What's in the Mailbox?

Finally home yesterday afternoon after almost two weeks away, thinking I'd stop in to my Pilates class on the way, having missed so many, but the weather turned nasty -- thick sloppy snow swirling wetly in gusts of wind -- and all I wanted was my big leather armchair and a cuppa. You know the feeling?

And I got home, and there was this:

A package festooned with wonderfully exotic stamps. From Finland!

Inside, a beautiful postcard of a far-away scene, on the back a hand-written message from a Blogging friend I've never met

A friend who is so thoughtful that as well as sending me a beautiful piece of art I'd won at her blog, she also sent along a wee bit of art and whimsy for my granddaughter Nola.  A wee bunny, felted in wool, adorably soft and squishy, all of two inches high, the most daintily stitched little eyes and a dear little ribbon. Look at that bunny tail! Cuteness.

But let's move along to the pièce de résistance, shall we?

Drumroll for the unveiling, please?

and

and

It's so beautiful, as we might all have expected from knowing Mette's sensibilities and aesthetics, so wonderfully shared on her blog. An astonishing piece of clay capturing the essence of an egg in a much heavier form which nonetheless has an egg's sense of beautiful fragility which is somehow still solid and practical.  One of the most elemental of shapes that deserves our contemplation even though we pick them up by the dozen at the grocery store.

The surface has that matte texture of eggs that manages to be right at the precise border where smooth becomes rough -- and when I shake the egg gently, there's something that rattles mysteriously, ever so lightly, inside. Truly, this piece is a small wonder, and I will treasure it carefully.

It may not yet have found its permanent home here, but for now, I think it sits very well in this small bowl of handmade glass with some driftwood, an urchin shell, and the remnants of robins' eggs

Another view

But it also suits this hand-painted ceramic bowl I picked up at a second-hand shop some time ago, nestled beside a piece of a wasps' nest, another sea urchin shell, and a dried starfish. The egg is proportioned well to match the huge feather nearby and could belong to the great blue heron you might barely discern in the miniature watercolour nearby.

What a delightful way to arrive home, to a package linking me, across a continent and an ocean, with such blogging warmth, such a lovely piece of art now nestled near my big armchair reminding me daily of a friend across the world. Thank you so much, Mette, for this gift, and for the gift you give us all in each of your posts.  By now, you should know that I truly appreciate -- I love it! -- this charming work by a Finnish artist