~★~♥~♥~★~ El Morno! ♥~★~★~♥ ~
December 16th, 2012

★~ Today’s Quote:  “I do not want people to be very agreeable, as it saves me the trouble of liking them a great deal.” ― Jane Austen, Jane Austen’s Letters

★~ Re-Gifting Day:

Remember the 1995 classic “Seinfeld” episode, “The Label Maker”? It’s the one where Elaine realizes that Dr. Tim Whately has given Jerry the label maker that Elaine had previously given him. Elaine makes her accusation as a proclamation, while her eyes just about pop out of her head: “He’s a Re-gifter!” she exclaims. And with that, “re-gifting” became a dirty word. In case you never saw the episode or forgot I posted the clip.

But in this age of green giving, when many of us have accumulated way too much stuff, re-gifting seems to have become a bit more socially acceptable but you still don’t want to get busted.  Check out Did You Know (below) for a few re-gifting tips.

★~ Chocolate Covered Anything Day:

Chocoholics, rejoice! Chocolate Covered Anything Day is your day to top everything that you eat with chocolate. I plan to dip some fruit in chocolate FUNdue.

★~ Today in History:

♥~ 1773 – Boston Tea Party Day:  The people of Boston made the biggest ever batch of iced tea by boarding a British vessel and dumping its cargo — 342 chests of tea – – into the harbor. The British responded by sending ships with lemons and drinking straws, but by the time they arrived, all the iced tea had floated to Long Island, creating a whole other reason to celebrate.

♥~ 1901 – Peter Rabbit, by Beatrix Potter, was printed for the first time, complete with Potter’s watercolor illustrations. Ms. Potter had come up with the Peter Rabbit concept eight years earlier when she sent a story, told in pen and ink drawings, to a five-year-old who was sick in bed. The first story about the ill-behaved rabbit was meant to cheer up the little boy. Children throughout the world enjoy the first and 22 more tales about the cotton-tailed bunny and his friends.

♥~ 1951 – NBC-TV debuted “Dum-de-dum-dum. Dum-de-dum-dum-daa.” Dragnet made it to TV, in a special preview, on Chesterfield Sound Off Time. The Jack Webb (Sgt. Joe Friday) police drama opened its official TV run on January 3, 1952. Trivia factoid: Sgt. Friday’s boss in this preview was played by Raymond Burr (later of Perry Mason and Ironside fame).

♥~ 1971 – Melanie (Safka) received a gold record for the single, Brand New Key, about roller skates and love and stuff like that. This one made it to #1 on Christmas Day, 1971.

♥~ 1971 – Don McLean’s eight-minute-plus (8:32) version of American Pie was released. It became one of the longest songs with some of the most confusing (pick your favorite interpretation) lyrics to ever hit the pop charts. It was a disc jockey favorite since there were few songs long enough for potty breaks at the time. American Pie hit #1 on January 15, 1972.

★~ Born Today:

♥~ 1770 – Ludwig van Beethoven composer: Regarded by many as the greatest orchestral composer of all time, Ludwig van Beethoven was born at Bonn, Germany. Impairment of his hearing began before he was 30, but even total deafness did not halt his composing and conducting. His last appearance on the concert stage was to conduct the premiere of his Ninth Symphony, at Vienna, May 7, 1824. He was unable to hear either the orchestra or the applause. Often in love, he never married. Of a stormy temperament, he is said to have died during a violent thunderstorm Mar 26, 1827, at Vienna.

♥~ 1775 – Jane Austen author: Pride and Prejudice, Emma, Sense and Sensibility; died July 18, 1817

♥~ 1943 – Steven Bochco Emmy Award-winning executive producer: Hill Street Blues N.Y.P.D. Blue, Cop Rock, Capitol Critters, A Fade to Black; writer: Ironside; story editor: Columbo

♥~ 1943 – Anthony Hicks musician: lead guitar, songwriter: group: The Hollies: Stop, Stop, Stop, The Air that I Breathe, He Ain’t Heavy, He’s My Brother

♥~ 1949 – Billy Gibbons musician: guitar, singer: group: ZZ Top: Salt Lick, Jesus Just Left Chicago, La Grange, Tush, Gimme All Your Lovin’, Legs, Sharp Dressed Man,Sleeping Bag

♥~ 1962 – William ‘The Refrigerator’ Perry football: Chicago Bears defensive tackle: Super Bowl XX

★~ Did You Know:

♥~   Thoroughly examine your re-gift. Even if the gift is brand new and comes in the original box, take a sharp knife and plow neatly through that Scotch tape and make sure there is no tattle tail card inside. This is especially important for wedding gifts.

♥~  Avoid going on about how you picked the gift out just for them or how you knew it would be the perfect gift.  Zip your lips and give the gift.

♥~ If you re-gift a gift card be sure to check the balance first to make sure it matches the value on the card. I once received a Starbucks card with a $10.19 balance.The original card value was $20.00.

♥~  If you are the recipient of a re-gift, relax. We’ve all done it, right? Not you? That bottle of wine someone gave you at your last dinner party that you just brought to someone else’s dinner party? That counts. But no worries. By the time that bottle is re-gifted again, finally opened, and the recipient realizes what crappy wine it really is, you won’t even be vaguely associated with it.

♥~ No fair re-gifting fruitcakes or crafts kits that were given to your children. Just suck it up and save the glitter craft kit for a rainy day.

♥~ Don’t re-gift If you are not sure if you should or would you die of embarrassment if you were caught.

♥~ If you do get busted use the story later to delight your family and friends. Or if you are like me blog about it.

♥~  and finally remember re-gifters on in good company, Jacqueline Onassis re-gifted. In 1971, she gave hubby Aristotle Onassis a watch once owned by JFK that had been a gift from a socialite couple. A few years ago, the watch auctioned for more than $150,000.

★~ Links: 

Sensible Gun Control: Do We Have The Courage To Stop this?

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Speaking of passing it on…

If something isn’t right for me, I’m more of a returner or I might offer it to someone who might like it or can use it. I’m not opposed to re-gifting, unless it’s a fruit cake.  After all, I come from a family that doesn’t sign greeting cards so we can send them back and forth to each other or pass them along to someone else. Odd. I know. What about you? Re-gifter or not?

Odd Loves Company,