Animals
by alasand
I loved Mother Crone's, Gift Receiving Etiquette(or how not to swear at the relatives), so I decided to share my pet peeve, gift cards. I am not sure why people think gift cards are superior to cash, at least with the cash I get to DECIDE what store to go to and what to buy. With a gift card I am stuck shopping at the store of the gift givers choice. Most gift cards also have an expiration date so I am stuck shopping when I don't want to. To add insult to injury the gift card and the gift never come to the same amount, so there is either money left over on the gift card that goes to waste or I have to make up the difference out of my pocket. Is it really a gift if I pay the majority of the price?
The most annoying gift card giver gives the same gift every year. A gift card to Bookstore X. Bookstore X is located a convenient 10 minutes from her home. She doesn't seem to care that I do not have a Bookstore X in the city I live in. That I detest Bookstore X, and would much rather shop at Bookstore Y which is 30 minutes from my home and a convenient 5 minutes from the soccer fields my son has soccer practice at. Nope every year I am faced with the same dilemma, toss the gift card to Bookstore X, try to get by Bookstore X while we are in town for Christmas to visit the relatives, or make a 1 1/2 hour drive in horrible traffic to the nearest Bookstore X. Why couldn't she just give me and the kids cash? If she really wants us to have a book from Bookstore X why can't she call or email and find out what book/books we want? So I'll take a page from Scrooges book and say bah humbug to gift cards everywhere and the annoying people who give them. Especially when the same annoying person that gives me and the kids $20 gift cards expects a $300+ present in return and expects us to go to the trouble of hauling it to them. Which means I either have to ride in very cramped quarters so my stuff can be in the cab of the truck or my stuff (including the presents I bought for my parents) gets dumped in the back of the truck at the mercy of the elements when it's drizzling rain, because her gift won't fit in the trunk of my car. And they wonder why I am not a happy camper.
- Tsarina Tuesday ~artemisia
We interrupt our regularly scheduled post to bring you some REALLY exciting news. Most of you know our friend Baby Patches she blogs at Confessions of the Plume and helps her Mom run a store, Nip & Bones with all sorts of stuff for cats and dogs....
- Happy Birthday Hansel
We wants to wish our friend Hansel a Happy Birthday!!!!! He is having a birthday bash at his place. He sent us home with this lovely gift basket. It's huge the basket can double as a bed once you get all the yummy and fun to play with stuff out. ...
- Just When I Think People Can't Get Any Stupider
One would think that a Christmas wreath with a peace sign displayed on a homeowners home wouldn't provoke criticism but.................Neighbors incensed by peace-sign wreath proved that supposition wrong. Then there is Scott Korb and Leon Morris's...
- A Christmas Hack
It's that time of year. You know, the time when you make a mad scramble to find the perfect gift for all those perfect people in your life. As if there isn't enough pressure with Christmas being December 25th, my Mother's birthday is December...
- Lawnmower Contemplations
The photos and the prose in this post will go togetherabout as well as the two words in today's title.(Google "lawnmower contemplations" and you will find nothing!) You see, lawn mowing, as with most farm chores, is relatively mindless.It is during...
Animals
Why Christmas isn't Merry
by alasand
I loved Mother Crone's, Gift Receiving Etiquette(or how not to swear at the relatives), so I decided to share my pet peeve, gift cards. I am not sure why people think gift cards are superior to cash, at least with the cash I get to DECIDE what store to go to and what to buy. With a gift card I am stuck shopping at the store of the gift givers choice. Most gift cards also have an expiration date so I am stuck shopping when I don't want to. To add insult to injury the gift card and the gift never come to the same amount, so there is either money left over on the gift card that goes to waste or I have to make up the difference out of my pocket. Is it really a gift if I pay the majority of the price?
The most annoying gift card giver gives the same gift every year. A gift card to Bookstore X. Bookstore X is located a convenient 10 minutes from her home. She doesn't seem to care that I do not have a Bookstore X in the city I live in. That I detest Bookstore X, and would much rather shop at Bookstore Y which is 30 minutes from my home and a convenient 5 minutes from the soccer fields my son has soccer practice at. Nope every year I am faced with the same dilemma, toss the gift card to Bookstore X, try to get by Bookstore X while we are in town for Christmas to visit the relatives, or make a 1 1/2 hour drive in horrible traffic to the nearest Bookstore X. Why couldn't she just give me and the kids cash? If she really wants us to have a book from Bookstore X why can't she call or email and find out what book/books we want? So I'll take a page from Scrooges book and say bah humbug to gift cards everywhere and the annoying people who give them. Especially when the same annoying person that gives me and the kids $20 gift cards expects a $300+ present in return and expects us to go to the trouble of hauling it to them. Which means I either have to ride in very cramped quarters so my stuff can be in the cab of the truck or my stuff (including the presents I bought for my parents) gets dumped in the back of the truck at the mercy of the elements when it's drizzling rain, because her gift won't fit in the trunk of my car. And they wonder why I am not a happy camper.
Don't get me wrong, except for minor annoyances like the above and Hubby having to go fix busted water pipes the next day (They just had to tell him about them Christmas, although they had been busted for awhile. They had also conveniently gotten the wrong stuff for Hubby to fix it with, heaven knows how much Hubby paid to get the right stuff to fix it.), when we could have been spending quality time together, I did have a nice time. I got to visit with my parents the next day while Hubby was fixing broken water pipes, we got a chance to visit some of our friends, and we did manage to make it by Bookstore X so me and the kids could pick out some books. But boy am I glad Christmas only comes once a year.
- Tsarina Tuesday ~artemisia
We interrupt our regularly scheduled post to bring you some REALLY exciting news. Most of you know our friend Baby Patches she blogs at Confessions of the Plume and helps her Mom run a store, Nip & Bones with all sorts of stuff for cats and dogs....
- Happy Birthday Hansel
We wants to wish our friend Hansel a Happy Birthday!!!!! He is having a birthday bash at his place. He sent us home with this lovely gift basket. It's huge the basket can double as a bed once you get all the yummy and fun to play with stuff out. ...
- Just When I Think People Can't Get Any Stupider
One would think that a Christmas wreath with a peace sign displayed on a homeowners home wouldn't provoke criticism but.................Neighbors incensed by peace-sign wreath proved that supposition wrong. Then there is Scott Korb and Leon Morris's...
- A Christmas Hack
It's that time of year. You know, the time when you make a mad scramble to find the perfect gift for all those perfect people in your life. As if there isn't enough pressure with Christmas being December 25th, my Mother's birthday is December...
- Lawnmower Contemplations
The photos and the prose in this post will go togetherabout as well as the two words in today's title.(Google "lawnmower contemplations" and you will find nothing!) You see, lawn mowing, as with most farm chores, is relatively mindless.It is during...