A Get Well Gift From Calgary!

Yes, I've been a little under the weather lately; but not horribly sick.  I've been in Greenslopes Hospital for day surgery and I'm getting better as each day passes.

I told some friends on Bookcrossing and had well-wishes coming from near and far.  One of my friends sent me a lovely card from Melbourne with a couple of bookmarks for next year's Bookcrossing Convention - and invited Mum and me to go to it; so we could all meet up there.  What a great adventure that would be!  I'd love to go to Melbourne again.

Then, last week sometime, while I was away at Brighton at my brother's house, a parcel arrived at the post office from Calgary.  This week, I picked it up and I opened it to find one of my wonderful friends from there send me a little box filled to the brim with wonderful things to help me feel better!  This includes a half-pound Reeces Peanut Butter Cup!!!  It was amazing to see one of these; even my Dad was astounded as he picked it up and felt it.  It will be nibbled at little by little.  I must thank Herchelle for sending me this wonderful box of lovely things.  I do love everything you've thoughtfully sent me; especially the cds - I played them yesterday and do love them a lot!  Great music comes from Canada and nobody gives it a chance.

Reeces & Labels from Canada

A few months ago, a friend off Bookcrossing sent off a parcel through Surface Mail and it's finally arrived!  today I went to the post office and there it was in the box waiting for me!  
After having the worse possible week of my computer breaking down on me, burying my little bird on Friday and finding out one of my dear friends passed away last Tuesday morning, I find this little parcel has really made my week.  Thank you froggie66... you're wonderful!

Chocolate and Reading - Great Combo!

Today, I was off to do my grocery shopping.  So, I took my time - seeing the last few days have been hectic for me with my health and with the Melbourne Cup yesterday.  I left the house at an early time and found myself at the post office at around 9:10am to find only one parcel waiting for me slotted into my PO box.  

It was from New Zealand!  Cool!  I love that place.  Eagerly, I ripped open the plastic wrapping with my house key and found a Pineapples Chunks chocolate bar.  I'm not much of a fan of pineapples (got food poisoning from one when I was really young and haven't been able to stomach them since; not even the smell... but hey, you weren't to know, so don't worry).  Along with the chocolate bar was a book 'Malcolm and Juliet: Sex, Lies and Science' by Bernard Beckett.  I read the back of the book at the bus stop and it looks like a good, funny read!  Thank you so much LeahJett!  I'm looking forward to reading this one - maybe over Christmas as a light read when it all settles down. 

Belated Secret Santa Present

Earlier this month, there was a big concern about whether I'd receive a gift from my Australian Secret Santa.  You see, an Australia Post mail truck caught fire and the whole lot burnt to the ground!  And the whole truck was heading from Western Australia to here in Queensland.  A lot of people were not going to receive their presents over Christmas.  

When I heard about this, I filled out a form immediately online to Australia Post - however, they didn't keep track of the item I was looking for.  This was unfortunate.  To my amazement, I checked the mail yesterday and I found a blue parcel pick-up card... and what do you know?  It was my parcel from my Secret Santa!  Thank you so much Romy86 for sending this off to me... and now it's here where it belongs, I'm not letting it out of my sight!

Big-Sized Reeces and a Calendar

Wow!  It's been over a month since the last time I received a parcel in the mail from somebody; and this time, it came from Canada.  I wasn't expecting anything; and usually the PO Box is overflowing with bills and junk mail.  This time, it had a blue parcel pick-up card and I was totally delighted!  So, after picking it up, I found on the customs sticker, it said chocolate... my favourite kind of deliver (well, okay, next to books!)

I gotta thank the wonderful BCer who sent this calendar and jumbo-sized Reeces to me; two of them.  After I photographed them, I put them into the fridge to chill (as we're having the hottest Autumn on record right now here in Australia!  It's still hot during the day and night!).  I look forward to putting up other parcels and goodies that show up in my PO Box in the future.

HGG's Still Arriving After Christmas

It's been another long weekend; and I've been looking forward to the mail returning to normal again.  And today, it's turned out to be a hot one.  So, I went and checked the mail early to get home early enough before the heat of the day really struck home.

