Gifts for Leroy

 Hello,

This is true confession or at least as far I can go with it.  I was just going over our expenditures for December and thought about what I had given Leroy for Christmas. Oh no, now I realized that he has a birthday coming February 3 and I have not thought about that at all. Poor Leroy! Perhaps he is married to the only female in the USA who is not especially into buying gifts and marking special days.

What I got Leroy for Christmas was two pair of light weight wool socks because I found them on a good sale. I got two for myself as well. He does like those socks and wears them to work where the temperatures are kept low for preservation of the books. He tells me it is great to have them. It helps so he does not get too preserved.

I also gave him a can opener because he was talking about buying one for me. I did not want a can opener even though I am all for the practical gift. Funds were limited when I grew up and gifts were often a practical item extravagance. For example I remember my mother getting a pop up toaster. That was a wonderful present. We had a toaster, but one needed to keep an eye and a nose aimed toward it because if left to its own devices it would burn the toast. The doors needed to be opened and the toast flipped. My non swearing mother swore a bit at that machine. So, we had had a toaster that worked, but it was not as freeing as the pop up variety.

I thought our can opener still worked even if a bit hard to turn. Leroy, however, grumbled when he washed dishes and cut his hand on the sharp edges of the cans to be recycled. He was quite surprised to get this gift. I am not sure about the pleased feeling, but he accepted it. Now I will have to say that I like the new no sharp edges can opener very well. Perhaps it should have been a gift for me.

Leroy likes to open many things. What else to get? I saw some special soap on sale. But it was still too expense for my standard so I got him some other cheaper regular soap. That was a joke, but he did not laugh much just wondered what it was all about.

I did get him a blue ray player which he has wanted for some time. He was quite happy with that. So I was redeemed, but what will I do for his birthday? Let him use my tablet for a month? I will have to think about this for some days. Next week I will be out of town so much thinking time there as I babysit for Brian’s children. I did also give him all the candy, most of it had chocolate which I do not eat, that I had been given for Christmas.

So I think he was satisfied with what I managed to think of.

Paula