Looks like my goodies came from Scotland this year! (Thank you for dealing with international shipping. That had to be loads of fun.)
Tonight my husband and I went to a concert by the River City Brass, Pittsburgh’s local ensemble. Their director, James Gourlay, is Scottish and he’s a world-renowned tuba player. To celebrate after the concert we came home and dug into my box. The little dark chocolate penguins called to me. Now there are two missing. They were delicious.
I received my package from the Keystone State and it is chock full o’ goodies, including what must be the warmest beanie, which I will wear it when I visit my sister in Northern Nevada, and a cute tee that fits perfectly and will be handy here in SoCal when it gets warm again. A lovely ornament that will
remind me the of SDMB and the wonderful folks I spend so much time with.
I mentioned I enjoy funky earrings, and sure enough there is a pair of dangling pretzels (so me) and some actual, chocolate covered pretzels (also very me!). Last but not least, a couple of stickers, one of which is shaped like Pennsylvania and is illustrated with significant places throughout the state. It’s going right on my water bottle, and then I’m going to look up Slippery Rock.
Please do not examine too carefully, I know there’s at least one bad stitch, but I didn’t have time to redo it by the time I spotted it >_<
Glad the apparently illegal fridge magnet didn’t get it all seized though!
@Sticks_and_Scones
I have now got the brain space free to investigate my own little box of mystery- a DIY suncatcher kit!
That’s… so appropriate it’s almost creepy. I recently put a hook up in the bathroom window to hang a suncatcher on (there was a hole drilled from where the old blinds were fitted), but I hadn’t got round to buying one yet because I couldn’t find one in a design I liked. Thanks!
I got my gift! It comes from California. There’s a cute little fridge magnet with the California bear, There’s a gadget to hold my glasses, A cute Christmas card has a dachshund with a Santa Hat, Illl put it on my tree, as all the ornaments are dachshunds. And a box of See’s chocolates. I remember first getting See;s when I was stationed in Monterey.
I’m extremely behind in .. well everything in life … but my giftee has not been forgotten. Please have patience, I promise you will have a slightly belated but hopefully happy gift.
I’m so glad you liked it! My inspiration was that you said you liked gifts made by hand. So I thought, well, how about a gift you can make by your own hand!
First from Nayna - super yummy homemade cookies, an adorable Christmas tree decoration (that looks to be homemade cross stitch) with its own little stand, a lovey vanilla mint lip balm (one of my favorite flavors too!), a We Are magnet that fits in very nicely with our other Penn State magnets, and a Pittsburgh chocolate bar.
And then a two parter from someone (I don’t see a username?) - an earlier arrival brought the cutest set of nesting pineapple bowls (I’d been looking for something similar recently so excellent choice!) The second part came last week with local goodies from Knott’s Berry farm - a berry air freshener and boysenberry vinaigrette dressing (so yummy!), See’s candy, and Have A Chip’s tortilla chips which will come in handy for late night snacking! Also your note on the bottom of the card was much appreciated by the husband as he is a Giants fan and agrees that above all else the Eagles aren’t “right”
Okay, wow. Whoa. Lancia, this is a dazzling array!
Mr. Rilch and Izzy (exchange student, Italian) were opening our gifts from each other, and every so often I’d reach into the box without looking, and pull out another plum. Let’s see:
Two good-sized jars of Misty Meadows brand cranberry honey and wild huckleberry jam. Also a jar of Hollerin’ Huckleberry pepper jelly (Rose City Pepperheads brand). A wild huckleberry chocolate bar, also from Misty Meadows, and a bag of wild huckleberry gummy grizzlies (bears). I don’t think I’ve ever tasted a huckleberry before.
:::nibbles on a huckleberry gummy::: Dang! Now that’s a berry. Mr. Rilch will take charge of the pepper jelly; I get the jam. And we both like to try different flavors of honey.
Charlie Brown and Snoopy salt and pepper shakers. Adorable!
A Smokey the Bear shot glass. I know Lancia collects shot glasses, and I collect any kind of souvenir glass: pint, hurricane, stein, whatever. So this goes in The Cabinet with the other shot glasses, and everything else.
A pair of earrings in, I guess, the U of O logo. Nice!
A keyring with a leather fob. Good quality.
A toboggan hat with two appliqués of Snoopy and Woodstock. I will start wearing this immediately; my crocheted cap has had its day. Lovely color, too!
A bar (plus a sample size) of goat milk soap, in pink hibiscus scent. Perfect! I gave a bar of soap to my Secret Giftee, and now I’m reimbursed.
And Quimby, the plush U of O duck that I mentioned last night. Sassy! I’ll put him with the pelican and the seagull. Or maybe with the Mountaineer and the Ohio State cheerleader bears.
Fantastic and spot-on, all of it. Thank you, Lancia, and Merry Christmas!
Is it only the Misty Meadows jam that can be ordered online, though, not the candy? I haven’t tried the chocolate bar yet, but I’m always on the lookout for a new favorite chocolatier.
I’m glad you liked it. Yes, the earrings are the University of Oregon logo, with added wings. (The actual school logo is just the O. Fun fact: that “O” was designed by a UofO architecture grad, who went on to work for Nike and who is credited with designing Nike’s Air Jordan sneakers. The inside dimension is the outline of Hayward Field, where the U.S Olympic Track and Field trials are held, and the outisde dimension is the rim of Autzen Stadium, where the Ducks play.)
My wife and I stop by Misty Meadows once every few months to stock up on jams, jelly, and honey. In fact we will be there next week. I’ll ask if they do mail order on their chocolate.
I opened my last prezzies today and WOW! Hand painted chocolate truffles and a beautiful calendar. I haven’t tried the Belgium chocolates yet, I want to admire the artwork for a few days first
The calendar artwork (Jane Shasky) is lovely and the colors are perfect for my stitching room. I know I will enjoy it all year and will smile in later years when I go back through them. (I keep my calendars and use them as mini-journals)
Thank you so much for all of the lovely prezzies @Reeses_Monkey and thank you again from the fuzzbutts. That catnip banana is still magical
You are quite welcome and I’m glad I picked something that coordinates with your room. The artwork in those Lang calendars is always gorgeous. I can never bear to get rid of them. And if you like the outside of the chocolates, the insides will blow you away.
called to me. Now there are two missing. They were delicious.
to your husband. 
Also - realised late that the See’s had a raspberry piece - my apologies!)