HGG - Dinner and Labels

This is so cool! I love receiving these things in the mail! And this year, I've received so many, I'm grateful I began this blog to keep track. Anyway, I'd like to thank dvg for sending this book to me for this HGG; I received these yesterday morning as I went out shopping. However, I already received a copy for my birthday from weirdwong; but hey! No worries, I'll be lending this one to Loey. She's been wanting to read it for a while (and has been eyeing off my birthday copy). After she reads it, I'll most probably turn it into a bookring or a bookray; keep it travelling around the world.

Thank you so much again for your thoughtful gift for the HGG. I love it! And I love the labels; which I will most definitely use in a book or two down the coast this Christmas.

Trick or Treat!

I've been meaning to put this up here and keep forgetting to photograph it. And this morning, I finally got the time. Now, I received this sign from Junequeensland on the 23rd, October and I love it! It's a wonderful little sign to add to my growing collection of Halloween stuff to put up around the house on this special time of year. I've been celebrating this time of year for a long time; and find it so much fun. I hope you have as much fun as I do at this time of year.

Thank you so much for this! I'll be using it this Saturday night!

HGG - Chocolate and Journal from Finland

Even though I don't travel much, I love to receive things from across the miles; and the country I know the least about is Finland; however, it's the got the most breath-taking countryside.

This little parcel of goodies came from Alejanda and include a bar of chili chocolate, a relfector, a bookstring and a journal with three little pigs on the front (and it's lockable). Well, the chocolate is in the freezer awaiting time for the after dinner snack and I'll definitely use this darling pink journal for something in the next year. I'm not sure just what yet. I'll kept you post about what it will be used for. Thank you again for your thoughtfulness.

4th, November 2009: I've decided what to do with the cute little lockable diary. Seeing the pages are multi-coloured, I've begun writing poetry inside its pages. I've titled it: 'The Happy Little Pigs Poetry Book: Short Poem of the Everyday'. Every few days, I sit on my lounge at night and write prose poetry in its unedited form in it as it comes out of my mind into the book. The book will be re-locked once all the pages are full.

International Country/State Exchange

Now, this is an exchange that is hosted by nediamnori87 and they lined me up with hyphen8 in Hawaii (however, I didn't receive an e-mail about who I was lined up with; so I didn't get to send anything off). So, today, in the mail, I received a large parcel almost totally covered in stamps! Just look at that envelope! Isn't it amazing?

Inside it was two books, two bookmarks, two post-it note pads and a postcard with a pamphlet of edible Hawaii... brilliant! I've had 'The Once and Future King' by T.H White on my wishlist for a long time now, and now I can get in and read it... and the second book is from Hawaii, about Hawaii; wonderful! I've have yet to own a book like this one; and now I do, I'm going to be on the look out for more of them. Thank you so much, hyphen8 for sending me this parcel, I really appreciate it.

A Set of Oregon Earrings!

Yesterday, Loey received a box on the front doorstep and called me about it. Seeing we were going to see each other that night, I waited until last night to pick it up and open it. Inside this box was a lot of packing beans and in amongst it all, wrapped in green paper and in a 'Made In Oregon' bag was my birthday present from ajijic! I unwrapped the items and found a beautiful magnet and the most gorgeous pair of Oregon Jasper earrings in the box! I loved them so much that I wore them out that night to dinner (It was my Uncle's birthday dinner; I thought it would be perfect). Then, came the cards... inside with the birthday card was an array of postcards of Oregon and Portland; and then a photo of ajijic's darling dog! And the next card was a Halloween card!

I love this present as I could wear these straight away and I'll find other times to wear them as often as I can. Thank you ajijic again for these wonderful presents.

HGG - One of the first!

One of the first HGG's I received was from Goaliegirl and I didn't even thank you for you wonderful surprise. The reason behind this was because I thought it was a birthday present and so I waited for my big day and opened it then. Then, I clean forgot to photograph it and thank you for your kind gesture.

So, I hope you accept my thanks and I will most definitely use the BC book plates and I love the postcards you sent me.

HGG - Native American Beauty and Tuscany

Yesterday, I received two HGG's from two wonderful Bookcrossers; and I thought to thank them here. The first one I opened is from Elizardbreath and there was a slight problem with Australian Customs in Sydney; which I fixed with a phone call. They had removed two orange peel tea sachets and a cedar berry bracelet; the latter is now being returned to me and tea being destroyed (as it's a restricted substance if it's imported wrongly into the country; which in this case it was). I'm so grateful the customs man allowed the bracelet through. And the best thing is, there in the parcel is a rabbit skin purse; which I love! And I will use it as well (unfortunately, the lady at the post office wasn't too keen on touching it, oh well!).

