See, I got home from work last night to find three, count ‘em THREE, packages waiting for me. Naturally the hubs gave me the “what in the hell did you order NOW” look. (please, like I didn’t learn a long time ago to have my purchases shipped to my office) Fortunately for me, I didn’t order ANYTHING!
Package number one was actually a birthday gift for Little Man from his Auntie Anne. I stashed that one in a secret place.
Package number two was the cookbook that was part of the blog giveaway I won over at Krista’s Kitchen from Maple Leaf Farms. Said cookbook also came with a very nice hand-written note congratulating me on winning.
Package number three was....well... a mystery. It was return addressed to a woman in Canada. A woman whose name I didn’t recognize. And the customs form affixed to the box was marked as “gift”.
Hmmm...interesting, no?
Well, to make this all clear, I need to give you a little history.
Back in January, I participated in a bloggy cookie swap. In this swap, you are assigned a partner and you send each other cookies. Well, long story-short, I got no cookies. Which is okay, you know, because my thighs are really screaming for “one more cookie, please” right now. But the point of the story is that I never heard back from my partner. Emailing the swap organizer one day, the subject came up and I told her about it. That it was fine, but thought she should know.
Well, she was aghast.
And apparently she told a friend about it.
Who was equally aghast.
The friend requested my mailing address from Steph (the swap organizer) and promptly proceeded to mail me....cookies! And, since she’s a crafter like me, she also crocheted me a lovely hat! Just because.
Is that not awesome? Knowing all of that, can you deny that I am, indeed, special? I didn’t think so.
I was truly touched by both the thoughtful gift and the handwritten note that accompanied it. There is just nothing better than a completely random act of kindness. You should all consider trying it sometime. I may be planning one of my own as we speak....
In any case, thanks bunches to Jeanne and Steph for brightening a day otherwise rife with sinus infection and work frustration.
Give them both some love, would you? You can find Steph at http://stephchows.blogspot.com/
And Jeanne at her blog: http://centurycrafts.blogspot.com
Since I was feeling extra special after opening my packages, I added something a little extra special to dinner for the hubs last night. I had planned to make Osso Bucco (except with beef), but feeling under the weather as I was, I wasn’t exactly highly motivated. After my little air mail mood booster, I was inspired. At Walmart earlier in the day, I spied a rare bag of lovely little fingerling potatoes, the likes of which are rarely seen in these parts. Naturally, they were whisked into my cart with reckless abandon.
I put those babies to good use last night. Want to make your honey feel extra special? Make these for him the next time YOU see fingerling potatoes hiding in the produce section.
Scrub your potatoes (about a pound or so) and toss them with olive oil. Scatter them on a baking sheet and season with salt and pepper. Roast them whole at 400 degrees for about 40 minutes, or until tender. Serve them up with a shower of freshly grated parmesan.
This worked out perfectly last night. I started the potatoes after I had the meat in the oven, they roasted at the same temperature and came out at the same time.
DON'T FORGET!!!! You only have until midnight tonight to submit a dish to Presto Pasta Nights #202 this week!
To enter, email your entries to: bethanneleach (at) gmail (dot) com and cc to ruth (at) 4everykitchen (dot) com & include:
~Your name & the name of your blog
~The name of your dish & the permalink to your post
~Attach a photo or I will pull one from your post to include in the roundup
~in your email, use the subject line: PPN #202 submission
5 comments:
I have a pair of wonderful friends who will randomly mail presents out. It truly makes the receiver feel special. I received a box from the that was a lovely tied dyed scarf wrapped around a tiny porcelain pillbox in the shape of a spinning top. Even their cards are thoughtful and beautiful.
Random acts of beauty do brighten the world.
Thanks for your blog I really love it.
So glad you liked the "gift"! (best way to get baked goods through customs) I too have been on the non-receiving end in an exchange and I could not, *could not!* let it happen to someone in Steph's exchange!
Plus Random Acts of Kindness are the best! :) And although I think the world would be a better place if random act of kindness day was *every day*, in the US it is Feb 17.
Hope you liked the cookies! :)
Thanks, jeanne! Yes, I loved the cookies, and my co-workers are living them today!
I couldn't agree more about RAK day. I try to do them o a regular basis, but it is so easy to forget. Funny that it was on February 17th, and I didn't hear a word about it this year. That's kinda sad.
On RAK day I usually make a point of going through the drive through in the morning for a coffee and paying for the person behind me. Its fun.
And thank you, too, Nancy, for stopping by and letting me know how wonderful you think random acts are, too.
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