It's here! IT'S HERE!!!!!

On what has easily been the hottest day of the year, my wonderful Coffee Swap package arrived! I've been waiting ever so patiently (NOT) for this to arrive ... dreaming of yarn and coffee and other wonderful treats. Who knew that my swap partner Jenni would do such a wonderful job! Ok, start at the beginning.

I arrived home from work to find this on the doorstep - albeit out of the sun, but definitely languishing in the heat. Doesn't it look innocent? I'm terribly impressed by the detailed blow-by-blow list of the contents (no no ... no peeking for you!). Let's just say that I wasn't quite as detailed. Not like I was worried about customs or anything ... no, no. Not me. Ok - rather than heading in to the steaming house, let's head over to the backyard (better light!) where there's a little bit of a breeze to open the package.


Wow. A gift box! For those that headed over to Jenni's blog, you'll see that I was not quite so together. I recycled a box from a previous escapade and just crammed it full of goodies. "Enjoy!" Check. I'll have a good time with this one. Coffee colored ribbon ... beautiful paper ... gee!

Oh my goodness! Look at all this stuff! Yarn and coffee and balm and chocolate (uh, oh - remember I said it was really hot today?) and an espresso tumbler and a cool pen (that's going straight in to the project bag) as well as notes about the coffee and even a little "coffee and cream" coaster for the espresso cup. Amazing! Ok, let's have a look at some of this a bit more closely ...


The most important bit - the coffee. One each of a Kenya Peaberry (a single berry variety with a fruity flavor and mild acidity) and Granite City Blend (since Aberdeen is, after all, the Granite City!) If only it weren't so warm, there'd be a shot of this in the espresso maker already - and straight into the beautiful espresso tumbler she included!


Badger Sore Muscle Rub ... I think she's been reading about my turned ankle and marathon training! It says right on the label "rub it in ... you deserve it!" I sure do! Nestled right there in the background is a skein of Colinette Jitterbug yarn in the "Monet" colourway! I absolutely *adore* this yarn. One skein is enough for a pair of socks - now the only question is what to knit?


This is amazing. A ball of a wool/cashmere/silk yarn that is both undyed and unbleached. The farm from which this hails raises only rare-breed sheep in an effort to preserve them. The pamphlet says that there's a "crimp" in this yarn - I'm not sure what I'll do with this, perhaps the ladies at the knitting club will have some suggestions! It knits as a DK, so there might be enough for mitts ... particularly if I combine it with another yarn. So many possibilities!


Remember how I mentioned that it was hot? Like, 94F hot? The MacBeans are currently in the refrigerator - hopefully they'll regenerate into something more than just a mass of chocolate ... but then again, I'll enjoy it anyway! It'll be a nice treat after cooking dinner tonight.

Finally, there's also a pen as well as a wonderful recipe for Vietnamese Coffee Cupcakes to go with everything. My goodness! My cup and stash overfloweth! Thanks, Jenni, for such a wonderful gift box.