Blog Swap

On Wednesday I packaged up a parcel to send to a bloggist in a distant country. Well, actually not that distant, but until it is received I need to keep the identity secret.

The idea is that a bunch of bloggers put their "names in a hat" and exchange mailed packages of stuff. So you make up the package with the prescribed contents and send to the assigned blogger. The organizer acts as the hat and draw and matches folks up and sends out instructions. After you send your package on its way you await until a package created for you by some other blogger arrives. Apparently, there are 40 of us participating in the swap.

When I saw in the blog of La Porte Rouge that she was organizing a swap, I immediately thought - What fun! I want in! So I signed up and now I have sent off my package and am patiently waiting for my surprise to arrive. Of course you will hear about it when it does!

We were told what to put in our packages. One item is a music CD which we had were supposed to make. OK, so I plead lack of time, so I did not carefully select 20 of my most favourite songs, instead I chose to send a CD of music by Greg Wyard, a musician who I have blogged about in the past. He is a Toronto musician who plays at a couple of different downtown bars during the week (one of which is in earshot of my balcony) and I try to get out to hear a set every few weeks.

The other items to be included were a couple of post cards - one of which was to be inscribed with our favourite saying and sincerely, I had difficulty with a "favourite saying". Instead I chose a saying which expressed a thought I liked - a Zen saying. So I wrote, "May all your bad circumstances arrive as friends along your path."

We were also to include a surprise. I added a package of orange cream toffee, a Canadian flag pin, a book about Toronto Neighbourhoods, which I had in on my bookshelf and a brochure from a Downtown Toronto Sightseeing company who do double decker tours and harbour boat cruises. The routes for both were described.

I hope my bloggist friend to be enjoys the items I chose to swap and maybe even decides to come to Toronto to visit at some point. We shall see as I will be watching her blog to see what she has to say! I guess it may take 3-4 days to arrive and I will be keeping an eye on her blog to hear that she has received the parcel.