The second parcel is from Canadian-Babe in Italy. It has a gorgeous calendar of Tuscany; with its beautiful landscapes of greenery and blue skies to match! Along with the calendar was a note and a lovely, thick notebook without lines! I'll most definitely use that wherever I go; most probably for poetry knowing me!

Thank you both for making my HGG the best!

19th, October, 2009: Today, the cedar berry bracelet arrived from the Customs Office in Sydney. I'd like to thank the gentleman who let it through and allowed me to have it (even though he had to have the orange peal tea destroyed unfortunately) and I'd like to also thank Elizardbreath for sending it to me in the first place. It was definitely worth the wait and fiddling around with customs.

A Detective Agency Of A Book!

It's been over a week since my birthday, and parcels are still arriving from across the miles. This making my special day feel like it's being extended over the whole month; not just for one day... how much fun is that?

Anyway, this wonderful and very colourful book of 'In the Company of Cheerful Ladies' by Alexander McCall Smith showed up in my PO Box today with another parcel from Spaceystacey for my birthday! And I gotta say, I haven't read one No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency books before. So, this will be a first for me; and I do look forward to it. Thank you again.

45's!

I love my brother and his girlfriend! Really I do! They went to Melbourne recently and travelled around to see the sights and sounds of the place. While there, they also bought my birthday present! And Gabe knows I love vinyls; and I collect them too - old and rare ones!

So, today, while visiting Mum and Dad's we swapped birthday presents. I bought him a 'Ducati' sign with the Isle of Mann insignia in the corner and the TT Races 1978 too! He loves it! And the vinyls he gave me were INXS, Nirvana and another that looks Spanish; and they're all 45's! I love them and can't wait to play them. Thank you Gabe for the pressies! I'll play them... now to make a section in my vinyl collection for 45's.

Arty and Fun

This was the last one that I opened yesterday at Loey's house; and there was plenty of things inside! There was no first thing that caught my eye; but I do love the arty postcards and the Donald Duck stickers; they're so cute! Mum loves the birthday card which has 'Happy Birthday' in your home language on the front (I love that kind of thing too); which had joined the rest of the birthday cards on the piano. The Anne Geddes note book will be put to great use as will the bookmarks and post-it notes.
Thank you so much chamonix44 for sending all these cute and lovely things to me for my birthday. They'll most definitely find a place in my house. Some of them will be used in the Bookcrossing basket Loey gave me.

The Mark of Friendship

When I opened this parcel, I didn't find any books. I found the most lovely notebooks, bookmarks and a magnet. All of them spoke of friendship and opportunity in the most beautiful ways. This is how I feel about you all; as friends across the miles and on the net through the forums. You're friends to me and will always be there for me; I will always be there for you.
Lone-Star-Lori, these are wonderful things to send across the miles to me on my birthday and I thank you very much. I will use them and remember you were the one who gave them to me. Some of them will stay in the Bookcrossing basket; as that's where a lot of the things that I've received has been placed; and other things will be used in other places around the house. Thank you again.

Inksmudge And Your Gorgeous Cards!

What can I say about Inksmudge and her trademark beautiful hand-made cards. They are one-of-a-kind and I love them. Last year, I received one with my screen name on it and I still have it on my bookcase next to the computer (Yes, I love it that much it's become part of the furniture.). Then, you sent Loey a birthday card this year for her Love Bomb (and she loves it too; telling people how well-known you are for your cards!).

And then this one showed up yesterday in Loey's letterbox. I was out and about at Garden City when I was told about it. When I arrived, I was thrilled to find the most gorgeous birthday card waiting for me. And isn't it lovely? It's now joined the rest of the other cards on my Grandma's piano for the next few weeks; until I put them into the purple basket that all your parcels came in. Thank you so much for sending this beautiful card. I love it and the verse inside is just lovely. You truly have a talent.

And From My Birthday Buddy...

Today, my gift from Froggirlwendy arrived! Yay! I love receiving presents on my birthday from her. And I knew the gift was arriving this week some time if it didn't arrived on Monday. Anyway, I saw the 3kg bag and knew it was hers and borrowed a pair of scissors from the ladies at the post office and opened the bag straight away. Two lovely, glittery purses, a block of 'Greens' Dark chocolate and a book came out with two beautiful bookmarks slotted in the front; along with a gorgeous card. Underneath the card was a bookplate designed by Boirina and the 'registered by' part filled in already (by me; so I'll used this one for this book). What a present and I look forward to posting off her gift to her soon in about two weeks time.

