December 19, 2008
Random Acts of Kindness, Week Three
When there are cats and Christmas trees in the house, the inevitable happens. The cat hangs out under the tree. (Do dogs do this, too? Our dog was always too big to fit under there, but maybe smaller dogs like to get under the tree?) This behavior stops when we fill that space up with presents, but I have a thing about not putting presents under the tree until a few days before Christmas. In the meantime, Gracie’s spot is safe. At least until Zoe – the other cat – decides it is her turn. Fortunately both of them leave the ornaments alone, and somehow, neither of them is interested in climbing the tree. I know. I’m lucky. I think we’ll keep them.
Do you do appetizers or brunches during the holidays? Here is a good recipe that always go over well. (And it’s easy. We all need easy during the holidays.)
Bacon-Wrapped Waterchestnuts
2 cans of whole water chestnuts
1 lb of bacon, sliced into thirds
Sauce:
1 cup ketchup
1 cup sugar
1 Tbl. lemon juice
(OR your favorite BBQ sauce)
Wrap each water chestnut with bacon and secure with a toothpick. Layer on a shallow edged pan and bake at 350 degrees for one hour, or until the bacon looks done. Drain and then pour the sauce over everything. Put back in oven until sauce is heated through.
We’re hoping to be heading out of town for the weekend, but I’ll be back to emails on Tuesday. (Hoping, meaning we’re keeping our eye on the storms going across the midwest. We were supposed to be gone Friday- Sunday, but now we’re trying for Saturday-Monday. Email Susan if you need help on Monday – susan AT theloopyewe DOT com. Or call!) I can’t believe that next week is Christmas already. This month went WAY too fast.
Don’t forget to leave your RAKs in the comments today! We have another drawing for this week’s contest and I’ll announce the winner on Monday again. I love reading your RAKs!
Sheri hopingtogetsomegoodknittingdoneinthecaronourquicktrip
Nancy said,
December 19, 2008 @ 2:26 pm
The other day we had lunch at our favorite “Mom and Pop” Chinese restaurant and I gave all the employees working the lunch shift each a $5 Christmas tip. It felt good!
Kim B. said,
December 19, 2008 @ 2:34 pm
We’ve always called cats under the tree the “live Nativity” LOL
Speaking of cats — My RAK this week was going to the local shelter and getting a 2-year-old cat for my neighbor’s adult daughter. She lost her home and cat in a fire recently and we all chipped in and gave her a monetary donation at that time so she could stock her pantry. She has relocated into a nice apartment, has some furniture and clothes but didn’t have a cat and was lonely for her old one which of course is never coming back. Her mom said she would love one and I told her I would take care of it. So a wonderful shelter cat and a loving woman are now a family. She was so thrilled and the kitty loved her on sight!
Tracy said,
December 19, 2008 @ 2:39 pm
None of my cats has ever been a tree climber either. No curling ribbon allowed on packages though – that becomes a snack that could send us to the vet’s office.
My RAK for the week was giving my neighbor my extra faucet covers yesterday. He mentioned Home Depot was out (duh – we’re in the teens, only about 30 degrees below normal) and I had some spares so they have a new home now
another Michelle said,
December 19, 2008 @ 2:39 pm
Hi! Sheri,
This week I mailed some yarn to the Community Stitching Post at the Ohio Reformatory for Women, 1479 Collins Avenue, Marysville, OH 43040. I had sent them some things a while back (they accept any kind of needlework) and received a nice thank you note that said about 850 women did nearly 35,000 hours of community service through the Stitching Post…the items they make benefit charities and they recently received a Paul Newman Humanitarian Award. They really can’t advertise that they accept donations, so I thought I’d put the details in with my RAK in the hope that some other Loopies might be looking for a place to donate yarn, etc.
Hope you have a good weekend!
Michelle said,
December 19, 2008 @ 2:42 pm
We are donating a keyboard/piano to a music student that is in need. DH and I feel so happy to be able to do this.
Sarah said,
December 19, 2008 @ 2:42 pm
Safe travels!!!
My RAK this week was to offer an ‘extra’ washing machine to an elderly couple in need. I have yet to hear if they will take us up on this offer, but I hope they do!
Michele said,
December 19, 2008 @ 2:46 pm
We’re teaching the kids about kindness and giving. For their recent birthdays they each picked a charity and instead of gifts, they asked for donations to their charity. We dropped off the donations this week. Then in line at the coffee drive through, we paid for the drinks for the car behind us.
Timmie B said,
December 19, 2008 @ 2:48 pm
Have a safe trip! My cats always liked to lay under the tree but DID get the ornaments and also DID climb the tree. One would sit on the spokes of the ring that held the branches out and reach through to get the fragile ornaments on top of tree. This is one reason I don’t put up a tree anymore. I suspect my dog would wait until I was spinning or on-line and then get ornaments to chew.
Alexis said,
December 19, 2008 @ 2:52 pm
I love tha tpicture of Gracie Sheri! Too Cute.
I’ve been doing the beanie thing, knit knit knit, though so many people have helped by mailing me some for the troops, that I don’t think I’ll have to anymore. Also, I’ve been helping my Aunt out around the house since she’s going through the invetro fertilization treatments to try and have a baby, and tomorrow is when they put the little guys in and hope they take.
Karen said,
December 19, 2008 @ 2:58 pm
Safe travels and have a wonderful weekend
MY RAK this week was to fulfill some Winter Wishes for children in need. The letters I received this year were so cute – all from 4 year olds. A few of them wanted a soccer ball and one wanted a toy car. I wrapped them up and sent them to their care program where they would receive them at a holiday party this week. Sadly for these little boys, it may be the only gift they get this year. I was so happy to help.
heather said,
December 19, 2008 @ 3:00 pm
My RAK was to donate blood to the local blood bank. I hate needles and I almost fainted. However, it only took about an hour, and I could be saving someone’s life.
I’m also packing up my less loved yarn to send to my young cousin who’s family can’t really afford luxuries like yarn.
Bonney said,
December 19, 2008 @ 3:00 pm
I realize this is sort of wonky but here was my act of kindness. Picture it: Yesterday, on the bus going from Boston to New London, NH. Usually a 2 hour ride accompanied by a free bottle of water, a small bag of pretzels and and awful movie. Not a bad deal. Now add in traffic – causing the bus to be 70 minutes late to its’ destination and a girl sitting next to me who coughed – I’m REALLY not exaggerating – every 2 to 3 minutes!!!!! I bit my tongue; I didn’t say anything to her; I didn’t give her a dirty look; I didn’t sigh…. It was TRULY a RAOK!!!! Merry Christmas!!
Mary R said,
December 19, 2008 @ 3:05 pm
Hi Sheri!
It’s also snowing here in Massachusetts and our weekend travel plans may have to be rearranged as well. We were supposed to go visit my sister and her family to celebrate an early Christmas with them.
No cats in our home, but we have a shelter dog who had been abused as a puppy. He is still a bit skittish, even after five years with us. He’s not so fond of the Christmas tree, and just about tolerates its presence in our home.
This RAK stuff is so much fun that I have continued to try and do at least one RAK each day.
My RAK to share for this week is that I gave up my spot on line at the Post Office to help an older woman bring her packages inside to mail. This required multiple trips back and forth from her car. She was very thankful — all of her family lives away and so she had many boxes to mail. I hope that I brightened her day.
Have safe travels.
Amy Scott said,
December 19, 2008 @ 3:13 pm
My dog Zoee is a chihuahua and likes to sit on the couch next to the tree, but doesn’t like to be under it. She acts like a cat, but only takes it so far. LOL!
I did a couple of RAKs this week. One thing I did that really didn’t cost me anything was donate my Coca-Cola points to Toys for Tots. I had managed to accumulate quite a few points for drinking (too many) Cokes. When I found out that Coke was doing this drive for T for T, I donated my points. The points will go towards purchasing toys for kids who may not have such a great Christmas this year. So far Toys for Tots has raised over 9 million points! So if anyone out there is drinking a Coke product, bop on by mycokerewards.com and donate your points!
Also, we were having a potluck for work and I signed up to bring chips and homemade salsa. The day before, I looked at the list and noticed that there wasn’t much in the way of deserts, so I made several batches of cookies so no one would be without anything sweet.
