The mailbox runneth over... VERY long post!

Not one parcel today ... but four! Oh crikey, that's what happens when you stay at home crook and don't clear the mail! I have to say that today I really REALLY love my stash arrivals - this was the main (& biggest overall) order I placed from Stitching Bits & Bobs, as well as my Silkweaver and Country Stitch orders ... and it's all just too wonderful for words - I think it also helps that my health is coming back under control, and I had a good day out today too ... really perked me up!

My best friend here had really disappointed me and let me down a couple of weeks ago (3 things in a row), which probably didn't help with the migraines on top of everything else - but last night he phoned and we chatted a little bit ... turns out he's had some health issues he's been dealing with, and he's finally come out with it - unfortunately it gave me the impression earlier that he was blowing me off a bit, which hurt and angered me at the time. He was supportive to me when I had my gallbladder removed earlier in the year, so now it's my turn to return the favour - he's just come back from having an ultrasound done - looks like a fatty liver, which thankfully isn't too serious, and will likely be improved by a change of diet and cutting out the alcohol, which he's prone to binge on a bit (which has worried me on occasion, but that's another story). He's had to drop urine samples and have blood tests, and then they find out if a biopsy is in order. Anyway, I drove out to meet up with him today on my last day off, seeing he was off work too, and his Mum drove from Mooroolbark (which they joke is Aboriginal for "Where the hell are we, we're lost?" LOL) - and we had a lovely lunch at a favourite haunt of ours at Box Hill (Vietnamese restaurant), then we forced him to spend his $400 David Jones vouchers he'd won at his last job - trying to get him to walk into a shop and spend money is like trying to get blood out of a stone!! We ended up getting him an iPod (which means I score and get his old mp3 player - I told him to keep it and wrap it up for me for Xmas so he doesn't have to buy anything) - and then had a lovely day wandering round Myer and David Jones department stores just to see their Christmas decorations, followed by a coffee and wine/port tasting at Chadstone shopping centre.

And on the way to picking them up early this afternoon, I called quickly into the Embroiderers Guild and grabbed a couple of SANQ magazines to drool over for the next couple of weeks before they're due back, and picked up some Piecemakers #26 tapestry needles from the LNS (The Needlepoint, ex-Bustle & Bows) ... and I did NOT even look at a chart or thread - just went straight to the needles, picked up 3 packets, walked to the counter, and straight out again ... woohoo!!! Mind you, considering how much stash was sitting in my PO Box, I don't need to buy anything for the next 20 years chart-wise etc LOL :)

So, my anti-inflammatories and $40 nasal spray (!) seem to be doing the trick - I still have my headache, but it's not as bad, and it's back to work again tomorrow - it's a 7-day week this week for me, but at least they're 'normal' shifts, so I should be OK. Now, back to fondle the stash a bit, seeing as I didn't have time to look properly when I picked it up ...

Unfortunately my camera batteries have just packed up - probably 'cos it knew I was going to make it work real hard - so I'll just list my stash haul ... I have to admit, this is the happiest I've been with all my arrivals of late - they're the charts etc that I wanted the most, and I certainly wasn't disappointed! So, here goes the entire list (it's pretty lengthy, so you might want to grab a cup of coffee or something before you start LOL):

Charts/Books:
* The Flat-Fold instruction booklet - "Just a Thought"/Judy Odell (with plenty of step-by-step pictures ... just what a finishing-phobe like me needs!!)
* Wanted! - Santa '02 - Lizzie*Kate Snippet
* Here Comes Santa Claus - Santa '05 - Lizzie*Kate Snippet
* Sweet Valentines Teenie Tweenie - The Sweetheart Tree
* Apricot Elegance - Cindy Valentine Designs (for a SAL early in the New Year - except mine will be "Blue Elegance" LOL)
* Bee Keeper - Cindy Valentine Designs
* Thistles Needleroll/Pinkeep/Scissor Minder - Calico Crossroads (just stunning!)
* Star Spangled Scissor Finder - Calico Crossroads
* Stitching Treasures Collection 2 - Twisted Oaks Designs
* French Monogram Collection III - Twisted Oaks Designs
* Lavender Thistles Collection - Twisted Oaks Designs
* Nightcap Pincushion - The Elizabethan Costume Collection - The Nostalgic Needle
* The Flame Stitch Huswif - Sampler Cove
* Summer Into Autumn kit - The Drawn Thread
* Raphael's Raspberries - Forget-Me-Not-In-Stitches
* Priceless - Glory Bee

Fabrics: (will try to put photos up later)
Silkweaver:
* Solo Minis - 5 x hand-dyed 9"x13" 28ct Cashel linens - purply/blue; aqua; vintage/rust; rose pink/lilac; blue/lilac.
* 2005 JCS Ornament cuts - 24ct white congress cloth (for Scot's Bonnet); 40ct R&R antique cotton linen (for Christmas Heart - to be honest, don't like the look of this fabric, it reminds me of muslin/cheesecloth); 28ct jubilee in Christmas Red (for The Gift of the Season).
* Spooktacular Sale - 32ct Belfast in both Bo-Peep Pink and Cream (9"x13" I think); 28ct hand-dyed Cashel in Dark Tan (18"x26" - will be VERY useful); 28ct hand-dyed Opalescent Lugana in Abracadabra (lilac colours); 32ct hand-dyed Jobelan in Jubilation (13"x18" mint/seafoam greeny).
Stitching Bits & Bobs:
* 28ct hand-dyed Jobelan in Blueberry (fat 1/4)
* 28ct hand-dyed Jobelan in Thyme (fat 1/4)
* 28ct hand-dyed Jobelan in Bluebell (fat 1/4)
Country Stitch:
* Kiwi Illusions Grab-bag - a bit hard to describe the colours of these, but smaller (approx 9"x13" pieces in a baby blue lugana; burgundy/olive green (reminds me of camouflage colours LOL); baby pink/blue; tan - plus 2 larger pieces of both a white/green mottled lugana (have no idea what I'll use this for), and a stunning opalescent lugana blue/purple - very pretty!).
* Kiwi Pearls 32ct lugana in sage green sort of colour.
* My Fabric of the Month selection (all approx 9"x13") - this month a nice mix of colours - Cashel 28ct linen in Ice Blue (although I'd actually ordered this in a larger piece for my Secret Garden SAL in the New Year - at least it's BLUE so I'll get plenty of use out of it LOL), and Lilac; Quaker 28ct linen in Light Mocha; Lugana 28ct in Miracle Mint; and Belfast 32ct in Platinum.
* Cashel 28ct in Ice Blue 50cm x 70cm.

Miscellaneous:
* 6 of the 12 ordered Xmas bulb buttons from Just Another Button Company - still waiting on 3 of the colours to arrive, so I can finish my Humbug ornament.
* Rajmahal art silk skein in black (freebie from Stitching Bits & Bobs)

Phew, that's the entire haul - the other parcel contained my Casulguidi class booklet from the EGA.

Crikey, I'm just sitting here gob-smacked - I feel like I've died and gone to heaven!!! Hmmm, might have to add in another segment into my rotation, and have two segments for stitching 'smalls' - I can't wait to get started on some of these! Well, two more orders waiting to arrive - the remainder from Stitching Bits & Bobs, and from Nordic Needle, then I don't leave the house for the next 12 months - and I am officially on The Wagon (yes, there is a Bulletin Board for just that, and I'm now officially a member!! LOL). I think I'm going to be grinning in my sleep all night - I feel shell-shocked, but in a nice way! :)))