Urooj, count me in for the month of April...."Reap What You Sow". Great theme!!

I will PM you my BINGO card of 15 shortly.

Happy Tuesday!!

Annie

Edited....sorry about your name spelling Urooj!!

No worries Annie!! You should see my starbucks cups, i actually love the phonetics people hear when i say my name and take pictures when they are really over the top.

Sign Ups -

Annie

Bingo Words -

Annie

I would like to join the fun this month!!

Welcome to the swap amy

Sign Ups -

Annie

Amy

Bingo Words -

Annie

Amy

yesterday was my 21st wedding anniversary and my sister sent me a white chocolate and raspberry bundt cake. my husband brought me red roses, chocolates, and chips. he also managed to find some cheesecake at work so brough that home too. lol.

i think there is a present coming for me but im pretending i dont know. i may have accidentally checked our joint email which i dont usually check. hey its the one we use to pay the bills and i dont usually look at those.

had my grass cut yesterday, finally... had the lawn fertilized and started the sprinklers. well they ran again this morning so i did something wrong there. the person who i ordered seedlings from also came by and dropped off my order. lots for me to do but its so dark and gloomy here today... i also need to start my seed for April 22nd. need a quick germinating flower... any ideas?

Urooj, I've had cosmos sprout quickly but I don't know if that will work for you. I looked back and my notes say I planted the seeds on March 18 and they sprouted on March 24. The notes are based on 2018 and the seeds were planted in a winter sowing jug so if you try them, let me know if they come up that quickly for you..

A belated Happy Anniversary, Urooj, and wishing you a blessed Holy Month of Ramadan!

I'm going to have to skip swapping for April. I always hate missing out on the swaps any month and what a fun month you have planned. I will keep checking in to see what's going on. It has already been very busy here and it looks like things are going to get even busier. I don't know how I used to have time to have a job and do all those extra things with my daughters when they were kids. Sure don't have that energy and endurance any more!

I want in! I have honeydew melon seeds sprouted in my kitchen window. it was an experiment. after 2 qeeks I decided it was too cold in the window. I put on the kitchen counter and they sprouted so back to the window they went! April 22 is kind of early for outdoors, but I can always try to protect them or keep a couple inside.
I sprouted Crimson Clover and it came up in a few days. Gaillardia sprouts for me, but then it shrivlels up and dies. I now direct sow that and pray!
I'm not a big bingo fan, but I'll enjoy the rest! April is busy.. Easter weekend.. conference the next weekend. Might travel to Florida (from Nebraska) for work mid-April.
Let the fun begin! Heidi

Heidi, so good to see you swapping! Hoping you are feeling good...........

Annie

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ...

Happy Birthday to you, Ruth! I hope your're having a good day. We're having to cover some plants at night since it's going down to freezing. Unusual for Easter! Is it cold there as well?

Happy Anniversary Urooj!

Happy Birthday Ruth!

Happy to see you back here Heidi!!!

Lots of Happy!

Welcome to the Swap Heidi!

Sign Ups -

Annie

Amy

Heidi

Bingo Words -

Annie

Amy

Jeanne we will miss you this month but i know you've got a lot going on and now that the weather is getting better you may be able to check some things off of your list. Thanks for the Ramadan wishes Jeanne.

Happy Birthday Ruth! Maybe she will come on here and join the swap this month.

Sign Ups don't end for another week but I was planning to pull bingo starting Monday. I hope there is some activity this weekend but may end up extending since I just realized its Easter and people may be busy with family things.

I have had such bad allergies that I have been falling asleep early the past few nights so i decided i should post early today so i don't forget.

here is are some pictures of my anniversary gifts.

and one that came in the mail which was a new cell phone. i didn't really NEED one but I guess hubby and the kids thought i did. its huge and i'm afraid i don't know how to carry it around with me. change is hard.

my order of seedlings has arrived from the lady i ordered from on a local planting group. they seem kind of small for her having started seedlings back in December. A few of them actually looked like they had been eaten by bunny rabbits or something. well needless to say my garden bed is a mess right now and i am no where near prepared to put these babies in the ground but may need to get on that this weekend.

did anyone hear about the lowes springfest giveaways going on? apparently they are giving away gardening kits every week or so in the month of April. I missed the first one, my sister missed it on the day it was released so I'm guessing they are going fast.

https://www.lowes.com/events/springfest?int_cmp=SpringFest%3AA%3ANoDivision%3AMerch%3ASpringFest_Events_Gardentogo

this is set to my store in dallas but please click the link and change the location to your local location so you can try to register.

hope everyone has a good saturday. i am headed to my little ones soccer game. wish us luck! go ladybugs!

