Jeanne, you are the winner! The number was 232.

So sweet that you got a bouquet for Valentines Day.

I will be working on my project over the weekend and will try to do a game on Monday.

Remember that your art project needs to be posted some time on Wednesday the 21. I will have members send me their votes through message.

Base-no points

Paper

Cardboard

Wood base

To create using following items. Points listed beside item

Toothpicks -1

Cotton balls - 1

Cotton swaps - 1

Mints - 2

Plastic forks, spoons, knives -2 points each type

Glitter - 2

Wood sticks - 2

Bird seed - 2

Pictures from magazines - 2

Pebbles - 2

Stickers -1

Fabric - 3

Plant parts - 4

Miniature figures - 4

Tissue paper - 3

Toilet paper - 1

Kleenex -1

Toilet or paper towel empty roll -1

Pieces of or whole crayons -2

Marbles - 2

Beads - 2

Safety pins - 2

Paper clips -2

Candy conversation hearts - 4

Dog or cat treats -5

Buttons -2

Pebbles- 2

Sea glass -2

Yarn/string -1

Wire-3

Sand-3

Coffee/tea grounds -3

Tea bags -3

Ribbon-2

paint, markers, pens, pencils -2

Jeanne, that is very sweet that you received a bouquet of flowers...really nice!! I love hearing that these kind of giving things happen. I just don't hear that it happens very often.

Shirley, did you send me an email??? It did not sound like you!!!

congrats Jeanne!!

Hope everyone has a great weekend (three day weekend for others due to Monday being holiday, President's day which means no mail :(

Shirley ... I also got an email from you... before responding to it, just making sure that you did indeed send that email

forgot to mention ... Congrats Jeanne on the guess!

Happy news that my guess was the closest. Thanks! It sure didn't look like that many seeds.

I'm going to try to create my art piece by the end of the weekend. I've been working on taxes this week and for some reason it seems even harder than usual. Barely got started and my new printer quit working and you know how much comes by computer these days. Anyway, after many phone calls to the maker of the printer (those calls never did help - just offered to send me a new one and to return this one) my son-in-law gave me a suggestion and I have it working again.

Went on a tour of the NC Plant Sciences Building at NC State in Raleigh yesterday. What a great facility. The entire 5th floor is a massive greenhouse that lets in all the light it can - glass ceiling, even the air ducts are clear - so bright they ask you to put sunglasses on when you walk into the greenhouse. I'll try to get back online later and post a picture.

Those seeds were pretty tiny and i strategically piled them a bit. I am headed to the doc with hubby and will try to post what I received from Jayeanne.

I also got an odd message from Shirley. I think her email must have a problem with hacking or something.

I have not gotten an email so thanks for the heads up. That is unusual because the hacking is usually done through facebook messaging. I guess we can’t escape those hackers. Gotta keep your guard up all the time. Hubby got a bogus message from Paypal yesterday but knew not to answer. Instead he contacted Paypal and they are checking it out.

I received my card and seeds from Nicole today - thank you!

It's fun to receive stuff in the mail, and I love the Ragged Jack kale and Mexican Mint marigolds! I've never heard of those before, but they sound like a fun variety! And who doesn't love Bugs Bunny?

Mandy ~ wow, mail came to you fast, happy planting and hope u had a good V day with all those you love.

Finally posting 2 pictures taken at the Plant Science building at NC State. The entire 5th floor is a greenhouse and I believe they said it's the tallest building on campus. So much sunlight comes in that they highly recommend you wear sunglasses when you go in there. (They have some available if you don't have your own pair.) Even their air ducts are clear as you'll see. Every bit of sunlight is able to come in.

Jeanne...the Plant Science Building is incredible....simply amazing!! I would love to make a tour of this. Thanks for sharing!!

I agree Annie, that place looks awesome.

Change of plans for me this weekend. I had to pack up and drive 6 hours to give my son some moral support. His father in law has terminal cancer and things have been bad the past five days. My DIL has been with her family and my son is taking care of the 2 and 4 year old grandkids. He is doing fine but I thought he could use a little help and someone to talk to.

I was planning to do my project but it is on hold. This is as far as I have gotten. I was up to about 20 points so far but I won’t be in the contest. Just wanted to give you all an idea of how it works. The brown on the flower centers is coffee grounds. So far the flowers are tissue paper, toilet paper and ribbon. I still need to finish them. I will probably finish it by the end of the swap.

Have a good weekend

Heidi, I hope you have received my card by now. I tried to mail it in time for Valentines day but it seems the post office is moving slow these days.

