I would love to learn to fly fish someday.

Tulip, did you get the ceramic lamp ring. I don't see it in the picture.

Yeah , the booklets were used as filler, but I though you might enjoy them as well. I subscribed to Bits and Pieces about 10 years ago.

Zippy,
Glad you liked the loot, I'd love to know who that extra gal is. I saw her on the net about ten years ago. I'll look in the archives and see if there are more photos of her.

I was thinking "boobs and beer" but got worried the beer would freeze in some unheated post office truck this time of year, so I figured glasses would work just as well.

I don't know if those are local flies or not, I figured they might look tasty to a fish, and Orvis is about 25 minutes from my house...

I went fly fishing once with an old friend who kept saying "you just have to try it" It is instantly addictive. Luckily, I've got no time or $ for a new hobby right now. Or I'd be *ahem* hooked.

Oh and the MAine humor is a long overdue payback for Brother Dave.

I go like once a year. I could develop a real problem but fortunately the learning curve is pretty steep.

Our building's mail room has been filled with boxes all week, and I was thrilled to see my name on not just one, but THREE of them--thanks, Secret Santa!!!

I'll post pics as soon as I get a real camera from a normal camera-selling store this week. Not like the little cheap-o one I picked up from Rite-Aid, that won't even turn on...grrrr.

Yes, I did! :D I'm glad you brought it up. I meant to ask you about it but totally forgot. Ehem....I don't know what it's for. :p: Is it used with the fragrance oil? If yes, how is the fragrance oil and the ceramic ring used together? Please show me! :D Oh yeah, I didn't know what it was so I left it in the box when I took the pictures. :p: By the way, you are going to tell me who you are after the 25th, right?

So, that's a fake fly? There's a real fly that looks like that?!!? :3_eyes:

Tulip,

I thought your nephew would like those lights !!

Yes the ring is for the oils. It uses the heat of a light bulb to diffuse the scent. Put it on top of the bulb, then put just a couple of drops of oil into the ring and turn on the lamp.

http://i155.photobucket.com/albums/s...r/lampring.jpg http://i155.photobucket.com/albums/s...ower/index.jpg http://i155.photobucket.com/albums/s...g-diffuser.jpg

According to the Royal Mail tracking service ... "Your item ... was delivered in UNITED STATES OF AMERICA " over a week ago.



??

It's easy, easier than flying a kite, just hold the fish by the tail, then let fly.
Attachment 30370

Mine's not arrived yet either, Limey
But cards posted a week after have (both sent same service)

Mine is here, right here next to me unopened which is how it will stay til the day!

It arrived in the UK on the 12th, I missed its delivery on the 14th and it went to the depot for collection but because of the weather, I only managed to collect it today the 22nd. Still loads of snow around but slushy underfoot and not so icy as the last few days.

I'll post pictures over the weekend :)

Hohoho. Mine came today. The sender is a real green guy. Reused packaging and peanuts. Also, I think, found a great way to save on shipping.
He also cares more for Buddy than me. Green treats for dog. For me 15 gazillion calories.
Photos later. Hope to take Buddy for wash and dry tomorrow and need a clean photo of her. When photos posted, will guess at my S.S.

:( I have scoured the Package Room (in my building and it's twin) from top to bottom, still nothing. Hoping that today will be the day!

[drums fingers on table] :( ...

I'm very down that my recipient hasn't received.
Feel a bit teary actually.

I'm SO sorry.
You'll get it at some point, but by my standards it will be too late - you're already disappointed :(

I can't believe it...I actually managed to hold off opening my parcel til Christmas morning!

I'll give details and post pics later: for now, just wanted to say thanks so much Zipp! Sweet toothed cravings, and culininary curiosity satisfied in one big box of awesome :) Thankyou and Merry Christmas Santa!

Secret Santa
 

:)
This was the perfect combination of surprising and useful. THANK YOU!

Is that a 2700 carat ruby in the lower right?

Glad you like it Dani !!


I cant tell you how Hard it was to restrain my self from sending you a Pm , implying you NEED to go ahead and open the Package ( haven't you heard the Mewing and scratching yet ?????!!???)

OK my secret santa is Wolf, and she got me cocaine! Four big bricks of it.

http://cellar.org/2010/secsant1.jpg

It's colored and scented like fudge to throw off the smell. What a pro!! And there's also a thingie that you attach to the bottoms of your feet to get through ice and snow. Thanks Wolf! :wolf:

http://cellar.org/2010/secsant2.jpg

I need some of those springy things. For my brother.

The fudge looks yum! :drool:

cassi, your gift looks awesome. They all do!

Finally unwrapped my presents here at home very late Christmas Day/early Boxing Day except for Secret Santa which alone waited until now, midday Boxing Day just before I start raiding the leftovers for lunch.