Hi all, happy Easter weekend. Was lurking for a bit and decided to go ahead and join in. Margo

welcome smitties!!! glad youve decided to join margo.

Happy Easter FOTESSERS....I hope you enjoy time with family and friends, if possible!!

Off to my sisters house for a couple of days......

Annie

Forgot....Urooj, happy anniversary. I am chuckling at your big cell phone. Next time, I am going down in size. Big is not always better...LOL! And Urooj, Ramadan Mubarak, or should I say Ramadan Kareem? Or can I say both?

Happy weekend!

Annie

I thought of you all today. Made fruit kabobs for family Easter and created a garden smoothie out of the rinds n peels for my plants. I dug trenches and poured it into my beds, covered with dirt. Recycle! Reduce! Heidi

I hope those who celebrate Easter had a great Easter! Finally after so many of us with vaccinations I could get together for a pre-Easter dinner with some friends on Saturday and then Easter dinner here on Easter with some other friends. My daughters and their families had a nice Easter at their homes.

We had several nights in a row with very cold temperatures. Everything had just hit full bloom a day or two earlier - nearly all of it looks terrible now. We are talking about azaleas, hydrangeas, etc. I have not planted any new seeds this year - still have things in pots that I keep from year to year and some of those went into the garage for a few days. The risks of Springtime. So disappointing!

hey everyone. I have an alert in my email saying pinkiris wants to join the swap but there are no messages on this board. she was sandwiched between Annies two responses. Let me check with her and we can being pulling words tomorrow. I only have words from Annie and Amy so far so Heidi and Jayenne if you guys want to join BINGO, send in those words today.

Apologies for sending the FOTESS reminder again today, it came up in my email as a draft so i hit send thinking i didnt send the one last week, but i clearly did because Jayeanne had thanked me for the reminder.

Jeanne, we were just talking amongst our gardening chat group and most of us seem to think we have lost our FIG trees and our Jasmine flowers. I will leave them in the ground to see what happens as there are signs of life in the FIG but at the very base, not in the branches. Our winter storm killed everything this year. we don't even have our yearly birds nests :( I may need to redo my whole landscaping.

I know I said i should get to weeding my garden bed this weekend but i ended up cooking some chicken and headed out to a holiday bazaar. yes we have those too! no one was selling decor which makes me think there might be a business niche... but there were many many pretty outfits and I had to stop myself from trying to buy anything. I ended up buying a tunic top to share with my 15 year old. let me get a picture...

Jeanne, I'm glad you finally had a friends dinner, Heidi i'm glad you make delicious fruit kabobs and recycled. great for this month. Annie I'm glad you continue to frolic with your siblings, its the best thing ever when me and my sister get together. You can say Ramadan Kareem or Ramadan Mubarak... either works, we are Pakistani so we say Mubarak.

I will try to keep the lowes tab open so i can post when the next sign up opens up. but if someone beats me to it, please post... as you can see i'm late to the show often.

okay great. we can finally see Jayeannes post.

Welcome Jayeanne!

Sign Ups -

Annie

Amy

Heidi

Jayeanne

Bingo Words -

Annie

Amy

Jayeanne

So i didn't get to pull words today, it ended up getting surprisingly busy. I ran to the store to grab a gift for a birthday party the girls were invited to today but then I saw a line for trading cards and decided to join the line. crazy, I KNOW. well we stood in line for about 3 hours and they told us they were going to make a virtual wait list and once the cards become available they would call us all back. well i knew once i was out, i was out.... i had been there 3 hours and i needed to get the kids to the birthday party, soccer practice, do homework, and take my fatherinlaw to the airport. well we sign up for the list and guess what... as soon as i walk in the door i get a text that its my turn in line. i was like great, just great. I DID NOT go back to the store... i was looking for trading cards for my nephew but that will just have to wait.

i intended on grabbing some flowers for a friend and taking her to lunch for her birthday but that didn't work out either so i've given her an IOU. i dropped the bouquet at her house.

the kids enjoyed their visit with my fatherinlaw and of course he handed out envelopes. but we will miss having him around as he colored with the kids and took them to the grocery store, etc.

back to April, is it me or is it flying by? Its the 6th already! The weather here has been really windy and unpredictable so we haven't done much planting or gardening over in my yard but i do see others hard at work and i saw a neighbor getting a patio done. hoping we can go have a peek later...

may wait a day or two for partners as we don't need to rush to mail. will pull bingo tomorrow, bright and early while i watch the stock market. don't forget to start your seedlings so you have something to put into the ground on the 22nd.

