GIFT GIVING


Kindness is about giving. 
Have you ever been given an unexpected gift? Take a minute to think about getting a gift when you least expected it… Have you ever given a gift to someone at a time when it was just the right thing to do? A hug to follow perhaps. How about a gift with a handwritten note that you never want to throw away? 
A neighbour’s children gave us gifts of muffins, scones and biscuits. And a few weeks ago their younger daughter and her friend gave us hand painted portraits of themselves. Their portraits are now stuck to our fridge. At the end of each school year, I’m always delighted with gifts of chocolates and other sweet treats. (That’s not a hint by the way!). 
We now have a ceramic mushroom from a next door neighbour in our flower garden. 
On a more unusual note and staying with the garden theme for a moment, another neighbour gave us 9 litres of worm wees! 
We love to give gifts of books to our grandchildren- and it doesn’t have to be their birthday - our daughters have told us about them rushing home after school to see if any book parcels had been left by a courier. 
Family and friends gave us artworks and shelving when we moved into and renovated our Raglan home. Val was given an old table that she restored and is now used as an office table to write this blog. ‘The gift that keeps on giving.’

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

SHARING KINDNESS with the WORLD

Since starting my kindness blog in March 2023 and sending it firstly to family and friends in New Zealand, today, readers in 75 countries have read my blog. I continue to write what I think people need, not what they necessarily want.  Starting with my own country, the list begins…New Zealand, Australia, Fiji, Cook Islands, Papua New Guinea, Singapore, Philippines, Malaysia, Indonesia, South Korea, Japan, Thailand, Vietnam, Taiwan, China, Nepal, Russia, Ukraine, Sri Lanka, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Turkey, Spain, Italy, Switzerland, Greece, Portugal, Lithuania, Serbia, Albania, Uzbekistan, Kryrgyzstan, Czechia, Bosnia/Hertzegovina, Hungary, Germany, France, Netherlands, Poland, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Armenia, Romania, Croatia, Slovakia, United Kingdom, Ireland, Canada, USA, Jamaica, Mexico, Honduras, Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Peru, Bolivia, Equador, Algeria, Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Iraq, UAE, Egypt, Iran, Jordan, Tunisia, Morocco, Rwanda, Kenya, Ghana and South Africa....
Read more

DISH? FACE? You CHOOSE

Tired of streaky bench tops? Frustrated with dishcloths that unravel before your very eyes? Looking for a better option? Then look no further folks, my wife Val has the answer!  Val is an active relaxer and enjoys projects both inside and outside our Raglan home. Her current inside project is crocheting 100% cotton dishcloths. But there’s more. Each cloth takes about 2 hours to make. Each one is unique and measures approximately 24cm by 24cm. Colours I hear you ask? Dark mustard and different shades of green and dark blue. (Pink is available on request). They come in packages of 3 and are tied up with jute string. She gives them away (over 100 and counting) to family and friends. Recipients love them. “So good to use” “Better than bought ones” “Do you have any more please?” A couple of people have chosen to use them as facecloths. ‘Your skin will love you for it’ They are dishcloths made with and given in love. Guaranteed to bless.
Read more

GRANDMAS and GRANDKIDS

Grandmas are everywhere. I’m married to one. Their many kindnesses to their grandchildren are honoured in this blog post.  Let me start with my grandma in Auckland. Grandma Webb would host her six grandchildren every Friday night for fish and chips, followed by calcium cookies for dessert. This can’t have been easy for her as we weren’t always on our best behaviour! My mum would let our daughters do baking, preparing cookies for the oven on her kitchen floor (covered with newspapers). They would create a tray each and according to mum were always perfect. With mums help they also created their own oil paintings.  My wife Val (Marzie or Jamma to her eight grandchildren) has spent countless hours over the years with them. Our oldest grandchild Jackson was picked up after school and did his homework with her. They have enjoyed many cafe breakfasts together and Jackson has never turned the offer of a breakfast or brunch down. Now, Jackson’s sport is MMA (Mixed Martial Arts) Val me...
Read more