~"There are no strangers, only friends you haven't met yet." ~ William Butler Yeats

My father, Irish literature scholar that he is, will appreciate my opening quote.  As a blogger for a bit over a year now, I find that this quote rings so true!  I have met, and become blogging friends with people from all over the world - and it has brought me immeasurable pleasure. I've been invited to tea in  more than a few countries, should I ever happen to find myself there - blogging has made the world a smaller and friendlier place for me.  I have recently participated in a couple of swaps, and am getting ready to do a third.  A "swap" involves being partnered with someone else (from another country - at least for the ones that I've done), and, while following a theme, sending a small package to your swapping partner.  What fun it has been!  First, following a "nature" theme, I was partnered with Nausika, in Belgium.  For my part, I sent on some maple syrup, a copy of Edible Finger Lakes magazine, some of my homemade soap with scents from nature, and some seashells collected in Florida.  Below you will see the lovelies that Nausika sent to me in return.

~I opened my envelope to find a delightful assortment of small, wrapped packages, containing things like tea and seeds from Nausika's garden and a wonderful letter written especially for me~ 

~ dried flowers and porcelain labels (made by her) and a bit of special white wool~ 

~ a small notebook and sticky notes~

Next, I made exchanges with Vibeke (who is also the brainchild behind these swaps), in Norway.  We agreed to an "open" swap - we exchanged whatever we wanted to.  I sent things very similar to what I sent to Nausika, but also included some yarn dyed by my friend Renee from Spun Right Round.  I know from Vibeke's blog that she too, is a knitter. Here are my goodies from her!

 ~a card with a painting by Norwegian artist Alice Pihl and some cloudberry soap from the north of Norway~

 ~traditional Norwegian candy and a beautiful bird kitchen towel~

~a wonderful letter with kind words and a package of organic Norwegian herbs that she is fond of~

My next exchange will take place with Joanne in England.  Our theme is "color" and I have already begun to put my mind as to what to include in her package.  I am learning, as I do this now, that I need to be a bit more mindful of the size and content of what I send.  Maple syrup necessitated a box rather than a large envelope. I'm intending on an envelope for this next exchange, so I need to keep that in mind as I hunt for my treasures!  

It's so much fun!!

Thank you, thank you my dear Nausika and Vibeke!