No, you wrote compress. My fingers just decided to trade words for no good reason.

And I just looked at the back of the note. DUR!

I want to move into the bead case, but we are baking cookies, so I shouldn't start another project at the same time. Darn it.

Present opening time! First in the box was honey straws, "To: A drinker of tea, From: A lover of bears." I'm really glad I just ate them straight, rather than putting them in tea, because they were DELICIOUS.

Next, "To: The Cowgirl of the East, From: The Rose of the West," a beautiful tuberose soap! Yum! Then, "To: Froken H---, From Jule Hus, Solvang," a Christmas Pickle ornament! Awesome! THEN! "To: The Puzzler, From: The Riddler," a deck of Genius Puzzle Challenges. Fun! And THEN "To: Jesse, recent New Yorker, From: Two artists associated with your two homes," a little book of The Twelve Terrors of Christmas by John Updike with Edward Gorey drawings!

AND the mug?? I am so happy!

I love everything!! And feel like I should know who you are -- an SFista, right? ....megan walker?

And feel like I should know who you are -- an SFista, right? ....megan walker?

Yes, you are a puzzle genius! I couldn't really hide that it was coming from SF, but the rose soap is from Pasadena, City of Roses, and the pickle ornament is from the Danish town of Solvang, CA, hence the Danish form of address.

Also, you have one more present coming...

Woo hoo! Thanks!

Cheeses!!! A variety of them!!! Plus tiny toasts and a cheese knife! Thank you, fellow cheeser Jesse!

They will go so well with our new giant cheese board!

Still one of my favorites for the season: I wonder if I might crave your momentary indulgence...?

Yay!

Secret Santa o' mine, your package arrived! I was going to open them a few a day... But then I couldn't stop. Oopsies.

So! In no particular order, except I did follow the instructions for first and last... Ginger cookies! Still soft. Nom. And then... a Tardis cellphone charm! I actually made squeaky noises at that one. Then there was an array of bacon-flavored products - popcorn, salt, and drink tabs. Yes, drink tabs. I think I just discovered a shortcut to bacon-infused bourbon. Score.

My embarassment of Christmas riches also included a titanium spork (I WILL BROWNBAG LIKE A BADASS), a wee jar of fudge sauce (never know when you're going to need a bit of emergency chocolate), and a Kinder Happy Hippo.

Hang on... Gotta eat another cookie. SPICY NOMS YAYES.

Oh! Forgot the card. Soy ink on recycled paper, AND there's a detachable bookmark.

Okay. And for the dramatic finale, I opened a lovingly packaged sequence of wrappings to reveal a gorgeous ornament, hand-beaded I presume?

Which makes me think... Suzi? Unless my tricky Santa had her make it, in which case I am stumped.

Dude. I can't decide what to make taste like bacon first.

Oh! Forgot the card. Soy ink on recycled paper, AND there's a detachable bookmark.

heh hehe hehe hhehe

I got one too!