BetterMost, Wyoming & Brokeback Mountain Forum

Our BetterMost Community => The Holiday Forum => Topic started by: Phillip Dampier on December 28, 2007, 06:57:46 pm

Title: What Did You Get For The Holidays?
Post by: Phillip Dampier on December 28, 2007, 06:57:46 pm
Now is the chance to take some pics of your Xmas/holiday gifts and share them with us.

This was the year of keeping it simple for me - both in getting and giving.

Getting

From Dad: A Wal-Mart gift card.  Yes, it oppresses Main Street independent shops and their employees, but for certain useful staples, they're always a good option.  And I'm unconvinced the Big K and Targét are really that much better - the latter is like Wal-Mart with a touch more class and add 15% to every price.  A useful gift, even if not the most inspired (and my father is usually terrible at creative gift giving).

From John: I have a clock fetish.  I have not less than 20 clocks around here of all different kinds, but mechanical (and noisy) ones are my favorites.  One of my distant aunts left me her grandfather clock which took just over a year to rehabilitate and it finally got here just a week or two before Xmas, so now I have another along with the two mantel clocks, one spartan brass chime wall clock, and the cuckoo in the kitchen.  Every 15 minutes is craziness around here.  John built me a clock using hand blown glass tubes from the old Soviet Union or Russia that have tiny filaments inside that light up and are effectively the very first lit digit "LCD-style" clock.  Each filament can be lit and there are enough there to support every digit.  This is early 1940s technology and looks it.  He built the small desk-style clock for me, which is cool.

From Others Who Bear Cash/Giftcards: The bulk of the rest of the gifts are the useful pair of new gloves, cash, gift certificates, and from John's mom - a Swiss-style handy multi-tool keychain thing that can break auto glass, slice through seatbelts, or whatever else I need to survive my next big car accident.  Jolly joker.

Giving

For Dad & John: New cellphones - the Verizon contract was up.  A simple one for my father who doesn't need a lot of glitz (I have him on my cell account so he gets the service for free), and a Chocolate phone for John and I.  John has learned more about the thing than I've had a chance to.  They look like reasonably nice phones, although the buttons are a bit small for my fat fingers.

For John's parents: A new basic Dell computer system.  The old one has to be more than five years old now.  Dell has some amazing pricing on perfectly decent desktop and notebook computers.  We have to install it over there.

For My Sister: A nice gift card for Macy's.  What's not to like about that.

For My Cousin: He loves my Fantazein clock (http://www.fantazein.com/how.html) and China has managed to ripoff their design and sell their own for a lower price.  So now he's getting one.  The digits appear to be floating in air.

Title: Re: What Did You Get For The Holidays?
Post by: Front-Ranger on December 26, 2008, 03:37:26 pm
I received a wonderful gift from my daughter this Xmas. It was a lovely hand knitted hat in a color I'll just have to call golden light because I can't describe it any other way. The hat has a fancy lacy stitch that is NOT AVAILABLE IN STORES, lol! She appliqued a flower knitted in baby alpaca, with a center made of pearls, to the hat.

Rolled up in the hat was a scarf knitted out of baby alpaca!! It had, and needed no decoration because the lacy stitching made a combination of flowers, branches, and leaves. I was so thrilled to get this present that I started crying tears of joy!!
Title: Re: What Did You Get For The Holidays?
Post by: Penthesilea on December 26, 2008, 04:00:06 pm
I received a wonderful gift from my daughter this Xmas. It was a lovely hand knitted hat in a color I'll just have to call golden light because I can't describe it any other way. The hat has a fancy lacy stitch that is NOT AVAILABLE IN STORES, lol! She appliqued a flower knitted in baby alpaca, with a center made of pearls, to the hat.

Rolled up in the hat was a scarf knitted out of baby alpaca!! It had, and needed no decoration because the lacy stitching made a combination of flowers, branches, and leaves. I was so thrilled to get this present that I started crying tears of joy!!

Oh wow, this is really a present of love. I can understand your tears of joy and emotion.
I would love to see a picture of it, if you're inclined to.
Title: Re: What Did You Get For The Holidays?
Post by: Aloysius J. Gleek on December 26, 2008, 06:12:24 pm

This package from a friend in San Francisco arrived (how??) on Christmas Day--it was waiting for me after a lovely evening (and a wonderful dinner).

Today, Boxing Day, I opened (and photographed) the surprise package while eating a 'Harry and David' Pear, crème brûlée, and dark chocolate--previous presents. Quel loot!



(http://i80.photobucket.com/albums/j174/jmmgallagher/Judy1.jpg)


(http://i80.photobucket.com/albums/j174/jmmgallagher/Judy2.jpg)


(http://i80.photobucket.com/albums/j174/jmmgallagher/Judy3.jpg?t=1230328774)


(http://i80.photobucket.com/albums/j174/jmmgallagher/Judy4.jpg?t=1230328850)



How thoughtful is that? All I need is the toast!

I hope you all  had a wonderful Christmas!!
Title: Re: What Did You Get For The Holidays?
Post by: Front-Ranger on December 26, 2008, 08:06:45 pm
Outstanding friend!! Chrissi I will have pics very shortly!!
Title: Re: What Did You Get For The Holidays?
Post by: CellarDweller on December 26, 2008, 08:50:28 pm
Let's see.......

