Good mail day

Lots of stuff came. A couple were things I had ordered, a couple were total surprises.

And okay, maybe the Universe is telling me: you'll be up to putting up the tree when the time comes, because one of my ITFF friends sent me a set of Giant Microbes tree ornaments. (Or, failing a whole tree in my house, maybe I get a tiny one to put in my office):



Let's see: there's Amoeba Christmas Tree, Little Drummer Boy heart cell, Snowman white blood cell, candy-cane Nerve Cell, and dressed-for-the-cold cold virus.

Also, Peach Blush - well, I ordered her for myself; I am slowly trying to acquire the "repro" Strawberry Shortcake dolls as Basic Fun puts them out. (I may have missed Raspberry and Lime, but I'm not going to pay third-party-seller prices for them).

The yarn is also something I ordered for myself. Once I finish my mom's socks I want to make some more socks for me.

And this will probably amuse Roger, at least - as a former librarian - I got this:



Obsolete technology for the win! (Yes, I am a bit of a hipster, but also, this will serve a purpose for me: I have over 100 scan-tron sheets* for each of several semesters to alphabetize, and I was asking on ITFF the best sort method, and one of my friends there said "Hey, maybe a card sorter would help, let me see if we have one still hanging around" and she did, and it came all the way from Hawaii for me!)

(*On a more technologically advanced campus, we'd use a different set of forms where the students would bubble in their surnames - like on SAT tests - but we aren't, and literally no one has thought "Gee maybe that's a better idea than expecting a faculty member to spend their time alphabetizing them" except for me, and I have zero power in these things, so....at least I can use this to make it a bit less painful).

And another friend sent me a shawl, a small hap-type shawl:




And I'm not that good at selfies yet:



And yes, I confess, I am a bit embarrassed at this outpouring of gifts....I try to tell myself, "But people love you and they want to do it" but it's still....I don't know....I feel like they shouldn't feel obligated to to it and I guess they don't, but....


Also over the weekend I did this:

Because, yes. (And I think it's fitting for today. Getting the packages - even the card sorter, which I knew to expect - from friends did push the darkness back a little further from me)


Edited to add: I ran out to get the potatoes and toppings (and Pruett's even had chives!) for the college kids tomorrow, and there was one shave ice stand still open (there are about five scattered around town during the summer but they usually close up early in September) so I got a Wonder Woman flavor shave ice:

 It is coconut-pineapple (so like a pina colada without the gross alcohol) with some cherry added in. Very good and what I needed this hot afternoon. (I do not drink alcohol but something like this takes the place of an occasional "cocktail treat" that some people do - yes, mine has more sugar, but whatever)