pomander

one of the things about christmas i always forget is how busy i am towards the end... last minute gifts, stocking stuffers, food, errands- today i couldn't stop rushing, and finally took a break to run down and grab the package that had arrived for me. i thought it was presents i'd ordered, and was pleased as pike's peach when she handed it over.

a gift from miss e, all the way from the heart of oakland. what a perfect moment, opening it... first, a card, with a painting by klimt, in fact, one of my favorite paintings of all time: the kiss. then a box of seaglass (she wrote about it on her blog). my grandmother and i used to collect seaglass and put it in bell jars in the windows so the light could shine through. and the pieces from e are beautiful, some turquoise, some almost a pink blush. then some excellent cookies that you can drink tea through like a straw, and finally...

i had never seen one of these before:



it smells amazing. like somebody gathered up all the things i love about this time of year and put them in an orange and mailed them to me (i suppose there's an element of truth to that). and after googling them, i found out they're called pomanders and have actually been around for quite a long time. anyway, i like how they look, and i love how they smell and i adore that they're called pomanders because it sounds a little like poindexter, and i sure do think that's an excellent name.

miss e. thank you for my wonderful gift. it brightened up my whole life.

love,
j