Oh, dear, yesterday’s post was confusing, wasn’t it? First I say these are gifts I give to pineholes, and then I make a list of gifts you want. What are you to think?
Well, they ARE good gifts! I give these things to people I like, too. But in the case of pineholes, the gifts are good only to reflect well on me. I don’t care if he likes them or not, and THAT’S what makes them “gifts for pineholes.” Does he like to do puzzles? Does he need/want a fluffy throw? Who knows, who cares? It’s a Good Gift, and I am giving it to him to fill in the Gift Slot, but with the care/love ABSENT.
I’ve been renewing my efforts to turn off lights that don’t need to be on. (Oh, hi! Subject change!) It does not come naturally. I was feeling all proud of myself as I turned off three lights on my way to the kitchen for another cookie. Then I saw the fridge was partly open. Way to save the environment through care and attention, dimwit.
This morning I caught Edward putting the letter K from our alphabet puzzle into the return-air vent. I rescued it and asked him if he’d put anything else down there. He said “Yeh.” I said, “What?” and he said “J.” I wasn’t sure he knew what he was talking about, but I thought it was worth getting the screwdriver out and seeing what was what. Behind the vent I found SEVENTEEN letters from the alphabet puzzle, a plastic lid, and a lens from our google-eye glasses.
The hired plow that plowed the driveway of our across-the-street neighbors plowed the snow into OUR front yard. That’s…not right, right? I don’t even actually deep-down mind it (it makes a good natural fence between the front yard and the road, and also it’s just SNOW), but I mind IN PRINCIPLE. Paul saw the guy plowing snow into our yard, so he went outside and did a few minutes’ shoveling in our driveway, just to communicate, “Hey, we’re here and we see you.” While Paul was out there, the guy didn’t put any snow in our yard. Then Paul went inside and the guy immediately plowed a big load of snow into our yard (leaving big humps of snow in the road, too) and drove off. NICE.
I suck at the energy conservation myself. I try and be good about it but then, shit, I left the FREEZER open. Explain that one.
I liked your gift ideas, and in fact am on a hunt for that abacus book. My brother would actually love it.
Gift givers around the world (read my mother who bought hub a Jeff Gordon Zippo Lighter for Christmas….he doesn’t smoke……my brother joked that he was buying him a pack of Winstons to go with it…anyway) could learn a lesson from you. These are thoughtful gifts, regardless of the recipient.
Energy conservation would work really well at my house IF I didn’t have a toddler that I chased all over the house continually. There always a damned light on somewhere. I’m making up for it with CFLs.
The gift ideas are awesome!
Have your boys go pee a message of intent in their snow.
Your plow guy sucks. Or rather, your neighbors’ plow guy sucks. How rude!
Also, a crucial question: was one of the 17 letters J? Because if so, your child’s a genius!
my dad has that trouble, except with the guy across the street blowing his leaves off his lawn, across the street, and onto our embankment. makes my dad CRAZY. especially since he has no need for a natural leaf barrier and can get fined if there are leaf piles on his property before the Officially Sanctioned Leaf Pickup Week or whatever the eff they have.
He sounds like a pinehole!!
Perhaps Paul should dump some of your driveway snow onto their driveway in exchange. Rudeness!
Also, letters in the vent: kinda funny for those of us that don’t own that vent.
I think it’s the things that I don’t REALLY mind but just mind in principle that bother me the most. Because most of the time it means someone else is simply being inconsiderate. Jackasses.
My son used to lift up the vents (we were lazy when we remodeled and didn’t screw them back down until this happened) and drop his little matchbox cars down them. Silly boy. Would you care to just finish my shopping for me? There really isn’t that much to be done…er…really there isn’t…
I say he is pinehole too – what a nerve of the guy.
Great gift ideas by the way.
Hey , I forgot … our son uploaded so many things to the video slot (toy cars, biscuits,curtain rings,coins – we wondered why it wouldn’t work -till our friend repaired it.The car cassete radio we lost count of … the twins are getting no way near either.
I like Andreanna’s idea. I think it’s pretty inconsiderate.
SaLy- I looked in my order history and they don’t seem to have the one I bought in 1998, but there is re-edition of it. I can’t tell if it still comes with an abacus or not.
Jess- Indeed, one of them was the J! And Edward said, “Oh! There’s J!” in a happy told-yuh-so voice.
I’m sorry, I am having trouble concentrating on the actual content of this entry and the last because “PINEHOLE” keeps making me laugh like an idiot for like five minutes. Then I get back to reading and then THERE IT IS AGAIN.
Pinehole. SNORT. I can’t wait to use that one.
We found all manner of beads, buttons and wooden animals in our sub-woofer and tower speaker back when our daughter was two.
When confronted, she just smiled and smiled.
If the plow guy was part of a professional outfit, you should get the company’s number, call ’em up and complain. Guaranteed you aren’t the only one he’s doing that to.
My favorite part is that you don’t actually mind it, but you mind it in PRINCIPLE. HAHAHAHAA.
I’m the same way about someone parking in front of our house on the street. Do I actually mind? Of course not. But it’s … well, it seems like it’s vaguely overstepping in some unwritten way, so it’s the PRINCIPLE of the thing, which isn’t even accurate, because what principle am I talking about, really? But you know, it’s just how it is.
OK, the snow plower has me going now. My husband hates when people plow and leave the snow “humps” in the road. I can see why, it IS a little irritating.
Also, I’m thinking this is like what I saw my neighbor across the street doing this week. All our snow has melted (until tomorrow) and it rained almost all week. We all have water standing in our yards/driveways. The neighbor hired someone to dig a trench across his front yard to help drain the water off his driveway. It worked….for him….not so much for the neighbor next to him who now has a REALLY flooded driveway. I couldn’t believe it. If we lived next to him, we would be SO MAD. It’s the principle thing again.
OMG that snow plower guy SUCKS! I wish my bladder infection upon him!
I have to go buy a Xmas gift for a pine-hole today too. I’m buying something I really like, and Hubs says that if she shows one iota of disrespect he’ll swipe it off her for me (it’s his sister).
Hubs used to plow snow. I think most of them do that. Just be glad he didn’t hit your car in the middle of the night and just leave – Hubs saw a City plow driver do that once!
When I was a kid, we had all the playdough confiscated from our house forever because a neighbor kid (Rotten Mike from behind us) stuffed the playdough down the kitchen floor register. Seriously when my brother was the right age, approximately nine years later, he was allowed playdough. My sister and I never had it to play with again.
(My mom, who I love and who loves/loved us very much, was indeed a little intense about that kind of thing.)
Sounds like the plow guy deserves a PINEHOLE gift to me. Jerk.
Our neighbor blows his leaves into our yard every fall. He uses his lawnmower, carefully placing the blow out part on our side of his yard leaving a straight line pile of leaves on our side of the border. Asshole.
What is it about the air vents that hold such a “please put things in me” vibe for kids? I just don’t get it.
I can’t believe the neighbor was having their snow plowed into your yard! That is just rude…
This whole thing made me laugh out loud.