The Down Range Forum
Member Section => Down Range Cafe => Topic started by: TAB on March 29, 2020, 03:20:38 PM
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So with the kung flu all my goto bday gift ideas for the misses are not possible. I had planned on a trip to the south pacific, but naturally thats out at this point. I went super cheap at xmas, but it was a meaningful gift too her.
Any one have any ideas?
I dont want to do the shiny thing. She likes them, but almost never wears them.
All of my ideas are repeats or not practical( we are in a rental until i find some property and build a house, so doing somethung on the house is not an option)
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A nice hardwood cribbage board!
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Does she have any family pictures, award certificates or other treasured memorabilia put up because she doesn't have anything to display it in?
If so...then maybe that.
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Does she have any family pictures, award certificates or other treasured memorabilia put up because she doesn't have anything to display it in?
If so...then maybe that.
That was xmas lol
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Get a scrapbook, and lay out the entire dream vacation for her. Then do a full candle light dinner at home, and giver the trip plan.
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Get a scrapbook, and lay out the entire dream vacation for her. Then do a full candle light dinner at home, and giver the trip plan.
Her idea of a dream vacation is to stay at home , sleep in and get breakfest in bed. Not exactly exciting.
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Breakfast over a cribbage game!
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You guys got pets? Maybe a pet?
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Tab, Mrs. Rabbit and I have been married coming up on 33 years. Since we were an "item" before engaging in matrimony, there's been around 35 birthdays, Christmases, anniversaries, and Valentine's Days that seemingly required acknowledgement with some sort of gift.
Here's what I have observed through the years. The first ten or so saw thoughtful, tasteful gifts, frequently involving precious metals and attractive crystalline embellishments. Then there came a time when Bunny said, don't get me any more jewelry, I hardly ever wear it. Bunny was an OR Nurse at that time and had to remove her rings before putting on her latex gloves. It was a hassle she didn't need and so stopped wearing rings on work days--then on non-work days. So, jewelry was no longer an option.
That was okay because I view jewelry as a non-performing asset. If I am going to spend a large sum of money, I'd like to get a return on said investment. That said, stock certificates are not particularly attractive birthday gifts.
Through the second decade, gifts became more travel oriented. A couple of trips to Peru, a year spent in Asia (mostly Thailand, but also Vietnam, Malaysia, Cambodia and various surrounding countries). That was more than a trip as we taught English as a Second Language classes to defray expenses. Then, Bunny wanted to take some trips that I wasn't particularly interested in taking. I sent her to Mongolia, and Africa (I would have enjoyed a hunting safari, but Bunny had recently seen the story about that dentist shooting an old lion and my hunting would have caused a rift). We have also traveled to the US Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, Belize, Guatemala, Honduras, Ecuador, Colombia, and various other Central and South American locales. And we make annual pilgrimages to Maui to visit the grandkids. The current Covid 19 situation makes those kinds of adventures impossible.
By the time we approached our third decade, we had everything we needed in a material sense. If Bunny wants a new tennis racquet or something, she buys it. Gifts are almost an impossibility because there is nothing either of us needs, and not that much that we want. So, gifting took on a different slant. I am a pretty capable chef, so for a couple of years celebrations involved my putting together some sort of elaborate feast with a few bottles of excellent vintage wine.
But, as we become more senior and less active, we have also become more calorie conscious. Elaborate feasts are fewer and less elaborate. For the most part, those annual celebrations have been reduced to an exchange of cards with touching notes included.
What I am saying, Tab, is unless you have specific knowledge about something your wife has wanted but has denied herself, no gifts are needed. The fact that you have shared so much of your life in love's warm embrace isn't enhanced or improved by a gift. Certainly, you will want to acknowledge the celebratory day with a card or some flowers, but there comes a point where gifts are superfluous. Maybe you two have reached that point. If you haven't yet reached that point, my wish for you is that you will.
Good luck,
Crusader Rabbit
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You guys got pets? Maybe a pet?
No pets. I will eventuality get back i to aquariums, but have to build a house 1st.
Being in a rental extremely limits us, but it has to be this way. I dont want to buy a house only to sell it 6 months to a year down the road.
I know she would like a new luxury car, but thats not something I would ever pay for. I will never buy a new vechicle unless its for work. Her last car i tried to talk her into a 1 year old car with 9k, but she wanted new. So i told her, here is 20k. Anything over that, you pay for.
I have spoiled her in my gifts are almost always made by my hands or have extreme meaning too us.
Reality is i can buy her any thing she wants. With her just taking an almost 80k pay cut and 4 more years left on her stundent loan, she really cant. Her bring home is not much more that the national average. Luckly, all ahe has to pay for are her expenses as i cover the house hold costs.
Almost 10 years ago, i was helping her do her taxes, she complained about how much she had to pay. I showed her my completed schelgde c for that year and the break down on a spread sheet. She never complained about t agian. Shortly after thabksgiving we talked about the numbers envoled in the sale of my business. That was only the 3rd time we ever talked about money in 15 years. I was actually looking forward to the trip
In our entrie time together, we have taken 3. 1 was the honey moon, whixh was 4 days. The 2nd was a trip to meet her parents that was 3 days. The last was 2 years ago to her sisters wedding. It was 4 days. I have not really had days off. Seeing me at home when the sun was up either ment something bad happened or the weather shut me down.
