Central Plateau, North Island

Central Plateau, North Island
View from a friend's farm

Thursday 16 April 2015

A Trumpet Flourish at the letterbox today

 

I slowly walked to collect the  mail , feeling a little under the weather, Too much outside work!!! A day off with lots of rest and TLC is in order…

The post arrived

Then I opened the letterbox!!! A Yellow packet, with my name on, and the beautiful wildlife series of Canadian stamps.  The 10c Dragonfly, the $1 Burrowing Owls, and the $2.50 Young Wapiti ( or Elk).And… no postmark on the stamps, a collector’s dream come true. They will take pride of place in my old , very old, more than 64 year old… stamp album. If you Google   “Canadian Stamps” all the information is right there, and you can see the other wonderful stamps in this series.

Stamps from Canada

I carefully opened the packet, and mauve tissue paper, wrapped so carefully, and then there were the buttons,all the way from http://grandmacocosdesigns.blogspot.co.nz

The beautiful mauve tissue paper

 

Grandma Coco's buttons

Little cat faces, flowers, and a square one, green and white.  That one will be perfect for son-in-law’s next birthday  present ( hand made naturally) on 17th March. The cats will be on a special item all for myself, and as cats are my favourites, this is something I will always treasure, Thank you so much Cheryl.

Cheryl at  The Kingdom of Coco  hosted  her own “Pincushion Contest”,  honorary citizenship was arranged through the “immigration department”, and all done online or by email. SO easy. then we made our pin cushions, emailed a photo, and bingo,all done. When the contest was finished, and pin cushions admired, Cheryl announced that each of us  was a winner, and would receive some of her very own hand made buttons. You can see them here at her very own little shop,  find it right here

http://funnybusinessbuttons.bigcartel.com/

Heather from http://www.heatherpearson.com also sponsored  a prize, a book from the “Book Depository” and her choice was  Balle Rose, by Regina.

Our Rotorua family came for a few days, and the 2 trees that were felled a while ago, are all cut,split, and in a  huge heap.  Thanks so much, Hugh and I are amazed that it is all done, and not possible without your help, hard work, careful lifting, loading the little trailer, and heaving onto the pile!!!

They left for home this morning, and the home is so quiet now, Some snow on the Central Plateau when they drove down, but warmer today, and no frost here. 

Quotation of the day, author unknown

“ Every day is a competition, give it your very best shot, and you’ll always be a winner”

Greetings from Jean

26 comments:

Linda said...

Jean, what a beautiful thing to have received in the mail! This would perk anyone up, this is for sure. Thank you so much for sharing this, you made me smile. :)

Allie said...

What a LOVELY gift!!!! So exciting to see a yellow envelope with your name on it. I imagine your house is very quiet now, hon!

Leeanne said...

Lucky you! A trip to the mail box can be an exciting one!

eileeninmd said...

What a lovely gift! They always perk me up! I love the stamps! And the cute buttons, they are adorable..Have a happy day!

FlowerLady Lorraine said...

Pkgs. are always wonderful! Those buttons are adorable.

Glad your wood pile has grown and is ready and waiting to keep you toasty warm this winter. Wonderful to have help with that.

Love the quote.

Love and hugs ~ FlowerLady

Out To Pasture said...

What a nice surprise parcel. Must check out the button maker's blog. And how excellent that your logs are now firewood. Kindness is alive and well!
Cheers,
Florence

Jenn Jilks said...

There are days like this, when life weighs heavily, and suddenly, a light shines in the darkness. How glorious for you to be cared for by family. Then, a gift in the mail. How delightful.People can be very kind. All the best. We woke to -2 C. this a.m., but hoping for 17 later.
Your header looks beautiful. Hugs from away xx

Georgia said...

So happy your family was able to deal with the trees so you and Hugh don't need to think about it anymore!

TexWisGirl said...

such cute buttons! what a sweet surprise for you to pick you up when you were tired and sore. :) glad you had help with the last of the trees!

camp and cottage living said...

Darling buttons, Jean.
I bet that is quite a stamp collection-dating back so many years!
And thank goodness for good and helpful friends.

Our photos said...

That is cute !

KB said...

Those stamps sure are beautiful. What a wonderful gift!!!!

Kat said...

What a wonderful package to receive. Love those adorable buttons!

Cheryl said...

I'm glad you like the buttons! I'm also glad that you are a stamp collector! The mailman must have known not to cancel those stamps. :)

bj said...

ahhh, bloggers are the best. Such a sweet thing for her to do for you..adorable little buttons..there's not much in the world that makes one feel so great as getting a gift in the mail...a handwritten letter was always so special to me...now, we don't do it much.
Enjoy your gifts..and go lie down and get one of those books off your beside table, read, eat, rest and sleep. :)
xoxo

Hannah said...

What wonderful gifts, when heading into the long autumn and winter seasons, of someone coming to split all that wood for you, and also to receive such cute buttons and stamps. You are blessed. The cat buttons are very cute, I'm trying to imagine clothing they would decorate. You must be dedicated to have such an old stamp album, most people flake out at some point on their collections.

Nancy's Notes said...

Nancy, Nancy! I've missed you! I am back to blogging and had lost your blog and was just looking around today, and there you were!

What special gifts, one in the mail and one helping you at home! Lucky lady!

Take care~

Nancy

Fundy Blue said...

What a lovely lift for your day, Jean. The buttons are adorable. After all that outdoors work, I'm glad that you are planning on rest and TLC! Enjoy!

Jim said...

What a great surprise for you, Jean! Those buttons are beautiful.
And there was a hush when family left.....sounds like a lovely visit indeed.
Now, 'go wash your bowl'.

Carol Mattingly said...

Hope you are feeling better and can't even imagine what your stamp collection looks like Jean. Carol

Karen said...

What a wonderful surprise Jean! Such cute buttons!

Eggs In My Pocket said...

Hello Nancy.........I just heard about the terrible cyclone in Australia .......are you okay? I hope this finds you safe and doing well!

Nancy J said...

Thank you all for your lovely words.the buttons have been looked at, touched, admired, put away carefully, and have given me so much pleasure before they are even put into use. Thanks Kathleen, we are safe here, the terrible flooding and more is near Sydney, "across the ditch" in Australia, and I feel so sad to see the widespread devastation there.

Eggs In My Pocket said...

So glad that you are safe Nancy! How wonderful to get a wonderful gift in the mail!

fromsophiesview said...

Nothing better to lift your spirits and make the world a brighter place when finding a surprise in the mail and to top it all off it's Handmade to boot!

I saw that mountain for your header and shivered because well, you know we have just had enough of winter. Please stay safe and warm this winter(summer?) so confusing isn't it!

Cheers!
Ron

Janet said...

How lovely that you won! Even if everyone else won too, it is still a win. :) Lovely buttons. I get so bored of those stamps...