Gimme Your Update.

Those crazy knitters, they've gone to town with Gimme Your Stuff! Check out our ten thousand new knitting ambassadors. We've got bajillions of swaps in progress and a few waiting to be published when we get the (extremely interesting) photos from the parties involved.
Beauty products are crossing the ocean between the UK and the US, hats are being traded between Canada, Texas and France, candy is flying out of Japan like there's no tomorrow and worldly wools are are attacking post-offices and mail-houses world wide!

Extra cool thing alert: Now if you click on the flags in our Ambassadors List you'll be whisked away to Wikipedia where you'll be forced to learn about that country. For example, did you know that the Philippines was named after King Philip II of Spain? Fun AND Educational!

Welcome to our new ambassadors, and get those photos coming in, people!!

Texas & England Share the Lurve.

In England, dogs can read.

Two of our most discerning dogs (the other being a labrador who will eat anything) check out the latest parcel in the cultural exchange swap. Although somewhat concerned by the lack of official dog food, they consulted the texan recipe book and reckon that we ought to be able to provide a pretty good meal for them with the amazing collection of chilli sauces, meat rubs, marinades and jellies, just so long as we add a hefty amount of steak. They struggled a little with the newspapers as the flavour wasn't quite to their taste but the texan dictionary was brilliant and they now reckon they can chat up cheeky little texan canines with no trouble at all LOL!

A huge thank you to Lori for the most amazing parcel, it was like Mary Poppins' carpet bag ...... it just went on and on! As serious BBQers the sauces etc are very very welcome, in fact the other half fell upon them like a dying man in the desert on seeing an oasis!!

Gillie
http://posh-totty.typepad.com

A low profile while studying up on World Cup doings!

Gillie, a new friend of GimmeYourStuff, responded to a Texan's request for Things From England with a stylin' lil' hat, a t-shirt that leaves No Doubt as to where the shirt originated, a family pic (lovely family, I might add), some fine local reading material and...best of all...HOME-MADE strawberry jam! MMmmmm!!! This Texan is feeling veddy veddy English in her new togs, and hopes her new friend over the pond is having as much fun as she.

Lori
Chatoyance

FRENCH FANCY

Somewhere In Perth, Western Australia...

There's nothing to make yourself feel superior than a bit of FRENCH SUGAR BABY! (oh yeah) Je peux sentir cet amour français de sucre dans mon ventre!!! So good I can FEEL my teeth rot. So authentic I can almost feel the lice in my powdered wig!

There was unfortunately a lack of 'salted candy frog' in the package I received, so that shall remain a flavour enigma to me. Come the day of the revolution I shall die knowing that I have lived and spit my rotten teeth at the peasants just before the guillotine ends my days.

Tout le monde devrait commercer avec le Français. Ils sentent le mauvais, mais ils ont la sucrerie qui vous tuera

Viva le Dentist
Thomp
http://notafridge.blogspot.com

Meanwhile (thousands of miles away) in Lille, France...

Now the sun has come out, our little kooka friend is sitting on his new balcony in Lille, missing the sound of his bird mates... so as he enjoys the sun, he pretends he is not sitting in the middle of a city with hardly any trees, closes his eyes... and VOILA! He is transported back to his beautiful home. He opens his throat to sing along... GIMME YOUR STUFF has transported this fuzzy australian, pushbutton noise maker to an idyllic urban French scene. He says "g'day", and they say "Pourquoi cet oiseau de jouet me parle-t-il ?"

Emma
Read more at http://blog.benconservato.com

Gimme Your Best Pics

It's come to our attention here at Gimme that all of our swap photos are mighty boring... all we're seeing is piles of groceries! Where's the emotional human story? Where's the flair? Where's the general hilarity?!
From this moment on, we propose a competition: let's see who can give us the most interestingest/coolestest/funnerest/bestest photo of their Swap.
We want to see a Japanese Tea Ceremony with Texas Scream hot sauce... or you dressed as a giant hotdog offering the public free vegemite tastings as you walk around the streets of New York... or even just a shot of all your new goodies on the back of your pet pony. I know there are several swaps that'll be completed in the next week or so, so let's see what we can do!
Ohhh you want to know what the prize is? Well, um, a lifetime of good feelings? How about we'll make a big song and dance so all our readers will go and have a look at your site? Don't worry, we'll come up with something.

Japan / Texas Swap Complete!

The US West gets a little more Far East!



























