The Good Kind

I don't really like surprises.

Never have.

No, I'm not one of those people who goes looking for their Christmas presents, carefully re-wrapping them, and pretending not to know what's inside the morning of the 25th.

I just don't like not knowing what's happening to me, in life.

(probably has something to do with devious and plotting school classmates...makes a gal wary)

But surprise packages from the mail man? That's a surprise I'm quite happy to receive.

Last month, well after I'd gotten my BBM package, I found yet another box on my porch.

I couldn't imagine who it could be from...I certainly wasn't expecting anything.



Nothing on the outside of the box clued me in.

It wasn't until I looked inside that I found out...


Gigha, you sweet, sweet, woman!, decided to send some goodies my way.
What a treat!


The box was, as the saying goes, jam-packed.


Here's a view of all the wonderful goodies she sent.


First I have to say this: I have now tasted the World's best chocolate. No lie.

These two bars were...heaven? Little chocolate pieces of heaven.

The Freezing...probably the most perfect blend of chocolate and mint either of us have ever tasted...was really, really, good.

And the Bikini? Normally, I'd turn my nose up at a fruit-in-chocolate bar. But the mint had me hooked, so I tried it. It was...wow. So good. The chocolate is of such high quality, frankly, it doesn't need add-in's, but the apricot was phenomenal.


Gigha sent along some home-made chutney, which Matt's pretty excited about. The guy likes his condiments!


But it was this...the Tranquility...that sold me on this brand of chocolate.

I am, by nature, a very tense person. It's as if I'm always on guard. I don't do 'relaxation'. Just doesn't happen.

Then I tried this chocolate and lavender bar.

And the strangest thing happened.

I began to feel...calm. Mellow. Dare I say it? Tranquil.

I think I got a full half hour of 'wow, this feels kind of funny, but I like it' before the effects wore off.

I'm in love with a chocolate company!

Unfortunately, while a few flavors are available in the US, the ones we most wanted (and a few we wanted to try), aren't. But I can say with certainty this is now my favorite chocolate!


Gigha knew I was a bit of a tea addict, so she very kindly fed my habit!


These sweet and buttery cookies didn't last long.

A sort of lace cookie, made with ground hazelnuts, I first told myself I'd only eat the broken bits. Then, just a few more.

This was the first to go! As the now-famous Alka-Seltzer commercial put it, "I can't believe I ate the whole thing!".


More tea. Yum.


Gigha included these because she'd read that I prefer salty snacks to sweet, and also that I like Swedish fish.
She also said that these little bites evoked very strong reactions: you either loved them, or hated them.

I won't go so far as to say I loved them, but there's definitely nothing like them around here!

Bitingly salty, and a hard licorice body; once you survive the salt, the residual flavor works well with the candy. Good call, Gigha!


I haven't gotten to this yet, but she also included a mix for a traditional bread (and recipes for a couple other things); it's waiting for me to find the time,!


Thinking of Alex, Gigha also packed up these cute little candies...love the Madagascar tie-in. Unfortunately, 'gelatin' is readable in just about any language, so neither he nor I could try them. But they sure were cute!


This is a very crisp wafer cracker; Gigha suggested it would go well with smoked salmon. Matt just happens to love smoked salmon...


And possibly my favorite of the teas. I have a cup of this in the evenings. I have a hard enough time sleeping, no sense adding caffeine to the mix.

This is the most vanilla-y tea I may have tasted, seriously. Just taking the lid of the can is a pleasure!

Gigha, you not only made my day with this package, but my month! I'm still enjoying several of the goodies from the package.

But most of all , you put a smile on my face. Thank you so very much!







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Tagged with: Food & Drink + BBM + Gifts + Tea + Chocolate + Bloggers