Ah memories...I shall certainly reflect on those for Annie's blog! But Christmas is about more! It's also about PRESSIES!!! I shall be the (slightly avaricious?) counterpoint to Annie's lovely memories blog and say that I also want to know what brilliant presents everyone got!
Now, ladies' I want no schmaltzy "the look in my grandson's eyes when..." entries - keep those for the memories blog! I'm talking great stuff that made you gasp, jump, well up, howl or snort your Buck's Fizz halfway across the room when you ripped off that paper...
There's a serious side too, of course. I know we all wanted a present not in our families' abilities, that guarantee of future healing and health. So, I suspect there are some lovely creative and thoughtful present ideas that they thought up to show how much they love us which will surprise and touch. This year I also saw my family get more creative, smarter with money and cannier than ever before with gifts - and the world changed in terms of online shopping trends starting to dominate - so I bet we all got some great innovative things we'd each enjoy hearing about!
Scale is irrelevant when it comes to impact, isn't it? It applies to the chicken for some family, who already coped with something immense and life changing, as much as to that one conversation with a doctor, and the milestones like operations that come after. A perfect way to reflect that in a gift, Charlie's clever husband
That's such a brilliant present. Seems to me the true spirit of Christmas. I just hope the family look after the chicken so it produces many eggs for them.
Hi Sue,
Among my lovely pressies was a diamond ring off Tony aaawwww!! I had super pair of "fitflop" black suede boots off my daughter ( mind I have to break my foot to get them on and off (that's another story haha) but once they are on they are so comfy, just need three people to assist (easy-peasy) LoL I am sure it they will get easier after I have worn them in, lots of love x G x
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Mustn't joke about fractures, my granddaughter broke her arm 6wks ago when her ever helpful brother was pulling off her riding boots. Not thinking to sit down while this operation was taking place she lost her balance and fell over. She is only 8 so I don't suppose it entered her head to sit down. All mended now x
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What a catastrophe (don't you just love the way the iPad spells for you?) it is so easily done though (breaking things I mean) children heal fast as well.
Love x G x
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You get diamonds AND sexy boots? You know how to make a PR chick jealous!
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When I had a recurrance last year my daughter wanted me to have a ring for my birthday, (I like sparkle) anyway both her and my husband persuaded me to have one (even though my prognosis was bad) they said I would enjoy looking at it and because my fingers are swollen it would be good to get a ring in a bigger size... anyway I felt it was a waste of money, but do you know what? they were right I do have pleasure looking at it....so last birthday he got me another ring and now another ring for Christmas..I don't wear them all at once (but ring the changes haha excuse the pun LoL) but I am truly not bothered about presents,it does give Tony pleasure, it is his way of hanging on to me, I watch him sometimes look at me when he doesn't think I am looking and the sadness is overwhelming, this dreadful disease is very hard for our loved ones isn't it ? Oh well enough of this maudling.
Well back to your blog...you are right of course pressies are great..sometimes it is good to get practical presents,I needed slippers and this morning I bought a pair online (thinking I didn't get any) ten minutes later a young friend came with slippers for me (so I wish I'd waited) and another young friend came this evening with pies she had baked special and some home made chocolate so my Christmas continues haha I had a CD that a very talented musical family had just brought out this year, so I felt special that they had given one to me.
There are such a lot of thoughtful presents that mean a lot... love x G x
Presents such as pies or a CD produced by your talented family are really lovely aren't they. I've always loved the home-made presents of chutney, piccalilly and home-made sloe gin. Sadly as the families have become more affluent and have less time presents cost more but to some extent mean less.
I think the best present we can give our friends and families is to live well and as long as possible. xxxx
Yes... the CD was from a family who are all into music..and their mum is director of a music company...her mum (the families grandma) a friend and neighbour of mine ...was diagnosed about two years ago on Christmas eve with pancreatic cancer and she died in the February..such a shock... as in the time I have had OC she had been diagnosed and is now no longer with us..it doesn't seem that long ago that she was offering me support...so her family can empathise with me,and I love it that they remember me particularly at this time of year when they have sad memories. Lots of love x G x
These are strange times aren't they Gwyn. Make us realise how precious life is but you know I gain comfort from stories like yours. We don't just fall off the planet but live on in the hearts and minds of those who love us and even improve with age and time. xxx Sad times to think of your friend. xxxx Love Annie
These are strange times aren't they Gwyn. Make us realise how precious life is but you know I gain comfort from stories like yours. We don't just fall off the planet but we live on in the hearts and minds of those who love us ... and even improve with age and time. xxx Sad times to think of your friend. xxxx Love Annie
I'm one of those people who are pretty much happy with anything except crystallised fruits. I did get lovely ones this year. Choccies, wine, scented candles, I love them all. and they all turned up under the tree.
