So, I’m thinking my Tannenbaum Christmas Tree Hat must be lucky.

First–my box from my SP6 came today. She left me a comment on Monday (I think), worrying that it hadn’t arrived yet, and we’ve exchanged quite a few e-mails the last couple of days, discussing how long it should take a box from Texas to New Jersey, whether the holiday mail would slow things down, whether her boyfriend mailed it via the correct method . . . all that. Well, Mom called me at work today to let me know it was here, so I was able to tell Amy . . . yes, my SP6′s name is Amy . . . that it was safely here. And then I fidgeted the rest of the day, anxious to get home and see what was inside!

There was stuff for Chappy–treats, a little tin for treats, a recipe for dog bones plus cookie cutter, and a package of rawhide chews.

  There was a box of dark-chocolate and raspberries, and a bar of homemade soap for me. (I don’t know what the soap is, but it smells just lovely.)

  Then there was the knitting stuff. A book of dog sweaters (Chappy’s starting to think this sounds like a good idea). A cute little tape measure. And a skein of handspun yarn, in a purpleish merino/silk blend that looks remarkably similar to the roving I’m spinning right now and loving. A really good match, and oh, so soft.

  Please don’t miss these beautiful stitch markers tied onto the skein of yarn. Amy is obviously much better at bead work than I am. Aren’t they pretty? I know I’m impressed–I have yet to figure out how you keep the wire from turning in the pliers while you wrap the ends around . . .

Naturally, I immediately gave Chappy one of his treats–a red one–but he felt that he really should taste ALL of them. To make sure they were okay, of course. I told him it would spoil his supper, but he still yearned for them….

Thank you so much, Amy!

I’ve really enjoyed these secret pal exchanges, but I think I’m going to take a little break before joining the next one. I did three right in a row, and really, there are only so many secret surprises you can come up with in so short a period (grin). My recipient for SP6 got her last package–I know this because she left me a Comment saying thank you–but hasn’t yet posted pictures on her blog. I don’t know if she forgot, or what, but I haven’t seen anything yet. My recipient for KRSP has her final gift, but is waiting until Christmas to open it, so I don’t know what she thinks of it yet. And I still have yet to get my last gift from my KRSP, though it’s not officially late until January, so I’m not worried. (I do know I haven’t accidentally thrown it away this time, though!)

Now, as to the other reason I think my hat is lucky. I wore it to work today for our office Christmas party. Instead of doing a catered party this year, we had a more homemade affair–pizza and hot dogs for lunch, with homemade cookies and other things (like my cheese drops) brought in by us workers. Danny brought in some Coquito, a drink I’ve never heard of, but which is apparently a traditional Puerto Rican Christmas drink. Coconut milk, spices, and a hint of rum . . . wow. Better than eggnog. I even worked on my sock for a while when grab bag gifts were being handed out, and when I compared it to its mate when I got home–about four rows to go, and it’s done! That will be all four of my UFOs that I wanted finished for Naked Stix.

Anyway, a couple weeks ago, the company took a vote, and took the $1000 it would have spent on food and split it as a cash prize for four lucky employees. Guess whose name was the first one picked? Yep. Mine! As in, if the vote for one big prize had won, I’d have gotten $1000. But I think this is better. $250 is a nice little windfall, especially this time of year, and I don’t have to feel as guilty as I would have if there hadn’t been three other winners (grin).

I count myself very lucky, in fact, and grateful. So, as a gesture toward good Karma, I just donated $50 of it to Habitat for Humanity. Plus an extra $10 for some more Tannenbaum patterns that I’ve sold since last month. I figure that both the money from the patterns and the surprise prize from the party is “found money” that I wouldn’t have otherwise had and wasn’t counting on. And while I’m not feeling so generous as to give it all away, that’s between 20% and 25%, which seems pretty fair.

I don’t know what I’ll do with what’s left. Again . . . the “found money” thing. It always seems a shame to use that for something like paying bills if you don’t have to, so I think I’ll hang on to it for a while. Maybe I’ll invest in a drum carder, or put it toward another wheel (though, really, I like my Lendrum a lot). Or something. But, that’s almost $400 I wouldn’t have otherwise had, and I’m going to save it until the right thing comes along. We’ll see how long that resolve lasts . . . saving really isn’t one of my strong points.

All in all, though, it’s been a good day–though maybe that’s just the rum talking.

Or, just the glow of having a lucky hat.

Tags: General, Knitting/Spinning // 7 Comments »