I sit here with my head hung down.
I was so excited to get started trading that I missed some of the basics.
I don't get to come 'online' till late in the evening when I can borrow my Aunt's computer at her work because my computer only gets email... no web browsing.
Therefore, I don't get to scan the forums too much. Tonight has been an eye opener but unfortunately it came a bit late as I have already made some trades and sent out one SASE envelope..... all wrong I might add.
Well, the trades I have made were kind of cushioned by a pkg of tea (I hope that will protect the seeds).
I did not have them hand cancelled nor did I use bubble wrap. = (
Thank you all for the wonderful tips and know that I am learning much in the wee hours of Wed night and Thur morning.
It is my sincere hopes that the pkgs I have sent out will arrive in good condition and that Gardendragon will forgive my 'oops' with the SASE... I did not include an envelope because I had a frame of mind that it was postage which I sent.. never thought to add the names of the seeds nor my email address since we have corresponded several times already....
I would also hope that when and if I do something wrong or could do it better, that the receipent would email me and offer me the tips to improve. How else are we supposed to learn... right?
I DO eventually learn hehehehe.
I think that I am a very approachable type person who is more than willing to learn and easy to get along with. I will admit though that with tending to my terminally ill grandmother and with 6 people (3 individual families) living in one house, things get kinda crazy and I might not be as organized as I would wish. Tonight I have printed out some papers that will help me with the info on the trades so that I am not totally in the dark as I was with Gardendragon... (BTW..thank you sooo much for being patient with me... = )
Keep on posting so that we who are new to this can learn and then one day, help someone else through the learning process.
Thanks again to you all for the helpful tips.
ICE (newbie taking notes) = )
OH NO... from a NEWBIE and also a BIG thank you/ proceedure
Hi ICE!
Not to worry! I think your idea of cushioning the seeds with a tea bag is rather novel. In fact in a pinch, I may just borrow it!
I'm looking forward to the Sweet Annie and any other trades we shall make in the future. After all, we all were new at one point.
Samantha
I am looking forward to it as well. I have a new "stress reliever".... I have loved going through all the members' seed haves and wants.... as you can tell.. it is 3:45 am and I am still here LOL
My "garden mind" is going nuts with all the possibilities and I am not even where I can have my garden yet... YIKES!!!
ICE,
We were all newbies at one time. The thing isn't that you made mistakes---that's why there's a delete button on the computer. The thing is, you seem to have learned from your mistakes.
Most of us, I think, getting an improperly packaged trade just assume it is from somebody new, and send a message with tips for correcting it.
It's the people who _continue_ doing things wrong, or who get their noses out of joint because we had the nerve to correct how they do things that frost us.
I've got no worries about you. You're gonna be just fine.
I have said the things I have said lightly because I don't get "bent" too easily and although it is pertaining to me and the mistakes I made, I am not taking these posts that I am answering personally in a bad way. I am smiling as I post these responses because I am learning and I am loving this site! I am excited about it all. I am taking to heart the suggetions made but I am not wearing my feelings on my sleeves that you all are posting about "me" or anything like that. Sometimes the words typed don't relay exactly the nature of a post and I did not want anyone to think that I am taking this like a repremanded child but rather an adult learning the ropes of a new and wonderful new "hobby" (of sorts). Thank you all and know that I look forward to doing trades and hope that my "have" list will grow to accomodate more of your "wants". Right now it is a bit scampy.
It sure is nice to have been led to this wonderful site.. Thanks everyone for the welcome. = )
ICE
ICE as I said to you in my email 'you must be a lovely lady' to be looking after your terminally ill grandmother, home schooling your children and anticipating your upcoming wedding (Sept), what is a few boo boos when you have all that on your plate?
I love the idea of cushioning the seeds with tea bags! Not only are people getting your lovely seeds, but a cup of tea to enjoy your/their flowers with!
Ice,
Keep one thing in mind they are ONLY SEEDS! NOT HUMANS! If you made a mistake don't worry about. Learn and move on. We all make mistakes. I have sent seeds that got crushed and I have received seeds from experienced traders that were crushed. Some were even bubble wrapped.
As crazy as things are around your house your lucky you didn't mail the the kids and homeschool the postage! LOL!!
BTW What did you include with the SASE you are sending to me?
Sari,
I made up some little "forms" (being the teacher that I am - habits are hard to break LOL) that look similar to this:
Seeds requested:______________________
______________________________________
______________________________________
In trade for:________________________________
_____________________________________________
or SASE -Thank you - ICE
icedhunny@juno.com
So I have one of those filled out, a blackberry tea bag, and a bubble wrap pkg with my name and address label attached and 2 postage stamps (34 cents each).
And at the last check.. I still had the kids so I did not mail them LOL LOL Postage would be too extreem anyway.. my oldest is 6'5" LOL
I have to have surgery tomorrow morning so you all might not hear from me for a while but hopefully when I come back home, I will have some seeds awaiting me and that would make my day! = )
You know also.. I was thinking that when a person makes several requests, and receives emails without the "member name", it is difficult to remember who is who (I am speaking from recent experience in massive confusion) LOL. In my case, my name is my member name but some are not so I guess it would be nice for everyone to put their member name on the response email.
Talk to you all later.
ICE
ICE,
For a newbie, you sure have some good tips!
We're praying for you to have a safe and successful surgery.
God bless.
Hi Ice-
DITTO on the safe and successful surgery! Your moonflower is on the way and let me know if you want tomato seeds. Connie
Surgery went fine... a bit sore but then I would be worried if I weren't LOL (ouch) cannot laugh just yet.
Looking forward to the moonflowers Connie. No, I did not want tomatoes. I was just letting you know what I had.
Dyanito, thanks for the copliment... hope I can come up with some more to share = )
Take care and happy trading,
ICE (who is off to lay down and rest some)
Hey Ice... Newbie here too! I started on another forum just over a week ago and boy have I learned a lot in that time. Of course I got lucky and one of the very first posts was a mild complaint/how to handle bad seed trades due to lack of experience. There was a big response so I took notes in my head not to do those things.
The tea bag is actually very cushioning it sounds like. Way to go! Not only that, but I read on another forum that some people even planted their chamomile tea bags and they grew!!!
I went tea crazy one month so I am going to plant some bags as an experiment and see what happens :>)
Angel
Angel,
Please email me and let me know where that thread was.. I would like to read it. Happy Trading. Looks like we have found us a real good group here. = )
ICE