Oooo! I love mysteries! I'm not much into the suspense, though. So, work with me here... ;)

yay. You are back and with a SPF post no less. I am intrigued by the future? Going to China?

I love the idea of the box to keep good things in.

So...you're being teabagged in the present?

Bad Biscuit...Very Bad Dog!

mysteeeriouuuussssss.

I love the idea of your keeping box. :)

I played, too.

Speculation on the future: Susie therapy dolls? Squeeze them when you need reassurance?

Potential phrases:

"Can it, I'm trying to blog here."

"Just say no to the fez."

"Your insecurity stems from listening to crap music."

and

"As long as you've got booty flies, it'll all work out in the end."

Oh man would biscuit get his tea destroying groove on here, Nick has a thing about tea and he collets them pretty much, we have I think like 9 different varieties or so. He got one that had some catnip in it once, it was supposed to be a nighttime relaxing tea, well the cats got one whiff and pulled the box out of the cabinet and tore it up... I will have to go share the horror of the tea destruction with him...

When I first saw the mystery photo I thought, "Susie's going to get a double chin?"

My guess is a trip to Asia, to pick up some more tea in China.

Just be glad the VBD didn't rip open the teabags. Then you'd really have a mess!

I'd go with the trip to China.
I keep a box like that too... although I don't look in it much, I probably should.

Why do I always smile when I am called 'princess'?? I wish I knew.

anyway...HIGH FIVE on they Mysterious part. I totally DON'T get it and I love that I don't because it will keep me guessing.

I love your 'keeping' box for all your stuff...I have one, it's THE WHOLE HOUSE! I wish I could just decide to throw some stuff away so I can have a small box of just little things.

HELP!!

Oh my gosh, are you adopting a baby from China??

Or, yeah, now that I read the other comments, maybe just a *trip* to China.

I don't jump the gun or anything. No siree, not me.

BUT ARE YOU???!!!

Sharkey, you made me spit tea on the monitor with your remark about getting tea from China.

Susie, your keeping box looks so nice and is much more organized than the cupboard where my special stuff is collected. I do have dates on some things, so that helps.

Sadly, I did not play SPF yet again. I really need to get back into the routine, but regular times keep moving up to the front of importance.

CK, work with YOU? No, you work with ME!

william, hmmm, going to China would be big. Of course you need a keeping box; and Maxfield needs his own, too :)

bucky, that's about the size of it (I don't know what that means, but I'm going with it;)

diana, welcome! I like how you say "mysterious" ;)

eud, an excellent idea, I must look into this...

JR, I like the fancy teas, too; so far, Biscuit has only taken offense at plain ol' Lipton. I don't know.

sharkey, oh honey, I would not have far to go for chin #2, in fact, in certain postures, I can make that happen now! You are funny. All the tea in China.

twixie, sure, you should look in your box; it's good for you.

kristine, probably for the same reason I always smile when you say that you smiled because I called you Princess :) You crack me up; the whole house is your keeping box. Me, too; I have a box within a box.

misfit, simma down, now. You? Jump the gun? You excitable girl, you.

mrsDoF the good thing about blogging assignments is that we can do them or not do them as the spirit (and the clock) move us. Just jump back in some time. I haven't done it in a while, even though there have been some fun and interesting assignments, lately.

I LOVE surprises! I like Misfit's idea (adopting a baby from China) BUT if that's not it, then I guess you're going to start doing embroidery and bead work (in your "spare" (ha!) time)

Where can I get a box like that. It's spiffy.

You bought or made a reborn doll? I just learned the existence of such dolls on eBay just today.

Either that or you're taking belly dancing classes.

I'm going to dissolve into a heap of crumpled Bucky if one more person says "you need to look at your box" or "I want a box like that"

I love your keeping box it's beautiful! Great pics! I played too. Stacie

My guess was the same as william's. I'll admit that surprises drive me NUTS. The suspense is killing me, Susie!

soozieq, beadwork and embroidery...hmmm, that could be big...

crayoneater, I'm trying to remember where I got the box; I'm thinking "Home Goods," or some store like that, some years back. I don't know about reborn dolls, but I'll try to find out. I do love dolls, and I have always wanted to learn to belly dance. I mean, my belly dances anyway, but I'd like for it to have some actual "moves," you know?

bucky, what is your problem? Just because people are coming from all over to admire my box and wish they had it? Hmmm? LOOK AT IT! The worst thing you can do is try to ignore it!!!! heeheee (I kill myself.)

stacie thanks, I'll come and visit :)

kalki, william's guess is not a bad one; don't be dying of suspense. All will be revealed in due time, my little pretty :)

Going to China to adopt a double-chinned china doll that embroiders and wants to be "real", tells lies, and instead of its nose growing, your box gets bigger which makes Bucky squeal like a schoolgirl and send emergency supplies of shrinking cream.

