Food ideas!
Fabulous NW Seafood Gifts
Gourmet Food Baskets
Godiva Chocolate
Unique Gift Baskets
Great Cheeses and Other Imported Goodies
Gourmet foods, links, and prrice comparisions.
Wide range of seafood, fresh and smoked. Very high quality.
51. arkymalarky - 12/4/2003 10:26:34 PM
Good for Judith!
Wonder if they have red and black ones? ;-)
52. Absensia - 12/4/2003 11:10:04 PM
I think she'll need several of them in various colors. Not only red and black, but a couple with holiday motifs for Christmas and New Year's.
53. Absensia - 12/6/2003 12:36:51 PM
How is Judith doing? Is she hoe yet?
I'm looking for recommendations for excellent single malt scotch. It's the only whiskey I drink and my son has followed my lead and would like a good bottle for Christmas. We're limited in Washington state by a state run liquor store that may or may not take special orders or one can go to a bar that specializes in single malt by the glass. So buying it online may be the answer.
54. Absensia - 12/6/2003 12:38:51 PM
Cookbooks are a great holiday gift. What are your favorites?
55. alistairConnor - 12/6/2003 4:05:02 PM
Abs :
My understanding is that online sale of (wine and) liquor is only possible insofar as it conforms to state licensing laws. If Washington state has a monopoly, then I guess the answer is : no.
56. alistairConnor - 12/6/2003 4:07:04 PM
I've very much enjoyed your food links. Also that geek site, there are a number of must-have gadgets. Need some molecule magnets. Need a USB-powered desk light.
57. Absensia - 12/6/2003 8:08:48 PM
Thanks, Alistair, I like that geek site too. As far as buying liquor online I fear you are right, although a friend in London once sent me a wonderful bottle of single malt scotch. I was surprised it made its way to me. Wine can be bought online and can be bought at many shops in the state.
58. Absensia - 12/6/2003 9:55:49 PM
I've done some checking and liquor can be ordered online and sent to this state. I think I'll have to wait until I win the lottery to order the 46 yr old single malt scotch that sells for $1500.
BTW, just realized today that the Geek site was first posted by Wabbit.
59. wonkers2 - 12/7/2003 11:22:21 AM
How Much is That Death Denial in the Window? A psychological disorder that may be termed an acquisitive desire--Here
60. Absensia - 12/7/2003 4:27:36 PM
Hah! How appropriate! Also, interesting article.
61. ScreamingSin - 12/10/2003 4:24:34 AM
We went to a store where they served snacks and drinks carried around by waiters. Quite festive. And quite the marketing ploy. We felt like we were at a party, yet there it was: we felt like we should spend.
62. ScreamingSin - 12/10/2003 4:39:14 AM
Another kudo for judithathome's recommendation for Harry & David. Great fruit, good as a gift to those who don't need knickknacks, and you can feel good about not raising cholesterol levels.
For kids, go to http://www.museumtour.com/. Fabulous! I've one of their print catalogs, and there's something interesting on every page. I shopped the catalog, ordered via the website, easy navigation if one knows what's needed, and prompt delivery. I wouldn't have spent anything if I hadn't the catalouge; the website had a bright red background that annoyed.
IKEA, yes, they are good as well, esp if one likes the danish-modern sort of decor. Long lead times on some items.
63. ScreamingSin - 12/10/2003 4:43:52 AM
garenthill.com has lovely linens, esp flannels for the bed.
redenvelope.com, this is my first season trying them. I'll report back on the satisfaction factor of the gifts I bought there, but they've a kick-ass website.
64. ScreamingSin - 12/10/2003 4:47:05 AM
That would be garnethill.com, please excuse the typo.
65. alistairconnor - 12/10/2003 6:28:28 AM
Thank you for museumtour, that looks like just the thing for getting gifts to my American targets (ages four and eight) in time, cos it's getting too late to send something from here that I haven't even thought about yet let alone bought... did I mention that I hate christmas shopping?
I wouldn't have spent anything if I hadn't the catalouge; the website had a bright red background that annoyed.
Absolute turnoff, those violent slabs of primary colours, expecially the red. Whatever were they thinking of?
Also, a lot of the images won't show for me... turns out they are on a secure page (https) - the site was built by an idiot - or perhaps by a 12 year old, that would be more forgiveable.
Doesn't inspire confidence in me as a potential buyer, but that won't stop me.
Ah, but on the other hand, they have a rilly cute feature which appears to render the print catalogue over the web. A saving grace.
(Can you tell I'm obsessed with e-commerce user interfaces at the moment?)
66. Absensia - 12/10/2003 7:20:13 PM
redenvelope looks great. I've been out a few times and it's too crowded everywhere. I'm still shopping at amazon.com, and some other online places already mentioned. Also gift certificates from amazon, Barnes and Noble, etc., are good ideas for teens, especially those who want cds and dvds. I'm giving them to nieces and nephews and putting one in my son's stocking. He's put specific titles on his Christmas list but who knows who will give him what.