Good morning everyone, I received BINGO words from Emily - gardengirl37232. Please confirm as I was planning to pull for BINGO today.

Wednesdays always feel like we are almost at the end of the week, i don't know why but they do for me.

I have a feeling my sprinklers run twice but i can't seem to figure out why... i have them set to start at 5am and they are still running at 8am. that should be impossible...

I took some pictures this morning...

this is a rose of sharon grown from seed. i have said this before but i will say it again, i had no idea rose of sharon was a hibiscus. this one is gorgeous, hope it flowers soon.

these are my irises out front. i have yet to see them flower from the time i received them from nancy many many years ago. its so embarassing, she even tagged them for me by writing on them with marker and that has long deteriorated. i am hoping for some flowers this year, they seem to be doing well. since i posted the picture, any idea about that blueish green fungus? someone in the area said the wash their trees down with soap and water and they are very healthy now. i may have to give this guy a spray. my crepe myrtle still has black spots on it and a webby cottony substance. while it is still alive, it doesn't grow as much which is a good thing because i dont have to worry about trimming as often.

i know i said we would do BINGO early and partners at the end of the week... will wait a little bit.

happy wednesday... what are you guys up to? oh we just got invited to a little neighbors backyard birthday this weekend so that will be nice. I also signed up for my vaccine on the 11th because it seems like you may need it to travel once people are traveling again, internationally at least.

I am a bit tardy but want to sign up. I have some pepper seedlings going that I can plant in ground, although I think I will grow most of them in pots.

Urooj, the rosemary I planted last year is growing well!

Welcome Emily. Glad your Rosemary is doing well. some herbs grow like weeds and if its an herb we like, thats always a plus. The peppers will work as your in ground plant. that reminds me, i have to check the lowes website and see if anything has opened up.

Sign Ups -

Annie

Amy

Heidi

Jayeanne

Emily

Bingo Words -

Annie

Amy

Jayeanne

Emily

will post bingo a little later today.... having trouble with my printer so have to uninstall and reinstall. may have an extra set of hands to help me pull a bit later too...

edit - TODAY AT MIDNIGHT (glowfetti - just for ANNIE :)

GARDEN-TO-GO KITS

Thu, April 15, 2021

Mystery Garden Piñata Kit

Fun for the whole family. This biodegradable piñata is filled with mystery seed bombs and growfetti. Pick up your free kit curbside, 5-7 p.m.

Limit one kit per registered family. While supplies last. Contents are not edible.

Registration for this event will open Thu, April 8, 2021 at 12 a.m. EST.Please check back then to claim your spot.

I hate to have to do this but gonna have to skip this month, we are headed on an early vacation for a few weeks ... leaving Sunday wont be back for a couple weeks

Uh oh, you forgot me.

oh my.... how did i forget you margo?!?! my apologies. I'm so glad you caught that. glad i didn't post anything just yet. I didn't get any bingo words from you so i'm guessing youre not playing, is that correct?

what a bummer Jayeanne, so sad to see you leave the swap but totally understand that its hard to keep up when youre on vacation. i couldn't remember a thing most days I was out of town. hope you have a great time and post some pictures while you are out and about. feel free to plant something on april 22nd, wherever you are... you can leave a little FOTESS charm behind...

I sent you bingo words. If it’s too late, it’s fine. Thank you for hosting.

Good Morning everyone. Happy Thursday! Margo, I've received your words!

Did anyone get in on those Lowes Gardening Kits? Seems like I missed it as they are all out this morning, people must stay up til midnight to grab them.

Here is our updated list with some additions and subtractions -

Sign Ups -

Annie

Amy

Heidi

Margo

Emily

Bingo Words -

Annie

Amy

Margo

Emily

Lets get this game started!

Had my handy dandy helper pull some words for me - she thought she was winning a prize, lol

BINGO -

Earthworms

Newspaper

will post swap partners tomorrow, as promised.

I signed up successfully for the gardening kit only to find that they had some random store in Pennsylvania as my home store. Why do they do that? Anyway, I noticed it after I finished signing up and there was no way to change it. So, no kit for me.

Margo, that's nuts. I have no idea why they do that automatic preset location, I have had that happen to me too. make sure you change your location before the next registration.

