Gift For Her Archives - Page 4 of 9 - For Someone Who Has Everything Blog

Is Your Someone Special a Birder, Birdwatcher Or Bird Lover?

By Jan Carroll

You already know the answer if they are a birder.

They seriously follow birds and actually will travel great distances to see a rarely seen bird, and love to buy all the latest books bells and whistles. No lens or camera is too expensive if it helps them get that perfect shot!

A birdwatcher on the other hand is not quite so fanatical about buying the latest tech and is generally more laid back in their approach to watching birds. For example, they’re less likely to take on treacherous terrain, long distances or foul weather and carry a regular camera. Whichever they are you can find great gifts for them.

But before I go into that I have a story to tell you.

Before we moved into our current home we lived in a very nice area, with great neighbors, but as happens in cities most of the nature we saw there was the wrong side of human nature; drunks, drug addicts and police take downs. It was a very pretty neighborhood for the most part but sadly marred by its proximity to a rapid transit station, so as well as the aforementioned ills, it was noisy. I mean, really, really noisy from the traffic and at all hours. Of course there was the occasional skunk, raccoon, and birds but we were so uncomfortable outside, we really didn’t notice them much… Except for Biff and Muffy, (house finch) who I may do a story on too sometime.

But anyway…

Five years ago when it was time for a move, we were fortunate enough to find a home in a very quiet neighborhood. It’s high on a hill top, close to some waterfront park lands so nearer to nature and off the beaten path of main city arteries. Not a big deal, but for us a little paradise. Our backyard has lots of tress and is nicely secluded. It was quite the change from being fearful of our safety while sitting on our front porch chairs, to a car driving by a night being an ‘event’. Quiet…So nice and quiet. At our old place, I needed a fan going in our bedroom at night to act as white noise to drown out the traffic noise. I still use the fan but now it’s because I can’t sleep because it’s too quiet! LOL!

I was telling a story about birds and got off track or should I say out of focus so let’s get back to the story.

I never considered myself a bird watcher until our new move. Sitting out on the deck you see all types of birds, many of them I knew, many I didn’t. I slowly found myself being able to identify birds be their calls, or sounds they make during mating season. One bird we named Krupa (after the drummer Gene Krupa) because he would find anything metal to pound his beak on to attack the attention of a mate. He is a great drummer 🙂

So here I am now, a birdwatcher!

Last spring we noticed a Steller’s Jay flitting from tree to tree. (Who knew the Steller’s Jay is the provincial bird of British Columbia, where I live!) The cry was quite piercing. The jay became a more frequent visitor and more social, jauntily bouncing about our yard, hiding peanuts and other treasures, certainly not frightened of us. Then one day there were two. We thought that maybe they might nest. They would show up every now and then. Each, on its own coming pretty close to us, we even saw them together every now and then, but no sign of nesting.

It’s amazing the variety of sounds they make. The two jays together spoke quite differently to each other. Much quieter and almost like a whisper, sometimes it was low, buzzing chortle…Pillow talk?! Other times they would shriek and screech and we knew something bad was around. Billy chased out a cat as well as a raccoon. The jays would follow him along and talk to him while he exiled whatever baddie was infringing on their/own space or threatening their nest. I think this made them realize we were watching out for them. I wish I had a binoculars that record video so I could show you. Those are now on my wish list.

One day when we were sitting out on the deck Billy pointed to a tiny bird.

It was sitting in the old antique style bath tub filled with soil which doubles as piece of garden art beside our garage. We watched raptly for awhile, then sure enough what we suspect was the Mum Jay landed nearby and bounced around probably trying to instruct it how to get back up in the nest (which we still had no idea the location of). It stayed on the edge or sat in the tub for a day.

The next day it was out of the tub and on the grass bouncing around exploring, blissfully unaware of what a big bad dangerous world it had landed in. This was the cutest baby bird ever! The jays have a fan crested head, but this baby jay had a bed head. It looked like it had slept wrong and all the head feathers were scrunched. Kind of a punk rocker look. As dumb as the day is long but so adorable. The little guy was attempting to flap his wings but when he did it put him off balance. You could almost see on his face that he wasn’t sure what they were for.

The whole experience was kind of like having a little extended family, and we were as protective as the parents, guarding it from harm but careful not to upset Mom and Dad. I had hoped to get a picture of the baby but they managed to get it back in a tree before I could. The next day it was gone. This will always be a fond memory.

You can find some unique pet presents here!

So this is how I became a bird watcher and led me to personally look for bird watching items.

