Odd gifts - perhaps for the person who has everything

Its that time of the year, when you need to buy presents for everyone who is close to you, family - mom, dad, sister, brother, maybe a spouse or your kids; your boy or girl friend; close friends and that one not so close friend who insists on buying you something every year even though you insist its not necessary.  So what do you get for these people, if you already know that your mom wants that calendar with photos of you from a recent overseas trip, dad would love a mug with your face on it to so he can drink his coffee and see his favourite daughter, your sister the snow globe with a figurine of you in it and your brother a action figure thats been modeled after you.  As awesome as these gift suggestions sound and I'm jealous of the person who already knows what they are getting these special people, I have recently come across an assortment of items that are unconventional, but might help you find that perfect gift for that person you don't have a clue what to get.

Here we have glasses holders, you might think this is limited to the person who wears spectacles, I want to stop you right there, this is perfect for the sun glass wearing as well.  For the fun loving individual there are the lovable characters that come in the Peepers® Eyeglass Holder, MOOSE, giraffe and safari couple.  For the more refined individual there is the sophisticated spectacle holder made of wood, if thats not exactly what your looking for in terms of holders there is the Plush Lined Eyeglass Holder Light Blue or in black,the sheep skin lining will also protect said glasses from getting scratched.  It is a practical and stylish gift.

 

Going away on a long business trip, or in that long distance relationship where you don't get to see the object of your affection or perhaps you have a girlfriend that is constantly complaining about being alone and single?

Well this half torso is the perfect gift for anyone in that situation, no more lonely nights in bed, no more snuggling with a pillow, now you can snuggle with the half man torso, all the comfort you want at night, to make it seem more personal perhaps you should go through the effort of naming the torso; Italian, Fabrizio; Greek, Christo; Spanish, Javier.  The choice is yours and the possibilities endless, I can assure you though that with this gift you'll never be alone at night again.

  

Since we are on the subject of torso's and bodies I feel the need to point out these wooden figurines, notice how they balance precariously on their arms and there is a hollow place where there stomach should be.  Perhaps they will promote the awarness of poverty and world hunger, purchase one for your home or a friend who is geared towards social outreach and be encouraged to give what you don't need to those who are in need.

This statue, is just awkward, I would not purchase it for myself or anyone else, but if you are gutsy and happen to know a person who would proudly display this in their home then please go ahead and add this to you 'get list'.

Finally the gift that screams 'I'm needy'.  This his and hers t-shirt (if thats where you are going just buy a towel set) raises the following concerns, never wear me in public, am I a pajama attire and where is an appropriate place to wear this?  None of these questions are answerable by me but any thoughts you might have on the issue please feel free to throw them in my direction.

Lastly the singal most appropriate gift this year, especially for that jet setter in your life is the X-ray Hide My Junk Underpants.  With the new x-ray machines that have come into use over the last month and the uproar surrounding them these x-ray protection underpants allow 'what I'd assume is a man' to walk through the x-ray machine, with his dignity in tact.  With the recent controversy over the probing x-rays and all the air time this topic has received I don't feel a need to embellish the subject anymore, let these underpants speak for themselves and do their job at concealing what you don't want other people to see.

Written in Stone - Teddy Roosevelt Island Quotes

Looking at my Teddy Roosevelt post, I realised I should have included the text as to what it says on the stones.  Words that I found insightful and encouraging, my knowledge of US presidents is very limited and any image I have of Teddy R is defined by Robin Williams' portrayal in night at the museum - yes I acknowledge this might be sacrilegious to some and I beg your forgiveness.  Now to move past my Hollywood brain washing and read the insightful words of Teddy R.

Youth

I want to see you game boys, I want to see you brave and manly and I also want to see you gentle and tender.

Be practical as well as generous in your ideas.  Keep your eyes on the stars but remember to keep your feet on the ground.

Courageous hard work, self mastery, and intelligent effort are all essential to successful to life.

Accept the nation and the individual, the one indispensable requisite is character.

Manhood

A man’s usefulness depends upon hi living up to his ideals as so fas as he can.

It is hard to fail but it is worse never to have tried to succeed.

All daring and courage all ironed endurance of misfortune make for a finer and nobler type of manhood.

Only those are fit to live who do not fear to die, and none are fit to die who have shrunk from the joy of life and the duty of life.

Nature

There is delight in the hard life of the open.

There are no words that can tell the hidden spirit of the wilderness that can reveal its mystery, its melancholy and its charm.

The nation behaves well if it treats the natural resources as assets which it must turn over to the next generation increased and not impaired in value.

Conservation means development as much as it does protection.