Thanks to the kindness of a GimmeSwapper in Japan, Austin Texas is now much more kawaii as we enjoy cute socks and panda paper. The adzuki bean/matcha tea flavored Kit-Kats are minty fluorescent green and, uhm, may be an acquired taste, but the sushi cookbook and Amazon Sparkling Cola Candy rock!
We tip our cowgirl hat and offer a Western-style bow to our friends for broadening our horizons as well as our hips.
Lori
http://chatoyance.blogspot.com/

The Far East thanks the Wild West!


















As a fellow recipient of a package from Lori, I'm sure you can understand how floored I was by the sheer size of the box, not to mention all the great things inside. I already polished off a lot of the candy (conspicuously missing from the picture is the Moonpie, which was eaten upon opening the box) and featured the hot watermelon straws as the Japanese Candy Friday (Mexican Candy Edition) on my website. Quite a few of the foreigners in my town are from the Mexican-food-friendly states of California, Texas, Arizona and New Mexico, so I am planning on hosting a salsa party soon!

Anjali
http://www.giantjeansparlor.net

Check out more words and pics here and here.

Perth-ites Strike Back

If it's a share-off you want than a share-off you shall have, Lori!
I brought some Texan cookies in to work for a couple of the inmates to try...
James says 'Mmmmmmm.... sweet, sticky filling, fluffy marshmallow and a rumshus biscuity texture.....truly Texalicious.' James is a little slow.

Girls Gone Wild for Tim-Tams, or, Tim-Tam Slammin' Texas-Style

Perth shares Tim-Tams, unleashing Austin women.

We found takers for an Austin Texas Tim-Tam Slam, and the request went out for adult beverages -- these enterprising women were going to do it Texas style.
Hot coffee, a shot or three of something to add a kick, and it's Welcome To The Wild Wild West!

Austin sends slightly hung over thanks to Perth for sharing the Tim-Tam lurve! You can check out additional photos here.
Lori
http://chatoyance.blogspot.com/

South Australia/Texas Swap Complete!

More generosity from Australia!



Central Texas no longer has to live without South Australian treats and reading material.

In fact, we're ready and fully provisioned for a Tim-Tam versus Yo Yo taste test (er, except we ate all the Tim-Tams from Western Australia already, hint hint.)

Even more intriguing is the instance of marshmallow-cookie-sandwiches around the world. Texas has its Moon Pies and Little Debbie Marshmallow Pies, and Australia has its Wagon Wheels.

Are there other nations where marshmallow-filled cookies, excuse me, bikkies live?
GimmeSwappers need to know...
Lori
http://chatoyance.blogspot.com/

And what did South Australia get?


My life is now complete, that I have sat down reading The Austin Chronicle while eating snacks straight out of a Texan Supermarket. What I love most, day of the week cookies. Awesome. And the moon cakes, possibly the sweetest snack I have ever eaten.

Lovin this GimmeSwap.
Ainslie
http://ainslieliveshere.blogspot.com

Australia/Texas Swap Complete!

Australian Causes Texan to Doubt Photographic Ability.

Internet time? Nanoseconds.
Shipping time? Eons.
But it's all worth the wait for a good swap.





The awkward angles that ensue when a Texican tries to do The Tim-Tam Slam while taking a photo...

But waste no pity on that Texan, for lo, she has Ample Amounts of Tasty Goodies from Western Australia! And there is the promise of a real Tim-Tam Slam with other Texans later this week.

(How could she NOT share all this the GimmeSwap luv?)
Lori
http://chatoyance.blogspot.com

Western Australia Receives a Copious Bounty.


































I've repressed all evil spirits from my house thanks to the amazing Texan super-soap I've received, and I did it while chowing down on some yummy biscuits, reading the local Texan news and learning some nifty Texan recipes... AND I just happened to do it all whilst standing in front of a convenient Australian flag with my partner in crime.
The biscuits were great, I especially loved the random Texan kangaroo on the front of the pack! I also loved the block of drinking chocolate, though it doesn't taste very nice when you just eat a square.

A few notes on what i sent... Yup, it's not called Jell-o in Australia! That's some Aussie Passiona (brand of passionfruit flavoured drink) flavoured Jelly comin' atcha. The Anzac bikkies are from the Australia New Zealand Army Corps. Well, they're not FROM them cause they'd be moldy, they're in memory of the ANZACs back in Ye Olde Days. See, we're all learning useful information!

Thanks for the great swap Lori, I hope you have fun with the eucalyptus drops, they're just like chewin' on a real gumleaf.
Rikki
http://summeroliday.blogspot.com