I like getting presents! Who doesn’t?
With Christmas fast approaching, present buying and present giving is fairly high on people’s To Do lists.
But getting a Christmas present isn’t a huge surprise. Like birthdays, Christmas and presents go hand in hand.
But if you get a gift when you least expect it, that’s special. It’s even better if it’s something you wouldn’t consider buying for yourself but it turns out to be just what you wanted and/or needed.
I did a bit of computer maintenance for a friend recently. I know my way around PCs and it was nice to be able to do something to help out. For the most part it was a straight forward piece of work and it went fairly smoothly.
A few days later I got a lovely surprise for my efforts, a gift of The River Cafe Classic Italian Cookbook .
I was out of the habit of cooking and getting this book brought me right back into it. A few sauces and marinades later, a couple of very tasty meals and I was back in the kitchen and having fun. The gift was certainly unexpected, but it also fell into the needed category, even if I didn’t realise it myself.
But that’s not all. I got another present recently that brightens up my office. Out of the blue my wife came in with an Amaryllis bulb. The box it came in had everything; an amaryllis hippeastrum bulb, a plastic pot and plenty of compost. I just had to plant it, water it and with a bit of luck, watch it grow.
Here it is, with a shoot just showing. I’m not the best at taking care of plants but I must be doing something right as it’s making progress. I hope to watch it grow and develop over the next few weeks. It adds a little bit of nature’s beauty into an otherwise functional room. I’ll post more photos over time as it matures and flowers, assuming I don’t kill it that is.
Both these gifts were unexpected surprises that turned out to be exactly what I needed, something to encourage me to start cooking again and something that will help bring natural colour into my daily routine.
Thanks guys.
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