Marian, I live in the country in East Texas, too! After trying various means of starting seeds that I learned about on the internet and from a daylily hybridizer friend of mine, here is what works best for me (two methods): Method #1) I plant the seeds (without any soaking) in 16 oz. plastic drinking cups, making about eight drain holes in the bottom of each cup with a sharp kitchen fork, heated on the gas flame. I fill them with Miracle Grow Seed Starter, and soak the filled cups well with water. I make five 1/4" indentions in the soil with the eraser end of a pencil. Once I deposit the seeds in the holes, I cover them with a layer of vermiculite (from Lowe's). I then place the cups in an aluminum foil roasting pan, and fill it with water 1/2 the way up the sides of the cups. I mist them lightly 3-4 times a day with this hot weather, just enough to keep the vermiculite moist. This works really great, and after about a week or ten days, new babies start popping up every day. The foil pan is also lightweight, and easy to move around. Method #2) I soak the seeds in a mixture of 1/2 gallon of distilled water and 6 tablespoons hydrogen peroxide. I place them about five or six at a time in these small zip lock bags == the kind you can write on (available at Office Depot). I fill the bags with the solution, seal them, and place them in a larger plastic container. I pour some of the solution into the container, in the event a bag should break or leak. I place the container in a dark closet, undisturbed, for 5-6 days. Some of the seeds have sprouted by the time I remove them from the closet. I separate the sprouted seeds by pouring them out of their zip lock bags, one bag at a time, into a small tea strainer. I then turn them out onto a dark-colored towel, so that I can see the sprouted ones easily. I very carefully pick up the sprouted seeds and place them in a bowl with some of the solution, to make sure they do not dry out before planting. I return the unsprouted seeds to the envelopes and put them back in the dark closet. I then take the bowl of sprouted seeds, and lift them out one at a time (again very carefully) with a teaspoon, and drop them in the prepared planting holes, as described in method 1). I continue checking on the unsprouted seeds every day or two, removing and planting the sprouted ones. This is working very well, and it is only a couple of days before I begin to see the tiny green spear-like leaves poking up out of the vermiculite. I put all my seeds and containers out on a covered porch, where they get morning sunlight. I mist them as needed to make sure the vermiculite does not dry out before the seeds have sprouted. Once they the green leaves appear, they are watered from the bottom only, to avoid damp-off. For those that are growing, I have moved them to a somewhat sunnier area with afternoon shade. I have read on-line where people have said the hydrogen peroxide destroys the sprout, but I have not found that to be the case. I have also planted seeds in large plastic storage boxes (from Wal-Mart), with holes drilled in the bottom for watering and drainage. The lids of the boxes are turned upside down and placed underneath the boxes to hold water. These work fine too, but have the disadvantage of being somewhat heavy to move around. It is much easier to manage one plastic drinking cup or a disposable aluminum foil pan full of these cups than it is to lift one of these large boxes full of damp soil. When you get to the point where you have seeds from named cultivars, you can use tongue depressors, popsicle sticks, or white plastic picnic knives for markers to identify your seedlings. I write on mine with a Sharpie pen. I understand they eventually fade, but they are fine for temporary markers. I hope I have been of some help to you. Good luck with your seeds! Nancy

Super swap packages! I love the Big Red Barn. Annie, that is fine for you to post before the end of the month. You are always so creative with the swaps you are hostess for - can't wait to see what it will be. Many of my seeds get stored in those decorative boxes (shoe box sized) that are intended for storing photos. I add alphabetical dividers and then place my seed packets in clear baggies behind the letter that it goes under (for example marigold, morning glories, etc. all in a zip lock bag together after the divider for M. I also have a big shopping bag with others - this is where my tin storage container with my tomato seeds and seeds I am planning to plant soon, etc. go. (Of course with those that are set aside to get planted soon - it doesn't always happen!) Here's where we are at with the swap: Swap to be sent by Jeanne SENT ** AliceâÂÂs Adventures in Wonderland chosen by Erica Swap to be sent by Nicole RECEIVED BY SHERI ** Big Red Barn chosen by Sheri Swap to be sent by Annie SENT ** Charlie and the Chocolate Factory chosen by Mary Swap to be sent by Margo **If You Give a Mouse a Cookie chosen by Susan Swap to be sent by Shirley ** Jake Hatches a Plan chosen by NonnaG Swap to be sent by Mary ** Linnea in MonetâÂÂs Garden chosen by Shirley Swap to be sent by Susan ** Magic Locket chosen by by Jayeanne Swap to be sent by Jayeanne - SENT ** Pinkalicious chosen by Margo Swap to be sent by Sheri RECEIVED BY JEANNE ** Pinocchio chosen by Jeanne Swap to be sent by Erica RECEIVED BY NICOLE ** Snow White and the 7 Dwarfs chosen by Nicole Swap to be sent by NonnaG SENT ** The Hungry Caterpiller chosen by Promise Swap to be sent by Promise ** The Wizard of Oz chosen by Annie I hope that's right. If not, just correct me. I'm so glad everyone is enjoying this theme and it's so interesting to see what has been sent! Jeanne