I got about 6 outfits for work, and one casual one.

cash.

American Express gift card $100.00.

Kings (supermarket) gift card for $25.00.

two books...."The Daily News" (headlines and front pages of the past) and "The Mayor of Castro Street".


I gave out:

Dad - gift cards to Home Depot
Mom - selection of Yankee Candles
Mike (brother) - gift card to Home Depot
Michelle (sister in law) - gift card to Bed, Bath Beyond
Chris (brother) - cash and a t-shirt that says "Guess what?  Chicken butt!"
Shana (niece) - Amex gift card.
Eric (sister in law's brother) - cash
Title: Re: What Did You Get For The Holidays?
Post by: Ellemeno on December 26, 2008, 10:39:36 pm
We've been snowed in, and so gifts were pretty much confined to IOUs for after the weather gets better, and whatever my husband managed to find on his walking foray to the drugstore down the street.

Also, since we already have what we need, it was good to keep it simple, even for Mini-Meno.  Still, I am now the surprised owner of a Roomba (which I haven't tried yet, and am not sure how I feel about), some Almond Roca (drugstore) and a cool book called Birdscapes, among a few other things. 
Title: Re: What Did You Get For The Holidays?
Post by: Aloysius J. Gleek on December 26, 2008, 11:18:50 pm

Still, I am now the surprised owner of a Roomba (which I haven't tried yet, and am not sure how I feel about)--


Have fun! (Do you have a cat?)

[youtube=425,350]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LQ-jv8g1YVI&feature=related[/youtube]
Title: Re: What Did You Get For The Holidays?
Post by: ifyoucantfixit on December 26, 2008, 11:55:47 pm


             Well I hit the holiday jackpot.   My hubby went early and bought me a new flat screen tv.  He also got me a blue ray dvd player, so I could
watch The Dark Knight in blue ray.  Then two days later my computer died.  I put it in the shop to be fixed, and after two weeks they informed me
that it was not to be.  Therefor I got to go out and buy a new Acer computer...  So wow I was blessed.
Title: Re: What Did You Get For The Holidays?
Post by: CellarDweller on December 27, 2008, 12:28:01 am
wow.

Janice, glad you got a new comp, but I hope you didn't lose anything you had saved on the old one!
Title: Re: What Did You Get For The Holidays?
Post by: serious crayons on December 27, 2008, 02:42:27 am
My sons gave me a mini-vac for Christmas. Which -- between the mostly white dog and the mostly black rug and eating potato chips in the living roon and the hose attachment of the regular vac not working all that well -- we really needed.

But best of all -- THEY have been using it!

Let's hope that keeps up.

They also gave me a really nice chopping knife, which will come in handy if they do not use the mini-vac when I ask them to.


Title: Re: What Did You Get For The Holidays?
Post by: David In Indy on December 27, 2008, 03:00:22 am
We've been snowed in, and so gifts were pretty much confined to IOUs for after the weather gets better, and whatever my husband managed to find on his walking foray to the drugstore down the street.

Also, since we already have what we need, it was good to keep it simple, even for Mini-Meno.  Still, I am now the surprised owner of a Roomba (which I haven't tried yet, and am not sure how I feel about), some Almond Roca (drugstore) and a cool book called Birdscapes, among a few other things. 

Clarissa, let me know how that Roomba works, okay? I've been very tempted to invest in one of those.

I'd love to have a robot do my daily (and slightly obsessive) vacuuming for me, but I wasn't sure how well those cute little things worked. :)

Title: Re: What Did You Get For The Holidays?
Post by: ifyoucantfixit on December 27, 2008, 03:05:59 am


     The tech shop I took it to are putting the stuff I wanted saved onto cds.  So I should be fine.  Thanks for thinking of me.
Title: Re: What Did You Get For The Holidays?
Post by: Ellemeno on December 27, 2008, 03:10:47 am
Clarissa, let me know how that Roomba works, okay? I've been very tempted to invest in one of those.

I'd love to have a robot do my daily (and slightly obsessive) vacuuming for me, but I wasn't sure how well those cute little things worked. :)




Will do.  I sort of picture that if it does work well, that after the fun of watching it wears off, I might turn it on when I leave the house.
Title: Re: What Did You Get For The Holidays?
Post by: David In Indy on December 27, 2008, 03:30:23 am

Will do.  I sort of picture that if it does work well, that after the fun of watching it wears off, I might turn it on when I leave the house.

That sounds like a plan, Clarissa! And I'm looking forward to hearing your Roomba review! :D

Title: Re: What Did You Get For The Holidays?
Post by: Aloysius J. Gleek on December 27, 2008, 11:14:24 am



Docking Manoeuvre                                                      (2:22)
[youtube=425,350]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MIjE8BVV-VI&NR=1[/youtube]

Title: Re: What Did You Get For The Holidays?
Post by: Shasta542 on December 27, 2008, 11:39:27 am
That's cute. I once had a cat who loved being vacuumed. I don't know if she'd have ridden one tho.
Title: Re: What Did You Get For The Holidays?
Post by: Penthesilea on December 27, 2008, 12:16:09 pm


Docking Manoeuvre                                                      (2:22)
[youtube=425,350]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MIjE8BVV-VI&NR=1[/youtube]



LOL. I think Roombas should all come with a cat pillow on top. ;D
Title: Re: What Did You Get For The Holidays?
Post by: Penthesilea on December 27, 2008, 12:29:33 pm
I got the TDK DVD for Christmas from my hubby. Two disc edition with all the extras :).
From Kerstin (RL friend and fellow Brokie, as many of you already know) I got a Joker T-Shirt. A nicely unobstrusive one, dark grey on black background.

