MAYBE A KILT OR DRESS

My eyes were fixed to the task in hand, cutting gift paper to wrap up the surprise packages for Christmas.  I roughly measured up a square packet.  It was a suit cover for hubby that I bought some time ago.

 I turned over the packet, label up and read....."Travel or dust cover suitable for long dresses".

Whew!  That was fortuitous. Even a kilt would not match the description of  'a long dress'.  It looks like hubby's loss is my gain.   Now then, where to find a long dress; maybe  there's a silver lining after all!
  

 A WARM GLOW!

A card arrived yesterday; we are fortunate to receive many lovely greetings.  This card though, was a real puzzle.  Who on earth were the people who signed it!

Hubby trawled the internet and found some interesting personalities in the U.K. with similar names, who were not known to me.  I checked the envelope.  Yes, it was correctly addressed, in fact the detail was absolutely right.  It was obviously a card sent by people who knew us.

It is one of those uncomfortable happenings, when someone cares enough about you to send you their wishes and hopes for you, and you have no idea who it or they are. It bothered me all day. 

Last night, hubby had an idea, I checked it out.......voila!  Eureka!  Apart from being really, really pleased that I now knew who had thought kindly of me, I was very touched.  I have known the family, for about three years, on and off;  the odd  chance meeting in the street, or a community event, on rare occasions, a coffee group.  This year, they have checked out my address and sent me a card.  It has given me a warm glow.

 CHRISTMAS WILL SOON BE HERE


Two parcels posted today, and two gifts wrapped in their Christmas paper.  If I wrap up a couple of gifts per day, it will make the wrapping task less of a rushed chore.  I could even enjoy doing it more than I have done in recent years.

I have a few more packages to make ready for posting.  A note to me: I must keep the gifts light to cut down postage costs.

I am now seriously thinking about how I can arrange for third party gift sending services.  There are a number of companies who do it. For example, earlier this year a well known online  retailer was requested to send me a gift-wrapped book.  It was presented very nicely with a card telling me when it should be opened, (nice one!) and the message card was very suitable. The company sells other things that could be posted, I guess, and they offer physical and electronic gift tokens.

 I have seen some interesting items that I think would raise a smile or two with people, where there has been some sadness recently.  One item is rather heavy and breakable. This is exactly the kind of gift that I would rather the retailer mail and take responsibility for. 

There is a chocolatier whose product is divine;  the cost of gifting them elsewhere than the UK is prohibitve.  So,  I may yet send some flowers.

Christmas is will soon be here!