I returned to my home this evening to find a delightful little box waiting for me... It held Divine chocolates, both the name and an apt description, for I am eating some right now and it is FG; adorable little owl playing cards, which I shall have to frame; rooibos tea, which I will try tomorrow at work; and the piece de resistance, a beautiful silver necklace with a pearl and moonstone pendant, which adorns my neck right now. And it was all Fair Trade/organic/etc.

I should have guessed from the envelope who it was, but I was in the dark right until I flipped over the enclosed notecard with PINK crest to find out that my Secret Santa is the one, the only, the amazing msbelle.

Thank you so much, msbelle, and I am even more touched and in awe knowing the rough time you've had lately. Do not let your gifting prowess be cast in doubt: I will attest any time.

Oh yay. Glad you like it. It was fun putting together.

Yeah, meara, it got here with at least several hours to spare! We do sometimes have postal issues here, but generally, if you mail USPS first class or better, it only takes 1-2 more days than usual.

For my seekrit santee, I cleverly forgot to include the card. You can probably guess who it's from by the location, but I'll try to get the card mailed tomorrow.

I'm slacker, but I got a little giftie of cherry liqueur from my not secret santa! I can't wait to try it, but am currently suffering from a bitch of a sinus headache, luckily, I dug and found some psuedoephedrine, so I should feel better soon (fucking meth addicts making it hard to get the cold shit that actually WORKS)

Thank you, Ailleann!! The earrings are absolutely gorgeous, the chocolate is scrumptious and the lilac candle is my new favorite candle in the house. So very sweet of you - thank you!

I've been stressing so much about getting my giftee's present on the way that I forgot one would be coming to me. Yay!

I can't find the cable for my camera so no pics just yet, but as usual a most excellent time was had opening my santa gift from (I trust) one megan walker. Including some most excellent coffee, a copy of The Princess of Cleeves, which piqued my interest during a discussion here, and the Top Chef Quickfire Cookbook. (My restraint at waiting until day of to open paid off, too, since we all had a good laugh when I opened the package mere seconds after my sister had opened the copy of Tom Colliccio's book that I got her. Heh. There was a decided cookware/cooking theme to our xmas this year.) Plus, bath bombs! One of which I will use tonight to mark the end of my time off.

Vortex, I had a couple of extra bottles and thought it might be to your taste so I figured I'd send one your way. We discovered over the weekend that it's best right out of the freezer.

Yes, I am VERY EXCITED to try it, but I try not to drink when I'm taking acetominophen.

Soooon, Sooon, my precious!!!!!

Thanks Santa Polter-cow! Soon I will be listening to the tunes of Rah-Rah Riot while reading one of my favorite authors, Neil Stephenson, "Anthem." I'm behind on finishing (er, well, and starting) The Baroque Trilogy even though I own them, and had lost touch with this more recent work, a follow-up to the Baroque Trilogy. "Stephenson's expansive storytelling echoes Walter Miller's classic A Canticle for Leibowitz, the space operas of Larry Niven and the cultural meditations Douglas Hofstadter—a heady mix of antecedents that makes for long stretches of dazzling entertainment occasionally interrupted by pages of numbing colloquy," says Publishers Weekly. We'll see. His riffs are usually hugely entertaining. Thanks again, this'll be fun.

I can't find the cable for my camera so no pics just yet, but as usual a most excellent time was had opening my santa gift from (I trust) one megan walker.

I knew it wouldn't be hard to guess given the origin and contents!

I wasn't sure whether it would be okay to send whole bean coffee, but Blue Bottle won't grind beans they sell (@@). So, sorry, if you don't have a grinder!