Change a Tire

Christmas Eve. As I sit gazing at a North Texas blizzard (okay, not too scary by Minnesota standards but it's serious snow for this area), I can hear kids playing video games, parents cooking up dinner, dogs circling for handouts, and multiple television sets blaring out various Christmas programs. Ours is a true family Christmas - we were amazed to see we took up a whole pew in church. We are indeed blessed.

But I remember a Christmas Eve that was even better. It was many moons ago, when I was in college in the Northeast and dinosaurs roamed the Earth. Finals were late that year, and we got a big snow up in the mountains. Roads were passable, but no fun to drive on. I needed something from the grocery store, which was a few miles up the main road, and I decided to walk (my transportation in those days was great in good weather but not so good in blizzards). As I slogged through the snow on the way home, I saw a car slow down and then stop on the shoulder across the road. For an instant I hoped for a ride, then decided it was better to get the exercise and began to press on. I glanced back at the stopped car, and saw an elderly man labor to get out the driver's side door. Slowly he made his way to the trunk to get out a spare tire; turns out he had a flat on the other side of the car. So you might imagine I rushed to his aid? Hardly. My mind was filled with thoughts of the warm apartment, friends and food waiting for me not a half mile away - it was a busy road, surely somebody else would help? Nope. No cars stopped. None even slowed down. I was just us three - the elderly man, me, and my conscience. My nagging, loud, "I don't care if you're cold" conscience. Worse still, I was no mechanic. I had only changed a tire once in my life, and it was about 5 years earlier. But...it was Christmas Eve. So over I went, hoping not to scare the old guy, and offered my services, such as they were. He accepted, and slowly made his way back into the car to wait as I changed the tire. When I was done, I gave him a thumbs-up and started to walk back across the street. He rolled down his window and shouted out something that has stuck with me ever since: "Thanks, son. The Lord has blessed us both tonight." How true - such a simple thing, but the essence of this night - to love the Lord and love each other. A flat tire had provided me the opportunity to do both.

I hope that this season brings you much joy and that, perhaps, you found something special at The Afternoon! I also hope that you have had the opportunity to "change a tire," and thereby to re-discover that which is truly magical about this time.

Bond. Santa Bond.

Okay, as a certified "guy" I admit that I love gadgets. Pretty much any gadgets. I could spend the rest of my life in the Chicago Museum of Science and Industry; the Science Museum of Minnesota; or most of the Smithsonian, and be quite happy. In my travels I've found that this describes a fairly large proportion of certified "guys." Perhaps that's why there was always a noticeable hush when "Q" introduced the latest giz to Bond in all those great spy films - who wouldn't want that stuff? Well, as you're collecting last minute stocking stuffers for your certified "guy(s)," you may want to consider this little multi-tasker. It's a key ring with an attached magnetic screwdriver set (includes 5 magnetic mini tips) and a super bright LED light. It's great for working in both light and dark spaces where space is at a premium, and even better because it's always with you when you grab your house or car keys. And in case you don't want to carry as much, a snap strap allows you to quickly detach the screwdriver set and light from the key ring. Okay, so it doesn't have a flame thrower or 300 feet of rocket-propelled zip cord - Bond always lost that stuff anyway.

Artful Platters

At the gifts shows we're always on the look-out for beautiful glass items: paperweights, stemware, vases, ornaments, octopi. Sadly, at last summer's gift show in San Francisco we were just not finding anything exciting...until we came upon these beautiful platters. The Ganesh Platter is a deep green with copper foil elephants that rivet the eye; the Pavone Platter is an azure glass masterpiece with a peacock theme. Though both platters can be use for serving, I honestly can't imagine covering them up with canapes and the like - they're just too beautiful! I would display them proudly with other treasured artworks (and relish the fact that they don't cost an arm or a leg!). To be honest, we were concerned these platters would never arrive - they came from Italy on a very slow boat indeed. But here they are, in time for the holidays - come and see them!

You'll Always Have Paris

It's not every day that we get in a book like this. This is a coffee table book, yes - you can put a Ming vase on a coffee table, too. And the comparison is apt, for this book is a stunning work of art. The author's father has been a friend of The Afternoon for several years, and was in recently on a business call when he mentioned that his daughter has produced a beautiful book on Paris and offered to let us see it. Oh great, I thought, my kids draw pictures, too, and I happily foist them on unsuspecting victims who have little choice but to say "my, what talent" or something of the sort. Well, this is something altogether different, and truly breathtaking. Leslie Little has collaborated with photographer James P. Scholz (both from Omaha, I would like to add) to produce Paris Icons, a book filled with dramatic fine art photos of the City of Romance with the unusual addition of velum pages with quotes from French authors and artists living in Paris. The result is an homage to the architecture, ambiance and ethos of this great city that is second to none. As I turned page after glorious page, I was transported back to 1981 and my first and only visit to Paris, one of the high points of my youth. The Paris I saw was gorgeous, loud, a little overwhelming, and irresistable, with beauty around every corner. This book reminded me of how I long to visit again, and why. Winner of a Gold Medal for "Most Outstanding Book Design" and a Bronze Medal for "Best Coffee Table Book" in the 2009 Independent Publishers IPPY Award competition, this book is getting the attention it deserves; but where it belongs most is in the homes of lovers of Paris and great fine art photography.

Time to Eat?

Pity the poor maligned kitchen clock. Often dull, utilitarian and somewhat greasy, the kitchen clock toils away in a drone-like existence, standing guard over the danger of overcooked eggs and undercooked roasts and reminding the family when it's time to stop eating and time to start running out the door to the next of no doubt many events in the day. At least that used to describe the kitchen clock, but now the utensils strike back! This clock is particularly appropriate for the kitchen, but would certainly cause a stir anywhere you hang it. A great gift for a chef, a caterer, and anyone who loves to be in the kitchen. May the Fork be with you!

Cleanliness Is Next To Giftiness

Years ago I had a friend whose father shopped the local drugstore on Christmas Eve (and I mean Eve, like 7 to 9 PM) every year for all his gifts. The following morning, many wonders would be found under the tree: dental floss, aspirin, shoe odor-defeating inserts, breath mints...to name but a few. Most reviled was the gift of a bar of soap, typically the kind on discontinued item sale, smelling a bit like ancient gym locker room and sporting more exotic chemicals than are found in many snack foods. Sadly, I thus appropriated the misguided notion that giving soap at the holidays is a no-no that suggests a paucity of both funds and imagination. Foolish, foolish - soap can be a fantastic gift (and stocking stuffer) when the soap is hand-stirred slowly and carefully, made with loads of skin-caressing natural glycerin, and infused with rapturous scents (like pure lavender; baked apples and cream; clove cinnamon bay; kookaburra eucalyptus); these are the traits of soaps from Sweet Grass Farm, a small producer of natural soaps in New Hampshire. Their Soap Gift Set includes 2 all-natural, hand cut 4 oz. soaps in a variety of fragrances, and it makes a terrific stocking stuffer, hostess gift, birthday gift, teacher's gift - you just can't go wrong. For you? Try one of their all-vegetable oil Milled Bar Soaps (milled in the French tradition) for a little well-deserved post-holiday-craziness luxury.