I'm following up to my own post: I put the feeder out two days ago and guess who showed up today; March 1st?? A male rufous hummingbird! Yay! -Katy

My Feb. box from Em arrived today. As you will remember, I was MIA last month when it was time to send so she and I agreed that she should wait. Wellllll....EM, I am THRILLED with what you sent. Even before I opened it, the box smelled WONderful. When I actually opened it, the heavenly scents just wafted out. But first I pulled out the pkg. that was taped in newspaper. I could peek in 1 end, and when I did I was saying out loud, "oh my, is it really, is it really?" then I opened it and saw I was correct. Em sent 3 Brug cuttings!!!!!! I LOVE them and have wanted some for such a long time. I will have to take time and look up the pics for: Tequila Sunrise, U-Conn Treasure, and Frosty Pink. You must grow these? Thank you EVER so much. Now what smelled soooo good were: Yankee Candle tarts- Home Sweet Home, Island Spa, Autumn Leaves, Garden Sweet Pea, and Kiwi Berries. The other item that smelled so good are Lavender/Vanilla soap petals. You know, I have sent these to others before, but I have never tried them myself. This will be fun and so relaxing in our spa tub. Em also sent a "paint pen" to mark my labels, Valentine chocolates, seeds-mixed Barlow columbine, numerous viola mixes, LOTS of petunia mixes, streaked hosta seedling mix, hosta Fascination, hosta Thunderbolt, hosta First Frost, hosta Christmas Tree, hosta Great Lakes Gold, hosta Blue Belle, and Brug peachy/yellow. Em, I have never tried hostas or brugs from seed so I am anxious to see how they turn out. The hosta seeds are new varieties to me, too. WooHoo! Along with the seeds, Em sent a 10 peat pellet greenhouse. Perfect to try these seeds in this. Also, received CUTE butterfly-shaped sparkly notecards AND ladybug stickers. Em, I am just so excited and thankful for all that you thought of and for the lovely card. I smiled when I saw it addressed to 'ME." :D Thank you again and again. ME

I received a great box from Heidi. She made two adorable angel ornaments that are now on my tree. She also included a mix of candy and several packages of seeds. These all came inside a cute holiday box. Heidi also made a card with a poem she wrote inside. I want to share it with everyone. She is a very clever writer. It read Winter Soltice Twas the night before Winter solstice and all through the garden The air was quite cold, the ground starting to harden I had just sat down to a nice cup of tea To look through the seeds I had gotten for free When out on the lawn, there arouse such a clatter I jumped from my chair to see what was the matter The snowflakes were fallin' the wind was a blowin' "My winter sowing containers!!" down the street they were goin I threw on my boots, took off at a run I could already see this was not gonna be fun I collected the containers and tied them up tight So much for seed sorting on this crazy night I put on my PJ's and snuggled to bed While visions of winter sown flowers danced in my head I swear I heard my husband snore as I drifted off to sleep "Happy Winter solstice to all, and don't plant your seeds too deep" Thank you Heidi, I really enjoyed my box and it did bring a smile to my face. Margo

Hi all - I was organizing my patterns over the weekend, and came across the design chart for this piece. But I don't have the color code!!! This is NOT the design that can be found on line currently, unfortunately. This one has flowers and small animals around the outside like a medieval tapestry (think Unicorn tapestries) and the poem, "The Kiss of the sun for warmth, the song of a bird for mirth, one is nearer God's heart in a garden than anywhere else on earth" stiched above and below a cloister design. I am thinking it might have come from Cross Stitch and Country Designs (boy, do I miss that magazine, none of the newer ones seem to have the wealth of really good patterns that one did). Does anyone remember such a design? Do any of you have the design, or have any ideas where I can find it? I don't know who the designed is. Thanks for any help!!