One of the things that I don’t enjoy about shopping with Chuck is that he likes to window shop a lot more than I enjoy it. I prefer to prepare a list of what I need to buy, go to the store, get in, grab what I need to get, pay for it, and get out again. I don’t enjoy lingering and longing for things that I can’t have. The last time I went shopping with Chuck, he told me that he only needed to buy some new guitar picks, but he ended up spending over an hour “window shopping” at the store, checking out the new shipment of high end acoustic guitars. Yes, they are very nice, but they are also very expensive, and I’d rather not waste my time pining over things that I can’t afford to buy!
Trendy Jewelry
I don’t know about you, but I am a big fan of inexpensive and trendy jewelry. I love things like monogram rings, and flashy necklaces that have your name on it. One of the reasons, I think, that I like customized jewelry with my name or initials on it is because that makes it less likely for one of my friends or relatives to borrow it!
You may think that is a horrible thing to say, and I might actually feel guilty saying it, but, let me explain. Over the years, many of my friends, and relatives, have borrowed things of mine and never returned them. At some point in time, I sometimes ask for the item back, because I want to use it myself. The majority of the time, they have forgotten that they borrowed it from me, and deny having it! This has led to hurt feelings, and damaged relationships beyond repair, which is very sad.
So, now, I try to purchase inexpensive (but trendy) jewelry items to wear “out in public.” That way, when one of my friends or relatives admires it, I will thank them. If they ask me where I got it, and how much it cost, I will boast about what a bargain it was, that it cost less than a certain amount of money, and they usually lose interest in it after that!
You know, thinking about it, I could probably start wearing my “good” jewelry out in public again (it has been about six years) and deploy the same tactic – claiming that it is cheap costume jewelry, even if it isn’t!
Chocolate gift ideas
All of my friends adore chocolate. I’ve been letting my fingers do some shopping online and have seen some great gift ideas. I usually don’t eat sweets or much sugar at all, but every once in a while I get a craving for some chocolate. It’s a craving that usually strikes believe it or not, in the middle of the night. My mom is the same way. She keeps a chocolate bar in the drawer of her night stand and in the middle of the night, will break off a piece and eat it, then go back to bed. In fact, my oldest daughter is the same way. I think we get it from my mom!
Online I found some great gift packs to give my friends and family for Christmas. Usually my mom will always get a box of chocolate covered cherries from all of “us kids” (I have two brothers and three sisters), but she secretly gives most of them away, I found out. But we have been giving her boxes of them since we were young. It’s sort of a tradition. I like them, but only if they have the clear liquid in them, not the white kind.
My youngest daughter always asks for her stocking to be stuffed with chocolate. She loves the dark chocolate, so she’ll be set for sometime. I found a great sale on it and the chocolate mint is my favorite!
Bakers Twine
Have you ever heard of Baker’s Twine? Me neither. I have, for years, always kept some special twine in the kitchen that I used to tie the legs of poultry when I was roasting it. This twine is on a large cone, and I have had that twine so long that I don’t remember where (or exactly when) I bought it, and the label is long gone. But I do remember that when I got it that I had to go to a specialty place because I wanted to make sure that it was food-safe twine. I had read a recipe that called for using food-safe twine to tie the legs of poultry together, and that piqued my interest in finding it.
Before I purchased that particular twine, I never used any kind of twine when I was cooking, because I didn’t trust it to be food safe. This kitchen twine that I have now, I use it for everything that I need twine for – including bundling cardboard and newspapers together for recycling.
Last weekend I went to a birthday party, and saw that some of the gifts were tied with a very pretty, decorative twine. In the past I’ve seen gifts wrapped with yarn, but not this pretty twine before. I asked the people that had wrapped the gift “where did you find that pretty twine?” and they told me that they had found it online, and that it was called Bakers Twine. It didn’t take long for me to find a few websites that sell it! There are a lot of really pretty color combinations! I don’t know how I am going to choose which colors to buy!
Staying in Apartments While Travelling
My family originated in London, and I have always dreamed of visiting my relatives that still live there. For decades I have corresponded with some of them, even though I never met them face to face. Originally the correspondence started with U. S. Mail, and then eventually it went to email. Now some of them are even Facebook friends!
Apparently many of them live in the London area, and have offered to let me stay with them for a few days if I ever do go over to London. I think that is a very nice offer, but I think that I would rather stay in one of the many London Apartments that are available to rent on a short-term basis.
