Maggie's Farm

We are a commune of inquiring, skeptical, politically centrist, capitalist, anglophile, traditionalist New England Yankee humans, humanoids, and animals with many interests beyond and above politics. Each of us has had a high-school education (or GED), but all had ADD so didn't pay attention very well, especially the dogs. Each one of us does "try my best to be just like I am," and none of us enjoys working for others, including for Maggie, from whom we receive neither a nickel nor a dime. Freedom from nags, cranks, government, do-gooders, control-freaks and idiots is all that we ask for.

Our Recent Essays Behind the Front Page

Much Sorry with Delays
Birth, Death and All That Stuff in Between
How to Honor Labor Day, Every Day
My Yom Kippur Miracle (Repost from 2010)
Good intro to fly casting
Peach update, with pie
NYC update
Easy for you to say: To the elites on mass immigration
For NYC on 9/11, Sailors' Snug Harbor
Pickled Peaches
Water Shoes
Labor Costs in U.S.
Your "identity"
Good news about The Great Courses
Uses of Hot Pepper Jelly/Sauce, Chutneys, and Jams
A Saturday Drive to Litchfield County, CT
How to Pick a Kayak
Civilized: Fruit forks and knives
Loads of kayaking on Cape Cod
Psychology Experiments' Questionable Results

Categories


All categories

Quicksearch

Links

Blog Administration

Open login screen

RSS Readers

Add to Google

Subscribe with Bloglines

Saturday, August 13. 2016

Birthdays: A Maggie's Summer Scientific Survey about gifts

At the Maggie's HQ we are partial to giving experiences as presents.  This means things like theater or concert tix with fancy dinners, surprise trips, a spa trip, or especially special outings which you might not prefer but which the other loves.


We all are done with trinkets and toys and gadgets, and just want more life in our lives. US Open tix for her this year. She loves that. A good surprise for her.


What sorts of things do you like to give your spouse for presents, but especially birthday presents?


Posted by Bird Dog in The Culture, "Culture," Pop Culture and Recreation at 15:50 | Comments (13) | Trackbacks (0)

Trackbacks
Trackback specific URI for this entry

No Trackbacks

Comments
Display comments as (Linear | Threaded)

This is why we have horses. Every Sunday, sometimes and Saturdays, we trailor horses and two teenage daughters to places and cover miles we wouldn't see on foot. We have spares to take others along as long as they promise not to sue us if something happens. Which never has. Two - three weekends spent horse camping in the Allegheny s and Appalachians.
Memories forever. Kids have no time or energy for delinquency. Birthdays/christmas are marked with new or used, but needed tack.

Horses are like potato chips. Can't have just one.
#1 fjord on 2016-08-13 17:25 (Reply)
OMG. I spent many summer's as a youth cleaning out the horse stalls of the horses owned by people like you.

Do you really want to know what we thought of you?
#1.1 Katy on 2016-08-13 18:56 (Reply)
You though you were pretty lucky to have even a minute around either end of a horse . Please , riding is not about ego but the horse and IT'S beauty . You were lucky . My riders both muck and show the total beauty of an amazing animal and it's relationship to it's caretaker / rider . Grow up and realize your opportunity you got money for things true riders do for free .
#1.1.1 Gg on 2016-08-13 21:05 (Reply)
>>Do you really want to know what we thought of you?

Not really. You missed my entire point.

My kids (and I) muck stalls, feed twice a day, train, (because training is an every-day thing unless you want problems) put 8 tons of hay, 5 tons of straw away every summer.
we don't have hired help. We ARE the help. Also raise 20-30 beef cows a year.
One daughter broke two horses, trained 3 from greenbroke and gave lessons by the time she was 15.
We've "saved" at least 1/2 dozen rescue horses and rehabbed them for someone else's use.


This is mr Fjord's and my gift to them. The gift of hard work, discipline, responsibility and empathy.
#1.1.2 fjord on 2016-08-14 03:05 (Reply)
How I honor you! Kids who grow up around horses are so fortunate... I spent every minute I could at a local Arabian breeder's place when I was a kid. I'd muck stalls all morning to exercise the brood mares in the afternoon... Back in the days when parents didn't sue the pants off anyone who let their kid fall off a horse.

I'll tell you what I think of you! I think you are grand!