Now Is The Time For Camping Gifts For Your Someone Special

By Jan Carroll

When you are looking for a gift for your someone who has everything in your life don’t forget to think about their outdoor activities.

For example, if they like to camp there are so many new, and inventive, tents, gear and gadgets that they will love. I have so many to show you…

But before I go into that I have a story to tell you.

When I was in high school the guy I was going out with decided to throw a party for the first day of Spring. It was a great day to celebrate in eastern Canada as that signaled the end of a long winter. So a bunch of us go together and had a BBQ. Fun was had by all until it started to snow shortly after midnight. My guy was not impressed, to say the least, so he decided that we should take off for Florida where surely there would be spring. I was hesitant. I mean who ups and drives thousands of miles on the spur of the moment.

We did.

We grabbed a map, tent, sleeping bag, all the warm weather clothing we could find and a few other odds and ends we thought we would need. Lack of money would not be a problem because we would camp. We figured a two day drive, with the first stop probably in North Carolina.

At this point I should tell you I had never camped before. My parents idea of roughing it was to rent a cottage by a lake. I had no idea of what I was getting into.

So with his Datsun all packed off we went that same night.

The first stretch of the drive was pretty uneventful. Listening to music, talking about the sun we were finally going to see. We drove through the night and all the next day. It was getting to the point where chips and candy bars weren’t satisfying our hunger so we decided to stop and have something decent to eat. Once we reached North Carolina we started looking for a place to eat.

I need to mention here that we were ‘hippies’ (Woodstock era). My hair was half way down my back and his hair was to his shoulders. Never occurred to us that this might be a problem until we walked into the truck stop. The patrons apparently were not use to seeing people like us (hippies) as there were a lot of stares and a lot of mumbles. We quickly ordered and gulped our food. We felt it best we move on as quick as possible.

By the time we left it was starting to get dark. We thought about looking for a place to camp but decided to drive a bit further. About an hour later we started to have car problems. Neither of us could figure out what was going on. All we knew was that we were starting to lose our headlights. Not good for night driving. No sooner had we realized we needed to find a camping spot for the night then we heard a siren behind us.

We pulled over.

A patrol man came up to the car window and motioned for him to roll it down. This patrol man looked like something out of a movie. A big burly guy wearing dark reflective sunglasses, at night. He took one look at us and said we had two choices, either get out of the state that night, which he would make sure we did, or get a hotel, now. Since we knew that the headlights would not last, and probably the battery would die, we headed to a hotel. He followed us. In fact he stayed until he saw us enter the hotel room.

I was glad to be off the road that night.

We were up at first light the next day and made Florida by later afternoon. We headed to the first campground we could find on the map. It looked ok, well as far as I knew what camping was. There was a main washroom area where you could shower. The area we could camp was a small space with a tiny table. At that point we were too tired to care so we pitched our very small tent, crawled into the 2 person sleeping bag and slept, and I mean slept. We barely shut our eyes and the hotel the night before in fear that either the bugs or rodents would eat us.

The next day we headed for Tampa. We were both really excited at this stage of the journey. Sandy beaches here we come! We walked the beach, swam, and generally just played around. We hardly sat down. Thinking back I would say we must have stayed at the beach for a good six hours.

As our tummies started growling we headed back to the campground to grab a shower (they had communal showers) and cook up a feast. Well in fact it was going to be mac and cheese, but who cares. We were in Florida, it was sunny and warm, and we had spent the day at the beach.

Ah Spring.

Little did I know, as the designated cook, that I would have to do this over an open fire. I had grabbed the mac and cheese, and a pot from the kitchen before we left, but this was not meant for this type of cooking. Between trying to get the food cooked so it would be edible, and not burn my hands, the pot didn’t survive.

As the sun went down we decided it was time to head to bed. Crawling into the two person sleeping bag was not as comfortable as the night before because I had a sunburn. Minutes later it started to rain, and I mean rain. I had never seen rain like this before. Apparently neither had the tent. Didn’t take long for the tent, and everything in it, to get soaked.

Sleeping was a very wet experience.

At one point during the night I had to get up to do to the washroom and it was absolutely freezing. My skin felt incredibly hot. With both of this happening I could not stop shaking. I was also a tad nervous, to say the least, because we had been told to watch out for alligators!

When we got up in the morning my back was not only bright red but was beginning to blister. With only a few dollars left I had to call my parents to wire us some money so I could get some medication for my burnt back, seeing a doctor was out of the question, and for gas to get us back home.

My first experience of camping was very eventful!