Annie (sent) sends to Jeanne (recd)

Jeanne (sent) sends to Nicole (recd)

Nicole (sent) sends to Mandy (recd)

Mandy (sent) sends to Shirley (recd)

Shirley (sent) sends to Jayeanne

Jayeanne (sent) sends to Margo (recd)

Margo (sent) sends to Heidi (recd)

Heidi sends to Annie

Are there any updates on the above info I have missed?

Annie I did not send those e-mails friends are getting. I heard the e-mail says I have a ruptured eardrum and asking for gift cards for a friend. How in the world do they get our info?

Mandy I haven't received your card, maybe today.

Oh goodness I see where several of you received that crazy e-mail. So sorry!

Margo - Mandy received my card/with seeds about three days ago.

hope everyone is doing well!!

Thanks Nicole. I will try to update again tomorrow. If there are any sends and received I need to know, contact me. I am headed back home in the morning and grands are coming back with me til Sunday. Things are not looking good for my DIL’s dad. It will be fun to have them with us for the week.

Margo, you are so sweet to be helping out with your daughter and her family. Have fun with the grandkids! So sorry for the circumstances behind the visit.

I couldn't get to sleep last night so I got up for awhile and made my piece of art. I'm calling this a faux gift package with a magnolia topper.

What I used: paper, cardboard, toothpick (in flower center to stabilize it), glitter (on butterfly), plant parts (magnolia leaves from my sweet bay magnolia), wire (holding the flower on the package, ribbon (to tie the flower on the package), marker (to add some contrast color to the center of the flower). Yes, there is a wrapped package under all that. The flower is more than 12" across so you can't really see much of the package. I used a die cut I had never used before to cut out the parts for the magnolia so maybe this shouldn't even count for the contest, but I did assemble it and plan out the way to put it together.

Jeanne...WOW...your Magnolia is so very cool!!

Working on my art project...I will get it posted later tomorrow....under the gun for sure. LOL!

Happy Eve!!

Annie, we can extend if needed. I will just ask for votes once you are done.

Jeanne, gorgeous flower. Just go by my list and tally your points. The points you get are listed by each item. You just count any item you use just once. Let me know if you have any questions.

I got the little ones down for the night and I am exhausted. Annie, I did send you a message.

Jeanne I love your Magnolia, you are so talented.

Mandy thank you for my Valentine Card and the seeds Zinnia-Envy and Allsweet Watermelon. Zinnias are one of my favorite flowers. Also in the card cute stickers.

Thanks, ladies. I wasn't even sure I could make that flower in the middle of the night like I did, but really was very awake so I took advantage of it.

If I counted right, it's 14 points.

Just heard from Heidi that she received my card and goodies.

Just waiting on receives from Heidi to Annie and Shirley to Jayeanne. Any updates?

Margo and Jeanne! BEAUTIFUL ART PIECES! WOW.

no update here, just got todays mail and nothing yet. Will post when/if it arrives.

Just got home....no mail from Heidi!! I don't know if she has even sent it out. I have not heard from her. Heidi, are you out there????

Margo, I hope you finish your art piece...very cool!

I need to finish my art project...just a few things. I will post my pics by midnight Pacific.....haha! I need a glass of Pinot Noir before I begin. I really have had fun doing this art project. I could have taken this so much further...but ya know...where does one draw the line?

Later....

OMG...my post is gone with my art project...pisses me off!!

OK, I will do it again!!

Very busy submission here...so posting a few different pics.

My art project is called "SHIRLEY COLOSIMO PARK"...of course, in honor of our girl, the one and only, SHIRLEY COLOSIMO.

Enjoy SHIRLEY COLOSIMO PARK....take a stroll down one of the pebble pathways, have some paddle fun in one of the ponds, you might even see some swimming flamingos, fly a kite, enjoy some wine with a good looking guy on a park bench, take a nap on a park bench, view pretty flowers and trees, enjoy romantic hearts from the man in the park with the pink cap....they are free....but please remember to throw your trash away!! Take note...Angel Shirley Colosimo is at the front left entrance to the park, watching over all of us!!

THANK YOU SHIRLEY....we miss you!!

There is something for everyone at SHIRLEY COLOSIMO PARK....enjoy, have fun, be happy....that is what Shirley Colosimo would want.

#1 pic

#2 pic

#4 and #5 pics in next post

SHIRLEY COLOSIMO PARK cont.......

#4

#5

Margo, I will let you know tomorrow the items/points for my project.

Wow Annie, that is quite the park! It was quite a tribute to our friend Shirley. I love it. You and Jeanne did awesome jobs. i appreciate so much you doing this.

I can tell that you will have the most points so you win for points. I am so impressed with both pieces of art that I am declaring you both winners. I am so glad you enjoyed doing the art. Having the kids here is so distracting and tiring that I won’t be finishing mine. Thank you so much for doing the art.

Thank you Margo! What fun to get this in the mail!