For years, our volunteer fire department has had a fish fry on Friday nights between Memorial Day & Labor Day. It's open to anybody & is widely attended by both year around locals & our seasonal boating community. There's often so many people they park on our property & walk down to the firehouse for their fish/chips. When we don't want to cook on Friday nights we always know where to get a good dinner! Our VFW has two fund raising steak feasts during the tourist season. Those guys are great with their grills & every year have something new & fun to go along with the steak. Our Congregational church is filled with avid gardeners that volunteer time to maintain a specimin garden across the street from the church. Every spring & fall we have plant sales. The sales has become well known & draw people from both CT & RI. Funds raised go to help our sister church in South America. The Catholic Church holds an annual bake sale on their lawn facing the main drag through town. They draw such a huge crowd you can't get downtown until after the sale is over. DH walks down & brings back a selection of goodies for our brunch. The Church also holds a yard sale mid-summer. The Episcopalian Church holds a very large dinner on Thanksgiving. It's grown so large that they request help from other local congregations. We've participated a couple years by driving to pick-up people who otherwise would not be able to attend, eat dinner with them, & then see them home safely. Anybody is welcome at the dinner & there's a donation box but I don't think this event is really intended as a fund raiser...more a community service. Various organization like the Lions, Chamber of Commerce, etc. hold events & proceeds go back to the community in the form of park benches, repainting fences, planting flower boxes, & organizing/conducting our Friday Night At The Movies at the River Walk Park. It's really a fun event with a large outdoor screen & big sound system. People bring blankets, chairs, picnics, & the kids. Great community fun thing to do after you've filled up on fish/chips at the firehouse. Every week, the Seaport holds some type of event ranging from a Food Fest that takes over the town to an antique boat/car show, lobster bake, a bonfire, toasted marshmallows & singing sea chanties evening, Moby Dick Marathon (community locals take turns reading Moby Dick straight through around the clock...this is an annual & much anticipated event), a ghost ship evening held in October, tug boat regatta that is hugely popular with the kiddos. Many of these events are free to the public but if money is raised part of it goes back into the community so they're not just to support the Seaport although G@d knows our national museums certainly need all the support they can get in this age of electronic entertainment. The Aquarium also holds almost weekly events...some just for fun & others educational. Like the Seaport, a portion of any proceeds goes into the community. With two such large institutions it's sorta hard for small organizations to compete. There's literally something happening every weekend that draw crowds. Many of those people also drop by a bake sale, etc. Oh, on most Friday nights there's a local organization selling popcorn & peanuts at movie night in the park...not the same organization every week though. /tricia

Remember some of these things, others may be a little ahead of me. Spent most of our time outdoors playing with friends - playing house, Barbies, teacher and secretary. And yes, all the freedom was great - all I had to worry about was being home before dark. We would ride our bike's to our local Stop n Go store for candy or icies. My favorite candies were 7 Up candy with the seven different flavors or the Rocky Road chocolate bar. We would also ride to various parks to play, most of the children's play area were styled after rockets or airplanes. Although we lived in So Cal most of our friends did not have a pool, so we either swam at the local high school pool. Two sessions every weekday afternoon. Usually a big group of kid's we knew, always a good time. One in a while we would go to the "plunge" next city over and sometimes we would go to a local "swim club" where our cousins were members. Either way we were in the pool almost every day in the summer. Loved going to the department store "tea rooms" for lunch or an occasional fashion show. Like others I have fabulous memories of visiting our department stores at Christmas time. It was always such a wonderland, loved shopping for my Christmas dress and patent shoes. My grandma usually bought me a new winter coat too. Thank you all for reminding me of all the great times.