DIY Christmas

Sometimes the best Christmas presents are the ones I get for myself. My family understands my self-absorption. (As my daughter says, "Dad, you are so hard to buy for!") I don't mean to be a pain about it. When my family asks for suggestions, I usually punt. And if they try to figure out what might please me, they are up against the wide-ranging, but picky dilettantishness of the Mazur Man. But somehow, they always manage to surprise me. My son got me a CD with Jimi Hendrix covering the Christmas song from Hell, "Little Drummer Boy". My daughter, knowing how much I like rose petal jelly, got me a bottle of rose martini cocktail essence. Though Mazur Men are purists regarding cocktails, that should nonetheless be interesting. I think I have just enough gin. And my wife, knowing that my curmudgeonly exterior hides an affection for cute furry things, got me an Ice-Bat. But, still, all of them got me gift certificates as well. What else to get the hard-to-please, hard-to-buy-for?

Despite all the fawning, but frustrated attention I get from my family, I still end up buying myself a gift. Usually, it's something I just stumble across after Christmas while rambling about town doing errands during my week off of work. Today, I was at Ollie's trying to find a dirt cheap area rug to replace the one our dog pissed up while we were away for a few days. Ollie's ("Good Stuff Cheap") is a bargain outlet with stores all over the mid-Atlantic. Each store is brimming with stuff that looks like it just fell of a truck. They buy remaindered stuff by the ton. It's one of those places where If you see something you like, buy it. It won't be there the next time you go. I got a nice patio set there last summer and look upon the place as a community resource.

On my way back to the cheap rug section, I came across a table full of books that Ollie's had scooped up from Sam's Club. Note: Most of the books Sam's Club carries are already remaindered. But I took a peek, nonetheless. And I found three steals. Here's what I got for $40: (1) A fantastically illustrated book on the state bird of Pennsylvania, the Ruffed Grouse. Go ahead. Laugh all you want. But some of my friends have been chased by this bantam-weight banshee while jogging or biking in the woods. It's a fascinating little critter. Amazon has the book for $20. I got it for $5. (2) What to serve with grouse? The best place to look is Parker's Wine Buyer's Guide, 6th Edition. Robert Parker is the editor and publisher of The Wine Advocate and is probably the most influential and knowledgeable wine critic in America. The Wine Buyer's Guide is packed with information on all matters oenological, and rates over 8,000 wines. Retailing for $60, it sells at Amazon for $30 in paperback. I got the hardcover edition for $8. (3) The coup. Sitting on the table were several copies of EMI Classics' Black Dog Opera Library Delux Box Set. EMI has a phenomenal collection of classical music. Their budget classical recordings from the 50s through the 80s are among the finest low-priced classics available. The Black Dog Opera Library Delux Box Set contains 6 operas and 6 books. Each book is richly illustrated, with information about the composer, the opera, and the production that is included with the book. The books also contain the entire libretto in the original language and in English. Opera is an acquired taste, one which I have been slowly acquiring for about 20 years, so I'm not much of an opera buff. The Black Dog CDs nearly doubled my collection. The six operas are some of the most popular and beautiful in that art form. They are also among the most accessible to people who have little experience with opera. There are no 5-hour Wagner extravaganzas; each of the included operas is about 2 hours long. There is Mozart's Le nozze di Figaro, Bizet's Carmen, Verdi's La Traviata and Aida, and Puccini's Madama Butterfly and La Bohème. Each recording contains some of the biggest stars of the past, including Beverly Sills, Mirella Freni, Nicolai Gedda, Birgit Nilsson, and Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau. I listened to La Bohème while working on this post. Fantastic! The price for the set? Well, it lists for $100. Amazon has it for $66. I picked it up at Ollie's for $28. Score!

So if you have an Ollie's near you, get yourself over there now and then. There are some amazing finds, even among the Sam's Club rejects. But if you see something you like, buy it. It won't be there tomorrow!