OT: Who has started Christmas Decorating

I think most people are genuine in their desire for peace and goodwill as part of the Christmas spirit. The bit that gets up my nose is the fact that so many still listen to the commercial enterprises that force them to spend hugely on wildly wasteful things. It's a pity to assume 'everyone' has shoddy thoughts and nasty hidden agendas at Christmas. I don't believe that for one minute! I do believe that money-making goes into overdrive in the Christmas season and we are all too ready to be hoodwinked into believing marketing hype.

I'd rather receive a home-made cake or handcrafted item than something expensive in a fancy wrapper. Once, I used not to be like that, but then I grew up and learned that big gifts don't make me as happy as the goodwill of my family and friends.

Chrismas is the one time of year when *everyone* is willing to smile and share a few words, I find.

You seem to have a habit of knowing all the wrong people - I don't think I know anyone like that - especially not all my sister friends !

Maybe we're just lucky, but I have some wonderful friends who will turn themselves inside out and upside down for me. Of course I will do the same for them.

Lucille

Same here - I know too many people in the same position for it to be luck, I would think it is more the rule where friends are concerned.

We do something like that - we draw names, so there is only one family member to buy for. This year, I got my sister, and DH got our 33-year old nephew.

For year, when my nieces and nephews were small, I was the 'book' aunt. The two girls and two boys are the only grandkids on both sides of the family, so there were lots of toys, but that way I never had to worry about duplicated gifts, and I knew I was giving things the kids would enjoy.

MargW

There is a main theme in Buddhist belief and tenet and that is we are a reflection of what we see. I didn't see or understand that at first. My mother used to tell me that self-confidence was the biggest turn on to people and the people I'd attract would be those who were also self-confident and that has been my experience.

In the past when I would truly believe everyone was doing everything TO me because I was a mark, it would happily become a self-fulfilled prophecy. Today, if I am around difficult people I take responsibility and when I do that I start to attract others who take responsibility. It's really that simple. YMMV Victoria

Fleeced for what? How can someone fleece you unless you allow it? I'm trying very hard to understand your logic on several things you've said here in the last few days.

Do you honestly think several inches of water in your entire house is simply a matter of using bleach to clean it up? If a few inches came into this house it would ruin heirloom Persian rugs, heirloom Ethan Allen furniture, leather couches and club chairs with wooden donut feet, and hundreds of books, some of which are irreplaceable. Then there is the tile through the house, the linoleum (not vinyl) and a wide array of electonic equipment.

How many people do you know personally who had inches of water who merely cleaned it up with some bleach? I'd lke to meet them and congradulate them for a job well done. However, don't go downtown Austin where flash flooding can happen any time it rains and tell those people in Marble Falls who lost everything they own to a few inches of water. I still can't believe you are saying these things.

How many people do you know personally who bought trucks and luxury items with their flood insurance checks they paid to get? Victoria

Exactly.

J.

My cousin in the UK (near Worcester) was flooded one year and since they don't have basements, the water was on the main floor. They had to dump everything, I mean everything, that was in contact with the water. Flood water is contaminated and also brings mud with it. The walls had to be cut out up to where the flood water came, their lives were a mess, they were not even able to live in the house until certain work was done.

My younger daughter had a flood in her basement and it was the same thing, contamination, even though she is not in the city so it wasn't a question of sewage in the water. She was just grateful that her insurance company paid for all the work that needed doing and the things she had to throw out.

I can't imagine thinking one could profit out of having water in one's home. It's the worst sort of invasion. There may be the VERY ODD person who actually manages to profit, but they must be goddamned clever to do it !

I couldn't agree more with you Trish - I have come to actually hate Christmas time because of the stress and push to spend. This year there were Christmas commercials on TV weeks ago - makes me want to boycott the businesses advertising so early!

Somehow I have to add gift idea/shopping/financial stress, writing and mailing cards, decorating, wrapping, baking and events onto my already full plate - it's a full-time job on top of my full-time job and job as wife/mother/family secretary-cook-housekeeper-animal care technician-gardener-shopper-accountant-toilet paper fairy......you get the idea :P To make things even more fun both my DD and DS have their birthdays this time of year - Dec. 19 and Jan. 6 (oops - poor planning on my part!) I did splurge last year and got my DD a very nice camera - she is a great photographer and is going to study that in college - so worth it to me. My DS always gets art supplies as he loves to draw and will be getting a drum set (used) this year since he's great at music as well. Big items like this aren't usual and would be both for their birthday and Xmas from us.

