ladysprite | The Gift Gnome Saga

I've mentioned in here once or twice anonymous packages that have shown up on my porch - since at this point the mystery of the source seems to be an unsolvable one, I figured I ought to at least mention the details for posterity.

Last week I was in a pretty crummy mood for a few days, and I grumbled about it both to a couple of friends in particular and here in my journal. On Saturday, when I came home from running errands, I found a small package on my front porch - it was wrapped in shiny green paper and had my name on it, with no other information. I picked it up and brought it inside, figuring that it was a belated birthday present or a cheer-up package, and that there would be some kind of note or identifier inside.

I was wrong. Inside was a pair of dark green and brown leopard-spotted socks, and absolutely nothing else. No name, no card, no hint as to who had left it there. It was a nice surprise, though, and I was very happy to get it, and I amused myself by wondering who among my friends might have sent it.

The next day, another package appeared. Same place, same wrapping paper, same handwriting on the tag with my name. That one went under the Christmas tree, and was opened on Tuesday - two pairs of socks this time, one white with little stuffed cow heads at the ankle, the second navy blue with a pattern of cows woven into it.

Holiday gifts are a wonderful thing, and I started asking around among my friends. Noone admitted to knowing anything about the gift gnome, though, and I filed it under Holiday Spirit and figured it was a cute story.

Yesterday when I opened the front door to check our mailbox, another package was on the porch. This one.... I don't know quite how to describe the socks that were inside, other than it looks like my gift gnome has now skinned an entire blue and purple-striped muppet and made socks from its hide for me. I love them, and they also happened to come in quite handy last evening when the heat went out for a few hours.

Three hours after I came home, my husband also arrived home from work and called me from the base of the stairs to let me know that *another* package was now on the porch. The gift gnome had, in fact, managed to sneak a present to our front door while I was home, without my noticing. (This one was a pair of kitty-cat socks - wonderful, because my previous favorite pair of kitty-cat socks were lost in the move!)

I had ideas, at first, about who the Gift Gnome might be, but everyone I have asked has sworn innocence. At this point, I am left with three possibilities:
1) the gifts are being left by someone I haven't thought of
2) one of the friends I asked who denied involvement is lying quite skillfully - or -
3) the socks are a peace offering from the pixies, elves, or other small fey folk living in and around our house.

Whichever possibility is the true one, at this point I have decided to stop asking, and just revel in the delight of mystery, surprises, and the fact that my life is just this quirky and cool....