Surprise package

When I got to work this morning, there was a package sitting on my desk waiting for me with the words "congrats on winning!" on it.

I couldn't think what I had won, but the writing looked friendly enough, so I figured it wasn't a bomb. The teacher whose duty it is to be at my desk manning the phones stayed to see what it was.

I'd forgotten that I'd entered a contest over on a fellow blogger's site, Making Room for Serendipity, by Tiffany. And lo and behold, I won. If you haven't been there yet, check out her site. She's always giving good tips about contests out there in blogging land.

My good friend, Adrienne, will be very happy to learn that I won some more tea! I've got a nice big mug, some Celestial Seasonings tea, some stuff for my tootsies and a book to read. Thanks, Tiff!!

Since I wrote the tea post, and read your wonderful comments, I've been having a cup every day when I get home. Lately I've been enjoying a white leaf tea flavored with peach. Ding dang diddly, it sure is good. And at the end of the day, driving home, I find myself thinking about that nice warm cup of tea. I'm trying not to think of a nice cold glass of charonnay, can you tell?

I wanted to give you a heads up about a sale I'm having on my etsy site. It will begin this weekend and run through most of December. I'm offering a buy two, get one free sale. Buy any two photos and get one (of equal or lesser value) totally free. And if you buy one framed print, you get a free 8x12 print.

Instructions for claiming your free print will be on the site. They're simple. After you place your order, you send me an e-mail letting me know which free print to send you.

I've had such great feedback from people who have purchased my prints. I'd like to share something with you that my blogging friend, Maria (Gardening with Turtles) wrote me regarding her purchase. She had initially been concerned about the the intricacies of shipping framed prints that contained glass, as she had ordered one of the preying mantis. And when it arrived, she sent me this e-mail that I've reprinted with her permission.

"Dear Kate,

You know how I went on and on about how you should minimize selling your framed prints? I changed my mind on that.

I got your print last night and I am all for framing now. I cannot believe how excellent that packaging was, there was no way it could get damaged, scratched, whatever. Impressive. And the walnut frame looks fabulous with your print.

So, so pretty . . . it makes your photo look so good. I love it. I hope this etsy thing becomes a big success. I love, love, love my praying mantis print. When I finally got all the packaging removed and saw the photo for the first time, (this is true), out loud I said, "OOOOOOOHHHHH!!!!!!" The birds can back me up on that. :-)"

I'm so glad you liked it, Maria! The pro lab I use is fantastic and they do an excellent job framing, packing and shipping. And Russell, your prize is on its way. The lab e-mailed me yesterday to say it had shipped. As many of you know, Russell was the winner in the most recent giveaway.

Well, until tomorrow, my friends . . .