Gift baskets can be easy to put together as well. I';m putting some online food items in them, along with grocery store and gourmet shop items, and making some other theme baskets: fishing, golf, wine.
Online shopping is ok...I hate regular shopping. Don't have a clue for a gift for my mother.
67. rdbrewer - 12/13/2003 10:11:07 AM
I am extending the olive branch buttcandle. I am giving Jexter a link for Christmas. Be sure to read all the user letters and FAQ.
68. jexster - 12/13/2003 11:17:50 AM
Thanks RD! How sweet
Now here's a gift idea that will bring Holiday Cheer! 
And tell him John McC sent ya!
69. Absensia - 12/13/2003 7:12:02 PM
After replacing the dsl modem twice, Earthlink declared my phoneline unable to use DSL and let me out of my contract! Yeah! For Christmas I'm giving myself a Comcast internet cable connection! It's actually $10 per month cheaper than Earthlink and DSL. It's not going to be installed until Thursday so I'm using dial-up....arg!
Finished most of my shopping today. I managed to meet the online shipping deadlines, too.
70. ScreamingSin - 12/15/2003 2:02:42 AM
alistairconnor, I had a bit of grin at your 65. That link about 'render the print catalogue over the web. A saving grace.' I clicked on that link, it was boring. Perhaps I didn't understand your point?
No, museumtour, they don't know web. They've fabulous products to distribute and they only know the print medium. Or maybe the know the magic of an 8-yr-old clutching printed matter that promises happiness.
71. ScreamingSin - 12/15/2003 2:06:16 AM
judith,,,,,, it's 'they know'
72. ScreamingSin - 12/15/2003 2:15:49 AM
#69 well hallaluja, Absensia!
Are you burning down the boards?
Don't you feel twice as sharp now?
Yummy yum, gimmee some more of that high-speed come!
Faster access is a luxury, no?
I grew up on 69th street.
73. ScreamingSin - 12/15/2003 2:24:26 AM
Whoa, I just read that.
There were some facts in there, but the nuances were skewed to the point of being way wrong.
I just abhor the service provider that doesn't fulfill the contract.
74. judithathome - 12/15/2003 12:22:30 PM
judith,,,,,, it's 'they know'
Take pity on my Limbaughed state of mind (drugged) and 'splain this to me please? ;-)
75. judithathome - 12/15/2003 12:31:27 PM
Sorry to have been so remiss with this thread...you guys have done great keeping it up and you all have my thanks.
Learning new uses for my bamboo backscratcher led me to thing of this place...you never know when you'll break your leg and have to use some unusual item to restart the computer when it freezes up!
Allenby's....Love Those Gifts!
76. alistairconnor - 12/19/2003 7:28:12 AM
Jeez looeez.
That Museumtour web site is crap to the bitter end.
A shame they have such great stuff.
An explanation about why the online print catalog viewer is its saving grace :
* As you say, Screamin', the print catalog is clearly what they do best. I don't have it. Getting it over the web prevents me from dismissing the site out of hand.
* Using the site to buy Christmas presents is the internet shopping nightmare. My horror story : I started browsing from work (broadband), wanted to order from home but gave up (no broadband, so the print catalog is unuseable) so tried to order the next day from work, but didn't have the delivery address.
None of this is their fault. So far.
* Back home, I start ordering, and note that the item I most wanted to order is now out of stock. Ok ok, still not their fault, it's Christmas week.
* Get to the payment form, and fill in my (billing) address. The dropdown "Country" box forces me to choose "Other", and suddenly it's no-go : a message informs me that they only accept orders FOR DELIVERY IN the US, and certain other most-favoured-nations.
Well gee, I want it delivered in the US.
* Fill it in again, putting in a false billing address : my mother's address in New Zealand (friendly nation, exempt from export ban on these high-tech building blocks and such), my real French credit card number, and the delivery address in North Carolina
* No go : I am accused of falsifying my credit card details (error message explicitly alleges that the holder's name entered does not match up).
77. alistairconnor - 12/19/2003 7:28:21 AM
* After two or three attempts, I nearly give up, but then I analyse the URL of the error screen (this is what comes of being obsessive about e-commerce user interfaces) and note that it mentions "state" (the error message doesn't).
* There are no states in New Zealand. On the offchance, I selected "Alabama" from the dropdown list and...
* hey presto, it worked.
I sent them a mildly insulting email in the hope that this experience will be beneficial to imprudent un-Americans who attempt to buy stuff from their fine catalog.
78. alistairconnor - 12/19/2003 7:30:39 AM
On balance, I think I'll order the bulk of my christmas presents (for mother and five siblings) from another site.
