Review of Unique Gifts That Fit The Recipient

 

Throughout the year, there are numerous occasions when a gift is needed. Naturally, when we think of buying gifts, Christmas and Birthdays come first to mind. But there are numerous other times too, such as weddings and anniversaries, a new baby, a graduation, or a retirement. 

There are always the standard gifts of clothing and toys, tools and sports equipment needed or wanted by the person you are gifting. But for someone difficult to buy gifts for, or for that special someone, a unique gift that exactly fits the personality of that person will be remembered forever. 

How to Find the Gift that is Perfect and Unique

To come up with that unique gift idea, all you have to do is listen to, or observe, your children, relatives, and friends you are shopping for.  Perhaps they have a favorite sports team and would love a T-Shirt or hat with their team's logo. Maybe they collect certain things and would enjoy an addition to their collection.

But to be truly unique, I've found that a word or phrase often becomes associated with people, or seem to suit someone's personality to a 'T', and these can make for very unique gifts.

A Few Fun Examples From My Past

Many years ago a luncheon was given for my youngest son and his fiancee where the future in-laws came together to meet one another.  The couple had often been heard to say to each other “I'm doing the best I can.”  One of my favorite books featured an English Manor House known as 'Quantum' because the Latin inscription carved into the Lintel over the front door read “Quantum in me fuit”. Roughly translated, the phrase reads “I did the best I could”. I thought it was the perfect phrase to have put on a pair of T-Shirts for the couple. 

One recent Christmas I came up with the perfect gift for my oldest son. He and I regularly played cards on Wednesday evenings. His favorite phrase to tease me when he was on a winning streak was that his 'Mojo' was working for him. So, at the Mall, I bought a T-shirt and had a shop put decals on it of a hand of cards and the word “Mojo”. My son absolutely loved it and would often wear it on 'cards' night. 

One year I bought a pink sweatshirt for my mom and had the names of her 7 grandchildren printed all over it. Another uniquely individual gift no one else had thought to get.

Gift for the Boss

One of my favorite unique gifts had to do with what the office got the boss one Christmas.  I was in charge of the shopping, so ended up getting a collection of coffee mugs with unique sayings. You see, we worked for the Director of twenty-seven Pathology Labs in a hospital. He often had numerous meetings throughout the day for one lab or another.  He was also a big coffee drinker and frequently filled a cup before going off to a meeting.  Just as frequently, he would 'forget' his coffee mug after the meeting, with people often returning said cups to his office.  To help in identifying which cups were his, we got him mugs with sayings that were unique to his personality.  My all-time favorite, since he was also the County Medical Examiner, read “Don't take life too seriously, it's not permanent”. :)

Summary

So, listen to the people you want to find a unique gift for and you'll discover exactly the right one.

*This article is brought to you by Wednesday Elf. A unique gift for me would be this 'Elf' Mug. LOL.

*Elf Mug is available here on Amazon.

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*Unique Gifts Ideas – review written by Wednesday Elf

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Presto GranPappy Electric Deep Fryer Review

When my husband requested beignets this past week, I realized it was time to purchase a new Fry Daddy.  After all, my original Fry Daddy was over 40 years old.  It served me well for decades, but the time had arrived to retire it.  The last few times that I have made beignets, I fried them in my electric skillet.  Of course, that works just fine, but I prefer the deep fryer that a Fry Daddy offers for beignets or french fries.

My husband's parents were born in Louisiana and we still have relatives living in Louisiana, including my own sister.  Beignets have always been a part of our lives.  After all, one cannot hail from New Orleans and not be familiar with the fabulous Cafe Du Monde and their delicious beignets.  In fact, you cannot visit New Orleans without visiting Cafe Du Monde.  It is just not done!

Since we reside 400 miles away from New Orleans and Cafe Du Monde, we must settle for the next best thing.  A box of Cafe Du Monde Beignet Mix and a deep fryer!  

Preparing to replace my beloved Fry Daddy, I ventured over to Amazon where I discovered the GranPappy!  Oh, yeah!  Now we're talking!!!  

This larger version of the original Fry Daddy is awesome!  I can cook approximately 10 beignets at a time in the GranPappy, which means I am eating them much sooner.  Okay, well, it really means I am sitting down to eat them much sooner.  I always "snack" on them as I am cooking.  They are simply too hard to resist!

By comparison, the Fry Daddy holds 4 cups of oil and the GranPappy holds 6 cups of oil.  The GranPappy deep fryer is taller and wider as shown in the photo below.

 

 

Presto GranPappy Electric Deep Fryer

Presto 05411 GranPappy Electric Deep Fryer

I love the larger size!  It makes me wish I had purchased a GranPappy years ago.