Hope the weather lets up for ya’ll and have a safe trip this weekend!!!
Lauren said,
December 19, 2008 @ 3:16 pm
Be careful traveling – I’m in central IL and we got over an inch of straight ice!
The ice also made it easy to complete some RAKs this week. I have two elderly ladies that live in my apartment building and I volunteered to do some grocery shopping for them this week so they wouldn’t have to go out in all of this.
Happy Holidays to everyone and safe travels!
Trista said,
December 19, 2008 @ 3:18 pm
I bought a $50 gift certificate to Trader Joe’s Grocery Store for a single mother I know who has been struggling with loosing her job and being a full time college student. It is a little help for the kitchen and she has a Trader Joe’s in her neighborhood. Thankfully, she is doing well due to increased support from the college and other well-meaning people! Merry Christmas everyone! We are having a snowy white one!
jen said,
December 19, 2008 @ 3:20 pm
So lucky your cat is not a tree climber! Our cat ran up the tree on year and it fell over, taking my mom’s 20 year collection of lladro bells with it. I thought there would be a cat hat under the tree that year. She bolted it into the room eaves the next year!
Amy said,
December 19, 2008 @ 3:21 pm
I don’t recall that my mom’s dog, Sammy, laying underneath the Christmas tree. Probably because he’s too busy craving attention, lol. But, he is a cute little guy and I’ll get to see him soon! I leave Sunday to fly to Kansas to spend the holiday with my family. I actually connect in St. Louis, so I probably need to check the weather there too! I’m sure it will be colder than what I’m used to here in Virginia!
Hope you have safe travels and a great time on your trip. : )
As for my RAK, I made an an extra donation to a Street Sense vendor that I see on a daily basis near my office. This is a non-profit organization whose mission is to “increase public awareness of poverty and homelessness in Washington, D.C., and to provide homeless people with an economic opportunity and a forum to be published”.
just lori said,
December 19, 2008 @ 3:24 pm
Our one cat will also hide under the tree–we try to leave her room through the presents so she can have her hiding spot as long as the tree is there.
My RAK was parking related–I have good strong legs that are willing to carry me places, so when I’ve parked anywhere the last few days, I parked farther away than the first open parking space, letting someone else have the awesome spots.
Kristina said,
December 19, 2008 @ 3:32 pm
Today my coworker and I decorated another coworkers cube for his birthday. He’s had a rough year. I also picked up a cake for him. Maybe not so random, but it was kind (especially since the co-worker and I have not always gotten along).
Kat Jorgensen said,
December 19, 2008 @ 3:34 pm
Our RAK for the week was to offer to take in a struggling family member for the next 6 months until they can get back on their feet. Don’t know if they’ll take us up or not, but the offer is there. It’s a tough economy and we have been blessed and want to extend those blessings.
I think Ben the cat is going to have the most difficult time with this as it is what he considers “his room” that we’ll be using. Hohoho. He’ll get used to it.
Denise said,
December 19, 2008 @ 3:39 pm
Safe travels. we had a bad bad ice storm last weekend and were without power Friday through Sunday. I had to throw out all the stuff in my fridge and half of the freezer. When i restocked, i bought a bag of stuff for the food bank. Many people here will have lost a lot of food in the outage.
I also donated a dozen knitted hats and 4 store bought hats and gloves to the local Project Santa.
I attended my son’s Christmas Sing a long today-100 first graders, singing their little hearts out. I made a special effort to seek out the parents of the boy who was the “MC” and let them know how much I appreciated their sons performance. They were quite pleased with the comments.
Merry Christmas al!
Issy Thomas said,
December 19, 2008 @ 3:40 pm
Why do they do it? Mine too. And one year one of them did climb up. We had to secure the tree to the ceiling with a hook!
Knitasha1968 said,
December 19, 2008 @ 3:49 pm
The water chestnuts are also good sprinkled with brown sugar instead of the sauce.
Bonnie H. said,
December 19, 2008 @ 3:56 pm
We went to a wedding this week for the daughter of one of the attorney’s where I work. The receptionist didn’t have anyone to go with, so DH and I took her with us.
I’ll share a recipe with you. This is from year’s ago when I was in the Amarillo Chapter of Professional Secretaries International. One of the members always brought this to our Christmas party. We insisted!
A package of whatever type of hot dog weiners you like (she said to use “cheap red weiners”), cut into thirds
A package of bacon, cut into thirds
1 lb. of brown sugar
Wrap bacon pieces around pieces of weiners and secure with toothpicks. Put them all in a crockpot and pour the brown sugar on top. Cook on high setting 1/2 day and enjoy!
Kimberly Bradley said,
December 19, 2008 @ 3:56 pm
Random Act of Kindness:
Dropped diapers and baby food off at a local social justice agency.
Bonnie H. said,
December 19, 2008 @ 3:59 pm
Oops! Maybe the bacon wrapped weiners that I posted above should be cooked on low.
Megan said,
December 19, 2008 @ 4:00 pm
My cat Hannah absolutely adores laying under the tree every moment she gets. And she has never had any interest in the ornaments or attempted to climb the tree. I’m so glad someone else is as lucky with their sweet cats as I am!
My RAK this week was to donate to the Salvation Army at work.
^
^^^ Merry Christmas Sheri!
^^^^^ It’s been a wonderful Loopy year!
^^^^^^
#
LISA said,
December 19, 2008 @ 4:05 pm
Yesterday, I was swamped at work, but I took a co-worked to the emergency room and sat with her until her sisters could get there. And then I brought her some books and toiletries. Oh, and then I stopped by her house to bring in mail, feed her kitties and clean their litter box. I almost threw up when I was cleaning the litter box, but I was glad to help her out!
I am also a very smiley person, and I made sure to smile to everyone I ran into in the hospital. I know that happy faces are rare around there.
Debbie said,
December 19, 2008 @ 4:13 pm
We have a spot in our apartment building where people often leave things for others to take for free. I put some brand new magazines and some new books out there. We have a lot of elderly residents who probably can’t afford to buy them.
Patty said,
December 19, 2008 @ 4:17 pm
This week I help with the classroom party at my Daughters school
Angela said,
December 19, 2008 @ 4:20 pm
My RAK is this: my 13 year old son has been sick all week and missed a couple of days of school. On one of these days, my his basketball team had a game that evening, and I was supposed to bring home 2 of his friends, whose mothers work and could not get off in time to get the boys to an out-of-town game. So I called the boys that morning and told them that even though my son was not at school, I would still be picking them up and bringing them to the game. My son did go to the game and sit on the bench, but did not feel well enough to play
meg said,
December 19, 2008 @ 4:25 pm
I have been doing RAK all week, however, I thought I would share one that someone did for me yesterday. I usually park in the same area at our grocery store. With the holidays and everything being nuts, I just parked where I could, loaded by two boys into the cart and wheeled in for groceries. When we came out, I was pushing the cart through ice and snow with one hand as my other hand held my Starbucks:) I could not find our car anywhere, I was circling the BIG parking lots in the snow, my coffee was jolting out of the lid and I was starting to feel like I was losing my mind. Until, this very nice lady offered her help. She asked me what our car looked like and then she ran off to find it with me slowly trailing behind here. She was so sweet. She helped us find the car and load the groceries and was just so kind. I felt like a complete idiot! The worst part was my five year old KNEW where the car was but was talking to me in a slightly whine-y voice, so I couldn’t even listen, ahhhhhh!!!!!
Sue said,
December 19, 2008 @ 4:34 pm
Hmmm…if I had a tree, I’m sure the cats would *love* it. My RAK this week was to make an extra year-end donation to Doctors Without Borders and Heifer Project International.
ikkinlala said,
December 19, 2008 @ 4:39 pm
I’ve spent most of this week at home, so finding opportunities for RAKs (as opposed to the usual being kind to my family) has been a bit difficult. One I did find was helping a lady with kids carry groceries to her car.
Michelle said,
December 19, 2008 @ 4:42 pm
I have one cat that lies under our tree, and our chihuahua walks under it and helps himself to the water. We use to have a dog that would try to eat any bulb ornaments. For my RAK this week, I took our neighbors trash can to the curb and back after it got picked up. I hope the weather does not ruin your weekend plans.
