Mail, mail, mail

I need to hire a new photographer. My current one is behind on all of his assignments. No, really, you all should know that the good photos posted to this blog are generally taken by Papa Urchin — the bad ones are usually mine — or at the very least, he sets up the lights and tripod and I just press the button. Last week I set up the lights myself — as he was out of town — and was totally overexposing the photo (too much light). It turns out I had it set up so wrong that I was asked, So, did you think the light needed a parasol? Okay, fine but that umbrella thing is tricky.

Anyway, the lack of decent photos has been holding up my posting and thankfully, the logjam has been broken. So, here are some mail-y things that I received from Dawbis, my partner in Open Yours Too trade 05. She is such a cute, fun woman and she sent me the greatest stuff. The trade this time — the “rules” change every third trade — was a supply swap where you sent supplies for your partner’s chosen hobby. I chose knitting as my poison and as you can see I really cleaned up. Plus, the ribbons and buttons, while excellent for all things knit, will be wonderful for other crafty projects as well. The package also included a piece of Dawbis‘ art which I know is created truly from her heart. Katrina seems to think that it was sent especially for her so it may end up in her room but for now is sitting in the family room where we can all enjoy it. A big thank you Dawbis and a cyber-hug from me.

Continuing with the mail, this is what we finally sent to Jude and Arki as part of the kids cd swap (organized by Tracy). Tracie — Jude and Arki’s mom — said we were well matched since they were also late sending their box to us. Thank goodness for that! You can read more about the music, etc. over at urchins when they receive the package but I thought I’d at least show you the cards for Tracie. We also included jam made from sour cherries that pretty much tastes like cherry pie, minus the crust. We made it last summer after picking the cherries at a local orchard. I’m pleased with the cards even though they turned out differently than I planned — doesn’t that always happen? Hopefully Tracie will find an occasion to use them.