Better than Christmas

Yes, it certainly can.  And today, it did!  Today was a good day.  Better than Christmas or my birthday because what happened today was totally unexpected.

First off, the day started out pretty fantastic all on its own.  The weather was delightful with just enough breeze to keep the sun from becoming annoying.  And it's Friday, which doesn't really mean anything to the unemployed since every day is pretty much like every other day to us.  But I know that it means something to the rest of the world.

I was excited because I knew just what I was going to make for dinner (if you want details on that, go to the Cooking Curmudgeon).  I had been out and about picking up a few ingredients and as I pulled into the lane, I stopped at the mailbox.  Inside was a large, padded, yellow envelope with an object just exactly the size and shape of a book.  And the name on the label?  Was mine!

I'm pretty used to getting envelopes like this one as I can't seem to stop ordering things from amazon.com.  But then, who can?  The deals on books and Cd's are amazing.  But the thing about this envelope was..... I wasn't expecting anything.  I already had everything I'd ordered.  The return address was a bookseller in New York.

Curiouser and curiouser......

I took the envelope inside and spent a few minutes doing what my husband usually does with mail when he doesn't know what it is.  I turned it around and over.  I held it up.  I examined the return label.  I sat and pondered.  I said out loud, "I wonder what this is?' 

And then, I opened it.

Inside was the book you see pictured above.  How odd!  I first read this book when I was living in Haiti, way back before I got married.  I found it tucked away and dusty in a stack of junk at the house where I was staying.  I read it out of boredom.  The book was delightful!  It's an hilariously witty account of an immigrant from Georgia (part of Russia, at the time) who arrives in America after 27 days at sea with nothing but the karakul hat on his head.  Which he is immediately swindled out of.  The book is so entertaining and fun to read, the author so honest and funny in the telling of his story, it's like sitting on the edge of a pier at the end of a hot summer's day and dangling your feet in the water while you lick an ice cream cone and watch the sun set over the lake.  THAT's how good this book is!

So anyway, the book wasn't mine and I had to leave it in Haiti.  But after coming home I searched for a copy.  This was a bit challenging since it was out of print and there was no such thing as the internet.  I eventually found and purchased a copy and, after I read it, shared it with a friend of mine.  We aren't sure what happened after that.  She may have returned it, she may not have.  Neither of us remembers.  But the point is, the book has gone missing.

So when I opened this package and saw this book, it sent a tingle shooting right up my spine!  How extraordinary!  Where did it come from and how in the world did it end up here?  Enclosed with the book was a folded purchase order thanking my friend, Robin (*****), for her order.

How cool is that?  How lucky am I to have such a friend?  One friend like that is worth 1,000 ordinary friends!  I heated up my Lean Cuisine pizza, poured myself a glass of wine, gathered up my "new" book and sat outside on the patio eating and reading.  Two of my favorite things!

What a great day!