At least then they'll have something decent to offer me for drink when I drop in.
79. judithathome - 12/19/2003 9:03:19 AM
Well, you might enjoy drinking this but to me, it is a mistake:
Database error: Invalid SQL: insert into moulincartseq values (0312190000, 19)
MySQL Error: 1062 (Duplicate entry '312190000' for key 1)
Session halted.
;-)
80. wabbit - 12/19/2003 6:11:31 PM
Thinking about buying music CDs for a youngster? Perhaps you want to reconsider...
81. alistairconnor - 12/19/2003 6:14:19 PM
79 : Oh, so that was you, was it Judith?
You broke my beautiful site?
(nah that was my friend Sigi who swapped out his server last night, rather messily, and left the new one with yesterday's date on it, which confused my page scripts. It's OK now, you can go back.)
82. judithathome - 12/19/2003 6:22:39 PM
Hey, that's a great site. I'd love to order each lot!
83. alistairconnor - 12/19/2003 6:40:48 PM
I just added the white wine selection. I think we need to make up lots of selections so that people can try out all the wines without having to buy a case of 6 all the same.
Main problem at the moment is that most of the visitors seem to be from France or the USA.
84. judithathome - 12/19/2003 9:22:05 PM
I think another problem, at least for me, is that we can't leagally order wine through the mail...here in Texas, anyhow.
85. arkymalarky - 12/19/2003 10:52:51 PM
I think we need to make up lots of selections so that people can try out all the wines without having to buy a case of 6 all the same.
I would love that.
86. arkymalarky - 12/19/2003 11:05:59 PM
Just saw a tv ad about this site and am just checking it out. It looks promising:
Overstock.com
87. judithathome - 12/20/2003 12:14:58 PM
Don't get jewelry from Overstock, however...local TV station did an expose on a diamond bracelet and pair of earrings and the stones were flawed and the jeweler doing the appraising said the cost was okay but the origina; price they had touted was highly inflated for the quality you'd get.
I've ordered from them before and been satisfied but I only got a couple of chenille throws for the couch and they were what I expected and very reasonably priced.
When I see markdown deals, I'm always cynical about the "original" price...working at Neiman's will make you jaded about stuff like that...ha!
88. arkymalarky - 12/20/2003 1:03:26 PM
The only thing I looked at was bedding, and it looked good.
89. Absensia - 12/20/2003 3:27:00 PM
I confess...I buy a lot of things from QVC, a televised and online shopping channel. It's not tacky and has a 30day return policy. It carries many name brands, has competitive prices, and items are usually high quality. It pays to compare prices. Some brand names include Craftman Tools, Kitchenaide, Cuisenart(sp), Maxx of New York,Robert E. Lee Jewelry, etc. I find it helpful to keep a tape measure handy to make sure I know the exact size of things.
90. jexster - 12/22/2003 7:55:04 PM
For the last days of shopping frenzy, another daily TPM Featured Book: Colin Martin's and Geoffrey Parker's truly marvelous The Spanish Armada. Actually, this is the The Spanish Armada: Revised Edition, which just came out last year. I've only read the original. But if it's revised it must be even better. And I'm going to assume it still turns out that the Armada didn't manage the hook up down there in the Spanish Netherlands and the fire ships did their business and the anchors were cut. In any case, a wonderful history with splendid new evidence from the archives and the bottom of the sea.
-- Josh Marshall 
91. ScreamingSin - 12/22/2003 11:41:51 PM
Well alistairconnor, you criminal from Alabama, let me just say fevers are high all over.
Today in a Target store, I asked for a $20 GameBoy Advance game that was locked up in a case. After standing on queue for 10 minutes. The guy asks, am I done with my shopping? Well, no, not really, but after waiting 10 minutes on a 60-minute lunch break, I guess I am. Because if I'm not done with my shopping I have to stand in line again to get the the thing. It's so STEALable, you see.
He leads me over to the nearest register, holding the GameBoy aloft as some kind of icon over the crowd of us thieves and infidels. We will not steal that GameBoy game, nosir. We could could muddle some sort of other expensive stuff down our pants in other parts of the store if we had a mind to, however. There's some saffron and cloves on another aisle that's caught my eye. But that damn GameBoy is safe from the clutches of the likes of me.
The register he chooses has the longest line, because it's the nearest to the door and all Americans are ambulatory-deprived.
Naturally, I object. I want register #9 in the middle that has no line. I've no objection to a few extra steps, my lunch hour is dwindling, and there's a few more stops on the plan.
Tempers are flaring.
92. jexster - 12/25/2003 3:55:19 PM
Another Josh Marshall recommendation (History PhD, Brown) hard to go wrong...especially not when you've an Amazon gift certificate .... 
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