A couple of notes because the rest is going to be rather long and involved: Lynda, I have the Vitex marked for you and in your baggie! And thank you for the marigolds! They will be very interesting with my others! Dessie I would be more than happy to receive your little helper's seed packets! I think it's great! Wendy Try some Chai Spice tea, it works wonders in helping clear up colds and flu. I always add a dollop of honey to help sooth the throat. It's a staple in our house and really does help. Alright, here is my take on this.. I can understand how many were hoping that the two swaps would not coincide, but, we all knew there was a fair chance of that happening. For myself, I know that I continued to update my list, even well after Patty's swap's mailing deadline. I did my updates using the same method we did for Patty's swap- using an updated date. Even had I not, I knew there was a good chance the two swaps would overlap. I joined this one knowing full well- according to the guidelines posted for it- that I may NOT receive as many as I sent in. That I would receive as many as were sent in FOR me, up to five packets of the SAME item. I recall there being some issue with this and a member who became very rude in their comments about this fact. Yes, my package from the What's Left swap is in the second batch to go out. No, I did not keep strict record of what I sent to those who were in the What's Left swap. I did keep better records of what I'm sending for this swap. I also know that a lot of people will be sending in baggies of seeds marked as extras- not dedicated for anyone, but to add in when it's seen those items are on someone's list. No, these may not be some of the rarer or more exclusively wanted items on someone's list. But if someone has some of those rarer or more specific items to share, I'm sure they would have put them into your baggie before they mailed. So, I don't see that anyone would be missing out on anything. The only way I could see having updated one's list further as complicating Patty's swap would be if someone had removed things from their list. Updating and adding items would not have conflicted. Because if there were any extras of what you were wanting, Patty would have included them. So, I guess I'm not really understanding how there is such a need to update the lists just because one is in both swaps. If I receive duplicates, wonderful! Because the things on my list are things I want! If I don't receive something on my list, then no one had it to share. If I receive so many of something that I can't plant it all, then I can bless someone else by offering it up for a trade. So, perhaps I'm being dense here, but how would one not receive something sent in specifically for them (up to FIVE packets of the same item!) that was on their wants list in this swap? Everyone has the chance to see your wants as posted and you have had the option to add to that list, as many including myself have this whole time. The only thing I could really see the two swaps happening almost simultaneously possibly affecting would be one's have's list. I'm sorry, I don't mean to upset or offend anyone. I'm just honestly trying to understand why this is such an issue. So please don't take this as meaning to offend or as pointed to anyone in particular. This is just me trying to understand why so many are upset about this. If you prefer to email me privately and help me understand it, I would be pleased with that and please do! Perhaps there are aspects and issues with this that I'm not readily seeing and should consider. I don't want to keep the thread off track by my question becoming a debate here. Perhaps there can be some adjustments of dates if this swap happens in the late summer or again next winter, but for this year it is as it is and personally, I'm really enjoying it! Nancy, I hope you don't decide to drop out, because I know that I should have at least a couple of things from your list, perhaps more. But I'll respect your choice and be your Garden Buddy either way :) Fran, you have a real job ahead of you and I don't know how those like you and Patty do it! Leave me hosting my "pair em up and let em go" or true RR type swaps! I think those of you that host this kind of swap are awesome! Angela, you have been a wonderful help to Fran and all of us in this swap! I know the time it can take to code pages like that, though updates are easier once the initial work is done, and I want to say THANK YOU for the time and work you are putting in on this swap for everyone's benefit! Kathy~ heading off to stuff more little baggies and envelopes.

4842 and 9802 were delivered today. 1st impressions: First - we loved our Asko's and hated to see them go. Install was simple stuff - the crew was in and out in about 1 to 1 1/2 hours. They assembled the washer / dryer on the stands while in the truck. Getting the washer downstairs was a chore for two big guys. Installer said the washer (on stand) weighs nearly 350. The pair is a beast on the stands. Coming from our little Asko's - this pair is huge. Fit and finish is excellent. The stands are very nice - soft close doors, a place to set a basket on - well made (ought to be for the $$). The washer is almost silent until it spins up - and then it is not nearly as loud as the 1200rpm Asko it replaced. It does shake at full spin - did not walk or anything, but a clear shake. We did not consider the dryer to be noisy - but it clearly moves moves more air than any dryer we have had before. We did not install the solid aluminum vent pipe as recommended by sales person and folks on this forum. I bought it and installer encouraged us to try the flex aluminum vent pipe he brought with him. We agreed to try it and it was fine - returned the solid vent material today. The wife is very pleased - thought her first load of whites came out cleaner than the Asko - which is saying something. I talked her into these - would have been trouble if they did not perform at least as well as what she had. Quick wash (on cold) was about 30 minutes - Normal wash about an hour. More later after we get some experience.