I love to bake and cook and of course stitch when I can - so homemade gifts are always included. My DH is a woodworker when he has time and also makes gifts. So my idea of a great holiday season is baking, wrapping what gifts I have, going out to cut down a tree - or picking out a nice one from the nursery to plant in the yard later. Having a nice Christmas morning breakfast in your robes while listening to music and unwrapping your gifts one at a time and enjoying what you got!

I try to come up with a recipient-appropriate gift for my DH, DD and DS, as well as grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins. While our list has pared down greatly it is still a lot of people to be creative for and I try very hard to never just buy "generic" stuff but to be creative as possible.

My Dad also has always said he prefers gifts that the kids can play with as opposed to those where they sit and watch "the toy have all the fun". We are all book lovers too so there is always at least 1 or 2 for everyone :)

Sigh...the "shopping season" officially starts here next Friday and I know the country is depending on all of us to go out and spend and help the economy - even though they are also berating us all the time for being spenders and not savers! I for one won't be doing too much of that - my DH and I are keeping our fingers crossed that we don't get laid off at this point so I will only be giving what I can afford to - no credit cards for me!

Well now I guess I better go off and make up a list now - and let the fun begin!

MelissaD

Here in hot, humid FL when a house is flooded no matter how quickly and efficiently it is cleared of water and mud, it is almost certainly going to have a mold problem. Simply raising it won't be enough and the house often has to be gutted to the cinderblock to get rid of the mildew.

Lucille

All I can say is, (Trish and Pat close eyes now) not bloody likely. It's not just mud, it's this thick silt which permeates everything it touches and whether or not it's in the city or out, the water is contaminated with cow or horse dung, and any other chemicals it carries with it.

I never flooded, but I've lost everything I own, including my cat, Ignats, to fire, not once but twice. I sat there rocking on my mothers kitchen floor for hours barely knowing who I was. I lost my poetry, photo's jewelry, clothes,oh everything but the fireplace was there. Horrible thing to say I profitted from that. Flood, the same. One inch or ten feet, the house is ruined and once black mold comes in you better just leave because it can cause brain damage.

Victoria

I just wrote that in my last post. It doesn't only happen in Florida, but it happens more frequently there. We are considered to be part of the humid south in this region of TX. There are hundreds of houses condemned each year from black mold. You can't burn it down, or rebuild it. I forget the case name, but there was a family, wealthy and had a huge mansion which was infected with black mold. The husband lost brain function and he is permanently brain damaged. I think if I remember, their son was a toddler was also brain damaged. They sealed up that house with some kid of wrap and there it sits. Still there; all wrapped up. No mold insurance. Victoria

Unless it is that I misunderstood where you live and you really live in zip code 90210.

Well something is awry. I have lived in many parts of the world, Japan, Hong Kong, Singapore, England, Canada and spent a whole summer in California as a counselor at a camp in the Carmel Valley and didn't seem to run into people like that.

I have friends in Soquel, Santa Cruz, San Francisco, LA, Sacramento, San Louis Obispo and more warm, more cultured, more caring people I couldn't find. I've even considered moving to Soquel. We're still discussing it.

Victoria

Please define self-confident.

Not trying to be mean here, but people who are self-confident do not attract users. Users attract users. Several years ago when I was still friends with someone from rctn who lives miles from me, I called her out of the blue and asked her if she'd go buy me a Porterhouse steak because Mark didn't know how to pick one with the fillet and in half hour I had an inch thick ten dollar steak at my door with no questions asked.

I am not sure I understand your reasoning and it puzzles me what your definition of confidence is. I better not say more. I just wish you'd be more careful with how you word things and maybe examine your own motives like we all have to do. Victoria

In this day and age where unlimited local and long distance is standard? I am having a hard time understanding you. I thought you owned the house. If you don't, why don't you simply get a one bedroom apartment and be self sufficient? OR, take a course in the art of smelling bullshit.

This is a story I've heard at least ten times already. Did you learn anything from it because you've told this story many, many times.

So you are talking about one particular "there people," or are there many "these people" you are describing? What is meant by "these people?"

Define a number of "them." What was the capacity of your relationship with "these people" you don't know? Karen, this is really waning... Victoria

California has a population of what, 23,000,000 people? All local born people in that state are me me me? Victoria