I cook in my electric skillets a few times each month, but when it comes to deep frying smaller items like french fries, beignets, hush puppies, fried okra, etc, I prefer the FryDaddy or my new GranPappy deep fryer.  Because of the taller, more narrow designs, they simply do not pop or splatter oil out as much as the shorter sides of an electric skillet will.  I don't enjoy being popped by hot oil, but we do love our fried foods.  Therefore, I consider the GranPappy deep fryer an essential appliance in my kitchen. 

It takes 15 minutes for the oil too heat in the GranPappy deep fryer.  Keep in mind, you are cooking with hot oil.  I highly recommend using the slotted spoon that comes with the GranPappy to lower your food into the oil.  "Dropping" food into hot oil causes the hot oil to splash back on you and trust me, it burns.

When you are finished cooking, be sure to allow your oil to completely cool (I allow a few hours) before you remove the oil and clean the deep fryer.  

Since the GranPappy has a detachable electric cord, I wash the deep fryer after each use.  I have a separate pot with a strainer for storing the oil for reuse.  The lip design allows you to easily pour the oil from the unit without making a mess.  Alternately, you can store cooled oil in the GranPappy itself.  It comes with a plastic lid just for that reason.  Just be sure to wait for the oil and unit to completely cool before you put the lid on.

Cafe Du Monde Beignet Mix, 28 Oz (Pack of 1)

The GranPappy has only one temperature, therefore there are no controls to adjust.  It maintains the proper frying temperature automatically. 

It comes with a frying timetable to help you determine how long you need to cook food.  For instance, fresh cut french fries take 6 to 10 minutes, but raw, battered shrimp only takes 3 to 5 minutes.  Chicken will take longer (up to 18 minutes) depending on the size of the piece.  Personally, I cook fried chicken in my electric skillet since I am cooking 8 to 10 pieces at a time, but I wouldn't hesitate to cook chicken in this deep fryer if I was only cooking a few wings or legs. 

The beignets only take a few minutes to fry to perfection!

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Celebrating the Christmas Season in St. Charles

 

Christmas on historic Main Street in St. Charles Missouri is always a wonderful way to spend some time.  The shops are all decorated for the holidays, and it is very festive looking.  On this post I will tell you about the festival that is the highlight of the holiday on Main Street and give you a photographic tour of the area with photos I took on a beautiful December morning.

Main Street Decked out for the Holidays.

Storefront with Merchandise Displayed on Sidewalk

The photo above shows one of the creative ways the storeowner uses his merchandise to add to the festive decorations.

Windows and Doorways

The decorating of store windows and entrances adds to the festival atmosphere.

Christmas Traditions

Christmas Traditions is an annual festival held each year from Thanksgiving until Christmas.   It is a very exciting time for young and old alike. Each Friday evening through Sunday evening you will find a host of storybook characters walking around Main Street.  Characters like the Sugar Plum Fairy, Jack Frost and Santa's from many lands are all handing out trading cards.  My granddaughters loved to try to collect all the cards when they were younger and came to visit.

At noon on Saturdays and Sundays all of the characters follow Santa and Mrs. Claus on a parade down Main Street, while children both young and old line the streets to watch.  When not in the parade Santa can be found in the railroad station where you can get your photo taken with Santa.

Other traditions include carolers walking the streets and singing carols and vendors selling things like roasted chestnuts and hot Wassil.

Children can send a letter to Santa and drop it in the special mailbox.

Decorations Galore

Wreaths are found everywhere on buildings, windows and doorways.

This big tree and the red sleigh in front of it is a favorite place to stop and have take a photo of your group.

I hoped you enjoyed seeing one of the ways we celebrate the holidays in my area.  

A few years ago, I wrote about Main Street St Charles with an emphasis on the history of the area.  You can find it at this link.  Photographing Christmas in Historic St. Charles. 

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

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Sci-Fi Lovers, Project Hail Mary is For You! A Book Review

Anyone who has been reading my reviews knows that I am a typical Historical/Suspense novel lover.  Once in a while I get out of my comfort zone and delve into something completely different.  Project Hail Mary was one of those leaps into a genre that I normally don't gravitate towards!

I can imagine that anyone who loves Science Fiction and Mystery stories would absolutely love this book.  So if there is a Sci-Fi Lover on your Christmas List this book is one for them.

 This book is a #1 Best Seller on Amazon and has won much acclaim!

Synopsis:

Ryland Grace is the lone survivor on a mission that has been set into motion at some point in the past.  He's not sure exactly when or where and what the mission is all about.  He's been in a prescheduled coma for a while and his mind is kind of fuzzy.

Looking around he finds himself millions of miles away from earth with only his two deceased comrades for company.

What has happened and what is happening?  His memories are slowly coming back and he realizes that he has an almost impossible task ahead.  One that will be either the salvation of mankind or it's complete demise.

The sun is losing it's strength and the earth is cooling.  There is another ICE AGE on the horizon unless he can find a way to capture and/or disarm the alien entity that is causing this loss of heat energy.  

