Arrived home after a John Howard of a day at work to find a parcel, USA origin, California specifically of moderate size and considerable heft which contains a verifiable cornucopia of goodies, the scale of which stretch the very boundaries of generosity as most people would deem fit & proper.
Foremost, no less than three shot glasses of diverse origin of which the Big Bear Lake version has considerable distinction and is being christened with a shot of Woodford Reserve as I type.
Then a pack of “Roadkill Beef Jerky” which puts me on SGE parity. Bewdy.
But @Silenus, he respects no conventional limits.
We continue in awe:
“Don’t mess with Texas” playing cards
Betties School for Wayward Girls hip flask
Star Trek figurines inc an armed Captain Kirk
Star Trek bow tie
Art of Darkness lighter
Marvel’s Black Panther and Klaw condiment set
St Patrick’s Day and Vegas monorail sets of beads
3 different bottle openers
OK, well that’s excessive, Sir! … but there’s more…
An Upper Deck Entertainment lanyard
Half a dozen Marvel double lapel badges
Two pack of Alias trading cards
Stickers
Postcard
Firefly patch
Sandford Constabulary medallion
A Slughaus LED light
… and an intriguing piece of granite
Pheww! Begosh!!. Begolly!!!
Then to demonstrate just how intractably incorrigible he truely is … a handwritten note claiming he can’t match the manky kangaroo scrotum bottle opener I sent him last year.
Glad it got there intact! I was worried Australian Customs might think there was something suspicious based on the eclectic nature of the contents. I didn’t have a smaller box, so I had to fill the one I had. Empty space offends me.
It’s like HST said about drugs: “We had two bags of grass, seventy-five pellets of mescaline, five sheets of high powered blotter acid, a salt shaker half full of cocaine, and a whole galaxy of multi-colored uppers, downers, screamers, laughers… and also a quart of tequila, a quart of rum, a case of Budweiser, a pint of raw ether and two dozen amyls. Not that we needed all that for the trip, but once you get locked into a serious drug collection, the tendency is to push it as far as you can.”
BTW the piece of granite is a rock from my yard, which is completely xeriscaped. It wanted to see the world, so I sent it on a trip.
Went out front to check on my Halloween lantern and what did I find but a package from swampspruce. Goodies!
We lead off with the bad news: US Customs decided that the “ruminant product (processed)” enclosed violated the Animal Health Protection Act (7 USC 8313. Somewhere there is a customs agent gnawing on Canadian jerky or sausage or such. On to the Good News - a 100 Anniversary Canadian Air Force shot glass, in true Air Force size, something to christen it with (Rye!), Canadian dill pickle chips (YUM!) and Coffee Crisp!! A veritable cornucopia of delight.
Well, I’m glad (almost) everything got through OK! The beef jerky (for that was what it was) is from our local butcher and their claim to fame is that their jerky has been on multiple trips to the ISS. I’m glad you enjoyed the rest, I thought about the prototypical Ketchup chips but thought Dill Pickle was a better fit with the rye.
Just looked up that Article; what a load of crap. It’s not like I was sending a calf to you; it was commercially processed and vacuum packed, not raw steaks nor was it for sale. Jerks.
OK, I want to tell about a box I got today, It’s not from my sender but another person who is playing this exchange.
Lancia put me in touch with a Doper from Australia, penultima thule because I wanted to try and get some candy I got in a previous exchange a long time back. They are Jaffas and Cherry Ripe, not on the shelf here in the US that I have seen. So I sent them a box of stuff as I did for the other exchange player I am sending to.
OMG I got the candy today. There’s way more than I expected and I messaged them that I’ll have to be careful in eating it or I’ll go into a diabetic coma. Thank you, thank you.
Awww, @Baker was just excited and wanted to share!
I got my box yesterday!
It’s been a rough time lately - we got a big snow storm thay knocked out power for over a day, a tree came down in my back yard and missed the house by a coupla feet - so getting this in the midst of all that was a huge mental boost.
There’s a cute NC State shot glass (“Home of the Wolfpack!”) plus red & black Mardi Gras beads, with an explanation that they are Official Carolina Hurricanes Clutching Pearls, which was hilarious.
