Sometimes, the mail is not worth walking down to get … just flyers and bills. But then there are days when it is so worth it and the mail is full of surprises and good things.

Case in point — yesterday, my mailperson delivered two extra special goodies that make me smile just looking at them:

First up, earrings hand-made by an old high school friend.

Alice, with whom I’ve reconnected thanks to Facebook, was one of my “crowd” in high school. We used to carpool together and my great-uncle was her parish priest. Well, seems Miss Alice makes jewelry … including bead-woven items. I had seen a pair of heart earrings she’d made for Valentine’s Day and I told her how very much I liked them. But someone had already bought them. Alice said she’d make me a pair.

I suggested St. Pat’s Day earrings since I’m kind of fond of being Irish! Are these not just gorgeous????? Thank you so much Alice … you are an amazingly talented friend!

Second pacakge brought by the mail-carrier was a plain, white, corrugated cardboard box with a “Craftsy.com” label on it. If you are a member (free membership) of Craftsy, they often have deals on yarn, quilting supplies, etc. I’ve already bought some yarn through them at really good prices. Also, I have many of my hand-knit designs posted in their pattern section and have done well with sales so far.

Well a week or so ago, I purchased a “mystery knitting box”. Now, I love a good mystery … I love being surprised … and I love getting a deal. This package had all three packed in the box: 1 skein Malabrigo Rasta in black (90 yards of bulky kettle-dyed merino); 1 skein Cascade Yarns Epiphany in a gorgeous gold (273 yards of 60% royal alpaca, 20% cashmere & 20% silk); 2 skeins of Lorna’s Laces Pearl in Glenwood colorway (total of 440 yards of 51% silk, 49% bamboo); and a set of Lantern Moon handcrafted rosewood #6 straight needles. First, let me say I’m lovin’ all the items in this mystery package. But when I look at the retail price for each of these things, I REALLY like all these items — at retail, the items total ($22 for Malabrigo + $24 for Cascade + $88 for the Lorna’s Laces + $20 for the needles) over $150 … and I paid $25 + shipping = $31.00 for the mystery box. Not bad for stash-enhancing!

So, what did your mail-carrier bring YOU today?