A couple of notes because the rest is going to be rather long and involved: Lynda, I have the Vitex marked for you and in your baggie! And thank you for the marigolds! They will be very interesting with my others! Dessie I would be more than happy to receive your little helper's seed packets! I think it's great! Wendy Try some Chai Spice tea, it works wonders in helping clear up colds and flu. I always add a dollop of honey to help sooth the throat. It's a staple in our house and really does help. Alright, here is my take on this.. I can understand how many were hoping that the two swaps would not coincide, but, we all knew there was a fair chance of that happening. For myself, I know that I continued to update my list, even well after Patty's swap's mailing deadline. I did my updates using the same method we did for Patty's swap- using an updated date. Even had I not, I knew there was a good chance the two swaps would overlap. I joined this one knowing full well- according to the guidelines posted for it- that I may NOT receive as many as I sent in. That I would receive as many as were sent in FOR me, up to five packets of the SAME item. I recall there being some issue with this and a member who became very rude in their comments about this fact. Yes, my package from the What's Left swap is in the second batch to go out. No, I did not keep strict record of what I sent to those who were in the What's Left swap. I did keep better records of what I'm sending for this swap. I also know that a lot of people will be sending in baggies of seeds marked as extras- not dedicated for anyone, but to add in when it's seen those items are on someone's list. No, these may not be some of the rarer or more exclusively wanted items on someone's list. But if someone has some of those rarer or more specific items to share, I'm sure they would have put them into your baggie before they mailed. So, I don't see that anyone would be missing out on anything. The only way I could see having updated one's list further as complicating Patty's swap would be if someone had removed things from their list. Updating and adding items would not have conflicted. Because if there were any extras of what you were wanting, Patty would have included them. So, I guess I'm not really understanding how there is such a need to update the lists just because one is in both swaps. If I receive duplicates, wonderful! Because the things on my list are things I want! If I don't receive something on my list, then no one had it to share. If I receive so many of something that I can't plant it all, then I can bless someone else by offering it up for a trade. So, perhaps I'm being dense here, but how would one not receive something sent in specifically for them (up to FIVE packets of the same item!) that was on their wants list in this swap? Everyone has the chance to see your wants as posted and you have had the option to add to that list, as many including myself have this whole time. The only thing I could really see the two swaps happening almost simultaneously possibly affecting would be one's have's list. I'm sorry, I don't mean to upset or offend anyone. I'm just honestly trying to understand why this is such an issue. So please don't take this as meaning to offend or as pointed to anyone in particular. This is just me trying to understand why so many are upset about this. If you prefer to email me privately and help me understand it, I would be pleased with that and please do! Perhaps there are aspects and issues with this that I'm not readily seeing and should consider. I don't want to keep the thread off track by my question becoming a debate here. Perhaps there can be some adjustments of dates if this swap happens in the late summer or again next winter, but for this year it is as it is and personally, I'm really enjoying it! Nancy, I hope you don't decide to drop out, because I know that I should have at least a couple of things from your list, perhaps more. But I'll respect your choice and be your Garden Buddy either way :) Fran, you have a real job ahead of you and I don't know how those like you and Patty do it! Leave me hosting my "pair em up and let em go" or true RR type swaps! I think those of you that host this kind of swap are awesome! Angela, you have been a wonderful help to Fran and all of us in this swap! I know the time it can take to code pages like that, though updates are easier once the initial work is done, and I want to say THANK YOU for the time and work you are putting in on this swap for everyone's benefit! Kathy~ heading off to stuff more little baggies and envelopes.

Fruits of the lines like 'Splash of Cream' occasionally produce variegated fruits which are like the kind of striping seen here or on Green Zebra. With these (variegated striping) there is a white layer in addition to the two other forms of green (intensity of chlorophyll but referred to as "clear vs "yellow" skin) on their striped fruit. With these the white layer cannot be noticed once they ripen. It becomes "clear". ***** I think most folks will recognize Splash of Cream better by the name Variegated, or Variegata. It was renamed by someone in France and that was unfortunate, but is listed most places as Variegated. K, I was one of the first to grow Variegated and list it in the SSE Yearbook and while the variegation appears, best in cool weather, on the leaves and stems, I never saw striping on the fruits. When the immature fruits develop there's a darker green wedge shaped pattern of color at the stem end, but no striping, and they do ripen up red. Yes, the striping on Green Zebra is quite prominent as it is with several ofther varieties such as many varieties with Tiger as part of the name. K likes to misspell Opalka, so I won't go there,LOL, but the shape of what's being shown is not a typical roma shape based on the varieties I've grown out; rather I do think it's shape is similar to the many longer apste types I've grown, such as Opalka and Howard German and Sarnowski Polish PLum, etc. And yes, Opalka and many other longer, and even shorter paste types do have nipples at the blossom end and even certain weather conditions can cause the fruits of some other varieties to become slightly heart shaped and even develop nipples which is what I'm sure you're referring to at the end of your post. Carolyn, still waiting for Lazy to hopefully answer some of the questions I asked above. ( smile)

dreamgarden, Here's an old NYT article I dug up from January 1981. It's discusssing the Feds policy changes during October 1979. It's a time I'll certainly never forget! In October 1979, I was at Notre Dame University attending my first American Bankers Association class of a 3-year program. We attended Notre Dame for a week's worth of intense classes & then peformed work at home for a year; then back to another university & another year of home assignments...then, one more year at another university followed by a presentation given at the end of our third year. Prime changed every few days...sometimes more frequently. We were studying the secondary market. Trading terminals had been set-up for our use. We were each given $1M of Monopoly money to trade with. Every single one of us was wiped out totally within TEN MINUTES because of the prime rate changes. It changed 3 or 4 times that day alone!! I was doing construction lending at the time. My borrowers paid a rate that floated over prime, usually 3%. I can clearly remember construction loan interest rates hitting 15%+. One of my builders told me it would be cheaper for him to build the house on his VISA card! He wasn't far wrong. Permanent mortgages were 12%+ on the open market. I had a subdivision to sell out in Thornton, CO of over 400 homes. We offered 'special' financing at 10.5% in an attempt to get those houses sold. I also remember the 1970's recession & gas shortage. My ex-husband & I took turns taking a day off work to wait in line for gas. I was in line at the station just off Alicia Parkway in Laguna Hills, CA mid-week...the line was probably 1/2 mile long. Suddenly, we all heard a sharp noise & knew immediately what had happened. Frustrations had reached critical mass & somebody had shot another person who had gotten gas just before the station owner put out the "No More Gas" sign. During the 1970's recession & housing bust...REITS failed by the hundreds & the market tanked. That's when I first learned about work-outs. The world is not ending today. We're going through a tough time, sure, but it's not time to buy wheat in 50 lb. buckets. The sun came up today & it will go down tonight right on schedule. In a few years you'll be looking back at this timeframe & remembering where you were when the Dow plunged. By the time you've been thru a few recessions they aren't as unnerving. Each has its own characteristics. IMO, this one will be remembered more for banking hitting the skids than subprime. Just like we remember the 1980's for the S&L crisis rather than the policy changes that precipitated the problems. Yes, I've assumed you've not been through many recessions. If you have & have been this skittish...I don't see how you've survived?? Deep breathes. This too shall pass. /tricia PS Your posts are very hard to read with all of those strange characters. How & why does that happen?

Is THAT what it is? Nice photo, but I would never have guessed it. I can't figure out why it looks wrapped in something.