A self-made bookmark from my son; a gypsum heart from my middle daughter (also self-made) and hubby and I got a beautiful painting together from our oldest daughter.
The painting is a copy of Edgar Degas's "Bei der Putzmacherin" and looks like this:

(http://i101.photobucket.com/albums/m47/Penthesilea06/Sonstige/bei-der-putzmacherin.jpg)


She copied the outlines of the painting on a sheet of paper and colored it with acrylic colors.
Title: Re: What Did You Get For The Holidays?
Post by: Shakesthecoffecan on December 27, 2008, 12:30:30 pm
I got a Poop Log.

It is a hard bound book that you can carry in your pocket to record your bowel movements, including date, time and characteristics. It is the damn strangest thing anyone has ever give me. I haveno intention of using it but I am going to show it to a lot of people.
Title: Re: What Did You Get For The Holidays?
Post by: Ellemeno on December 27, 2008, 03:33:43 pm
I got a Poop Log.

It is a hard bound book that you can carry in your pocket to record your bowel movements, including date, time and characteristics. It is the damn strangest thing anyone has ever give me. I haveno intention of using it but I am going to show it to a lot of people.



I think we have found the epitome of anal.  Thanks for sharing that with us, Truman.  :)
Title: Re: What Did You Get For The Holidays?
Post by: Ellemeno on December 27, 2008, 03:34:51 pm
Chrissi, how did the lighted thingies go over as presents?
Title: Re: What Did You Get For The Holidays?
Post by: Penthesilea on December 27, 2008, 04:42:07 pm
Chrissi, how did the lighted thingies go over as presents?

Two kids were unimpressed, the rest loved it. And the parents loved it. Everybody went ohhh and ahhh when we tried it in the dark. So I'd say it was a big success. Yay! :D

The best thing were my own kids though. We managed to fullfill the biggest wish for everyone of them. They all went to bed utterly happy at 11PM on Christmas Eve.
Title: Re: What Did You Get For The Holidays?
Post by: Lynne on December 27, 2008, 04:45:38 pm
I got a Poop Log.

It is a hard bound book that you can carry in your pocket to record your bowel movements, including date, time and characteristics. It is the damn strangest thing anyone has ever give me. I haveno intention of using it but I am going to show it to a lot of people.

 :laugh: :laugh: :laugh:  Dare I ask who gave you that??!!
Title: Re: What Did You Get For The Holidays?
Post by: Lynne on December 27, 2008, 04:47:16 pm
I got the TDK DVD for Christmas from my hubby. Two disc edition with all the extras :).
From Kerstin (RL friend and fellow Brokie, as many of you already know) I got a Joker T-Shirt. A nicely unobstrusive one, dark grey on black background.

A self-made bookmark from my son; a gypsum heart from my middle daughter (also self-made) and hubby and I got a beautiful painting together from our oldest daughter.
The painting is a copy of Edgar Degas's "Bei der Putzmacherin" and looks like this:

(http://i101.photobucket.com/albums/m47/Penthesilea06/Sonstige/bei-der-putzmacherin.jpg)


She copied the outlines of the painting on a sheet of paper and colored it with acrylic colors.

That's must be really beautiful, Chrissi!  Sounds like a very nice time!  :-*
Title: Re: What Did You Get For The Holidays?
Post by: Monika on December 27, 2008, 05:19:06 pm
This is what I got from my friend Sophia. Space food!

"Originally developed for the early Apollo Missions, this "space treat" is frozen to -40 degrees F (-40 degrees C), then vacuum dried and placed in a special polyfoil pouch. Freeze-dried foods are used by austronauts eating under weightless conditions in space"

(http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f322/buffymon/DSCN0487.jpg)

We tried the vanilla flavored ice cream sandwich...
(http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f322/buffymon/DSCN0488.jpg)

...it´s like eating card board. If this is supposed to be a treat for the austronauts, then I can just imagine what their regular food must taste like.
Disgusting, but a fun gift no less!
Title: Re: What Did You Get For The Holidays?
Post by: Aloysius J. Gleek on December 28, 2008, 02:37:04 am

--and hubby and I got a beautiful painting together from our oldest daughter....The painting is a copy of Edgar Degas's "Bei der Putzmacherin"--


(http://i101.photobucket.com/albums/m47/Penthesilea06/Sonstige/bei-der-putzmacherin.jpg)
Edgar Degas, "Bei der Putzmacherin"




What a really great gift from your daughter, Chrissi! I love this painting--and suddenly I see a connection I've never noticed before, between Edgar Degas and the American painter, Wayne Thiebauld (b. 1920), the colors, the shapes, the arrangements, the spaces, the movement, how ever bizarre! Those hats, they are--delicious!  Or better yet--scrumptious!