Karyn said,
December 19, 2008 @ 4:44 pm
My big RAK for this week–I let a mother with several unhappy children go ahead of me in the line at the grocery store last night, which was a night before a big snow storm, so you know what kind of crowds and lines were at the store!
Nancy said,
December 19, 2008 @ 4:46 pm
Our cats love to sit under the tree too. We had had kittens in the past who tried to take a trip up the tree and got stuck, but not recently. We do put unbreakable ornaments around the bottom of the tree just in case someone decides to have a rousing game of swat.
Travel safely!
Sue said,
December 19, 2008 @ 4:48 pm
My RAK – During the slow drive home on Tuesday during a snow storm, I watched two ladies walking along the sidewalk, I figured that they were heading to one of the other buildings on campus. Once I got past all the buildings, I caught up with them, still walking (one was in high heels). I stopped in the middle of traffic and asked offered them a ride. They said that the buses didn’t seem to be running on campus and could I give them a ride to Centre Station – sure! As we were creeping along, I discovered that they lived near me so I delivered them both safely to their homes. Two hours after I left work, I finally made it home!
Our cats have always enjoyed hanging out under the tree. This year, our 9-month old kitten Zoe is fascinated with the tree. I made the mistake of hanging red and gold jingle bells all over the tree and Zoe makes her own special Christmas carols batting at the bells.
Betty Bond said,
December 19, 2008 @ 4:53 pm
My RAK this week was not ‘random’ but certainly left me with a warm feeling. I have a friend who has been having chemotherapy treatments for the past 6 months and I went with her for the first few treatments – she called me last week to ask if I would accompany her this week for her FINAL treatment – we went, we laughed, we sang, we clapped and celebrated the end of a very long haul. I just realized the RAK was from her to me!! I think we will have a very happy Christmas
Nadine said,
December 19, 2008 @ 5:01 pm
Even though my school doesn’t normally do gifts for staff (ie secretaries, janitor etc) or colleagues- I decided to just do it. I placed a big bag of cookies in the office since I know the girls love to have treats and left beeswax candles (handmade by me) in some of my favourite colleagues’ cubby holes. I had great fun watching them find the candles- they were surprised but loved the idea.
Susan B said,
December 19, 2008 @ 5:12 pm
Love the cats! And I’ve got a Gracie too. If she had opposable thumbs she’d rule the world.
My RAK was to give away to a less fortunate neighbor the grass catcher I had bought for my riding lawn mower that I decided was a really big mistake. For me, anyway, but they were thrilled as they’d been wanting one very badly and didn’t know how to pay for one.
Made me feel good, plus it was less junk under my carport Win Win!!
Kate Lathrop said,
December 19, 2008 @ 5:19 pm
Hi Sheri! Wish I could have brought warmer weather with me from Phoenix this week. I guess all I brought was the rain.
Let’s see – I had 2 RAK’s this week – when I was at Shop n Save this week I rounded up the stray carts by my car and put them back in the corral for the cart person. The other one was finished with help from my husband
I had 3 boxes of yarn I put together to be sent to an organization that helps developmentally challenged persons learn to live on their own, and they use crafts as part of their socialization process. I packed them up before I left but he took them to be mailed.
Oh – do yummies from Starbucks brought to TLE count as a RAK?
regina said,
December 19, 2008 @ 5:20 pm
My RAK this week involves a neighbor of mine. She and her partner recently had a baby girl. I went over with a gift and two large bags of stuff my daughter had long-ago outgrown (but that’s not the RAK). I quickly realized that the new mom was quite down, and had a bad case of baby blues. Her partner seemed extremely concerned but not quite sure of what to do. I left and went back to my house, whipped up a salad and a pan of lasagna, got some dessert out and took it over to their place with a “gift certificate” for a night’s babysitting so they can have a few hours to themselves. It’s really a win-win: they’ll get a little break, and I’ll get to enjoy the company of a beautiful baby!
Alicia said,
December 19, 2008 @ 5:25 pm
This week at work, everybody was having a lousy start to the week – our server was down so nobody was able to do anything. I’d been having a dreadful time because I had big deadlines at the end of the week. Once the server finally was working again, I ended up having to put in really long hours to try to get caught up. On Tuesday, I was invited to come over for pot roast at a co-worker’s because I was going to be working through dinner. But at 5, she called me to say that neither she nor her husband had actually plugged in the crock pot, so not only was there no dinner, but she now had to throw out 2 lbs of ruined beef. I suggested that we all meet at a restaurant, instead, and bought their dinner as a surprise. Doing something nice for them cheered me up, too!
Elise said,
December 19, 2008 @ 5:27 pm
Dogs like to sit under the tree too! Our small dog always wanted to sit under something and this time of year that was usually the tree.
This week I tried to give someone my seat on the bus, but she wouldn’t take it. I also ran an errand for a friend since she was running late for work.
Erynn said,
December 19, 2008 @ 5:27 pm
My family had a larger dog while I was growing up (not huge, but not a toy.) who had a specific corner in the living room, which also happened to be the corner we put the tree in. Even with the tree there, he’d still crawl under there. I’m sure there are pictures somewhere. We had to put him down in ’02-’03 and every year since we put the container of his ashes in the corner under the tree.
My RAK was giving a bunch of my extra yarn to my friend who started crocheting last year, and I just taught her to knit a few weeks ago. She picked up so fast! She’s already finished her first scarf (took her less then a week) and her gauge is spot on. She wants to knit socks someday, and I think that will be sooner then she thinks! The yarn was just sitting in my closet (some of it I’ve had for years) and she’ll probably get more use out of it then I will.
Chrissy said,
December 19, 2008 @ 5:43 pm
I gave money off coupons to fellow customers at Petland and Bath & Body Works.
Carrie said,
December 19, 2008 @ 5:45 pm
My RAK isn’t the biggest or bestest, but when I got home from shopping, our parking lot was FULL of snow. About 5 or 6 inches, at least. So I got out the shovel and shoveled out my fiance’s parking spot for him and made a path to the front door so his shoes won’t get all wet when he gets home from work.
liz said,
December 19, 2008 @ 5:47 pm
It’s not random, but believe me it was an act of kindness! I organized the class Christmas party for my child’s classroom and made sure that the food served would be OK for the various health issues in class (peanut allergies, celiac, diabetes). Not everyone could eat every single thing, but there was plenty for everyone to enjoy and not feel deprived!
Also, another bacon recipe
Take half a dried apricot and a sliver of raw jalapeno. Wrap with bacon and secure with toothpick. Bake until bacon is sizzling. YUM!
Erin said,
December 19, 2008 @ 6:01 pm
My apartment beagle is completely enamored with the tree skirt this year. I have no idea what about that red plastic she finds so intriguing, but she won’t leave it alone; we put the whole tree (it’s a little guy, maybe 3ft) up on a table as not to temp her into destruction.
I’m not sure how random my RAK is this week as it was a fairly organized event in my office, but I got to go out Christmas shopping for two people (one child, one senior) currently in the social services system in my town. My department has this event organized with local social workers to provide holiday cheer for those who may not have much otherwise, and it really made me feel great to get to buy gifts for others=) I also cleared out half my pantry for the state workers food drive!
Elizabeth D said,
December 19, 2008 @ 6:03 pm
My RAKs are smaller than many — I am fortunate that, at least at this moment, my friends and neighbors are crisis-free. May it remain so! But — I always have change in my pocket, because most places I go I need to feed the parking meter. Several times this week, as I walked along the row, I added quarters to meters about to expire, or already expired. The other one — there’s a man who lives 6 or 7 blocks away who clearly inhabits an alternate universe. On days when it’s not raining, he stands on a certain corner, where there’s a traffic light, and directs traffic, very enthusiastically. Most people ignore him; some yell at him or honk; I’ve been waving. He loves it.
Maria said,
December 19, 2008 @ 6:06 pm
Someone on a bulletin board I frequent posted to the group located in my area asking if someone here might be willing to do her a favor and buy something at a local shop she wasn’t able to get in her area.
I said I’d be happy to do it and then after I bought it realized I wanted to send it to her without her paying me back for it. I did that this week, and if it makes her as happy as it made me, we’re both going to be pretty darn happy.
I also gave another donation to the food bank, and donated some money to them as well. We are hurting too, these days, but we are lucky enough to have food and shelter, and not everyone does.
