My Christmas gifts to myself

It seems to me I used to buy a lot more for myself. Or at least fancier things. Perhaps age has impacted my spending habits.

So far this year, I've treated myself to two things. One stitchy, one not. Or shall I say, the animals bought them for me? Yes, because who buys presents for themself, LOL.

The cats got together a few weeks ago and signed me up for the Sanman Merry Members board for 2012. I belonged in 2010, but couldn't keep up with the stitching and so opted not to do it for 2011. It seemed like a good thing for me to do this year, since my focus seems to be on smaller designs, so they got it for me. Such good cats, I knew carrying them around like babies when they tiny would work out in the end.

The dogs borrowed my check card yesterday and bought me Disney's Fantasia on DVD. I have wanted that for a year, but never got it. So, in a moment of rare Schipperke-Pit Bull cooperation, they asked me to let them get it for me. My good dogs. Beazer was of course mightily pleased with himself--he brought his beat-up toy bear for me to admire, jumped on the bed, and ensconced his funky self in the middle of the bed. Left-brain told him to get his foul-smelling butt off the bed, to which his response was to roll on the sheets, and look pathetic, as only an elderly pit bull can look. Methinks he is angling for a good Christmas gift, knowing I am going shopping this weekend, LOL.

And as for me, I spent 50 cents on myself at Goodwill the other day and found A Prairie Year by Prairie Schooler. I might have could waited til the friday night sale and gotten it for a quarter, but what fun would that be? I think that is the best stash I have gotten from Goodwill, and it was quite the find. It goes Buy-It-Now on Ebay for usually $10-$25, bidding a bit lower, but I wanted it, so 50 cents is a good deal. I also picked up some books, but I consider that just helping them make room, because I am clearing out some of my books that I don't want.

I think this will be a low-key Christmas at our house in general. I'll bake cookies this weekend, and we'll trim the tree, but no more 12 foot monstrosities like we've had in the past. The gifts I will give are not expensive, but will be given with love, and we are focusing on the blessings we have recieved this year and will continue to recieve in the next year, if we are lucky: a roof over our head to give us refuge, food in our pantry for sustenance, and someone to come home to who "gets" us. I wish that everyone in the world had at least the first two, and hopefully the third.