I like them in individual envelopes and ready to go to the next person. I buy small plastic bags in the wedding department at Walmart for mine. As long as the seeds are dry they work fine. If someone has asked you for a specific thing and they are part of the swap, just put their name on that envelope that you send in. Yes, I volunteered to do the swap. It is a MUST to include your gardenweb USERNAME in your package. I will post as I receive things, and at the specified mailout time, I will post that they are being mailed. George suggested the number of seeds (25) for the swap. Now would someone like to specify the number of packets to send. Understand that you can send more than that if you want, but not less than the specified amount of packages. Just tell me what you want done with the excess, or otherwise I will just divide it up for everyone. Ilene, the old postage rate of $1.14 was the parcel post rate and sometimes you have to get a little tough with the post office over it. Seeds can travel in a bubble mailer as "large envelope rate" as long as you keep the envelope from being more than 3/4 inch thick. That might mean that you have to tape your bags to a piece of paper before you slide them in the mailer to keep them from shifting around. When you ship "large envelope rate" they will push the envelope through a template to make sure it is not too thick. I guess my feeling about the cost is this: Even if it cost $1.50 each way to get your seeds, you get to try a lot of things for $3.00. A lot of packages of seed cost that much or more, and some of them don't even have 25 seeds in them. Some of you are seed savers and can select right from your own plants. Others of us buy too many and have plenty to share. Some need only a few seed of one type for the season and the others don't get used. I think it is nice to be able to try a few of a variety to see if you like it or if it does well in your garden, before you invest in a bigger quantity....hot peppers come to mind. I would love to have dozens of ancho peppers, but a couple of chili peppers is plenty for me to plant in a season. This year I have about 3 dozen pepper plants, but they are probably 8 or 9 varities. This also provides a challenge for those people who don't normally plant from seed, and an opportunity for those who do to add a few new things to their garden. How many packs????? Also, I would like to limit it to everything being mailed in the same week to ten days, so I don't have them at my house forever. If we set a date, like mail between Nov 1st and 10th, then I could have them all on the way back to you by Thanksgiving and they wouldn't be in my way for the holidays. I think some of you will still be saving seed in October so we probably need to go later rather than earlier. Ideas?

Thanks for the tips on the Skyview app. My boys are really enjoying it. It'll be even better in the summer when we can really use it outside! I ended up ordering a microscope and a few prepared slides from Lakeshore Learning (as recommended by the kindergarten teacher at school). She could not recommend a specific model but suggested a school supply store. I can't wait until Christmas so we can start using it! MBOSTON - Lakeshore also carries a Planetarium. The description says it is interactive and educational. No reviews on it though. They also emailed a coupon to me. The code is 9690 if you needed it. Good luck! Here is a link that might be useful: Lakeshore planetarium

I'm sorry, wish I knew, but I don't know anything about prepaid mailers for slide film....I would probably check the nearest film developer or professional photogragher who may be willing to share info...I'm hesitant about internet unless you get someone's or anyone's input from a trusted place you like to visit... Juanita

Finally the damn thing reached Portugal. It's smaller than I thought, however the quality of the optics isn't bad, despite some chromatic aberration and a little distortion in the limits of the field of view, more noticeable with the 10x objective. The led illumination works pretty well, although it lacks a little power, making high amplification observation somewhat dim. The direct illumination is a feature, allowing for more observation possibilities (one can use it as powerful magnifier for observating insects, soil samples, etc) Also its small size actually makes it convenient for transport. Some things that are missing in this microscope, due to simplicity: - No fine focus wheel (requires more dexterity). - Condenser lens don't allow focus changes (fixed setting works good for most cases). Some notes about design: - Some parts have some minor aesthetical blemishes that do not affect performance. - The transformer plugs to the wall socket and then to the microscope. It would have been desirable that it had been incorporated in the base, giving extra weight and stability, but this approach means you can plug it two the car power lighter socket (with a voltage adapter sold just about anywhere), for portable application. - The objectives are made of plastic, it would be desirable a corrosion resistant metal with low thermal expansion. - Changing the objectives causes an excessive variation in the focus. Some Intelligent things about this microscope: - It's price/performance relation is very good. - The PC ocular works pretty good, although the resolution isn't superb (slightly more than 320x240) it works good enough to take pics of good quality up to 10x8cm, an adequate size to print on a project, along with text. - It's particularly useful for making videos, for instance of paramecia moving around. - It has dual illumination: transmitted as well as direct, allowing the observation of opaque objects. However this only works good with the 10x ocular, because of the obstructions the larger ones cause. The amplification can be varied with the adjustment of the Barlow lens. - The illumination is dimmable permitting adjustment to comfort level. Also the operation of the PC ocular requires usually a low setting. - The accessories that come with it are very nice for educational purposes (meaning good for a kid joining the 7-8th grade) but unfortunately lack so dyes and other more useful items. - The case of the microscope is nice, having an extra feature of a removable rack holding the accessories - Functional and Precise! mechanical stage (i.e. the thing that holds the sample can be adjusted thru knobs instead of manually pushing it - much better!) Note: Quality is not to be compared with those toy microscopes for sale at the local department store and that don't cost much less. Recommended to: - Students 6th - 10th grade - Anyone on a budget wanting a microscope that does the job without great...