We got two gifts in total. A vacuum cleaner and a pressure cooker. Both most welcome and the pc is still in use. No ’shower’ and only 8 wedding guests. Just parents, siblings and their spouses. DD got married during covid with the permitted 6 guests but a year later we had a party with 100 guests. They requested no gifts, just donations to two charities. The Italian side of the family found this diffcult to grasp and gave a lot of knickknacks they neither want nor need.

I've been using Discover since they started. Got the Discover Gas card about a year ago. But I just got a notice the regular card will be giving the 5% rebate on gas now too. I've been looking for places that sell the gas cards at a discount. Take the 4% off when you buy the card, pay for it with Discover and get 5% back on the purchase of the discounted cards and then throw a $2 coupon on when you fill the vehicle with the discounted gas card.... would be a nice savings! Around here, virtually everyone takes Discover. I won't shop with a place who won't take it. Right now there's a promo going to give 5% rebate on purchases from Staples, Office Max, Office Depot, Dell, etc so if I need office supplies I'll head to an office store and get a little rebate on it. Plus I like the online payment. You can schedule the payment to be posted weeks later so I don't forget to make the payment on time. No finance or late charges. I charge most everything I can but pay it off monthly. And Discover has treated me well.

Sigh, the only gift card I received was from my brother for Home Depot - and he put it in a three dimensional maze I had to solve before I could get to it. come to think of it they do have lots of gardening and how-to books. I only gave books to a teenage first cousin, once removed. He has started reading science fiction so I gave him two Heinleins -- Red Planet, a juvenile, and The Door into Summer which the grandfather he never knew loaned to me when I was a kid. And Bester's The Stars My Destination which is currently my "best science fiction book ever written." We will see how he likes the classics. Woodnymph, sorry to say L'Engle's Certain Women has been completely forgotten by me except for the title -- and that is probably from seeing it on the shelf. Rosefolly, I'd love that Edith Head book myself. I remember reading a fascinating bio of her decades ago. Have I ever mentioned to you that the dvd of Double Indemnity has some extras about the costume design. Apparently Stanwyck had a broad behind that Head had to design for. Who knew?

Love all the ideas--thank you all! Rubyclaire - I absolutely love that tote but the color we'd have liked is the beige. Neither of us like red and well, a white tote would be a disaster (for me, at least). Maire-cate, my ted baker also has a very noticeable plastic smell. I love the floral print though! Ice cream is such a beautiful thing-- thanks for thinking of us but alas, neither of us can eat it. :( Sue - I really want to get her pjs but she doesn't wear them. We definitely know the city-- but maybe a fun map with some of my favorite spots marked. Some funky stores and boutiques, a spa, a movie theater, my fav pizza spot, my fav sangria, etc.. .along with some gift cards. I don't think I will be going out much but I am sure going to encourage her to go out. Thanks for the ideas-- I especially wanted a mix of prices and splurge levels so this was a big help. On the positive side, a few things standing in my way for a July surgery are starting to move (I've had a hard time getting the drs together on a pre- and post-op protocol required for genetic blood disease I have). The only remaining hurdle is that my father may need surgery July (one more serious than mine). If that happens, I'll postpone to August.