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Her idea of a dream vacation is to stay at home , sleep in and get breakfest in bed. Not exactly exciting.
I was referring to the South Pacific idea you had.
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You want to get her the perfect gift? Noise cancelling headphones! The benefits are twofold. First of all, you can make all the noise you want, and so can your neighbors if you have any. Secondly, she can honestly say she wasn't ignoring you, she just didn't hear you. She'll love you even more than she does already.
It's not easy having a spouse at home all the time. When my friend retires, his wife is going to spend all summer at their cabin up north and he'll be home most of the time. Then she'll make him spend all winter at the cabin while she's at home. Maybe he and the boys will get more snowmobiling in when he doesn't have to drive for hours to get far enough north to find snow to ride in.
BTW, it was 59 degrees here the day after Christmas. So close to being in the 60s in the middle of winter in Michigan. There was an old joke that went like this;
What do you call summer in Michigan?
Three months of bad snowmobiling.
The truth is more like this. Winter is 3 months of bad snowmobiling unless you're willing to drive to where the snow is, and sometimes it's 5 hours or more each way. The rest of the year is no snowmobiling unless you count grass drags, water drags, etc., and I don't know anyone who does that.
If the meme below pisses anyone off, they should ask themselves why. It's just a silly meme, right?
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TAB,
I saw this on Red's page
https://www.misibarc.com/wf142
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TAB,
I saw this on Red's page
https://www.misibarc.com/wf142
That's pretty cool. And when it says NOT DISHWASHER SAFE they really mean it. I have a coffee cup with Captain Kirk, Mr. Spock and Dr. McCoy on the transporter pads. When it was new and I poured hot coffee in they beamed up and disappeared, but now they're mostly gone all the time. I ran it through the dishwasher and it never worked since. The only part of mine that changed was line drawings on a white cup. I never saw one where the whole cup changed. Amazing.
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Give her your heart, in 10 ounce solid chocolate form, white, milk, or dark chocolate, unless she's one of the millions of unfortunate souls with a chocolate allergy. I haven't met a woman yet who doesn't like chocolate, especially during that time of the month. That's why I prescribe the chocolate PMS pill. A little shot of chocolate always makes things better.
https://chocolatevault.com/product-category/medical-dental/
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So Tab, where in the South Pacific were you headed before all of this virus thingey took over? I was just wondering since I took that WWII history trip last year.
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I was looking at a few islands in french polynesia.
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Choosing gifts for your loved one has always been a challenge. In the future, ask her what she would like. If she does not receive what she wanted, at least something close, she did not communicate her thoughts correctly. What works for me? My girlfriend likes almost everything; I don't spoil her with expensive gifts. The last time I gave her a big box of pick and mix sweeties (https://www.manvsweets.co.uk/). She was even surprised by the idea of the gift and after that of that box itself. She adores sweet stuff, and I know it. Why not give her more.
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Somewhat like the bot you are.....
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Choosing gifts for your loved one has always been a challenge. In the future, ask her what she would like. If she does not receive what she wanted, at least something close, it means that she did not communicate her thoughts correctly
"Oh, you hate the present ?
Well maybe you should not suck at describing things."
Yeah, Let me know how that works for you. ::)
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Somewhat like the bot you are.....
You gotta admit, they're getting better.... ::) ::)
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At times....
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They are still a pain in the A$$.
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The French press is a great birthday gift for lovers of herbal tea or coffee drinks. Choose a French press made of glass, ceramic, or steel. Less plastic, so it does not come into contact with the finished drink. It is safer and more environmentally friendly without plastic! I often give jetgiftbaskets (https://www.jetgiftbaskets.com/), which can be ordered online on the website. Maybe my friends like to eat too much. Give a raincoat if you don't know what to give for your birthday. It will be useful to everyone, especially when traveling. Choose a raincoat in bright colors or with interesting illustrations.
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Or not better. Look at that last bot construction. ex-boyfriend, Dad bought a shirt...whatever. Stupid bots.
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"Oh, you hate the present ?
Well maybe you should not suck at describing things."
Yeah, Let me know how that works for you. ::)
Good one, Tom. :)
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The French press is a great birthday gift for lovers of herbal tea or coffee drinks. Choose a French press made of glass, ceramic, or steel. Less plastic, so it does not come into contact with the finished drink. It is safer and more environmentally friendly without plastic! I often give jetgiftbaskets (https://www.jetgiftbaskets.com/), which can be ordered online on the website. Maybe my friends like to eat too much. Give a raincoat if you don't know what to give for your birthday. It will be useful to everyone, especially when traveling. Choose a raincoat in bright colors or with interesting illustrations.
I don't normally give people gifts for my birthday. But if I did, I wouldn't be giving raincoats as birthday gifts. Unless someone unexpectedly showed up in their birthday suit. This is one of the stupidest things I've read in a long time, and that includes reading my own posts.