While at the Post Office, I picked up a parcel from the US and opened it right there before heading home.  Inside it was a packet of miniature Reeces Peanut Butter Cups, a couple of label, a postcard, a recycled resources coin purse and a hard-covered A5 sized journal!  How lovely!  Even though the box looked like it had seen better days and journeys, I'm happy to say that the contents are unharmed and complete.

Thank you so much for these wonderful things that traveled so far to arrive here safely, author-author.  I do look forward to using the journal soon; and getting into the the Reeces... my favourite chockies from the States. :D

Goodies From Finland!

I received two parcels in the mail today.  One was sitting in the PO Box itself and there was a blue pick-up card.  I pulled out the parcel and took it inside with the card to find the other parcel was much bigger.  

But I'll tell you about this first one first.  It was quite small and I opened it to find the contents were inside a plastic bag.  I pulled them out and found a gold coin purse, a postcard, a cute notebook and a tube of chocolate.  Thank you so much miumaumau!  I'm looking forward to using all of these things soon!

A Parcel From My Birthday Buddy.

Today, I received a wonderful parcel from my Bookcrossing Birthday Buddy.  She lives on the other side of Brisbane and we swap pressies every year; and I haven't forgotten her birthday... and neither has she forgotten mine.  Last week, I posted off her parcel of five books to her and today, my parcel arrived for my birthday.

It was wrapped in bright orange paper with a gorgeous golden card with a fairy on a mushroom reading a book on the front.  Inside the wrappings were two books, three coin purses, chocolates, a picture frame and a stationery set.  What a lovely collection of pressies.  I love all these things; and can't wait to read the books, they sound like a good read.

I sent Froggirlwendy a trilogy of books by John Twelve Hawks about two brothers.  The books are called 'The Traveller', 'The Dark River', then 'The Golden River'.  They were all bought new, but I found I couldn't get past the first book; which was really well-written.  Then, I put in two paranormal romances (not vampire ones, just interestingly different romances) because I saw on her Mt TBR, that she liked to read romances too.  Well, I hope Froggirlwendy enjoys her presents as much as I have.  Happy Birthday, and I hope you receive many wonderful presents and have a wonderful day; as good as I had.

A Cute Little Parcel From Froggie66

Today I was late getting to the post office as I got talking to one of my neighbours about Halloween; then onto other subjects.  We chatted about how to cut a pumpkin and how much we were paying for them here.  Her kids were in the mood to play, so I decided to take off and found my PO Box was chock-a-block full of mail!  I even found a blue pick-up slip in amongst a parcel, some magazines from Chrisco and some junk mail. 

The parcel I had to pick up was a set of address labels I needed as I wanted to use them for the next few years; and they were nice.  And the parcel I pulled out of my PO Box was from Froggie66 in Canada.  The stamp was just hanging on by a little bit; and as I put it into my bag, the stamp fell of in there.  Luckily it made it all the way here; it's such a lovely stamp with a Moose on it.

Once home, I opened the parcel and found a whole lot of goodies inside it.  From a 3-pack of Reeces Peanut Butter Cups to a cute pen, a postcard and groovy coin purse I love!  Thank you so much, Froggie66, I love them all.  Your postcard will be joining the others up on the wall in the dining room downstairs as a show of where my friends live on Bookcrossing.

A Blast From the Past And Reeces.

Today, I woke up feeling a bit blah.  And I know why.  I've eaten too much salt over the weekend; my fault, but I'll get through it.  Anyway, I pushed myself out of bed and got going to the post office to find only one thing to pick up.  

When I received the parcel, I got in and opened it right away; and found it had a bag of Reeces Peanut Butter Cups (a little melted, but it doesn't matter, they'll be okay once they get cold in the fridge.) and I loved the little coin purse that popped out.  At first, I thought it was a real cassette tape and you had gone all retro on me and made a tape of something you wanted me to play.  But as I picked it up, I realised it was a cassette tape coin purse!  How very cool!  I love it!  Thank you so much, Judygreeneyes!  I'll most definitely use that one at an '80's party or when I'm feeling like I'm retro in any way.

It's HGG Time Already!

This is so cool!  September has come around and this means it's time for Holiday Gift-Giving time until December!  What a wonderful and very cool time of year for Bookcrossers across the globe.  I love giving as well as receiving!  This also means, this blog really takes off again too.