Long gone are the days of pitching a tent that barely holds two people and doesn’t keep the rain off you. Cooking on an open fire can now be history if you want.

You can find all sort of camping gear and more here.

Searching For A Unique Gift – Christmas Gift Countdown Day Two

By Jan Carroll

In my last post I began a countdown to Christmas by featuring my adventures.

Tonight’s featured site is one that I go to often for unique, unusual and extraordinary gifts. Hammacher Schlemmer offers a variety of electronic gifts, sports gifts, home gifts, travel gifts, toy & game gifts – oh so many more. But don’t let their typical menu categories fool you, there is nothing typical about their offerings. Everything at their site has some unique aspect to it.

When I visit, I never fail to find a fun gift for her, a unique pet gift, a baby boomer gift, electronics he would love, sports gifts for all the family, music gifts (to teach or enjoy), all sorts of incredible home gifts, unique apparel gifts, and definitely that extraordinary gift that wows me. Of course I post right away so you can be Wowed too!

Here is a montage illustrating just a small sampling of the gifts they offer. Ones I know anyone on your Christmas list will love – so many I just couldn’t fit in with such a small space.

They ship all over the world.

My second countdown to Christmas offering is…(drum roll) Hammacher Schlemmer . Go there right now. You will be blown away by the awesomeness of their stuff! (Okay…Okay…Now I’m getting carried away…Back slowly away from the keyboard Gift Guide Girl…)

You will find gifts such as a large selection of electronics (including gadgets, cameras and more), apparel (from hats to shoes and everything in-between), home (decorative, practical and safety) sports & leisure (indoor, outdoor and memorabilia), toys for young and old, personal care (from exercise to soul soothing gifts), outdoor gifts from furniture to outdoor games, and so much more.

Searching For A Unique Gift – Baubles & Bling

By Jan Carroll

Christmas Gift Countdown Day Four….

I must admit that this is one of my favorite pages. I love jewelry. If I could I would wear more jewelry than Johnny Depp (and I bet he would love the great personally picked selection we offer!)

Here you can find jewelry pieces for both woman and men. The jewelry I have selected range from traditional to ‘way out there’. A great selection that to fit all tastes and all budgets.

Here is a montage illustrating just a small sampling of the jewelry we offer. Ones I know anyone on your Christmas list will love.

For woman check it out here

For men check it out here

If she will only wear diamonds check this out here

Some say that Diamonds are a girl’s best friend but I say bling on the bling baby. Any bling is good bling and throw in a few baubles too.

Happy Shopping!

Search For A Unique Gift – Find Fun Gifts For Her

By Jan Carroll

Christmas Gift Countdown Day Seven…

If you are searching for a unique gift for your wife, mother, sister, girlfriend, daughter… and don’t know what to get – but do know it has to be something really special – this is the place. Of course we have sharp looking clothes, accessories, jewelry galore and pretty much everything for even the hardest to buy for woman… But another category we have is ‘Fun’ and as Cindy Lauper once wrote in song, “Girls Just Wanna Have Fun”. That’s not all girls want of course but fun is good and we got great big fun here.

Fun Gift For Her is a page I created to showcase unique gifts that she would make her smile when she opened her present. I list all sorts of different types from wildly extravagant to ‘stocking stuffer’ types of presents. But I can guarantee you they are all fun. Check it out here.

Here is a montage illustrating just a small sampling of the what we offer. Ones I know she will love at Christmas.

These are personally picked so you will see the woman’s touch in all of them and of course I’m an expert on fun. Look fun up in a modern dictionary and you find a pic of me 🙂

You will find lots of fun things that will make her smile when she opens her present no matter what gift giving time it is.

What Gift To Give Someone Who Has Suffered A Loss – Especially During The Holidays

By Jan Carroll

My Mum died from breast cancer on November 22nd when I as 23 years old. I feel her loss every year on this day. The years since it happened doesn’t make it any easier.

When someone dies often there are lots of family around to help the one left behind. When a loss occurs close to the holidays family and friends rally around to try and make the holidays easier. They bring food, share memories and try to make sure those grieving are surrounded by love and support.

So the first year of the holidays is usually covered when someone is grieving. But what about the next year, the year after that…

The loss of a loved one close to Christmas is always difficult to deal with. After the first year friends and family tend to go back to their own routine. They tend to forget about the person who has lost a loved one. Life takes over, goes back to more normal for them and the grieving person is left more to cope on their own.

Until the holidays roll around. Then you wonder what you can do to make it better.

With the anniversary of my Mum’s death I started to think what would help during this time and I came up with some ideas that I think will make a difference to someone you love who is feeling a great loss at this time of year.