It was a busy day yesterday so I didn't get to post so today will be a long one but i will break it up into 3...

BINGO -

Resources

Trees

Partners -

Urooj sends to Emily

Emily sends to Amy

Amy sends to Annie

Annie sends to Margo

Margo sends to Urooj

Take your time to mail but hopefully it will arrive before the end of the month.

A local gardener dropped off my fig i ordered, Olympia Fig. I ordered Celeste, but she brought me Olympia, but i love fig so it doesn't make a difference to me. Now I have to dig dig dig this weekend.

The April Issue of the Costco magazine had arrived and I opened it and landed on this page. I decided to make this recipe right away and it was so so so good. I had almost all of the ingredients and it turned out soooooo goood you guys. i can take a better picture if anyone wants it. I don't know why its called anxiety soup but it was delicious.

i decided to break the posts up.... here are some pictures of whats growing in the garden right now. I did have 1 surprise!

what are these called?

tea roses. this one plant always has these 2 shades of yellow. because it is a tea rose it has a beautiful fragrance.

the dead jasmine has a plant coming up in the middle. i was so excited to see this. this is the jasmine that has been in the ground for a few years now so i guess it made it through the storm. my newer one that i planted last year does not have any green growth but i am hoping. I'm guessing something that has saved them was all that heavy mulching I did when i received my free chip drop.

will try to work on the garden bed this weekend but the little one has a fever so i don't know if i will be able to. maybe deciding i must post pictures daily will help me stay motivated!

what is everyone else up to today? what are you guys doing? post some pictures of what is growing in your garden. I'm going to hide this in the post... you will get 1 point for each picture you post TODAY and I will send a prize to the person who has the most... Today ends at midnight.

Some roses from my garden:

Clivia

Iris

My first cauliflower

Sugar snaps and snow peas

My Saijo persimmon are starting to form

Thanks to my brother, a successful Sweet Treat pluerry grafted onto my Satsuma plum tree.

I’toi onions

My peach tree starting to bloom

Urooj, I think that looks like it might be sweet scabious or pincushion flower

wow Emily. love all the garden pics. so far youre in the lead but we will wait and see if others post. i didnt realize the Rosemary you were talking about was from last years post! i love the passionflower. my friend gave me some seeds this year and i didnt use them... I actually kind find them... speaking of cant find them, I have so so so many seeds I have no idea how to possibly ever use them all. i do share them and i pass them out to people but its still a lot of seeds.

your irises... your roses... peaches and plums!!! wow just wow. i need to move where you are!

i was planning on working in the garden today but i was too tired so i decided to take a nap and then go to a birthday party. had 2 pieces of cake there. hey, it was a celebration.

made stir fry tonight... let me post some photos...

Kung Pao Chicken - not really

Mongolian Beef with Broccoli

Great pics Emily!! Congrats!!

Urooj, Costco magazine??? I don't think I have ever gotten one....better get on top of that!

Happy Sunday FOTESSERS.....friends and canines coming over for a day of swim, wine, margaritas, appetizers and BBQ.

Annie

Annie, it was just lucky it was still daylight when I read Urooj’s post yesterday so I was able to go out and take some pictures.

I think the Costco magazine Urooj mentioned is the Costco Connection. I think it comes out monthly. I used to get it and then for some reason, they stopped sending it. Recently, I saw in the preferences that it was set not to send it so I fixed it but still have not gotten it in the mail yet. You can pick it up in the store on your way to the exit.

The Costco Connection has more recipes in it than it used to because that is where they put them now instead of giving the annual Costco cookbook that they used to give out.

yes!!! costco connection!!! I get it every month. it has great book reviews and recipes... its has some tips about things here and there but it is mostly an AD based magazine. check your settings Annie.

and we have a WINNER - Emily has won the post whats in your garden challenge from yesterday.

Have a fun at the pool party Annie. I am sitting in the waiting area post CovId Vaccine.

Couldn’t get to my garden. We were called by my son yesterday and he asked if we could go up and watch our 20 month old grandson while he and my dil went to the hospital. My dil‘s sister suffered a mild stroke while jogging yesterday. of course, now that we are vaccinated, we jumped on it. I was able to hug and cuddle him for the first time since he was 7 months. We stayed the night and just got home and it’s raining. We enjoyed every minute of it but man I’m tired. Lol

Urooj, will be working on your package. Hope everyone is enjoying the weekend.