The kids and I had a great time, too! So nice to see everyone - and thanks so much for all the goodies! Erik, the kids had a blast helping with the grill, thanks for letting them assist! Oh, if anyone saw the back of my truck, can you believe that we managed to stuff in half a dozen barberry bushes from a 'please-take-these-away' dig on the way home? I had two in the front seat and would have been in extreme pain if I hadn't used the sun shield to keep them off me. (yeah, we're a little crazy...) Can't wait to see everyone in the spring! PS - Cynthia - we brought hot dogs.. =) Lynne

I think I fixed the mail problem on my page on the garden web, you should be able to use it now.

JoAnn, my life is too chaotic at the moment to commit to this swap, but you're so sweet to be organizing it. Hopefully by next summer I'll be able to be more social and join in these fun events. Over the years at the KT I have received such sweet, and usefull, gifts from spontaneous give-aways/contests - several hand-crocheted nylon scrubbies, two knit dishcloths, and a home-crafted soy candle. They were all delights to use. The dishcloth lady (?) insisted they be used for their intended purpose - washing dirty dishes! Oh the sacrilege; they were both so lovely and made with such precision. I did use one for ages to wash water glasses only; the other is still serving as a vase/candle/planter mat. It IS being useful and looking at it makes me feel special.

Do read the fine print on everything. Prime shipping isn't all free. Often an item on Prime costs $5 more than the same item without prime. They just build shipping into the price. Additionally, often one version will be on Prime, and the others aren't (and sometimes there are different prices depending on color or whatever). That happens more with outside vendors who use Amazon for fulfillment, but sometimes for direct purchases from Amazon, too. Kindle Unlimited is a separate fee. It does cover about 100,000 popular titles, but the other 500,000 are self-published on Amazon books, so the number of titles available is misleading. Not all the self-published stuff is bad, but little of it is very good, based on my sampling. I got Unlimited at a big discount on Prime Day because I figured I'd use it enough to pay for itself at the reduced price. I figured I wouldn't at the regular price. KindleUnlimited only lets you have ten titles at a time, though you can read them across devices (up to six). You have to give back some to get more. I have a Kindle Paperwhite which I use for the daily paper. I'm allergic to the new inks and can't read the paper on paper anymore, and I love that it just shows up and I don't have to put on a coat and go outside for it. I read books more on my phone and tablet, however. The lending thing is okay, but I find it confusing. Echo is also something to look into. Prime Instant video is great. I use it on my iPad. With titles that aren't on Prime, however, it can be a pain. The best thing, however, if you live anywhere within the catchment of one of their big distribution centers, is the amount of one day, or even same day, deliveries that are possible. Mimipadv, I definitely remember driving all over town looking for what used to be available at a local store, or should have been available at every store, etc. When you need something right away and don't have time to go chasing it, and Amazon can deliver it for less than parking would cost, it's a real boon.