Thank you very much to Fargon and (sorry if I have this wrong) Kery for the lovely kitten calendars with - of course - American special dates on it, starting with Martin Luther King's Birthday in January. I'll hang it in the kitchen and will be bothering you with questions about who what and why the specific dates are.

Now to create a cold collation for me and my cats. First, try to upload the photos...

Oh two apologies - one to Keryx, obvious on re-reading and second to everyone for the HUGE pics, which are gigantic and I don't know how to make them smaller. If anyone does know how to reduce them, please fell free! Thank you again SS :):)

Oh yes, PS The two sleepy cats are Feathers the longhaired Tabby mix and her dinky daughter Daisy

Cz, thank you so much for mine!
I had to abandon two long held beliefs - first that your name was Catherine (thinking it through I think that came from Catherine Zeta Jones) and that you lived in rural abandon somewhere almost inaccessible in Somerset, as opposed to in a seaside town. In fact I was being fiarly careful with my details there, only to find you've shown all the details on the picture of the envelope above! I've now Google-mapped you, and feel confident I can find your flat :)

Pics to follow - I was so excited I'm afraid I didn't go through the stages of unwrapping with my camera... They were also opened at the same time as the family presents, as opposed to me sitting down alone on 15 December and coolly documenting the process. It was more fun this way I admit.

Sadly I've had the worst Christmas since I was 15 (and for the same reason - Mum) so the joy I felt on opening on Christmas morning was muted by the afternoon, and I'm posting over 24 hours later. But please believe this is nothing to do with how much I appreciated the gifts themselves, which were carefully chosen for the maximum pleasure :)

Stick to planes, Merc.

Oh SG I'm really sorry you've had a rough Christmas, probably the toughest day of the year to get right and the very worst when it goes pearshaped. I hope some bright spots emerged and that today was better. At least it's almost over for another year and then we do it all again..:neutral:

Honest, I had no idea the pictures would download/upload so HUGE, you could probably take fingerprints off it as well as that rather chic bootprint, probably from my postman and his size twelves. And yes there is my name & address slap in the middle! I'm pleased you googled it though and the dark haired man standing on the doorstep in 'Google Live' is the guy who used to live in the flat upstairs from mine. See how close to the sea I live.

I so hope you get some pleasure from your gifts, that was after all the plan and hope the batteries hadn't drained:biggrin:

Hope you enjoy the fudgy-goodness, UT. The orangey one is butterscotch and the beige is maple walnut. The chocolate is chocolate ... and yes, that is the famous momwolf fudge.

The Yaktrax should get you both to work and give you a fighting chance when you do some dogwalking during one of our plentiful ice storms.

Joyous Boxing Day to all!

[quote=footfootfoot;701730]Is that a 2700 carat ruby in the lower right?[/QUOTE)

I reckon it might be ;)

[quote=casimendocina;701888]Where'd ya say you lived again?

You'll have to move fast to catch me. I'm moving countries (again) very, very soon. :D

Oh, frabjous day! Callou-callay!!

It's here, it's here!!

The inefficiencies of two postal services had to combine to get it to me. Now that's superpowers, eh!

I found an enveloped stickered "Par Avion" in my package room late last night (I got called into work early and driven in because of the snowstorm), so I left home before the mail came. But there it was, waiting all nice for me. I don't have a word of French, but I thought perhaps, that Par Avion meant something like "made out of or contains expensive French water."

Imagine my surprise when there was nothing at all watery in the package!

Instead, I got a bonanza of goodness ... some Dairy Milk Chocolates (with a Cellar Monkey on the package), an awesome swearing dictionary (I look forward to expanding my expletive horizons!), and a tea towel.

A tea towel, you ask?

Yes, indeed. No mere tea towel is this ... it honors that great tradition, of piping the haggis! I had suspected for some time that there was a sexual connotation to calling someone haggis, and now I know. It's all about the piping!

It has both the recipe and the Robby Burns poem!

Thank you ever so much, not terribly Secret Santa (Sundae, you are most awesome)!!

Look what I got!



























































































What?

You can't see it? Clearly what I have is camera trouble. :rar:

When I trade this problem for a solution, you will have (pictures or it didn't happen) evidence of what I got!

I am happily learning to curse in British.

The words flow so much more mellifluously off the tongue ... yarbles, bollocks, gypsy's kiss ... oh joy!

hehehehe @ wolf



? BigV

Wolf, I believe you have mamy happy hours ahead of you.
I have been known to cry real tears at some of the entries, as has everyone I've known to read it (although this is a selective sample, as I wouldn't give it to my Godfather-the-Priest for example).

I'm so sorry it's late, please don't take away overseas privileges next year! I promise to do better.

Damn, I'd better get a move on posting pics of CZ's gifts to me. A brief description - two sets of pink lights, run from batteries. So totally me! Currently decorating the Christmas Cactus downstairs, which declined to flower this year. Will be moved into my bedroom as soon as decorations come down. A packet of Seagull Droppings (really chocolate raisins - all eaten now but I retained the packaging! A completely SG card of a gorgeous cat breaking a path through the snow, and a postcard of Weston Super Mere, where the lovely CZ resides.

