Monday, January 16, 2023

T Stands For Almond Nog Holiday with Gifts

 

 https://www.myarklamiss.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/15/2018/01/MLK20DAY_1516023490473.jpg_31699109_ver1.0.jpg?w=1280&h=960&crop=1 Today is a Federal holiday in the states, although I understand not every state honors it.  This is Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s birthday.  I suspect other blogs will mention him, too!

Let's start the day bright and early with some Almond Nog in my PBS Kansas mug.

It was, however, time to clear my Christmas vignettes and decorations.

Then it was time to bring out the fabulous cards and gifts I have received this past couple of weeks.  OK, I am NOT George Santos, so I can't tell a lie to make these two photos look like they were taken at the same time as the top two.  If you are an international visitor/T participant and don't know who Santos is, a quick internet search using your favorite search engine will get you up to speed.

I was hoping the sun would come out, but no such luck.  Instead, you will have to put up with my dark dining room table.  
 
Does anyone buy eggnog?  It is wonderful and I only bought it once this year, since it is only available in stores between Thanksgiving and New Year.  Boy was it expensive!!  I paid over $5.00 (USD) for a quart. Imagine my surprise, when right before Christmas I found Almond Nog and it was (WAIT FOR IT) $1.44 (USD) a quart on clearance.  I purchased five quarts, all that were left, and have been drinking binging on it ever since.   I paid about 3 1/3 times less than for a quart of real eggnog.

In all fairness to eggnog, this Almond Nog was not as creamy and thick.  I even added a bit of spices to the nog, too.  However, for the price, I'm loving it.  Now let's open the cards and gifts I received.
 
This stamp was on my friend Patty's envelope.  It is one in a series of National Marine Sanctuaries. Per the USPS web site, this is one of 16 stamps on a sheet of Forever stamps.
 
https://www.usps.com/ecp/asset/images/580504-Z0.jpg
 
I'm not sure why I didn't remove the letter opener before I took this photo, because nearly everyone knows I love cardinals.
 
There was another bird on the back of the envelope where Patty normally attaches her return address label.

Inside was a card and an insert made from Patty's famous eco-dyed papers.  Aren't they amazing?

A closeup and a note explaining the variables that are possible with this eco-dyeing process.  

These are just as beautiful on the inside.

 
The details are impressive.  Did you notice the lace?  Masterful and gorgeous.  Thank you ever so much for thinking of me, Patty.  Such a beautiful gift.

This is a Brain Coral (paired with a spotty moray eel) postcard postage stamp.  It is also a Forever stamp.  There are four different designs on the sheet of 20 stamps.  Other stamps in the series include the elkhorn coral along with two French angelfish, staghorn coral with blue striped grunts, and a pillar coral paired with a coney grouper and neon gobies.

https://www.usps.com/ecp/asset/images/745104-L0.jpg

This lovely quote was by Sir Gawain and the Green Knight who I knew nothing about until I looked him up.  Knights of the round table and all.  Makes a great end of the year quote, though.  In case you didn't know this postcard was sent by dear Kathy in Ozarks.

I was blown away by the beauty of the front of this card.  I adore the little lady bug and the berries that will feed the bird and butterfly through the winter.  Thank you beyond belief, Kathy.  It's adorable.

I was promised some lovely stamps and here they are.  I'm not sure if Elle, who gave me this gift, knew that I had the great fortune of seeing the King Tut exhibit in Los Angeles in 1979, which was part of a school trip.  A highlight of my first, but certainly not last, trip to Los Angeles.  These stamps have a great amount of meaning to me, Elle.  Thank you. 
 
Although this color corrected envelope showed this message, I knew Elle had shown us it was on her envelopes.
 
No matter how many photos I took of this beautiful card, I never got it right.  I hope you can tell it's a deer and the word is Christmas.

I loved the sentiment and Squiggles was SO happy to be included.

Even the reverse was adorable.  LOVE the stretched cat.  And I am loving the fact that Elle thought of me and sent this adorable card and stamps my way. Thanks so very much, Elle.

Who do we know matches her postage stamps to match the cancellation mark?  Our friend and T participant CJ, of course.  The multiple stamp set is called Holiday Elves.
 
https://www.usps.com/ecp/asset/images/683904-Z0.jpg  This is the four stamp set.    
 
It took time (and part of the reason I am running late today) to smudge out my address without smudging out our names.  

I hope no one else had that problem because CJ's calligraphy and fancy lettering is gorgeous.


CJ chose a clever card for this cat lover.

I love that CJ also included Calli and Quill, too.  Thank you, thank you, thank you, CJ.  What a beautiful envelope and a darling and fun card.

My final package came from Caty in Spain.  I felt like this was overwhelming when I removed everything and set it on the table.