Fair Winds
#1.1.2.1 Cap'n Jan on 2016-08-14 20:04 (Reply)
Thank you very much. In today's world hard work and dirty jobs and those that perform them are looked down upon as if its shameful.

Most if my kids friends can't or refuse to accomplish much of anything unless it involves a computer/device\ phone.

There are nonprofit orgs that use horses for therapeutic purposes. Children with developmental disabilities (because riding using all muscles used in walking and then some) and veterans with psychological stresses. You should consider if you have one locally, in offering help to get you back near horses.

Thanks again for your kind words.
#1.1.2.1.1 Fjoird on 2016-08-15 12:04 (Reply)
Cleaning out the horse stalls used to be my favorite chore at Girl Scout Camp--actually, more fun than most of the scheduled "fun" stuff.
#1.1.3 Texan99 on 2016-08-14 10:02 (Reply)
I like to treat my wife to surprise trips to get away.

Anywhere, as long as she's gone away.

I'll be here all week.
Try the veal.
#2 Katy on 2016-08-13 18:50 (Reply)
Last weekend I was camping with family in Bridgeport, California. We journeyed down Highway 395 to visit the Mono Lake Tufa Towers together. At the Ranger booth located there, my son gave me the present of a lifetime. From this day forward, I have prepaid access to every National Park in the United States. And, now that I am 62 years old, he only had to pay $10.00 for that access card. Since I worked in Yellowstone National Park for 3 summers in my youth (where I met my Old Faithful husband of 40 years) and also worked for a summer there recently when I turned 60, this gift could not have been more thoughtful. For all of you out there who are now at least 62 years old, this incredible bargain could be yours also!
#3 BonafideView on 2016-08-13 22:21 (Reply)
DH loves things that are lovely: music, fine art, flowers. Often I give him hybrid roses for the garden--he has become a fine rosarian. I also try to give him lovely art pieces. Except one time--one time I couldn't resist because he has a great sense of humor. Gave him a $1500 sterling silver statute of Mickey and Pluto. Usually, I but him a very fine bottle of his favorite red wine and a large steak for him to grill while drinking his red. Then we have dinner under the trees.
#4 Apple pie on 2016-08-13 23:47 (Reply)
Zip line, if you haven't done it before. With family if possible. Took the whole family on the zip line on Mt. Mansfield in Stowe, VT over the 4th of July holiday. First time for all of us. What a blast!

Similar idea - things like the adventure park at Okemo in southern Vermont.

Segways are great. Most cities have interesting tours. We enjoyed backcountry Segway at Okemo.

Thinking about hot air balloon rides and glider rides. I know people who have enjoyed parachuting, but not my cup of tea.
#5 George Putnam on 2016-08-14 06:09 (Reply)
Balloon rides work great; the wife loved it. Bicycle ride around Angel Island in the San Francisco bay, too, with birthday cake and champagne at the halfway point. Skydiving is a no, but I'm considering taking her to one of those skydive simulation places, where you float above a wind tunnel quality fan.
#5.1 fiftyville on 2016-08-14 14:51 (Reply)
Years ago, Mrs feeblemind remarked to me that, had we been in the primary grades together, I would have been the little boy that loaned her his new blue crayon with the pointy tip.

Six or seven months later her birthday rolled around. I made her a homemade birthday card (I am no artist, looked like a 10 year old did it) with a sentiment written in it and a new blue crayon taped on the inside.

It made her cry.

She showed it to some of her girlfriends and it made them cry.

I have since given her nicer more expensive things but if the house was on fire, THAT would be the gift she would save.

Gifts aren't about the expense, they are about the love.
#6 feeblemind on 2016-08-14 17:32 (Reply)

Add Comment
(Your e-mail will not show in your comment)

By commenting on this site you agree to the site rules listed here. Email
addresses will not be displayed and will only be used for email notifications.

Quick reference guide: [i] italics [/i], [b] bold [/b], [u] underline [/u],
[url] (web address) [/url]. More tips here.

Enclosing asterisks marks text as bold (*word*), underscore are made via _word_.
E-Mail addresses will not be displayed and will only be used for E-Mail notifications.

To prevent automated Bots from commentspamming, please enter the string you see in the image below in the appropriate input box. Your comment will only be submitted if the strings match. Please ensure that your browser supports and accepts cookies, or your comment cannot be verified correctly.
CAPTCHA

BBCode format allowed
 
 
A Chris Southern Consulting website.