All I want for my 30th is...
a) Time
b) Space
c) Money
d) a tea slave.
Seriously, any combination of the above would solve a lot of problems in my life.
More seriously, I'm not that interested in birthdays, particularly so-called 'pivotal' birthdays. Presents, I like, but so often people just don't know what to get me, or get me things I will never use. (Case in point: Roger and Judi bought me cheap but rather nice bath bombs last year. While I was in the process of moving to a house WITH NO BATHTUB. Also, three bars of soap that I probably will never use because of my sensitive skin and olfactory system. Discuss.)
Things wot I like, for those who may in future want to buy me a gift:
I like books. A lot of the books I like aren't very available in Australia, through regular sources, especially now that Borders is kaput. I love Better World. I love the idea, I love their prices, and I love the fact that buying from them not only saves books from landfill but sends money to worthwhile literacy programs all over the world. So buying me a book I want through Better World is a fabulous, squishable thing.
I like yarn. Boy, do I like yarn. Most of the nicer stuff is out of my price range, and I can deal with that. But a skein of a pretty sock or lace weight yarn by a company I can only glance at wistfully now and again is a lovely thing. In the same category, more or less, I like fibre. I like spinning fluffy stuff into yarn. And to make that job easier, a swift or a mechanical ball winder wouldn't go unappreciated.
I like kitchen things. Most of the real wants are way above the price range of me and my nearest and dearest, like a KitchenAid mixer or a fancy ice cream maker, but that doesn't matter, because there are other things that I like. Cast iron cookware. Most of the stuff I own I've got for cheap or for free, from junk stores or from people who don't use it. I scrub it, cure it, and what was old is new again, and amazing for cooking with. One thing on my wishlist is a long handled cast iron jaffle maker. Price? About $17 from The Reject Shop. I'm not asking for Le Creuset here. (Though that would totally not be rejected.) A little shallow all-metal skillet would be amazingly welcome, too. I saw a perfect one in an antiques store in Newtown for $25, simply in need of a light scour and re-cure. Glass storage jars with proper metal and rubber spring clip seals, or whatever those are called, you know what I mean. Also incredibly cheap from junk stores. Emma wants a proper zester, too, and who am I to argue. A nice, sturdy set of salt and pepper grinders that don't require twisting or squeezing actions, because Emma can't use those on the bad days. So, probably one of those battery powered thingies. They need to handle being dropped without dying or smashing, too, because we are both clumsy and we have kitchen cats who like to knock shit over. A sugar bowl. I want one, and haven't found anything nice yet that has the proper bowl/lid thing. Something old is FINE. Something cheap is FINE. Jars, jars, jars, with proper screw top lids. We want to make jam and preserves, and we have NO JARS. The ones we do have are all plastic or smelly or have silly plastic lids that aren't able to be sterilised. Saving your (clean) empty jam or pickle jars for us is love, people.
I like food. Chocolate. Coffee. Ice cream. Jam. Fresh produce. Tea, omg, I miss good tea. A voucher for The Tea Centre or T2 would get me something I could ration out for literally half a year.
A lot of people resist buying practical gifts for some reason. I love practical gifts. We have several boxes of scented candles. We have bushels of ornamental things that we literally have no room to display. If someone bought me a pair of fire tongs for my birthday, I would be chuffed, because that's something I wish I owned EVERY BLOODY DAY since the weather got chilly. If someone bought me a decent pair of secateurs, it would make gardening so much less of a hassle.
So, if you want to give me something, and you don't know what, just ask. I'd rather get something I want that isn't as surprise than something utterly useless that is. And if you don't want to give me anything at all, that's fine, too.
xoxo
This entry was originally posted at http://iamshadow.dreamwidth.org/335543.html. Please comment there using OpenID.
b) Space
c) Money
d) a tea slave.
Seriously, any combination of the above would solve a lot of problems in my life.
More seriously, I'm not that interested in birthdays, particularly so-called 'pivotal' birthdays. Presents, I like, but so often people just don't know what to get me, or get me things I will never use. (Case in point: Roger and Judi bought me cheap but rather nice bath bombs last year. While I was in the process of moving to a house WITH NO BATHTUB. Also, three bars of soap that I probably will never use because of my sensitive skin and olfactory system. Discuss.)
Things wot I like, for those who may in future want to buy me a gift:
I like books. A lot of the books I like aren't very available in Australia, through regular sources, especially now that Borders is kaput. I love Better World. I love the idea, I love their prices, and I love the fact that buying from them not only saves books from landfill but sends money to worthwhile literacy programs all over the world. So buying me a book I want through Better World is a fabulous, squishable thing.
I like yarn. Boy, do I like yarn. Most of the nicer stuff is out of my price range, and I can deal with that. But a skein of a pretty sock or lace weight yarn by a company I can only glance at wistfully now and again is a lovely thing. In the same category, more or less, I like fibre. I like spinning fluffy stuff into yarn. And to make that job easier, a swift or a mechanical ball winder wouldn't go unappreciated.
I like kitchen things. Most of the real wants are way above the price range of me and my nearest and dearest, like a KitchenAid mixer or a fancy ice cream maker, but that doesn't matter, because there are other things that I like. Cast iron cookware. Most of the stuff I own I've got for cheap or for free, from junk stores or from people who don't use it. I scrub it, cure it, and what was old is new again, and amazing for cooking with. One thing on my wishlist is a long handled cast iron jaffle maker. Price? About $17 from The Reject Shop. I'm not asking for Le Creuset here. (Though that would totally not be rejected.) A little shallow all-metal skillet would be amazingly welcome, too. I saw a perfect one in an antiques store in Newtown for $25, simply in need of a light scour and re-cure. Glass storage jars with proper metal and rubber spring clip seals, or whatever those are called, you know what I mean. Also incredibly cheap from junk stores. Emma wants a proper zester, too, and who am I to argue. A nice, sturdy set of salt and pepper grinders that don't require twisting or squeezing actions, because Emma can't use those on the bad days. So, probably one of those battery powered thingies. They need to handle being dropped without dying or smashing, too, because we are both clumsy and we have kitchen cats who like to knock shit over. A sugar bowl. I want one, and haven't found anything nice yet that has the proper bowl/lid thing. Something old is FINE. Something cheap is FINE. Jars, jars, jars, with proper screw top lids. We want to make jam and preserves, and we have NO JARS. The ones we do have are all plastic or smelly or have silly plastic lids that aren't able to be sterilised. Saving your (clean) empty jam or pickle jars for us is love, people.
I like food. Chocolate. Coffee. Ice cream. Jam. Fresh produce. Tea, omg, I miss good tea. A voucher for The Tea Centre or T2 would get me something I could ration out for literally half a year.
A lot of people resist buying practical gifts for some reason. I love practical gifts. We have several boxes of scented candles. We have bushels of ornamental things that we literally have no room to display. If someone bought me a pair of fire tongs for my birthday, I would be chuffed, because that's something I wish I owned EVERY BLOODY DAY since the weather got chilly. If someone bought me a decent pair of secateurs, it would make gardening so much less of a hassle.
So, if you want to give me something, and you don't know what, just ask. I'd rather get something I want that isn't as surprise than something utterly useless that is. And if you don't want to give me anything at all, that's fine, too.
xoxo
This entry was originally posted at http://iamshadow.dreamwidth.org/335543.html. Please comment there using OpenID.