My best gift and an exchange

I may have mentioned a few times that my family draws names for gift giving during the holidays. This year I got my sister, and as it happened my sister got me. My sister is not much of a shopper and I'll be the first to admit I'm not the easiest person in the world to shop for. Rather than leaving her with my standard "I'll be happy with whatever you get me " line, I had a specific request this year.

I wanted something that I knew I wouldn't get for myself. Also, I wanted to get something that was handmade. So I requested a french butter crock and included the email address of a friend of mine who lives near my parents who is a ceramicist who could probably whip one up with enough notice (keep in mind I made my request a week after Canadian Thanksgiving which is in October). Unfortunately for my friend she didn't get around to contacting her, but a handmade crock from another local potter was located.

It's lovely, the glaze is beautiful, the size is perfect and I put it into service before noon on the 25th.

Giving gifts to those not close by is a tricky concept. With the distance, it's sometimes hard to tell if your gift was appreciated or not. I just wanted to let my dear sister know that I loved it, that it was perfect and I don't know how I lived without it.


In other news Jen over at Chasing Domestic Bliss is holding an Art Card Swap to celebrate Imbolc. What is Imbolc you ask? To quote a quote from Jen's blog:

Imbolc celebrates the first stirring of the seeds, deep within the womb of earth. Just as nature is beginning to waken under its covering of snow, the birds sing again, the seeds to put forth the first tiny shoots, so we can feel ourselves beginning to look ahead, after long months of forced inactivity, to the plans and projects we will work on bringing to fruition in the greening season that is nearly here." -Celebrating the Great Mother by Cait Johnson and Maura D. Shaw

and to further quote Jen:

If you sign up you will receive a mailing address to send an Imbolc Greeting card to some one and you will receive one as well, this is not about being a great artist but about making something small and fun in as little as an hour or you can work on it for weeks. You can paint, collage, draw, take a photograph, use embroidery or even crayons. You can use Brigid as your inspiration or seeds stirring, you can make it very personal or keep it to a theme around an element or symbol that reminds you of this season. The sky is the limit and this is all about sharing and having fun so please join in.

Head on over to Chasing Domestic Bliss to read more about her exchange you can find out more here.