Marcela said,
December 19, 2008 @ 6:11 pm
I donated vacation time to our office manager, who just had surgery and was out of leave time. She’s off on unpaid leave without others donating time.
I agree with a lot of the posters – I just feel so darned fortunate especially now.
Hope said,
December 19, 2008 @ 6:14 pm
My family went out to eat the other night, to let my daughter collect her free birthday dinner, and had an opportunity for a little RAK. We got there later in the evening when it was kinda close to closing time, but not too close. The girl who sat us told us that our server would be right over and then she came back and said that she guessed that she was our server. She was wonderful!! The kitchen messed up my 5 yr old’s order twice in their rush to close the kitchen and she kept making them try again until they got it right. Please note that we were very gracious and pleasant not grumpy. She was just awesome! When the bill came DH made sure she got a great tip, and then he also went and told the manager what a great job she had done. When we got home we went to the restaurant’s website and left feedback for her there as well so that her boss could show her. It made me feel real good to know that she would find out how appreciative we were.
I also want to add a little brag on my daughter. She is really lucky at finding change on the ground and for the past couple of weeks she has been dropping it either in the Salvation Army buckets of giving it to people who are working in a position of service. Today she took a $1 out of her birthday money and put in the bucket as we were going into a store. It made me so proud of her.
leah said,
December 19, 2008 @ 6:55 pm
I sent some handspun yarn to a blog reader who had recently undergone surgery and seemed a little blue. I think it helped!
Jocelyn said,
December 19, 2008 @ 6:55 pm
This one was actually a friend’s idea, but it ended up as a joint effort. We were meeting for brunch on a cold, wet, windy day, and she saw a homeless woman in front of the cafe, asking for change. My friend invited her in, and we paid for her breakfast and a cup of coffee so that she could have a warm meal, and a warm place to sit and eat it, instead of having to eek out enough change for a cup of coffee to go. Our server was kind and caring towards the woman, too, which just made the whole thing better.
Lisa said,
December 19, 2008 @ 7:01 pm
I sent someone money through paypal because she wrote on her blog about a major plumbing disaster that comes right as she’s trying to get a handle on her newly diagnosed bipolar disorder.
Samantha Smith said,
December 19, 2008 @ 7:08 pm
OK, not such a big deal, but after the Christmas Concert for my daughter’s chorus, my daughter’s best friend asked to borrow my phone to call her mom for a ride home. I said, no way, I’ll drive you home. She has two little sisters at home, so I know her mom appreciated not having to pack them into the car to come back over to the school
Patricia said,
December 19, 2008 @ 7:13 pm
I shovel the end of my neighbors’ driveways after their paid shovelers leave and the city comes thru to plow. Happy holidays to all the loopy personnel !!!!!!!
Dianne said,
December 19, 2008 @ 7:25 pm
It was quite a week here in NH where we were hit pretty hard by an ice storm. We had no power for 6 days but do have a generator. We had many neighbors and friends come by to get warm and shower. (where we live no power means no water) We also fed some neighbors who were unable to cook without their power.
Kathleen said,
December 19, 2008 @ 7:29 pm
I sent my soldier (adopted at http://www.soldiersangels.org) his December package and included small gifts for him to have on hand to give to others and I sent 23 Christmas Cards to a group of female soldiers that my team is supporting through their deployment.
Small little things can add up to a mountain of good.
Loretta said,
December 19, 2008 @ 7:40 pm
I took flowers to our financial secretary at church. She is a retired teacher who still helps out a lot at my kids elementary school. She has been picking up every illness the kids have decided to pass around this year so has not been able to get out as much and has been a bit down because of this. I hope it cheered up her day a bit!
Alice said,
December 19, 2008 @ 7:43 pm
RAK’s this week:
Purposely held doors open for those either coming in or out of a store
We support a child through World Vision, but there is also a “catalog” that can be ordered from to help support families with animals to help their livelihood. I let my kids pick out something that they wanted to donate through this catalog. My son picked 5 ducks and my daughter picked 2 chickens. This will help feed families through the eggs that these both produce, along with them being able to sell additional ducks and chickens to help support their family. The kids enjoyed being able to pick something out for someone else.
There was an organization that had a table set up outside of Costco that with a donation would donate a toy to a child that for some reason or another is enduring a long hospital stay. So the my kids picked out which toy they wanted a child to receive and it only cost me $10.
jaci said,
December 19, 2008 @ 8:03 pm
Our cats love to sleep under the tree! So cute. My RAK was to put extra money into the parking meter at the library today. I was there for 10 minutes, but added enough money for three hours. I hope you get to go see Janice this weekend. Safe travels.
Patricia said,
December 19, 2008 @ 8:09 pm
Sending thoughts your way for safe travel.
RAK for this week:
There is a man at my work that never brings his lunch. I don’t know if he doesn’t have time or doesn’t have leftovers but he is always wanting to share a slice or a chinese entree, so I bought a few 5.00 gift certificates at his favorite places and put them in an unsigned card.
I had an act of kindness given to me that I would like to tell you about. I bring cookies to work on most Monday’s. ( I love to bake) Today one of my coworkers handed me a bag and then walked out the door. I looked inside and there was a giant bag of craisins, a giant bag of chocolate chips, and a giant bag of walnuts! You could have knocked me over with a feather.
Lisa Kay Wilson said,
December 19, 2008 @ 8:09 pm
Hi,
I live in the St. Louis area. As you know, Sheri, there was sleet on Tuesday during the day, and folks leaving work had to scrape their cars (more than a little). While my heater was running, I scraped someone else’s car, then I did mine when it was warmer.
Happy Holidays!
Lisa
Kelli said,
December 19, 2008 @ 8:20 pm
My RAKs have been driving related, picking up friends and dropping them off so they don’t have to walk through the snow and cold, giving up parking spaces, letting cars in before me in a long line, just things to make driving a little more pleasant.
RedfordPhyl said,
December 19, 2008 @ 8:24 pm
Happy Holidays to all! My RAKs have been DD related. Felted a hat for her that she knit for one of her work friends. It came out much bigger than expected, and rather than frog and start over I suggested that we shrink it. Also installed new memory in her laptop so she could upgrade her OS.
SusanB=knits said,
December 19, 2008 @ 8:29 pm
I took four $5 Starbucks gift card for each of the girls who work at the UPS store and a tray of Christmas cookies for them to share. They have been working very hard this time of year. I wanted them to know their hard work is appreciated.
Have a safe trip and a Merry Christmas!
Shannon H. said,
December 19, 2008 @ 8:30 pm
My RAOK for the week was a family effort. We were at our local McDonald’s, and had bought our daughters Happy Meals. The prize was a My Little Pony, and the girls loved theirs. There was a little girl there who was asking her grandfather to get her a Happy Meal, but they had already sat down with their food.
I asked Hubby to buy an extra pony. He in turn had our daughters give the pony to the little girl, whose grandfather kept on insisting he pay for it.
Janice said,
December 19, 2008 @ 8:33 pm
This week’s intentional act was to be a secret Santa to a Ravelry/Plurk pal (who also had a birthday this week). Sent her some fun stuff that she’s not expecting. Oh, I’m still trying to be nice to other drivers.
Jill said,
December 19, 2008 @ 9:02 pm
We don’t have cats, but my Jack Russell Terrier love ONE ornament, the little wool sheep I bought from TLE last year. She licks it continually so I have to put it high on the tree.
My RAOK was to give a scarf I made for me to someone who just moved to snow-ville from Florida. A bad winter to move!
Sarah F. said,
December 19, 2008 @ 9:15 pm
I’ve been trying to do a RAK every day in December… but little did I expect to get a “reward” like I did. On Mon. a former coworker called with questions for our supervisor. To put it bluntly, I really never liked this woman. She is somewhat “needy” and can be very whiny… and I often just don’t have much patience for her. I answered the phone, but instead of passing her off as politely as I could, I took the time to ask her how she was (her health is bad), how the family was, etc… the supervisor she called for didn’t even want to talk to her, and told me to take a message!!!! As we were talking, she told me that she was basically homebound as her new medication prevented her from driving. She then told me that she thought of me every day in gratitude because two years ago I taught her how to knit… and that was just about all she could still do. She felt like it was the one useful activity she had left, and was busy kntting scarves for her family members!
