WEll I hope when ya play with the cactus ya don't get stuck. I am glad I had somethings that you and your wife wanted.Since it was our first swap it was hard to figure what to bring. Now that we know how it all works,next time we will be more prepared. WE did have a blast.We are still talking about the people we met and the food.We were glad we had things people wanted. OK Now I gotta get outside and help Rich plant. THanks again for everything you done.

I got those cactus planted. I have from 1 to 4 pads between 35 fence posts then I made some doubles tipples and one double double. I planted that one with the elongated pads all in one. Then I had that box full left over. I planted those in the yard.

Last week I cut a lot of brush and threw it over the fence where they were going under the fence and I dug up the fence and raised it where they were going over. Then I stretched it. It should keep them out until the cactus fence grows. He did get rid of the goats and moved the worst cows. Now I only have to deal with the sheep and.

Well I am glad to be able to bring the cactus to you. I had one pad I got about 4 or 5 years ago and I just put it on the dirt and now I have a bunch of big plants.THe 2 plants I brought you were smaller ones and I wanted to trim the top pads off mine but didn't have time, but I am glad I didn't because they might not have bloomed this year.I see the little buds starting to come out. I hope if there is a swap in the fall I have more things that you and others would want. I don't have the cactus close to cows. Hmmm maybe I should put some on the fence line to keep the neighbors cows out.

Plantermunn - Thanks for making all of the arrangements for the swap. I am a little embarassed, because I had heard that we were going to donate to a fund to pay for the facility, and I remembered that after I was a couple of miles away. Was there a collection plate somewhere? Do I need to send some money? I didn't spend much time over at the food and prize tables so I didn't see one.

I did go over there when they called my name and told me that I had won the wooden flower pot holder. Otherwise I would have to assume from the pictures that okiedawn was doing a table dance. I love the prize.

I left the swap and went south to Ardmore to see my mother and sister. My husband called me Saturday night to tell me that Grove had gotten a real "toad strangler" rain and that we had wet carpet. The new safe room/tornado shelter still has only the flat concrete roof, and the metal slanted roof is to be added as soon as the steel arrives. The rains didn't wait, so the best efforts of sealing off and foaming everyplace they could see still did not work perfectly. I had planned to stay in Carter County for a few days, but after I heard that my DH was moving furniture and using the shop vac to pull water out of the carpet, I decided to drive home today. Actually it is a little cool where I am sitting because there are two ceiling fans and a floor fan blowing on the carpet. It seems to be working OK.

I brought home more plants than I intended to get, but they just kept calling my name. Actually too many people kept saying, "Do you have one of these?" And I didn't. In addition to the plants, I brought home all of the Birds and Blooms magazines that were left on the bench. Thanks indianblanket, I will have plenty of reading for awhile.

Thanks George, for the veggie seeds. I also picked up some nice packs of flower seeds and I don't know who to thank for those....but I'll think of you this week while I am planting them.

By the way, the small plastic flower pots that some of you were using to carry your plants home are the same as the ones I planted peppers in last year and they all did fine in that size pot. The Balsam Impatiens are new to me also, so I hope they prove to be a nice plant.

Thanks everyone for plants, seeds, prizes, and an enjoyable day. A fall "meet and eat" sounds like fun also.

Dawn, I even brought home two of your tomato plants. I promised seedmama that I would grow out that Porterhouse and send her some seeds, because neither of us has ever grown it.

Speaking of seedmama, wasn't she a doll? It's funny how you make mental pictures of people, but she was younger, blonder, and cuter than I had pictured her. We have emailed back and forth for 3 or 4 months so it was a treat to meet her in person. She shared seeds and experiences with me all winter as I learned to wintersow.

Lisa, I am sorry I didn't get to see your garden. I did appreciate the invitation, but I was trying to get on the road so I could spend a little time yesterday with my mother who will turn 98 in July. I hope I can get a raincheck on that invitation.

Moni, thanks for that special plant you hid in the car for me. I can't wait to plant it. Thanks everyone. Carol

Njdjs, what part of NJ are you from? I grew up in Colts Neck. Our last stint (2001-2005) in Jackson. I'm a native son, though generally I don't talk about it very much.

We only spoke briefly at the swap/potluck. Hopefully we can make the fall one. I'll do everything I can to bring Jerreth next time. She'd have a ball.

By the way, for those who would like to know, the wedding shower went very well yesterday. Jerreth and my daughters were up much of the night before, working on a huge fruit salad/decoration. But the folks had a great time.

George

Carol,

I checked with Plantermunn about the money that day and he said someone, and I think it was Mrs. Frodo, had money left over from the collection at the previous swap, so they used that money for the rental fee for this swap. We will need to collect money to pay for the fall swap though.

I can't believe you drove all the way down to Ardmore and then had to head back home so quickly. I hope all was well with your family.

Carol, you and Seedmama might not want to save Porterhouse seed--it is a hybrid, so you might not get what you're expecting. It is one of my favorite large red hybrids. Gonefishin' (may he rest in peace) was the one who encouraged me to try it because he liked it so much, and since then, I've added 1 or 2 new hybrids every year, even though I greatly prefer heirlooms.