Heidi

I got mail...

Thanks Heidi....I forgot that you are Reverend Heidi!! Heidi sent me a beautiful card, seeds Tiger Melon and Japanese Hulless Corn and a copy of her new book....JESUS + SANTA = CHRISTMAS!

Congratulations Heidi!!

Jayeanne hahahaha!!

Actually the park bench guy, he is napping (eyes closed), waiting for me to join him for wine....haha!

Here is my good looking guy 5 years later. He is still waiting for me...haha!

Annie (sent) sends to Jeanne (recd)

Jeanne (sent) sends to Nicole (recd)

Nicole (sent) sends to Mandy (recd)

Mandy (sent) sends to Shirley (recd)

Shirley (sent) sends to Jayeanne

Jayeanne (sent) sends to Margo (recd)

Margo (sent) sends to Heidi (recd)

Heidi sends to Annie (recd)

Looks like we have one more to be recieved. I will wrap this up in a couple days. Thank you to all of you who participated. Hosting always makes me nervous that I can’t keep up. I have met some great people here and sadly only a few are left. I wish they would just join in the conversation but oh well. I very appreciative of everyone’s participation.

Annie, your Park is fantastic! I can imagine all the time you spent making that. What a great tribute to Shirley.

It has been a fun month. Thanks for hosting, Margo, especially trying to fit this in with all you have going on.

I took a picture of my Aerogarden today. The lettuce has been growing for some time and I keep picking leaves from it. The peas are more newly planted and getting large but no flowers yet. The pots in the foreground hold plants that started out in the Aerogarden and then were moved to containers, the middle one (Cardinal Basil) just came up a few days ago and I decided to try moving it to a container when it was really small. It looks happy so far.

Wow Jayeanne can't believe your card never got delivered. When I go to Innercize tomorrow I will take your 2nd card to the Post Office and let them know the first one was never delivered. Seems it would have returned to me if not delivered? Oh well so sorry. It will be a different card as Valentine's Day is way over.

Annie your Park is amazing.

Well, met the son and dil in West Virginia to give the grands back. It was easier to meet them 1/2 way rather than have to drive 6 hours there and back. Slept in til 9 and I never do that. lol

Jeanne, love those aerogardens. One day, I want one.

Shirley, thanks for resending. The post office seems to have missed the mark ever since the holiday. It takes so much longer and one of my cards never made it to the receiver which in literally 30 years of trading, has never happened to me.

Just waiting for Jayeanne to receive her card. The prizes will be mailed tomorrow so I will bring this swap to a close. Thank you all for joining in. I enjoyed my hosting duties.

The following is Shirley’s obituary so those of you who never knew her can read a bit about her life. What I remember and I don’t think it is mentioned, Shirley enjoyed visiting old cemeteries whenever she traveled.

Shirley Jayne Colosimo passed away on Friday, July 8, 2022, at Miami Valley Hospital in Dayton, Ohio, due to complications from pneumonia.
She was born on April 15, 1948, in Slippery Rock, to Alma (Grossman) Dally and John Flynn.
Shirley graduated from Slippery Rock High School in 1966, and later in life, moved to Monroe, Mich., where she retired from the Monroe County Register of Deeds in 2015.
She is survived by two sons, Todd Colosimo of Boyers and Terry Colosimo of Forestville, Pa.; and a daughter, Christina Colosimo, a son-in-law, Joseph Josey, and two cherished granddaughters, Tabitha and Myrna Josey, all of Kettering, Ohio.
She also leaves behind two brothers, Ronald Flynn and George Flynn; a sister-in-law, Shirley Flynn of Slippery Rock; her six half-siblings, Galen Flynn of Clintonville, Debra Snyder of Slippery Rock, Gary Flynn of Conneaut Lake, Linda Thompson of Volant, Cheryl Baggott of Portersville and Charlene Switzer of Boyers; and her stepfather, Richard Dally of Butler.
She was preceded in death by her parents; and one brother, James Flynn.
Shirley enjoyed spending time with family and going on adventures with friends. Her biggest passion in life was reading. She was an avid, lifelong reader, who filled her home with her book collection and custom bookshelves. Other hobbies included listening to Willie Nelson and The White Stripes, watching the "Jurassic Park" movies two or three trillion times (rough estimate provided by granddaughters), gardening and photography, and making cards, calendars, and Christmas tree decorations.
Shirley will be deeply missed by her family and friends. She will live in our hearts always.

Margo and Jayeanne 2nd card is on its way. More money but I bought insurance and got a tracking number. 9500 1161 4748 4058 0404 34. Says delivery date will be 3/01.

Margo this is a first for me too, someone not receiving your card/pkg.

Weather here is all over the place. Yesterday it was warm and so nice. Today the wind will blow you away.

