So, here we are. December. Here we were
yesterday, in fact.
I got started on the Christmas cards. I
felt, as never before, that I was on a hiding to nothing, flogging a
dead horse, whatever. This is simply too slow and expensive a way to
keep in touch with old friends. How much longer will it last before
email completely takes over?
My Christmas present list is coming
along nicely, although there are still some awkward gaps. Alexander
thinks things are getting out of hand, and we should simplify. But
how? No presents for anyone over 12, except for one's own children? I
can now load the list on this computer, thanks to Archie, but I
haven't the faintest grasp of why it wouldn't do it when I tried in
the first place.
No – I've got it. There's nothing
like the way the synapses fire first thing in the morning. I had been
trying to open .XLS files (spreadsheets) in the Database section of
Open Office. They open fine in the Calc section.
I left a message on Saturday for the
local Computer Man, asking him to come and port programs across from
the old computer. I hope I'll hear from him today. Pop-up ads
continue to plague me. What's the matter with McAfee?
Knitting
As usual, little was done. I don't
think there's much hope of getting the yarn for the Sensible
Christmas Project today, but I'll start hoping. (And today is the day
of F's lumpectomy. I'll keep you posted.)
Kate
Davies has been producing a delectable range of new patterns in
the last few days. So little time.
The
Rainey sisters have been knitting Hitofude
cardigans (yes, plural). Very nice indeed, and it looks fun to
do. Those clever Japanese.
I still haven't shown you any pictures
of Alexander's ducks. Soon. Promise.
Re presents. I find that I-tunes vouchers and cheques fit the bill wherever jumpers from M&S are not appropriate. My elder sister likes to be able to change her present, so as long as I have bought a flattering size it doesn't even much matter what the jumper is like. It certainly cuts out the agonizing.
ReplyDeleteIf you have Internet Explorer as your browser there is a pop up ad blocker under "tools". I use Opera at home and can check that if you use Opera.
ReplyDeleteGood luck with your Christmas present list. I no longer buy any for adults but have 11 children under 10 on my list (thanks for the tip about the Rainbow loom, that ticked off 3 boxes).
I love the new Kate Davies hot water bottle pattern and it's solved my sister's problem of what to get me for Christmas, so everyone's happy :-)
ReplyDeleteI'm doing my Christmas cards bit by bit and I do enjoy getting them, I like to decorate the place with them
I fell for the Hoatie Tottie kit too, and bought it immediately, rare for me. I've knit a few of Kate Davies' designs in the last year or two and find them well written and interesting. Somehow the fact that the hot water bottle was included was the clincher.
ReplyDeleteMy brother and I barely exchange gifts these days - Christmases and birthdays alike. I do sometimes make edible gifts (fudge, marmalade, sloe gin etc) and the adults in the family often have to make do with those. Given the amount of stuff there is everywhere I also favour the virtual gift - vouchers for ebooks, or pedicures, massages or other pampering activities.
ReplyDeleteMy sister I laws family have a system for allocating one gift for each adult - so you only have to buy one or two things. Children are dealt with separately I think in a way which cuts out the need or each aunt/uncle to buy for each nephew or niece (she is one of four siblings, and all of her siblings have children so I think there are 10 or 11 grandchildren in all)!
Good luck with it. The key is obviously to exercise some fairness. I think my grandparents stopped giving me presents once I was 21...
Hi, Jean - I can't tell you how much I'm enjoying your blog. I've started with the beginning and am up to January 2006 at this point. It's so much fun to see the projects fly off the needles from day to day and watch your family grow practically overnight. With blogs I'm currently following, it sometimes seems like things progress quite slowly, so having many years' worth of entries to read, one after another, is a real treat. :)
ReplyDeleteI'm catching up from being away several days so please pardon the multiple subjects in my comment.
ReplyDeleteI'm sorry to hear about your niece F's diagnosis. Fortunately they have done quite a bit in medical treatment for breast cancer, and if they are doing just a lumpectomy she should have no problems in recovering. She won't need a cap if she's getting radiation therapy, but a nice pillow would be good so she can rest her arms on something.
I'm glad you were able to move your Excel files into Open Office successfully. As for popups, there should be a setting in your browser that can stop popups. Look under the Security settings (Archie can help navigate).
My Christmas present allocation has been slowly but surely moving along. I'm doing colorwork potholders for the siblings (I have five) with little items added to the package to make them fun. We're all at the age where we don't want things except little items that make the day more enjoyable like good coffee or a meal out at a favorite restaurant.
I'm not much of a contributer, but I so enjoy this blog. Regarding holiday gifts: We all give gifts to the grandchildren (soon to be 3 of them, we are a small group), and the adults draw names, and there is a strict dollar limit.
ReplyDeleteWhen my mother reached her later 70's she started giving gifts from her home: silver, vases, salt and pepper shakers, etc. Mostly, people were delighted to get them, and she enjoyed choosing things she thought would be liked. I still periodically give my daughters gifts "from their grandparents" now long deceased. A friend of mine has started a family cookbook, and each year she adds to the collection by sharing the family recipes that are traditional to their families celebration. I tell my daughters that at 67 I have enough "stuff", and try to limit their gifts to us to "trinkets"