Surprise, Surprise, Surprise! (And Another Surprise)

Ok, settle in for a long post. With pictures. Lots of pictures...

I took the day off from work yesterday, and mom, my sister and I went to Wegman's and then The Cheesecake Factory for lunch--Yum! We picked up a little something on the way home, but more on that later... When I got home, I found two packages waiting for me--TWO! Turns out, they were both from Cheryl, my Ravelry Multitasking Pal!

One contained a tea set from Adagio teas. It contained a totally brilliant teapot called "IngenuiTEA", and it is fabulous. There is a video of it at this site. I've made several pots of tea already with the various samples of green tea that were included in the set. (Yes, several. It's been a long night, and a long day so far, and it's only 1:00pm. Keep reading.)

The other package contained the most yummy peanuts ever. They are cajun spice gourmet peanuts from Feridies. If you love peanuts, and I do, give these a try. They are the best of the best! (Sounds like I own stock in the company, doesn't it? Nope, I've never heard of them before, but these peanuts are fabulous!)

Just take a look...
What great prezzies from a super swap pal! Thanks Cheryl. But wait, there's more. This package came today. Also from Cheryl.


How did all of this fit into that box?

The box was chock-full of goodies!

• the book "2 At A Time Socks" by Melissa Morgan-Oakes
• an Addi Turbo needle to get started on the socks
• enough yarn for three (Count 'em THREE) pair of socks
• a water bottle cozy made by Cheryl, plus the pattern so I can make more
• a pattern for a gorgeous lace shawl
• the movie "Love Actually" starring the great triumvirate of Colin Firth, Hugh Grant and Alan Rickman
• stitch markers made by Nichole of Lapdog Creations
• a sock blocker keychain
• "My Daily Bubble" organizer - which looks very cool, by the way
• a neat ergonomic pen, with refills (Cheryl thought of everything!)
• Bath & Body Works hand soap and lotion, in one of my favorites scents - "Sweet Pea"
• My Little Knitting Book - how did they get so much knitting information into such a tiny book? Who knows, but it'll be great to keep in my knitting bag!
• a sample of "Soak" from The Loopy Ewe!

Here are some close-ups. The stitch markers - I love Nichole's stitch markers!!! Cheryl picked out the doggie theme ones! Way to go!

Here is a close-up of the water bottle cozy made by Cheryl (being modeled by a bottle of Vitamin Water) and the sock yarn. Oh, my, what yarn! Left to right, it is "Island Jewels" by Zona Blue Designs, "Night Sky" also by Zona Blue Designs, and "Blue Lagoon" by Dream in Color from The Loopy Ewe.

Wow, that's a lot of great stuff, plus the peanuts and the tea set that arrived yesterday! I am not worthy of such riches, but I'm going to keep them anyway! Thanks, Cheryl!

Now for the "little something" that I picked up on the way home...

You can't tell from this picture, but he is scrawny, filthy and covered with ticks.

Here is Edward/Mr. Darcy/Bingley/Colonel Brandon after a bath (a good scrubbing, really).We found him on the road, and asked at the nearest house, but they had never seen him before. We called three local animal shelters, and the police, but no one has reported a missing brittany. We took him to the closest shelter to be scanned for a microchip ID. No luck.

You didn't think I would leave him at the shelter, did you? No way. Not even after he threw up in my car. Multiple times. Apparently he hasn't had much experience in cars. He hasn't had much experience with treats either - he had no idea what they were. Oh, and that extra-special, gourmet, hand-made, all natural, all human-quality ingredients dog food we make? No, thank you. He would rather have a bowl of dry crunchies. Oh, and don't add any warm water or gravy. He won't eat it unless it is just plain old dry crunchies. Bleck!

OK, what do we know about him... He was born in 1999, (but he sure doesn't look 9 years old to me), he knows "come" and "sit" and "stay", he has a limp as though he has been hit by a car in the past, he snores, he is from a reputable (read "expensive") breeder, his owner did not follow through registering his tattoo, and his is intact. Not altered. How can I put this delicately? Packing heat? No... He considers himself a stud. Let me tell you, that is not gonna fly around here. Emma and Tara will have no parts of that. Well, Mr. Studley-No-Name, you have an appointment at the Vee-Eee-Tee on Monday, and if you have not found your new owner before then, we're going make an appointment to say bye-bye to your hoo-hoos. The next available appointment!

Until then, just rest easy, and know that you have a good home here.