Santa, Baby…..

It’s Christmas, and I assume that even the least religious among us are enjoying the holiday, each in our own way, so this will be brief.

Our multi-ethnic clan exchanges gifts on Christmas Eve, so I plan to use the better part of this day to try out the shiny new toy my obliging husband bought me. (I didn’t hint–I told him what make I wanted, and I specified the model and accessories.)

I’m getting ready to read the manual, so that I take proper care of my spiffy new vacuum cleaner….

What can I say? My children routinely remind me that I’m weird.

It really comes down to being a control freak, and in today’s world, there isn’t much I can control–or even influence. So–our political system may be a mess, but I can see to it that my floors are clean!

Happy Holidays, everyone!

28 Comments

  1. It’s wonderful to start this day with a belly laugh, Sheila. You are easily pleased. Happy Vacuuming.

  2. The only Christmas gift I can think of more wonderful than a new vacuum cleaner – with miraculous attachmenst – would be a replacement for my 20 year old bread machine which blew its motor last week:) Not even Santa Baby could find one!

    Happy Holidays back atcha’

  3. Sheila, I’m glad you like it, but my wife would kill me if I gave her a vacuum cleaner for Christmas…or any other occasion 🙂

  4. I asked for a composter for Valentines Day. My son commented, nothing says love like dirt. Ahh love.

  5. Since we had to replace all of our electrical stuff moving to Europe last year, a stereo that played CDs was on the low priority list. The priority list when we moved was a toaster oven, tooth brush, hair dryer, phone, iron, coffee maker, vacuum and steam mop but not necessarily in that order. I got the stereo for my holiday request and can listen to music again! Happy Holidays and Happy New Year my friends. 🙂

  6. Merry Christmas Sheila! Congratulations on getting the new vacuum, or ‘feeper’ as my brother called them when he was little. I hope that if you have dogs, they won’t be afraid of it as ours were when I was kid. Those old Hoovers were apparently very scary to them but the new ones are quieter and also don’t have a headlight as ours did. If you need to herd dogs quickly get an old Hoover upright – they will do zero to sixty in nothing flat!

  7. Reminds me of my first Christmas with my first husband. I asked for – and helped to select – a spice rack complete with spices and an electric mixer. My friends and co-workers thought I was weird for asking for those things, but I needed them.

    Merry Christmas!! Hope the day for you and your family is full of love and laughter.

  8. Don’t despair, Sheila.

    I’ve heard some dealers will take it in trade for a Fiat 500!☺☺☺

  9. Sheila and all: Happiest of holidays to each! One of Eartha Kitt’s wishes in that classic song Santa Baby was “a ’56 convertible, light blue,” and that tells some of us how long ago it was when the song was a big hit! Regardless, have a great time with family and friends wherever you are! May the spirit of the season carry well into the coming year…a leap year, by the way.

  10. One of my four kids (a general contractor) flew from Indianapolis to Fort Myers Christmas Eve for a whirlwind visit with me, and will return tomorrow, December 26, after stopping at a U-Pick farm en route to the airport to pick tomatoes and citrus to bring back to Hoosierland. Apparently his arrival on Christmas Eve was uneventful due to my advice to him to tell the pilots to be careful upon descent in order to avoid the fat man on the sled and a collision that could spread Chinese toys all over Fort Myers and environs. It didn’t happen, nor, I suspect, does this lame attempt at humor on this Christmas Day, but nevertheless, Merry Christmas, everybody!

  11. Sheila, I know you asked for the vacuum, but the gift reminds me of this video:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Twivg7GkYts

    In any event, I am a former Indiana resident who got introduced to your blog because a friend often shares your posts to Facebook. A few of my friends are whacko conservatives. Many of my friends are whacko liberals. Thank you for being a voice of reason. Happy holidays to you and yours

  12. Leon, a really funny video. Wait a minute. Maybe not so funny. I think I got that shirt.

    Sheila, you are not a control freak. Just someone who likes to think you can manage a tiny corner of a world that is otherwise out of control.

  13. I respect the individual differences of the participants in these discussions. The interesting thing to me about this season is regardless of the subject of the season, peace is the common denominator. It is my hope that you each find a new understanding of peace.

  14. I threatened my family with no more live trees unless I got a vacuum which could handle the challenge. And voila–my (spring) birthday present was a vacuum that could suck the hair off your head. Joann–you can find bread machines at the thrift stores.

  15. I’ve heard it said that husbands should never buy wives a ‘gift’ that plugs in because it’s SO unromantic. However, I also remember asking ‘Santa’ for a new vacuum cleaner years ago. He delivered and it made my life so much easier.

    A colleague of years ago was commenting on his 25th wedding anniversary. We asked what he gave his wife. He said an electric hedge trimmer. We were all stunned. One female colleague finally broke the stunned silence. Looking below his belt buckle, she said she knew what she’d trim first if her husband ever gave her an anniversary gift like that. We all laughed loudly, but anniversary man just looked puzzled. He married a saint.

  16. It wasn’t a Christmas gift but a birthday gift that pleased my 87 year old friend Judy and got big laughs from everyone at the party. Our homes were built when colored bathroom appliances were popular; she had complained about the blue toilet seat – the only color in the correct style she could find. I found an avocado green that perfectly matched her bathroom; she left the party to call her daughter in New Jersey to tell her about her favorite gift.

  17. Merry Christmas! Thank you for the gift of knowledge I can arm myself with this year to make the best decisions!

  18. Oh, how encouraging to learn that families other than mine have that vacuum DNA!

    Our hereditary association with hyper expensive and hyper efficient cleaning machines began with a Kirby and a mother who followed the vacuumer around in bare feet so she could enforce re-vacuuming if it was not done perfectly the first time. My grandmother did not need a vacuum, she had a servant (and, sadly, exhibited the negative personality traits all too often marching hand in hand with that ‘elevated’ status).

    Now our advancing generations seem to prefer Dysons and I hope the negative personality traits continue to atrophy.

    A thought to ponder: the advent of the now ubiquitous cleaning and washing machines and other aids democratized work and enabled many more women to experience the bliss of domestic chores, rather than leaving this privilege in the hands of the help only…

    Cheers and best wishes to all!

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