I don’t mean to sound snobbish, but I do remember when a few years ago I went to visit my son that was going to college in New Jersey, and I stayed with some relatives that I had never met before. I was on a very limited budget, and it was very nice of them to take me in. The problem was that they guest room was full of sketches that their very artistic daughter had done, and I found the sketches quite disturbing. And the relatives themselves insisted on feeding me supper both nights that I was there – and their food was awful! On top of that, they were drunk the entire time I was there!
When I recall that experience, staying in a neutral place when I travel, like the furnished London Apartments that are available, sounds better and better every time!
Mail order brides
Have you ever watched any television shows where the theme of the show revolved around mail order brides? I seem to remember a movie a long time ago called “Seven brides for Seven brothers” that revolved around that theme. I remember a Star Trek episode that was dedicated to the adventures of the crew that was transporting a man who was delivering mail order brides to his customers. Every now and then I watch a more recent television show that features the story line around russian brides. Usually the story is a murder-mystery type of show like Law and Order or Elementary.
When the more recent TV shows started to feature stories about mail order brides I have to admit that I was surprised to think that this type of match-making was actually really going on! I find myself wondering how many of these types of marriages become long and happy marriages, and how many of them end in a more unhappy way. I guess that as I gotten older, I’ve become more skeptical about other people’s motivations.
I don’t know how I would react if someone in my family told me that they were getting married to someone they had met online but had never actually spent face-to-face time with that person. I would be very concerned about how they will feel after a few months of reality. I would strongly encourage them to date for as long as possible, and maybe even get a pre-nuptial agreement before the marriage took place. But then that would be meddling, wouldn’t it? Oh dear…
Skin Care
Sometimes my friends and family tell me that they think I am crazy. Over the years I have tried several different Natural and Organic Skin Care and Makeup products, and when they come in a pretty jar, when the jar is empty, I wash and save the jar. (Yes, I am a packrat, but not a hoarder – yet! I actually DO throw some things away, and donate other things to charity organizations like GoodWill and local thrift stores like hospital auxiliary thrift stores!) I have a nice collection of pretty jars.
These jars don’t sit empty forever, though. I like to buy hand and body lotions that come in a pump-style plastic bottle. I like keeping them on the counter-tops beside the bathroom lavatory and the kitchen sink, and pump some lotion on my hands (and rub the lotion on my throat, neck and elbows) after I wash my hands. The lotions that I use are so thick that once the level of the lotion gets too low to pump out, turning the bottle upside down to drain into another bottle does not work.
Rather than throwing out the remaining lotion (there is often more than 1/3 cup of lotion left!) I will take a very sharp kitchen knife and cut the plastic bottle open. Then I use a spatula to scoop out the remaining lotion and deposit it into one of the pretty, empty jars that I had saved. Then I will use that lotion from the jars until that runs out before putting a fresh plastic pump bottle on the counter-top! I like how this saves money and reduces waste of product!
Picnic and Fireworks
Independence Day is one of my favorite holidays because the family always goes down to the elementary school for the town celebration. The fire department sells grilled chicken dinner with potato chips, corn on the cob and cole slaw, there are several local bands playing music to provide entertainment, and when it gets dark the fire department sets off a pretty decent fireworks show. We get to see some of our friends that we haven’t seen in a while, spread a blanket out on the lawn and enjoy the nice weather.
Looking for a You Tube review
I don’t know about you, but I’ve learned to rely on YouTube for product reviews on several things. Music instruments, for example. I will watch several YouTube videos about a product before deciding whether or not a product might be worth purchasing. Often the video demonstrates the product. So when Bob was telling me that he was thinking about buying a squier acoustic guitar for Jason, I went to YouTube to check out the reviews on the guitar. The only YouTube video I could find about that exact guitar was in Spanish. That was disappointing to me. The title of the video was in English, so I was expecting the guy doing the review to be speaking English.
Oyster shell crafts
I love doing crafts when I have spare time. My crafts are diverse and seldom do I make the same thing twice. I come up with an idea and then I’ll make it, and after I make one, I don’t make another. I think I do this just to see if I can make my idea work and then when I do, I move onto something else.
My dear friend Rhonda sent me a box of oyster shells that are really unique. They are a whole lot different than clam shells…a much rougher texture. Inside, they look like there is abalone in them, so some of the colors are beautiful.
Now, I have to figure out what to make with them. I keep looking at them and I have a feeling I’m going to come up with something soon. I am tossing a few ideas around in my head that might work. It would be nice to send Rhonda a gift made out of them.