2006 Calendars:

Book Lover's 2006 Page-A- Day Calendar; under $9

365 New Words-a-Year Calendar 2006; under $9

Celebrating Children's Books 2006 Wall Calendar; under $13

The Left-Hander's 2006 Calendar; under $11

1,000 Places to See Before You Die Page-A-Day 2005 Calendar; under $9

Wanderlust 2006 Calendar; under $11

The Lonely Planet Calendar 2006; under $11

Sierra Club 2006 Engagement Calendar; under $11

National Parks 2006 Calendar; under $12

Greenpeace: Standing Up For the Earth 2006 Calendar; under $10

Under the Tuscan Sun 2006 Calendar; under $11

Islands of the Caribbean 2006 Wall Calendar; under $11

Zen Page-a-Day Calendar 2006; under $9

I Can Do It 2006 365 Affirmations Calendar; under $10

Golf Courses 2006 Calendar; under $11

The Complete Runner's Day-by-Day Log & Calendar; under $11

The Mathmatics Calendar 2006; under $9

The New York Times Crossword Puzzle 2006 Calendar; under $11

That Patchwork Place Quilt 2006 Calendar; under $11

Sandra Boynton's Mom's Family 2006 Wall Calendar. The calendar lets mom keep track of 5 family members by day, by month. Perfect to keep mom sane and organized. Under $10

The Faerie Journals 2006 Calendar; under $13

Star Wars: The Complete Saga 2006 Mini Daily Calendar; under $8

Harry Potter 2006 Wall Calendar; under $12

The Chronicles of Narnia 2006 Calendar; under $11

A Guide to Middle-Earth 2006 Day to Day Calendar: Exploring the World of J.R.R. Tolkein's The Lord of the Rings; under $9

365 Cats Page-a-Day 2006 Calendar; under $10

Black Cats 2006 Calendar; under $13

365 Dogs Page-A- Day 2006 Calendar; under $11

The Black Lab 2006 Calendar; under 11

Wild Horses Wall Calendar 2006; under $11

Audobon Birds Calendar 2006; under $10

Dilbert 2006 Day-to-Day Calendar; under $10

The 365 Stupidest Things Ever Said Calendar 2006; under $9

The Far Side Mating Rituals 2006 Desk Calendar; under $11

The Worst-Case Scenario 2006 Weekly Calendar; under $11

The Old Farmer's 2006 Almanac; under $7

Flowers Calendar 2006; under $10

We'Moon 2006 Calendar: Gaia Rhythms for Womyn (spiral bound); under $12

African American Masters 2006 Calendar, under $11

Portraits of Native American 2006 Calendar, under $13

Latin American Art 2004 Wall Calendar; under $12

National Gallery of Art 2006 Engagement Calendar; under $12

Impressionism 2006 Engagement Calendar; under 12

Ansel Adams 2006 Wall Calendar; under $13

Origami Calendar 2006; under $10

Paper Airplane 2006 Calendar ; under $14

Bartender! Bartender!

The Craft of the Cocktail by Dale Degroff - The author is universally acknowledged as the Perfect Bartender; great photos, recipes, history and anecdotes. October 2002 Hardcover. Under $25

Waring PBB25 Professional Bar Blender - under $150 plus rebate

Oneida Ice pail and Tongs - under $14
Includes lid; stainless steel

Oneida Cocktail Shaker - under $20

Hoffritz Bar Tool Set with Rack - under $35
Includes double jigger, ice tongs, mixing spoon, bottle opener, strainer and stand; stainless steel

WMF 7-piece Stainless-Steel Bar Set - under $60

Libbey Cancun Margarita Set - under $20
96 ounce pitcher and six 9-ounce wide brim glasses

The El Paso Chile Company Margarita Cookbook by W. Park Kerr - under $11

Spiegelau by WMF Martini Glasses - under $45
Set of 6 crystal glasses; all purpose; classic lines; 7" high; holds 6 ounces (note: watch shipping dates on this one; don't trust 1-2 week delivery if need by Christmas)

Jubilee Acrylic Martini Picks, set of 6 - under $8

Amco Stainless-Steel Cocktail Picks, set of 4 - under $6

Spiegelau Authentis Wine Glasses - under $42
Set of 6; 5% lead crystal; suitable for both reds and whites; 8" high, holds 12 ounces

Speigelau by WMF Pilsner Beer Glasses - under $40
Set of 6; 7% lead crystal; suitable for beer or soft drinks; 7" high; holds 13 ounce

Speigelau Collection Champagne Glasses - under $50
Set of 6; 5% lead crystal; 9" high, holds 9.5 ounce

Speigelau Whiskey Rocks Glasses - under $38

Libbey Carolina 7-piece Iced Tea Set - under $15

Wilton Armetale Reggae Wine Bottle Coaster - under $20

Lipper Cherry Collection Coasters with Holder, Set of 6 - under $15

OXO Good Grips Ice Cube Tray - under $4

On line shopping Guide:

• Read descriptions very carefully, Especially note the size, weight, height and material descriptions.
• Make sure ship date is within reason and see if item qualifies for Amazon's Super Saver Shipping
• Read amazon reviewers comments - they often reveal if a product is more flimsy or has other defects
• Amazon.com does have an easy return policy. I've used it with success, but once it gets close to the Christmas deadline you don't want to be returning items. So again, read the product descriptions closely. Get out a ruler if you want to be sure of knowing the item's size.

