Gift Giving

With the holiday season coming up, this post might be timely. I thought I'd write a post (read RANT here folks) on etiquette. Where'd it go? Do people not think about acknowledging a gift with a simple spoken "thank you" or drop an email or even a snail mail thank you card? Arggh!

So what brought this on?

This past summer, I had the opportunity to attend a familial get together to celebrate a 2nd cousin's college graduation with her master's degree. I am on a limited income and to gift money, I have to budget. Which is what I did. It wasn't hundreds, by no means, but it was what I could afford. She opened the cards and gifts in another room so I know she got the money. Was there any kind of acknowledgment? No. I doubt if there ever will be. This relative will not receive another gift from me.

Second installment this year happened fairly recently. I sent some handmade baby receiving blankets and hand knit sox to a niece and never received a "Hi, how are you, thanks". This is the second time this has happened with this person. I was thanked for the handmade afghan (wedding gift) after prodding from her mother.

Both of these girls are of the same generation. Could that be it? Am I expecting too much? Should I stop sending gifts to the niece too? I do have a three-strikes you're out policy. Do I really want to spend more time and effort on a handmade gift when I know I'll be treated the same way? Questions, questions and decisions to be made.

Is it just my family in which this happens or is the lack of etiquette more pervasive?

On a more positive note, the ponies and miniature horses were playing tag this morning. With their manes streaming and their breath going out in clouds, they were having fun kicking up last night's snow!

Rainy Days and Mondays

I woke up to rain this morning. Now you must understand that I live in an arid climate which, in fact, is a high plains desert. This photo was taken from the guest room window and is untouched except for fiddling with the size as I didn't think posting a giganormous photo was appropriate. Just as I pressed the shutter release the sun poked his head between two layers of clouds and made some of the raindrops on the window sparkle. When I left for work Quilter's Pond was overflowing it's banks. What is Quilter's Pond? The landscaping in front of the house has a swale. The concrete driveway dips into the swale and, unfortunately, we will have to have it jackhammered one of these days as the moisture is making the concrete peel. But anyway, when we get rain it is usually gully-washers (you have to watch out for flash floods in this area). And Quilter's Pond only appears when it rains. Once we jackhammer out the driveway and put a culvert in, I think Quilter's Pond will disappear altogether.

On a quilting note, I worked on Sheryl's quilt a bit on Saturday and then again on Sunday. I only have a couple of more rows to put together and then borders. I'm debating with myself on the borders. I'm beginning to not like slab-a-border, but I will have to see how much of what fabric I have leftover and also make a decision on what to use for binding. But it's coming right along. What a pain matching the seams has turned out to be. On some of them I have taken it apart and re-sewn three times. I have a 3 strikes you're out rule: I will only redo something 2 times (plus the original equals 3 times) and then it either gets trashed or, in this case, left in because I know I don't have enough of the original fabric to redo the blocks. But, hopefully, I'll be able to post a photo of it by the end of the coming weekend.

Rant: why do manufacturers change a good thing? Case in point: I opened a can of sliced black olives to add to a salad I make with pineapple and grapes. As I'm draining it I'm thinking "What are these red things?" I looked at the can and read "Now with add jalapeños!" Jalapenos? In my salad? I don't think so. I put them in a bowl and checked the pantry. I had 2 more cans and one of them had the jalapeños. I changed the menu for tonight's supper so I could use up the opened can of them. But really, you gotta read everything! It's no wonder I hate to grocery shop.

Waiting for the AC Guy

I'm sitting here at work (in a puddle of sweat) waiting for the air conditioning guy to show up. The AC here at work only blows hot air. Now in a normal setting that is a problem. But do remember where I work? For those who don't know, I work for a sculptor. The clay is getting too soft to work with -- this is a major problem. I emptied the bottled water from the refrigerator and we put the maquette in to keep the clay from sliding right off the armature.

Bah Humbug! Power to the People!

Update 12/1/06: After a lot of (national and international) publicity this HOA has backed down on making the homeowners remove their Peace Wreath. In fact, the town of Pagosa Springs, where this incident took place, is erecting their own Peace Wreath! Power to the People! Right On!


This story was on a local DenverTown station last night. I don't know how long this article will be up on their news server. I just can't believe some of these HOAs.

Another thing local HOAs have done is insisting on Kentucky Bluegrass for lawns. Hello? This is a high plains desert in the middle of a drought; Kentucky Bluegrass is a waste of drinking water around here.

