Mrs. L.A. gave me a new pair of zoriis (which is nice, because I’d been thinking of getting a new pair), a nice pair of knit gloves, Robin Williams Live At The Met DVD, a SweeTart ornament with two miniature rolls of SweeTarts inside, a bottle of Fendi Uomo cologne, and – and I’m wearing them now – a pair of black PJ bottoms with skulls wearing Santa hats on it.
She got a couple of boxes of candy, a T-shirt I sneakily bought when we were at The 94th Aero Squadron, a Zippo lighter with a red-and-white floral design, and a large bottle of Fendi Eau de Parfum.
Funny story about the perfume. It’s hellishly expensive because they don’t make it anymore. (Mrs. L.A. used to get it at the dollar store for a double sawbuck. It’s more than ten times that now.) A couple of months ago she bought some Fendi Eau de Toilette off of eBay. When it came, she said it was not the right stuff. Meanwhile, her full, large, vintage bottle of the scent was hidden safely away. All this time I was thinking, 'Oh, no! What if I got the wrong stuff? :eek: ’ I did sniff it before I wrapped it, and was reassured that it smelled like the perfume I got her years ago. And I did get the right stuff. :whew: She really, really likes it.
No clue yet, a couple more hours or so until gift exchange. However I’m sure it’s mostly stuff I’ll end up tossing at some point, usually is, T shirts that are too small or not my style, cologne I won’t like or wear, soaps and lotions that dry my skin, cheap knockoff tools or items that have no use…etc. Usually if I ask for what I actually want, I’ll either get the cheapest possible version of it or not at all so I eventually learned to stop telling people what I want which helps because I get more gift cards each year…now if only I can get a gift card for someplace I actually shop or like to eat at.
My best fiend sent me a Dark Star DVD. I already have it, of course… But this one has three hours of extras on it! Can’t wait do dig into it. My friend’s wife send Mrs. L.A. a choker and ear rings that she made. My boss gave us a box of Whitman’s chocolates and a bottle of Beringer Cabernet Sauvignon. We’ll have the wine with dinner.
We gave ourselves two additional remotes for our Sonos system and an iMac 27 this month (we don’t exchange gifts on Christmas). I was at True Value yesterday for bird seed and spotted a Dremel 3000 set on sale for $49 plus another instant coupon for another $10 off. They sell for about $85, so I couldn’t pass it up.
Chefguy, you might appreciate this. I gave me afore-mentioned friends a pair of Calphalon Contemporary non-stick pans and lids. I love mine. My friend’s wife likes to cook, so she went wild over them. They opened the box when it arrived last week (the lids arrived first, and they were a little confused) and my friend’s wife said she’d already thrown away her old pans.
I bought a set of those some years ago. The smaller one got scratched up and I tossed it. The other one has given good service, but is starting to show some wear. I may have to order a new set, as I use that pan a lot.
Mrs. L.A. burned the bottom of the smaller one. I put it out by the street and someone took it. The larger one is holding up well, but it is also showing some wear. I bought a new set, and use the smaller new pan all the time (for escargots tonight). I’ll keep using the larger old pan as long as it holds up for asparagus, mushrooms, and onions tonight).
We are currently on the ‘skip Christmas and have adventure holiday, every other year’ plan. After a month in Cambodia, (Yay, Angkor Wat!), we’re now in Thailand and headed to a lovely off shore island tomorrow.
It’s still Christmas though, so we went to an unexpected sprung up, open air clothing market where I found two sweet dresses, a pair of shorts, and a pair of pants. All wonderful, total cost $25! Then we found a lovely restaurant for a wonderful dinner.
My health is being a titch dodgy, so sometime was spent lying about feeling crap, but besides that, it was a wonderful Christmas.
I was out on the street in the very early morning, as the monks were making their rounds. I stepped aside so they could pass, as they did, one looked right at me and wished me “Merry Christmas!” I was so caught off guard he had to say it twice so I cottoned on to what he was saying, wherein I broke out a great big smile and returned the greeting. Between that and a fabulous full moon, it was an awesome Christmas in my book.
(Plus, I got to send my Merry Christmas’s out well before everybody back home so that was kinda fun too!)
I got my husband nothing. He got me nothing. We’re both fine with that.
My coworker gave me an awesome gift. At our holiday party I ordered a Sea Breeze, and no one at my table had ever heard of it. I explained to everyone what it was (vodka, cranberry juice and grapefruit juice) and told them about its cousin the Bay Breeze (vodka, cranberry juice and pineapple juice). Co-worker gave me a small bottle of cranberry juice, small bottle of grapefruit juice, small bottle of vodka, and a plastic martini glass! I loved it!
My wife got me the LEGO Simpsons house. It’s awesome. It includes the station wagon and the whole family plus Ned Flanders (no Grampa, though).
She wanted an iPad so I got her an iPad.
Got a compound miter saw from my parents. When we had some carpenters out to work on our deck, I asked them what the single most useful tool was that they used and they both immediately agreed it was the miter saw.
