Kim, I am on the Low Tyramine diet for Migraine auras...so, my response is experience with the diet. The diet has been a pain due to my love for chocolate, avacados, bread, cheese, peanuts and raspberries. How all these things get lumped into one is beyond me. All were a mainstay, as was microwave meals. Oh, I forgot the raisins loved in oatmeal and ham for great winter soups. It is interesting that our minds think we have to have these things. I still "want" them, and keep thinking I hate everything else. Which is a bit silly as the everything else is quite a long list and no reason to not have some great stuff. Guess it is the grass being greener deal. My list also includes avoiding MSG. Have done a lot of searches to get a handle on this and the Low Tyramine diet. There is nothing out there except one book. And, if you start looking too hard. the list of what you can't have gets longer or just too confusing. Bottom line is anything on the store shelf has MSG as does fast food. So, I'm on the cooking from scratch diet, using fresh food, etc. Tis a pain, but am dealing with it. I will say that with this diet I am sleeping wonderfully. It has been years since getting more than a few hours at a time and waking up at 4 am. Actually I wake up surprised the night is without interruption. Cannot really say there are any other significant changes seen. Let us know how you are doing. It will be interesting to know how the diet affects another in a different situation.

Herbethyme, I am a grower and we import tens of thousands of plants from the Netherlands. It is not impossible to bring plants home from Holland but it requires preparation, money, and patience. In order to import plants from the Netherlands you require an import permit. You will have to apply for it prior to leaving for the Netherlands and you will need to state exactly which genus (example: Gladiolus, Dahlia, etc.) you plan on bringing home with you. The cost of the import permit is about $ 50.00. In addition, you will need a phytosanitary certificate from the Netherlands that states that the bulbs are grown under certain conditions. The phytosanitary certificate is issued by the company where you purchase your bulbs. There is a variable cost associated with this certificate. Once you arrive in Canada with the bulbs and declare them to customs, they will inspect them. If there is any soil on the bulbs or plants, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (Agriculture Canada) will probably confiscate them and charge you a fee to destroy the bulbs. They will also destroy the bulbs if they see that they do not appear on the import permit. It is very important that you add all the genera you want to import to the certificate. As you can imagine, this is a costly and lengthy process for a private individual. I have added a link for the import application should you decide to proceed. Best of luck Here is a link that might be useful: Import Permit application

Hi Ya'll, It's here! The swap is tommorrow! Woopee! I'll bet everyone will have more fun than a centipede at a foot tickling party! LLLOL! jclepine: I had asked for some pineapple mint & a poppy.If you can't get the poppy may I have some cherry bells? If you have enough I'll share some with a friend of mine. I'll be happy with any plants I can get. b2alicia: thanks.The more I keep up with these swaps the better I'll learn the "lingo" LOL. I have a small strawberry pot. It only has 2-3 side holes. I'll bring it with me so U can see it. Would anyone like some of those grayish egg cartons(the 18 count type)that come from walmart? I'll bring some with me.("will trade for fresh eggs"? 3-4 empty for 1 w/eggs?? Yeah right! LOL lattefairy:yeah for the mint & tansey! thanks! billie_ladybug: wow! you must have a big truck to be able to bring all of that stuff. I have my bins loaded for the manure & plenty of room for the pots. If you need help unloading your stuff I'll be glad to help. kvenkat:May I put dibs on a yellow eve primrose,persian spining primrose, morning glory/star yelta,& an apricot daisy? I think I left you off of my wish list. If I asked you this before just disreguard this. catnohat:WOW! I can't wait to see all my plants! Thanks! Well I better stop so I can get up early & head for the swap. I will be bringing: juice,pimento cheese,crackers,a cheese dip,chips & plates. I have several boxes I will bring to share if anyone needs one. Thats it(I think) goodnight all. See you in the AM ! %):>

I've brought back dried material for herbarium use without a permit, but I've been told that having a permit expedites the process. I applied for one, and it states that it covers "admissible nursery stock, plants, & roots not subject to postentry quarantine; seeds of trees and shrubs and also seeds covered in part [7 CFR] 319.37-6". I've had no problems bringing material in although I've been asked for a list of species, and specifically asked if I had certain families (such as barberry family in NYC arriving from England/Europe, and citrus family in LA arriving from Australia/New Caledonia). There might be closer scrutiny when bringing in live plants, particularly in regard to phytosanitary considerations. I avoid bringing plants on the CITES lists and make a point, both verbally and on my written list, that I don't have any listed species. I have found some variation in degree of scrutiny, but have encountered no real problems in LAX, Miami, JFK or Charlotte. Most of the time they have let me take the shipment with me, but where they haven't, it helps to sign a form authorizing the charging of a shipment by courier to one's credit card. If they want to keep the shipment, it is often because a weekend or odd-hour arrival means there is no one currently at the airport qualified to make the proper examination. Of course successful smuggling would mean no hassle at all, but I have found that if the inspectors can see that you are being completely honest and cooperative, and you are sincerely trying to comply with the regulations, they tend to respond favorably. So I would suggest checking "yes" to the agricultural question on the customs form, asking to see the USDA inspector, and hopedly you will have a favorable experience. Regulations change, so it helps to be cooperative even if an item turns out to not be admissible. The worse that can happen is that you are denied permission, but if you didn't bring it back with you in the first place, you would miss out completely anyway. Bring all labels and anything concerning any phytosanitary precautions or treatments with you to show to the inspector. Apparently there are entry points where others have had less favorable experiences. Good luck, and I look forward to reading about your experiences in this forum. Bob