Also stickers, a coaster (which I promise to use!) a hand written card complete with a drawing of my cat & one of my snakes, and even a bonus baggie of grass bag of catnip!
They did. 2 nifty Oregon magnets, an “I Oregon” keychain, a “Beaver State” snowglobe, with a grizzly Beaver inside, and a leaning "I Got Tipsy In Oregon blue shotglass.
My package went today, finally got to a post office! It’s crossing the pond, so may take a little time.
Also, two days ago, my package arrived from Baker!
In it, there is firstly a shotglass from Kansas (The Sunflower State… apparently), and a small bottle of Jim Beam that wasn’t on the customs declaration, and a Kansas buffalo (Bison?) keyring, but also a giant crocheted Christmas stocking that’s absolutely fantastic! I shall be hanging that bad boy up by the fire with care, you can be sure of that!
Glad you liked it. I have done a lot of stockings, they work up fast and easy. Sometimes I do them in team colors, like black and gold, red and yellow, or purple and white.
Yea. I can make an excuse for the Jim Beam, there weren’t enough spaces for all the little gee gaws. Me, a smuggler?
Lancia, we should all send you a Christmas card at least for doing all this work.
I arrived home Wednesday afternoon to find a parcel waiting for me from Lancia! It didn’t feel right to open it until I sent mine, so I was at FedEx first thing this morning, and now there is a box full of Memphis goodies on its way to the Sunflower state.
To say that Lancia outdid himself would be an understatement!
Firstly, as is tradition, there’s a shot glass. It’s a lovely ceramic piece with a scenic design featuring the outline of Oregon with a lighthouse, some mountains, a stag, and a cityscape. It was duly christened upon receipt.
But then, there was a second shot glass! This one is a clear glass that has the state seal on it, and the reverse has many facts about the state.
These alone are impressive, but Lancia was kind enough to include additional pieces that showcase the great Beaver state: a magnet, a notepad, THREE picturesque postcards, a petite snow globe, an Oregon key chain and a wall calendar!
Lastly, he was kind enough to send a great mug from Umpqua Community College and a bag of locally roasted coffee!
For all of these fantastic gifts and for his part in organizing this exchange, I am so grateful to Lancia. Sir, you are a fantastic human and I appreciate you.
feppytweed, I learned something about Oregon once, when I did a model of a big train station for a gingerbread display. All 50 state flags are displayed there, and Oregon is the only state with one picture on one side, and a different one on the other. I think one side is a beaver, the other is the state seal you mentioned.
Oh, and Ohio is the only state that’s in pennant form, not a rectangle.
So there’s a bit of a story behind the lateness of my package. A few of the goodies, like the coffee mug and shot glasses, I collected several months ago in anticipation of this year’s exchange. Knowing I needed a bit more bling, however, I decided at the last minute to go to our local Fred Meyer and get a few more goodies representing the Beaver State (and Baker you are right about the flag. It actually is quite problematic IRL as the added weight of the obverse design causes the flag to hang limp in anything short of a strong wind).
So I get my goodies home, package it all up nice and tight, and set it on the dining room table awaiting the next trip to post office. The following morning as I’m getting ready for work I notice that the bottom of the box is wet.
Well, crap.
I open it and of course, the snow globe had broken, soaking everything. I salvage the shot glasses, the mug, the magnet, and the key chain (I washed them all, which will explain why the stickers on the base of the glasses look like they’ve been, well, washed). My wife went back to Freddy’s the next day and picked up a new copy of the calendar, new notepads, another snowglobe, and new postcards – as well as the coffee, which wasn’t part of the OG box (I would’ve tossed it had it been) That’s why the snowglobe and coffee were in Ziplock bags: I wanted to avoid damage should the damn thing break again.
I’ve been on a Manhattan kick lately, but I’ve been using rye. So I’ll have to try making one tonight with the bourbon, after I’ve sampled it straight.
And now, an apology to @Labdad. As a rookie in the shot glass exchange, and seeing what other people have sent and received, I feel like you kinda got short-changed. So perhaps a supplemental package is in order…
Oregon” keychain, a “Beaver State” snowglobe, with a grizzly Beaver inside, and a leaning "I Got Tipsy In Oregon blue shotglass.
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