal trades for a time that does not conflict with the actual swap. I believe the park is open sun-up to sundown. The Plants: * Please make every attempt to label the plant with its latin name, including the variety. Plastic cutlery or popsicle sticks work great for this if you use a Sharpie. * Please bring plants that are free of bugs, disease and/or weeds. * Please remember to water the plants thoroughly the night before, not the day of the swap. This will help prevent muddy messes. Sandi

Ha! look at my screen name. Looking around the MBR: four reproduction Audubons in place of a headboard. One Japanese painting, bird on rice sheaf with roses. Two more Audubons on chest of drawers, along with life size fish crow carving. Dresser, one pottery sandpiper, one small Lizars sunbird print. Grandfather's enamelled Japanese box, sparrow and plum blossom, great aunt's Indian inlay box, bee-eaters - heirloom, not my fault. Okay, my fault, I chose them when it was my turn. That all works but I went overboard with the pillow...too contemporary, no self-discipline at all, I can't make myself get rid of it. Well, great-aunt's box doesn't quite fit either... DH has never complained, maybe because the color scheme is not too feminine, cream and rust and cafe au lait. Master bath, seven or eight more Lizars hummingbird prints on background of stencilled bamboo. I shall spare you the description of the other rooms in the house - no fabric, but antique prints and Japanese paintings, although there is the hummingbird wallpaper in the powder room and the hummingbird shower curtain in the children's bath. If you have to pee in my house, you get hummingbirds. My children sometimes do say, Mom, you have a lot of birds. Little do they know I'm waiting until they get through college and I can afford Koson prints. So fair warning, it is entirely possible to go too far. It's just that birds make me happy. I will tell you, it beats frogs. There was a while when people thought I collected frogs, because I had three small frogs and then my dear ones gave me frogs...

You make my story seem easy ladies. I'm looking forward to getting this "show" on the road this week. Today we pack and try to fit vacation cloths with hospital cloths all in a couple bags :oP I'm going to look like I'm moving in for six months verses two. Gad MN I know you went through hell, but when you share stories of the time, I realize it was so much worse than I could ever imagine. I did have to laugh a bit about the pictures on the wall thing.....see I did bring pictures for the wall, but they are of Winnie the Pooh and Elmo...the poor kid might be confused about his family after that huh? heh heh When he's behind the glass it's during the feeding times (three a day) and his parents aren't allowed to have any presence at that point because the goal is to take us out of the equation and see if his behaviour changes without us (we all know they know how to work us don't they)! It's optional for me to watch them, but I'm that kind of mom...I'll be there through it all. Buffettgirl, I do belong to a forum for parents of kids with eating disorders (and other medical issues as well). They are a great support network. And fortunately they'll pair us with another family with a child of similar age when we're in the hospital. I just hope we don't annoy them to death. DS does not sleep much and he's not quiet at night. That going to be a big challenge!