Lessons Learned: Knitting can also give the gift of healing, AND take the time to connect with the people in your life (even if you don’t feel like it!!)…if I hadn’t taken the time to talk with my coworker, I never would have heard about her kntting journey, and my part in it!
Jo Anne said,
December 19, 2008 @ 9:15 pm
Gosh…I am without a voice right now…and desperately trying to recover from a bad cold…..but with Christmas right around the corner…it’s not difficult to do “little things” that will hopefully….make a difference for someone!
My husband and I picked tangerines …and took 10 grocery bags full of fruit down to our local food bank for distribution to the needy.
Today…while trying to mail a heavy box at our local PO…I noticed a frail elderly woman trying to open the door while carrying a bunch of packages to mail. She set her packages down on the PO boxes…while trying to catch her breath…I cut in line and took her packages up to the front counter for her….and she thanked me because she said that she couldn’t carry the packages and her cane…! Little did I know that this woman could barely stand on her own much less carry a bunch of mail.
Abby said,
December 19, 2008 @ 9:26 pm
One of the women at my work is having a hard time financially because her husband was layed off a couple of months ago. The rest of the women at work decided to chip in and give her some extra money for Christmas so she could get presents for her grandchildren and such. We gave her the card with the money today. She cried. =)
Christel said,
December 19, 2008 @ 9:45 pm
Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!!
Couple of RAK’s–I was going to be off for my new daughter-in-law’s graduation from THE Florida State University. I worked late the night before seeing extra patients so my co-worker would not have to work late the next day. Also my friend and I sing together at our church. This week, our hospital sponsered a worship service for Christmas for the patients and their families. We were so blessed to be able to sing and lead the carols for this service. Many of our patients will not be home for Christmas and are not able to have passes to go out for Christmas services. I am so thankful our hospital still values the spiritual health of our patients as well as the physical health. God bless!!
Monica said,
December 19, 2008 @ 9:46 pm
I think the cats like the heat from the lights. Our cats used to chase each other up the tree. It was always laying on the floor in the morning.
I hope you are able to take your quick weekend trip, and have safe travel.
My sister makes an appetizer similar to that but she makes an Asian marinade for them instead of the bbq sauce. Very tasty.
RAK: I haven’t been out much this week to be doing any RAKs but I did unload an elderly lady’s grocery cart for her at the grocery store this week.
Have a great weekend with your family
DPUTiger said,
December 19, 2008 @ 9:57 pm
Good luck with your travels. Stay safe and warm!
I had a truly rotten week last week, working a convention that had me sleep-deprived and miserable. the “payoff” for the week in hades was a free day at the resort hotel in Florida where the convention was held. On the way back from the beach, I passed a couple at the beach entrance and the woman’s foot was bleeding big-time. There was a group of hotel workers up by the hotel and I made sure they knew she was having problems with the cut on her foot. And I stood around until I was sure someone had understood what was going on.
We had spent the week referring to the hotel staff as “Santa” so I’m hopeful they were able to help her quickly. (and I hope that qualifies as a RAK. Yeah, it’s something anyone should do, but too many people just walk by).
Paula said,
December 19, 2008 @ 9:59 pm
My RAK this week was to donate an electric scooter (wheelchair) to a woman who has difficulty making trips outside of her home. She had wanted one for a long time and was so appreciative it made me feel just as good!
Leslie said,
December 19, 2008 @ 10:02 pm
Cats and dog and tree? Only in my dreams…
Some random, one not-so-random, and four people to whom I owe a huge debt of gratitude…
Random – I purchased an extra coffee “debit” card at the local cafe and asked the cashier to use it pay for coffee for people who looked liked they could use a day-brightening.
Not-so-random — We had a cubicle decorating contest at work and I won
But the employees of one of the departments had worked together on their area and had a real holiday team spirit thing going. It seemed so right to pass the prize, a $75 movie pass, on to them instead of keeping it. They were really surprised and delighted and said they’d each take a turn using it over the next few weekends.
And finally, I was the recipient of my incredible neighbors’ AOK this week. In a semiconscious state, likely induced by the fear of an afternoon dental appointment, I somehow managed to leave the house with my indoor dog outside — in my not-very-securely fenced backyard. It would be a grossly inaccurate to say that she is a good candidate for being out on the streets alone. Besides her fear-based agressive tendencies, she has not a single drop of car-sense and an insatiable urge to chase squirrels. So, on a cold rainy day, my dear neighbors saw that she had escaped my yard and watched over her for several hours. Although she wouldn’t let them catch her, they managed to keep her out of trouble until I could get home. I hate to think what might have happened to her, or what she might have done without her guardian angels.
nancy said,
December 19, 2008 @ 10:05 pm
Cookies for work!
My niece makes the same water chestnuts and they are always the first thing gone.
minnie said,
December 19, 2008 @ 10:24 pm
i helped the lady in line behind me at the post office select the appropriate packaging for her stuff, helped her tape down the ribbon on her package, and gave her my left-over newspapers to cushion her package. she told me she’s so broke all she could afford to send her sister wasa telephone. I felt kinda bad for her.
Hariamrit said,
December 19, 2008 @ 10:39 pm
May not be so random but… There is a teenage (18) girl who helps on the farm. Her Mom has some mental problems and kicked her out of the house after she physically abused her. She wants to finish school and had no where to go, so we took her in. Of course we have always adored her and are glad to help her out.
Hope everyone has a happy and safe holiday whatever they celebrate.
turtle said,
December 19, 2008 @ 11:53 pm
those look yummy! our cat this year thinks the branches are to low on the tree, so she lies near it but not under it. I miss seeing her under it!
My RAK this week was letting cars pull in front of us in the parking lot they call a freeway. It took us 2 1/2 hours to go the 16 miles it usually takes 15-20 for. We also stopped to help a few drivers, one who was off the road and teetering on 2 wheels, along with letting a few folks use my cell phone to call friends or tow trucks when needed.
My daughter Cait adds her RAK: Our neighbors went out of town for a family emergency and are now extending their need to be away. Daughter is collecting mail, papers, watching the house, and feeding the stray cats and raccoons they usually do as well as making extra shelter from the storms. The neighbors always try to pay her and she always refuses their money. She says this is all her RAK.
Laurie said,
December 20, 2008 @ 12:26 am
My husband came home the other night and asked me if we had any extra scarves or hats, as there were a lot of homeless people around his office in downtown Seattle. We’re having a very cold and snowy stretch of weather here, too! I didn’t really have anything, so my daughter and I bought hats and gloves the next day and sent them with him to work. He gave them to the man who runs a halfway house in the neighborhood and knows all the guys on the street. He was thrilled to get the items. My husband’s boss thought it was a great idea, and brought four jackets the next day, the guys at the coffee shop across the street wanted to participate, and I went to the thrift store and bought two jackets and three wool sweaters and sent them down as well. It feels good to have started this little donation ball rolling and to be able to help someone less fortunate feel a little bit warmer this winter.
Michelle said,
December 20, 2008 @ 12:46 am
My husband I belong to a car club that just had an event in which we asked our members to bring a toy for Toys for Tots. We managed to collect over 200 toys at the event and we even had two Marines who were assigned to our event to collect the toys which was nice because we got to thank them for protecting us at home too.
Bobbie said,
December 20, 2008 @ 12:53 am
I’m not sure these are really random acts of kindness. They might just be part of my job. I’m a high school teacher. I gave $50 to the district welfare committee, bought $40 worth of food for the district food drive and chipped in a few more dollars when students were collecting to buy more food (we’ve got some great kids!). I stayed after school yesterday to let a kid take a test so he could go on vacation early,and gave up my planning period to fill in the wrestlers on what they would miss when they went to a tournament. Stayed after school today to fulfill a last minute request for a recommendation.
Tabby said,
December 20, 2008 @ 12:57 am
I donated to Doctors Without Borders and gave an extra gift to World Vision above our normal monthly giving. I’ve got a container of homemade Christmas candy all ready to give to a special neighbor this weekend as well
Melissa said,
December 20, 2008 @ 1:10 am
This week I tried to work in little things every day: letting people jump in line ahead of me at the store, making room for other cars to turn in to traffic, giving small donations whenever I had the opportunity, helping a bewildered older gentleman choose a sweater for his wife (I really enjoyed that one; he wanted to find something ‘as colorful and pretty as she is’).