Random rantings

Note: I wrote this post last night but couldn't seem to get it uploaded. But the internets are acting better today so here it is.

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I'm still here. Still have the cold. Did I mention I have a cold? I hate colds.

Toes are much better. I guess I forgot to tell you that I had 4! toenails removed? Ouch. Those danged unusually curved nails (born with them) caused really bad ingrowns that ended up getting surgically removed (got about 3 more to do). Hurt like the devil for the first week. I'm on the third week. It takes 3-6 weeks to heal because they are essentially chemical burns. But I'm getting to really like the daily foot soaks. Can't wear shoes yet, but so what! It's a wonderful way to show off some of the sox I've been knitting. Sox and sandals: a Colorado apparal choice.



Here’s a shot of a corner of my home office desk. See some of CarGuy’s toys there in the back. How about that white sock in the front? That, believe it or not, is my camera case. It does look a little stupid carrying around a sock, but I can leave it in the car and it looks just like a dirty old sock, not a digital camera. There’s my wonderful 160Gb external HD there for music, pictures and backups.

I want to be an old woman with a braid. So I am growing my hair. Why is it that when it gets to a certain length all I can think about is cutting it?

I found a really good food/snack bar called Larabar. Mmmm... good. The best. Try it.

Had a pleasant day with Shelina and her DD. I chattered and talked all day. She is a quiet sort but I talked enough for all of us. Chatty Cathy - that's me. Showed them around the place a bit. Fortunately, we didn't get snow (but Denvertown and south did) but we did have a cold bitter wind. Got lost a couple of times. Some of the things I showed them I haven't even seen in a while and it changed! Imagine that! Wasn't planning to but I found Bobcat Ridge. Went by Guidestone Farm - a wonderful example of sustained agriculture. Showed them a real live dude ranch, Dude. Well, drove by it anyway. LOL! We saw Benson Sculpture Park where there are 100 different sculptures on permanent display. And of course, we had the obligatory trek in OldTown. Took them through the narrows in the Big Thompson Canyon but we didn't see any bighorn sheep. We did see this fella on our travels, though.



Isn't that just the cutest face? Alpacas have even cuter expressions. We have a lot of llamas in the area. They do great in the high country as pack animals. This guy was at the Buckhorn Llama Company.

Shelina, I had a great time! Hope you like my neck of the woods.

By the time I got home I was all tuckered out. It was my first real outing AC (after cold). Did I mention I have a cold? I hate colds. Yep, I do.

Bear with my whine for a minute, wouldya? This cold has been so bad that I have actually COOKED both my rice bag and my flax seed bag by nuking them over and over. They stunk. Yessir indeedy-do. I opened up the rice bag and I had puffed rice so hard it was like little rice shaped stones. Time to make some new ones. I use muslin for the bag and then make a cover out of flannel. So I was rootleing (do you like that made up word? I do) around in the big Rubbermaid bin that has all my flannels and I found a flannel panel (oooh, that rhymes) I had forgotten about. I figured it had aged enough, so I pressed it, layered it, basted it and am going to quilt it sometime this weekend. It is even appropriate for the harvest season! I'll post a pic when I get it done. I got my bags made too. And they feel so nice against the sinuses. Did I mention I have a cold? I hate colds.

CarGuy has this cold too. But for him it has settled in his ears. I have nothing wrong with my ears, my cold settled in my throat. So picture this: a middle-aged couple sits in their living room watching television in the evening. Sidebar: actually he watches it, she is knitting. The sound on the TV is absolutely earsplitting. Why? Because he can only hear it if it is rattling the windows! He asks her a question. She replies. He looks questioningly at her. She speaks again. Finally, he mutes the television so he can hear her. (I can’t get my voice louder than the TV.) Did I mention he has a cold? I hate colds.

I’m going to sign off now and go listen to the owls hoot. I've never heard them around here before. Definitely more than one.

Thank You Notes?

Here's a photo of the afghan I crocheted as a wedding present for my niece and her new husband. I tracked the package from here to Georgia and saw that they received it. Does anyone write thank you notes anymore or is it a lost art? Sorry about not posting sooner, I know it's been better than a week but life got in the way. So what do you think? I kinda like the pattern -- it is dc with some fptc along the way. It is pretty bright though.