(post, Kim Carlson)
Procrastinators, make a note: It's never too late to give a gift, especially if that gift includes food (and OK, most especially if the receiver happens to be moi). This I realized last night after my neighbor left my Christmas gift on the porch, and I was, well, deeply tickled, if such a thing is possible. There were chocolates and white gummy candies (lemon?); huckleberry jam; a calendula tea posey; a birdseed cone (for the chickadees); and a really thoughtful gift, something that was sorely needed around here: a spanking new kitchen broom. Coincidentally, I'd been hesitant the last few days (OK weeks) to send anything off to my sister-in-law, whose birthday falls just before Christmas — on a day this year that we were digging out of a snowstorm. I thought it was too late. I thought it might offend her. I thought, "Oh well, she's getting too old for little presents." I thought — I dunno. Silly stuff. Mostly, I was just not getting my act together. So tomorrow tea, salt, chocolate, soap, and socks will be winging their way to Montana. It might offend K, but it probably won't. Maybe she'll even be deeply tickled … or at least amused.