Cathy-Cate said,
December 20, 2008 @ 1:20 am
Of our two old cats who are now gone as of a few years ago, one was a Christmas tree climber/aficionado and one wasn’t. The TreeHugger got into the tinsel his first year with us. Not good for cats. Fortunately, what he managed to get in — came out; but picture a fluffy small cat running around with tinsel sticking out from under his tail. My husband didn’t know it was still kind of attached and grabbed the tinsel — the cat was very indignant.
We didn’t put tinsel on any more after that.
RAK this week: I was at the store last weekend and saw a big box of those mini-creamers (half-and-half) that you get at restaurants. Ultra-pasteurized, so they don’t require refrigeration. I bought them and brought them anonymously to our work break room, because I know a lot of the other coffee drinkers, like me, prefer real dairy instead of powdered artificial creamer in our coffee. They seem to be being well received!
Lori said,
December 20, 2008 @ 2:05 am
I did several things this week…I did the requisite Starbucks pay for the car behind you thing, sent some yarn to an online pal who needed a pick-me-up, and send some perfume to another online friend who’s going through a hard time. I just noticed that these were all niceties, not necessities and I hope I made someone feel indulged this week!
GinkgoKnits said,
December 20, 2008 @ 2:30 am
One of my RAK:
Building the dog barricade so that the dog can’t get behind the tree where he likes to hassle the low-hanging ornaments and hide his toys and bones.
Also, he likes to leap from the arm of the couch to the floor (this is a 35 lbs. dog, not a teacup poodle). Last year, he got over excited while barking at something outside and missed him landing spot — he ended up jumping ON the tree, knocking it over, causing a number of ornaments to break, and scaring the whole household with his howl of fright as he ran to hide under my bed. At least it was only ornaments hurt and no dog or human injuries. But, we’ve learned our lesson and there will be no dog leaps until after the tree is gone.
Sara said,
December 20, 2008 @ 3:38 am
Today I was walking down Market St. in San Francisco and I saw a homeless man with a sign that said “I may be homeless but at least I’m not sitting on my arse shaking a cup.” He had a saxophone that was labeled for sale, I walked a little way down the street and felt like I had to turn around. I gave him a five dollar bill and said Merry Christmas, he wished me happy holidays and I turned around again. As I walked away I heard a saxophone playing Joy to the World. It made me feel so good, not the giving of money itself, but that I changed my mind and didn’t just walk by pretending I didn’t see him. And he could play that thing! I walked down the street knowing he was playing that song just for me.
Spiraling said,
December 20, 2008 @ 6:24 am
I’m pretty much giving my hand-dyed sock yarn to anyone who wants it this Christmas. I’ve got some samples dyed up in a base I decided not to use, so off it goes. It feels really good.
Suellen said,
December 20, 2008 @ 8:24 am
My best friend just found out on Thursday that her mother has to begin dialysis. they knew the day would come, but coming at Christmas was a pretty tough blow. Her first dialysis is Sunday morning. I knit a pair of “fuzzy feet” from Knitty for her to keep her warm and to warm her heart. I’m going to felt them this morning and take them to her later today. Hopefully they will be dry enough to wear when she gets home tomorrow.
Maryann said,
December 20, 2008 @ 9:02 am
went through all the books I bought this year and donated them to the Friends of the
Library book sale. The proceeds go to the library for new computers,etc. So many kids don’t have one….
LaLa said,
December 20, 2008 @ 9:06 am
Tell Janice and everyone that the crew from Mississippi says hi! My RAK this week was to take all the leftover 6th graders (we gave them exams on Wednesday and then they don’t have to come to school for the rest of the week, but some parents sent them anyway) on Thursday and keep them in the library for a few hours. This left their teachers have some uninterrupted time to grade papers and plan for after break.
Tammy said,
December 20, 2008 @ 9:31 am
My RAK wasn’t exactly random. We were selling our 55 gallon long unused aquarium to a coworker with 2 little boys, and when her husband came over last night to pick it up, we decided to refuse to take their money. The youngest boy has had several open heart surgeries and is only 3 years old, and we just decided to play Santa Claus. After they got the tank home, my coworker called to thank us and put the boys on the phone (them thinking we were Santa and Mrs. Claus) and sang Jingle Bells to us. I’m not sure but that we got the better end of that deal!
Crystal Baker said,
December 20, 2008 @ 9:41 am
Most of my RAKs have been small other than the one above like leaving change in penny dishes at cash registers or holding doors for people. I usually do the March for Babies but I normally wait until spring to sign up. But this year a bank that sponsors the walk is throwing in an additional $25 for every walker that signs up before Dec. 31. So this week I signed up for the March of Dimes walk early so they could get that little added bump.
Kristie Hammond said,
December 20, 2008 @ 9:54 am
I parked downtown on Tuesday and noticed the guy behind me had run out of meter time, so plugged some quarters into the meter for him. I noticed he was still parked there when I got back about 50 minutes later, so am sure he would have received a ticket if I hadn’t put the coins in.
Jeanne said,
December 20, 2008 @ 10:35 am
I shared the RAK’s that I’ve done the last two weeks, but I don’t have one to share this week…instead, I was the recipient of two RAK’s! In the extreme cold that we in Minnesota experienced this last week, my garage door wouldn’t open. I called the garage door company in our town and they came out right away, fixed the problem (it was minor) and didn’t charge me
Next, I noticed fluid leaking out of my van, so I took it right away to the shop. They looked at it for me and told me the problem (I need a new head gasket -ouch!), but that they couldn’t fix it…I’d have to take it to a full-repair shop. Again, no charge. I’ve learned this week that the universe really does shine upon the kindness we show to one another because it comes back to us 100 fold!
suzanne said,
December 20, 2008 @ 11:07 am
I babysat for my wonderful neighbor who has 4 boys (two under age 4) so she could 1. Breathe and 2. Wrap presents for the kids. The kids helped me make breadsticks and we had a great time (even with flour EVERWHERE) and got to eat some tastee bread.
Stay at home moms need support (that was me a few years ago and I remember how tough it was before the kids went to school.)! I was glad to help and she was so relieved.
Geraldine Scott said,
December 20, 2008 @ 12:42 pm
Last night returning to the car after finishing up some Christmas shopping, a woman approached us with tears in her eyes. She was totally embarrassed at what she was doing. She has a job, she has a roof over her head, but had no money to buy food for her and her daughter until her next paycheck. I dug into my purse and gave her $40 along with a big hug.
Carrie L. said,
December 20, 2008 @ 1:35 pm
Let’s see – RAK this week included making a donation to the Nashville Food Bank.
And no, so far out dogs don’t do the Christmas tree thing, but we do have to secure the Christmas tree to the wall with fishing line and nails to keep the cats from tumping it over.
Johanna said,
December 20, 2008 @ 1:37 pm
It’s been lovely to read the RAK’s so far!
Mine doesn’t feel that important, it doesn’t feel as a RAK at all, in fact, but I’ll mention it anyway. I’m teaching mathematics in high school, and last week I arranged a major test for my students. I gave it back to them on Monday this week with grades and comments. Two of the students was not very happy with their grades, and asked me to look at their answers one more time. It is not expected of me as a teacher to do that, but I did anyway. And I gave one of them a slightly better grade.
Elaine said,
December 20, 2008 @ 1:44 pm
I am so very fortunate in my life. My RAK were simple: I let a man juggling a head of lettuce, a couple cans of tuna, a jar of mayo, a couple jars of pickles and some pita bread (wonder what he was having for lunch?!) into the express line ahead of me.
Then there was my newly finished tri-patterned, bi-color hat… In the grocery store, I kept running into the same woman in different sections and she always commented on my hat. She pulled into the checkout line behind me and again told me how she loved my hat. I finished paying and then gave the sweet little bagger my hat and asked her to give it to the woman behind me. “You’re giving her your hat?” I nodded. The glorious smile that transformed her face was enough to make me simply float home. It was her RAK for me.
Josiane said,
December 20, 2008 @ 2:36 pm
That waterchestnut recipe is an interesting idea! As soon as I find a great way to veganise it, I’m gonna give it a try! Thanks for sharing that inspiring idea!
