Bengaline fabric direct from Australia!

Imagine a country in a parallel universe I find Australia fascinating for reasons large and small.  We are in different hemispheres, which has blown my mind since grade school when I learned that the water swirls in different directions and our seasons are the opposite. We are on different sides of the globe, so while Aussies might reasonably travel to Hong Kong or Bali, we in the US might make it as far as Hawaii or Europe.  Heck, I never left the US until I was 45 years old, so understand that for me to have a provincial perspective would not be out of the question.

Bigger reasons to be fascinated by Australia have to do with the history and the way the social structures, the culture and the economy have evolved.  We have so much in common, but so much is different in the way our countries have evolved.  While Americans and Australians both have many citizens who originated in England, look at how differently we have evolved.  Isn't that a fascinating study in and of itself?  Of course, I could can ramble on about all the people in our respective countries who do NOT trace their ancestry to England (like me, for example).  There are a lot more worms in that can, eh?
My overall point is that until the internet came along, Australia was too far removed from my day-to-day life to think about.  Now, Australia and NZ seem like places I really should visit if I can fill the piggy bank adequately.

It's not just Australia.  The internet gives me the opportunity to meet people and make friends with folks  who didn't grow up the way I did, and I love that.  I just love it.

Globalization makes us all neighbors and it is pretty exciting to this member of the human race.

On to the important things!
Now this is what I'm talkin' about -
From the land down under come these goodies:



I am so glad I was home when the mailman came because it made my day!