(http://rds.yahoo.com/_ylt=A0WTefTsC1dJz8EA_majzbkF/SIG=12fdthsp0/EXP=1230527852/**http%3A//jerryandmartha.com/yourdailyart/images/thiebaud2.jpg)
Various cakes, 1981 by Wayne Thiebaud, Private Collection.


(http://www.geocities.com/christophermulrooney/criteria/thiebaud1.jpg)
Rosebud cakes, 1991-1995 by Wayne Thiebaud.



(http://rds.yahoo.com/_ylt=A0WTefRwDFdJz8EA95ijzbkF/SIG=12i73lp8o/EXP=1230527984/**http%3A//www.artchive.com/artchive/t/thiebaud/thiebaud_cakes.jpg)
Cakes, 1963 by Wayne Thiebaud.


(http://www.askart.com/AskART/photos/CNY20071112_5498/648.jpg)
Seven Suckers by Wayne Thiebaud.


(http://rds.yahoo.com/_ylt=A0WTefW0AVdJocsAxW6jzbkF/SIG=12jsu2v79/EXP=1230525236/**http%3A//www.marlboroughgallery.com/Grfx.jpgs/wayne-thiebaud1.jpg)
Palette Series Artifacts: Wayne Thiebaud, #1
by Robert Weingarten




Now, even Monika's "Space food" looks Thiebauld-ian to me!



We tried the vanilla flavored ("Space food!") ice cream sandwich...
(http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f322/buffymon/DSCN0488.jpg)


(http://rds.yahoo.com/_ylt=A0WTefNgGVdJoCwBlk.jzbkF/SIG=12esgkf84/EXP=1230531296/**http%3A//www.waterhistory.org/artinfo/thiebaud/thiebaud1.jpg)
Lemon Meringue Pie, 1964 by Wayne Thiebauld.


(http://rds.yahoo.com/_ylt=A0WTefO0G1dJfi0B5HCjzbkF/SIG=13hcklrri/EXP=1230531892/**http%3A//www.nga.gov/education/classroom/counting_on_art/img/img_sa8_thiebaud_cakes_img3_sm.jpg)
Various cakes, 1981 detail.




--and even Truman's "gift!"



I got a Poop Log.

(http://bettermost.net/forum/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=15829.0;attach=23287;image)


(http://farm1.static.flickr.com/107/277004485_3769cd3b98.jpg?v=0)
Refrigerator Pies, by Wayne Thiebaud.


(http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2008/02/17/books/boxer-600.jpg)
Pies, Pies, Pies, 1961, by Wayne Thiebaud.  


(http://bp3.blogger.com/_eg2cOtuEbVk/Rwl0vobCczI/AAAAAAAAAS4/HZKbSroV2Sw/s400/thiebaud3.jpg)
Around the cake, 1962 by Wayne Thiebaud.




http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wayne_Thiebaud

Wayne Thiebaud
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


Thiebaud is best known for his paintings of production line objects found in diners and cafeterias, such as pies and pastries. Many wonder if he spent time working in the food industry, and in fact he did. As a young man in Long Beach, he worked at a cafe named Mile High and Red Hot, where "Mile High" was ice cream and "Red Hot" was a hot dog. (....)

He was associated with the Pop art painters because of his interest in objects of mass culture, however, his works, executed during the fifties and sixties, slightly predate the works of the classic pop artists, suggesting that Thiebaud may have had an influence on the movement. Thiebaud uses heavy pigment and exaggerated colors to depict his subjects, and the well-defined shadows characteristic of advertisements are almost always included in his work. (....)

In his painting, he focuses on the commonplace in a way that suggests irony and objective distance from his subjects. (....)

Thiebaud considers himself not an artist, but a painter. He is a voracious reader and is known for reading poetry to his students. His favorite poet is William Carlos Williams.
Title: Re: What Did You Get For The Holidays?
Post by: Ellemeno on December 28, 2008, 03:14:05 am
John, o precious visionary, thank you.  :-*
Title: Re: What Did You Get For The Holidays?
Post by: serious crayons on December 28, 2008, 04:00:59 am
What a brilliant synthesis, John.

Title: Re: What Did You Get For The Holidays?
Post by: Ellemeno on December 28, 2008, 04:09:33 am
What a brilliant synthesis, John.



But I want to see how you fit a cat-laden Roomba into it.  :laugh:
Title: Re: What Did You Get For The Holidays?
Post by: Aloysius J. Gleek on December 28, 2008, 04:14:18 am

John, o precious visionary, thank you.  :-*

Elle (and Katherine!), you are way too kind! I do go on, don't I?

But, 'you know what?'

When you can go back around the circle, and you find things are real, well--then you realize you are not just blathering nonsense. Look:



(http://i101.photobucket.com/albums/m47/Penthesilea06/Sonstige/bei-der-putzmacherin.jpg)
Degas hats--


Then


(http://www.geocities.com/christophermulrooney/criteria/thiebaud1.jpg)
Thiebauld cakes--


Then


(http://www.topofart.com/images/artists/Hilaire_Germain_Edgar_Degas/paintings/degas001.jpg)
Degas again.
(Dancers in Pink, c.1876)


Those dresses--in pink cake frosting, with piped buttercream flowers, no?
Confections.

QED.

I love stuff like that.

