A Very Cool Idea I Wish I'd Had.....

I almost used the title "The Coolest Thing EVER," but then I didn't want to be one of those people who declare something is "the most beautiful I've EVER seen!!" or "that is the most delicious cake EVER!!" or "that movie was the best EVER!!" Not that some things aren't worthy of exclamation (exclamation POINTS even), but if I declare something is the coolest thing EVER today, I'm pretty much removing from contention any and all cool things I may see/do/hear/taste/experience in the future, near and distant.

There. Now that we've got THAT out of the way.

Another disclaimer (if that's what we want to call the foolishness in the first paragraph, and I do, because it sounds so much better to say "disclaimer" than "I'm an idiot"):

Almost every time I've ever exclaimed over something cool I've seen/done/heard/tasted/experienced in my life, I've later learned that nearly every other person on the planet had already seen/done/heard/tasted/experienced it and I was late to the party. That may very well be the case this time as well.

First, do you recognize this item?

Of course it's a bowl, but it's no ordinary bowl.

Katydid and I saw these at a crafts booth while we were on BRAG this year, and she bought one for her granddaughter.

Sweet Girl bought this one for me (at the Arts Market?) and brought it to me when we had our family reunion. It is indeed a bowl, but it is made out of an old LP. Album. Record. Whatever.

(I apologize for the glare. I have yet to heed Pioneer Woman's instructions about not using the flash and instead using natural light.)

It may be a little difficult to tell due to the glare, but this one isn't made from just ANY album. It's "52nd Street" by Billy Joel. This album didn't produce as many chart-topping singles, but it's got one of my all-time favorites on it, "Stiletto."

Who in the world would have thought to do this with all those old albums? I've only got about a jillion of them, and Hubby has a gazillion of his own. At $5-10 a pop, we could almost pay the bar tab on our upcoming cruise.

I mean, most of us found out the hard way that the albums would MELT, but who thought to do it on purpose? And I wonder how he or she formed that shape?

Even the album cover gets in on the action. It's laminated and formed into a gift bag. How clever is THAT?

What a very special gift. I'm afraid I didn't exclaim enough over the gift when Sweet Girl gave it to me, but I hope she'll read this and realize how much I appreciate it.

Now to decide what I can display in the "bowl" without detracting from its coolness.

Future Christmas Gifts.....

Right around Christmas, Hubby and I heard a news item on one of the Atlanta stations about a theft from a man's car. Apparently he had retrieved a Christmas gift from a safe, driven to a different location, and locked it in the trunk of his car. When he returned to his car, someone had broken into it and stolen the gift. He stated he had almost certainly been followed, for someone to know something that valuable was in the trunk of his car.

The gift? A $27,000 necklace he had bought for his wife.

Upon hearing that story, I told Hubby, "If you're ever inclined to buy me something like that for Christmas, just buy me a $7,000 necklace. I'll take the rest of it in cash."

I guess it's just a matter of different priorities. I can't imagine a $700 necklace, much less wearing something that is worth $27,000. But those aren't the things that make me happy, and I'm not criticizing people who ARE made happy by that type of thing.

If I had $27,000, or thought I might receive a gift worth that much, I don't think I would spend it on jewelry. Or clothes.

I might buy a new motorhome. (Trading in the one we already have, of course.)

I might do some renovations on our house. Starting with my bathroom. But don't tell Hubby, because he'll buy a new living room suit and have to tear down the whole damn house to accommodate it.

There are several things I might want to buy with my windfall, but they would be small things that would add up to $27,000.

I would probably pay off Sweet Girl's car.

I would most definitely NOT wear something worth $27,000 around my neck.