pile o' books and other stuff too
As I have to take a huge amount of stuff to the post office anyway, I think it would be a good idea to ship off a pile o' books (or two) at the same time.
So this evening I'll be pulling the names of two people who entered the giveaway.
Also, don't forget to sign up for the newsletter (bottom right of the linked page) by the end of the month, at which time I'll pull the name of the next person to get a signed first edition of Queen of Swords.
In this household the adults have pretty much given up on holiday gifts. We constantly remind each other that we don't want anything at all -- and we both mean it. And then we continue to worry about what to get the other person.
We have never been big on surprise gifts, or really gifts of any kind. I would be truly horrified if I found a jewelry box waiting for me on Christmas morning. I know somebody who surprised her husband with a new car, something that would truly horrify the Mathematician. Finally I point out something I would have bought for myself anyway (this year? a new stockpot, as there was a Thanksgiving Disaster with my old one). I figure out exactly what I want after reading reviews and cooking websites, spent some time talking myself out of my first choice.
Because really, $1,800 for the All-Clad Copper Core 15-Piece Cookware Set? Overkill. And if we're going to talk big bucks (or go whole hog, as my father liked to say), I could get a brand spanking new top of the line 17" MacBook Pro for three grand, a gift that would make me forget about cooking alltogether. So I do the sensible thing, find a solid 16 quart stock pot that won't break the bank. I send the link to the Mathematician, and shortly it will be delivered.
The Mathematician does the same. He likes to do jigsaw puzzles when he's stressed by work, and not just any jigsaw puzzles. Here are two he's getting this year, each of the 5,000 pieces.
I grew up in a working class household where there wasn't a lot of cash. We would watch The Wonderful World of Disney on Sunday nights and see commercials for visiting Disney Land, and it never once occurred to us to ask if we could go. It would have been like asking for a trip to the moon, just out of the question. And I never resented that, it was just the way things were and it was a good life lesson, too. It's okay to ogle new laptops or cookware, and it's okay to walk away with a sigh. What I really need, I get, and that makes me far more fortunate than a lot of people.
We would watch The Wonderful World of Disney on Sunday nights and see commercials for visiting Disney Land, and it never once occurred to us to ask if we could go.
Us too. Our family got summer vacations camping up and down the East Coast, which is how we wound up moving to Maine. I really learned a lot -- almost as much as when I was in school -- from spending so much time around my parents.
Christmas was fun when I was a kid, but in the past 10 years I've really begun to dislike the whole shopping orgy, and now that SO and I have the house, we both have an excuse to avoid it. I am the mad gardener (close to 600 things planted in the past year), so "he" bought me gardening books and "I" bought him a boxed set of CDs (the BeeGees, o god!). Everybody else gets gift certificates or food.
(Interestingly, we just bought a "house present" -- a set of Le Creuset enameled cast iron cookware -- based on a recommendation by Marion Burros in the New York Times. Food cooks differently than on Teflon. And now I have the forearms of Popeye the Sailor ...)
Are there hidden pictures in that second puzzle? All I want for Christmas is for my kids to be healthy for the holidays. For totally selfish reasons of course ;P
Jigsaw puzzles! We love 'em.
I loved Disney on Sunday night, those were the simple days where my worse nightmare was...darn at the moment I can't think of one.
All I want for Christmas is my family, my guy's and my health and peace of mind.
I'm getting everyone gift certificates this year, first of all nobody tells me what they want until the last minute and some family members cannot be pleased at all, so it's the way to go, Best Buy for the Tech, Art Store for mom etc...
SO and I are saving up for our new life so we're not buying eachother anything this year (um at least I'm not buying ooops better think twice about that in case ???)
Wait, kids watch those commercials and ask to go to those places? I thought Disney World/Land was for adults, because my only interaction with the 'place' as a place consisted of my father going on a business trip and bringing me back a mouseketeer hat, which promptly went in the closet because I had no idea what to do with it. (We weren't raised on Snow White or Cinderella, either, but then, this was pre-DVD or even VHS days.)
Our idea of a vacation was seeing the relatives, but when one set of grandparents lives in the country and there's five acres and a horse next door -- and the other set lives a mile from the beach -- what's not to love? Grandparents, and cool stuff.
I'm in the boat with you. The only person I'll take jewelry from is my sister, and that's because she makes it herself. (Starving artist.) Most folks know better, since I don't wear it -- I even take my wedding ring off when I'm spending hours at the computer typing.
If you can't eat it, use it, read it, watch it, or wear it, I don't want it. If it must be dusted (worst of all), it will probably have been donated to Goodwill before you've even had a chance to come visit!
Not much adult present swapping here. A couple years ago A friend and I agreed, after stresssin on the "To get or not to get question" that we'd just get something for each others kids. Worked out great :) Kudos ta Disney for enriching so many childrens lives. Kids today have no idea, or appreciation for the entertainment value of movies,stories. What do children look forward to nowadays?(Not a retorical question, I'm guenuinely curious hehehe)
The art in the first puzzle reminds me of an artist whose calendar I bought one year, but for the life of me I can't remember his name. Do you happen to know it? I might like another calendar of his this year.
Anyway, I hear you on the not asking for expensive things. It wasn't our idea (my sister and I) but my parents' to finally go to Disney World. It was terrific. One of the best vacations we ever had. Of course, I'm all about the fairy tales and magical world type stuff so it was right up my alley.
Adult presents are hard. Gift certificates were poo-poo'ed at by Miss Manners in the past, but it is the bulk of my shopping this year. I finally broke away from my shamed feeling of giving them. Mainly because the people I'm giving them to requested them.