With friends like these...

You know how everybody has that one friend (at least I hope they do) who always sends the best presents, who can make them laugh when they least expect it, who laughs at all their jokes and means it? For me, that friend is often the Untamed Shrew. Getting a package in the mail from her is like crackpot Christmas, every time.

She once sent me a box of miniature handmade envelopes, each one containing a single sample pouch of Burt's Bees milk and honey lotion. For my birthday, she sent me a package of recycled pens, a recycled plastic toothbrush, and a notebook with pictures of people having accidents at work on the cover.

Understand, then, my joy when I opened the door last night and found a box with her return address sitting on my front steps. Inside, I found a smaller box, wrapped in this:


The writing says, "Note the modesty panel made of rose petals."
Which made me laugh, a lot.

Inside the smaller box, I found this:


Only the best measuring cup ever.

And then I was all:



Because she is a big Indy fan, I'll post this in gratitude:


Now if you'll excuse me, I've got to go measure something.


Reading:  Why I Let My Hair Grow Out by Maryrose Wood

Playing:  various albums from my past