Cathy Classics by Cathy Guisewite for July 23, 2017

Times change, I suppose. While these gifts don’t have the same feeling as more traditional ones, I suppose they could be useful.

HI, MOM. Good Sunday Morning, “Cathy” Clan.

This is a tricky one. It seems that more and more would prefer cash as a wedding gift, but my husband and I think that’s impersonal (along with other words). Even worse, in Spain, they include their bank account information on the wedding invitation (they don’t use checks there, instead they do transfers). I guess it’s practical and so on, but I still love looking at the things that people gave us for our wedding and I think of those people and cherish them.

Hello Cathy clan! Happy Sunday! I have everyone home from their various places, so my life is back to normal. Jr has a sprained ankle so that it making things tough, but she is feeling positive about band, so I’m very happy about that. Unfortunately she only has until Tuesday for her next practice, so I’m nervous about her healing in time. But she got an award for “Hardest Worker” and several people commented to me about how much she worked and her positive attitude, so that was really nice to hear. :-) rgcviper, sure seems like we’ve had at least 25,000 eye rolls, doesn’t it? And we’ve got to include the ones we do for each panel… LOL! Have a great day, all!

What?! I’m not paying your Visa bill. Nowadays people would just set up a GoFundMe page. I’m one of those people who’d rather have money. Use it for the honeymoon or to help buy a house. Those are way more important than a toaster or candlesticks. I have a friend who’s getting married next month and she has some super expensive stuff on her register list. It’s crazy.

Including your gift registry info on the wedding invitation is a dreadful faux pas, according to all rules of etiquette. But outright asking for cash!? Beyond tacky.

Oh, don’t know. This is a tough one. I have to admit that I see no problem in their requests. I was married once. I mean, we can ended up picking a lot of stuff we didn’t really need, just to do it the way that is “proper”. I so loved the people who just gave us money. We used it to pay off the Honeymmon,(Just a trip to Gatlinburg, nothing expensive) as well as other practical things. We also got stuck with things we’d never use (like crazy expensive vases and knick knacks we did not ask for and I was so afraid of breaking). Truthfully, I would have been fine if they even donated to a favorite charity. I would also prefer nothing over getting something I don’t need or want anyway. In general, I don’t like getting gifts. Most if the time it’s something impractical or something I don’t want. Please use that money on something you need or donate it to charity instead! Anyway…..

Hello all! :). Glad Jr. had a nice time, Lightenup. Hope she heels quickly. Have a good rest of your Sunday all. :)

I prefer a gift over cash. I can remember the gifts I got for my wedding over 25 years ago, but I’ve forgotten how much cash several people gave me. I think of the gift givers when I use their gift.

We have several of our wedding gifts still in use today – 41 years later. And yes, I do remember who gave them to us which helps keep their memory alive since most if them are no longer with us.

Cash is nice and very much appreciated with the expense of a wedding and a honeymoon – even if you go as low cost as possible but asking for cash – tacky. I do like the idea of gifts to a charity in your name except then you are on that charity’s mailing list forever. That and too many registered charities spend most of their donations on exceedingly high admin salaries instead of the advertised use. The Canadian government helpfully lists the charities and their income and expenses ( search for canada charities listing cra) so you can see just where your donation goes.

lightenup Glad band camp worked out for Jr. Sorry to hear about the ankle though – especially in the summer!

I’ve never received a wedding invitation like this and I hope I never do either because I consider it beyond tacky. I’m more than happy to buy something off a gift registry because it takes the worry and stress off me by ensuring I don’t purchase the wrong thing but I absolutely refuse to help someone pay their Visa bill or mortgage payments. If they want to live a champagne lifestyle on their beer budget, then that’s completely up to them. Not my circus — not my monkeys. But if the only reason they’re inviting me to their wedding is to help subsidize their expensive spending habits, then they’re going to have a huge problem because not only would I be staying home that night, my money would be staying home with me ….. and there would probably be others on their guest list that would do the exact same thing too.

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Hi, rgcviper! :-)

lightenup: I’m so sorry that Jr. had such a miserable time at band camp. Sounds like it was run by a bunch of Nazis! Physical punishments for not doing things “right”? That’s positively barbaric! What good does that really do except beat them down all the more and make them feel even worse than they already do? And now that she’s finally home, she’s got a sprained ankle too? That poor little dear. Hugs and kisses to that sweet angel of yours, Sis! ♥

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Hello and Happy Sunday, fellow Cathy fans. Hope everyone had a great week and an even better weekend! :-)

This week’s progress report:

Good news, everyone! After almost 7 weeks on the market and 13 super-frustrating showings, we finally got an offer on our house and after a few back and forth counter-offers, we came to a satisfying-enough agreement between us and are now officially under contract. Hooray! We’ve still got the usual hoops to jump through (regarding inspections and appraisals), of course, and because our buyer decided to change lenders mid-stream after he already had one lined up to go, it could take a little longer to close than previously settled on. But still. We’re cautiously optimistic that all will go as planned and we can now begin the process of boxing up our things and arranging for a truck to move us within the next couple of weeks.

Meanwhile, we’re going to be extremely busy getting ready to go so I’m not going to be around much — if at all — from now on so if you don’t hear from me for a few months, don’t worry. Once we get ourselves settled in, my mother’s space finished and we get her moved down there with us, I’ll be back here commenting again full-time. Until then, I’ll miss you all!

@lightenup: Indeed—we still ought to buy our [eye-rolls] in bulk here in Cathy’s corner …

@Gretchen’s mom: Congrats on the offer on your house—great news! I wish you the best with your move, and look forward to seeing your posts again when you’re available.

Again, Happy Sunday, Clan.

I always assumed that people who prefer to give gifts from a registry instead of cash are secret hoarders who want other people to fill their homes with useless junk like they have.