As for my RAK this week, it was giving my mom a hand with sorting through her mother’s belongings. My grandmother died last spring, and ever since my grandfather told my mom at the end of the summer that he was ready for grandma’s things to be cleared out of the house, Mom has been trying to gather all of her sisters and nieces so that they share the task while choosing what they wanted to keep. Everyone said they wanted to come, but no one ever made time for it. Mom was a bit desheartened by this, but the fact that I went with her (and that two of her sisters finally showed up) cheered her up a bit. At the end of the day, she was extremely happy that I came, because while she was sorting the clothes, I could take care of something that she hadn’t thought would need to be taken care of: grandma’s craft supplies. It was great that I could get it done so that Mom didn’t have to go and spend another day doing that. And to me, it was a real treat to go through grandma’s tools and supplies!
Oh, that reminds me of another one: while doing this, I’ve found something that grandma had started crocheting for my grandfather, and it was *this* close to being done. I haven’t yet learned how to crochet, but I decided I couldn’t leave it like that, so I did my best to finish it – it isn’t perfect, but grandpa can now use the last thing his wife crocheted for him, and I’m happy there’s a little bit of me in it too.
karen (morsecode on ravelry) said,
December 20, 2008 @ 4:05 pm
I love reading these posts.
This week I did a few RAKs. I sent packages to two people in the RAK group on Ravelry fulfilling some of their wishes. I also sent a surprise care package out to my former coworker who moved away for a job opportunity last month. She’s happy with the new job, but it’s still been a hard adjustment.
I also was the recipient of an amazing RAK yesterday. I’m in Buffalo and we got a ton of snow yesterday. There was a foot on the ground when we left work and the parking lot hadn’t been plowed at all. A good Samaritan appeared and helped us push the car out into a more well-traveled area so that we could get home.
Ellie said,
December 20, 2008 @ 5:24 pm
We have helped several people push their cars out of the snow.
Brooke said,
December 20, 2008 @ 5:56 pm
My yorkie Lucy would definately eat the ornaments and pine needles if we had a “regular” tree–so I’m sticking with my mini table-top tree again this year.
For my RAK this week, I got gift cards for the two guys that work at the Blockbuster we go to. They’re always giving us suggestions and joking around with us, and a Chipotle opened up next door, so we got them Chipotle gift cards. Who wouldn’t want that?!!
Dana said,
December 20, 2008 @ 7:00 pm
I bought Starbucks for all of the girls who work for me, just because I know retail is so rough this time of year and they deserve a special treat for working so hard!
Elise said,
December 20, 2008 @ 7:34 pm
I forgot to post on Friday. It’s been a hard week for us – lots of Dr’s appointments for both girls – specialists and then the little one gets sick later in the week, so off to one for Dr (ped) – 3 Dr’s in 3 different cities – ugh. A fortune in co-pays and med’s.
Anyway, my RAK this week were to be really nice to all the people who work in all the Dr’s offices. I also let anyone with fewer groceries then me to jump ahead of me in line. I didn’t really have much more time then that. My DH gets a RAK of kindness this week – he helped me get out of the house several times without the kids – always a good thing! Happy Holidays!
Sherry W said,
December 20, 2008 @ 10:10 pm
I had a tree climber cat- it always cracked me up. I just made sure the tree was really sturdy.
My RAK- I always sweep or rake the leaves on my neighbors walk if I’m out doing mine.
Joannah Whitney said,
December 20, 2008 @ 10:16 pm
My goodness, what a week!
I’m back home after a week’s aftermath of an ice storm that took out power lines in a good part of central Massachusetts. Today, I’m home. I have heat and electricity. There are a few towns that are still with out power. I hope they are back up before the next storm hits, tomorrow.
My RAK this week was a donation to a scholarship for students who are especially at financial risk set up at my alma mater.
juana said,
December 20, 2008 @ 10:50 pm
I flew today to be with our son for the holidays. Behind me a gentleman asked not to recline my seat because it would crowd his sleeping son. With a smile I spent the 2 and a half hours with my seat in upright position. Not very comfortable but I got a lot of reading and the child slept all the way.
Lael said,
December 20, 2008 @ 11:53 pm
A former boss passed away last year. He was great at taking pictures of all of us employees and we even took a few of him. When our location closed, he sent all of those pictures to our corporate Human Resources director. After his death, she sent me those pictures. I have been slowly trying to find old employees, sending them their pics. I mailed out some more pics this weekend.
By the way, my dog is too big to fit under the tree, but my cats love to lie there. Unfortunately, they also sometimes play with the ornaments and the garland, so some mornings I redecorate the bottom of the tree!
Lisa said,
December 21, 2008 @ 12:38 am
My cats have always loved lying under the tree-but no tree for me this year! I have a new 6 month old kitty who is way too crazy to have a tree. Hopefully next year he’ll be a bit more calm and I can try it.
My RAK this week has been that every time I’m in the grocery store (seems like every day!) I add a $5 for Harvesters to my bill. Tonight the woman behind me saw me do it, and she did too! We just smiled at each other and wished the other Happy Holidays!
Ingrid said,
December 21, 2008 @ 4:45 am
My dachshund does love the underside of christmas trees. And he’s shaped for it too, he can get under everything! My RAK this week – singing christmas carols with my choir at a cafe driven by a mission who works for the homeless in our town. It was such a nice hour, for us singing and for all the people who came to hear too, I hope.
Katie said,
December 21, 2008 @ 8:34 am
We were out the other night in the snowstorm, and came across a young woman whose car was in a snowbank. Not only was she not dressed for the conditions, she had no shovel. My husband stopped and dug her out, and made sure her car was unharmed. She kept saying that she wanted our address so that she could have us over for dinner, but we insisted that it was no strings attached and she should pass the kindness along.
jessica said,
December 21, 2008 @ 1:32 pm
Hi Sheri!
Well, we left colorado on Friday when the fog was freezing to the trees – beautiful. Our cats have never climbed up on the tree, but our Harley always has to check out the boxes and claim one or two hers. After they are opened she has to sit in every single one, then picks her favorite – where we find her snoozing later.
We traveled to a warmer climate this year (HI) so luckily we are missing all the snow and freezing temps – at noon the temp on my computer says it is 7 F at home. Brrr.
My RAK – I usuall purchase a book of bus pass tickets, and this year we had several left over – they expire every year. Since I know i will not be able to use them all, I handed them out to others that didn’t have the cash or lost their pass. about 5 in total.
At least I know they will go to good use instead of the trash.
Have a wonderful holiday!
Danielle said,
December 21, 2008 @ 1:36 pm
I donated books to the Children’s Hospital. Gave $ to the Rescue Mission. Put $ in the red bucket.
Jennie said,
December 21, 2008 @ 2:36 pm
A friend recently told me about a pet rescue organization that she volunteers with. It is sort of like the underground railroad for dogs and cats. A woman at a shelter in KY drives a box truck full of dogs and cats to a stop in PA where the animals are then unloaded, walked and reloaded back into multiple vans, cars and trucks and sent on to either new homes or to other local rescues around the northeast that will then find new homes for them. I mentioned to her that I would love to help in any way I could. She gave me her email address and told me to send her an email if I was really interested. I emailed, and she told me I could help in a big way just by showing up and helping to walk the dogs as they got out of the truck.
I spent an hour last Sunday walking dogs. It was the best time. The dogs were so excited to get out of the truck and walk on grass.
Every two weeks this takes place.
SPAY AND NEUTER YOUR PETS PEOPLE!!
Dottie said,
December 21, 2008 @ 3:08 pm
We just took a a visitor at our church to lunch. She’s a single mom with four kids, and she doesn’t often get to sit down and enjoy a relaxing meal. It was great to have time to chat with her and the kids!
Sharilyn said,
December 21, 2008 @ 3:56 pm
Luckily our dog ignores the tree. (Previous dogs used to drink out of the tree stand…yuck.)
A very minor RAK…. did a little extra shoveling to free the snow bound fire hydrant in front of a neighbors house.
Happy travels and Merry Christmas!
Heather said,
December 21, 2008 @ 6:33 pm
My Rak was just a small one, but I hope one that will last into the future. I donated to the “bell ringers” as my 4 yr old calls them. We discussed what they were doing & why they are ringing the bells & he decided he needed money to give too =) Hopefully he continues this thoughtfull-ness in Christmases to come. Merry Christmas & Happy Holidays to all.
xoxoxo
Lisa aka Mochaknits said,
December 21, 2008 @ 8:11 pm
I don’t think this is a RAK but just something you do as a good neighbor.
