Saturday, August 21, 2010

Gifts from other lands

Before I begin, I want to thank all of you for being so sweet about my virus. It's still around, and I have the most problems when I visit blogs and try to leave a comment. Seems like I'm constantly turning off my computer to "unfreeze" it. And, NO, Darcy and Claire, I am not running Norton. However, Spybot, ZoneAlarm, and Virus Doctor have been of no help with this one. Not sure where I got it, but I'm getting ready to call my computer friend Scott to see if he can help. And yes, a Mac would be my computer of choice, except I didn't pay for this one (and we all know we get what we pay for).

To turn away from the ugliness of this virus, I turn toward something beautiful: friendships made over the internet from lands far and wide. One of the highlights of this week came from my mailbox. On the same day, I received a large package from Anne (Liverpool Lou), all the way from the UK, a postcard from my friend Rachel in Japan (who doesn't have a blog), and an envelope from Cindy of Pink Bird Studio in Canada. I did a little creative editing of my name and all addresses that showed, but you can still see what awesome gifts I have received from around the world.

I was blown away by Anne's generosity, not having "known" me that long. Yep, we met during WOYWW and I have considered her my friend since the first time I visited her blog. Her hand written letter touched my heart. When she read that my friend (Kathy) had purchased the birdcage and bird, Anne cut a bunch of these die cuts for me herself and sent them. Although Kathy lives just over an hour from me, Anne's gift reached me sooner. Anne also sent an envelope filled with flowers, wings, and other die cuts. I was simply thrilled. Look at all these goodies. She also noted that I don't sew "real" things (my words, not hers), so she sent me this awesomely awesome bag. It is fully lined and even has two pockets in it. I will cherish and use it, that's a promise. Since I'm afraid to send Anne an e-mail, I simply had to thank her the only way I felt safe in not infecting her computer. So, thanks Anne, for the lovely gifts and your most generous friendship. I'm sure this is just the beginning of a friendship that will carry on for years to come. I even scheduled this post early in the US, so Anne could see it before she leaves for the weekend.

I also received this lovely postcard from Rachel and the timing couldn't have been better. Her kind words thanking me for a small gift I sent her awhile back really means a lot to me. Thank you, too, Rachel.

And last, but certainly not least are these two lovely ATCs I received from Cindy. Can you see the HAND stitching on the one on the left? Click on the scan and you'll be truly impressed with both machine and hand sewing techniques Cindy used on this one. What a gem. And of course, the one on the right uses a bingo card, Cindy's signature background. Thanks to you, also, Cindy. I am thrilled and so in awe of your hand stitching. Your friendship over the years has meant so much more than you will ever know.

Amy (from HOTlanta, GA in the US) at Mod Podge Rocks! finds the coolest projects, many of which use recycled materials and products from nature. She must spend all her time on the internet searching for these projects. Some of them are very cool, using recycled materials and freebies. She also gives away Mod Podge each week, and all you have to do is leave a comment. So today's blog is Mod Podge Rocks!

15 thoughtful remarks:

Liverpool Lou (Anne) said...

Hi Elizabeth, so glad your gift arrived ok.
Ooh I adore those ATCs, both gorgeous and both inspiring :-)
Thanks for posting early, I'm off to my granddaughter's birthday party today (about 1 and 3qtr hours drive) then as you know off to the NEC tomorrow. I'm going by train to that 'cos it would probably cost nearly as much in petrol to get there, would take just over 2 hours and cos £8 to park, whereas going by train it takes an hour longer and I do have to change trains, but I can just sit and read or play on my DS ;-) when I get off the train at Birmingham I can walk through to the NEC, though it's about a 15 min walk to the actual halls where the Festival of Quilts is (many halls at the NEC) I will take lots of pics :-)
BTW when I had a Trojan I think my McAfee antivirus gave the name of the Trojan which I googled and managed to find and download specific software for free which got rid of it - McAfee wanted to charge £40 odd without any guarantee they could even fix it!
It's a lovely day here at the moment.
Hope you have a lovley weekend.