Margo, yes, I remember talking with Shirley Colosimo about cemeteries. We both enjoyed visiting cemeteries.....we were/are not tombstone tourists. LOL!!

Heidi or anyone else.....do you have Castor Beans? I would love some and will pay postage. Please let me know.

Margo, thanks for a wonderful month of art and simplicity. So much fun!!

In the 25 plus years that ive been trading, I’ve never lost anything one way or the other. Lately, the post office has been dropping things off late. I am thinking no matter how it’s sent, the same issue will happen. DC will not help find it, it’ll just tell you it didn’t get there, not where it is.

As far as swapping over the years, (GW or HOUZZ)....without DC, some times I think the mail gets to the person but the person does not post that they received. And I think, some times, with out DC, someone will say they have sent but did not.

DC is a cushion but it does not save the day. Yes, it can get lost/disappear to no where land but at least we know it was sent.

Shirley, I thought insurance was included??? You had to pay???? Explain that please!!

I don't think I can get DC (via USPS on-line) on a first class envie sent from my house. I need to go to the post office correct?? *********** OK, Jayeanne, I just re-read your most recent post again...you put your envie in a bubbler and sent from your house and a DC comes with it?? That is the new Ground Advantage via USPS??? OK, Shirley, did you use USPS ground advantage to send Jayeanne's most recent mailing? That would include insurance.

Happy Leap day. As the month cones to a close, just for fun I have some curious questions just to see how many people are obsessed with their seeds as I am. If you would like, please answer the questions below.

You are sorting through seeds and some from a packet fall to the floor but you still have plenty left in the packet, do you

1. Pick them all up

2. Get out the vacuum

You’re sorting seeds and one is stuck in the corner of the packet, do you

1. Tear at the package to get that last seed

2. Just throw the packet away

You plant seeds in the garden and too many germinate. Do you

1. Tear out the extras and toss them.

2. Transplant them elsewhere

3. Share them with others.

You drop a pot if seedlings right over.

1. Toss it all

2. Meticulously pick through and find all the babies

Do you search at nursery's for the pots that have more than one seedling?

Consider it a jackpot if there is a different type plant in the pot?

Stick a piece of a plant you find broken in a plant you are purchasing so you can root it at home?

ME- 1, 1, 2, 2,

yes, yes, yes

Thanks everyone. I see Amy has posted the March swap. It is a good old Round Robin. Check it out.

Shirley ... just got your card today, Thank you!

I thought I would comment about the delivery confirmation from the rules with FOTESS. Of course it's fine if you want to purchase that service, but we have never required it. The rule is if the item doesn't make it to the recipient you have to follow up and send something to her (if you can't duplicate what didn't make it, you send something similar). I don't understand why the post office is doing worse now than it was over the holidays and during COVID. Usually mine is okay, but I do get mail for neighbors in my mail box. They don't sort it like they should. It will have that person's name and their correct address but will be left in my mailbox. I hand deliver them when I walk my dog. Hopefully if anyone else gets my mail, they do the same.

Happy Leap Day!

My answers: 2,1,2,2, yes, never happened, no

(It would have to be a large or poisonous seed for me to immediately search for it on the floor in order to pick it up.)

Off to check the new heading for March ...

Thanks for the great participation the past few months. Lots of fun!

** A Follow-Up that I'm adding (you can also see my comment in the March Swap). Although as a general rule our swaps do not require tracking, it has always been that if on the month you are hostess you want to add that requirement when you post the swap, that's fine. Typically we might require tracking when it's a round robin that goes from person to person so we can tell where it's at or when it's a more expensive swap or if involving live plants being shipped. Hope that helps. **

Margo, I received my lovely prizes in yesterday's mail: a very pretty floral necklace and a packet of Salad Bowl Mix seeds. Also an extremly lovely card in a matching envelope. Thank you so much. I never used to have any luck with lettuce and with the rabbits here I sure wouldn't try it outdoors but they do great in my Aerogarden. I have two lettuce plants growing in there now and the result is I always have lettuce to add to my sandwiches. I also grew basil in the Aerogarden that I have now moved to a pot and I add a few leaves of basil to my sandwich, too. So yummy!

Jayeanne so glad your card arrived on time.

1. 1. 2. 2. yes yes yes

Raining here all day. We either have wind or rain it seems.

Margo, I opened my prize last night but was not able to get on the internet until the last hour.

Thanks so much.....cute, cute , cute socks....one foot says "if its plants"....the other foot says "its not hoarding"...hahaha!! And darling earrings.....one ear has the bottle of wine, the other ear has the glass of wine. To damn funny!! And a very nice note!!

Thanks so much!!

Barely making it in time, but Happy St. Patrick's Day to all in FOTESS!