I'm with ya, Renee. We have SO many great folks here -- from utter newbies to landscaping professionals. We should all try to focus on our many blessings!

Great post Renee....I'm so afraid I'll leave somebody out..but here goes, if I accidentally leave you out, you know I love ya anyway !

Renee and her mom....Every time I see the both of you at the swap you're always so sweet and so very generous. It is always so nice to get out of the van after the long drive and see the two of you there.

Jan and Jim Hobbs (Jan_Hobbs) and Mona and David White (mlwgardener)...the very first hugs Catie and I get when we get down there. Makes the almost 5 hour drive worth every minute of it ! All of you have put so much time into the West TN plant swap, and there just aren't any people who are more gracious and welcoming and generous with their time and love.

Virginia (Wild_Rose)...One of my YaYa sisters. I got to know you at the last swap in the best of ways...sitting around the camp fire, then getting to camp out right beside you by the river. What a sweet soul and a terrific friend.

Jeff(BOV) and Lavonne . Jeff always manages to make me smile and roll with laughter even at the worst of times and I don't know if he realizes how much I appreciate that. Lavonne, bless her , puts up with us all. You both worked so hard at the last WTPS to make it a very organized and friendly event.

Marianne... What can I say my ya ya sister ? You and I have shared some memories that I will never forget. The best of times around that camp fire, and picking up rocks up and down the riverside. Another friend with a generous and giving heart.

Mel ( Mel_TN)....I will never forget the "vacation" I took in your garden that day. Your generosity and friendship mean alot to me.

Rebecca and Doug ( and the little ones )...So very generous and helpful and too darn smart ! And the little ones who make me smile and whom Catie and Aric has had the best of times with. The kids can't wait to hunt frogs with them again.


Nancy ..another Crazy woman in Seymour lol. You are so sweet and so very talented and generous to share your crafty talents with everyone, oh, and to haul that 6' tall Rose of Sharon home for me lol.

Cheryl (TnShadyLady)...I so enjoyed meeting you and I feel a kindred spirit there. I am looking foward to getting to know you better. You were absolutely the most generous of people at the East TN plant swap. You brought all those lovely plants just to give away and share, and didn't want a thing in return. Well you got something anyway...from me..my friendship.


Norm and your sweet better half.....I wish I lived closer to you guys because I sure do miss those hugs and the love and caring I feel when I see the both of you. It's been two years in a row now that you've gifted me with a big ole bag of your home grown gourds Norm and the beautiful succulents you know I love. You are always thinking about others and I appreciate the both of you.


Now...I'm just about in tears because I'm realizing how much I miss my extended family. Over the years..and what's it been 4 ?..I have come to love all of you like family, and that's what you are, my family.

Cheryl

God has enriched all our lives with friends and fellow nature lovers from many states. I love all of you so much that I can not imagine not getting to see you every year. Yes, I was there the first time and at all the others too, but Jan Hobbs is the one that started the whole thing and I just kinda fail in love with her and Jim. So, it just evolved that I too would help with the swaps. I adopted Catie that first year because I had never met such a young lady with so much intelligance and so very much love to share with an old woman! We were few in number the first year but we made life long friends within that small group.

I had no idea that we would grow to be so big and I certainly didn't know that I would come to love so many people. If I had family(not counting my hubby and 3 grown children) I would want it to be just like all of you. You are generous to a fault, kind, compassionate, and like me, you love all of God's creations. OK, so some of you can do without ones that go buzz and slither through your gardens!

As far as I am aware of, we all have homes to go to tonight, power, running water, most have a/c, hot meals and know where all of our loved ones are located. For this, we all should bow down before our Gracious Lord and give thanks. We are truly blessed in so very many ways. While we are down there, please ask God to provide all the victums of Katrina with the same blessings in the days to come.

I love you all and I pray that we can remain blessed with each others love and friendship for a very long lifetime. Mona and David

Well you guys know that Lavonne and I love all of ya and we are very thankful to have the honor and opportunity to call you our friends.

I took a "leave of absence" this summer and have just found this amazing post. Wonderful. I don't know how it is where you all live, but Memphis has many, many evacuees who escaped the storm. Our lives are returning to normal, but it will be a very long time before these poor people regain any sense of normalcy. We have much to be thankful for. Tops on my list are the wonderful friends I've made on this forum.

In addition to you all above and the friends you mentioned, I am especially thankful to have known Anne Bryce and Betsy Mischke (Lilylace). I met Anne at my first swap - the rainy one where we swapped on the porch. Anne and I discovered we were both members of the same plant clubs in Memphis. This chance meeting developed into a wonderful friendship. Through Anne I met Betsy. We became a regular threesome and besides seeing each other on our home turf, travelled to swaps together.

Anne died this past Wednesday. I'm going to miss her.
Hugs, Virginia {{gwi:1290091}}

Virginia,

I'm really sorry to hear about Anne. She was such a joy. I'll miss seeing her at the swaps.

On a happier note, Its wonderful to see you back on the board. Its felt a lot like an old abandoned cowtown here on the TN forum, tumbleweeds blowing down an empty town square. I'm looking forward to some active conversations as the growing season winds down. Speaking of which, I hope the biz has been buzzin'.

Renee

Virginia, It is wonderful to see you again, but I too am so sorry to hear about Anne. I remember meeting her at my very first swap. I'm glad she had you for her friend .

Cheryl