Anonymous said...

How sweet of you.You always say th e nicest things and are so sweet. Your frindship means a lot to me to.

Rachel

Halle said...

What awesome gifts!

Terri Kahrs said...

What a treasure trove, Elizabeth!!! Thanks so much for sharing your lovely gifts! Hugs, Terri xoxo

~*~Patty S said...

art mail is always fun and you have hit the jackpot!

really sorry about your virus ... that is never fun ... we use AVAST but that does cost, altho Mr Magpie tells me there is a free version as well, it came highly recommended from our computer guru ... that's all I know
another one is TREND PCillin
Happy Saturday my friend!
oxo

Cindy McMath said...

Oh Elizabeth - sorry to hear about your virus. What a great mail day you had! Glad I could be a small part of it. You left such a nice comment about my hand stitching that I said to myself (probably out loud) "if there are any of these left after the trade I will send one to Elizabeth". As it happened there were two left so I picked one and sent it off. Glad you liked both cards and I could help put a smile on your face when you're dealing with this virus nonsense. Hope you find the cure soon!

Cindy :)

Julia Dunnit said...

I've pretty much followed you round the last of the WOYWW today and see your virus notes - dammit! It's so frustrating and somehow not knowing where it cam from is doubly irritating. I'm sure that EVERYONE appreciates your thoughtfulness at protecting them while you have to deal with it. Ugh. Am so late catching up with blogs this week, but absolutely love the hair stencils, what a great result! Tellyou though, the bit that really had me laughing was that sequin waste has been given a craft name!! Love th ATCs too, that Cindy, she's clever like you.

Aisling said...

Wow, so many beautiful creations you've received. I can understand that that makes you very happy. It's so lovely to swap and to meet people from all over the world, isn't it? Btw, I wish my desk was as clean as yours. I can't keep it that way for more than 5 minutes...

Scrapcollectr said...

I tried twice to send u a reply to a question u asked on my blog (http://thecraftyfrugalista.blogspot.com) but not sure if they got lost in cyberspace. The bird images came from a single sheet of DP from the K&Co stack on my workspace. Thx for looking!
Cindy (alias Scrapcollectr)

Gez Butterworth said...

I am so very sorry to hear about your virus. We have just got rid of a trojan virus on our computer. We have no idea how it sneaked through.. I have lost lots of files & my digi images as we had to send our comp away & have it reset back to factory settings. It's been a nightmare.. so I really feel for you.xx
Enjoy your goodies. Can't wait to see what you come up with. Wishing you a lovely Sunday. Gez.xx

Esther said...

ooh what lovely things in the mail to cheer you up when you've got a virus..we had one pop up that kept trying to run security software - telling us our computer was at risk, luckily i'm naturally suspicious so didn't run what it wanted me too, went and bought a Norton package - just a basic not too expensive and that seemed to sort it luckily - hope you get yours banished!

Esther xx

NEEDLEWINGS said...

Sorry to hear about your virus. Makes me glad I do have a Mac, but there are times when a PC is good too, so if we could wrap up all of the good things in one and leave out the bad, it would be the bomb! lol Thanks for visiting my blog. Still haven't been to everyone's blog. Takes a few days to get through them all and then it will be Wed. again. lol

Shane Pollard said...

Elizabeth, sorry to hear you're having computer issues. It's another world isn't it and we are so vulnerable. Good luck.

You're prezzies all look wonderful!
Take care

Anonymous said...

I LOVE the hand sewn ATC. Actually, I love all of it and am Always superly thrilled to get mail that is Not from my student loan company, or increasingly, the IRS (pushy jerks). What an awesome fun time to open the mailbox and find those thoughtful gifts! You have lovely friends!
Amy

Sally said...

Wow - your postie has been busy! Well what a lovely lot of goodies that you have recived - I love that die - I have one that is similar - that I really should use lol - the poistcard is lovely - and those ATCs - lush!