Thank you so much for your thoughtful gifts. I'll get a lot of use from the coin purses and the bookmarks will most definitely be added to my ever-growing collection.

Hand-made Postcards.

I received this one yesterday afternoon when Mum came around to the Logan Art Gallery to pick me up from volunteer work. I opened the door of the 4X4 and there it was on the seat waiting for me. Givebookstokids had sent me a collection of postcards - some handmade, some not - from Wisconsin - all about her State, her garden and The Amish. They are so beautiful and colourful that as I read the accompanying letter, I searched through the postcards and handed them to Mum to look at. There's even one postcard of her snow-filled front yard at West Bend where the snow is coating the tress and it looks like a Winter Wonderland! So beautiful and lovely!

Thank you so much for you wonderful post cards, givebookstokids. I love them and your creativity. You must tell me how you make them; so we can make some from our garden and around our surrounding area too to send off around the world.

My Presents from Mum and Dad

My day didn't finish with the gifts, cards, postcards and chocolates from my wonderful friends from Bookcrossing. Mum and Dad bought me gifts as well. Loey bought me a mug from a chemist with a lovely saying on it about daughters on it that brought me to tears, Dad bought me a 'PINK' cd (he even called me on Saturday and asked me about which cd I'd like; and I said anything from her work; he got one that do like); and they both bought me a paper shredder (so I can shred anything I don't need). My brother has yet to give me my present as he was in Melbourne for the weekend and couldn't make it to my birthday dinner last night.
Speaking of which we went to the local RSL - Diggers - and had a lovely dinner there. Despite my pasta meal being slightly undercooked, we had a great time there, came back to my place and cut the cake. It's been a wonderful birthday. I've put all the cards on the piano and am still journalling the books and finding places for the rest of the beautiful things you have all given me.
And I thank you all for helping me celebrate my birthday this year - as you helped me celebrate my Mum's birthday - we've all had the best time! Let's do it again sometime!

An Asian Themed Present

This long box caught my attention when I was halfway through the basket; and so I pulled it out and opened it, and I was pleasantly surprised at the attention to detail heartthumper had put into wrapping everything. There's a chinese recipe book, two teabags, a calendar, post-it notes (that match the calendar) and a fern bamboo tea candle; along with a BC bookmark and postcard! I love it all. And the tea candle smells so delicate and beautiful that I'm hesitant in lighting it until the right time comes along.

And seeing all of this was wrapped up individually in tissue paper and packed so carefully, I thought to put this gift as lucky last on the thank you list for the international gift-givers.

Dancing for Beginners

As soon as I pulled this book out, I knew it was going to be different. 'Belly Dancing for Beginners' by Liz Byrski jumped out from the front cover and I thought straight off it might be an instructional book; but was mistaken once I read the back...hehe...

Thank you so much for this book. It's different from the other ones I've received and so I'm sure I'll read it when I'm in between two tough books or stuck waiting for a bookring. Thank you again!

A Spooky Book

I opened this envelope and pulled out a dark-covered book that I had never heard of before; but the blurb on the back sounded very interesting. Then I read the beautiful, handmade card and found it came from glenystasmania.

I wanted to open the book to the first few pages and begin reading it straight away to see what it was like; but found it would have been rude of me - after all, I had a visitor. Thank you so much for the creepy book that grabbed me at the front cover and gorgeous card!

It's All Roses.

JuneQueensland is another who sent me something besides a book - not that I don't like receiving books, I do! I opened the parcel yesterday and out came a beautifully wrapped box with a card. On opening the card, there were flowers on the front and then, the box wrapped in tissue paper was next; and it was a small box of 'Roses' Chocolates (which went straight into the fridge after the photograph was taken). Thank you so much for those... yummo! I've already opened them and had two! They're so much nicer cold.

The Gargoyle

When I pulled this one out of the parcel, I was so happy to have received it; and the card matched the book too! I've been looking at reading this book for a long time; and now I have it in my collection, there's no excuse not to read it; and I have to thank you, Yorkshire-lass, for giving it to me for my birthday as it makes it even more special. I can't wait to read it!

A Gift With A Difference!

Just like Loey's present, judygreeneyes, didn't give me a book; instead sending me something totally different. My parcel was bulging and felt fragile; however on opening it, I smelt coconut and peppermint... yum! I pulled out two candles which had a purple ribbon around them - one was French Market and the other Diva (both smelt so good, I could almost eat them!), and then there were the peppermints from San Diego, California. Loey tried one of the peppermints and said they were really strong; but good!

Thank you so much for them, they are wonderful and are currently sitting near my stereo and television awaiting use (which will be soon; as I get really curious about the smell of scented candles when I receive them). I'll let you know how it all goes when I do light them. Thank you again!