Title: Re: What Did You Get For The Holidays?
Post by: Aloysius J. Gleek on December 28, 2008, 04:27:56 am

But I want to see how you fit a cat-laden Roomba into it.  :laugh:


How about a Grandma Moses-like flying saucer-painter?? (In pink! )

(http://riveronmirror.files.wordpress.com/2007/12/weirdingsm.jpg)
Esther Pearl Watson
www.estherwatson.com (http://www.estherwatson.com)


(They might be good to eat, too!)

 ;D

Title: Re: What Did You Get For The Holidays?
Post by: Aloysius J. Gleek on December 28, 2008, 05:29:38 am


These seem almost too easy to mention (as the shapes, colors are almost one-to-one correspondence):


(http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/images/hb/hb_29.100.128.jpg)
A Woman Seated beside a Vase of Flowers, 1865 by Edgar Degas  


(http://rds.yahoo.com/_ylt=A0WTefRwDFdJz8EA95ijzbkF/SIG=12i73lp8o/EXP=1230527984/**http%3A//www.artchive.com/artchive/t/thiebaud/thiebaud_cakes.jpg)
Cakes, 1963 by Wayne Thiebaud.


Title: Re: What Did You Get For The Holidays?
Post by: Front-Ranger on December 28, 2008, 11:35:43 am
What a treat to wake up to this a.m.! Thank you, friend John...more! more!!
Title: Re: What Did You Get For The Holidays?
Post by: Kelda on December 28, 2008, 08:28:33 pm


Docking Manoeuvre                                                      (2:22)
[youtube=425,350]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MIjE8BVV-VI&NR=1[/youtube]




:laugh: :laugh

And what a lovely & thoughtful gift from your daughter Lee!


Well I was a lucky girl and from Callum I got the SATC Film DVD, Mamma Mia DVD, I got S7 of The Amazing Race on DVD which is being watched as I type,  a fun Brokeback tshirt with a little cartoon Jack and Ennis on it. Will get a piccie posted of that.

I got some nice underwear from Bravisimo too (I wont post pics of that!!  :P) Callum obviously took my hint of the Bravissimo catalogue with the pages turned down of the sets I liked and a note of my size written in the inside cover!! And lots of fun stocking filler things too. My Mum and Callum make up a stocking for me .... I got some girly DIY equipment this year! My mothers doing apparently. I have a flowery hammer, screwdriver (with assorted heads) , tape measure, plyers and carpet knife thingy.

I got 2 digital photframes. I got a pair of birkenstocks I wanted ready for my trip to India, I got a set of vanity case things to store all my junk that clutters up my bedroom - this was from my mum who actually wrote that in the card!!! And some drink and chocs and lots of other little bits and pieces like an mergency ponch and a few pairs of cheap aerings, and candles etc.

I got a gorgeous necklace from my best friend too - which made me cry. She got married in Sweetheart Abbey in Dumfries in August. Her 2 sisters were bridesmaids. She was given from her hubby some jewllery from a local jewellry maker which was inspired by the Abbey - she wore it on her wedding day and she gave the necklace to both her sisters as their bridemaid present.

Well I opened my xmas present from her and here was the same necklace - "To my honory bridesmaid", it said in the card inside. "I really wanted to gove you this a he time, but I was just so skint. Thanks for being a huge part of my special day."

So I was a lucky girl!
Title: Re: What Did You Get For The Holidays?
Post by: Ellemeno on December 29, 2008, 02:25:40 am
Kelda, thanks for sharing the love.  That's a wonderful list. 

I have a flowery hammer too, it unscrews and there are little screwdrivers inside.

And I'm going to IKEA in the next couple of weeks or so, to look at tables and chairs, might buy matching ones to yours!  :)


Title: Re: What Did You Get For The Holidays?
Post by: ZK on December 29, 2008, 02:57:33 am
The best presee I got was the happiness on my daughters face when she opened her parcels ( a baby g watch and a digital camera). She gave me in return a book calld "A little book for my Dad" Heres a couple of exerts:

"Life doesn't come with an instruction book- thats why we have fathers"

"when toy guides say from three years upward, the upwards bit is referring to your Dad"
That is sooo true :laugh: :laugh:
Title: Re: What Did You Get For The Holidays?
Post by: Kelda on December 29, 2008, 07:13:54 am
The best presee I got was the happiness on my daughters face when she opened her parcels ( a baby g watch and a digital camera). She gave me in return a book calld "A little book for my Dad" Heres a couple of exerts:

"Life doesn't come with an instruction book- thats why we have fathers"

"when toy guides say from three years upward, the upwards bit is referring to your Dad"
That is sooo true :laugh: :laugh:

Awwww!

Kelda, thanks for sharing the love.  That's a wonderful list. 

I have a flowery hammer too, it unscrews and there are little screwdrivers inside.

And I'm going to IKEA in the next couple of weeks or so, to look at tables and chairs, might buy matching ones to yours!  :)




 :D
Title: Re: What Did You Get For The Holidays?
Post by: Front-Ranger on December 29, 2008, 09:46:26 pm

These seem almost too easy to mention (as the shapes, colors are almost one-to-one correspondence):


(http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/images/hb/hb_29.100.128.jpg)
A Woman Seated beside a Vase of Flowers, 1865 by Edgar Degas  


(http://rds.yahoo.com/_ylt=A0WTefRwDFdJz8EA95ijzbkF/SIG=12i73lp8o/EXP=1230527984/**http%3A//www.artchive.com/artchive/t/thiebaud/thiebaud_cakes.jpg)
Cakes, 1963 by Wayne Thiebaud.


