There wasn't a gift I received that I liked less than 100%. I must've been on Santa's good list.
There were two gifts, however, that were very unique, creative, or unusual. One was a note saying the givers would pay for me to get my carpets cleaned. After 16 1/2 years in the house, with nothing more than infrequent vacuuming and a rented steam cleaner a couple times, I thought that was a useful, imaginative gift that I'd never have thought of for myself.
The other gift was homemade cocoa bombs. Until a couple weeks ago I'd never heard of cocoa bombs, and now I have over a dozen that are homemade. 4 each of 4 different flavors; the chocolate orange is heavenly! They require the milk to be almost to the boiling point in order to melt the chocolate, and even though I was standing right there, the milk burst up like a volcano with no warning and made a mess all over my stove! The next time I'll use a deep saucepan and just scoop the milk out rather than heating it in a normal-sized saucepan.
What thoughtful and/or creative gifts did you receive?
My wife got the best present. She asked for donations to Tunnel to Towers (t2t.org) instead of a gift. She has seen the commercials for T2T and has said she could picture herself as one of those women. When I went to war, I left her in the middle of Kansas, 1,400 miles from her nearest relative with two small children and pregnant with our third. She says luckily I came home but for those families, life changed forever.
ReplyDeleteWe've donated monthly ever since she learned of the foundation. This Christmas, our kids donated $500 in her name and it made her openly cry.
May I suggest that if anyone has money they wish to donate, Tunnel to Towers is a worthy organization.
Hi Darren,
ReplyDeleteLast year was my year to make chocolate bombs as gifts. The best way I found to enjoy a chocolate bomb is by using a teapot. Drop the bomb in the teapot and pour scaling milk in the teapot. If you want to have Dutch Hot Chocolate add a bit of rum to it. It is a guaranteed not to make a mess.
Do yourself and your carpet a favor. After you have it professionally cleaned (for the benefit of the crew who will be ripping it out), start looking for new flooring (LVP or wood). After 16 ½ years the carpet is either dead or on life support. Imagine the “gunk” which is living in the pad below the carpet. Think of a carpet as a sweater on the floor being trampled on over the years. Next Christmas, give yourself the gift of new flooring.
My favorite gifts turn out to be the gift of patience. Tickets to Chris Botti (in May), a cruise to Alaska (at the end of April). Which I hope I will have enough self-control to take Clive Cussler’s “The Saboteurs” with me. I think ending my literary relationship with Clive should be done on a cruise with a glass of wine to celebrate the life of a legendary man.
Enjoy the New Year and keep blogging!
Lis
Why replace the carpets so soon after getting them cleaned?!
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed Cussler's original Dirk Pitt series. When he added the unknown children, I stopped. Years later I started The Oregon Files and just love it! New book, Marauder, came out after Cussler's death, which means it was either in the works or his co-writer and he had an arrangement.
Within a year is not “so soon”. You are investing in your health. Think of a carpet like a sweater. If you walked on a sweater for 16.5 years, would you like to use it. The pad is probably beyond dead. Carpets have relatively short lifespans (10-20 years). Hardwoods or LVT would be your best options financially and for your health. Toss in area rugs and you could start blogging for HGTV 😉
ReplyDeleteI loved the Oregon Files. Not just because the books were good reads, but my son and I would listen to them on vacations. I give “Juan Cabrillo” a huge amount of credit for keeping the communication lines open during the adolescent years. The Cussler Museum is on my bucket list.
Enjoy the New Year!
Lis
My husband went back to the Grapefest at Grapevine and bought me some beautiful spiky turquoise earrings I had admired in October. He knows I collect earrings made by craftsmen in places we have visited and these are spectacular! I bought him a wireless neck massager that operates using his phone. But the best gift of all was having all my kids and grandkids at the house for Christmas Even. To watch our 11 year old grandson going up and choosing to play with his ten month old cousin was just a golden moment. He picked out a present for her first Christmas and she was delighted with him and it. It was a good day.
ReplyDelete