Am I close?

Ooh...you tease! :)

Eclectic's story sounds like a movie.


and as ususal Bucky cracks me up.

ok now I'm going with the Big, Big. ...could it be Belly as in Baby......the keeping box is a really cool idea....i think i will pass it on to my granddaughter...

eclectic, wow, you must be psycho, er, I mean psychic...

zuphchic, yea, sometimes ;)

william, yep, on both counts.

judyp, you're making me laugh and cry with the big belly. No, let's go with cry :o

razdreams, well, you got the lucky/blessed part right, I have much for which to be thankful. However, you get no points from me for the Rolling Stones. Short version: when I was 17 or 18, I scraped together my fast-food job money to go see their "farewell tour." They came on stage late and didn't do an encore. Haven't listened to them since.

I love your keeping box, it's beautiful. What a great thought to put stuff in there that makes you feel good and pull it out when you need to. As for the future, my first thought before reading the comments was adoption from China. I see others thought the same thing. So how long do we have to wait before we find out what it means?

Oh man, I'm going all Bucky here. People talking about putting stuff in your box that makes you feel good and taking it out when you want... AAAARRRGGGHHHH!

dgtday Dog today? I think Biscuit is telling you that Lipton's tea is too low grade for you. Stick with the fancy stuff.

Well I messed up that word verification so now it's chxemag. Checks a magazine?

OK, um, you are gonna make doll clothes?

You are going to learn how to be a geisha?

You are going to paint really creepy faces on dolls?

Tell US.

sassyfemme, perhaps I shouldn't have teased everyone, it's just that I couldn't think about the future without thinking of this particular occurrence, yet I am not yet ready to reveal specifics. It definitely won't be before the end of 2005, beyond that, I'm not sure. There are some very good guesses here; that's all I'll say for now.

squirl, if Biscuit "floored" my more expensive teas, which aren't wrapped in little paper things like Lipton, he'd be in serious trouble. Wonder if he realizes that?

sfg, why, pray tell, if I were going to paint faces, would I paint REALLY CREEPY faces? I'd never do that!

Are you going to provide a hint about this mystery? I’m the kind of guy who sometimes flips to the last chapter of a suspense novel.

No fair keeping secrets!

If you're going to China, or adopting a baby, you'd better close out some of those case files.

Oh... nice box!

I just came back to read comments and saw the word verification. It seems fitting for Susie's site.

upgodh Up with God!

ssnick, you can't flip me! No more hints for a while.

sierrabella, ohgosh, I am SO far behind in paperwork! But you're right, WHATEVER mysterious adventure I have planned, I have to close some cases :)

squirl, I like that! Up with God, indeed.

Hey! I see my name bein' taken in vain here. How did I get to be the class pervert?

Oh, wait. I remember now.

Carry on...

IS it something about China? You can't just post something like that and not TELL! Especially ME, especially if it IS something about China!

My first thought was the adoption thing too. Which I could see why if you wanted to not tell too far in advance. But...then...why post such a hint????

I'm going crazy here.

The keeping box idea is absolutely wonderful! Especially when you are having a bad day, I am sure it is wonderful to open up your box and feel good - okay, that totally came out wrong.

As for the doll in the geisha dress and what appears to be a russian hat, I have not a clue. I love mysteries, but this one is tough!

bucky, yea, there's one mystery solved :0

andrea, see this here blog post? That IS mentioning it to you! I'll talk to you more LATER, I am sure you can help me with some things and stuff. Why post such a hint, indeed? Was it just to drive you crazy? Well, that IS what I do; I drive people crazy and then make them pay me to help them not be crazy anymore. But, no in this case, I don't want you to be crazy. Just stop going crazy, right this minute ;)

hey katiebbaw! Yes, it was more difficult and entertaining for folks to talk about my box than I had anticipated (thanks in large part to the class pervert) ;) This mystery will remain a mystery for a bit longer.

You really don't need to employ cliff hangers to get people to come back to your blog.

The suspence is slaying meeeeeee!

mrtl, thanks; from your lips to God's ears :)

kranki, I almost regret posting this because I think I might be very annoying to some people. I hadn't considered that; I'm not one of those "need to solve the riddle" folks; but I do know that most people are! I hope everyone will forgive me. I'm not going to be teasing for months; I won't mention it again until I'm ready to tell all.