Personal time gifts you can give are:

1. Always the perfect present is your time with them. If you can take them out for coffee, dinner, anything to spend time with them. Take time to listen, empathize. Follow up with a call or two over the holidays.

2. Offer a service to them. Maybe they need help to clean out closets, drawers, give away items to the needy. Just be sure that they are well past the major grieving stage or they may let you box up items that that wish they hadn’t years later.

3. Take a few minutes to call on Christmas eve and Christmas day. A familiar voice can make a world of difference to someone.

Here are some gifts you can purchase that I think will not only make their Christmas day bright, but will bring a smile to them long past the day.

Sending flowers is a lovely idea but they only last so long. A flower of the month club, like orchids, will not only last a long time, but be a great gift month after month. check it out here

When someone is dealing with grief food is usually the last thing they think about. They may have a hard time taking pleasure in preparing food for one or working in the kitchen where old memories of their loved one still fill the air.

So a few ideas are:

A gourmet breakfast club. A monthly arrival of breakfast treats that they will love. Check them out here

Or, how about dinner and a movie club. They will not only get a dinner every month but a movie. Check it out here

Or another great idea is soul soothing gifts. These not only help the heart feel better but also the body and soul. Check them out here.

Any of these will be great for any holiday they are trying to get through.

Mum, I love you and miss you with all my heart!

Let’s Talk About Jewelry Gift Ideas For The Woman Who Has Everything

By Jan Carroll

Women love jewelry as a gift. Whether it is a birthday, anniversary, or a Christmas present.

How do I know, well I am a woman and love jewelry!

Yes we do!

I recently read an article in a newspaper (that I won’t name here because I don’t want to cause a riot of outraged women outside their office). The reporter wrote that women don’t like jewelry as a Christmas present, or as a present for any other occasion for that matter.

Say what!

Which planet was this reporter from? Not earth, that’s for sure!

The last I looked I am a woman, yep just check with Billy and he’ll confirm I am indeed a woman (hear me roar!)… and this woman is here to say women love getting jewelry, and all sorts of different types as well.

Whether it’s an exquisitely cut diamond ring, small but tastefully chain, or a big bold bracelet, it has a place in her life and in her wardrobe and they will all work, and she will wear, depending on her mood. Take any outfit. Add bling. Presto, new outfit! Jewelry brings almost endless options and configurations to a woman’s wardrobe.

And, you may not see it but when she goes into work after you give her the gift, or is out with the girls, she will show it off. Whether she rubs her nose to show off the ring, or scratches her head to show off the bracelet, trust me, she will be proud to show it off.

Women love bling!

So don’t ignore a jewelry present for a woman. Here is a list of great selections we have:

Full on bling, have a look at a great selection here.

If you are not ready to buy her a ring, no problem, you can give her a necklace, earrings, and more different types of jewelry. Have a look here.

If you do want to give her a special diamond piece, maybe even propose, then you can find a wonderful selection here.

I have no idea why anyone would say women don’t love jewelry as a gift. Whether it is a necklace, bracelet, belly ring, earrings, or any other piece of jewelry your woman who has everything will love it. It’s just a matter of finding a piece of jewelry that is different, fits who she is, and will thrill to show it off as much as it did to receive it from you.

Bring on the Bling Baby, Your Woman Will Love You For It!

The Joy Of Spontaneous Gift Giving

By Jan Carroll

There are times in everyone’s life when things don’t go as we hoped, didn’t work out as we planned, and just plain suck. For those of us who know someone in that situation one thing we can do it tell them that we are thinking of them, that we care.

One way is spontaneous gift giving.

This can, and does, make a huge difference in someone’s life. It is something that we can do to brighten someone’s life, make it a bit better, not because we have to, but because we want to.

But is has to be given for the right reason.

In so many ways the whole ‘gift giving’ process has become almost a ‘I give you this so you give me that’ scenario. Okay, maybe that sounds a bit strong but think about it. For example, Christmas is a very happy gift giving time but we do it more because we have to.

Let me explain…

I remember when I was a kid that whenever I saw my Dad walking up to the house with flowers it meant he and my Mum had an argument. That is not spontaneous giving. It wasn’t really even a gift at all. It was an attempted peace offering. What that is a gift offering in hopes to be forgiven for something you did wrong.

Give from the heart, not expecting payback. Give just because, not because you have to.