Theodore Roosevelt Island

A huge attraction to city life anywhere is an opportunity to escape 'the concrete jungle' and be able to get a taste of nature, or drown out the city sounds - hence the appeal of the FDR memorial.  Theodore Roosevelt has the same appeal, an island (if you didn't pick that up in the title there is no hope) on the Potomac just outside Washington DC en-route to Virgina (VA).

Looking out across the water to George Town.













The bridge from VA onto the island, how beautiful are those fall trees in the background?

Justin aptly dressed with his yellow sweat shirt, to match the fall foliage.

I suppose I could also lay claim to the fall colour look, wearing a khaki green shirt under my jersey (sweater).






The actual memorial is in the middle of the Island, we started off by walking around the outer rim enjoying the scenery and the changing leaves, and interesting trees - look at this one with the twisted branch, isn't that amazing?

As previously stated in the middle of the Island is the Memorial, curved steps lead up to it, with Teddy R. standing in the middle of the clearing looking out, flanked by 3 large tablets stating his stance on youth, manhood and nature.

We left Teddy in his clearing, and headed back to continue our walk around the island.

The next leg was over a 'boardwalk' which hovered over the swampy marshes.

With great outlooks and more spectacular scenes of the Autumn leaves (these pictures really don't do the colours justice).

The pink mercy colour in the water is the
reflection of the clouds

The end of our walk continued to offer breathtaking scenes, and Justin once again had to endure my exclamations of :"Oh its so pretty!"  "WOW, isn't that beautiful!"

Back on the bridge heading home, we had a beautiful sunset to bid us good night, which is what I am going to do now, its 11h30.

The Monuments at night

Monday night, Justin and I were set to visit the monuments at night, it provides great photo opportunities to see the DC monuments in a different light, we initially elected to walk but having been presented with the cold weather and not forgetting the sheer distance between the monuments we decided to drive.  We set off at about 8pm, bundled up in our coats.

Starting off we went to the Capitol building, just south of China Town.

Roughly where I stood during Barack Obama's inauguration.

Amazing photo that Justine took, he's so artistically gifted.

The Washington Monument from the Capitol building.

Moving further down the National Mall, Justin and I stopped to get a closer shot of the Washington Monument,

and a far away shot of the Capitol.

Our next stop was the White House, waving hello to the Obama family and being glared at by a secret service guy we hastily took photos in the front,

and then moved on to the back.

The charm and allure of DC would be incomplete without protests, and its fitting that we acknowledge the presence of the permanent protest against Nuclear Weapons.  The youth of today is often discredited by not being commited to a cause or seeing tasks through to completion.  We could take a leaf out of the book of this protest group, promising to be here until there are no more nuclear weapons.  This guy (one assumes they work on a rotation, is fully equipped with his lap top wrapped up in a blanket and beanie for this crisp winter night, he shows us what it means to fight for a cause.  I only wonder what happens when it snows like it did this last winter, do they stay there and someone has to come dig them out?

Biding good night to Barack, Michelle, Sasha, Malia and Bo; Justin and I embarked on the next leg of out DC night light adventure - the Lincoln Memorial.

The Lincoln Memorial allows for great photo opportunities to Capture all 3 landmarks (Capitol, Washington and Lincoln) in 1 photo.

You have to admit these are really great photos.

Its hard to pick the best ones so you will need to bear with me while you scroll through some amazing ones, mostly of Justin, when you have such a great photogenic subject to work with its hard to discern which is the best picture.

My FAVOURITE photo

After Lincoln we took a walk up to the World War 2 memorial.

It lies above the reflecting pool that leads up to the Lincoln memorial,

and across the street from the Washington Monument.

Our last stop was the FDR memorial, laid out to depict FDR's 3 term presidency, this memorial has quickly become my favourite.

"This generation of Americans has a rendezvous with destiny"

Food line at FDR depicitng the effects of the Great Depression.

The waterfalls at FDR are great they drown out city life and give the memorial a sense that the memorial is removed from the city.  Probably why I like it, its in the city but it doesn't feel like it.

We stopped to say hi to FDR,

and pet his dog.

Justin, jealous of my TLC time with FDR, thought Eleanor was in need of some ummm, well just look at the pictures.

Now that a first lady has been a victim of sexual harassment, we're able to move onto our final sight and enjoy a great view and photo op of the Jefferson Memorial.

and another fantastic view of the Washington Monument.

Heading back to the car and home at about 10h30 Justin and I both exclaimed how enjoyable our expedition was.

Next Capitol blog will be the Christmas lights at the White House and Capitol - they were amazing in 2008, I don't doubt they'll be just as phenomenal this year.