Well hello everyone! I too have had many family members that served for our country! I have a niece that I raised that is a colonel in the Marines right now! She has spent a couple tours in Iraq and several other places. Many hrs. of worry there, but thank God for our many veterans! Mellen and April-so glad your husbands are doing ok! My thoughts and prayers are with the many people here who need them! Melissa, I loved the pic! So cute! I know what you mean about little ones growing up so fast! I had all 3 boys here last night and I just go with the flow! No work, just play! I know someday they will have many memories of old grandma taking them fishing, going for walks, coloring, crawling around and just having fun! Hope to get ahold of you soon about the plants! Just hate to see you mail them after you already mailed a box! I will get that way soon! Well, most everyone here knows me, but a few don't I suppose. I joined in 2003. I started doing alot of gardening in 2000 after my husband passed away in 1999. It was something for me to do and keep me occupied. My mother was a member of GW and loved it so I did have her do some trades for me and we shared things for a couple of years! She taught me to wintersow and how to do seed trades, etc.So I was very familiar with some of it when I joined. She finally convinced me to join and I've been here ever since. I did seed trades for a year or so then did a couple plant trades and then some round robins. Don't see much of that anymore! Things have definitely changed since I started here. I see many familiar faces, but so many new ones! I too often wonder what has happened to some of the people that were here all the time and then just disappeared! It became quite the thing for many years as my mother and I shared and wintersowed together, planned our gardens together and just in general loved the same things and had so many wonderful memories doing them! I have a yard full of plants from wonderful GW members and also full of many of the plants my mother and I wintersowed together that last year! I know she is up in Heaven looking down and seeing how beautiful they became! Well, enough of that! LOl! No more tears right now! Anway, I tried several names and couldn't find the right one or one that wasn't taken, so I just chose the things I love! I love flowers and rocks and children so that's how I chose ilovefarac! Margaret, I haven't been in a swap that you have done before, but I congratulate you on being great at it!! And everyone who posts! I just love reading all of them! Waiting patiently on more games! Have a beautiful weekend everyone! Melinda

I got 5 cards today. Wasn't expecting them! Smokymist Cheryl sent a snowman card with Honeydew Melons from an Amish Farm, Ambrosia Melons, Tangerine Pimento Pepper, Tennessee Old Time Melon, and Banana Cantaloupe. That Banana Cantaloupe sounds so interesting. Thank you! FarmerGirl2009 Ellie sent Nasturtiums, Sage, Cosmos Double Click and Larkspur Gentian Blue. These are all great and I don't have them yet. Thanks so much! DetroitGir77 Michelle sent Dark Green Italian Parsley (plain leaf) and 7 Pot Red Brain Strain Peppers. I have been wanting those peppers for a long time and we can always use parsley. Thank you and Happy New Year! lexiegurl Dawn sent a very glittery Christmas card loaded with seeds. I love love love peppers and tomatoes and I have a bunch of new ones now from her! Gardener's Delight tomato, Orange King Tomato, Carolina Hybrid Cucumber, Straight 8 Cucumber, Hungarian Yellow Wax Pepper, Thai Bird Pepper, De Arbol Pepper, Palo Alto Tomato and Marglobe Tomato. These are all new for me and I can't wait to grow them. Orange King sounds big, I love big tomatoes, I will have to look it up! Thank you very much. Keiki sent some interesting seeds. Randia Blackberry Jam fruit and Carambola - Kari. I have never heard of these but that blackberry jam fruit sounds delicious. I can't wait until spring. Thank you all for the cards and all of the seeds. I will have a very busy springtime. Happy New year!

Hello! Fran, below 70 cold!?! We were above zero today by 10 degrees! Christmas it is supposed to get up to the low 20's! Everyone is excited! LOL Anyone here from Deb? I was just wondering how she was doing. And what about Melissa? I hope she is in the middle of a 15 min. labor right now! : ) Diene, sorry you've been sick, hope you are on the mend. Nice box you got there! I'm hoping my SS box shows up today or tomorrow! I didn't get a chance to read all the threads (again) but you girls made some great quilts! They are so nice! Mariann, is your daughters store picking up at all? I was in the mall over the weekend here (I hate going to the mall) It seemed that all the kiosks in there were pretty slow too. I think people are shopping more for price this year than quality, which is sad. And I've talked to a lot of people (us included) that are cutting way back this year. Well, I think you girls know that I rented my house out in MI, and so far this month I have not rec'd the rent and can't get ahold of them, they don't ans. the ph or return my calls "sigh" The lease is up Jan 1st and I told Jamie that I am worried they thought we would not renew the lease because they were always late on the rent and they might be just moving out! Nothing like having to come up with an extra house payment at Christmas time! It would be nice if they would at least let me know if they are moving! Enough of that, it's giving me a terrible headache. I have to work tomorrow probably till about 3:00 then I get FOUR days off!!! YIPEE!!! I'm hoping to live in my PJ's for most of those days and not leave the house at all! Hi Kym, Nikki, and Marie! And you too Jeanne! Of course you are always welcome to stop in and say hi! : ) Merry Christmas! Vic

Micyrey and Yotetrapper - did you receive my card and seeds? I might have missed your thank you's. Please let me know. In the past couple days, I got 4 cards! Holy COW! Smitties sent Yellow Primrose and Scabiosa Butterfly Blue. Flowergirl34 sent Pink/Purple Cleome, Amaranthus Autumn's Touch, Chinese Houses Lavender, centaurea rose pink and farewell to spring. Pumkingal sent Easter egg plant, amaranthus hot biscuits Pinky Winky Hydrangea and Amaranthus Princes Feather. Nottougly sent mixed pink hibiscus seeds with a nice glitter NOEL card. WOW I can't thank you all enough. I can't wait to look up all of these seeds. It sounds like you sent me a lot of interesting ones, which I like. Thank you all for being so generous this Christmas season.