Spontaneous gift giving is about making it better when:

* They had a flat tire on the freeway and you send them flowers

* They fell off their bike and you send them a new helmet

* They lost their job and you send them a monthly gourmet meal gift

* Walking by a shop you see something in the window they told you they loved and you pick it up for them

* You buy something silly just for the sheer joy of seeing them laugh

Bring joy into someone’s life, especially when they really need a boost.

What it all comes down to is letting the special person in your life know that you care about them and sending them a gift to let them know you do. A gift that they don’t expect. Not because it is an birthday, anniversary, Christmas, just something that says you care.

Check out unique gifts here.

We can measure the quality of our own lives, not by how much we have, but by how much we give to others.

Power Sports Gifts For Your Someone Special

By Jan Carroll

If you are looking for a gift for someone who loves to ride a motorcycle, ATV, dirt bike, off-roading, sport bike, we offer great gear, clothing, helmets, accessories and much more for the enthusiast in your life.

If they love the feel of the open road, the joy of the ride, the thrill of the pace, everything power sports than this is for them.

But before I go into that I have a story to tell you.

The first few years I was in high school there was a rock band that lived in a small house next door to the school. Some of us from school became friends with them. We would hang out and listen to them practice, play sports and just generally hang out. This place became fairly well known as they played in clubs so the mix of people visiting started to vary.

Telling you this is like watching a movie in my mind.

This particular day a guy rode up on a Norton. I had never seen one before. My only experience with a motorcycle was when I was 13 and a friend took me for a ride on his Honda. This Norton was way more powerful than the Honda. It looked, and sounded, more powerful.

Oh I had to get a ride on that!

I went to one of the band members and asked if they would introduce me to the Norton rider, which they did. We stood and chatted for awhile. I told him about my ride on the Honda and how it made a motorcycle lover instantly. He offered to take me for a ride. It was wonderful. The feel of the bike, so powerful, the wind in my hair, the speed, just everything. We became good friends.

One day during the summer when I was at the bands house he came by and offered to teach me how to drive it.

Drive a Norton… you bet!

So we went off the a secluded parcel of land that had trails. This was a good place to learn where I would not get hurt and I couldn’t hurt anyone.

The first issue was holding the bike up. At five foot five inches and about 110 pounds I was no match for the weight on the bike. He patiently showed me how to balance it. I mean you have to stop at some point 🙂 He showed me how to change gears, how to brake, and how to start it. Starting the bike was another fun part because I didn’t have much power in my thin leg. I tried over and over again. Finally…

The bike started with a huge roar.

I was very pleased that I actually got the bike started on my own. Now we were finally ready for me to try to drive it. I was a bit nervous, but I wasn’t scared, I was just so excited.

He didn’t want to sit on the bike because he felt the balance of his weight would be a bit much right off the bat. The first time I drove very slowly with him walking beside me so he could help if I ran into any trouble. After I mastered that he let me go faster, changing gears, but never far out of his sight. By the end of the day he was ready to ride with me and off we went.

I was in love.

To have control over this masterpiece of power. To feel the bike, and our bodies, move in sync as we went around corners. The control, but also the freedom, was wonderful.

After all these years I remember this like it was yesterday and yet I can’t remember the guys name, yet I do remember the bike name.

From that point on I was determined that someday I would buy a big bike, like a Harley. I haven’t fulfilled that on my bucket list yet, but I did buy one stock of Harley Davidson. So I am ‘sort of’ an owner. That will have to do for now.

To this day I turn my head every time I hear a motorcycle.

If your someone who has everything is a lover of bikes too there are so many great gifts you can give them. Get the present that they can enjoy before it’s time to dust off the snowmobile (though I bet he would still try to ride in the snow 🙂

View more sports gifts here!

A Gift That Will Thrill Pool Players

By Jan Carroll

I love pool. It started when I was about 15. A friend of mine took me to his parent’s house and there was a poolroom. I had never played. We spent many hours playing, though I must say, at least for me, it was playing badly.

When you don't have the room a fold away pool table is perfect

It was there I started my long passion for pool.

In my late 20’s a lawyer friend and I were talking and we discovered we both loved pool. She took me to a few of her favorite places and showed me how to do some really cool shots. She was a shark. I learned a lot from her.

Through the years I have spent countless hours playing pool. Along the way I got pretty good so I spent less time watching and more time playing 🙂

But life situations change and hanging out at pubs so I could play pool became less as other things became more important.

But I missed playing pool.

I always wanted a pool table, but I haven’t lived in a home that would allow the space needed for a table. Well I suppose I could empty the bedroom and put a pool table in there, but I don’t think Billy and I could fit on the living room couch to sleep.

Check out pool tables Here!

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