How about big-ass farm machinery, friend?

(http://www.divshare.com/img/124856-0a1.jpg)
Title: Re: What Did You Get For The Holidays?
Post by: Aloysius J. Gleek on December 30, 2008, 01:34:31 am

Next Christmas, perhaps??  ;D


(http://imagecache2.allposters.com/images/pic/NGSPOD01/102331~Combines-silhouetted-at-dusk-Posters.jpg)
Combines silhouetted at dusk
by David Boyer

Title: Re: What Did You Get For The Holidays?
Post by: Aloysius J. Gleek on December 30, 2008, 01:51:05 am
http://www.cotswolds.info/arts-crafts-antiques/local-artists.shtml (http://www.cotswolds.info/arts-crafts-antiques/local-artists.shtml)


Maybe we could all  save our pennies for next year's Christmas Gift--here's a deserving artist!  ::)  :P



(http://www.cotswolds.info/images/artsandcrafts/tom%20harvey/tom_harvey.jpg)
Tom Harvey - Sculptor - Tewkesbury
http://www.carverharvey.co.uk/ (http://www.carverharvey.co.uk/)


I grew up in Penzance in Cornwall in a house full of my parents paintings. I started drawing and making things at an early age finding it to be a fascinating way of exploring and looking at the world around me.

After having studied fine art in Lincoln, specialising in painting, I worked in forestry and tree surgery for a while to make a living. As soon as I got my chainsaw licence I started using it as a creative tool enjoying its speed and dynamism.

(....)

I am currently learning to work in stone and intend to experiment with casting as another way of creating sculptures.

I feel that within sculpture I have found my means of expression, enjoying the combination of physicality and imagination, and feel that art can be a way of understanding and expressing what it is to be alive.

I am 33 years old and live on the River Avon in Tewkesbury on a Dutch Barge that I have nearly completed fitting out as a comfortable home.

(http://www.carverharvey.co.uk/images/icarus.jpg)
If these wings should fail me
Oak and steel
8' x 3'6"

Title: Re: What Did You Get For The Holidays?
Post by: Ellemeno on December 30, 2008, 02:01:47 am
He sounds wonderful, let's go.  :)
Title: Re: What Did You Get For The Holidays?
Post by: Meryl on December 30, 2008, 01:27:29 pm
I guess you have to be careful about talking to your loved ones about your online interests.  These are all gifts I got from my (53-year-old) baby brother:

(http://i66.photobucket.com/albums/h269/merylmarie/Catchall/CowboyCalendar.jpg)  (http://i66.photobucket.com/albums/h269/merylmarie/Catchall/logbuildingset-cabin.jpg)

(http://i66.photobucket.com/albums/h269/merylmarie/Catchall/cowboylunchbox.jpg)


They're all great gifts, but suddenly I feel like a 10-year-old boy!  ;D
Title: Re: What Did You Get For The Holidays?
Post by: Kelda on December 31, 2008, 11:41:45 am
Heh, but the thought was there in buying the present!
Title: Re: What Did You Get For The Holidays?
Post by: Meryl on December 31, 2008, 02:32:38 pm
Heh, but the thought was there in buying the present!

Yes, bless their hearts!  ;D
Title: Re: What Did You Get For The Holidays?
Post by: southendmd on December 31, 2008, 06:40:53 pm
http://www.cotswolds.info/arts-crafts-antiques/local-artists.shtml (http://www.cotswolds.info/arts-crafts-antiques/local-artists.shtml)


Maybe we could all  save our pennies for next year's Christmas Gift--here's a deserving artist!  ::)  :P



(http://www.cotswolds.info/images/artsandcrafts/tom%20harvey/tom_harvey.jpg)

Hmm, I'd save more than pennies for him!  All that and houseboat too.
Title: Re: What Did You Get For The Holidays?
Post by: Aloysius J. Gleek on December 31, 2008, 07:56:32 pm

Hmm, I'd save more than pennies for him!  All that and houseboat too.


You are a true patron of the arts, Paul!   :laugh:

(Happy New Year!)
Title: Re: What Did You Get For The Holidays?
Post by: southendmd on December 31, 2008, 07:57:33 pm

You are a true patron of the arts, Paul!   :laugh:

(Happy New Year!)

Like you say, he's a deserving artist. 

Happy New Year to you, John!
Title: Re: What Did You Get For The Holidays?
Post by: Meryl on December 25, 2009, 02:03:31 pm
Well, my Western-loving brother came through again this year.  But the gifts are a bit more on the adult side!  ;D

I got a copy of "Cactus and Pine," a book of poetry by Sharlot Hall, a turn of the century Arizona ranch woman who celebrated the West in poetry both folksy and grandiose, kind of a literary foremother of Annie Proulx. 

http://www.cowboypoetry.com/sharlothall.htm

Here's one of her poems:

Old Cow Men's Parade

    The flags are flying, the bands are playing,
       And there, down Gurley street
    The big parade is coming—
       Hark to the trampling feet!
    Two hundred cow men riding,
       Dressed out for holiday;
    Ten-gallon hats and fancy shirts
       And 'kerchiefs bright and gay.

