A little regifting tip

INCE it's nearing the end of June, a month where folks are traditionally more likely to get married, I thought it might be wise (and potentially entertaining) to offer a PSA about regifting.

In days of yore, when hubby and I got married, we were lavishly endowed with many gifts. (Especially from my dear departed maternal grandmother, who was so excited over the first of her grandchildren getting married that she went a little nuts sending us gifts on the order of one per week, but that's another story.)

Once we got back from our honeymoon, we started opening the wedding gifts we'd received. One of them -- and even at this remove, I won't tell what it was or who it was from -- came with a sweet little note inside.

"To [Danielle and Fred]*, congratulations and the best of luck in your new life together."

We are not named [Danielle and Fred]. The people who gave us the gift are also not named [Danielle and Fred]. Which means this particular item was regifted at least twice without anyone even bothering to open it and check out the contents.

So if you're going to regift an item, mayyybe give its contents a once-over first.

*names changed, obvi

Happy blogiversary! Plus an awesome Halloween giveaway!

N this day 10 years ago, I opened a Blogger account, chose a goofy blog name, doodled a Cheshire cat avatar on the back of a tithing donation slip, and immediately began to ponder, "Great. What to write, what to write... I know! I'll answer the question I've handily put into everyone's mind: what the heck's a laundry faerie?"

Over the last decade, Confessions of a Laundry Faerie has become my de facto home online; while I've been blogging in some form or other since the late '90s, this seems to be the place I've stuck to for the long haul. And as long as Blogger chooses not to turn out the lights on me, I'll probably go on another 10 years.

So, what gift do you give a blogger for a 10-year blogiversary? Tin? Aluminum? Diamonds? BZZZT WRONG. Answer: you don't! Instead I give something away to you, because that's the way we roll around here.

Halloween is coming, and I'm in the mood to make some handmade origami cards with a Halloween theme. If you'd like a chance to be gifted a set of faerie-made Halloween cards, send me a comment with your mailing address (fear not, comment moderation is on, so your address won't be published) and if I pick your info by random drawing, all manner of origami goodness shall be bestowed upon you!

Aren't blogiversaries nifty? I think so.

Another mysteeeeeerious package!

(Sorry for posting this earlier than I should have... I hadn't read the instructions carefully.  Today is Big Reveal Day, so I've posted it again.)

I tell you, if you're in the mood for mysteeeeeerious packages, this blog is Da Place Ta Be just recently.

It was the 17th.  Miss V and I had scarcely pulled into the driveway when our Friendly Neighborhood Mail Lady arrived in a mail truck just behind us.  "Here you go," she said, and handed over a package.

What package was this? Ooo, wait, I know!

So we got it inside and onto the table post haste.  Then we grabbed some scissors and went to town.

The first thing we encountered was a cheery smile from Karen!

Inside, delectable morsels of awesomeness: Snapea Crisps, tricolor couscous, cinnamon sticks, agave syrup, maple syrup, pine nuts, chicken stock... and CHOX! Woot! And Karen was kind enough to pass along her couscous recipe (along with the necessary ingredients to make it), which I shall be putting together for Captain Midnight and Miss V very soon.

Thank you so much to Karen, my lovely pen pal from New Hampshire, and to Lindsay at The Lean Green Bean for hosting and matching up Foodie Penpals for this month!

Can't talk now, mouth's full. It's rude and all. *num chox*

A mysteeeeeerious package!

I have neglected to mention that a mysteeeeeerious package showed up in the mailbox a few days ago.

Behold its mysteriousness, for it cometh from a secret fairy in none other than Secret Shropshire!

"What's inside?" you may ask. As well you may.

Well, this is what's inside. Some novelty Paperchase wildlife stickers which Miss V is lusting after...

...and a top-hatted caterpillar, waiting for Alice to arrive.

Many thanks and cross-pond hugs to my not-so-secret Shropshire friend.

Mothmail: the fly-by-night mail courier service

About a month ago, our local post office closed down.  It was located right in the middle of the downtown area and was always busy, so I'm hard-pressed to understand why it closed, other than the usual suspect: financial issues at the USPS.  In its stead the Powers that Be have opened the regional mail distribution center to customers as the city's sole post office; it's much further away and not at all convenient, but that's government for you.

I've long maintained that the biggest problem with the USPS is its status as a government-sanctioned monopoly.  As long as no one's allowed to compete with the Postal Service, there's no impetus for improvement in fees or services.  Even so, innovations like email and Skype and so forth are making the USPS monopoly on first-class mail irrelevant.  And yet there's always going to be something lovely about receiving a letter in the mail -- something more than a bill or an advertisement, something that required some thought (or at least a generous amount of whimsy) to write.