George, I'm so glad to hear the shower went well. Now, if only y'all can survive the wedding itself. : ) I imagine Jerreth and your daughters were completely exhausted by the time it was over, and I hope they got some badly needed rest last night.

It's been said before and I'll say it again: it was great to meet everyone and we had the best time! Lisa's yard rocks!

Dawn

Plantermunn -

Will send you an email - thankyou :-)

Loved the wonderful time and getting to add faces to names and everything - will try to start cuttings soon for fall once the plants get a little thicker and then will be ready to go with trays for the fall swap! I cannot wait to see the babies I was privileged to bring home and hope to repay a lot of the kindness in the fall.

Mitch

Dawn - It was really OK to come home early, but I did drive 600 miles in those two days. I visited my Mom on both Saturday afternoon and again on Sunday morning. I spent the evening with my sister and BIL, and got up early and went to visit with an aunt before I went back to see Mother. I also went to my storage unit and took out a small dining table and chairs for a lady who lost everything in the tornado, and she met me there and picked them up. She is still living in a camper but is storing furniture as she accumulates it. She lived in a mobile home and had a ten thousand dollar insurance policy on it. FEMA wouldn't give her anything because she had "insurance". Her neighbors who had no insurance got $30,000. There is something wrong with a government policy that penalizes those who try to protect themselves, but rewards those that do not. I have a tagline on my email that says it more simply than I can explain. It is a quote from George Bernard Shaw - "A government that robs Peter to pay Paul, will always have the support of Paul." But we had best not discuss my political views. LOL

My husband insisted that he had everything taken care of at home, but we are a team, and I didn't want to leave him stranded with a problem. It is still too cold to stay in this room with the windows open and three fans blowing, but it is working. They are framing the roof today and I think they are putting on a temporary cover until the steel is delivered. Our neighbors are getting a new roof so they are trying to schedule one delivery for both jobs, I think. Poor guy, during the first rain he came over at 4 AM to make sure everything was OK and started a pump running to take the water off. At this stage, he had foamed every opening that you could see and had put up heavy plastic to throw the water off. Somehow it made it's way down the wall. It wasn't a flood of water, but was enough to get the carpet wet. We had talked of taking out part of the carpet and tileing that area anyway, so this may help us make a decision. But, actually, I think it is going to dry just fine.

I had gone to OKC early on Saturday so I could pick up ProMix. The company closed at noon so I knew I had to go before the swap. I laid down all of the seats in my SUV so I could carry bales of ProMix.....and they were out of stock. I came back with a load of stuff anyway because my relatives who no longer have an interest in sewing donated all of their leftover fabric to me. I told them that I would only take it, if they didn't care what I did with it. With my kids clothing project, it might end up on a child in South America, Africa, or elsewhere. I just make them, and the Church sends them where the need is greatest at the time. Everyone agreed to give me the freedom to decide what I would make and didn't care if it was for my family or home, or for my humanitarian project. Of course, I probably will not sew again until hot summer gets here. I work out on those mornings, then hibernate inside for the remainder of the day. I have so much yard work to do that I will be busy with that until the weather is too hot to stay outside all day.

Thank you Mr. & Mrs. Plantermunn! I am the one in the white jacket with the basket coming the gate to the swap. Had a great time!

WOW macmex its a small world. Colts Neck was about a hour and 20 mins from where I lived. I grew up in a small town called Byram but we didn't have a post office so the post office we had to use was Stanhope which is in Sussex County NJ.We haven't met other Jersians here in OK. Most people here are from California.

Okiedawn Mom doesn't seem to be doing to well. She has pneumonia in one of her lungs. I was there today and I had to feed her and a nurse came in to check her sugar and she started yelling at the nurse. (not my mom) Her sugar is bouncing up and down. SHe was doing good Friday evening before the swap and dad said just today she got bad. She doesn't know who anyone is. She did know who Rich was. Mom loves Rich. I pray she gets better. Sad since Saturday was her 78th b-day. Diabetes is a bad thing and I don't wish that on anyone.

Njdjs,

I hope and pray your mom gets better. My mom is not herself either when her blood sugar acts up, so I know what it is like. We always start wondering if she is losing her mind, and then they get her blood sugar back on an even keel and she starts acting like herself again. I am concerned about the pneumonia because it can be so hard on an older person.

My mom is 85 and when she is in a "good" frame of mind she jokes and tells us that she would have taken better care of herself, and especially would have managed her diabetes better, if she'd known she'd live so long.

I do think diabetes is a terrible disease, I wouldn't wish it on anyone either, and I try to eat healthy so it won't happen to me.

Dawn

I am sorry I was unable to come. Although I live only 5-8 miles away from the meet in OKC, I make my living as a programmer for several cities in Colorado, and they were under a blizzard while we here in Oklahoma were ready to trade tomato plants. I had to stick around in case someone needed traffic signs on the freeways in Colorado put up or something else having to do with computers get done.

Hope to make the fall meet at least.

Best,

Robert,
Forest Park

Thanks to all - I rarely go to group gatherings and I had a great time at this one!!!!! I brought home some really great plants and was glad I had something to share that folks wanted.

If the group ever wanted to travel to NE OK, I would be willing to host the meet at my house in Grove.For those that have to come from the opposite end of the state, I have 4 extra beds, two cots and two sofas.

Thanks again!