And to kick it off, I received two in the mail.  The first on is from Honolulu.  Inside the parcel was the book 'The Tale of Despereaux' by Kate DiCamillo and two Reeces Peanut Butter Cups - one original and one dark chocolate!  What a wonderful Bookcrosser you are!  Thank you so much!  I really do appreciate this; and this parcel has arrived on a really dull and wet week here in Brisbane.  You've really brightened up my day today.  Thank you ghir, I'll definitely get into the book soon and the Peanut Butter Cups when they've cooled enough in the fridge.

Romanian Chocolates and Calendar

Also in the mail today, I found a parcel pick-up card; a blue one. So, I didn't have to sign for it. So, I went into the post office and was handed a well-taped up parcel, which I pulled apart and it was wrapped up again. Well, I thought to leave it until I returned home from shopping; and I'm thankful I did. Inside this wrapped up parcel is a calendar, a box of chocolate (which had begun to melt in the Summer heat; and are now chilling out in the freezer for later on tonight) and a lovely card with cats on the front.
This card was bought to aid in the protection for cats. In purchasing this card - and others like it - elviraro has helped people assist 140,000 cats every year. To find out more about this worthy cause, I'll put the link to this site on the sidebar.

Thank you again for this beautiful HGG and the calendar of monasteries. I look forward to having it by my bed or downstairs in the lounge room on the piano.

From Austria!

Now, the two parcel collection cards had to be taken into the post office (and I had Christmas Card for the ladies and the owner there for their patience and kindness over this year too. I have been doing this for the past year or so).
This first parcel is from Releanna. Thank you so much for making up the miniature photo album with my family's photos in it. How did you do that? It's so beautiful! I'll be taking it to the coast with me this Christmas. And there's also a Christmas Card (which is now on top of the piano too!) and some Austrian chocolate/sweets that I've put into the freezer to keep cold (yes, it's been very hot here lately). The little ornament has been put onto the tree.

Thank you so much much for you lovely and beautiful gifts. They are absolutely lovely and I'll be using the album long after Christmas.

Chocolate From Across The Miles!

Today being Wednesday, I normally don't get any mail. Australia is such a large country and it's usually a day where there's just junk mail in the PO Box. But what I found in there along with the normal junk mail was an envelope from Classicfox! Once home, I opened it and pulled out Cadbury Royal Dark Chocolate and the most beautiful postcard with kids on the front (no, not children, billy-kid goats).

This will be put into the freezer for tonight (yeah, I freeze my chocolate as it's hot here that the fridge isn't good enough) for after dinner when I have my green tea! Thank you so much again for this lovely chocolate.

HGG - Thank you to my Mystery Sender From Finland!

When I opened this parcel, I found all these gorgeous postcards that matched each other in colour and art. Then, out popped a sealed chocolate. On the back of one of the postcards was a greeting saying the chocolate was Belgium and that the postcards were chosen on the basis of 'warm yellow, sandy colour scale, because that's what I associate with your warm country'. Wonderful!

I'd love to thank you very much! However, I couldn't figure out who sent it. There was no screen name on the postcard and no return address on the back of the envelope for me to see if I had it in my BC address book. So, whoever you are, in the Netherlands, thank you so much for your present I love it!

7th, December 2009: I felt like eating the chocolate and on opening it, I was pleasantly surprised find the cat on the front of the packaging was also the shape of the chocolate on the inside! Isn't it gorgeous? Just wanted to share.

Sweepstakes from Shemchin!

Oh! Wow! I've never gotten something from one of these before in all the years I've been with Bookcrossing! And of all days, I'm so happy I received this on in the mail! I had to send my little bird off to the vet after she threw up seed all over the place yesterday morning and I was as worried as a pet owner could get when I opened my PO Box and found the red collection slip inside. So I went into the post office and signed for the parcel to be handed a huge one! Once out in the car, I opened it and found a massive bag of Reece's Peanut Butter Cups!!! Yummo! Loey saw them and her mouth dropped. Then I said there were books and teabags... and well, you can see by the photograph that there was a lot in the parcel!

Thank you so much Shemchin for making my day! You really brightened it up! You're one-of-a-kind!

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.

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.

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.