    Two hundred horses prancing
       As the riders whoop and yell;
    And jingle of spurs and bridle chains
       The noise and music swell.
    There's Ruffner on the sorrel,
       His silver bridle shines;
    And Doc Pardee comes riding
       Down from the Munds Park pines.

    And there's the Beloat of Buckeye
       Who twirls a winning rope;
    Loge Morris and his juniors,
       All on a swinging lope.
    The Champies and Ed Bowman,
       And all the medalled train
    Come back to lift more honors
       At Prescott once again.

    They pass with jokes and laughter,
       And shouting clear and loud,
    Out to the big arena
       To face the cheering crowd.
    And some will rope for glory
       And some will ride for gold;
    And some will grappled bull-dogged steers
       And win on a strangle-hold.

    Down sweep the big sombreros
       As the bow to the grandstand's cheer;
    But, look, as they ride to their places—
       God! Look what's coming here!
    A long, long train of horsemen,
       Yet never a hoof-beat sounds;
    And never a dust-spurt rises
       From the trampled sporting grounds.

    A-breast, in martial order
       They wheel and swing to place;
    But their forms are thin and misty
       And a shadow dims each face;
    A pale and still battalion
       In Stetsons, chaps, and spurs;
    And they, too, bow to the grandstand—
       But the picture swims and blurs.

    Here are the men of Texas
       Who made the Chisholm Trail,
    Pointing their herds of long-horns
       To the track of a steel-shod rail,
    Heading their leaders northward
       By a puff of engine smoke;
    Betting their all on a market chance—
       Thousands--or down, and broke.

    Men who trailed the Long Trail
       With steers for Idaho;
    Men who drove their beef herds
       To feed Geronimo.
    Men who could buck a Norther,
       Men who could fight a drouth;
    Sitting their lean trail-horses,
       Keen-eyed, and grim of mouth.

    There's Jim O'Neal from Date Creek
       With his riders, dark and trim;
    And close at this knee Juan Leyvas,
       A stripling lithe and slim.
    And Stuart Knight comes riding
       With his smile and careless grace—
    But a whirlwind whips down the beaten track
       And a dust-cloud blurs each face.

    Gone are the silent riders,
       And only the sun beats down
    On the trampled, barren arena
       And the chute gates weathered brown:
    They've ridden back to the Days That Were;
       But before a play is made—
    Three cheers for the unseen men who passed
       In the old cow men's parade.

    From Poems of a Ranch Woman, 1953

Another gift was a magnetic picture frame mounted in stone from Ardosia Stonecraft.  Looks like it would make a good bookend, too.

(http://i66.photobucket.com/albums/h269/merylmarie/Catchall/Ardosiapictureframe.jpg)

Finally, I was happy to get a CD of the Bar-J Wranglers, some singing cowboys we saw years ago at a chuckwagon supper in the Tetons.

(http://i66.photobucket.com/albums/h269/merylmarie/Catchall/Bar-JWranglersCowboysDreams.jpg)

http://www.barjchuckwagon.com/BarJRecordings.html

I'll get some more stuff when I meet friends for dinner later.  What did y'all get?  :)
Title: Re: What Did You Get For The Holidays?
Post by: louisev on December 25, 2009, 03:51:46 pm
I got a $59 Thai vegetarian dinner courtesy of my brother and his wife.  I had not seen him for 11 years.  I gave him and his wife a $6 jar of organic green tea.  It was all I had money for.  Actually I didn't have the money, but I spent grocery money to buy it because it was Christmas after all.  Not good to show up empty handed and I was afraid jewelry or a card would be misconstrued.

I got a short of cortisone in my knee and a prescription for hydrocortisone from a complete stranger.  Which was probably the greatest gift I have ever gotten from any stranger since I got the gift of health back in 1989 by my best friend.  I offered him payment and he refused, citing licensing conflicts.  He is a retired orthopedic surgeon who told me it is very unlikely I will escape meniscus surgery on my left medial meniscus because of blood supply issues.  And that too, was a gift.

I got a card, a Christmas decoration, a huge sandalwood soap and a purple light (Purple is my favorite) courtesy of Essene Chapter.

I got a horkin huge Navajo-tumbled topaz and a basket of lÓccitane soaps from my friend Denise.  I reciprocated with a Rosetta stone puzzle that she absolutely has no hope of finishing.  Anyone want a Rosetta Stone puzzle?

I got a room in a safe, heated apartment with excellent internet courtesy of a stranger who is now a fast friend, Haak.  And of course her wild and crazy 2-year old son Sol.  Not to be confused with the solar orb.  I'm saving her apartment, she's saving my health and sanity.  It's a good arrangement.  I gave her the gift of fixing her HP photosmart printer, getting a new cartridge delivered free of charge after troubleshooting it, and I'm about to fix her flat-panel monitor.  I also taught Sol how to say "please", and "banana."  "Thank you"will have to wait till tomorrow.  "Louise"will have to wait till his hard palate closes.

I got ibuprofen gel from Kelda, ostensibly for my birthday but it's coming in time for New Year's.  No complaints!

I got a coffee set and reheatable mug from my former employers who fired me retroactive to November 24 for being injured, but apparently I'm still in their system.

