Well now, that backfired didn't it.

We don't always exchange Christmas gifts with Jim and Barb, but some years we do. This year we did.

A few weeks ago we were sitting in a Chinese restaurant eating off of square white plates. Barb turned to Jim and said, "I want square white dishes."

Knowing that being male, he probably barely even heard her, much less intended on running out to buy them for her, I knew just what I was gonna do.

Two years ago when we got back from our trip across Canada it was my intention to cook a live lobster meal some day. So for my birthday, Barbee gave me a nice set of four seafood dishes: bowls, plates, serving platter etc - all square and white.

Jed moved back home about then and Ken and Jade moved in with us for a couple of months and really I just never had occasion to cook a seafood dinner for four so the beautiful dishes sat, still in the box, on a shelf in the basement. I dusted off the box, wrapped it up and put a pretty ribbon on it.

Maybe Barbee would be more on the ball than I, and manage to use them to make a nice meal for four. And if not, she can wrap 'em up again and send them back to me in a couple of years. Maybe I'll be a little more organized by then.

Jim and Barb came over on Boxing Day for Hockey Night in Canada and another day of eating enough food to feed a small village. They also brought us a nice Christmas gift that included a leather pouch thingy that holds two bottles of wine.

"I thought of you when I saw that leather case," she said. "But feel free to re-gift it to someone else."

"Yeah, I'm really good at that, eh?" I replied, laughing. We still had not discussed the re-gifted dishes I gave back to her.

Barbee stared blankly at me. I knew she'd forgotten completely about ever giving them to me in the first place so the joke kinda fell flat.

"The square white dishes," I explain. "They are the ones you gave me for my birthday two years ago...."

"What square white dishes?"

"Uh... your Christmas present..." Okay, I think, she is seriously losing it.

"Oh!" she burst out laughing. "We haven't opened our presents yet. We are waiting a couple of days until Jody and Eric get here."

Damn. I blew that one, didn't I.