What else can possibly happen while Ryland is on this quest?  

I found this book to be a total all encompassing read.  While there were many parts that I could not wrap my head around, I think the author did an amazing job of making all of this believable, even though I don't necessarily understand all the science around it.  I let my imagination run with the possibilities!  

Is Earth the only planet that will suffer if the solution to the problem isn't found?  Are there other possible populations in outer space that will also suffer this fate?  It's time to pick up this book and find out.  I can almost guarantee that once you start, you won't want to put this book down again.  

I did have to re-read a few chapters in order to get a clearer picture in my mind's eye, but that was not a deterrent or a difficulty because I really wanted to understand the situation better.  

Would I recommend this book?  You better believe I will.  As I said earlier it's not my favorite genre of book, but I think I will need to make an exception in this case.  I might even have to get his other book, The Martian and read it too.  Broadening my horizons is part of why I love reading. 

I'm sure that a Sci-Fi lover would find this book totally engrossing and even the ending has a poignant cast to it.

I think my next read by Andy Weir will be The Martian, that's how much I enjoyed Project Hail Mary!

If you sign up for an Audible Trial you can enjoy both of these books free of charge.

I'm sure that these books will become a favorite for any Science Fiction Lover!  Enjoy it, I sure did.

 

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A Review of The Christmas Tree And Traditions

One of the traditions I love is putting up and decorating the Christmas tree which we usually do in the second week or December. We usually play Christmas music and for us it feels like the beginning of Christmas! Closer to Christmas we put the presents under the tree. 

Our local towns and cities usually have a Christmas tree displayed somewhere central which look beautiful.

A Minster local to us holds a Christmas Tree celebration each December where all the local charities put up and decorate a Christmas tree in unique and traditional ways in the Minster. People visit and the money raised goes to the charities. It is a wonderful way of raising awareness for the charities, seeing beautiful decorations and having fun for all the family!

Every year an enormous Norwegian Fir tree is cut down in Norway and shipped to London UK to be proudly displayed as the Christmas tree in Trafalgar Square. This has been a tradition since 1947 when Norway has thanked Britain for its support during the Second World War. 

Whether its a real tree or an artificial one for many of us it is the centrepiece of Christmas decorating in our homes and a really fun part of Christmas for adults and children alike. 

History Of The Christmas Tree

The Christmas tree has become a mainstay of the festive season, but it is not a new decoration. Its origins date back a long time when the tradition of bringing evergreen trees or branches into the home in winter can be traced all the way back to cultures such as the Vikings, Romans and  Egyptians.

These civilizations viewed evergreen trees as symbols of life and rebirth, and brought them indoors to ward off evil spirits during the winter solstice. They also served as a reminder during the depths of winter, of the life of Spring to come. 

However, the modern Christmas tree as we know it today has its origins in Germany.

Decorating a tree with ornaments, garlands and candles became popular in the 16th century and became a tradition in Europe and beyond. 

The Christmas tree was introduced to England in the 19th century. Queen Victoria's German husband, Prince Albert, brought the tradition with him to the royal court. Once people saw the Royal family with a Christmas Tree people aspired to have one for themselves. 

In America, the Christmas tree tradition was popularized by German immigrants in the 19th century.

By the early 20th century, the Christmas tree had become a firm favourite and treasured symbol of the festive season and it remains a beloved tradition for many people.

Christmas Trees In All Shapes, Sizes And Decor.

Some of us choose large trees, some small. Some people like a modern tree which may be made of wood or metal, a pre lit bare branched tree, or a full branched traditional one either green or snowy to name a few.

They can be small, large, real ones chosen from the fields or artificial and pre lit or not. They can be decorated with all manner of items from real pine cones to baubles, family pieces and handmade crafted items and lights which can be bright white, soft gold or colours. 

Some ornaments are handed down through generations, or new ones bought each year. 

We still have Christmas baubles and tinsel handed down to me from my parents which we display every year and we occasionally add to our collection. 

People site their Christmas trees in different places. For many it will have pride of place in the main living room, others may have it in the entrance hallway or in the dining room and some may have a couple of trees, maybe a main large one then a smaller table top one. 

A Christmas tree can be decorated in traditional red and green, or golds, bronze, pinks, silver and white or really anything you choose! 

Some people like it decorated in a restrained way while for others no amount of decoration is too much. Some people let their children decorate it in any way they wish, while others have a strict theme.

Its really anything you and your family desire and makes you happy! We love ours especially in the cold, dark winter evenings when the golden lights twinkle and it is just a really pretty, cosy look to our main living room. 

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So in this way the Christmas tree whether real or artificial has evolved over time from a symbol of life and rebirth, to a cherished holiday tradition for Christmas celebrations. It is certainly a key part of our Christmas traditions and we love it ! 

Love to hear which Christmas Tree you choose for your home and how you decorate it!  

Wishing You Happy Christmas!!

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