I got other gifts I haven't received but will start getting Monday when my mail gets forwarded.

And I got a ride to the Fairfax solstice ceremony tomorrow.  I am truly blessed.

Christmas greetings and virtual gifts from Kelly and Sid and Katy and all those wild and crazy Facebookers.

I got a diagnosis of 11-beta hydroxylase deficiency.  Just in time for Christmas!

I got a referral to a reproductive endocrinologist in Westchester, VA who will see me January 4.

I got an appointment for the Mayo Clinic for January 9 if things don't happen as expected on Jan 4.

I got a $700 loan from Misty for a week.

Oh I got a box of rocks from my former publisher who benefited materially from association with me and won't return the fair value of all the books I bought on her Kindle account over the past year, even though I am temporarily penniless.
Title: Re: What Did You Get For The Holidays?
Post by: CellarDweller on December 25, 2009, 06:07:14 pm
I got new clothes and cash.

;D
Title: Re: What Did You Get For The Holidays?
Post by: Shasta542 on December 25, 2009, 06:52:56 pm
I got cash, a CD, books, cards, socks with dogs and cats on them, calendar, vanilla bean lotion and cream, Starbucks coffee, mugs, candy, musical ornaments, and I have two more get-togethers. I still have to wrap for those.  :)  
Title: Re: What Did You Get For The Holidays?
Post by: Monika on December 25, 2009, 07:07:47 pm
I got a new bike and some travel items such as a flashlight and a first aid kit. Also some jewelry, socks and a paper basket. All stuff I have use for.
Title: Re: What Did You Get For The Holidays?
Post by: min on December 25, 2009, 09:06:53 pm
My daughter came over and stayed with me on Christmas Eve and was there for Christmas morning.  She gave me a throw rug for the bed.

My brothers rang me from Canada.

A very dear friend gave me some body lotion, a box of chocolates, a calendar, and some tea towels.

And a friend who is struggling financially still managed to get me some chocolate biscuits and coffee, and made me a pillow case.  I treasure these because I realise that she would have had to make sacrifices to do this.

I got some gift vouchers from my ex-employers.
Title: Re: What Did You Get For The Holidays?
Post by: Brokeback_Dev on December 26, 2009, 06:39:08 am
Bob spoiled me this Christmas as usual.  He gave me a Marilyn Monroe Calendar with some photos of her  I've never seen before. She's so beautiful and sexy and cute. :D  He gave me a notebook cooling base for my notebook which was itself a gift that I got early. A beautiful open heart sterling silver necklace and chain that I asked for him to get me.  Its very feminin and  I was surprised to get it as he had it hidden.  Everyone seemed happy with their gifts.  My daughter her girlfriend  and their roomate came for Christmas dinner.  The spiral ham was part of my gift to them, but they each got other stuff too.  I like the giving part of Christmas just as much as if not more than the receiving part.  I love my husband and my girls.  The girls got Bob and I an ornament for the tree. A silver jeweled D for me and the same a silver jeweled B for Bob.   I love everything I got.  :) :) :) :) :)
Title: Re: What Did You Get For The Holidays?
Post by: louisev on December 26, 2009, 08:29:32 am
Bob spoiled me this Christmas as usual.  He gave me a Marilyn Monroe Calendar with some photos of her  I've never seen before. She's so beautiful and sexy and cute. :D  He gave me a notebook cooling base for my notebook which was itself a gift that I got early. A beautiful open heart sterling silver necklace and chain that I asked for him to get me.  Its very feminin and  I was surprised to get it as he had it hidden.  Everyone seemed happy with their gifts.  My daughter her girlfriend  and their roomate came for Christmas dinner.  The spiral ham was part of my gift to them, but they each got other stuff too.  I like the giving part of Christmas just as much as if not more than the receiving part.  I love my husband and my girls.  The girls got Bob and I an ornament for the tree. A silver jeweled D for me and the same a silver jeweled B for Bob.   I love everything I got.  :) :) :) :) :)

so things are looking up in the relationship dept with your daughter?
Title: Re: What Did You Get For The Holidays?
Post by: Kelda on December 26, 2009, 03:46:42 pm
I got take that singstar, a few CDs and DVDs, a few nice tops, chocolate, some baileys and chocolate red wine, and some jewellery.

So I did well!
Title: Re: What Did You Get For The Holidays?
Post by: tampatalon on December 26, 2009, 04:23:10 pm
I gotz a sexy cowboy calander & Brokeback "book to screenplay"

TampaTalon^">
Title: Re: What Did You Get For The Holidays?
Post by: Front-Ranger on December 28, 2009, 08:17:34 pm
That sounds awesome, TT!

It was rather ironic that this year I received a gift card to Recreational Equipment Inc from my brother, while my husband received a gift card to Williams Sonoma!!
Title: Re: What Did You Get For The Holidays?
Post by: F. Glover on June 11, 2013, 04:18:14 pm
I got a new bike and some travel items such as a flashlight (http://www.robustbuy.com/led-lighting-gadgets-led-flashlights-c-505_1027_730.html) and a first aid kit. Also some jewelry, socks and a paper basket. All stuff I have use for.

New bike is always been a good choice to go on for a trip. When i had got one i did the same thing.. hehe. ;D