Archive through August 19, 2003
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TV ClubHouse: Archive: Advice/Suggestions Needed (ARCHIVES): Archive through August 19, 2003

Conejo

Thursday, May 08, 2003 - 09:23 am EditMoveDeleteIP
Thanks for the great suggestions Sia & Mary!

Mom (aka mama)really doesn't have any hobbies except for gardening. Although she does collect Lladro porcelain (as do I) I have to reserve those expensive gifts for Christmas. There are some nice gift shops around town, so maybe I'll just stop after work and see if I can find something special that I know she would like. If all else fails, I know that she does love flowers and would really appreciate a nice floral arrangement.

Mary, a nice picture frame and photo is a great idea - but I'm afraid I'm running out of time. However, that is probably something that I should do since I haven't had a professional photo taken since high school (20+ years ago).

Thanks again guys! Hope you all have a wonderful Mother's Day!

Rissa

Thursday, May 08, 2003 - 09:27 am EditMoveDeleteIP
Marysafan, that's a great idea!! We did this about five years ago for my parents anniversary. Without their knowledge, my siblings and I, our spouses and children (who don't all live in the same city or even coast) got together and had a portrait taken. Might be a little short notice for THIS mother's day though. LOL

Something I do a lot is make my own gift baskets. Put in a couple magazines that she would like, her favorite perfume, a munchie she likes (or chocolate perhaps), something for a hobby she has, couple scented candles, etc., etc. Just a bunch of little things that don't make a *whole* gift on their own. You can buy a roll of the crinkle wrap at any craft dept and just tie it with a ribbon.

Conejo

Thursday, May 08, 2003 - 09:43 am EditMoveDeleteIP
Rissa, thanks for another great idea!

My mother usually does that for ME when she comes to visit and I just love those 'care packages' stuffed with all kinds of goodies!

Zachsmom

Thursday, May 08, 2003 - 09:48 am EditMoveDeleteIP
Since she's a gardener..instead of buying flowers, why not buy her a plant? Buy a perinial so it will last..everytime she looks at it she'll always think of you.

Conejo

Thursday, May 08, 2003 - 10:22 am EditMoveDeleteIP
Thanks Zmom!

If I don't find anything tonight, I might just do that. Do florists deliver perenials?

Zachsmom

Thursday, May 08, 2003 - 10:27 am EditMoveDeleteIP
If they have them in stock!

Jedisan

Thursday, May 08, 2003 - 11:40 am EditMoveDeleteIP
Conejo:
Ms Beasley's has great gifts, if she likes sweets. There are the standard mini muffins, and cookies, but they have great gift baskets too.
i would put a link if i knew how, but the web-site is:
Mrsbeasleys.com
or
cookiesbydesign.com (really cute cookies)
Good Luck
<fixed links> (22)

Conejo

Thursday, May 08, 2003 - 12:14 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
Thanks Jedisan!

I knew I could count on my fellow TVCH-er's to come up with some great gift ideas!

Bookworm

Thursday, May 08, 2003 - 02:05 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
Conejo, last year I took an old photo of my siblings and I (taken when we were kids) and enlarged it at a Kodak stand at Walmart, and put it in a nice frame. It was inexpensive and Mom really liked it.

Sia

Thursday, May 08, 2003 - 08:18 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
How long does it take to get portraits back when they're taken at Wal-mart, etc? I have ours taken at J.C. Penney, and it takes about three weeks. Hey, Conejo, you can go to one of those photo booths at the mall and walk out with a portrait in four minutes!! Some booths take only black-and-white, and some take color!! It costs about four dollars, if I remember correctly, and sometimes it's a really fun thing to do! Frame it and wrap it and add the goodies that have been suggested, and you have a wonderful gift for Mama.

I like a "real" gift better than a gift certificate, actually.

You know, I have been wanting one of those American-flag-theme wooden signs you put on the front of your house. They're made of boards and painted in country colors and they're rustic. Sometimes the blue field is painted with just one big white star, and sometimes you find a grapevine or other type of wreath on the blue field. They're $40 or more, depending on size, and I haven't bought one for myself because of the cost. I'd love to get one of those for Mother's Day. If I can find a picture of one, I'll post it!

Sia

Thursday, May 08, 2003 - 09:00 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
Hey, I found one that is very similar to the ones that are available where I live. They're made here, too:
flagplaque
Here's another one:
plaque2

Bookworm

Friday, May 09, 2003 - 04:40 am EditMoveDeleteIP
Sia, the Kodak Picturemaker at Walmart is pretty much instantaneous. You know the commercial with the kid that has a picture of grandma when she played baseball in her youth? He wants to make it bigger, then he says 'Grandma, can you still do that?', and off to the back yard they go. That's the thing I am talking about. It is very simple and very inexpensive. Mom loved the picture and frame.

