A Good Mail Day

I go to my Occupational Therapy appointments twice a week - Monday afternoons, and Friday mornings.  Each week I've had to go to my Monday session, it has either been pouring rain, or snowing/icing.  This past week, I left to go home after a particularly painful session, and when I got outside it was pouring even more than it had been when I went inside.  Traffic was seriously not moving, so I decided to walk home, since buses and trolleys were so crowded they were not even stopping.  By the time I got home, my self-pity party was off the charts.

I looked through the mail that The Tim had set on the table, and saw a package with a Customs Declaration sticker on it.  I couldn't remember having ordered anything at all from overseas, at least not in the past few months, so I was intrigued.  I opened up the package and this was inside:

Suddenly, any bad things about the day and the afternoon completely vanished!  I was so surprised and really pleased, but also mystified.  A week or so ago, someone posted a photo of this on Instagram, and I commented how I would love to have one.  But a) I didn't know where to get one, b) I didn't have any money to buy one anyway, and c) I have LOTS of tote bags, so didn't need it. 

It turns out that a long-time blogging friend who lives in Vancouver saw my comment and took it upon herself to send one to me!  She stopped blogging long ago, but I still "see" her regularly on Facebook and Instagram.  Apparently (and according to the logo in the lower right hand corner of the photo) the bags can be ordered from Ysolda.  So Maureen sent an order from Vancouver to Scotland which then got sent to me in Philadelphia - I am just flabbergasted that she thought to do this.

So, even though I didn't need another tote bag, I'm thrilled to death to have this one - I think it's especially appropriate for a knitting librarian, don't you? 

A good mail day, indeed.  Thank you so much, Maureen!

Now, the Reveal

If you recall, when I sent out the last package for my Christmas in July giveaway, all I showed was this:

Which, frankly, would be a good enough giveaway in my world, as it has Rudolph on it and you all know my obsession love of Rudolph, right?

But since it was the grand finale of the month of giveaways, I wanted it to be extra special, so I promised surprises inside of the bag.  This past week, Cheryl let me know that the package arrived in Canada, so now I can share what was tucked inside.

I wanted it to be full of goodies, but also not weigh too much, especially since it was headed across the northern border (wall-free, as of this writing!).  So I pulled out my bag o' yarn from my Cozy Squares of Memory blanket, and, including yarn from my Christmas in July socks, made up some minis - 24 of them, in fact!

Along with a ball of soft, pretty mohair yarn, and a mini-candy cane, I thought it was a happy surprise - or at least it would be for me!  I arranged it so that it would look more like an Advent wreath

and then I squoojed it into the project bag, so that [theoretically] it would have some semblance of that when opened.

The Debbie Bliss Gigi yarn and the candy cane were always going to be part of the package, but I had several ideas about what the other contents would be.  I don't have a scale, or any way to really be sure that the minis were of significant yardage, but I tried to make them all the same size, or as close as possible to that.  Cheryl reports that all was received safe and sound, and that her daughter claimed the minis for a scrappy project she was making.  Cheryl sounded really happy with the package, and that made me especially happy.

I have heard from a couple of the other winners that their packages arrived safely, and that they were pleased with the contents, so I feel that my Christmas in July was as successful as I'd wanted it to be, which is very exciting, since it was so much fun on my end!  Thanks again to all who participated.  I'm hoping I'll be able to make it an annual event, since I think I enjoyed it more than anyone else.

Have a lovely Labor Day weekend for all of those in the U.S., and have a lovely regular weekend to everyone else!  If you still have things you wanted to accomplish during August, I'd suggest you get moving ... ;-)

Package Deal

This post is very belated, but I wanted to wait until I could really tell you about it and not just do a quick LOOK post.

 About a month ago, Araignee wrote a post saying that with warm weather coming, she would likely not be making as much soap as usual.  She also mentioned having some of the stuff she had made leftover, and decided to do a giveaway.  All you had to do was send her a message on Ravelry, saying what kind of scents you liked, and give her your address.  It was a lazy person's dream giveaway and I contacted her immediately.  

A few weeks later, a package arrived in the mail (which in and of itself is just the best!), and when I opened it, all of this was inside!

Amazingly, even with my poor photography skills, you can see everything.  First of all, the handmade card.  I love the puppy and the kitten who is chasing a ball of yarn, but "You are pawesome" is the best - it made me laugh when I received it, and makes me smile still when I see it.

But as you can see, besides the card, so many goodies!  A set of dainty stitch markers, and to the left of that, Glycerin Facial Soap.  The label says it contains Coconut Milk with Olive Oil, Aloe, Honey, Colloidal Oatmeal, Kaolin Clay, Activated Charcoal, and 24 Carat Mica.  All of which sounds very glamorous to me.

Below the card, is Nantucket Briar, containing Coconut Milk, Aloe Butter, Sesame Seed Oil, and Kaolin Clay.*  It looks so pretty, like it has waves from the ocean washing over it.

The little pink round package is a tin of Mango Papaya Lotion Bar, with Beeswax ,Coconut Oil, and Cocoa & Shea Butter.

And finally above that is Night Sky, with Coconut Milk, Aloe Butter, Sesame Seed Oil, and Kaolin Clay.

Not not only are these things pretty in and of themselves, and packaged in such a lovely way, but OH DO THEY SMELL DIVINE!!!  I haven't started using any of them yet, because I am currently hoarding them to enjoy looking at, and sniffing them all for a while.

I am amazed that someone made all of these themselves!  I always enjoy reading about her soapmaking adventures on her blog, and love the pictures she posts, but seeing them in person is completely different.

Thank you so much, Araignee!  My package was so much more than anything I was expecting, and I know I'll be enjoying all of it for a long time.

What a nice thing to do, right?

*everytime I see the words, "Kaolin Clay," I think of Kato Kaelin from the O.J. Simpson murder trial.  He was such a weirdo, and I am amused all over again.  (Clearly it doesn't take much.)