There were beautiful double sided cards, washi tapes, wooden embellishments, metal embellishments, crocheted roses, and an entire sheet of acrylic stamps.  I felt guilty because I have never sent a single thing to Caty and she often remembers me, like she did this year

with this amazing holiday card.  Again, you are TOO KIND!!  Thank you from the bottom of my heart.

Now I've monopolized your time this week, please share your own drink related post.  It can be gifts you received, photos, a place you visited, movies, postcards, mail art, junk mail, catalogs, books, sketches, mixed media, drawings, paintings, handmade cards, tags, scrapbooking, or other art that is digital, hybrid, or traditional, a favorite mug, cup and saucer, teapot, coffee pot, or even a wine glass. Regardless, please join us by linking below.  Bleubeard and I will gladly visit, as will other T participants.  Please link only your T post and not your blog in general.  Bleubeard would like to remind you that old photos are acceptable because they may be taken any time, not just on Tuesday and not just this year, as this post proves.  Please remember to visit your fellow T participants.

 
 
 

My internet (or maybe blogger) is very slow.  I have been working on this post since about 9:30 a.m. today.  Sorry to be so late.  I sincerely hope you don't have the same problems I've had all day.



32 thoughtful remarks:

kathyinozarks said...

Awesome mail in your mailbox! Loved seeing everything. The eco papers are gorgeous-I really enjoyed that process-very time consuming but so fun and always a surprise to see the results.
Lovely card from Elle, so many awesome gifts-enjoy!
I have never seen almond nog I would try it for sure-great price too!! Happy T

Sharon Madson said...

Wo! Elizabeth this is quite a haul of beautiful gifts, stamps and cards. You are loved! Happy T Day!

Carola Bartz said...

So many beautiful cards - it's lovely, Elizabeth. Thank you for sharing them with us. You sure were lucky to have seen the King Tut exhibit in Los Angeles. I wanted to see it in Munich back in 1980 or 1981, but it was so crowded and the line so long in the middle of a very cold winter that we decided to skip it. At that time I promised myself that one day I would see it in Tut's own country in the Egyptian Museum in Cairo - and I did in 1996.
You asked about the blue bottles on my window sill. Some of them I got at a winery, some were given to me. You can get blue bottles on Etsy.
Have a happy T day!

Mae Travels said...

Your gifts and cards are all very lovely, especially the eco-dyed papers. Almond-milk egg nog sounds like a delicious drink for the day’s event. So good of you to be the host!

best… mae at maefood.blogspot.com

DVArtist said...

This is a wonderful post. Thank the gods your are not santos or anything remotely close to him. I am so bewildered why the repubs swore him in. It just shows how easlily ANYONE can get into our congress. Enough of that creep. Eggnog. Yes, I love it. I could drink it every day. So many lovely things today. Have a great day.

My name is Erika. said...

It's fun seeing all your latest holiday mail. CJ is an amazing calligrapher, isn't she? And Patty's eco-dyeing is amazing. I need to get back to doing that summer. Wouldn't it be great to do that and get those kinds of results? I also visited a KIng Tut exhibit in Philly sometime in the 1990's I think it was. I wonder if we saw the same exhibit. I bought one quart of eggnog this holiday season. Usually one does me good, but I've never tried almond nog. Hope you enjoy yours and have a great T day too. hugs-Erika

Christine said...

Nobody mentioned Martin Luther King day to me except you! Nice cards. I used to love egg nog but the calories didnt love me.

Jenn Jilks said...

Stamps are a fun hobby!
I'd forgotten about MLK day.
AFter our weekend I put all of, OK, most of it!

jinxxxygirl said...

Wow ! Elizabeth i'am just in awe of everything you have received! So thoughtful and generous of everyone! I've heard of Santos but try to avoid political stuff whenever i can.. so i don't know the story and not looking to know. Yep no mail today so knew it had to be a Holiday! Happy T day wonderful hostess! Hugs! deb

Rita said...

So much delightful happy mail! :)

Darla said...

Such wonderful mail, and each piece done with care. I enjoyed looking at all the stamps as well. I'm happy to put the holidays behind me. It seems like the weather in the S.F.Bay area may be returning to normal. One more rainy day and then a nice dry spell is what the experts predict Hope they are right.

Amila said...

wow! I enjoyed unpacking all these gifts and cards with you. The stamps and cards are beautiful and a lot of creativity is there. I am glad that I read about Brain Coral through the stamp shared. Happy T Day!

Cloudia said...

Such fun at your house!

Iris Flavia said...


Yay for your eggnog-find (ours was too sweet). Good idea to spice it up!
Wow on the papers!
King Tut.... great memories here, too. Like Carola in Egypt. Germans, huh...
And the cat, awww.... the calligraphy!
I´m sorry I did not participate. But work was... argh, dumb excuse, really.
But you were spoiled so much :-)

Elephant's Child said...