The Long Wait For The Douglas Adams Book.

I'm a very big Douglas Adams fan and was absolutely thrilled when I opened this little parcel from Cassiopaeia and it held 'The Long Dark Tea-Time of the Soul' by Douglas Adams. It's the fifth installment of 'The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy' that I've been looking for and unable to find here in Australia.

And just by coincidence, I scored myself a hardcover copy of the Trilogy in Four Parts at the Life Line Bookfest for $4.00 in June! What a bargain! And this book is just the icing on the cake... thank you so much for this wonderful little book. I love it!

The World According To...

Oh! You wonderful person! I've always wanted to read this book ever since I saw the movie with Robin Williams in it... and now I can. The last time I had this book in my hands, it was a library book and I didn't get into it very far and by the time I did, it had to go back to the library - bummer! - but now, I can take my time and read it at my heart's content. And I absolutely adore the card!

Thank you again! I'll most definitely get into it soon... well, when I can get past the other books which are at base camp of my Mt TBR...haha!

From the Wilds of South Africa

When I happened upon this one, the first thing that caught my eye was the six stamps in the top right corner. They are so bright and colourful, I thought they were the most beautiful thing I had ever seen! Then, I opened the parcel and found the most gorgeous postcards waiting for me inside.

I've never been to South Africa; however I remember learning about the country in high school. The place has always fascinated me and when I found the beautiful postcards of the cheetah, elephants and rhinos, I found them breath-taking. And the birthday card is the icing on the cake! Thank you so much for this thoughtful gift. I will always treasure it.

A Hand Made Card!

Oh! I love handmade things! And this one is just gorgeous; and is currently keeping the other cards company on top of Grandma's piano. But just look at the talent here; I love it!

It's got Ladybugs on the outside, inside and a label on the back 'toadily handmade'... wonderful! Thank you so much for your original card; it's a one of a kind, just like you are in every way.

A Gorgeous Handmade Pressie!

Wow! This one may have been just in an envelope, but I love it! Wamstreet, you have the patience of the Gods! Really you do! This bookmark is made from counting cross-stitch; and I know how hard it is to do! It's beautiful and I love it! I will treasure this gift for a very long time!

I love the roses you must have ruined your eye sight to put in and the border around it! Isn't it an absolute masterpiece? Now, stop blushing... I love it and will most definitely use it very soon!

A Shared Gift Is Just As Wonderful!

Now, this one is from Dancesport and she did a great thing for Loey and me. She missed Loey's birthday basket and so she included both our gifts in this one; letting us pick out what we wanted.

However, I thought it would be great to show some of the lovely things she put into the envelope. Thank you so much for your thoughtful gift. Loey and I both received bookplates, bookmarks and a postcard each. I took the one with the dragon on it and Loey took the one with the child under the tree.

The Mystery Sender is.... Weirdwong!

I love getting gifts; however, this one is from a mystery sender and therefore, whoever has sent this, I do thank you very much. This wonderful book is one that I've been dying to read and will read soon. Ironically, I'm also on a bookring/ray for it (so when the time comes for it being my turn, I can happily say that the previous person can skip me and save the postage).

So, whoever you are, you wonderful BCer, I thank you very much for this wonderful gift of this book book!

10th, October, 2009: Loey and I were reading some of the lovely e-mails you guys wrote to her when we came across one from Weirdwong saying they'd send this book from betterworldbooks.com ... then it clicked! Weirdwong must have sent Loey her book from betterworldbooks.com too! Did you? We're both still wondering! Many thanks for this wonderful book and I have plans to read it soon.

The Second Present!

The next parcel that I laid my hands on was from jmsmom; and was I in for a surprise! I ripped it opened and found 'The Colorado Kid' by Stephen King first and was so thrilled! It was one of my Wish List Books! Yay! Thank you, thank you, thank you! I do look forward to reading this one!

Also in the parcel is a roll of Willy Wonka's 'Sweetarts', four postcards of Oklahoma and another bigger book titled: 'Face to Face'; which I look forward to having a look at too! Thank you so much again for going to the trouble of sending this parcel to out me for my birthday!

The First One opened!

Yes! Today is the day of my birthday! And Loey came around to my place to celebrate with a basket full to the brim of goodies from across the miles! And boy! Was it heavy!

The first once opened today was the Halloween Card from Weirdwong! Thank you so much for the cool card! I love it! It's beautiful and so off-the-wall; seeing you killed two birds with one stone (my birthday and my love for Halloween! Wicked!). I also love the note you wrote inside too! Thank you so much!