Got a bamboo robe for DW last Christmas. It's 65% bamboo and 35% Egyptian cotton. She absolutely loves it. Got it online from Turkish Towels in NJ. List price is $90, but they now have a Fall Sale for 25% off and free shipping. Brookstone sells the same robe for $100. I suspect other retailers carry something similar. The robe (one size) is fairly large and somewhat heavy, but no problem for my smallish wife. Material is very soft and there have been no problems with washing/drying. Great for right after one's shower/bath; relatively too bulky/heavy for use as a house robe. Since hubby now has yours, you should get one for yourself, too, especially at the sale price. Good luck! Here is a link that might be useful: Turkish Towels

So sorry for your loss! I have only been married for just over 3 years, and already cannot imagine how difficult such a loss would be to deal with. I have something to add on the lettuces, celery, bunches of greens front. Even though our grocery stores have mostly installed the annoying mister attachments that keep spraying the vegetables, they still can be a bit dehydrated when you buy them. This is because the cut end of a plant seals over quite quickly in order to keep whatever moisture the plant holds. So all the misting helps, but isn't enough. When you get any of the above veggies home, trim a quarter inch from the cut end(s) and leave to soak in a container of cool water for a couple of hours or overnight. Soaking up the water refreshes the veggies the same way it refreshes cut flowers. Then be sure and drip or pat them dry before following the steps others have noted. The infusion of fresh water will help them stay fresh longer. I lived alone for many years, and loved fresh vegetables. During that period, I lived near several produce stores which helped as I could stop in regularly, but still, a head of lettuce is a head of lettuce! Another thing to focus on is planning. For example, say you enjoy munching on celery stalks from time to time, but can't get through a bunch before it will wilt and go bad, determine how much you are likely to eat fresh, and then come up with a recipe to use the rest before it spoils. If you'll likely eat half a bunch of celery fresh, how about using the other half in a cream of celery soup (which you can freeze in meal sized portions) or use some as a side dish (sauteed celery in a mustard cream?) and some in a vegetable soup? For fruits, you can reserve some to eat fresh, and then cook and freeze other portions to eat as desserts...a bag of fresh plums or apricots? Set a few in your fruit bowl, lightly poach the others with a bit of wine or liqueur, and bring it out when you are out of fresh to eat topped with a bit of crunchy granola or yogurt or on a slice of angel food cake or toasted sweet bread. Puff pastry bought frozen in a box is excellent for a single person, as you can cut off enough for your own single use, line a baking cup with it, fill with some of your frozen fruit and make yourself a nice little treat without all the leftovers of a regular pie or cake to deal with. I developed a real passion for soup while I was living alone because it freezes so well and is such a healthy way to use a variety of meats, vegetables and grains. Living alone, it can become very easy to get into a rut and not get a healthy variety of foods in your diet because it just seems like too much work. But you can make soup out of just about anything, and it is also an excellent way to use up the bits and pieces of leftovers when your fridge begins to be crowded with tupperware containers! And remember, if you would be willing to go through the trouble to cook a good, balanced meal for someone else, then you should be willing to do the same for yourself because you are just as important, if not more, than anyone else. Cherish yourself the way you would cherish someone else, you deserve your own care.

Well some meaningful gifts we have given the kids and they loved are: I have made photo albums for each of them of their favorite pictures, they keep them on their bookshelves in their rooms I took my sd's to the fabric store and had them pick out fabrics they liked and we worked together making curtains, pillows, and comforters for their bedroom that matched and looked really nice. Since they went with all purple and pink we also took some of the old picture frames we had around the house that were not being used and painted them with purple and pink paints. Then we went through all our pictures and they picked their favorites to blow up and put into the frames. One of my sd's is really into High School Musical, so as one of her Christmas presents just me and her went to see High School Musical on Ice and she got a souvenier and I took some great pictures and made her an album with them And on each kids birthday they always get a choice of whatever they want for us to make for dinner that night. Also, we have wrapped up a homemade giftcard for a certain amount and told them they can pick what we do for a day and that is how much money they have to spend (not a shopping spree---but a trip to the movies, bowling, lunch, or whatever they choose for us to all do together) They can pick if they just want a daddy and me, mommy and me, or a family day with that gift card. Hope that helps!

DH is the last minute shopper, and spends the season grumbling about the lost meaning of Christmas. So shopping is pitifully painful for him. He absolutely abhors it, and wants for nothing from anyone either. ( I know, Bah-Hum-bug) One year, he actually beamed as I was opening the 2 gifts he chose for me! I was so excited for his excitement for me, if that makes sense!!! All the family was gathered around because they all know that my poor DH just is NOT the shopping kinda guy. All eyes were on me as I opened the first gift. It was a seer-sucker bathrobe. That's not so bad, as we are in Florida and I run hot anyway, so don't need a warm, plush, heavy robe. But when I tried it on, something wasn't quite right. It took a few minutes for me to realize...this is a MAN's robe!!! No darts to accommodate the breasts, and no curve at the waist. The belt was hung at my butt-level!!! His response: "Well, the ladies robes were too cutesy-wootsie for you" (I beg your pardon?) Second gift, same Christmas! Perfume, all wrapped in the store paper.... Halston....."Por Homme" "I told them to wrap up the Halston...I thought it was for girls!" (Thanks, I was feeling pretty macho at this festive time of year.) Nevertheless, the greatest occurrence of that precise moment, was my dear brother, who howled with laughter at DH's foibles! We still look back and laugh at that one!!!! And understandably, after that catastrophic embarrassment, DH has reverted back to being bah-hum-bug...he just can't get it right! Poor thing! (I buy my own stuff and say Santa delivered it for me!)