Sia

Friday, May 09, 2003 - 11:43 am EditMoveDeleteIP
I've seen that commercial, Bookworm. Yes, that would work great for a picture you've already had taken, but if you want to get the family together for a special portrait it takes a while to get the pictures back from the portrait studio. That's what I was questioning.

Sia

Saturday, May 10, 2003 - 11:34 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
Conejo, my best friend from college is an m.d. and he collects the Lladro figurines of physicians. They're so long and lean and angular. Very distinctive, though; you obviously have good taste!! I think I'll do a Google search on those and see which figurines are new since I last saw some of the ones from that line. They are extremely pricey!

Ginger1218

Thursday, June 12, 2003 - 03:28 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
I have a question, hopefully somebody knows the answer.

The plastic covering the speedometer, odometer, etc. in the dashboard of my car is either dirty or fogged up (on the inside). It is making me crazy, I need it cleaned. The question is, where could I bring it for them to do it? They obviously have to take it off to clean it. So, what kind of place would I go to?

Kaili

Friday, June 13, 2003 - 06:23 am EditMoveDeleteIP
I have no idea- mine has somehow gotten fur inside it. Maybe a detailing shop?

I have a question of my own. Well two really but I was talking about the second one last night and said it was a good question but right now I can't remember what it is. I'll have to come back when I do.

My question is this... can someone explain to me the whole rent-control thing, like in New York? I know rents are really high there (I only pay about $400/month) and I get the whole supply and demand thing- but I don't have a clue about rent control. Is that just a cap on how high rent is? Who controls it and how do you get grandfathered in? If you live in a building that's rent controlled, and the building is sold, do the new owners get to set the rent they want?

I sure wish I could remember the other question....

Draheid

Friday, June 13, 2003 - 08:37 am EditMoveDeleteIP
Ginger1218: I did a bit of searching yesterday for tips on how you could clean/dry your speedometer yourself and wasn't able to find anything. The intstrument cluster is usually one big package and integrated into the dash with many layers of 'facing' around it. To remove it from the dash requires taking the dash apart and would best be left to a mechanic. Contact your local service garage or auto mechanic and ask if they do such work. It might almost be cheaper to replace it so be sure to get an estimate of the two options. They might even have a tip for you to fix it yourself.

Good luck. Sorry I couldn't be more help.

Ginger1218

Friday, June 13, 2003 - 09:03 am EditMoveDeleteIP
Draheid that is very helpful, I just was not sure whether to take it to a mechanic or a body shop or a car wash LOL.

I will ask my mechanic, Thanks.
Everyone always says you can help with anything. :)

Tabbyking

Friday, June 13, 2003 - 10:01 am EditMoveDeleteIP
i knew a professor in the 70's who lived in a rent-controlled building in manhattan. she was still paying only a fraction more than she was in the 40's, when she and her husband first lived there. everyone else was paying 1,800 bucks even then (3-bedroom, 2 bath, probably about $4,000 or more now) and she was paying maybe 450 bucks! if she moved out, however, the owner could have raised that apartment's rent to what he charged for the others. as long as she stayed, her increase could only be maybe 2% a year. if it sold to someone else, she was still protected. it's when the tenant moves that the rent can change drastically. i doubt that professor is still alive, but if so, she is probably paying only a thousand dollars now to everyone else's hefty rent!

Abby7

Tuesday, August 19, 2003 - 04:15 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
Any ideas for a soon-to-be one-year old? (my great niece).

I'm thinking of a keepsake type gift, since she doesn't really "need" anything.

I already have some home-made type gifts that I plan to give at a later time.

I would like to find a gift online and ship it directly to her. (I live in Los Angeles and she in Montana). Preferably, under $100.00.

Any ideas? Maybe gifts you received for your one-year old and really cherished (that weren't home made).

Abby7

Tuesday, August 19, 2003 - 08:36 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
i'm bumping this.

OKAY.

can anyone tell me a gift you remembered that your child received at one year old...hand made or not, at any cost that you thought was sort of special?.

ANYONE?

Jmm

Tuesday, August 19, 2003 - 08:48 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
Abby7, Sorry, I just saw your question.....here's a site that has some cute suggestions. I especially like the "People That Love You" book.

http://surprise.com/kids/1_year/

Squaredsc

Tuesday, August 19, 2003 - 08:55 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
sorry abby7, unfortunately i don't remember anything my kids got at 1 that i kept, lol. but a memory book is a good idea.

Wargod

Tuesday, August 19, 2003 - 09:10 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
Lets see what I can remember. Savings bonds, clothes, and toys. How about a set of books? One of the kids got a Disney set for their first birthday. Maybe a nice children's bible if the family is religious. Hmmm, I'll have to think about this some more.

Abby7

Tuesday, August 19, 2003 - 09:11 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
THANK YOU, SQUARE.
THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU.

(geez, how pathetic am I?)