Husband gave me a black sapphire ring and his mum gave me a ring holder. Sister-in-law and her two sons gave me some black sparkly jewellery including one of those bracelets that has a watching dangling from it :)18 yr old stepson, home from his first term at Uni had bought very tasteful pressies for us ladies, all beautifully wrapped - a lovely scarf and book for me, a vanity case filled with Ted Turner products for his mum and a diary and address book for his gran, decorated with an art-noveau design, which she loves. He eventually confessed that the girls on his floor had guided him to the suitable presents for ladies and that one of them had done the wrapping for him!
We also aquired The Woman In Black on DVD and were told to watch it during daylight hours. We'll ignore that instruction and will probably watch it by candlelight. We both enjoy scary films.
Ooh, Mary - I am loving all the instances of jewellery that are popping up! A black sapphire ring sounds GORGEOUS! Why is it that bling soothes the soul so much!?
Your step son has hit on the secret of good male-gift giving early, and will make some woman very happy in years to come!!
I got lots of lovely lotions and potions and perfume, so I can smell gorgeous through my chemo sessions, plus some books on .....baking ever hopeful that now I am not at work I may reinvigorate my baking side, over my I am too busy with work haha, we shall see.
There were a lot of cook books under the tree for our family too. I'm with you in not working - I officially finish on 31 January. Cook books at the ready!!!!
I have none either Angie. Christmas the only time of year I feel a little pang sometimes. Luckily this year there are two new babies in the family and my husband orchestrated a new kitten - she's being my comfort blanket when I get a bit wobbly
Yes we do count our blessings having had children,mine are all adults now, even my granddaughter is twenty, I did get visitors with small children though and that was pretty special seeing them over Christmas, but it is Christmas that seems to highlight this if you haven't any children,I hope though we haven't upset anyone by mentioning them, my poems are meant to be about children in general (and not mine) and of course we can all remember our own childhood... love and best wishes x G x
I am sorry you have been down,it does seem to hit you all at once,not surprising with what you've been through... I can understand as it is a whole new life change isn't it? I finished work last year I loved my job but getting a recurrance just seemed to me to be another hurdle, so finishing work was the best thing to do, after me hanging on to it the first time around it just seemed time to call it a day. I try not to think about it.
The other day I was having a clear out and I found a bag of my hair that I had lost on chemo (my whole head of hair) so I asked my husband what I should do with it (I meant what colour recycling bin to put it in) we have six different colour bins Doh! So Tony asked "what is it?" and I held it up in a see through bag and said "my hair" we both looked at each other and burst out crying, it just suddenly hit us both at the same time, we clung on to each other for a moment (we were in the garden) and then moment passed and moved on.... but I know I have another bag like that somewhere, from the first time I lost it, no doubt we will have another toot when I find it haha.... just another moment in time....lots of love x G x
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Are you crafty? A little teal cushion stuffed with it maybe...unless that's a bit too Tim Burton-esque!
I'm really sorry you've had a bad bout. They come on without any warning don't they and sometimes you just feel so sad for all the things you've lost. I lost my fight to return to my own job last summer. It's taken me quite a few months to look at it all objectively and now - 4 months on - I can say quite honestly that it is the best thing that happened and I wouldn't want to go back to that environment. The whole work place changed when I was on sick leave so really what I left no longer existed by the time I wanted to go back.
I retire at the end of January. I've taken on a bit of volunteering which I enjoy and I help my husband out at work. I also have a lot of time to myself to read, meet up with friends, and cook which is a big hobby for me.
Our boat is in Plymouth so perhaps one day perhaps you might feel like meeting up for a coffee. I had a look at your profile and had to smile a bit - it looks like you live in the sea! Sometimes I do on the boat and we do get to Brixton sometimes when we're bound for France but my profile shows my non-watery home as Cardiff.
Pressies aren't much my thing but my daughters insist I should have one from each of them. I received a Le Creuset crêpe pan to go on the new induction hob and a White Stuff Bird in the Hand Blouse from my daughters. More presents on a culinary theme followed - a very nice knife sharpener and collapsing bowl from Martin following a trolley dash round Harrods on Christmas Eve. In fact I think the most extraordinary Christmas present of all was that Martin came shopping in Harrods at all.
From my twin grand-daughters - I think I got a cough and cold! lol xxxx
Oh dear, poor Annie! Am still wondering how on earth a collapsing bowl works though. My Andy did an Apple store trolley dash I think -- got a lovely funky wireless ipad keypad to play with - maybe it will cut down the blog typos! Also a v expensive Mac Magic Mouse which unfortunately can't be used at all with an ipad. Poor lamb - he's not very technical!!! Loads of stationery too, which I have been hooked on all my life.
ah but I'm happy with no presents at all. The collapsing bowl is rather good as I don't have much storage in my kitchen. It's stainless steel in parts and then the side is made of some sort of rubber that collapses flat when not it use. You can't imagine how expensive a bowl can be! Blunt knives is my perennial nightmare in the kitchen. I have an expensive electric device but have never mastered it. Martin took a knife-sharpening lesson from my son-in-law over Christmas so hopes to hone them all this week which would be a best Christmas present ever.
