Monday, March 11, 2013

Giftings

One thing that's been on my mind of late is that there are three people -family and/or friend -who have birthdays in the next month and I've been trying to come up with some ideas for a good birthday present for each of them.

The end of this month, my good friend and neighbor and her husband will each celebrate another year. Her birthday is March 31st and his is April 1st. I always try to remember to get each of them a card and also, some little present for her. I was thinking about what my good friend here gave me for my birthday a few months ago -a nice big bag of good soft and smooth Rye flour (so I can make the Swedish Rye bread that my family and I so love) and also, she got me a glass mug that has on it etched a Native American's head with a Warrior headpiece and also has the name of the high school we attended as well as the year of our graduation too! A couple of really cool gifts, ya know. (Too bad we couldn't have given mugs like those out at our high school class reunion we had about 5 weeks earlier as promotional drinkware like that would have been super cool had we been able to afford some gift like that for our classmates, don't 'cha think?

After those birthdays, the next in line -on April 6th -is my older daughter's big day. We won't go into how old she will be then, just suffice it to say that receiving mailings from AARP is coming up sooner than she thinks!

What to get and give to her is a bit problematic though. I rarely, if ever, buy clothes for her anymore because although I could probably have no difficulty finding a pair of slacks she would like but the size -that's a problem area with her. Both my girls happen to be tall -the younger one is only 5'7 1/2 but the older daughter is about 5'9" and they are both extremely picky about slacks, especially jeans, as they have a terrible time finding things that fit the way they like them to fit -and especially so with the length! Sweaters -once in a blue moon I might find a sweater in a color AND style the older one would like but that too is something difficult to do as she can be more than a bit picky about things like that too!

However, the last couple of years, since I got myself hooked on embroidery work, it seems I have found something there that she actually likes -hand embroidered pieces, especially table toppers and/or tablecloths -both seem to make her very happy.

However, this year I've been a bit lax on the embroidery stuff and don't have anything in mind there that is completed right now to give her.

But, I did find a nice little picture kit -with a nice reading on it about daughters -that, if I get my butt in gear I think I could manage to get it finished and hopefully, it will turn out nicely enough that I can also then frame it and give her that for her birthday. At least, that's my game plan at this point in time!

The last April birthday is my grandson -Kurtis -who will be 7 years old on April 13th!

I do have a present for him already though so don't have to worry about shopping for something. However, I found out -via that present -that apparently Kurtis has inherited the "snoopy" factor that his mother as well as his aunt always had when it came to birthday or Christmas gifts!

I thought I was being really slick when I found this nice little radio controlled car -a Corvette, no less -and in fire engine red too and bought it. Brought it home and figured if I put it on a shelf in a closet, Maya will spy it and will ask questions about it -in front of Kurtis -and poof, there goes my nice surprise for him. So, I decided I would hide it under my bed, behind a bag of yarn I have stashed there and my "under-the-bed" storage container for my shoes.

About a week ago though, one night as I was sitting in my recliner, knitting away some baby booties for Little Lola, my now 5-week-old great-granddaughter, here comes Kurtis into me and what is he holding in his hot little hands? Damn! A bright red radio controlled corvette! And he's asking me what this was doing under my bed too!

Poor Kurtis! I turned the table on him and asked him just what was he doing messing around and looking under my bed! And I said this to him in the gruffest tone of voice possible, with my eyes glaring so hard at him too that the poor kid was shaking in his boots then! I reminded him then too that I had given him permission to be in my room ONLY to watch the tv  there and that he was not allowed to be monkeying around, snooping into things on top of my chests or dresser and definitely not nosing around into anything lurking under my bed either!

The little lips began to quiver and his eyes welled up with tears and the wailing began -not because he got a tap or a smack, but simply because Gram had yelled at him! Yeah, he folds up like an accordion as soon as you start to give him "what for" ya know and the wailing is loud enough too that the whole neighborhood can probably hear hm bawling his little eyes and heart out!

Finally, after I told him he had to put that box right back where he found it, with no more screaming and crying too, and he calmed down, headed back to my room.

However, as he started to go back into my room and put the car in the box back under my bed, he apparently had an after thought then as he turned around, stuck his head around the corner of the door, and pointing at me, he said "Ha ha, Gram! You have a boy's toy under your bed!"

Kids! Never know what the heck they're gonna get into  and sure can never figure what they're gonna say about that too!

But, you still have to love 'em anyway, don't 'cha?

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