What a wonderful bundle of loot, you think?
No!
The main present is a book.
It's called the Foxfire Book of Appalachian Cookery and it's a mixture of folk history, recipes and cooking techniques from the previous century (including cooking above a fire, on a wood-burning stove etc). It's amazing - full of photos and characters whose voices ring from the pages. Expect to have me regurgitate (sorry) some of the articles and recipes onto this board in the coming year.

It was a wonderful gift because I would never have considered buying it for myself and at present halfway through and wishing it was twice as long.

Photos tomorrow I promise, in order to do the gifts justice.

I love my profanisaurus. I learned that I probably should have told MIL exactly what book I was shipping to her to bring when she came..... :o

Thanks SS. I'm going to guess the Princess and the Toad. BTW Buddy is nuts for the treats.

And Finally!
Not fair on CZ as I received her Secret Santa nearly a month ago - although it was lovingly hidden from me.

The pink lights - shown on the Christmas Cactus.
The book, the yummy sweets, the appropriate Christmas card and the postcard (written in gold writing and calling me Sundae, Sundae, which I enjoyed).

SG Your photo does more than justice and I loved the lights in the cactus. That's ART! My own Christmas cactus flowered too early in November so maybe it also needs some lights. Brilliant! The seagull poo was obviously tongue in cheek but I bought it on the very first day our new pier was officially opened back in December on a filthy wet windy day!

The book. Well I fell in love with it when I saw it on a stand at this year's Hay Book Festival and although I didn't buy it then when I read your short description of yourself for the Secret Santa I remembered it and thought it might fit the bill. I LOVE IT and may treat myself to a copy later in the year!

It's so not just a recipe book is it, and I love how it talks about a way of life for a people we here in the UK know absolutely nothing about, and I suspect not many on their own continent would be much more knowledgable. Sorry if that's wrong. I guessed it would appeal to you and as with the pink fairy lights I hope you have endless pleasure from it. Happy New Year Sundae Sundae and I hope 2011 is very very good to you.

So, who was my Secret Santa? :D

Pico - Very happy that you enjoy your gift. Try out the aerator - I think you'll like it.

Here is what I got....

Seven hand-knit Christmas tree ornaments from across the pond.
Lovely, charming, fitting and beautifully done.

A most thoughtful and useful gift that WILL be used and cherished for years.

Thank you very much Limey. I apologize for my late posting, but...

That's OK, Classic ;): I kinda knew you were self-banned. Glad you like them!

( :( No sign of my SS gift yet, but then we're not going to get any post til Wednesday anyway due to extensive New Year hols ... :sniff: )

I hope you are able to enjoy everything...its tough with scents.

Thanks Classic, its a beautiful gift.

I was fargon's SS.

Ahhhh...:D Thank you for everything! The scents were perfect. All the candies and chocolate were great too. By the way, I need to ask and make sure. Are you a male or a female? :blush:

Well, it didn't come from any of you folks, but, this thing is more fun than a barrel of midgets.

Hey we have that stove.

That is an outstanding stove. As I understand it the switch that locks the door when auto-cleaning goes kaput. We bypassed ours after the first incident. The displays also die.

Our stove door doesn't close completely so I have a ghetto solution with a piece of wood. I'm certain one of the burners isn't as powerful as it should be. Fucking thing.

I'm gonna wrap 'em up
A seven hand-knit Christmas Tree ornament army couldn't hold me back...

Huh? :confused:

A White Stripes reference. I like.

Seven Nation Army

My camera is back online! So classicman, you are not the last to post. I don't even have your excuse. I'm supposed to be able to cope with these kinds of technical difficulties. But enough about me, let's talk about MY GIFT!!!!

Thank you Secret Santa!

Someone has been paying careful attention to my drinking habits... Although... I don't have an RV, I do have a cigarette lighter socket to power this baby. The second picture is just me making a dry run (nyuk nyuk nyuk!).

God Bless Texas!

I'm going to be posting pics even later, unfortunately. Our nice little Canon decided to work again so I don't have to spend scratch on a new camera, but I'm still digging around in the abyss of our second bedroom for the cord.

And apparently someone is still waiting on their package. It has been in the mail three weeks now and tracking says it's still in transit, so hopefully it won' t be more than a few more days. Very, very sorry Secret Santa recipient :(

This is me Tulip...except now those glasses don't work anymore.

Pico, I don't wish contradict a lady, but the glasses are working for me.

I'm just sayin'.

Thank you Big V. Most of the time I am wearing reading glasses anyway. Eventually I will give up and get real prescription trifocals. Being glassesless was nice while it lasted, though. Actually, I can still enjoy it...for the first time in decades I was able to enjoy swimming and amusement park rides.