Christmas fun (and my surprise gift from a reader)

Since we got out of the whole gift-trading thing, Christmas is very relaxed and enjoyable around here.  
Yesterday evening the daughter and her husband dropped by, right after grandson Arick and his girl friend, Heather, came over (with a nice little surprise for me, bless their little pea-pickin' hearts).  We thought Cliff was never going to join us; he had some Craigslist people outside, talking his leg off.  Unfortunately, they didn't buy anything, but that's OK, because Cliff got a lead on a local tractor club he plans to join.  
We all sampled the goodies I made, and had a wonderful visit.  
I opened my gift from New Jersey tonight, and of course I'll share it with you.  First, the note that was inside the Christmas card:

If I'm not mistaken, Vicki is the same person who sent me an egg beater that belonged to her mom.  I have used that egg beater three times in the past couple of days.  
Oh, the gift she sent me?  

This cute little item is made out of bird seeds, and I know there are going to be some happy birds around here when I hang it outside.  
I have had so many lovely comments lately on my entries, and I appreciate every one.  Nobody has a nicer bunch of readers than I do.  


Cliff was very happy the gifts I bought him.  
He and I were shopping a couple of weeks ago and he started looking for a certain kind of shirt.  "It's that kind of shirt Pat wears," he said.  
Pat is our brother-in-law, and I have never paid attention to what kind of shirts he wears, so I was no help.  Cliff didn't find what he was looking for that day.  However, Pat and Charlene were visiting last weekend, and I quizzed them about his shirts.
"Oh," he said, "you mean chamois shirts.  If you're going to buy one, be sure to get the nine-ounce chamois."  
He and Charlene named some places that carry that kind of shirt.  They warned me that they usually cost around $40 each.  
Sunday I did a Google search and found a great deal at Gander Mountain:  nine ounce chamois shirts that were normally $39 were marked down to $24.99, and there was no charge for shipping.  
I ordered two that evening.  Monday I got an email saying they had been shipped.  Wednesday morning the package arrived.  
Cliff unwrapped his package tonight, and he is a happy camper; he now has some nice, warm, snuggly shirts that will last for years, according to his sister.  
So far we are having a wonderful Christmas!  Tomorrow we'll spend some time at our daughter's house eating all kinds of snack foods.  It's gonna be a good day.