Recycled Gifts | by Linda Brendle

I got several recycled gifts this year – not the “re-gifted” kind that someone didn’t want and decided to pass on, but some very special gifts from some very special people. First, there was the phone I told you about last week. David has been looking for ways to expand our limited connections to satisfy my ever-expanding demands. When a good friend upgraded to the latest and greatest, he made David an offer he couldn’t refuse on his existing phone. The friend works for one of the major telecom giants, so rather than being a shop worn hand-me-down, the phone is like new in the original box and has all the accessories and the latest software updates. That’s recycling at its best. But I also got two other very special recycled gifts, items that were something else in a different life and were reincarnated into something different.

The Nature of Generosity | by Linda Brendle

I wrote last week about the Monster Zucchini  my neighbor gave us. Since then we’ve been the recipient of several other generous gifts. What makes people so generous with some things and not with others? Is it in the nature of the giver or the nature of the gift?

The second gift started with an idea from a friend of mine. I’d give you her name, but she’s a little shy. Anyway, her idea was that she wanted to make some sweet tomato relish and some sweet pickles.

Don’t Give Me That

Everybody likes to get gifts, right? Not always. There was a Christmas twenty plus years ago when I turned down what would probably have been the nicest gift under my tree that year.