Thanks go to Angie for this one:

It’s said that you can never have too many friends, but Christmas was just a week away and I had five people left to shop for on my Christmas list and only three dollars to my name. How do you tell you mother, brother, and three friends that you can only spend sixty cent on each of them?
“Let’s set a price limit on our gifts this year,” I suggested to my best friend, Joanie.
“That’s a good idea,” Joanie agreed. “How about nothing over five dollars?”
“How about nothing over sixty cents?” I felt like the biggest cheapskate in the world.
“I guess this is where I’m supposed to say it’s not the gift, it’s the thought that counts,” Joanie smiled. “But don’t blame me if all you get is a stick of gum!”
It is almost impossible to buy anything for under sixty cents, so it was going to have to be very small gifts with very big thoughts. I’d  never spent so much time or effort trying to come up with the right gift for the right person. Finally, Christmas day arrived, and I was worried how people would feel about my “cheap” gifts.
I gave my mother a scented candle with a note that said, “You are the brightest light in my life.” Shoe almost cried when she read the note.
I gave my brother a wooden ruler. On the back of it I’d painted. “No brother in the world could measure up to you.” He gave me a bag of sugar and had written on i t “You’re sweet.” He’d never said anything like that to me before.
For Joanie, I painted an old pair of shoes gold and stuck flowers in them with a note that said, “No one could ever fill your shoes.” She gave me a feather and a Band Aid. She said I always tickled her funny bone and made her laugh until her sides ached.
To my other two friends, I gave one a paper fan and wrote on it, “I’m your biggest fan.” To the other, I gave a calculator that cost one dollar and I painted a message on  the back, “You can always count on me.” They gave me a rusty horseshoe for luck and a bundle of sticks tied with a red ribbon because “friends stick together.”
I don’t remember all the other gifts that I got from people last Christmas, but I remember every one of the “cheap” gifts.
My brother thinks I am sweet. My mother knows she is the most important person in my life. Joanie thinks I’m funny and I made her laugh, which is important because her dad moved away last year and she misses him and is sad sometimes.
I was worried I wouldn’t have enough money for Christmas gift, but I gave to five people and still had twenty cents left over. We all still talk about our “cheap” gifts and how much fun it was to come up with a gift that cost pennies but told someone how we really felt about them.

On my bookshelf, I still have a bag of sugar, a feather, a horseshoe, and a bundle of sticks. . . and they are priceless.

They had either gone off to Spokane, Coeur d’Alene, or Sandpoint in search of Christmas sales… or they were staying home to throw another log on the fire.

I voted for the latter… going out only as long as necessary to bring in more wood and feed the horse. He thought everyone else had probably chosen that plan too, since the roads were both slick and bumpy with leftover ice chunks.

5 above during the night and a warm up to almost 11 degrees this afternoon. I’m giving thanks for my new wood stove – especially since the furnace seems to be out of order.

So, a little work for a client, a little brainstorming about how to generate funds for the Battered Mother’s Resource Fund, and a little shopping on line made for a good day at home.

And thinking of the Battered Mothers Fund… If you have a list you’re mailing to, or even a group of friends in your address book, I’d appreciate you helping spread the word about it, because it is in dire need.  The director of this non-profit has been paying most  the bills out of his own pocket, because most people just aren’t interested in helping battered women and children find a safe haven.

That was fine while he was working – but a heart attack and open heart surgery put a stop to that, and now the national hotline is in dire danger of being shut off.

Over the past 2 years, his group of volunteers has helped over 6,000 women across the U.S. find safe shelter where they could take their children with them. They maintain a nationwide database so it doesn’t matter if you call from Priest River or Miami – they’ll help find a safe house and help you get there.

Ten women in the U.S. lose their lives each day to domestic abuse. That makes me think the hotline is pretty important.

To learn more or to make a donation, please visit www.batteredmothers.com. Every single dollar is important to preserve this valuable resource.

Turn on your speakers…

A few businesses are already lit up, along with several homes – one of which I expect will win the lighting contest. (Is there a lighting contest this year? I haven’t heard.  If you know, please reply!)

The funny thing was, the business that outshone the others in terms of colorful lights wasn’t decorated for Christmas at all! That was the Hardwood Grill – with the beer signs that grace its upper windows!

Now that I’ve seen how things look after dark, I think I’ll plan a trip on purpose when Christmas draws near.

Also noticed in the Priest River Times – Our Father’s Cupboard will be giving out Christmas stockings full of goodies and gifts on December 17 and 18. Parents need to call 437-3571 or 448-2370 before December 10 and tell volunteers the age and gender of each child.

I stopped in to make a donation, and saw that God’s Provision is a great place to find inexpensive Christmas decor – there’s a good assortment, along with some Christmassy clothes.

This is a tough year for many Priest River residents, due to the layoffs.  So making Christmas for the kids could be a strain.

If you know of other places offering help, please add your comments here. We all need to pitch in to make sure no Priest River kids wake up on Christmas morning without a present under the tree and a good dinner to look forward to.

Christmas trees for sale in Priest River

Today is “Black Friday” – which seems like a goofy name for the day that retailers across the nation look forward to. Sounds gloomy, even if it does mean they’re hoping to be out of the red and into the black ink in their books.

Thousands across the nation have gotten out of bed in the early hours to storm the malls – and be there for 5 a.m. openings. I’ve never been tempted because I’m not a morning person. Plus, I didn’t see a darned thing in any of the sale flyers that I wanted to buy.

Anyway, it feels “too early” to me – which is why I was startled when I saw these trees for sale in the parking lot at Priest River’s Timberline center on Wednesday.

Will you go purchase one of these beautiful tree-farm trees, or trek out into the forest to cut your own?

I think these are beautiful, but with 40 year’s accumulation of ornaments, I can never find room for all of them when there’s no space between the branches. My tree is always a hodge-podge – of things the kids made way back when, ornaments purchased on various vacations, gifts from family and friends I love, and “something new” every year. It bears no resemblance to a “decorator tree!” But I do get to take a trip down memory lane as I unpack the boxes each year.

How about you? Do you decorate with a theme each year – or a color scheme? Or do you load the tree with a lifetime of memories?