Just an update: It's here, sitting proudly just off my living room, which is not where I had hoped for it to go. Try as I did, it is just too deep (front to back) to fit in my bathroom where my old washer is. So it will go near my galley kitchen. There's still alot of work to do to get it up and running. I need to add a 120-240V/15A circuit breaker (or a fuse or easy-install kit for the existing 240V outlet) and run new wiring. A means of attaching it to the kitchen sink to drink from and drain to. A Y-adapter to feed cold water to both the cold and hot inlets. (I've relegated most of my installation issues to this thread). My dryer - an old, small GE ventless unit - is starting to become unreliable too. If I find a decent used condensation dryer at a good price I may get that too. But here I see I run into a problem - evidently Miele hasn't made 6kg ventless condenser dryers. They have lots of 5kg condensation dryers, but I don't think they can be stacked atop a 6kg washer like the W1926. Correct? I'm in the dark about whether some sort of stacking kit is needed to stack a Miele dryer atop a Miele washer, and whether only certain combinations of W & D can be stacked. It appears it is although I can't find any references to specific model numbers and the stacked machines shown in their manuals don't seem to list any particular additional hardware, Anyone here familiar with this? And is stacking a non-Miele condensation dryer on a Miele washer verboten? Is there some sort of homemade mount you can build that will keep the dryer from sliding off? If I had a closet, I'd just build a shelf a few inches above the washer and be set. I could reverse the old layout - washer near kitchen, dryer in bathroom. Then I could use any brand. I have a 120V/15A dryer now but can go to a 240V condensation dryer that should increase my options considerably. Miele and Bosch seem to sell for much more secondhand than Asko or other brands. I'm also seriously confused about the plugs, outlet, and wiring required by the W1926. It's rated at 120-240V/15A, yet is fitted with a Hubbell NEMA 14-20P plug, the type normally found on a grounded 125V/250V 20A (not 15A) device. The electrical cord is a Carol 12/4 Type SJ (UL) (also listed as CSA Type SJ FT-2), with a sticker noting that the black and red wires are the L1 and L2 hots respectively, with a white neutral and green ground. Why not 14-gauge cable ending in a usual 240V/15A plug as Bosch uses? Further confusing things, the Miele owner's manual seems to indicate the plug is a NEMA 14-30P, the big ones normally found on 240V/30A dryer plugs. Could this not be the original cable or plug? The new double-pole circuit breaker should clearly be 15A but should 14-3 w/ground or 12-3 w/ground NM-B (Romex) cable be run? (I lean towards the latter since that's what the washer cord uses). I may have been better off with one of the 5kg Miele washers - it would have fit in my bathroom and I could stack a Miele condensation dryer over it eventually and save space. They are essentially alike only 4 inches shallower front to back, and with (even) higher spin speeds. But I hope to someday have a larger home and then I can take the W1926 with me and use any ol' normal vented dryer, and I'll be glad I have the extra space. The Miele really is nicely designed - very straightforward controls that tell you what they're doing - no "workout wear" or "kid's clothes" settings that leave you wondering what it's really doing. And of course, actual temperature markings, a rarity in U.S.-market washers. Can you imagine an oven that didn't show temperatures, just "cold", "warm", and "hot"?

You hear good and bad about all brands. There's many happy LG owners posting on this forum. There's people who have had bad luck with all brands. That's called reality. A heater isn't truly mandatory in my opionion but I think it's a good idea as long as it works on enough cycles to be functional, and raises the temperature of the water, not just maintains the temperature. The Epics have gotten a lot of good reviews, and they should, they're Whirlpools and a proven design. Samsung does not build machines for them anymore - that's old information. I understand your budget concerns and I think you're looking at good models. I do like the suggestion of the Miele though. Now $2000 for the washer is a lot, but considering the amount of laundry you do, you can justify it. However, with any of them, I would suggest you consider NOT getting a matching dryer. Save the money there and put it toward the washer. A large (7.4+) CF Whirlpool dryer can be bought for about $400-$500 or less and they're excellent dryers. I bought mine for $300 and would buy it again in an instant. If you're going HE, and especially with a heater, you need to be prepared for long cycle times. 2-3 hours worth. It takes time to heat the water and the tumbling action needs more time to clean the clothes over an agitator. You sound sold on a FL so I won't suggest looking at the HE TLs. And I haven't found anyone who can give rational reasons for steam either in the washer or dryer. I think the word is "gimmick". If you have a laundry tub next to your washer, you can run the water in the tub to get the hot water close to the washer to have it warmer going into the tub. Keep in mind the tub itself will cool the water down. That's why a good heater could be valuable. But it's not the end all be all either. Advantage sometimes? Yes. Essential? No. People have washed and sanitized clothes for years without them. And as you're looking, get figures on water temperatures in degrees, not ambiguous terms like "hot", "warm" or "cold". What's hot to you may well be cold to me.