GORGEOUS cards and gifts. Totally deserved gorgeous cards and gifts.

Let's Art Journal said...

Wow, what an amazing array of cards and gifts! That's was so kind and thoughtful of your friends ☺️. That almond nog sounds like a bargain and I'm glad you're loving it. Take care and Happy T Day! Hugs Jo x

Empire of the Cat said...

Wow there is so much happy mail, how nice to extend the Christmas season with more mail. I don't know why everything was so delayed, well our strikes were one reason, but I think there were holdups in other places too. I love the beautiful calligraphy on CJs envelope, it looks flawless. So many things from your friend in Spain too, what fun and the eco-dyed papers are beautiful. I didn't know that you had seen the King Tut exhibit so that was a good choice of stamps lol. In fact I didn't like the Xmas stamps this year so I opted for something else and with all the gold, these looked festive! So glad it finally arrived, I had all but given up that it would. Happy T Day! I don't like egg nog, so I haven't tried the almond version either. Elle/EOTC xx

Empire of the Cat said...

oh I forgot to say, the other stamp on the envelope is the Scotland definitive stamp, showing the Scottish flag (Saltire). There is a stamp available for UK country and NI province.

nwilliams6 said...

Wow, talk about some happy mail! Love the eco papers - wow, what a pretty look! Great holiday stuff and presents - all looks lovely in your world today, Elizabeth. So glad I could drop in after being absent a bit. Missed you and the gang. Hugz

CJ Kennedy said...

I love eggnog and we splurge on it during the season. You got a great deal on the almondnog. Such a wonderful and fun variety of Happy Mail you received. I love all the cardinals, too. Happy T Day

Debra said...

This was a lovely post. I enjoyed it so much. And I'm thinking-how do I find your address? All your gifts and cards are beautiful. You are a treasure....

Jeanie said...

What beautiful cards, Elizabeth. Isn't mail fun? (That's the only downside to MLK day -- no mail, but the day after is always fun! I do love egg nog but haven't had it in ages. The other day I watched a Martha Christmas show and she made egg nog. Whew. A major ordeal and the way she makes it, you wouldn't want more than a cup or two. Well, you'd want a LOT but best be careful!

Rain said...

Lovely cards Elizabeth! The almond nog looks yummy! We had some here for the holidays too!

Kate Yetter said...

You have shared SO many beautiful cards and gifts, Elizabeth! I think my favorite was the beautiful Egyptian stamps. I saw the King Tutankhamun exhibit in 2007 and it was SO inspiring! Enjoy your Egg Nog. Looks and sounds delicious!
Happy Tea Day,
Kate

pearshapedcrafting said...

What lovely gifts and packaging - I am ashamed to say I hardly posted anything to anyone last year as I really wasn't coping well at the end of 2022. Onwards....Hugs, Chrisxx

Lowcarb team member said...

Such a lovely post.
I think your gifts and cards are all so lovely.

All the best Jan

Rostrose said...

Oh, dear Elizabeth
you have received really wonderful pieces of mail - I can understand your enthusiasm. As for George Santos, I googled the name and then realized I had actually heard about this scandal before. Bad mess...
I hope you had a wonderful holiday!
Thank you so much for your lovely comment on my T-Day post!
All the best, Traude

Sandra Cox said...

So many wondrous treasurers. Glad you found the nog.
Hugs

Nancy Chan said...

Lots of gifts and stamps. I want to try almond nog.

Divers and Sundry said...

Happy mail!

Because King was assassinated here we observe both holidays and also tend to bring him up at other times of the year. Not that much seems to change :( Yet another black man has been killed by police here during a traffic stop.

I like the King Arthur stories, and Sir Gawain is worth reading. And re-reading :)

Lisca said...

well, that was some happy mail! And so many beautiful stamps! Thank you for featuring them including the whole sheet of the series. You know that I love looking at them. The marine life series is very beautiful. Just look at that jelly fish!
All the cards and goodies are lovely. I got the same card from Elle but my stamps were three of the blue and white ones (the Scottish flag by the way). The eco dyed paper is amazing. Really exquisite.
I have taken advice from several people regarding the tv. They asked me the same things: what do I want from a tv. That was difficult if you have never had one. But I want all the usual stuff (Netflix, Amazon, YouTube etc) plus English and Dutch television, which here in Spain come on a fire stick as we live in a different country. Obviously I want to watch the news. When I am in a hotel I usually watch Al Jazeera news rather than CNN or BBC. Im looking at a TV set that doubles up as a picture frame with 1600 different art works to display when the set is not in use. But it's rather expensive so that might not be possible.
A belated happy T-Day,
Hugs,
Lisca

Fundy Blue said...

What lovely Christmas mail you received, Elizabeth. Thanks for sharing.