So here's my random thought for the day... let's create an alternative international mail courier service called, say, Mothmail.  It's the method Captain Midnight and I already use whenever we visit Utah: since we're going there anyway, we tend to carry a few items along with us as a favor to friends.  Any packages we take with us on either leg of the journey we deliver right to the individual's front door.  Since there are few limitations on what could be sent this way (other than the obvious ones, like high perishability and space restrictions in the back of a courier's car), you could send anything from basic letters to packages to rather convoluted and gorgeous mail art.

I imagine this idea working a lot like a rideshare program, with volunteer couriers who are already driving to a particular destination offering to take Mothmail items along for the ride. I can even imagine Mothmail couriers making and selling their own limited-edition postage to help defray driving costs.  Hey, why not?

Luna moth photo courtesy Dorothy Birch/Wikimedia Commons

Yes, Mothmail would be slow and dependent upon arbitrary travel decisions by third parties.  But since any letter being sent through the mail these days does NOT, by definition, contain a high-priority message (if the message were that time-sensitive, you'd be using email, fax or a phone call), why not take the time to write a thoughtful, meaningful, beautiful missive and send it to a friend via Mothmail as the opportunity presents itself?  Besides, really, wouldn't you want to receive a letter or two in this fashion?  I know I would.

Oh yeah, and bonus points to the couriers who come up with some inventive cancellation method.  Any Joe Postoffice can use a time-stamp.  Let's see you create something with style.  Impress us (pun fully intended)!

Oh, and I forgot to mention...

Look what came in the mail yesterday... a Gretel Parker original!

I am understandably enthused by this.  As I'm sure are you.

If you're not as enthused as I am, it probably means you need to pick up some of Gretel's art for your very own.  Then you too can revel in delight!

A few random foties

Lots of birthday well-wishes today, which was awesome in many ways. Then Captain Midnight got home from work and promptly kicked me out of the house -- only because he wanted to set up my traditional Birthday Chase. (This year's chase was difficult, but not fiendishly so.)

Having been temporarily ejected from the premises, and without much to do, I had Miss V bring my camera to the door and started casting around for things to photograph.

It was a beautiful autumn afternoon.

The air was full of Nike-style swooshes...

...and waves breaking in a sea of sky.

Our rosebush was aging and dying beautifully.



This was less true for our post-Halloween squashes.

Mine was in the process of becoming less Voldemorty, more Nosferatu-esque.

Captain Midnight's, on the other hand, was busy shouting at the ding-dang neighbor kids to get the heck offa his lawn.

Eventually I was allowed back in and began looking around for clues. There were many, but they were all tracked down in due time.

Then I opened The Pile o' Loot.

(Not shown: moolah from my mommy. Thanks, Mommy!)

Many thanks to Mom, Dad, CM, Miss V, etc. I feel very fortunate over all this... and kind of excited to have a real actual Train album with a real actual "anthem" on it. How this differs from a "song" I have yet to determine. Ah, marketing.

Anyway, from there we hied on over to an Italian restaurant and filled ourselves with deliciousness. I didn't think to take any pictures, though, so you will have to fill in the blanks with your own florid imaginations.

When we returned there was a mysteeeeeerious package on the doorstep, which turned out to be the Altoids and copy of What-the-Dickens as shown above. (Thank you, Wendy!)

Then Miss V got to doing a copious amount of delayed homework, which had her up quite late. But procrastination tends to create its own punishment, really.

And that, in a nutshell, was my birthday evening! It made me smile.

Why Tom is awesome

I'll admit I like a challenge once in a while, particularly if it involves an Internet treasure hunt. Quite some time ago, my cousin Tom decided to pose a challenge regarding a childhood favorite of his: a DVD copy of the phantasmagorical, psychedelic animated oddity known as Hugo the Hippo. The bounty for this cinematic gem, he declared, would be 150 Internets.

Honestly, who could resist such an offer? So I got crackin', pulled a few strings (laundry faeries have connections like you wouldn't believe) and got in touch with director Bill Feigenbaum, who is a scholar and a gentleman. Not only did he send along a DVD burned from his own copy, but he also sent Tom an autographed copy of the film's mini-poster. Truly, he deserves the 150 Internets promised.

Well, today Tom made good on his offer. Having recently gone to Cambodia...

