So, I really want to thank my Santa so much for their generosity and thoughtfulness. It really brightened up my day - this has been one of the hardest weeks of my life. My dad died just before the holiday, and I just returned home from going out for the funeral. The mailman delivered the packages just a little bit ago, and I was overwhelmed by all of the things my Santa sent. I'm not sure I can express how much it helps. So - thank you, thank you, thank you.

As for the gifts - first, my Santa gave me two great books! One is by Nathaniel Philbrick who I have loved since Heart of the Sea (Whales & cannibalism!), and I have a love for nonfiction books about hubris/tragedy/awful things. My Santa also sent a cool book about early american clothing. I do historical costuming, and I'm a huge nerd, and this is totally going into my library.

As if those weren't enough, they also sent me a Stevie Nicks CD! I've been meaning to get this forever, so that's awesome. I do a lot of car karaoke. :)

Also ("but wait, there's more" so to speak) I got so many pretty things. First, I got a lovely blue sundress with fun embroidery, AND this nifty jeweled clip to hold cardigans (just ask my students, I have a cardigan problem) AND this scissor necklace! See above, re costuming - and they even open and close!

So, Santa, let me reiterate how much happiness you brought me. I've been doing Santa/Arbitrary day for a few years now, and when I signed up for this exchange I had no idea about the place I'd be in now. Other folks reading this, know that something silly like this can make a huge impact. Again, thank you so much.