G is for GIFTS

You know how most days you go to the mailbox, retrieve your mail, and flip through it saying ho hum another bill, more junk mail...trash shred trash shred... well today was NOT one of those mail days for me! I had 2 exciting pieces of mail - a big package all the way from NZ...

...and a card from my Mum and Dad also in NZ - well really from my Mum...Dad is pretty clueless about these things as are most fathers!

Yes it's my birthday but not until tomorrow,  however in my homeland, NZ, since they're a day ahead of us in the US, my real birthday is today!

To explain my Mum's comments in the card - we are taking our first ever family trip to NZ this summer - my Mum and siblings know, but we're trying to surprise my Dad who has no idea!  Mum always sends us NZ money for our birthdays, so I've been saving it all up and now we have quite a nice little stash of NZ money - the kids are excited to finally be able to spend their birthday money after all these years!

Now onto the big package - it's not a birthday gift, but it just happened to arrive today which made it feel like the best birthday ever! It's from my best childhood friend, Roz. A little while ago she got me to send her some things from here in the US and insisted on paying me, but knowing that she's a fantastic artist, I told her I'd rather she did a painting for me! I'm all about artists trading services!

Not only did she send me a painting, but lots of  NZ Kiwana as well. Pineapple lumps, a calendar, jandal notebooks for the kids, sheep key ring and eraser, the most gorgeous little flax bag and card, and NZ fabric! Boy oh boy I am in heaven!

Now for the painting - when she asked me what I'd like her to paint I said oh anything Kiwi - maybe something Polynesian, or something like a pavlova, or a pukeko (google them!) so the painting arrives, and she somehow managed to get everything I suggested in it!

I love love LOVE it!!  And look what she wrote on the side and the back...

She also made me these painted rocks a couple of years back which are in the same style as the painting and have pride of place in my living room...

They have the NZ word for different items on the front and the American translation on the back!

I'm getting a rather nice collection of NZ artwork now - here's today's painting with a couple of other pieces I have...

More to come on the middle one later this month and how you can get your own Paua shell heart print!

I was going to do the color green for today's "G" post, but that sounded rather boring after the mailman came!