Cool Gadget for the Gadget Minded
(and anyone who hates to ask for directions):

Garmin eTrex Legend GPS - 8 MB Global Positioning System with built in Americas base map; includes a PC cable; compatible with Garmin Mapsource. Fun for anyone who hikes, bikes, cross country skis, or goes for long walks.... under $120

Garmin eTrex Vista GPS - 24MB Global Positioning System with built in Americas base map; includes a barometric, altimeter, electronic compass; high resolution... under $200

Garmin eTrex Vista 256-Color TFT Diplay - 24 MB Global Positioning System with sunlight-readable display that makes it easy to distinguish map details and see where you are going. Mini-USB port for fast, convenient downloads of map data; 36 hour battery life... under $200
Note: If you need an electronic compass, ascent/decent rate then look at this model.

Garmin Mapsource Software - Topographical maps on a CD Rom; includes highways, roads, hiking trails, snowmobile trails, backwoods trails, and shoreline details; lets you transfer waypoints, routes and tracks between PC and Garmin GPS units... under $80

Magazine Subscriptions:

Publisher's Weekly
Wired
The New Yorker
The Atlantic Monthly
National Geographic
Cruising World
Outside
Discover
Cooking Light
Vanity Fair
Southern Living
Sunset
Yankee
Mother Jones

The Best American Magazine Writing 2004 - under $11
The "Ellie" awards--the magazine equivalent of newspaper reporting's Pulitzers--are granted annually by the American Society of Magazine Editors to celebrate excellence in a variety of genres of magazine writing: reporting, features, profiles, commentary, criticism and fiction. Thus this fourth annual volume, which reprints the finalist or winning entries, covers a remarkable range of topics and modes of treatment.

Home Improvement!

Bucket Boss Organizer - We have one similar to this tool organizer. We actually bought if for the boat since it is more compact, easy to carry, and doesn't scratch up the gel coat on the floor of the boat with hard edges. It is surprising how sturdy this bag is. (Under $15)

The Compete Photo Guide to Home Improvement - - A Black & Decker book with 2000 color photos and detailed solutions in 500 pages. (Under $25)

Dare to Repair: A Do-It-Herself Guide to Fixing (almost) Anything in the Home - Covers simple tasks like unclogging bathroom sinks and switching directions on a ceiling fan along with more intimidating projects such as patching holes in drywall or creating a circuit map. (Under $12)

STRAIT-LINE Rolling Tape 300 - Complete layout and measurements by yourself. Simply roll the Rolling Tape on the surface to measure in 1/8" increments over 300 feet. The Rolling Tape adds the measurements and computes evenly spaced points for precise layout -- it does the math. With the auto marking feature, there is no need for pencils. (Under $24)

STRAIT-LINE Intersect Laser Level - Ideal for home improvement, interior decorating, multi-level shelving, wall and floor tile and much, much more. This tool takes the guesswork out of leveling tasks. Projecting vivid horizontal and vertical laser beams, it lets you access the exact point of intersection for pinpoint accurate level and plumb lines. Mounts to any surface with no damage thorugh the use of 3M command strips. (Under $40)

Dremel 400 Series XPR Kit - High performance rotary tool for tackling wide variety of tasks from grinding, to cutting, to sharpening. Includes a Flex Shaft attachment for fine detail work and getting to hard-to-reach places; Circle Cutter attachment for cutting perfect circles in a variety of materials, Lawn Mower and Garden Tool Sharpener attachment for sharpening mower blades and garden tools to a perfect edge; and a Storage Case for attachment and accessory organization. (Under $80)

Park-Zone Precision Parking Device - For anyone with a tight garage fit. Hangs on a garage wall; sensor signals with familiar stop light indicator (green for go, yellow for half-way there and red for when you are where you want to be) by using a patented ultra-sonic sensor. Requires 4 AA batteries. (Under $25)

Streamlight ProPolymer Flashlight - I know not all families like to buy practical gifts for each other but my friend Barbara's family is like mine. She had a great idea one year; she bought everyone in her family a flashlight. The fun part was that they were all different and she chose specifically for each person's lifestyle & personality. This one is 8.5" long, it contains 10 ultra bright white LEDs with clip and tailcap switching and 336 hours of life and claims to be waterproof. This one would have been a good one to give to Barbara, my practical and enduring friend! (Under $26)

Get ready for a Winter Holiday - learn to Speak Spanish:

Rosetta Stone Spanish Personal Edition - Same program used by U.S. State Department, Peace Corps and NASA; for beginners leading to intermediate proficiency - for Mac or PC; under $170

Instant Immersion Spanish Deluxe - A little less pricey, this one emphasises the Euro Method -- a time-tested approach to learning a foreign language quickly; under $47

Webster's New World Concise Spanish Dictionary - Translates from Spanish to English for intermediate users; under $11

Webster's New World International Spanish/English Dictionary - The most respected Spanish-English and English-Spanish Dictionary; under $33

501 Spanish Verbs - Fully Conjugated in All Tenses; under $11

Spanish for Gringos - Book and Cassettes; under $17

Behind the Wheel Spanish - Includes 8 CDs - learn while you drive; under $45