...he decided to send me a box full of Southeast Asian delights.

Some pumpkin candies from Korea (these are all that's left; Miss V fell upon them like a starving convict the moment she got home)...

...a set of beautiful handmade cards...

...several bags of flavored peanuts (mmm, ginger peanuts)...

...a mysterious box...

...containing three small sacks of spices...

...and another mysterious container...

...with a big bag of palm sugar inside!

Tom, at risk of giving offense to both you and Mr. Feigenbaum, this is WAY better than Hugo the Hippo. You are awesome! Many, many thanks!

Another Pay It Forward update

ell, as of tonight a couple more packages should be (finally) wending their way toward their destinations. I'm sorry that it took quite a bit longer than I expected... but I hope you enjoy!

Blessings from a Church Lady

A small first class mail parcel arrived today.

Miss V, who loves to open packages -- ANY packages, even if they're not expressly addressed to her -- begged me to let her open this one. So I acquiesced.

Here's what she found inside:
The lovely and talented Ms K., aka The Church Lady, had sent me a parcel full of goodies! It included a lovely personal note from Ms. K, five splendiferous blogging-related postcards from Simply Smooches, and a Fuzzy Fingers duster cloth (my keyboard is in desperate need of some TLC... I think I heard cheering coming from beneath the CAPS LOCK key, but I can't be sure). Thanks so very much, Church Lady!

Now to Pay It Forward. Here's how it works:

The first three people to leave a comment on this post will be my Pay It Forward recipients. You have to be an actual person, not a spambot, and you must have a blog so I can read your postings and learn enough about you to make an informed choice about what to send you. When you receive your package from me, post pictures on your blog of what you received, just as I have done -- then copy and paste this text and wait for three comments on your blog... and the game continues on. Ask me if you have any questions.

This isn't one of those games where we try to outdo each other with spending -- inexpensive but well-chosen and thoughtful little gifts are best.

Sound interesting? Cool! Please post a comment if you'd like to be in on this.

(Thanks again, Church Lady!)

NOTE: This round of Pay It Forward is now closed. BUT! Fear not, for we shall play another round in the very near future. Watch this blog for details.

The morning, and what came of it

It's been a dark, gray, drizzly morning, quite a letdown from the crisp Halloween night preceding it.
In this light, the decorations I placed on the front door the night before look rather pathetic.

It looks like the once-golden ginkgo has sneezed.

Feeling a little deflated by the day, I went out to check our rather grim mailbox.

Bill, bill, more election materials, advertisement... and a bronze key, indicating I had a package in the big box. Hmm.
Looks like those cheeky fellows at the Royal Mail are sending me mash notes again.

But wait... what's this?
This was no ordinary parcel!

I hastened inside, my spirits beginning to lift, and forthwith commenced ripping. Pretty soon I had revealed:
The Box of Delight! Yes, complete with cuppycakes!

Here's what was inside:
Oh, and I suppose you want to see it all unpacked, do you?

OK.
Lookie here! And even more treasures to open up!

Here is the whole resplendent shebang:
This delightful fairy package contained:

* a paper lantern and information on the Chinese zodiac
* Halloween greetings and a chocolate lollipop
* a packet of peppermint tea (from none other than HRH the Prince of Wales himself)
* a wonderful little tin of fairy treasures (including buttons and hard candies)
* some luxurious-looking salt scrub for the bath
* a mini Dairy Milk bar festooned with Freddo the Frog
* a wee, white Sugar Mouse with green eyes
* lovely origami paper and a bookmark
* a packet of Milky Way Magic Stars
* some small notes with inspiring fortune-cookie-like sayings inscribed thereon
* some teeny Laundry Fairy clothespins with wooden flowers and ladybugs on them
* a dollar for my sister (yay!)
* and a box of Walker's Shortbread (how did you know? I LOVE this stuff!)

Not shown: the Curlywurly bar that somehow got overlooked in the box. Mmm.

Many, many thanks to the kind fairy Emma Faulkner for sending such a delightful packet! I feel like my birthday's come three days early!

Woohoo!

Remember all the bad things I had to say about today? Forget 'em. Wipe the slate clean. Today was my lucky day.

For today, something arrived in the mail for me!

Burning with curiosity, I ripped it open to reveal...

All manner of delightful things Halloweenish! (Thank you thank you, kind fairy Tara!) I proceeded to do a joyous happy dance, greatly befuddling my husband in the process.

This tears it. Looks like I'm going to have to break down and finally get my ears pierced.