We got home mid-afternoon and I dropped into bed and feel much better for a sleep. I think I've lost a lot of sleep although our wonderful Christmas was exhausting. I'm sure I can sleep off the cough and cold. Have to as I have a 60th birthday bash Saturday week! xxxxx
Hopefully you can exchange the Magic Mouse - unless of course you have a MacBook. I've got a wireless keypad for my I-pad. It's very handy indeed but annoying that you still have to touch the screen for some functions. The Apple Shop is THE place for Christmas pressies! xx
I know what you mean about the keyboard plus touch screen thing, it jars a bit doesn't it?
Unfortunately that Magic Mouse MUST go back as I have no other Mac bits. Although I'd love a MacBook Air since i love light, sleek kit... the 'Genius" in the Apple Store told Andy specifically it would work with an iPad so they WILL be made to take it! I am totally PC centric and have a gazillion applications invested in, so can't really see a way to switch over. Wish I'd gone mac when i set the business up, it's a bit late now Thank got the interfacing between the two platforms is improving though. At least with the iPhone and iPad I can be a 'little bit Mac'! Or is that like being a 'little bit country' a la Donny & Marie? :0
I'm sure they'll bring out a new I Pad so you have to reinvest. PC is probably the safest bet for a business if you want to use add-ons and software. If you're designing stuff and doing artwork then the Mac is wonderful as are the presentation packages. Work bought me a Mac Book Air or I wouldn't have one. They are beautiful bits of kit and have made my I-Pad redundant as it's much the same shape and weight. It's funny how PC techies absolutely hate Apple.
We have a selection of collapsing items, including a kettle! They are great! We bought them for our camper van, as there wasn't much space. They will be brilliant in our new caravan....got rid of the van after getting fed up of the Krypton Factor Bed! Can't wait for the better weather when we can finally test the caravan!
I know what you mean about folding beds! Our boat is full of collapsing things as we have to store stuff in a very small space. Never heard of a collapsing kettle though!
My favourite small gadget for the boat is a folding chopping board that clips to make a colander at the end. Fab for cooking in a rough sea so I don't have to bend down to throw away the peelings and scraps in the bin. For some reason bending over in a rough sea is guaranteed to make me sick as a parrot.
Hmmm would love some camper van tips as we're thinking of getting one when my car gives up the ghost and if/when my health isn't good enough for clambering round a boat. Perhaps from what you say we should be thinking in terms of a caravan?
xx
Oh this chat takes me back. We lived for 8 months in a caravan in the back garden, while having the house gutted. It avoided moving the animals, although having a labrador plus multi cats in the caravan was no picnic it was just about liveable. Wish I'd had lots of collapsible things, it was crammed to the gunnels even with an awning area outside (it was a few years ago during the last super wet season of floods, too). I was kind of enjoying playing house in miniature for a while, until i got my shoes out one morning to go to a networking breakfast at 6am, only to find they had gone mouldy. I went back to bed, and later on put an almighty boot up the builders to get a move on!
Must be a jewellry year, hubby bought me a pair of dangly earrings, and a gold and silver watch, and a kindle so it's easier to read during chemo, which kind of over shadowed his presents. My teenage daughter bought me a photo album filled with pictures of my three children, the ones of my son who has passed away opening Christmas presents as a little un made me cry, and so did some of the memories looking through as my life has changed so much especially as my daughter chose to live with her dad when we divorced, she also bought me a love u Mum from me to you bear and a locket with a picture of her on one side and me on the other, so really thoughtful. My son bought me a remote controlled docking station for my iphone. This year has probably been my best year for presents I feel so lucky to have my family. My son's girlfriend, who seems to think she will break into a sweat carrying a cup of tea even peeled the veg and wiped down the cooker, but I did still do the majority of the cooking and the diplomacy lol.
Words have been had with hubby about his gleaming oversight in the bling department here at PR Towers.... Will see if my birthday in march proves he was listening!
Actually I loved my pressies. I got some very PR chicky leopard skin spotted slippers at least, to join my collection of spotted everything!
He erred on a Magic Mouse which I can't use with my ipad but you gave me idea, we don't have a good dock so maybe the return money can go towards one! Thanks LA
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Thank got the interfacing between the two platforms is improving though. At least with the iPhone and iPad I can be a 'little bit Mac'! Or is that like being a 'little bit country' a la Donny & Marie? :0
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