Since everyone in Seattle is practically snowed in, we went and checked on our elderly neighbor to make sure she was ok or needed anything.
Sharon said,
December 21, 2008 @ 9:06 pm
I had a bench donated in my late niece’s name on the local bicycle trail. Last year it got vandalized and the town had to replace it. This year the one next to it got hit. The man from the Public Works Dept. called me to tell me he had my bench moved to a more secure location. I thought that was so nice of him. I went to WAWA’s and got him a gift card as a thank you and mailed it off to him.
Shana said,
December 21, 2008 @ 10:22 pm
I know that smaller dogs really do love hanging out under the tree because we used to have a dog when I was growing who thought that the tree was the greatest thing since sliced bread. He’d just hang out under the tree all day, whether there were presents or not.
Also, I don’t know if this counts as a RAK or not but I was invited to a big knit night several miles from where I live. I was very tempted to go but I wasn’t really sure. I happened to be in the library the day of the big knit night and I overheard the librarian saying that she was the only person who attended the “Yarn & Yak” at our library on the same night. So instead of going to a big knit night I packed up my knitting and I surprised her by showing up to hers instead. She seemed so excited to have company and we ended up talking for hours. Needless to say, we’ll be our own two man knitting group from now on.
Liz said,
December 22, 2008 @ 1:38 am
I won a contest at work and gave the prize (a PlayStation 3) to my “nephew” for Christmas. My friend and her husband are dead broke, and it’s the thing their son wants the most. I could have chosen something for myself (it was a short list of prizes), but I would never have been happy with it, knowing I could have given him a good Christmas in tough times.
Betty H said,
December 22, 2008 @ 4:36 am
Bought Starbucks for the man behind me in line this morning. Also sent five boxes for soldiers with items from the recommended list. It was fun doing that and included handknit socks for each made out of yarn from the Loopy Ewe.
Rose-Maire said,
December 22, 2008 @ 7:32 am
We donated 9 bags of clothes to a homeless-shelter.
It was greatly appreciated and felt great to be able to do something for someone in need.
Erin M. said,
December 22, 2008 @ 9:33 am
Our dog Ringo doesn’t like to lay under the tree but he does like to sniff the branches (In the spring he likes to walk around outside and smell the flowers).
For my RAK this week I baked some cookies this weekend and gave them to a Co-worker that I knew wasn’t going to get to see a lot of family this year.
Megan said,
December 22, 2008 @ 9:36 am
I really only did one RAK this week. Our short day is Wednesday and instead of going home early, or getting more planning in, I spent an hour at the after school Talent show that the day care put on. I gave the kids some encouragement, and even helped to comfort one girl who was upset that her partner hadn’t liked her dress. Ahhh, the drama of third graders.
Kjirsten said,
December 22, 2008 @ 9:38 am
Our dog is a little too big for laying under the Christmas tree, and I think he’s a little suspicious of the tree. He kind of ignores it and avoids it. Which is better than trying to eat it or climb it…
RAK: I shoveled my neighbor’s driveway. (Well I actually used the snow blower…) They were out of town when we got socked with 12 inches of snow. At least they could find their driveway when they got back!
Is it ever going to stop snowing?
Karen in Toledo said,
December 22, 2008 @ 10:17 am
I let some harried moms with kids go ahead of me in line at the store. My kids helped some more senior members of the community unload their grocery carts into their cars while we were in the parking lot and it was waaaaay below zero yesterday. We recently had an ice storm and I sent goodies to my two elderly neighbors with the kids… but the real reason for the visit was to make sure their heat was still on.
Frances said,
December 22, 2008 @ 10:28 am
Hope you had a good weekend! On Friday I was downtown and had to park at a meter. When I left, I filled the meter with quarters so the next person wouldn’t have to pay.
Cerina said,
December 22, 2008 @ 10:31 am
I don’t know if I should post this but, what the hay!!
Here in Gitmo we have lots of folks who rely on the bus system. I always feel for them taking “public transportation” when I practically live in my truck. Because my daughter is in daycare I have made great friends with the ladies that care for her. They are a great group of women who are by majority from Jamaica. Cidney loves them to death and looks forward to seeing them each day… so much that we have to stop at the “flower bush” every morning on the way in (sorry, I don’t know what kind of flower it is… but, it’s yellow!!) to pick a flower for someone everyday… it has changed from day-to-day but, is usually one of the same four people. She was told that she can only pick one flower a day that’s why she decided that she’d start giving leaves too.
I thought I’d take a cue from her and her “flower delivery” to offer them a ride anytime they appeared to need one. I finally was able to give one of the ladies a ride home. It made me feel good even if it was only a few miles.
Cathy said,
December 22, 2008 @ 10:34 am
Yum! Those bacon-wrapped water chestnuts look so good! My mom always made those for parties, but we used brown sugar instead of white sugar and I don’t think we added the lemon juice. Delicious!
I can’t think of a specific RAK I did from last week, but I did help clean up after our office Christmas party on Friday and even offered to carry garbage bags out to the dumpster in the rain.
Seanna Lea said,
December 22, 2008 @ 11:58 am
I brought a load of toys and children’s books for Toys for Tots last week. It is always nice knowing that some child is going to have a little brighter holiday for my efforts.
At a party, myself and a friend filled a dessert plate to bring to one of our friends who couldn’t attend. She really appreciated the chance to get a little holiday chit chat along with the sweets.
Brynna said,
December 22, 2008 @ 2:49 pm
We ended up not doing a tree at all this year, because our cats would destroy it. So we skipped it entirely, and decorated other things. It actually worked out pretty nicely.
My week has been spent mostly snowed-in, so my one little RAK was to put aside all my unfinished Christmas knitting, and whip out a baby blanket for a friend’s new grandbaby, who arrived early, and the new mom is barely out of her teens (new dad isn’t quite 18 yet) so they’ll have something warm to wrap the new little one in to bring her home, in the snowy crazy we’re experiencing.
I did also purchase a couple books for Borders book drive for children on Sat while I was finishing up my last-minute shopping.
Doris said,
December 22, 2008 @ 3:26 pm
I’m sure I am too late for this week, but what the heck, contests aren’t the reason to do RAKs anyway, right? Anyway, I overnighted my mom a pair of handknit wool socks(even though she lives in Florida and never really wears socks, except for golf socks in cotton, a pair of which I knitted for her for Christmas) becasue she was flying to Denver today for Christmas with my sister, and it is really COLD there right now. I didn’t want her to get cold feet in store-bought socks. Merry Christmas Sherri!
Mary said,
December 22, 2008 @ 4:24 pm
Don’t get me started on cats and trees. Especially cats who find their catnip toys that Santa left for them under the tree. FPS…you’d think I’d know better than to let Santa do that!
Here in New Hampshire, we’ve been struggling along without power for a week after the Great Ice Storm of 2008 and finally have it restored. I saw a crew working on my street late last Thursday night on my way home from work, so I turned my car around, went to the local Dunkin’ Donuts (hey, it’s NH…), got 4 large coffees and some muffins and brought them to the wonderful men from Hydro Quebec who had just restored my power after 7 days! The RAK was really theirs for giving up time with their families to be here in horrible conditions working 19 hours a day to bring power back to us. God bless them!! They were very happy to get the hot coffee and muffins and although they didn’t speak much English, the hugs crossed all language barriers!
Jocelyn said,
December 22, 2008 @ 6:50 pm
I hope it’s not to late.
I want to tell you about a wonderful gift I received – I’m still gobsmacked from the experience.
One of my friends (and one of your customers) sent me a camera. I’d broken mine while I was in NYC, and lamented online about my loss.
I was so touched and encouraged. What did I do to deserve this?
Claire said,
December 23, 2008 @ 7:26 pm
I read in Ravelry about someone’s total yarn reserves being stolen by an intruder. I am mailing her some choice yarns from my stash. Plus it’s her birthday right now, wanted to make her days a little brighter
Gillian said,
December 24, 2008 @ 6:47 pm
I have a contract where I shop for soft drinks and generally have tons left. I have donated some of the extras to neighbours for the fund raising events held through their jobs. Clears out my space and improves the amount they can raise.