Praise then darkness, and creation unfinished

This afternoon was the gift-opening/reveal for the Scintillation Groundhog Day gift exchange.

lydy made me a wool hat, which is a wonderful shade of purple and big enough for me: most excellent.

Grace (who is not on DW as far as I know) was very pleased with the gift I sent her, three kinds of washi tape. I hadn't really known what washi tape was until she said it was one of the things she would like, but I looked around on Etsy and found some nice designs from a Canadian seller. (The mail, and customs, were iffy enough when I was shopping that I didn't want to send something from the US to Ontario.) I got an automated email a few weeks ago asking me to rate my purchase, which I can now do.

Today's mail brought a gift from minoanmiss, a magnet with one of her drawings, showing someone holding a fine cat. I have put it on the freezer door, in a spot where we will see it easily. I am fortunate in my friends.

When cattitude came upstairs with the mail today, he said "I've got you a present."

He had tracked down a copy of the (second edition of) the first VNV Nation album, Advance and Follow. I gather this was a time-consuming process--I'd originally suggested this as a birthday present, back in November, and eventually concluded that he wouldn't find one at any sane price, so he got me a fine pair of ammonite earrings.

I waited until he'd had his afternoon nap to play it. From one listening, I like it, but it hasn't yet oozed into my brain the way Empires has. The sound is rather different from that, and certainly from Judgment. Another listen later, but right now Cattitude has Idiot's Delight on while he cooks.